The Hunger Diaries!

"Complaints to the cook can be hazardous to your health!"

Cooking in China is always an experience.  There are a number of factors that make it very different from cooking in America.  The dilemmas that pop up arrange from simply being able to find food, then reading the labels (which are in Chinese), then using the limited workspace and utilities that come from a small apartment kitchen.  But despite the limitations, cooking in China is a lot of fun.  The key to having a good time is to be flexible and to share the trial with others.  That’s why teacher Jaime and I love to invite our students and friends over for dinner.  Sometimes this means that we get to cook American food for our guests and sometimes it means our guests cook Chinese food for us.  

地三鲜De Sān Xiān: Sautéed Eggplant with Potatoes and Green Pepper

Making De Sān Xiān

Last term, Jamie and I got to cook several meals with our good friends Aimee and Abigail.  Our first meal together was an attempt to cook a traditional Chinese dish called 地三鲜 (de sān xiān).  The pronunciation in English of de sān xiān is closest to saying, “dee sun che-in.”  Transliterated literally, de sān xiān means “earth three fresh,” and it gets its name from the three main ingredients: eggplant, potato, and green pepper.  This is a vegetarian dish and it’s one of my favorites!  Here’s what you’ll need to make yourself:

Ingredients:

·         1 eggplant

·         2 potatoes

·         2 green peppers

·         chopped green onion

·         chopped ginger

·         chopped garlic

·         white sugar

·         salt

·         soy sauce

·         wet cornstarch (the proportion of the cornstarch and water should be 1:2)

Note: the amount of the ingredients especially the seasonings listed above can be appropriately used according to one's personal taste.

Preparation:

A. Peel and dice the washed potatoes.  Place onto a plate.

B. Wash and dice the eggplant.  Place onto a separate plate.

C. Discard seeds from the green peppers, wash, clean and dice as well.  Place onto a plate.

Directions:

Step 1: Place a wok over high heat. Add some cooking oil and heat to 70 degrees centigrade (158 degrees Fahrenheit).  Add the potato pieces and stir well until they turn golden and appear a little transparent. Remove them from the wok and reserve.  Add the eggplant and fry until turn golden.  Remove and reserve.  Add the green pepper; stir-fry it for 2-3 seconds, remove and reserve.

Step 2: Leave some cooking oil in the wok, swirling to coat the sides.  Add in the chopped green onion, ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 10 seconds until fragrant.  Add the fried potato, green pepper and eggplant, and stir-fry them for 2-3 minutes.

Step 3: Add salt, white sugar, soy sauce and wet cornstarch, and stir-fry them for a further 20 seconds.

Step 4: Turn off the heat and serve.

白菜猪肉饺子Báicài Zhūròu Jiǎozi: Cabbage and Pork Dumplings

Folding and stuffing the dumplings.

On another occasion, Aimee and Abigail came over to help us cook some dumplings.  Unlike the de sān xiān, our guests had never cooked dumplings before so this was a first for everyone.  I love dumplings and I can eat them almost every day.  Sadly, however, our dumplings were less than desirable.  They were mushy and bitter.  Perhaps next time we will get the recipe right.  I’ve decided to add the recipe so you can try it for yourself!  Maybe you’ll get right.

The first thing you’ll need to make is the wonton wrappers for the dumplings.  Dumplings are essentially diced meat and vegetables inside of a bread-dough wrapper.  The stuffing and wrapper are cooked all at the same time either by steaming or deep frying.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup cold water

1 cup corn starch

Directions:

Step 1: Mix flour and salt in medium-sized bowl. Form a hole in the flour and pour an egg into the hole. Mix well.

Step 2: Add 1/4 water to the bowl and mix completely.  Continue to add water until the dough is firm and slightly sticky. You don't need to use all the water. Mix with your hands if necessary.

Step 3: Cover dough with a damp cloth.  Let sit for 20 minutes.

Step 4: Dust a clean, flat surface with corn starch.  Place a golf-ball-sized amount of dough directly on the starched surface and sprinkle with corn starch.

