Fried prawn slices with sour sauce 醋溜明蝦片

from PM’s CC Vol II. A sweet and sour shrimp recipe, with carrots, wood ears, and peas.

醋溜 cu4liou2 — vinegar-y

明蝦 ming2xia — prawn

片 pian4 — slices

Those are tiger prawns, 8 of them.

PM gave good directions on this one. Well, she DID say to deep fry the prawns after dredging them in cornstarch, neither of which I did (stir-fried instead until done). I also omitted the egg white in the marinade.

I cooked the carrots beforehand by poaching the slices for a couple minutes. Peas didn’t need to cook, just thaw. Wood ear was soaked in lukewarm water for about half an hour, until soft.

I messed up a bit and didn’t add enough water to the seasoning sauce, so my final sauce was rather thick. It’s a cornstarch-based sauce, so if you’re trying to avoid cornstarch simply do the usual and make the sauce with less liquid and no cornstarch.

Time taken: 45 minutes, including marinade

Difficulty level: ok

Sauce color is from the Chinkiang vinegar.

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Chicken and cucumber salad 涼拌三絲

from PM’s CC Vol I. It’s been a really hot weekend here in SF, and I thought it would be fun to make a cold chicken salad, PM-style. It’s got tender chicken, crunchy cucumbers, and a sesame paste + mustard tasty sauce!

涼拌 liang2ban4 — cold tossed

三絲 san1si1 — three strips…agar agar, chicken, and cucumber?

Ingredients:
1/2 oz dried agar agar or bean vermicelli
2/3 cup cucumber, shredded
1/2 cup cooked chicken, shredded
2 Tb Chinese ham, shredded
1 Tb mustard powder
seasoning sauce:
2 Tb sesame seed paste
2 Tb soy sauce
1 1/2 Tb Chinkiang vinegar
1/2 ts salt
1 Tb sesame oil

Method:
1. cut agar agar in 1 1/2″ long pieces. soak in warm water 15 mins, squeeze dry, lay on plate. arrange cucumber on top, then chicken. sprinkle sausage, refrigerate.
2. mix dry mustard with 1 Tb water, put in warm place for a minute, then add another 2 Tb cold water. mix thoroughly.
3. mix sesame seed paste with soy sauce, then add vinegar, salt, sesame oil in a small bowl.
4. pour seasoning sauce and mustard over salad. mix and eat.

Making use of leftover agar agar!

Even though the recipe doesn’t call for it, I bought a carrot at the grocery store. Then I saw cucumbers were on sale, 8 for a dollar, so I bought two. I ended up using one cucumber and one carrot, both finely julienned, and one chicken breast (boiled for 10 mins).

For the mustard powder, I just used regular mustard powder from the spice section of the grocery. I couldn’t find anywhere in PM whether there’s a special mustard powder she’s using, and the photo in PM’s book shows a yellow looking paste. And it tasted ok with the normal mustard powder, so…great!

Time spent: 30 mins

Difficulty level: lots of chopping, ugh!

Before...

...and after!

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Sesame cold noodles 川味雞絲涼麵

from PM’s CC Vol II. These cold noodles would make a great summertime lunch—tossed with chicken and veggies, you’ve got a whole bunch of food groups going here. Sesame is probably good for you, too, though if you don’t have sesame paste, you can probably substitute all-natural peanut butter. Vegetarians can leave out the chicken and add shredded deep-fried tofu.

川味 chuan1wei4 — Szechuan-style

雞絲 ji1si1 — shredded chicken

涼麵 liang2mien4 — cold noodles

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
2 cups bean sprouts OR 1 cucumber + 1 carrot, shredded
1 lb noodles
2 Tb oil
1 Tb sesame oil
1 Tb roasted peanuts, chopped
seasoning sauce:
3 Tb sesame seed paste
6 Tb soy sauce
1 Tb vinegar
1 ts red pepper oil
1 ts sugar
1 stalk scallion, chopped
1/2 Tb garlic, minced
1/2 Tb ginger, minced
1/2 ts Sichuan peppercorn powder
1 Tb sesame oil

Method:
1. cook noodles. run under cold water, drain, then place in large bowl with both oils. toss to coat.
2. add vegetables and chicken to noodles.
3. put sesame paste in small bowl. stir in soy sauce 1 Tb at a time. add remaining seasoning sauce ingredients, mix well.
4. pour over noodles, top with peanuts. toss and serve.

I give some instructions on how to cook noodles here.

The little jar on the right is sesame paste; I didn't have chili oil but did have chilis IN oil...same difference, right?

