Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking (9 page)

Pile the beansprouts in the center of a serving bowl (an earthenware one, if you like). Cut or tear the chicken evenly into bite-sized strips and lay it over the beansprouts. Pour over the sauce, then scatter over the peanuts, sesame seeds, spring onions and cilantro. Mix everything together before eating.

PRESERVED DUCK EGGS
LIANG BAN PI DAN
涼拌皮蛋

The first time I encountered these dark, mysterious-looking eggs, with their gelatinous brown “whites” and creamy grey yolks, I was terrified. But their appearance is misleading, because they actually taste quite like eggs, but more intense and delicious (when I’ve blindfolded friends before giving them their first taste, they’ve enjoyed them without any hesitation). They are made by coating raw duck eggs with a thick, alkaline paste that “cooks” the eggs by transforming their chemical structure. No one’s quite sure who invented this method, but there are some colorful legends about its origins. Some say an elderly tea house owner found some eggs that his ducks had laid in a pile of wood ash and tea leaves and discovered their shiny dark flesh to be marvellously tasty. Others tell of a farmer who stumbled across some eggs his ducks had laid in a lime pit behind his house. Whoever it was who first decided to try tasting a black and smelly old egg, one has to admire their courage. The names “1,000-year-old eggs” and “century eggs,” by the way, are Western inventions: in Chinese they are simply called “skin eggs,”
pi dan
.

The Cantonese like to serve the eggs with a little vinegar and slivered ginger, but I prefer to use Sichuanese seasonings, as in this recipe.

3 preserved duck eggs

½ green bell pepper, thin-skinned and slightly hot if possible

A tiny amount of red bell pepper for color (optional)

1 tbsp light or tamari soy sauce

½ tsp Chinkiang vinegar

1 tbsp chilli oil, with its sediment if desired

Peel the preserved eggs and rinse them under the cold tap if necessary, to wash away any fragments of shell. Cut them into segments and arrange these in a circle around a serving plate, like the petals of a flower. Finely chop the pepper(s) and pile up in the center of the plate. Mix the soy sauce and vinegar together.

Just before serving, trickle the soy sauce mixture and the chilli oil over the eggs and peppers.

VARIATION

Sour-and-hot preserved duck eggs

Add 2–3 tsp Chinkiang vinegar to the sauce and garnish with a little finely chopped pickled green or red chilli instead of the fresh green bell pepper.

SICHUANESE NUMBING-AND-HOT BEEF
MA LA NIU ROU
麻辣牛肉

At a food conference in Chengdu a few years ago, I met the daughter of the couple who are immortalized in the name of the dish “man-and-wife lung slices” (
fu qi fei pian
). In the 1930s her parents, a pair of street vendors, charmed the citizens of Chengdu not only with their fiery, lip-numbing snack of beef offal (including head, skin, tongue, heart and tripe) laced with roasted nuts and fragrant oils, but with their happy and harmonious marriage, which is why the dish ended up with its “man-and-wife” name. Preparing the classic dish at home, which involves cleaning and cooking tripe as well as the other bits and pieces, can be a palaver, but this version, made with beef shin instead, uses the same scintillating spices, and it has had a rapturous reception whenever I’ve served it. The beef can be prepared a couple of days in advance and kept in the refrigerator; just slice and dress it when you’re ready. It’s not essential to use all the serving flourishes, but try to have at least something nutty and something green.

If you wish to make this in large quantities for a party, prick your chunks of shin all over with a skewer, rub in salt, a generous slosh of Shaoxing wine and plenty of crushed ginger and spring onions and marinate overnight before cooking.

¾ lb (325g) stewing beef or beef shin, boneless and in one piece

2 oz (50g) ginger, unpeeled, cut into thick slices

2 spring onions, crushed slightly

2 star anise

1 piece of cassia bark, or ⅓ of a cinnamon stick

½ tsp whole Sichuan pepper

2 cloves

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

2 tsp salt

For the sauce

⅛ tsp ground roasted Sichuan pepper

1 garlic clove, very finely chopped

1 tsp light soy sauce

3–5 tbsp chilli oil, with its sediment, to taste

¼ tsp sesame oil

To serve

1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Handful of fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

2 tbsp finely sliced spring onion greens

1 celery stick, de-stringed and finely chopped

Good handful of
Fried Peanuts
, roughly chopped or crushed with a mortar and pestle

Rinse the beef very thoroughly in cold and then hot water to remove any bloodiness (under the tap will do). Then place in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Skim the liquid. Then add the ginger, spring onions, spices, Shaoxing wine and salt, and return to a boil. Cover and cook over a very low flame for about two hours. When the beef is cooked, set it aside to cool, reserving ⅓ cup (75ml) of the cooking liquid. (The beef and liquid can be kept in the fridge for a few days. The leftover liquid can be frozen and re-used on another occasion to give a spiced flavor to firm tofu, hard-boiled eggs, peanuts, chicken wings, beef or offal of your choice.)

