ma po toufu
1/4 cup dried tree ears
1 cup boiling water
3-inch piece fresh ginger
5 scallions
(1 tablespoon of the chopped ginger)
(1 scallion's worth of the chopped scallions)
1/2 pound ground pork or beef
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or cooking sherry
8 or more cloves garlic (for a yield of 2 tablespoons chopped garlic)
(the remaining chopped ginger)
6 fresh water chestnuts (optional)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
6 squares fresh bean curd
(tree ears)
tablespoon corn starch
(meat mixture)
6 tablespoons peanut oil
(garlic and ginger)
1 1/2 teaspoons hot pepper flakes in oil
1 tablespoon hot pepper paste
(water chestnuts and tree ears)
(meat mixture)
(bean curd)
(scallions)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons ground, roasted Szechwan peppercorns
(cornstarch and water)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
PREPARATION
Put the tree ears in a small bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let them soak for about 15 minutes, until they be- come soft and gelatinous.
Peel the ginger, then chop it into tiny pieces, about the size of a match head.
Clean the scallions, then chop them, both the white part and about one-third of the green, into pieces slightly larger than the ginger, about 1/4 inch in diameter.
Add 1 tablespoon of the chopped ginger and 1 scallion's worth of the chopped scallions to the ground pork, along with the soy sauce, sesame oil, and wine. Mix thoroughly, then set aside for about 30 minutes.
Peel the garlic, then chop it coarsely. Combine it with the rest of the chopped ginger and mince them both together until they reach the consistency of a thick paste. (This may take several minutes, but Mrs. Chiang insists that the finer you chop the garlic and ginger the more interesting the finished dish will be. )
Cut the dark skin off the outside of the water chestnuts, then chop them into pieces about the size of a match head, Combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl and set aside.
Cut the bean curd into 1/2-inch cubes.
Drain the tree ears, then rinse them and pick them over carefully to remove the tiny impurities, like little pieces of wood, that might still be embedded in them. Then mince into little pieces the size of a match head.
Just before you are ready to begin cooking, add the cornstarch to the meat mixture and blend thoroughly.
COOKINGHeat your wok or pan over a moderately high flame for about 15 seconds, then add the oil. It should be hot enough to cook with when the first small bubbles begin to form and a few small wisps of smoke appear.
When the oil is ready, quickly throw in the garlic and ginger and vigorously stir-fry them over a medium flame for about 30 seconds, using your cooking shovel or spoon to scoop the ingredients from the sides of the pan and then stir them around in the middle, so they won't burn or stick.
Continue to stir-fry while you add the hot pepper flakes in oil, hot pepper paste, water chestnuts, and tree ears. Then stir- fry for another 30 seconds.
Add the meat mixture and keep stirring it as it cooks, taking special care to break up any large chunks of meat that stick together.
After the meat has cooked for about 1 minute and has lost its pinkish color, throw in the bean curd and the chopped scallions and stir-fry everything together for about 45 seconds. Then add the sugar and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.
Pour in the soy sauce and the water and wait for the liquid to boil, then let the contents of the pan cook over a moderate flame for 2 more minutes.
Add the Szechwan peppercorns and stir thoroughly.
At this point, determine how much sauce there is in the pan. If the dish seems watery , you should get ready to add the cornstarch and water mixture that you have already prepared. But if there does not seem to be much liquid, you won't need the cornstarch.
Make sure that you stir up the cornstarch mixture before you pour it into the pan, then stir-fry everything over a medium flame until the sauce becomes clear and slightly thickened.
Add the sesame oil and stir it in thoroughly; then, just before serving, taste the dish for salt. It should taste sharp and clear, with just a hint of sweetness.
Stir the salt in and serve.
Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Scallion Cakes - Cou you bing
Cou you bing
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup water
10 to 15 scallions (depending on their size)
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil, approximately 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 tablespoons lard, at room temperature, or peanut oil (if you fear cholesterol)
(half the scallions)1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons lard
(remaining scallions) 3 tablespoons peanut oil, approximately
PREPARATION
Mix the flour and the water together very well; you should get a very stiff dough. Set it aside for at least 30 minutes.
Trim the scallions, then chop them, both white part and green, into very fine pieces, about the size of a match head.
Since the dough for the scallion cakes has to be rolled out, you will need the same kind of a large flat surface that you use for making any other kind of pastry, a large wooden board or tabletop. Prepare the surface on which you are going to roll out the scallion cakes by sprinkling it with the sesame oil. (This serves the same purpose as flour in keeping the dough from sticking. )
Knead the dough for about a minute until it is easy to work with, then separate it into two balls. Take one ball and roll it out into a rectangle about 8 by 10 inches. (If you are using a rolling pin, make sure to rub it with some sesame oil so that the dough doesn't stick to it. You can also use your hands instead of a rolling pin to press the dough out.)