I usually make this with the carrot/cucumber combo, but today bean sprouts were on sale. The verdict, though, is definitely for the carrot/cucumber: more flavors (compared to bland bean sprouts) and more color. I also didn’t have any peanuts on hand, but did have a few roasted unsalted almonds that I used instead for the extra crunchiness.

In step 3, when you’re mixing the soy sauce into the sesame paste, it’s important to follow the instructions and add the soy sauce one tablespoon at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Otherwise it will not work.

I cook the chicken breast by cutting it into thirds lengthwise, then simmer, uncovered, in boiling water for 10 minutes. When it’s dry, I cut it into shreds along the fiber.

Time spent: 30 mins

Difficulty level: requires commitment if you’re going to chop chicken, carrots, and cucumbers.

I wish there were more color in this one.

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Shredded beef country style 乾燒牛肉

from PM’s CC Vol I. Beef stir-fries are great because a little bit of meat can flavor a whole heap of vegetables. This recipe features crispy celery and carrots along with a spicy kick from red chili peppers, aromatic beef, and the delicate flavor of sesame oil.

乾燒 gan1shao1 — dry-cooked. Cooked until any sauce has reduced to zero.

牛肉 niou2rou4 — beef

Ingredients:
1 lb beef round steak, cut into strings
8 oz celery, cut into strings
1 carrot, cut into strings
3 red hot peppers, cut into strings
1/2 ts salt
1 ts sesame oil
1/2 ts brown peppercorn powder
beef marinade:
4 Tb soy sauce
1 Tb wine
1 ts sugar
1 ts ginger juice: soak a few slices ginger in 3 Tb cold water for 15 minutes.

Method:
1. marinate beef at least 30 mins, not over 2 hours.
2. heat oil in pan. stir fry beef very hot 5 mins, medium low heat 7 mins, don’t stop stirring. when beef is very dark and dry, remove to bowl.
3. on medium heat, fry red pepper, add carrots. after half minute add celery and salt. add beef, stirring until combined. sprinkle brown peppercorn powder and sesame oil and mix before serving.

A little meat goes a long way.

Since everything has to be cut into strips, the prep work for this recipe can get monotonous. I turned the radio to the dance music station and rocked it out.

As usual, I erred on the side of caution in terms of spiciness, and used 2 chili peppers instead of 3. I think, though, that their use in this recipe is primarily for color, so you can substitute half a red bell pepper for a milder taste. I also loaded up on the celery and carrot.

In step 2, stir fry beef on high heat until all the extruded liquid is gone, then stir fry on medium until the meat turns dark brown. I prefer my veggies crisp, so in step 3 I cooked them only until they were warmed and not beyond.

Time taken: 1 hr 15 mins, including 30 mins marinating

Difficulty level: all that cutting is a little hard.

Fiesta in a bowl.

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Noodles with pork and bean sauce 2 炸醬麵

from Wei Chuan’s Chinese Cuisine, Beijing style.

Our very first recipe-off: Battle Noodles with Pork and Bean Sauce! In one corner, PM’s version. She’s got a mixture of pork and napa cabbage tossed in sweet bean paste with a few green peas for pizzazz. In the other corner, presented below, WC’s version. No wussy, health-conscious vegetables in this meat sauce: it’s just pork and three bean pastes: sweet bean, soy bean, and hot bean. Earthy and packing an oomph, WC’s recipe is not for the faint of tongue.

炸 zha2 — fried

醬 jiang4 — sauce

麵 mien4 — noodles.

Check out my super-huge bottle of sweet bean paste.

To lighten up my meat sauce, and because I had some sitting in the freezer for a few months, I diced a couple blocks of dried tofu (fermented bean curd, 五香干) and tossed it in with the bean pastes to stir fry. I was out of eggs and, still clad in pajamas, didn’t feel like running out to grab a dozen so I omitted those. The amounts in this recipe serve 4.

WC also instructs us to add 1/2 ts salt to the meat sauce, but I find that the bean pastes have enough salt already: perhaps even too much for some people (if that’s you, use less soy bean paste). Four Tbs of hot bean paste made the sauce almost too spicy for me: I was sweating while eating my lunch, and not from the warm March weather. Next time I’ll cut it down to 2 or 3. Conversely, if you like spicy food, by all means add more hot bean paste.

Time spent: 20 mins

Difficulty level: simple

Battle score: PM gets points for (relative) healthiness. WC’s recipe is tastier. WC wins! Score: PM 0, WC 1.

Tasty and steamy.

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