Joak (Rice Porrige or Congee)

Joak, Jook, or Juk (cantonese) Zhou (Mandarin) Rice Porrige or Congee

This is akin to fried rice, in that in Asia it is a staple comfort food with endless variations in the details of the recipe and condiments.  There is not even agreement regarding the type of rice to use.  All over the Asian continent, hundreds of millions of people begin their day in homes and cafes with Joak , yet it's simplicity belies the fragrant, silky deliciousness of rice porridge.   Rice, water or stock and a dash of salt, simmered for an hour or two--the rest is an accent, and depends on what is available in the kitchen.  It is also a major offering at dim sum, though it is hidden inside a warmer, on a cart, alongside a stack of bowls and chopped green onion.

9 cups stock (see techniques section on homemade chicken stock) or water.

1 cup short grain rice (calrose rice, not glutinous rice; long grain rice can be used)

salt to taste

Rinse the rice two or three times and drain through a sieve.  Add the rice to a pot with the stock or water and bring to a boil, stirring often.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, adding stock or water as needed to adjust texture.  Add salt to taste.  Joak is generally the texture of a thick soup or batter, and the grains of rice are barely intact.

As for the garnishes and additions, here is a list of typical items, ordered from the most to the least common, although it is purely a matter of personal taste.  Feel free to use none or one or several…

Garnishes:

You tiao (Chinese fried cruller, shown in photo)

Green onion, sliced thin, diagonally

Fresh ginger, finely shredded

Pickled ginger, finely shredded

Pickled vegetable

Chinese black mushroom, reconstituted, stem removed, slivered

Cilantro

Additions:

Peanuts

Thousand year old egg, cut into eighths, lengthwise

Fish, filet, cut in pieces

Lop cheong (Chinese sausage) sliced thin, diagonally

Pork "dumplings"  This simple addition can be made as follows:

Mix 8 oz.  ground pork with a scallion, finely minced and 1 or 2 cloves garlic, finely minced.  About 4 minutes before serving, pluck a teaspoon or so of the pork mixture with the fingers and drop it in the simmering joak.  Repeat for as many dumplings as desired, then gently submerge the meat and allow to cook for 4 minutes, or until firm.

Xia Ren Chao Mian (Shrimp Fried Noodles)

Xia Ren Chao Mian (Shrimp Fried Noodles)

Anyone traveling to China, and Asia in general, will notice that noodles are everywhere, at all hours, in every variety.  It is an understatement to call it a staple--it is more like a way of life, especially among the working classes. Nevertheless, perhaps no Chinese dish has suffered more in its passage from the mainland to the West than chao mian (Chow mein).  In China, particularly the north, chao mian is a mainstay dish akin to fried rice (chao fan) in its simplicity and adaptation to the ingredients on hand; with this freedom in mind, one would have thought “Chow Mein,” as it is seen in Chinese-American restaurants, would bear at least a passing resemblance to those versions on the mainland.  In a very few cases, this is true, but most Americans have experienced “Chow Mein” as a sodden, glutinous mass of starchy sauce, overcooked bean sprouts and any number of ingredients standing in for fresh noodles.  In parts of the Eastern and Southern United States,  chao mian will be served without any noodles whatsoever!  In these places, one must order “Lo Mein” to receive noodles.

Chinese chao mian may differ widely from household to household, restaurant to restaurant, and north to south.  If there is a tradition to chao mian, it may be limited to the following: fresh wheat noodles or egg noodles, fried, with some vegetables and flavoring ingredients; its sauce will serve to season the dish, subservient to the noodles, not to overwhelm or bind it together.   With this in mind, one has a great deal of leeway; almost any kind of meat or vegetable can be used, as well as the type of noodle and technique for its frying.  In Southern China and elsewhere, it is more customary to see a thin egg noodle, fried crisp on one or more sides, (Cantonese: Leung Mein Wong) with the meat, vegetables and sauce applied to the top after it’s plated.  In other parts of China, the noodles are fried in the wok along with the other ingredients, and may or may not be crisped, but only heated through and saturated with flavor.  It should also be noticed that while countless traditional recipes exist with the above characteristics, the term chao may not appear in the name, in recipes or menus, though it certainly falls within the category of fried noodles.

