Yu Sheng In Print

Chew's delicious Yu Sheng salad recipe made it into the pages of thelondonpaper this week. I thoroughly recommend it for Chinese New Year festivities, both for fabulous flavour and salad twister party antics.

Stew it over

Life can get pretty busy, which leaves little time for the kitchen. Just look at the cooking section in any bookstore and it's all express this, fast that.
In this day and age it is difficult to dedicate yourself to proper slow cooking. Preparation times are shorter, most people would rather reach for the freezer drawer than sit around shelling peas, and just check out how large the pre-cut vegetable section is at supermarket.
The kind of cooking that takes patience, and forces you to come into line with the seasons, is rare. When I begin to feel a proper chill in the air I know it's chestnut time, and this means I can make one of my favourite family recipes of all time... Chestnut and shittake mushroom stew.

CHESTNUT FACTS:
1. When choosing your chestnuts go for shiny ones that are heavy for their weight and don't yield when given a good squeeze. There is nothing worse than getting a bad batch. Once picked, they disintegrate quickly so peel them soon after purchase or store them in the fridge to prolong freshness.
2. Chestnuts are a royal pain in the arse to peel. I usually enjoy this dish whilst nursing scorched thumbs, but it's worth it.
3. NEVER attempt to peel chestnuts in a hurry, it will result in a great deal of cursing and swearing. Put on your favourite podcast and it will soon become a pleasure, not a chore (I did mine whilst bopping along to Diddy Wah's 1977 mixtape)
4. The peeled nuts can be stored in the freezer for when you need them.

CHESTNUT AND SHITTAKE MUSHROOM STEW

What you need
1 small can of chinese water chestnuts, drained and chopped in thirds
2 big handfuls of dried shittake mushrooms
2 big handfuls of chestnuts
dark mushroom soy sauce
1 tablespoon of marigold vegetable bouillon powder
2-3 star anise pods
1 teaspoon of 5 spice power
sesame oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon cornflower mixed with a little cold water

The do
THE DAY BEFORE: Place the mushrooms in a bowl and cover with boiling water. They will float, so put a small plate over the top to keep them submerged.

With a small sharp knife, very carefully score a deep cross into one side of each chestnut. Throw three at a time into a small saucepan of simmering water for around 10-15 minutes, fish them out with a slotted spoon and throw another three (or more if you are a fast peeler) into the water.
Peel away the tough brown shell and downy inner skin, this is easy if done while the nut is still hot or warm. If they are left to cool down you will find it extremely difficult. Repeat. When the nuts are all done, drain the mushroom water into a jug. Trim the stems off and cut into two. Put a big heavy saucepan on medium heat and throw in a few lugs of oil.
Fry the garlic, 5 spice, water chestnuts, chestnuts, mushrooms then after a minute add a lug of mushroom soy. Fry for a few more minutes then add the mushroom water, stock powder and star anise. The liquid should just cover the ingredients, if not, top up with boiling water. Bring to boil, then simmer with the lid on until chestnuts are soft, stir gently every now and then, taking care not to break up the chestnuts. Taste, and add salt and pepper if needed.
Add cornflower mixture, stir, and simmer with the lid off for another 10 minutes.
Fish out the star anise, drizzle sesame oil over the top and serve with brown rice and steamed pak choy or bok choy.

* Any Chinese grocer should have all the ingredients for this dish. I was recently overjoyed at discovering Thai-An Grocery in Chapel market, near Angel station. It sure beats pack-horsing all my goodies on the bus from Chinatown.

Congee-nius

All this week I've been surrounded by A LOT of snotty human beings
- and I don't mean the cantankerous kind.
Dudes! Stay at home and keep your skuzzy germs to yourself!
That's what sick leave is for!
Miraculously, I have managed to ward off illness by taking a mixture
of zinc and vitamin C each morning.
For those of you who have succumbed and joined the snotty ones,
get someone to make this for you. You'll feel better straight away. I promise.