Step 5: Roll a rolling pin across the dough to thin it until the dough becomes translucent. Spread in a rectangular shape if possible. Add more corn starch if dough becomes too sticky. Cut the thin, translucent dough into squares approximately 3 inches by 3 inches.

Step 6: Continue dusting, rolling and cutting small balls of dough until all dough has been used.

Step 7: Dust each wrapper with a thick layer of corn starch.  Stack on top of each other until ready for use.  Cover in plastic wrap to contain moisture.

Ingredients

·         100 wonton wrappers (3.5 inch)

·         1 34 lbs ground pork

·         1 tbsp ginger root (minced fresh)

·         4 cloves minced garlic

·         2 tbsps green onion (thinly sliced)

·         4 tbsps soy sauce

·         3 tbsps sesame oil

·         1 beaten eggs

·         5 cups cabbage (finely shredded)

Directions

Step 1: In a large bowl, combine the pork, ginger, garlic, green onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, egg and cabbage.  Stir until well mixed.

Step 2: Place 1 heaping teaspoon of pork filling onto each wonton wrapper.  Moisten edges with water and fold edges over to form a triangle shape.  Roll edges slightly to seal in filling.  Set dumplings aside on a lightly floured surface until ready to cook.

Step 3: Steam dumplings in a covered bamboo or metal steamer for about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

American Dishes

Good food has its own tendency to bring people together and nowhere is that more true than when two cultures share their food.  I love it when my students share their culture’s food with me.  They have introduced me to so many new, wonderful, and delicious tastes.  However, there are some tastes that they have yet to try.  As an American, I know of a few culinary combinations that can delight and inspire the taste buds.  It’s all thanks to my mother.  My Mom’s a great cook and I’d be happy to be half the cook that she is.  That’s why I’ve gleaned as much as I could from her knowledge and now I can impart her wonderful tastes on my new Chinese friends.

The first American style dish that I cooked in China was barbecue chicken, with steamed vegetables over white rice.  It’s a simple dish to make.  I used chicken breasts and barbecue sauce that I had been sent to me from the states.  Some might call that cheating but I believe that good cooking is more about taste than time.  My guests: Aimee, Abigail and teacher Jamie simply loved it!

"Oh, I'm ready... for some spaghetti!"

Chopsticks are surprisingly effective way to eat spaghetti."

The second American style dish that I cooking was spaghetti and salad.  Once again, this was fairly simple.  I just cooked the noodles and added spaghetti sauce from a can.  The item that took the most work was the salad.  Sadly I couldn’t find any fresh lettuce on this day so my salad ended up being a cabbage, tomato, carrot, and sharp cheddar cheese salad.  I did find some Italian dressing that was out of this world!  Once again, my guest loved it.

BBQ Pork and Veggies

Strawberries with Blueberry Sauce

The last American style dish that I cooking was a retake on the original barbecue chicken.  This time I decided to use pork chops and I add in some various different spices.  I also stir-fried my vegetables instead of steaming them.   The vegetables were a mixture of carrots, broccoli, and potatoes.  I cooked them in peanut oil and added a garlic herb seasoning to the mix.  It was little oily but the taste was great.  My guests brought with them fresh strawberries for desert.  I cut the strawberries into quarters and then covered them in blueberry yogurt.  It was fantastic!  My two students and teacher Jaime all left with very happy tummies.

Lily making BBQ pork!

I don't have enough counter-space so my wash machine pulls double-duty.

Lily and Alianna (My Students)

Alianna is stirring up some trouble!

Lily, Jaime, and Alianna.

Abigail and Jaime cooking potatoes.

"My friends treat me like a god;
I get a burnt offering at every meal.... he he he, just kidding."

"I thought they said to, 'never trust a skinny cook?' Uh, oh!  I'm in trouble." 

"Good food/ Good meat/  Good grief/ Let's eat!"

Abigail and Aimee worked so hard on our failed dumplings...

Chop! Chop! Chop!

Stuffing the dumplings!

Jaime and Abigail getting ready to eat my cooking.

BBQ Chicken dinner!

Good friends and good food make for a good day!

Guess where I got my jars?