Thursday, October 31, 2013

Steamed Black Mushrooms Braised with Bean Curd and Tianjin Bok Choy (Dong Gu Dau Fu Kau Jun Choy)

Steamed Black Mushrooms (Jing Dong Gu) 

24 Chinese dried black mushrooms, about 1½ inches in diameter
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
½ Tbsp dark soy sauce
1½ Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp Shao-Hsing wine, or sherry
2 tsp sesame oil
3 Tbsp Scallion Oil
½ cup Vegetable Stock
3 scallions, trimmed, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 slice fresh ginger, 1 inch thick, lighly smashed

Soak mushroom in hot water for 30 to 45 minutes, until softened. Wash thoroughly and squeeze out excess water. Remove stems and place mushrooms in a steamproof dish. Add all other ingredients to the mushrooms. Steam for 30 minutes.

Turn off heat and remove dish from steamer. Discard the scallions and ginger and gently toss mushrooms in remaining liquid.

The mushroom will keep, refrigerated and covered in plastic wrap, 4 to 5 days.

Steamed Black Mushrooms Braised with Bean Curd and Tianjin Bok Choy (Dong Gu Dau Fu Kau Jun Choy) 

Ingredients
3 Tbsp peanut oil
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 head fresh Tianjin boy choy (Napa cabbage) washed, drained, dried, and cut into:
     4 cups stalks, cut across into 1/2-inch strips
     5 cups leaves, cut across into 1/2-inch strips
6 Steamed Black Mushrooms, cut into thin strips

1/2 cup Vegetable Stock
2 cakes firm fresh bean curd, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1/2 cup red bell peppers, cut into 2-inch by 1/8-inch strips

Sauce:
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1½ Tbsp Shao-Hsing wine, or sherry
1½ tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp corn starch
pinch white pepper
3 Tbsp Steam Black Mushroom liquid

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for sauce; set aside.

Heat wok over high heat for 30 seconds.  Add peanut oil and coat wok with spatula.  When a wisp of white smoke appears, add ginger and salt, stir for 30 seconds.  Add bok choy stalks, stir and cook for 2 minutes.  Add leaves, stir and cook for 2 minutes more.  Add mushrooms and stir mixture together.

Add vegetable stock, stir and braise for 4 to 5 minutes, until stalks soften.  As mixture cooks, toss 2 or 3 times.  Add bean curd, stir and allow to come to a boil.  Stir sauce, pour into mixture and stir well until sauce thickens and bubbles, about 2 minutes.  Add peppers, stir and mix for 1 minutes.  Turn off heat and serve immediately.

Congee | Cháo | Cháo Cá

I want to learn how to cook the traditional Chinese jook, not just any jook.  The kind that you can get at authentic Hong Kong restaurants.  I've tried to make it various ways:  starting with cold water no stirring, with hot water and oil stirring, etc. but still couldn't get it to come out the way I wanted.  I saw this recipe in My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen by Eileen Lo.  All the recipes in there looked traditional, so I'm copying them here for easy reference, but I haven't made this yet.

Congee (Jook)

½ cup short-grain rice
1/3 cup glutinous rice
8½ cups cold water
Salt, to taste

Wash rices well.  Drain.  Place both types of rice in a large pot, add 8½ cups cold water, cover and bring to a boil over high heat.  Leave the pot slightly open, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 1 hour, stirring often to preven the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot.  Cook until the rice thickens almost to the consistency of porride.  Add salt to taste, stir.  Remove from heat and serve.

Update:  Made jook this way.  It wasn't much of an improvement over the plain rice with 1:11 ratio, bring to aboil, then simmer, covered, unstirred for an hour.

Congee with Fish (Yue Jook)

1 recipe Congee
1 whole 3-pound fresh fish (grass carp, striped bass or sea bass) – yield 1½-lb fish filet

Marinade
2 tsp Chinese white rice vinegar (or distilled white vinegar)
2 Tbsp Chinese white rice wine
2 tsp ligh soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp peanut oil
1 tsp salt
Pinch white pepper
4 slices fresh ginger, sliced paper thin, julienned
2 scallions, trimmed, cut into 1½-inch pieces

Sauce
1 Tbsp scallion oil
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 tsp light soy sauce
3 scallions, trimmed, finely sliced, for garnish
1 Tbsp fresh coriander, finely sliced, for garnish (optional)

Combine the marinade ingredients well and pour over fish.  Place ginger and scallions from the marinade beneath the fish, in its cavity, and on top.  Steam the fish for 25 minutes.

