Recipes from China

China is an enormous country with tremendous variety both in the foods grown there and in how the foods are prepared region to region. Most of us have had the opportunity to eat "Chinese" food, likely altered a bit for American tastes, and most communities are fortunate to have one if not several Chinese restaurants. Explore one of the many Chinese cookbooks you will find in your local library, and learn about the regional specialties and styles of cooking. The following two recipes, both taken from Extending the Table: a world community cookbook, are just two examples of the thousands of dishes you might serve.

One activity that you might want to do with children is to assemble some of the ingredients common to Chinese cooking, such as rice, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, bok choy, soy sauce and ginger. Let the children taste them, and talk about their experiences with Chinese food. Chinese people have settled all over the world, taking many of their food traditions with them, influencing local cuisines and tastes, and inventing new dishes to satisfy local customers. The fortune cookie is a good example of a "Chinese" food invented in America. The following cookie recipe is more "authentic."

Almond Cookies Makes 7 to 8 dozen
Xingren Dangang (shing-RUN DAHN-gahng)
Cream in large bowl: 
Add: 
Combine in separate bowl: 		 1 cup shortening or margarine and ¾ cup sugar
2 eggs, one at a time and 1 tablespoon almond extract
2 ½ to 3 cups of flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda and ¼ teaspoon salt

Using fingers , mix dry ingredients with wet mixture into a fairly stiff dough. 

Divide in half. On a floured surface, roll each half with your hands into a 1-foot long, 1-½ inch diameter log. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate 3 hours. When dough is chilled and you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 375EF.

Beat lightly: 1 egg white

Cut cookies into ¼-inch slices and place on ungreased cookie sheets. If you like, you can press an almond half in center of each cookie. Brush with egg white and bake 10 minutes.

(Note: The cookbook Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant, Simon & Schuster, 1990, p. 198, suggests serving these with ginger ice cream. To make an easy ginger ice cream, make a syrup by simmering ½ cup water, a cup sugar and 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root for three to four minutes. Let cool, and then pour over 1 quart vanilla ice cream. Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped candied ginger for an even stronger ginger flavor.)

 

Jiaozi

How to prepare the dough:

3 cups flour
1 cup cool water (for a softer wrapper, add more water)
Mix flour and water. Use two hands to press the dough while rolling it on a board for about 10 minutes. Let the dough sit for 20 minutes.

How to prepare the filling:

1/2 pound ground pork (beef or chicken)
1 pound Chinese bokchoi (or cabbage, or mix several vegetable in the same quantity). Cut the cabbage into thin strips then dice into very small pieces. Squeeze the water out.
3 or 4 green onions, diced into small pieces.
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

Mix the meat, cabbage, green onion, and pepper together.

Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil and 1 tablespoon soy sauce into the mixed filling. Stir the filling until it is evenly mixed. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.

How to make the wrappers:

Cut a strip of dough and roll it until it is as thick as a quarter.

Cut it into 1/2 inch pieces and use thumb or palm to press them into flat pieces

Use one hand to continuously roll the roller over the dough while using the other hand to hold the edge of the wrapper and keep rotating it. Keep rolling until the dough becomes a piece of 3-4 inch wrapper. Cover the dough with a dampened cloth to keep moist.

How to cook the dumplings:

Boil water (make sure the pot is deep enough for 30 dumplings). Put the dumplings in when the water is boiling and use a long spoon to gently stir them, then cover. When the water boils again, add a cup of water and bring back to a boil. Repeat this two more times, then take the dumplings out and serve.

Jiaozi sauce:

Soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and garlic mixed, to taste.

This recipe for Chinese dumplings is from Pin Pin Wan, associate professor of Chinese at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota.

 
Bang Bang Chicken serves 4

Bang Bang Ji (bahng bahng jee) In parts of China, this dish is sold by street vendors who traditionally summoned customers by banging two sticks together, giving the dish its name.

In wok or large frypan, stir-fry briefly in 2 tablespoons oil (preferably peanut) until chicken is cooked thoroughly the following: 

1 whole chicken breast, cut in strips

1 clove garlic, minced and 1 scallion, chopped in 1-inch pieces

2 teaspoons fresh ginger root or c teaspoon ground ginger

Add: ¼ cup water, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons peanut butter and 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Simmer 5 minutes,

Add: 2 cups broccoli florets and 1 medium cucumber, seeded and sliced

Cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 7 minutes. Serve over rice.