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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. |
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