Chinese Eats at Home (Part 3)

[Domestic Goddess]

Cenedra - here's what I made last week. I posted a recipe on my blog.

[Toliver]

Hi everyone! I've been looking for a recipe for stuffed tofu blocks since I have a large block of tofu plus minced meat in the fridge  right now. I tried to google for the recipe but all I can find are recipes calling for the tofu to be sliced in the middle like a pita sandwich. I want the recipe where the tofu blocks are hollowed out in the middle on TOP. Then it is stuffed with savory minced meat and then coated in corn starch and fried (?). I think there is a sauce that is poured over the dish before serving. Is there a Chinese recipe like this or am I just hallucinating?

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This won't help you but there's a local restaurant that makes this very dish. The shrimp (paste?) in on the top of the little block of tofu and then it's fried. I had never had the dish before and was intrigued by the shrimp being on top of the tofu instead of stuffed inside. I think it had a little bit of garlic and some diced green onion (scallion), too. I believe it's a Cantonese dish.

I also struck out Googling for a recipe.

[C. sapidus]

Dinner adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop’s Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook.

Farmhouse stir-fried pork with green peppers (nong jia chao rou): Cubanelle, Anaheim, and Poblano chiles, stir-fried with bacon, garlic, fermented black beans, and pork chops (sliced and marinated in dark soy, light soy, and Shaoxing wine). I cooked the pork until barely pink inside, and it remained nicely tender.

Stir-fried green beans with bacon and preserved greens, seasoned with dried chile flakes and Shaoxing wine.

Served with jasmine rice. The boys must have been hungry, because they gave everything 9.8 to 10 across the board. Cooking everything in bacon grease might have helped, too.

[petite tête de chou]

Hi everyone! I've been looking for a recipe for stuffed tofu blocks since I have a large block of tofu plus minced meat in the fridge  right now. I tried to google for the recipe but all I can find are recipes calling for the tofu to be sliced in the middle like a pita sandwich. I want the recipe where the tofu blocks are hollowed out in the middle on TOP. Then it is stuffed with savory minced meat and then coated in corn starch and fried (?). I think there is a sauce that is poured over the dish before serving. Is there a Chinese recipe like this or am I just hallucinating?

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If you're still interested I recently stumbled on this recipe and remembered you asking about it. Your glistening version is beautiful.

Edited April 10, 2009 by petite tête de chou (log)

[Domestic Goddess]

Petite tete de chou - that is the recipe! Thank you so much for finding it. And thank you fo your compliment on my stuffed tofu.

[Dejah]

Joong, Joongzi, anyone?

Today's the day and I didn't have time to make any. However, s-i-l came over last night at 10pm with a dozen, and I promptly sat down and ate one warm, googy sticky rice filled with lapcheong, duck egg, saltd pork, mushroom, and peanuts.

Having more for supper tonight with hot'n'sour soup.

[Prawncrackers]

Has everyone stopped cooking Chinese food at home? If i go too long without it i'm unhappy.

Here's a couple of freezer clearing meals this week to tie you all over till you get round to cooking Chinese food again yourselves

Some steamed Salmon Head with Black Bean, Steamed Spare ribs in plum sauce and fresh Tong Ho Choy from my mum's garden:

and tonight some Char siu and fried rice (tell me this doesn't make you happy!):

[RichardGustave]

I'm trying to get back in the habit of documenting interesting recipes. Although I've spent a lot of time skimming them, I've been intimidated by my Chinese cookbooks on account of not having the right knives or really knowing much about the various cutting/cooking techniques. Despite this, many of the recipes in Dunlop's Hunan book seem simple enough to manage with what I have. So, for my second attempt (I made the chairman's pork a few months back), I went with the cumin beef. I've had a lamb version at a few local restaurants, so I had some idea of desired flavors. It was a resounding success and should end up being added to my revolving repertoire.

Here's a shot of the prep and the finished product.

[infernooo]

Prawncrackers: Would you be kind enough to share your cha siu recipe please? :-)

[Prawncrackers]

Alas Infernooo, my recipe for char siu changes everytime i make it! I haven't settled on one version yet. This last time i mixed hoi sin, honey, light soy and garlic. The most important thing is the cooking method: hot, fast & skewered.

[infernooo]

Thanks pc! I tend to try the ones with extensive ingredient lists (red tofu, chinese spirits/brandy, sugar, sesame oil, light + dark soy, rice wine, ginger + garlic, glazed with maltose). I will definitely give yours a go for a change!

Alas Infernooo, my recipe for char siu changes everytime i make it!  I haven't settled on one version yet.  This last time i mixed hoi sin, honey, light soy and garlic.  The most important thing is the cooking method: hot, fast & skewered.

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[v. gautam]

What would "Hot & fast" mean for you? 450-500F inside oven skewered, time 20 min for fatty strips, or under the broiler for fewer minutes?

How much fat do you prefer?

Thanks.

[Prawncrackers]

I always use neck fillets (or strips of butt in the US), so they are medium fatty somewhere between belly and loin. As for temp, i roast at 210C for about 45 mins. I'm afraid if i go hotter my oven will break!

[Aloha Steve]

I always use neck fillets (or strips of butt in the US), so they are medium fatty somewhere between belly and loin.  As for temp, i roast at 210C for about 45 mins.  I'm afraid if i go hotter my oven will break!

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Pawncrackers would you please be so kind and elaborate on the amounts of each ingredient and which cut

of meat to get ?

I'm a novice cook and have been looking for a char siu recipe that I can impress

my Chinese in-laws with!