One can—and has—written books on the subject of Chinese noodles. [See Florence Lin's Complete Book of Chinese Noodles, Dumplings and Breads.] Making noodles at home, however, is an activity reserved for die-hard food enthusiasts, ones that don't mind the near destruction of their kitchens.  No matter how much care is taken, flour inevitably winds up on the floor, ceiling, clothing, hair and walls.  In China, cooks seem to know better: folks rarely make their own fresh noodles, they are cheap and available on nearly every block.  Here, the faint of heart can buy fresh wheat noodles at any Asian grocery. The version below is based on chao mian I’ve enjoyed in several Sichuan street restaurants.  Keep in mind, you may want to vary the meat, or omit it for a vegetarian version; chilies, dried mushroom, red or green peppers, doufu, can all be utilized if desired, without changing the essential tradition of Chao mian.  It is recommended however, that the garlic, ginger, yellow onion and sprouts be retained, since their flavor and texture is a key to the character of this dish.

Homemade Fresh Noodles

• 3-1/2 cups flour (approx.)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp oil

The amount of flour used in this recipe will depend on the type of flour, its age, and humidity.  Adjust as necessary.  Combine the flour, water, salt and oil and knead until the dough roughly coheres in a ball.  The dough should be dry and somewhat stiff.  Begin running the dough through the machine on the largest setting, folding it each time, until it is smooth and begins to feel slightly sticky.  Dust the dough repeatedly with flour as you do this, until it will not absorb any more.  The idea is to make a very strong dough with a high proportion of flour to water.  Wrap and allow the dough to rest for several hours—this will relax the gluten and distribute the moisture.  You can now repeat the process of rolling and adding more flour, until you have a very strong,  elastic dough.   Now divide the dough into 3 or 4 equal parts and run it through the machine, trimming the width if necessary, dusting with flour when needed, and decreasing the dimension, until the sheets are approximately 1/16” thick and at least 15” long, depending on the type of noodle desired.  Run the sheet through the narrow cutter attachment, producing a strand approximately 1/16” by 1/16” in diameter, and 15” to 20” long.  Dust with cornstarch. The dimensions of a chao mian noodle can vary: it can be flat, like an Italian fettuccine, or somewhat larger, resembling a Japanese udon; the Chinese, however, consider a long noodle best, as it traditionally symbolizes long life, and is a customary—we should say, mandatory—dish served at Birthday celebrations.

The noodles should be refrigerated, dried, or frozen, however homemade noodles do not hold up as well as commercially made, so it is best to use them as soon as possible.

Xia ren chao mian:

15 oz fresh noodle

7-8 oz shelled de-veined shrimp or prawn

2-3 garlic cloves, very finely minced

1” x1/2” pc ginger, peeled and finely minced

1/2 yellow onion, cut into small wedges

8 oz beansprouts

3 green onions

4 oz green cabbage or bai cai

Sauce: 

1 Tab ground bean sauce

3 Tab soy

1 rounded tsp sugar

1 tsp sweet vinegar

Garnish:

A few shreds sweet red pepper

A few shreds green tops of green onion

Sesame oil

Boil fresh noodles for two minutes, checking them every quarter minute for desired doneness.  They should be slightly undercooked, since they will undergo a second cooking in the wok.  Remove the noodles when they are done, drain, and spread on a countertop to cool and dry.  As soon as the surface of the noodles have dulled, drizzle a small amount of peanut oil on them to prevent sticking.

Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients:  wash and trim shrimp, if necessary, and drain thoroughly.  Cut yellow onion into wedges along its axis, and separate them.  Cut green onions into 2” sections; cut white portion into quarters lengthwise, then shred 2 or so tablespoons of the green portion to use as a garnish.  Shred a few pieces of sweet red pepper for garnish. Cut the cabbage into 1/4” shreds.  Combine the sauce ingredients.

