CHINESE NEW YEAR: PORKUPINES, an Indulgence

An Ersatz Chinese Canape, designed to satisfy western palates...but pleasing all...

updated Jan.25; original 2016

Round & Quennelle shaped porcupines (here chicken)
with oyster sauce

Serving Asian canapes to western guests can be a bit tricky. Will the guests like Chinese food?  Will they want true Chinese flavours and textures? Or will they want something westernised?

This family recipe for Porkupines satisfies most guests, whatever their age or ethnicity.   The intriguing spiky sticky rice coating gives them their name and crunchy highlights within enhance a myriad of subtle flavours.    

Lean minced pork is used because these porkupines mark Chinese New Year and the Chinese adore pork. Minced turkey or chicken also work well, though the spring onion could be replaced with chives or coriander.

The porkupines can be made small enough to be speared with a cocktail stick (a heaped teaspoon each). Or try golf-ball sized porkupines, served on a plate as a first course.

This is not a frugal recipe but many of the ingredients have been used in other 67 recipes and will likely already be in the cupboard.

Cost: £5.50'ish ?? (1/25)

Makes: 13 large, 25 small (recipe halves nicely)

Ingred:

   a generous teacup glutinous rice, soaked overnight or at least 3 hours, in boiling water

   8 oz/225 gm minced pork shoulder or minced chicken thigh  (if using chicken, add 1.5tbsp hoisin sauce)

   1 tsp fresh grated ginger

   1/4 cup/4 generous tablespoons finely diced water chestnuts

   3 generous tablespoons finely diced bamboo shoots

   3 reconstituted dried shitake mushrooms, finely chopped

   2 small spring onions, topped and tailed, scruffy leaves removed;  green and white (if not using white; add green of extra spring onion) finely chopped  

   1 tbsp pref reduced salt (not low-salt) soy sauce

   2 tsp sherry (or white wine with 1/4 tsp sugar dissolved)

   1 tsp water

    pepper and salt

    1 small egg

    Serve with any or all Sauces: soy, hoisin, oyster (opt) &  Chilli Crisp 

Method:

Pomelo (Chinese Grapefruit) platter with cinnamon vanilla yoghurt cream: Easy-Peasy, Dairy-free option, low sugar, Vegetarian

A touch of exotica perks up a simple sweet & juicy winter fruit salad...

Pomelo Fruit Platter with Cinnamon Vanilla Yoghurt Cream

67's Pomelo Fruit Platter is a dessert of a thousand delights. And wallet-friendly, too!

The yoghurt-cream, delicately infused with cinnamon and vanilla, can be used for dipping or to drizzle over before serving.  

The Blog added oranges and cherries because that's what was in the fridge.  But choose according to your budget: a minimum one other citrus or tropical fruit and a handful of berries. Try some or all of the following: oranges, blood oranges, pineapple, mango, papaya, lychee; blueberries, strawberries, cherries, raspberries. starfuit, dragon fruit. 

The term Chinese grapefruit - used to describe a Pomelo - is a bit of a misnomer.  Though pomelo is one of the original citrus fruits, modern versions are nearly as sweet as melon and as crunchy as new season grapes. 

Cut thick rind from
the top & peel 

Pomelo usually arrive in Chinatown in time for Chinese New Year - a juicy treat when we're tiring of apples and pears - but increasing appear before Christmas.  They're quite big and take some getting into, physically. The pith is thick (a football-mad child once used it in a game without damaging the flesh).  But using a sharp knife to cut the rind in an x-shape from the top helps the pith peel away easily.

The papery membranes encasing the segments are easy to remove and the flesh is a delight.  You can eat pomelo as if eating an orange but two or three segments will make a satisfying snack.  

