Hainanese chicken rice, especially popular in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, is an elegant meal centered around a poached chicken and spreading its flavor to an accompanying rice and dipping sauces. It’s one of those elementally simple dishes where the quality is generated from finesse and technique.
I surveyed a collection of online recipes by Tasty, Food52, Steamy Kitchen, and Nyonya Cooking and smashed their common elements together into a sort of statistical average recipe.
Read those blogs for insight into why the recipe works. Really the only addition I can contribute is that a typical American supermarket chicken, weighing 5.5 pounds and bred for enormous breasts, is prone to poaching unevenly. Take care to find a suitable chicken and good ginger. Continue reading Hainanese Chicken Rice→
The ingredients are simple, but man it has taken so many tries to iron out the details in the technique. For honest flaky layers, you need to oil it well. For the right elasticity and structural integrity, you must rest the dough. For the right texture, a steaming step really helps. For uniform scallion distribution, you need to spread them out in a certain way.
My friends and I made steamed buns from scratch. It was quite a “whoa we actually made these?!” moments. Pleating is hard though. Continue reading Bao Zi→
Rumor has it that a little shop in Boston called Mei Mei’s serves this delicious breakfast sandwich made of two poached/fried eggs on a scallion pancake with pesto sauce and cheese. It’s called the “Double Awesome.”
About two months ago, I bought a grater, a steaming rack, and a heatproof container to steam in, all specifically to cook this dish. I even had a daikon! Then… I didn’t cook the dish.
Recipe from my mom.
Luo Buo Gao (turnip cake)
Coarsely grate 1 lb daikon (half of big radish). Simmer in 8 oz chicken broth for 10 minutes to cook off bitterness.
Stir fry additions, such as 2 chinese sausage, 4-6 shiitake mushroom, ~20 dried small shrimp, 1 scallion.
Combine 1/2 can chicken broth, 8 oz rice flour (half of red-packaged bag), 1/2 tsp sugar, pinch pepper.
Combine radish and flour, then add additions. Transfer into greased container (e.g. 7-cup Pyrex).
Steam for 30-40 minutes, until clean chopstick. Let cool.
Slice in half-inch slabs. Pan fry. Serve with thick soy sauce, spicy chili sauce.
Haha, I forgot to buy a cucumber. Also, I’ve got to stop using Korean bean paste, which is like way saltier than the type of bean paste called for here. Recipe from thewoksoflife.com.
Zha Jiang Mian (Beijing fried noodles)
Marinate 1/2 lb ground pork in 1/2 tsp oil, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp cornstarch, pinch white pepper.
This is akin to the bread you find in Chinese bakeries. They’re often stuffed with fillings such as custard, red bean, or cha siu, or topped with crusts to make those Hong Kong style pineapple buns (foreshadowing!!!) but as this is my second time ever working with yeast, I’m starting small with just plain loaves.
Combine 2/3 cup heavy cream, 1 cup whole milk, 1 egg, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 cup AP flour, 3+ cups bread flour, 1 tbsp yeast (1 packet), 1.5 tsp salt. Knead for like 20 minutes.
Proof for 1 hour, until grows 1.5x. (cover bowl with damp towel, place in warm spot)
Punch down, knead a little to rid of air bubbles.
Divide into 8-12 rolls/knots. Place into greased pans. (e.g. 3 rolls in a 9×5 pan, 5 knots scattered in a 9×13 pan).
Proof for 1 hour.
Brush with egg wash: 1 egg, 1 tsp water.
Bake at 35 F for 23-25 minutes, until golden brown.
Brush with syrup: 1 tsp sugar in ~1 tsp hot water.
I’m all about minimalism when it comes to kitchen equipment, and I’ve tried to get by without thermometers. Thus, I scorched my first batch of chili oil. The apartment reeked of smoke and the resulting oil tasted like charcoal.
Oh, also, the above photo features the “sad woman sauce.” My friend brought it along and explained how it’s ubiquitous in China and like crack. The chili oil with black bean sauce goes on everything, even spicy noodles!
Brown 1 lb ground pork. Add 1 tbsp sweet bean sauce/hoisin sauce, 1 tbsp shaoxing wine, 1.5 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp five spice powder, cook until evaporated.
Optionally, separately saute 1/3 cup suimiyacai (couldn’t find it)
Prepare 1 lb white noodles.
Blanch 1/2 bunch leafy greens, like baby bok choy.
Prepare sauce: 2 tbsp sesame paste, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp five spice powder, 1/2 tsp szechuan peppercorn powder, 1/2 cup chili oil (below), 3 cloves garlic minced, 1/4 cup hot cooking water from noodles.
Garnish with 1/4 cup chopped peanuts, 4 scallions sliced long obliquely. Serves 4.
Chili Oil
1 cup oil, 2 tbsp Szechuan peppercorns, 2 star anise, 1 bay leaf, 1 Chinese cinnamon stick (1” fragment Indian cinnamon). Heat until lightly bubbly, then maintain there on low heat for 30 minutes.
Strain. Cool oil for 5 minutes.
Stir in 1/3 cup Asian red pepper flakes, 1 tsp salt. Done when cooled.