Dredge the shrimp or prawn in cornstarch and thoroughly shake off excess.  On high, heat wok til it begins to smoke and add 2-3 Tab of peanut oil; add dusted shrimp and stir fry quickly just until they loose their transluscence.  Remove and set aside.  Add another tablespoon or two of oil and when wok is very hot, toss in yellow and green onion but do not stir—you want to achieve some caramelization on the onion pieces (if you have a professional wok burner, this will not be necessary); when wok is hot again, add ginger and garlic, toss, then cabbage and sprouts and stir fry for 1 or 2 minutes until sprouts barely begin to wilt.  Add the noodles and begin tossing with the other ingredients.  The noodles will tend to roll up and turn over without suspending the other ingredients; it is necessary to gently pull the noodles apart as you stir fry, to combine it all.  Using large chopsticks rather than the shovel, is sometimes helpful.  After 2 minutes or so, add sauce ingredients and continue mixing, trying to pull the noodles apart as you go, until the noodles and ingredients are thoroughly heated through.  When you plate the dish, roll the mass onto the platter and heap any remaining onions or flavoring ingredients onto the top of the noodles.  Arrange the shrimp on top as well, before garnishing with shredded onion, red pepper and sesame oil.

Dan Dan Mian (Dan Dan Noodles)

Dan Dan Mian (Dan Dan Noodles)

The name of this dish derives from the verb dan, to carry on a pole, referring to the time, until recently, when Sichuanese street vendors carried the makings for snack noodles on bamboo poles and called out their offerings,"dan dan mian!". Among devotees of this dish there is much discussion with regards to the addition or omission of sesame paste. It's worth noting the difference, since sesame paste is intensely flavorful and the two versions would seem to be at odds within the tradition of dan dan mian. The fact is, both are common in Sichuan, though the exported version of Dan Dan Mian seems to always contain the sesame paste. Common elements to look for are pork, chili oil, scallion and ya cai, (preserved vegetable), and sichuan peppercorn (Hua Jiao)--the latter being included in countless traditional Sichuan preparations. In my time in Chengdu, the capitol of Sichuan province, I enjoyed this snack many times in the small restaurants that one found in the side streets of that city.

12 oz fresh wheat noodles

4 oz pork, minced

3/4 tsp Sichuan peppercorn, lightly roasted and ground

1 med clove garlic, minced

1-1/2 Tab Sichuan pickled vegetable ya cai (editor: Tianjin preserved vegetable works well)1 Tab soy sauce

1 Tab rice wine

Sauce/topping:

2 tsp dark soy sauce

1 Tab Soy sauce

1 Tab chicken stock

1 tsp ChingKiang black vinegar

1/2 tsp sugar

2 Tab chili oil

1/4 tsp of salt

2 scallions, green portion only, sliced thin--reserve a few for garnish

Cook the fresh noodles for 2 minutes or so, and check for desired doneness. Remove, drain until the noodles begin to stick together, then toss with a small amount of oil; portion out to 2 or 3 bowls.

Combine the sauce ingredients.

Heat the wok on medium heat until it just begins to smoke and add 3 or 4 tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot, add minced pork and stir fry, taking care to break up the meat; quickly add the garlic, peppercorn and preserved vegetable and toss. Splash in a tablespoon each of soy sauce and rice wine, toss, and remove.

Portion out the sauce/topping equally over each bowl of noodles; garnish with sesame oil and a few slices of green scallion

To make the sesame paste version: use the recipe above, omitting the Chingkiang vinegar and dark soy sauce. Also, to the sauce/topping ingredients, add 1 round Tablespoon of sesame paste and another tablespoon of chicken stock, and mix very thoroughly to dissolve the sesame paste.

Zhu Rou Bao Zi (Steamed Pork Buns)

Pork Buns zhu rou bao zi

You won’t find these tasty snacks at the fine dining palaces of Beijing—instead, you’ll see Zhu rou baozi in the side streets and alleys of that super-metropolis. Understandably, the city bureaucrats, and even the central government in Beijing, want to modernize out of existence the seamier side of Chinese life; unfortunately, this includes the unlicensed, unsightly, and occasionally unsanitary street vendors to whom iron-gutted foodies like myself owe their most memorable experiences. In Beijing, during the long run up to the Olympics, the city all but eradicated these makeshift entrepreneurs, and replaced them with spiffy, red-aproned employees in ticky-tacky boxes, all in a row, calling it street food. The China daily shows off these sanitized street stalls in a small photo gallery featuring the more exotic morsels sold there.  Nevertheless, try as they might, city administrators’ attempts to squelch Chinese capitalism is habitually doomed, and you will probably find delicious snacks sold by traditional cooks, out of site of the authorities, for decades to come.