Cost: about £4'ish (2025) depending on choice of fruit but the sky is the limit (pomelo cost about £3.00)
Serves: 2-3 but recipe multiplies easily

Ingred:
   4 segments pomelo, with membranes removed and sliced in half along the curve (8 slices) 
    2 oranges, topped, tailed, peeled and with segments removed (see I'm on Holiday too Sunshine Salad on how to segment an orange)
    a generous handful of cherries or other berries

    plant or dairy yoghurt cream with cinnamon & vanilla (see below)

     
Method:

1. Lay out pomelo slices on a platter with the pointed edges on the outside
2. Fill in gaps with orange segments
3. Scatter over cherries

Straining 0-fat  Yoghurt

Yoghurt Cream with cinnamon and vanilla

1. Strain 450 gms 0-fat dairy or plant yoghurt for several hours or overnight in a fine-meshed sieve lined with a rinsed clean j-cloth. (This step is unnecessary if using Greek or Icelandic yoghurt) The yohgurt should hold its shape on a spoon
2.  Add 1 tsp dried cinnamon 
3. Add 1 tsp good vanilla extract
4. Stir well; taste
5. Add 1-2 tsp icing sugar if needed 

Tip: The fruit platter also works well with Yoghurt Cream & Candied Ginger

                                                                             

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This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.

BEEF IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE, An Indulgence, with vegetarian/vegan option

A classic dish, popular in Chinese Restaurants

Beef & Peppers in Black Bean Sauce - for the adventurous Chinese Foodie
'I like this!' Middle-aged wannabe foodie 

1/18/16

This wonderfully savoury beef & pepper dish uses a common ingredient in Chinese cooking, fermented black beans.  Strongly flavoured, both gutsy and mellow, this dish is probably not one for the entire family.  Adults will probably love it, especially the adventurous eater looking for something wonderfully tasty but unfamiliar.  

It is usually served with rice sticks (or Ho Fun noodles) but is just as good served with rice.

Rump steak is the preferred cut for this dish which is not frugal. For the budget-conscious, chicken - even the cheapest cuts - can replace beef but adjust cooking time accordingly. If served as part of a spread of Chinese dishes, the Beef in Black Bean Sauce will go further 

Prep time is 20 minutes including marinating time. 

Cost: £8.50'ish
Serves: 2-3

Ingred:

Rice Sticks

     6-7 oz/170-200 gm rump steak
     1 large green pepper
      
     2 tsp mashed black beans     
     3 tbsp black bean/sherry juices  
     3 tbsp sherry/white wine/grape juice
     2 tbsp cornflour
     
     1/2 tsp grated ginger
     1 garlic clove, grated

     1 nest of rice sticks/Ho fun per person
      
     1 tbsp groundnut or other light vegetable oil
     
     water

Method:

1. Blend juices, sherry, mashed black beans, cornflour, ginger & garlic
2. Slice rump steak across the grain in 1/3 inch/1.5 cm slices; bash with meat mallet or back of knife to tenderise

   

   Steak sliced across the grain
   (Meat fibres usually run vertically, from top to bottom.  Cutting across the grain means not slicing parallel to the fibres but across them. This makes the meat easier to chew because the fibres have been broken up.)

3. Pour just enough of the marinade over the meat to coat; set aside remainder; stir the meat; leave 20 mins
4. Bring a small pot of water, lightly salted, to boil. Add noodles; reduce heat to simmer; cook 8 mins. Drain and set aside.
5. Top and tail pepper; remove seeds and membranes.  Cut into largeish bite-size pieces.  Stir fry over high heat in a heavy bottom pan sprayed lightly with oil, exposing both sides of the pepper to the heat, until half cooked.  Remove from pan and set aside.
6. When meat has been marinaded, generously spray the pan used to cook the pepper and turn heat to high.  Toss in beef slices; leave to brown on one side (a couple of mins) then stir until there is no pink left.
7. Add pepper and the remainder of the marinade.  Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook 1 or 2 mins.  If gravy is too gloopy, add a tbsp of water but don't thin it too much
8. Add noodles, stir rapidly and heat through
9. Serve       

Tips:

• Fingers of chicken breast will need an extra couple of minutes stir-frying; thighs, drumsticks and wings will need to be covered and simmered a good 15-20 minutes before proceeding
• Vegetarians/vegans, replace beef with firm tofu, marinaded as instructed & shallow-fried over med high heat 3-5 mins until skin is crisp and wrinkled  
• Info on Black Beans, see How to...Use Glutinous Rice, Preserved Black Beans & Pomelo
• for more info on Chinese Noodles, try How to...Use Your Noodles

Comment:
'Beef in Black Bean Sauce was very good.  I had it with rice sticks, which I've never had before, and the combination of juicy beef, crisp peppers and the soft noodles was excellent.  I shall try not to overcook my vegetables in future.'  Middle-aged would-be Foodie

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This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.