Sprinkle 1 teaspoonful of the salt over the rectangle of dough. Press the salt into the dough with your fingers.
Spread the lard generously over the dough.
(Although you can use a knife to spread the lard, it is easier, though less aesthetic, to do it with your fingers.) Sprinkle half of the chopped scallions over the rolled-out dough, then roll the dough up like a jelly roll. Pinch the ends of the roll together so the scallions don't fall out, then divide the roll into three sections, twisting the ends of each segment to keep the filling from falling out. Each piece should be roughly the size of a tennis ball.
Using more salt, lard, and the remaining scallions, do the same thing to the other half of the dough.
Just before you are ready to begin cooking the scallion cakes, take one of the balls and gently flatten it out into a circle about 8 inches in diameter. This is the trickiest part of making the scallion cakes, for it is very hard to keep them from breaking open slightly while you are flattening them and letting the scallions escape. (Even Mrs. Chiang has trouble keeping the scallion cakes from bursting while she is pressing them out. ) Luckily, it doesn't make too much difference if the cakes split slightly at this point. Make sure that the surface on which you are working is still well oiled.
While the first cake is cooking, you can press out the next. (You can't really flatten them all out in advance, because it is not a good idea to handle them very much before you cook them.)
COOKINGHeat a regular flat frying pan over a moderate flame and fill it with 1/4 inch of oil.
When the oil is quite hot and has just begun to smoke, put in the first scallion cake. Let the cake fry for about 3 minutes on each side, until it has turned golden brown and become quite crisp.
Remove the fried cake from the hot oil and let it drain on paper towels.
Fry all the other scallion cakes in the same way.
Serve each scallion cake cut into 8 wedge- shaped pieces. (Since the cake is so crisp, it may be easier to cut with a cleaver than with a regular knife.) Note : Although there is plenty of salt inside the scallion cakes, they are especially delicious if you salt their after they have been fried .
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup water
10 to 15 scallions (depending on their size)
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil, approximately 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 tablespoons lard, at room temperature, or peanut oil (if you fear cholesterol)
(half the scallions)1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons lard
(remaining scallions) 3 tablespoons peanut oil, approximately
PREPARATION
Mix the flour and the water together very well; you should get a very stiff dough. Set it aside for at least 30 minutes.
Trim the scallions, then chop them, both white part and green, into very fine pieces, about the size of a match head.
Since the dough for the scallion cakes has to be rolled out, you will need the same kind of a large flat surface that you use for making any other kind of pastry, a large wooden board or tabletop. Prepare the surface on which you are going to roll out the scallion cakes by sprinkling it with the sesame oil. (This serves the same purpose as flour in keeping the dough from sticking. )
Knead the dough for about a minute until it is easy to work with, then separate it into two balls. Take one ball and roll it out into a rectangle about 8 by 10 inches. (If you are using a rolling pin, make sure to rub it with some sesame oil so that the dough doesn't stick to it. You can also use your hands instead of a rolling pin to press the dough out.)
Sprinkle 1 teaspoonful of the salt over the rectangle of dough. Press the salt into the dough with your fingers.
Spread the lard generously over the dough.
(Although you can use a knife to spread the lard, it is easier, though less aesthetic, to do it with your fingers.) Sprinkle half of the chopped scallions over the rolled-out dough, then roll the dough up like a jelly roll. Pinch the ends of the roll together so the scallions don't fall out, then divide the roll into three sections, twisting the ends of each segment to keep the filling from falling out. Each piece should be roughly the size of a tennis ball.
Using more salt, lard, and the remaining scallions, do the same thing to the other half of the dough.
Just before you are ready to begin cooking the scallion cakes, take one of the balls and gently flatten it out into a circle about 8 inches in diameter. This is the trickiest part of making the scallion cakes, for it is very hard to keep them from breaking open slightly while you are flattening them and letting the scallions escape. (Even Mrs. Chiang has trouble keeping the scallion cakes from bursting while she is pressing them out. ) Luckily, it doesn't make too much difference if the cakes split slightly at this point. Make sure that the surface on which you are working is still well oiled.
While the first cake is cooking, you can press out the next. (You can't really flatten them all out in advance, because it is not a good idea to handle them very much before you cook them.)
COOKINGHeat a regular flat frying pan over a moderate flame and fill it with 1/4 inch of oil.
When the oil is quite hot and has just begun to smoke, put in the first scallion cake. Let the cake fry for about 3 minutes on each side, until it has turned golden brown and become quite crisp.
Remove the fried cake from the hot oil and let it drain on paper towels.
Fry all the other scallion cakes in the same way.
Serve each scallion cake cut into 8 wedge- shaped pieces. (Since the cake is so crisp, it may be easier to cut with a cleaver than with a regular knife.) Note : Although there is plenty of salt inside the scallion cakes, they are especially delicious if you salt their after they have been fried .
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