March 30, 2010

Chinese Cabbage with Ham and Cream Sauce

This is a popular dish of Beijing cuisine, which in Chinese is called 腿茸奶油津白.

When preparing this at home, I often apply my own preference. What I mean is to cook and flavor the cabbage predominately with ham and to coat it lightly with a creamy sauce which at the same time should not over-power the tastes of others. As such, I use no chicken stock, butter, and lard. Instead, I toast, stir-fry and then simmer the ham in the sauce to release its flavor. This might be a less oil-laden version however I find it equally flavorful.

This recipe needs only a basic technique of stir-frying vegetables. Having combined the cabbage with the ham, the seasoning and the sauce at the right time, I would say there is nothing complicated.

However, be honest, I also love to order this dish when dinning out. It is usually available at restaurants serving Beijing or Shanghai or even Sichuan cuisine, places like those I mentioned about their pork dumplings (Xia Long Bao小籠包). 

• Ingredients
• 400g Chinese cabbage
• 100 ml fresh milk
• 2 tsp finely chopped ham (I use Jin Hwa ham bought from a specialty store. If not, use any dry-cured Chinese ham which can be found in vacuum packs in groceries and some supermarkets.)
• 1 tsp salt
• 7-8 slices of ginger
• 1 1/2 tbsp oil for stir frying

• Thickening
• 1 tsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp water

Method

Rinse cabbage, cut it lengthwise into chunks of about 6 cm in length and 2 cm in width. 

To prepare the ham, rinse, pat dry, and cut it into thin slices. Then heat them in a toaster under low heat for about 4 to 5 minutes or until fragrant. Let cool a while, finely chop them. The sliced ham is relatively easier to chop than it is just out from the fridge. 

Heat wok over high heat. Add 1 table spoon of oil, distribute it halfway over the sides. As soon as the oil starts to smoke lightly, put in ginger slices. With a turner, briefly stir them in oil for a couple of seconds. In this step, from heating the wok to sautéing the ginger, actually is a Chinese way of cooking for stir-frying vegetables. 

Pour in cabbage chunks. Keep stirring and flipping the vegetable. In about one minute, the cabbage shall be softened a bit and start to exude water. If not, add about 1 table spoon of water. Cover lid and turn to medium heat to simmer the cabbage for about a minute. Remove lid, add salt, give a few more flips and stirs to mix it well with the cabbage. As salt is added, more water will be exuded, so act fast for the stirring. Dish up, discard water and ginger. 

Add the remaining half table spoon of oil in wok. Toss in half of the chopped ham, sauté it briefly, pour in fresh milk. Over low to medium heat, bring to a boil. Return the cooked cabbage to wok, simmer for about a minute. Stir well the thickening and mix it into the sauce. As soon as the cream boils up again and thickened, remove from heat (check the taste, as the saltiness from ham may vary). Dish up cabbage and sauce, garnish with remaining ham. Serve hot and enjoy.

Broad beans and Feta salad

My neighbour grows broad beans for the neighbour over her other side. She said it was his favourite and she grew it in exchange for all the favours he gives her. It made me think that broad beans must be something amazing. 

In Japan, we were once served a burnt broad bean pod. All they did was burn the broad bean shell and all over a barbecue, sprinkled with salt and served on a long plate. We were meant to break into the blackened skin and eat the inside. The way it was presented, I thought I was eating the most wholesome, treasured broad bean. 

So I have been dreaming about a good broad bean recipe, I buy broad beans and managed to get Nathan to like it raw. 

Here is one that I made for my mother's birthday dinner. I cooked roast lamb with lots of roast vegetables - brinjal, tomatoes, zucchini, onions. and needed something green. This wasn't planned so this is what I did:

1 packet Frozen broad beans

1/4 cup Frozen small peas

1/4 packet of Feta cheese block

Sprinkle of dried oregano

Slice the Apple mint leaves finely

Sliced roasted pistachio nuts

Glug of olive oil and lemon juice

Chilli flakes, salt and pepper

Throw the packet of frozen broad beans into boiling water for 5 minutes. 