HOW TO...USE STICKY RICE, PRESERVED BLACK BEANS & POMELO (CHINESE GRAPEFRUIT)

The new Chinese Year of the Monkey (starting 8 Feb 2016) is a good time to try some unfamiliar but tasty Asian ingredients

POMELO (Chinese Grapefruit)

Pomelo/Bolo/Chinese Grapefruit

The delicious, flavour-bursting pomelo fruit (also known as 'bolo') is one of the first ever citrus fruits and is affectionately known as the grandfather of grapefruits.

Thick Skin

They originated in South Asia but the pomelos we see in Britain are mostly from China.  They're very visible in Chinatowns right now - giant pear-shaped fruits in red mesh bags tumbling over one another. They usually weigh about 1-2 kilos but much of that comes from the rind, which is an inch/2 cm thick. In South Asia, pomelos can reach 10 kilos.   



The flesh has a melon-like sweetness despite being dryer than grapefruit and oranges.  The relatively large capsules of pomelo flesh burst wonderfully in the mouth.  

Most London restaurants team the less fragile pomelo with seafood, particularly prawns and scallops.  But pomelo is perfect as a snack straight out of the fridge, drizzled with syrup or, for the sugar-phobic, flavoured 0-fat yoghurt. 

Pomelos have great health-giving qualities.  0-fat, low-calorie and with a fat-busting enzyme, they also have lots of heart-friendly fibre and potassium. [See Pomelo Fruit Salad for instructions on use]

WARNING: Pomelos, like grapefruit, can cause serious health complications for those on blood thinning or similar medication. Please check with your doctor before trying pomelo. 



SALTED BLACK BEANS

Salted Preserved Black Beans, rinsed and stored in sherry

Salted black beans have a sharply spicy, pungent soya-like flavour that is popular in Cantonese cooking.  They are made from salting and fermenting small black soybeans (not Latin American black beans) which add an earthy bittersweetness to Asian dishes.  

Food-loving adults will probably like the flavour of black beans but some adventurous children adore their taste, especially if they are mashed with butter and stuffed under the skin of a chicken or turkey before roasting.  Those with blood pressure issues should tread carefully.

The beans are too salty to be used straight from the packet. 67goingon50 uses a technique suggested by the younger face of Chinese cookery, Ching he Huang*.  (Ken Hom OBE represents the oldies.) Ching recommends rinsing the beans well in water then storing them in sherry in a container with a tight-fitting lid. 

When ready to cook, finely chop the beans or mash them to a paste.  67 uses  the soaking liquid, as well as beans, from the jar and tops up the jar with more alcohol.  Most black beans are already flavoured with garlic but adding fresh chillis and ginger enhances their flavour.

The beans keep well - up to a year - although in 1972 apparently viable salted black beans were found in a Han Dynasty tomb from 165 BC!

Most packages of black beans are family sized; if your household is small, share a packet with friends. [See Beef, Peppers & Black Bean Sauce with Ho Fun Noodles]


GLUTINOUS RICE

Glutinous Rice on the left; Standard White Rice, right

Glutinous rice actually contains no glutin but gets its name from the 'sticky' quality of the rice.  It was bred to have a different texture and slightly sweeter taste.  It's clear from the grains how it differs from normal rice.  

Unlike normal rice, glutinous rice needs soaking overnight or for at least 3 hours.  It is also more expensive but not ridiculously so.  It keeps well in an air tight container.    

For glutinous rice afficiandos, it is the texture that appeals -- less soft and apparently less boring than steamed rice. In some Thai restaurants the diner is offered a choice between sticky and normal white rice.  

In classical Chinese cuisine, glutinous rice is used for special occasions.  Special dishes include the Imperial Eight Precious Jewel Pudding or Chicken stuffed with glutinous rice.  [See Porkupines wrapped in glutinous rice, an Asia-Pacific canape] 



*Ching He Huang is starting a new series shortly on Food Network, exploring contemporary cuisine in Asia

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