Trying out Chinese cuisine

The first proper Chinese dish I tried to make here in Beijing was this sweet chilly pork stir fry (not very authentic to go and look for recipes from European sites, but as they say, old habits never die).

Not bad, considering it was my first try of deep-frying meat coated in batter. I’ll be making it again, but would add some salt the next time: although the chilly gives the dish a pretty spicy kick, I do think that the overall taste would only benefit from a tiny bit of salt.

Also, I got the feeling that there should have been more sauce (or at least a separate sauce accompanying the dish). What I would try next time is to deep-fry the meat a bit longer (so that the batter will not become ’soaked’ when transferred into a sauce) and double the sauce ingredients, also adding some water and corn-flour. Will let you know what comes out of it.

• 500ml vegetable oil, for deep frying
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 free-range egg, lightly whisked
• 250g pork tenderloin, cut into bite-sized slices
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp honey
• a pinch of salt (recommended)
• Rice or noodles to serve

# Heat the vegetable oil in a deep saucepan, until very hot (if a breadcrumb sizzles in it, it is the right temperature).

# Make a batter by whisking the sesame oil, cornstarch and egg together (also add salt if you wish). Dip the pork in the batter to coat, then place into the hot oil to deep fry for about four minutes or until crisp and cooked through.

# Remove and drain on kitchen towels.

# Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a wok. Add the pepper, onions and chilli flakes and stir-fry for three minutes. Then add the soy sauce, honey and pork, and cook for one minute to warm through.

# Serve with some rice or noodles.I also prepared a vegetable dish from cauliflower and broccoli, stir-frying them in a hot wok-pan with some vegetable oil, and adding some water, corn starch, oyster sauce and sesame oil to taste.

The next day I tried another dish from Chinese kitchen, that of sticky lemon chicken. I really loved the look of this dish and I did enjoy its lemony flavor, but J thought it to be the worst dish ever, with way ‘too much lemon juice’.

Now, the lemons here in China must be with stronger taste or something, because on the BBC Goodfood web-site where the recipe is taken, most of the commentators complain about the ‘lack of lemony flavor’ and say that ‘next time I’ll add lots of more lemon juice’ or ‘I added extra lemon juice for some more zing’ etc…So I don’t know…Maybe J is just not into lemons. I remember him not enjoying the broccoli pasta with peppermint that had a lemony hint to it.

But I really liked it, I think it had a nice clean taste, it was healthy and it looked delicious. What more do you want from a supper??

Stuffed chicken breasts

Have a look at these stuffed chicken breasts. Boy, do they look stunningly delicious or not? I tried them as well. The presentation is not as pretty as the original recipe (my potatoes look like aliens on the plate), but the taste was divine!

• 4 large skinless boneless chicken breasts or chicken suprêmes
• 55g (2 oz) butter
• 300g finely sliced leeks
• 5ml (1 tsp) grated lime zest
• salt and pepper
• 120ml (4 fl oz) white wine
• 120ml (4 fl oz) chicken stock
• 120ml (4fl oz) double (heavy) cream
• 15ml (1 tbsp) lime juice

# Cut horizontally into the thickest part of each breast to make a deep, wide pocket. Take care not to cut all the way through.  See how to cut the chicken breast:

# Set the chicken breast aside. Melt half the butter in a large heavy frying pan over low heat. Add the leeks and lime zest and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes or until the leeks are very soft but not coloured.

# Turn the leeks into a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Leave to cool. Clean the frying pan.

# Divide the leeks among the chicken breasts, packing the pockets full. Secure the openings with wooden cocktail sticks.

# Melt the remaining butter in the frying pan over moderately high heat. Add the stuffed breasts and brown lightly on both sides.

# Add the wine and stock and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Turn the breasts over halfway through the cooking.

# With a slotted spatula, remove the breasts from the pan and keep warm. Boil the cooking liquid until it is reduced by half.

# Stir the cream into the cooking liquid and boil until reduced by about half again. Stir in the lime juice and season with salt and pepper.

# Remove the cocktail sticks from the breasts. Cut each breast on the diagonal into 1cm (½ inch) slices. Pour the sauce over them and serve with mash or boiled new potatoes on the side with steamed vegetables.

Xin Nian Kuai Le! 新年快樂

The Chinese New Year has begun; time to celebrate. I decided to greet the year of the Ox with a Chinese dinner. So I set myself to Chinatown and got the necessary ingredients, such as shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, Chinese chili oil and such. I consider myself a knowledgeable shopper in grocery store, but while in the small stores of Chinatown, I was totally lost. There were way too many people and me with my big rucksack (full of books of course, I came straight from the library) in the tiny aisles was like an elephant in a porcelain store. Still, it was somewhat enjoyable. The streets were all dressed up and you could feel the surrounding festive mood in every step you took. So it was not all that bad. And although it took me ages to find what was on my list, I got everything I needed. Not something I can say about the local Morrisons, which often lacks the products I need (for example, why do they not sell mascarpone?). 

So what was on the menu? The dinner consisted of traditional Chinese spring rolls, five spice roast chicken drumsticks with Szechuan noodles and some small cakes that I got from a pastry shop at Garrick street, in the middle of Chinatown. And of course, a cup of jasmine tea was accompanying the meal. No alcohol and loud music, not like the usual NYE partying. Instead a sophisticated and quiet dinner, some Chinese music and Clooney’s movie Good Night, and Good Luck. 