So for now, north of the Yangtze river, in most cities, you will find some sort of baozi sold by sidewalk vendors; they are an inexpensive snack, and yet, along with noodles and rice, constitute the a major staple of the Chinese workers who buy them from their favored neighborhood purveyor. Along with baozi, especially in the morning, these same vendors will often sell mantou, which is steamed wheat flour bread with no filling.

Baozi are sold in many configurations, small to large, fried and steamed, steamed and in southern China, baked. They are close cousins of jiaozi, dumplings, but are usually larger and wrapped with a leavened dough. Baozi have many different fillings—pork and cabbage, vegetables, toufu, mushrooms, red bean paste, lotus seed paste, roast pork, chicken, all with local variations in seasonings and preparation. Nevertheless, the pork and cabbage version, zhu rou bao zi (猪肉包子) is most common.

The yeast dough:

3 cups of bread flour

1 cup warm water (110° F)

1-1/2 teaspoon dry yeast

2-1/2 Tab sugar

2 Tab peanut oil

1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder

The Filling:

1-1/2 lbs Pork (pork belly or rib meat)

1-1/2 lbs Napa Cabbage

1" x 3" washed, unpeeled ginger

1 cup water

2 scallions, minced

1/2 tsp white pepper

1 Tab soy sauce

1 rounded tsp salt

1" x 1/2" pc peeled ginger, minced

1 medium clove garlic, minced

1 tsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp cornstarch

Smash the unpeeled ginger with the flat of a heavy cleaver so that it will release its juices. Put the ginger in the cup of water, stir, and set aside--1 to 2 hours is preferable.

To the cup of lukewarm water, add the sugar and the yeast and stir until it dissolves. In the meantime, sift the flour into a bowl. When the yeast mixture is foaming, add it to the flour and mix vigorously until the mass begins to stick together. Add the oil, and when the dough coheres enough to remove to the counter and knead for 10 minutes, until it is smooth. It is very important that the dough be soft. Do not add more flour unless necessary to keep it from sticking to your hands and the kneading surface. Once the dough is kneaded, oil the surface with peanut oil and place in a covered bowl in a warm place.

Separate and blanch the cabbage leaves for 2 or 3 minutes in a large pot of boiling water. Remove, drain, and cool. When it is cool enough to handle, roughly chop the cabbage and put in a clean hand towel. Wring out as much of the water as possible, then mince.

Mechanically grind or chop with a cleaver all of the pork into a dice of approximately 1/4". Set aside about a third of this, and mince the remaining pork very fine. Mix together the cabbage, the minced ginger, minced scallion, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Mixing thoroughly with a wooden spoon or paddle of a kitchen mixer, add the cup of strained ginger water, soy, wine and sesame oil. Add cornstarch, and mix in one direction for several minutes. The filling should be moist, almost like batter; add chicken stock if the filling seems stiff or dry.

Making the Baozi:

Have the steamer ready before you begin.

When the dough has doubled in bulk, and you are ready to make the baozi, punch down the dough and make several indentations in the dough with your fingers. Sift the baking powder into these holes, fold up the dough and pinch the edges together to contain the baking powder. Knead for five minutes, or until the baking powder is thoroughly incorporated. Cover the dough ball and let it rest for five or ten minutes. Form the dough into two ropes, approximately 1-1/2" in diameter, then cut the ropes into sections approximately 1-1/2" long. Roll each segment into a ball, place, separated, on a tray, and cover.

To make a baozi, flatten one of the balls with your hand, keeping it as round as possible. Roll the discs into approximately 4” rounds, as thin as possible on the edges, and 1/8” or so in the center. Roll out several rounds and keep them covered as you begin to fill the baozi (Doing these somewhat ahead once again rests the dough and makes them more manageable). Smear a couple of heaping tablespoons of filling to the skin, leaving a border of a half inch or so, and begin pleating the very edge with your fingers and thumb, overlapping the dough by a quarter inch or so. The pleat should be squeezed firmly and pulled slightly vertically to prevent the top of the finished bun from being too thick. As you pleat, rotate the baozi clockwise, making sure the filling remains well below the edges of the bun. Complete the process by closing the top with a spiral twist. Place the pleated baozi, separated from one another, on a steamer tray lined with perforated parchment paper or (napa) cabbage leaves and steam, covered, for 14 to 15 minutes. It is very important to make one or two sample baozi to test for salt and seasonings. When you've done this, you are ready to complete the batch of 20 - 30 baozi.