Gently toast the sesame seeds, if using, in a dry wok or frying pan for a few minutes, until they are fragrant and starting to turn golden, then tip into a dish.

When you wish to serve the beef, cut it into fairly thin slices and place in a serving dish. If the reserved beef cooking liquor has become jellied, let it stand at room temperature or gently warm it through until it is liquid once more, then allow to cool a little. Combine all the sauce ingredients with the beef cooking liquor in a small bowl, mix well and pour over the beef. Scatter over the other ingredients and serve. Give everything a good mix and invite your guests to help themselves.

SWEET-AND-SOUR SPARE RIBS
TANG CU PAI GU
糖醋排骨

Sweet-and-sour ribs are not difficult to make, but they do take a little time because the recipe has several stages. However, they can be prepared a day or two in advance and refrigerated (just return them to room temperature before serving). In my experience they are always incredibly popular, with their sticky sauce and chewily tender flesh. They are served as an appetizer in many parts of China: this particular recipe is from my
Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook
.

Ask your butcher to cut the spare ribs into bite-sized sections. You can do this at home but it’s quite a job, for which you need a heavy cleaver. And, as suggested in the recipe, you can omit the deep-frying, but the ribs won’t be quite as compellingly fragrant if you do. The following recipe yields a good bowlful of ribs, but given their popularity and the slightly time-consuming cooking method, it’s a good idea to make double, saving some for another meal.

1¼ lb (500g) meaty spare ribs, cut into bite-sized sections

2 × 1 oz (30g) pieces of ginger, crushed

4 spring onions, white parts only, crushed

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

Salt

Cooking oil, for deep-frying (optional), plus 3 tbsp more

2 tsp dark soy sauce

¼ cup (60g) sugar

1 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Place the ribs in a panful of water and bring to a boil over a high flame. Skim the water, then add one of the pieces of ginger, two spring onion whites, the Shaoxing wine and about 1 tsp salt. Boil for 15 minutes until the meat is cooked and tender. Drain thoroughly and set aside, reserving ¾ cup (200ml) of the cooking liquid.

If you are going to deep-fry the ribs, heat the deep-frying oil to 350–400°F (180–200°C). Add the ribs and fry until golden. Drain and set aside.

Pour the 3 tbsp oil into a seasoned wok over a high flame. Add the rest of the ginger and spring onions and fry until fragrant. Add the ribs and toss for a couple of minutes in the fragrant oil. Pour in the reserved cooking liquid and add the soy sauce and the sugar. Boil over a high flame, spooning the liquid over the ribs, until the sauce has reduced to a heavy, syrupy consistency. Season with with salt to taste if you need it (remember the liquid will be reduced to a glaze, so take care not to over-salt). Add the vinegar and cook for another minute or two until the flavors have fused. Off the heat, stir in the sesame oil and leave to cool. (The ribs are normally served at room temperature.)

If you are using the sesame seeds, toast them very gently in a dry wok or frying pan until they are fragrant and starting to turn golden. Scatter them over the ribs just before serving.

SLIPPERY WOOD EAR SALAD WITH CILANTRO
XIANG CAI MU ER
香菜木耳

Wood or cloud ear mushrooms, also known as Chinese black fungus, derive their name from the way they grow in rows of “ears” on damp wood. When you buy them, the hard, crinkled pieces are as light as paper; soaked in hot water, they expand into sleek, rippling waves. The mushrooms retain their slippery crispness even after cooking and are appreciated for this delectable mouthfeel rather than any inherent flavor. In this brisk, refreshing salad, the wood ears are complemented by the arresting tastes of cilantro, chilli and vinegar. It’s a good dish for rousing the palate for anyone feeling sluggish before a meal.