Then remove, allowing it to cool, then remove the broad bean skin. 

Heat the frozen peas for 1 minute. 

Break up the feta with a fork till it is crumbly. Stir in the oregano to flavour it. 

Leave this to marinade while removing the broad bean skin

Mix the broad bean, peas, and salt. 

Add the lemon juice, feta and fold gently. 

Spread the mint, pepper and chilli all over the top of the salad. Fold them in. 

Sprinkle the sliced pistachios

Serve. 

We could add:

Fried bacon bits

Apple bits

Leeks in Chardonnay

Sven served us this dish. It sounded special and intriguing. So I had to try it at home. Boil the leeks in wine right?

I melted some butter and threw in the finely sliced washed leeks. Had to add the bay leaf, since I have a tree. When it wilted slightly, I poured in some cheap Chardonnay and let it boil down. Some salt and pepper.

It was simply delicious. Cant get over it, and cant wait to try it again. It went well with meatballs (Susheela Aunty's cutlets). I think it will go with any meat. As an accompanying sauce.

Cabbage salad

Another salad we made was this cabbage salad from my japanese salad cookbook.

Cabbage salad

• 1/3 Cabbage, cut into bite sized pieces - 1cm x 1cm
• 1 Fried tofu skin
• 1 tbs Fried slivers of garlic
• Dressing: 3 tbs mayonnaise, 3 tbs ponzu, a pinch of shichimi

Heat the fried tofu skin over a griddle. Prepare the cabbage.
Mix the dressing ingredients till its smooth.
Cut tofu to 1cm x 1cm pieces and sprinkle over the cabbage with garlic.
Pour dressing over the salad and more shichimi.

Tofu Salad

While my cousins were here, I served my favourite Japanese salad: Tofu salad with sesame dressing. I had been ordering it at nearly every restaurant that had it, till I discovered its made using a ready made salad dressing. First I bought the wrong dressing - it was a sesame ponze sauce not a salad dressing. I was disheartened. I then found the right dressing and Stephen was eating this salad every day. My cousins came, then Mama and again we were eating this salad everyday.

So here goes:

Tofu Salad

• Tofu - 1 portion of silken tofu, wrapped in a towel and left for 20 minutes with a weight over it. This drains the water, placed at the bottom of the dish
  
• Onions, sliced, lots of it - here I use the japanese leek. It can be substituted by spring onions or finely sliced red onions
• Green pepper, finely sliced
• Mizuno leaves, or any salad leaves available, cut into bite sized portions
• 1 small tomato (not a cherry tomato) chunked
• A few soy beans (edamame), some left over bits.

Add more green fresh vegetables, like cucumbers, bean sprouts, lettuce, cabbage. I dont use vegetables that need cooking, unless its the tofu itself.

• Pour salad dressing over the salad and mix
• Scatter corn flakes over the salad for texture.

Dig in.


Here is a recipe I found for the Sesame salad dressing called Gomadare.

Gomadare

• roasted white sesame seeds: 2 large tablespoons
• soy milk: 4 large tablespoons (optional)
• miso: 1 teaspoon
• soy sauce: a little (up to taste)
• sugar: a little
• ground white sesame: a little

Method
First ground together with a pestle the white sesame seeds, soy milk and miso until it has attained a nice smooth consistency.
If have difficulty mixing it, heat it a little.
Add soy sauce, sugar and ground white sesame to taste.
A little experimentation will work wonders.

Spinach fry

1 bunch of spinach, washed, drained and sliced into a dice
1/4 onion, sliced
1/2 a dried chilli
Roasted sesame seeds
Salt

1. Fry the onions, dried chilli and garlic.
2. When the onions are caramilised, add the diced spinach
3. While mixing the spinach in the pan, add salt.
4. Fry till the spinach is wilted and cooked.
5. Scatter sesame seeds before serving.