Edited August 3, 2009 by Aloha Steve (log)

[Prawncrackers]

Aloha Aloha Steve, the cut of meat i like to use is from the top of the shoulder. Americans call it the shoulder butt, in the UK we call it the neck fillet. You want to have strips that you can skewer all the way through so they cook quickly. From what i remember the marinade last time was roughly five parts hoisin, one of honey, some soy and minced garlic. Just make enough to coat all your meat!

One thing i do that is slightly different is I like to lightly Jaccard my meat so the marinade really permeates overnight. Oh and reduce the marinade a little whilst the pork is cooking so you can glaze it.

[Ben Hong]

From what i remember the marinade last time was roughly five parts hoisin, one of honey, some soy and minced garlic. Just make enough to coat all your meat!

Make it a little sweeter if you want, but use shoulder pork with some fat. If your inlaws are Chinese, they would appreciate a cube or two of fuyu in the marinade. Adds some depth to the flavour.

[Prawncrackers]

Thanks Ben i think i'll try a little Fu Yu myself next time. I have some in the fridge as i was intending to make some Kau Yuk last winter, it's been in there for most of year it should be okay though huh?

[Ben Hong]

it's been in there for most of year it should be okay though huh?

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Absolutely. I don't even store the stuff in my fridge because it is so salty and "drunk" that it would keep for years unrefrigerated.

[David Ross]

Two recent dishes-

Warm Squid Salad dressed with sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, Szechuan pepper, salt, a dash of soy sauce and cilantro garnish-

Pork Ribs that were braised for 6 hours in dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, Szechuan peppercorns, green onions, rock salt and honey. I finished the ribs in a low oven at 225 for an hour while basting them with some of the reduced braising liquid-

[heidih]

Warm Squid Salad dressed with sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, Szechuan pepper, salt, a dash of soy sauce and cilantro garnish-

David- was the squid just cross-hatched and blanched? My squid craving is out of control and I am playing with different methods.

[jo-mel]

Two recent dishes-

Warm Squid Salad dressed with sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, Szechuan pepper, salt, a dash of soy sauce and cilantro garnish-

Pork Ribs that were braised for 6 hours in dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, Szechuan peppercorns, green onions, rock salt and honey.  I finished the ribs in a low oven at 225 for an hour while basting them with some of the reduced braising liquid-

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Do you have more specifics on the ribs? (I almost ate the picture!) I have my pretty standard recipes, but none with Sichuan pepper. And, how did you get that beautiful crust in a low oven? Last minute high temp?

[David Ross]

Warm Squid Salad dressed with sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, Szechuan pepper, salt, a dash of soy sauce and cilantro garnish-

David- was the squid just cross-hatched and blanched? My squid craving is out of control and I am playing with different methods.

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Yes. I cut the larger squid bodies in a cross-hatch pattern and blanched them for only about 20-30 seconds. The cuts give the squid a nice, soft texture.

[David Ross]

Pork Ribs that were braised for 6 hours in dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, Szechuan peppercorns, green onions, rock salt and honey.  I finished the ribs in a low oven at 225 for an hour while basting them with some of the reduced braising liquid-

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Do you have more specifics on the ribs? (I almost ate the picture!) I have my pretty standard recipes, but none with Sichuan pepper. And, how did you get that beautiful crust in a low oven? Last minute high temp?

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This was actually sort of an experiment that ended up pretty delicious. I had planned on cutting the ribs into small "riblets." I bought a rack of baby back ribs, but my meat saw wasn't sharp enough to cut the rack in half to make small "riblets." I was a bit worried at how a rack of ribs would cook in the braising liquid, rather than small riblets. I ended up cutting the rack in three pieces so the ribs would fit in my slow cooker.

I didn't really measure the amounts of ingredients for the braising liquid. I started with about 3/4 cup of dark soy sauce, about 1/3 cup rice vinegar, about 4 slices of fresh ginger, 3 garlic cloves crushed, about 1 tbsp. of whole Szechuan peppercorns, a couple of green onions, about 3 chunks of rock sugar (I wrote rock salt above), and about a 1/4 cup honey.

The dark soy gives a deep color and richer soy flavor than regular soy sauce. The Szechuan peppercorns give that exotic fragrance and the rock sugar and honey add sweetness and help thicken the braising liquid.

I braised the ribs for about 6 hours in the slow cooker. Then gently placed them on a rack over a cookie sheet and put them in the slow over to roast. I put a small bowl of water in the oven to help create some steam to keep the ribs moist.

While the ribs were roasting, I reduced the braising liquid down to an almost syrup like consistency. I used that reduced braising liquid to brush the ribs during the roast in the oven. I think it was that combination of steam in the oven, dry heat and basting that gave the ribs that finshed dark, yet moist, crust. (And the sugars in the braising liquid helped in adding to that caramelized crust).

As you can see in the photos, there weren't any bones. The meat literally fell off the bones. The leftovers should be pretty delicious cold.

[v. gautam]

Heidi,

I find frozen cleaned cross-hatched squid bodies, squid tentacles [small size, ideal] from Thailand and tiny octopus, cleaned, whole, from Korean packers in my Oriental grocery. These can be mixed & matched for various purposes for a quick fix, and at $4-4.30/lb, are not a bad deal considering the mess and labor saved.

[Aloha Steve]

David the meal looks fabulous.

Question are the Szechuan peppercorns, spicy hot ?

If so, no can do in my home, do you have a suggestion for a replacement ?