Going Hunan

[chickenfeet]

I was feeling like a change yesterday. I definitely wanted rice and stuff but It needed to be something other than Thai. misia had posted about some Hunanese dishes that she had cooked a while ago and one of them had caught my eye so that's where I headed.

I ended up with three dishes; smoked bacon and beancurd stirfried with dried chillis, a Hunanese variant of red cooked pork (reputed to be Mao Zhe Dong's favourite dish) and, by way of contrast, blanched gai lan with an oyster/sesame sauce. I had planned to do sweet and sour lotus root (from Habeas Brulee) but lotus root appears to be out of season. It was a good combination of flavours and textures though I would have licked a bit more of a chilli kick in the bacon/beancurd dish. I suspect the problem was the chillis I used rather than the recipe though.

xian gan zi chao la rou
(smoky bacon with smoked bean curd)

7 oz thickly sliced smoked bacon, rinds trimmed and discarded if necessary
7 oz smoked bean curd (I couldn't find any so I used the firm, deep fried kind)
10-15 dried tientsin chiles depending on your heat tolerance
5 chinese leeks or scallions, green parts only, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
about 2 teaspoons soy sauce, or to taste
peanut oil or lard for cooking

Steam the bacon over a high heat for 10 minutes, until cooked through. Cut each slice into 3 or 4 pieces (they should be single-bite size but largish). Cut bean curd into similarly sized pieces.

Snip the chiles in half and discard the seeds.

Heat about 2 T oil or lard in a wok over high flame until lightly smoking. Add the bacon and stir-fry until it begins to release its fat. Add the bean curd and stirfry until both bacon and bean curd are golden.

Push the bacon and bean curd up the sides of the wok, letting the oil run to the bottom. Put the chiles into the oil and fry them briefly until fragrant, then mix everything back together and add the leeks/scallions. Stir fry until the greens are just cooked and limp. Toss with the soy sauce. Serve.

Chairman Mao's Red-Braised Pork
(Mao Shi Hong Shao Rou)

1 lb. pork belly (skin optional)
2 tbsp. peanut oil
2 tbsp. white sugar
1 tbsp. Shaoxing wine
3/4 in. piece fresh ginger, skin left on and sliced
1 star anise
2 dried red chillies
a small piece cassia bark or cinnamon stick
light soy sauce, salt, and sugar
a few pieces scallion greens

1. Plunge the pork belly into a pan of boiling water and simmer for 3-4 minutes until partially cooked. Remove and, when cool enough to handle, cut into bite-sized chunks.

2. Heat the oil and white sugar in a wok over a gentle flame until the sugar melts, then raise the heat and stir until the melted sugar turns a rich caramel brown. Add the pork and splash in the Shaoxing wine.

3. Add enough water to just cover the pork, along with the ginger, star anise, chiles, and cassia. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 40-50 minutes.

4. Toward the end of the cooking time, turn up the heat to reduce the sauce, and season with soy sauce, salt, and a little sugar to taste. Add the scallion greens just before serving.

Note: I don't think it's worth making this in the quantities given. Double or triple them and freeze the leftovers!

Gai Lan with Oyster Sauce

I bunch Gai Lan (about a pound)
2tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp chicken stock
I tbsp dry sherry
1 tsp sugar

Wash and cut the gai lan into big pieces
Combine the sauce ingredients over low heat in a small pan
Bring a big pot of salted water to the boil
Chuck in the gai lan and bring back to the boil
Turn off heat and let sit for a couple of minutes
Drain thoroughly and place on serving platter
Pour sauce over the top and serve

X-posted to gastrogasm

Comments

[besideserato.livejournal.com]

Mmm, fabulous!

[a-d-medievalist.livejournal.com]

I may have to try these! I love gai lan. Oh. I just realized there's a reason I haven't eaten baby bok choy or gai lan in a while ... I like in a town with no Asian market!