Zhu Rou Bao Zi can be frozen, once they are steamed and cooled, with very little deterioration. They can also be microwaved to re-heat, but steaming for 12 minutes (from frozen) is far superior.

Liang Mian (Cold Noodles)

Liang mian, cold noodles, is a traditional snack food in China, little known to westerners. It is sold by street vendors and small cafes in many parts of the country; this version is based on one I enjoyed while visiting Chengdu, Sichuan; thus it is firery and intensely flavored. In terms of traditional liang mian, you will encounter broadly two types: a vinegar/soy slightly sweet version as in the present recipe, and a more common rich, nutty version featuring sesame paste and often chicken, and described as “sesame noodles,” or “sesame noodles with chicken” (Ji Si Liang Mian). The famous Sichuan noodle dish, Dan Dan Mian, should be included in this category, although it is not, strictly speaking, always served cold, but often a combination of cold noodles with a freshly cooked meat and sesame based sauce topping. In this recipe, none of the sauce ingredients require cooking, making this an exceptionally fast and easy dish to prepare.

1 Tab Chili oil
2 tsp chili paste
1 Tab light Soy sauce
1 tsp sweet black vinegar
1 scallion, white portion minced, green portion finely sliced for garnish
2 medium cloves garlic, very finely minced
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tab Zhejiang vinegar
3 tsp sugar
Sichuan peppercorn, lightly toasted and ground, for garnish
Sesame oil for garnish

At least 2 1/2 cups cooked wheat noodles, cooled.

Mix all the sauce ingrdients and store in an airtight container. Place 2 1/2 cups or so of cooked, cool noodles in a bowl and top with about 2 Tablespoons of sauce.

Garnish with sesame oil, roasted and ground Sichuan peppercorn (hua jiao) and green onion.

The sauce recipe above will season approximately 8 cups of cooled cooked noodles.

Hong You Chao Shou (Dumplings in Hot Oil)

This xiao chi (little dish, or snack) hails from Chengdu, Sichuan, where years ago I also fell in love with the street food.  As Fuschia Dunlop will tell you in her excellent book Land of Plenty, there is a famous restaurant in the city, Long Chao Shou, purveying chao shou in several variations, (and hundreds of other Chengdu specialties), including these dumplings in a clear broth, and in a hot and sour soup.  Hong you chao shou  translates literally as something like “red oil folded hands,” and with some imagination, one might see these hun tun (won ton) dumplings swathed in fragrant chili oil as such.  The variations in folding these dumplings, and different sauces and broths in which it is served, make this snack almost generic, but universally appreciated around the province.  The current recipe is not so different than another Sichuanese dumpling, hong you shui jiao (literally, “red oil water dumpling”): except that, the chao shou, as is traditional with a hun tun,  has a far more delicate skin and filling.


Filling:

10 oz pork (at least 20% fat)
1/4 cup water (for “ginger water”)
1” x 3” pc ginger (for “ginger water”)
1 small egg, beaten
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice wine or dry sherry
white pepper
1/3 or so salt
1/4 cup of pork or chicken stock

Dough:

8 oz bread flour (plus 1/2 cup or more to knead in)
1 small egg, beaten
1/2 cup cold water

 Sauce (per bowl):

1 Tab chili oil (See recipe for hong you)
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 round tsp sugar
2 tsp chicken or pork stock

Garnish (per bowl):

1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tsp chili oil
1 tsp sesame oil
Sprig of cilantro
Dash of roasted, ground Sichuan Peppercorn (hua jiao) if desired