Remove fish from steamer and allow to cool to room temperature.  Discard the skin, bones, ginger and scallions and break the fish flesh into small pieces.  Place fish in a bowl, add Scallion Oil, white pepper and soy sauce and mix lightly with fish.  When congee is cooked, add the fish to it, mix well and allow congee to come to a boil.  Turn off heat, pour congee into a heated tureen, sprinkle scallions and coriander on top.  Serve immediately.



Traditional Recipes: Making Stocks

Recipes from My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen by Eileen Lo.

Chicken Stock (Gai Seung Tong)

1 gallon water
3 pounds chicken wings
2 whole chicken (8 pounds) including giblets, fat removed, each chicken cut into 4 pieces
2 gallons cold water
½ pound fresh ginger, cut into 3 pieces, lightly smashed
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2 bunches scallions, trimmed, cut into thirds
4 medium onions, peeled and quartered
¼ pound (1 cup) fresh coriander, cut into thirds
½ cup fried onions
¼ cup boxthorn* seeds, soaked 10 minutes 
3 to 4 tablespoons salt, to taste

In a large stockpot, bring 1 gallon water to a boil.  Add chicken, chicken wings and giblets, return to boil for 1 minute.  Turn off heat.  Pour off water and run cold water into the pot to rinse chicken. Drain.

Place chicken, chicken wings, and giblets back in pot.  Add 2 gallons of cold water and all remaining ingredients except salt.  Cover pot and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to a simmer, leaving lid crack open.  Simmer for 4½ hours.  Stir stock from time to time, skimming off residue from the surface.

Stir in salt about 30 minutes before end of cooking time.  Turn off heat.  Allow to coo for 10 to 15 minutes.  Strain and pour into containers to store for later use.

Makes about 5 quarts.

Vegetable Stock (Jai Seung Tong)

5 quarts cold water
1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into thirds
2 bunches scallions, trimmed, cut into thirds
3 pounds onions, peeled and quartered
1 pound fresh mushrooms, cut into thirds
8 stalks celery, halved
¼ pound (1 cup) fresh coriander, cut into thirds
½ cup Chinese preserved dates (or preserved figs), soaked in hot water 30 minutes, washed
¼ cup boxthorn* seeds, soaked 10 minutes, washed (or 6 pitted sweet dates)
¼ pound fresh ginger, left in piece, lightly smashed
½ cup fried scallions
2 or 3 tablespoons salt, to taste

Bring water to a boil in a large pot.  Add all ingredients except salt.  Reduce heat to a simmer, leaving lid crack open.  Simmer for 4 hours.  Stir stock from time to time, skimming off residue from the surface if needed.

Stir in salt, return to a boil, reduce heat immediately, simmer for another 20 minutes. 
Turn off heat.  When stock is cooled, remove from heat, strain.  Discard solids.  Store in containers.


Makes 3½ to 4 quarts stock.  Recipe can be halved.

*Boxthorn = (Wolfberry, KiChi, Goji, Snowberry, "kỷ tử", "cẩu kỷ", "cẩu kỷ tử")


Scallion Oil (Chung Yau)

1½ cup peanut oil
1 pound (3 to 4 bunches) scallions, well dried, trimmed, each scallion cut into 2-inch pieces, white portions lightly smashed

Heat wok over high heat for 30 seconds.  Add oil and scallions, stir and mix well, make certain scallions are immersed in oil.  Bring to a boil.  Lower the heat, and simmer the oil and scallions for 20 minutes, stir occasionlly, until scallions brown.  Turn off heat, strain oil through a fine strainer into a bowl and cool to room temperature.  Pour into a glass jar, cover and refrigerate until needed.

Onion Oil (Yung Chung Yau)

1½ cup peanut oil
1 pound (4 cups) yellow onions, very thinly sliced.


Heat wok over high heat for 30 seconds.  Add peanut oil, then onions.  Stir, make certain onions are immersed in oil.  Cook for 7 minutes, stir and turn often to prevent burning.  Lower heat to medium and cook for 15 mintues more, or until onions turn light brown.  Turn off heat, strain oil through a fine strainer into a bow, using a spoon to press onions as they drain.  Cool to room temperature.  Pour into a glass jar, cover and refrigerate until needed.