Congee (Chinese porridge)
Comfy rating: four stars

I make this with the congee setting on my rice cooker.
If you don't have one of these, get one NOW. Or just make it in a pot like this:

What you need
1 cup white rice, rinsed
6 cups water
(sometimes I add a stock cube for more flavour)
White pepper

Put rice and water in a large deep saucepan, bring to boil.
Cover (leave a little gap for steam to get through) and simmer on the lowest heat setting until all rice grains are broken and has the consistency of porridge.
Add in salt or stock cube and mix well.
Serve porridge in a soup bowl or a deep dish with chopped spring onions and fried shallots (from Chinese grocer)
Sprinkle white pepper over it.
Serves 2 to 3


In Hong Kong I ate congee for breakfast with Chinese donuts. YUM.

You can serve this dish instead of rice with steamed Chinese greens, stir-fried tofu, eggplant etc.. it's up to you.
There are also lots of great condiments that go well with this, like fermented tofu and thousand year old egg (if you are feeling brave), Chinese black olive paste and pickles. For a Japanese vibe you could add Ume (pickled plum).



FACT.
Congee is a grain based, usually rice, medicinal porridge served for centuries in traditional Chinese homes. It is used to promote good health and long life. It is used specifically to help the body recover from various ailments. Congee is an excellent whole-grain hot breakfast alternative.

Benefits of a congee breakfast
It can jump start your digestive system. Its long cooking time breaks down the grain, making it very easy to digest and assimilate, providing your body with the nutrients it needs. It also builds energy and enhances metabolism.

Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi Fa Cai! (part 3)

Sang Choi Bao (Lettuce Cups)

A few handfuls of dried shittake mushrooms
A few handfuls of dried black fungus
1 big can of whole water chestnuts
1 big can of liiiittle baby corn
2 iceberg lettuce
Peking duck sauce
Sesame seeds



Peel away the lettuce leaves, try and keep them intact. Wash and store in container in fridge.
Pour boiling water and a few splashes of soy sauce over mushrooms and fungus and leave overnight.

Chop all the ingredients to the same shape. Heat some oil in a frypan and throw everything in. Splash with soy sauce. Fry until heated through. Empty into a big bowl. Top with sesame oil and sesame seeds.

To serve: Get the lettuce cups out of the fridge, place next to filling and peking duck sauce. Guests can now make their own by spooning a couple of tablespoons of mixture into the lettuce cup, topped with a spoon of sauce.

Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi Fa Cai! (part 1)

Being 16913km from home means I can't celebrate the New Year in the usual way (hanging out at a relative's house, eating and drinking until my stomach splits, collecting some Ang Pao - red envelopes containing money - and then rolling home.) So I invited 25 of my nearest and dearest friends in London over for a feast so extravagant it put Empress Dowager Cixi's marble boat to shame.



Yu Sang (New Year salad)

For best results, use the mandolin shredding attachment on a food processor. It's fun and it will save you a lot of time.

What you need
1 daikon (chinese white radish), peeled
1 bag of organic carrots, washed
2 cucumbers
1 bag of crunchy noodles (in Australia, Chang's crunchy noodles - in London I think they are called flour noodles)
Fried shallots (available in all good Chinese grocers. I put these on EVERYTHING)
1 jar of japanese ginger (gari), drained - get the bright red ones in thin strips, not the light pink ones you get with sushi
a few big handfuls of roasted peanuts chopped
1 bunch of coriander, chopped
3 lemons or limes or a mixture of both
sesame seeds

for the dressing
equal parts of vegetable oil and asian sesame oil
add sugar to taste, mix with a fork and add more if needed
salt to taste
a few shakes of white pepper
a few shakes of five-spice powder
lemon juice

Run the daikon, carrots and cucumber through the food processor.
Place in separate containers and cover with water until close to serving time.
Drain ginger.



Later on...
Drain and squeeze out excess water from daikon, carrots and cucumber. On a big tray, arrange daikon, carrots, ginger, coriander, peanuts, sesame seeds and cucumber in an aesthetically pleasing fashion.
Right before serving time, get the packet of noodles and crush it. This is very satisfying.
Pour the broken noodles and fried shallots over the top.
Pour the dressing over the salad.

Now for the fun bit.
Armed with chopsticks, all your guests have to toss the salad together - the more frenzied the better!
Once the tossing frenzy has died down add a little more lemon or lime and sesame oil.
Derishous!

Serves about 25 people.