To make the dough:
Combine the beaten egg and water and add to the flour, combining it a little at a time, until a rough ball of dough forms.  Knead the dough thoroughly, adding the extra flour as you go to keep it from sticking to your hands.  When the dough is very smooth and stretchable, cover with a damp towel or plastic, set aside to rest for an hour or overnight.
To make the filling:
Crush the piece of ginger and combine it with the water, squeezing the pulp to extract the juice, and set aside.
Wash and dry the pork.  Mince very fine, then, using the blunt edge a large cleaver,  pound the meat on a cutting board, turning it as you do so, until it is an even paste.  Pick out and discard any obvious strands of gristle or tendon.
Combine the meat in a bowl with ginger water, the egg, sesame oil, rice wine, white pepper, and salt.  Stir  mixture thoroughly in one direction until all the liquids are absorbed.  While continuing to stir vigorously, add the stock a little at a time, allowing the meat to absorb the liquid before continuing.  If the mixture seems too wet to hold its shape on a spoon, allow the filling to rest in the refrigerator and try again, until the mixture is shiny, smooth and fragrant.  Refrigerate until ready to use.
To make the wrappers:
Divide the dough into 2 or 3 pieces, keeping the unused portions under a damp cloth or plastic.  Stretch the dough piece into a rope about 5/8” diameter, then, using a generous amount of flour, roll it into a flat sheet until it is very thin.  It is necessary to dust the sheet with flour and turn it over, to prevent it sticking to your tools.  The thin sheet should be slightly translucent, about the thickness of two playing cards, and at least 3” wide.   The length is not important. Trim the strip so that it is an even 3” wide, and cut it into as many 3” squares as the sheet allows, reserving the scraps with the other dough.  If the squares are well dusted, you can continue to make 3” squares until all the dough is used. 

To make the dumplings:

Holding it flat on your left hand, put a tablespoon of filling in the center of the square; wet two edges and fold the wet edges to form a triangle.  Press the edges securely together and place on a floured surface of parchment paper.  If you want to create the classic hun tun shape, wet one of the tips of the long side of the  triangle and join them together, forming a “hat” shape.  Any chao shou that will not be used right away can be frozen separately on a non-stick surface, then bagged later.

To make the sauce and garnish, cook the dumplings, and serve:

A common serving of chao shou would be 4 or 5 dumplings. Just before cooking and serving the chao shou, in a bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients for as many servings as you need, and set aside.  For the garnish, finely mince the garlic and mix together with oils and set aside.

Boil the dumplings in a large stock pot of boiling water for 2-1/2 to 3 minutes.  Retrieve with bamboo strainer and place 4 or 5 dumplings in each serving bowl.  After stirring thoroughly, apportion the sauce over the top of the dumplings; likewise the garlic and oil garnish, sprig of cilantro and peppercorn, if desired.

Cong You Bing (Scallion Cake)

Cong You Bing (Scallion Pancakes)

Cong You Bing means literally scallion oil pancake and is a very practical description.  It is flavored with scallions, sesame oil and salt, and is an unleavened cake cooked on a flat griddle or pan.  These snacks are popular over many parts of central and northern China and Taiwan.  As flatbread, cong you bing shares similarities with an almost infinite variety of breads in nearly every country on earth.  Because they are delicious, cheap and easy to prepare, flatbreads are often a street food favorite, sold by vendors using flat steel or iron pans fired by coal or propane.  The same is true in China, although variations in size, thickness and ingredients exist, including the use of meat, peppercorns, and eggs (see our video from Shanghai, at the bottom of this post)  This recipe is the simplest and most widely known.  The key is to utilize a very wet dough, so long as it can be managed by using enough oil on the work surface and hands.  The recipe below uses 65% water.  Also, one will find that storing the dough for some time is helpful as well, 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator, or 1 or two days at room temperature.  If time is an issue, however, this long storage is not absolutely necessary to achieve an adequate texture.  Although the several photos below might mislead one into thinking this flatbread is difficult, in fact, the recipe is extremely easy to prepare

10 oz all purpose flour

4 – 6 Scallions, white and green portion, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tab peanut oil

4 oz (by weight) of boiling water

2.5 oz (by weight) of cold water

Make the dough by adding the boiling water and stirring with a wooden spoon; when it is well incorporated, add the cold water and continue mixing until it is smooth.  Allow to cool, pat the mound into a ball with an oiled spatula or hands, and set aside, covered, for a day or two in the refrigerator.

Turn out the dough on an oiled surface and flatten into a rectangle, approximately 1/4” thick and cut into 4 rectangles (this can vary according to the finished size you prefer).  With an oiled roller, roll out each rectangle to 1/8” or so, and brush with sesame oil.  Sprinkle with course salt, according to taste.  Sprinkle 2 or 3 tablespoons of chopped scallion evenly over the flats and roll up, beginning from the long edge, and when rolled, pinch together to seal.   From either end of the “rope,” roll up the dough into a coil and seal the end.  Place the coil flat, and roll into a disk of approximately 1/8” thick and 5 or 6” in diameter.