So how did it all taste? 4.5 points out of 5. I need some more practice in making spring rolls – they were ok, but the filling was not quite there yet. I did everything according to the recipe, but maybe I am missing some important secret Chinese ingredient…you tell me. Also, all that chopping of the vegetables took for ages. I therefore recommend you to share the work with somebody…If the provided recipe is not very clear, check this video. 

As for chicken – it was nice and crispy, but the liquorishy five spice was in my opinion overpowering the dish. I recommend decreasing the amount of five spice and adding a little bit more soy sauce: that way you would still have a tasty dish, but instead of liquorish, you can still taste the chicken. 

The best part of the dinner was the bowl of noodles. It was surprisingly tasty and needed the least effort. Just boil the noodles, pour over with a simple sauce and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top. I seriously don’t know why this recipe has been hiding from me so far. Not anymore!

The pastries on the other hand were pretty tasty. All in all, I think me and J gave a proper welcome to the year of the Ox. 

Still, I must mention my greatest disappointment of the day: I was not able to find any fortune cookies in Chinatown. Maybe I just did not know where to look…I wanted so badly to crack a cookie open at the end of the meal and see what does it have to say about my future. Fortunately, the online world has saved me this time. Check out this virtual fortune cookie, which has some meaningful quotes hidden inside. I tried it for a couple of times, and stopped when I got the message ‘help, I am trapped in a fortune cookie factory’. Smart cookies. Then I was off to another fortune cookie site. And now I am going back to my study books. Happy new year!

Healthy chicken rolls

This recipe actually comes from Weight Watchers – it was mentioned in one of Estonian newspapers as a possible Christmas meal, a healthy one. We Estonians like to eat a lot (like huge amounts) of food during this particular holiday…you visit your friends and family and during every visit you eat like madman because the food is so good!

This dish, which is not that heavy, can therefore be a possible Christmas dish. I served it in the middle of summer (call it something like practicing for Christmas Eve dinner) and it also suited well. Especially when it was a (usual) rainy and cloudy evening here in Brussels.

So. I had about 250 g chicken fillet from which I made 8 chicken rolls which is more than enough for two. If you have a bigger crowd to feed, adjust the amount of ingredients accordingly.

• 250 g chicken fillet, cut into 8 thin slices
• 8 dried plums
• ca 3 tbsp cream cheese
• salt and pepper
• water and some oil
• wooden toothpicks or thread

# Sprinkle chicken slice with some salt and pepper and place a dried plum and some cream cheese on one side of the fillet.

# Roll the chicken fillet and fix the roll either with toothpicks or thread. Prepare all the rolls.

#  Heat the oil in a pan and place chicken rolls into the hot pan. Fry until browned on both sides. Pour some water into the pan (the chicken rolls should be almost covered with the water) and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes. Add some water if necessary.

# When done, place the rolls in a plate, remove the toothpicks or thread and place on a serving plate. Serve with some potatoes or steamed veggies. I offered potato-broccoli puree as a side dish and it suited well. As a sauce, use the liquid from the pan, it is very tasty!

I was amazed – this dish is so easy to prepare and such a lovely combination of colours, tastes and flavours! A bit spicy chicken balances the sweetness of the plum so nicely, I couldn’t help being mad for not preparing more of those rolls.

J suggested that one can even make a bit smaller rolls and then offer them as a snack served with a toothpick on a buffet table. Great idea, huh?

Colorfoul couscous

Couscous is a dream come true for a person who needs a super quick meal. It can be prepared within minutes, seasoned with your favourite flavours and accompanied with any ingredients you have in you cupboard. No need to stress about having exactly what is listed in a recipe! I went the easy way and tried it with some vegetables and chicken. It was very tasty. A fail-proof couscous recipe for me from now on.

Do you have any information about the healthiness of couscous? Some say that it is super healthy, the others point out that it is rather rich in carbohydrates, those little bastards that make you fat…So where’s the truth? In any case, one thing I know – couscous is delicious, especially when you use the following recipe (serves two).

• ca 100 g couscous and about 200 ml chicken broth for preparing the couscous
• a couple of tsp butter
• 1 carrot (cubed) and some water to boil it
• 200 g chicken fillet, sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 300 ml chicken broth (for the sauce)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• half green and half red bell pepper (if you don’t care for colorful dish, just use one colored bell pepper), cubed
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 garlic gloves, crushed
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Sauce:

# Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to the hot pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown.

# Mix chicken broth with turmeric.

# When chicken is cooked, add onion and garlic into the frying pan and cook until onion is translucent. Then add the broth and most of the chopped bell pepper (keep a few tbsp of red bell pepper for the couscous).

# Steam the sauce for about 15 minutes, also add the chili powder, cinnamon and honey. Pour the lemon juice into the sauce just before serving.

Couscous:

# Place cubed carrots into a saucepan, cover them with water, season with some salt and bring to boil. When the carrot pieces are almost soft, add the remaining bell pepper, boil for another couple of minutes and drain.

# Prepare the couscous according to the directions on the package (I poured the couscous over with hot chicken broth and let it stand, covered, for a couple of minutes). When done, add some butter into the hot couscous, stir carefully and then add the drained bell pepper and carrot cubes. Give it a good toss. Everything is now ready to serve.

I really loved the colours of this dish. Chicken came out yellow – at first I thought it was weird and was checking the best before date of the package, but then I remembered that I used turmeric which turns everything yellow (I also spilled some on my white butcher board and now it is with some yellow spots). So, if you end up with yellow chicken pieces, it’s all good.

I guess you can omit the vegetables from the couscous, if you don’t feel like it. Or just omit boiling them beforehand – using raw vegetables gives some crispiness to the couscous.