Heat a flat, preferably cast iron pan to medium high heat.  Add peanut oil to a depth of 1/8” or more.  When oil is just smoking,  place pancake into oil and fry on each side until golden brown.

Chao Rou Gu Mian (Pork and Mushroom Fried Noodle)

Chao Rou Gu Mian (Pork and Mushroom Fried Noodle) is a street noodle preparation I encountered my first day in the ancient capital city, Xian, in central China.  The secrets to this Chao rou gu mian is using steamed noodle, which has a distinctive texture, and marinating the shredded mushroom in wine, soy and a dash of sweet vinegar.

4 oz pork
12 oz fresh steamed noodles (see "steamed noodles" in the Technique section
3 fresh red cayenne chilis, slivered on the diagonal (dried chilis can be used)
2 large scallions, sliced on the diagonal
Peanut oil
4 chinese dried mushrooms
1 large cloves Garlic slivered
1" x 3/4" peeled, ginger slivered
wine
dash vinegar

Sauce:

1-Tab bean sauce ground
1 Tab sweet bean (or hoisin) sauce
2 TAB stock
1/2 tsp salt

For garnish:

sesame oil
slivered scallion or carrot
Put the mushrooms in very hot water and allow to soak for about an hour. When they are completely softened, put them in a towel or cheesecloth and wring out as much water from them as possible. Slice into matchstick shreds, making sure to trim out any hard portions. Marinate in soy sauce, wine and sweet black vinegar, about a teaspoon or so each, and set aside.
Cut the pork into matchstick shreds (see Technique section for hints on cutting) Add a marinade of a little soy sauce, wine and cornstarch. Mix thoroughly, add a tablespoon of oil and mix again. Set aside.
Put the steamed noodles into boiling water, when returns to a boil, they are about ready. Check them for desired texture.
Mix sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat the wok and when it just begins to smoke, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of peanut oil and swirl around the wok. Stir fry meat until it barely begins to brown, and move to the side; when oil reheats, add the garlic and ginger, toss a few times, then add chilis; add scallions, turn a few times, keeping meat to the side. Add mushrooms, stir fry until well mixed; splash in wine, and vinegar, then incorporate meat, and add sauce mixture. When sauce is hot, add noodles and stir fry, occasionally allowing the noodles to "rest" in the wok to brown them a little.
When the noodles are hot and slightly browned, plate the dish and garnish with sesame oil and green onion slices.

Huntun Tang (Wonton Soup)

Throughout the world, Wonton Soup is a dish as well known by name as Chow Mein, Chop Suey, and Sweet and Sour Pork.  In China, where it has been known for as many as 2,000 years, it is also popular everywhere, and has variations such as the Sichuanese Long Chao Shou.  The Chinese word huntun has some lyrical interpretations, such as the doubtful story that the dumplings were named after two tribal warriors in Ancient China named Hun and Tun.  In cantonese, the characters, pronounced similarly as wahn tan, 云吞, is translated as "swallowing clouds." Traditional variations include the addition of noodles, (huntun tang mian 馄饨 汤面), and of additional ingredients, such especially cabbage or spinach.

This recipe is quite easy to prepare, especially if you have chicken stock on hand.  It's not recommended to make the wonton skins from scratch, since the traditional recipe calls for such a thin wrapper.  Many good store-bought skins are available, even in Western supermarkets

Wontons:
50 -100 wonton skins
Filling:
1/2# shrimp (Weigh after deveining and shelling) chopped coarsely
1/2# Pork, minced with cleaver
2 small green onion, minced
1 scant TAB soy
1 TAB rice wine
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
dash black pepper
1/2” x 3/4 “ pc peeled ginger, finely minced
2 tsp cornstarch
1 round tsp sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
--makes 50 to 70 wontons

Chop the shelled deveined shrimp; finely mince into a paste 1/3 or so of the chopped shrimp. Combine all the filling ingredients except sesame oil and stir vigorously and thoroughly in one direction until the mass coheres and is well blended. Add sesame oil and continue to mix until oil is incorporated.
Put a round tsp or so of filling in the center of the square wrapper and wet two adjacent edges.

Fold the wet edges over the filling, align with the opposite edge and press together securely to form a triangle. Now wet one of the pointed ends at the longest side, and pull it and the other point back around to make the two ends of the longest side overlap. Press the ends together, and the dumpling is completed. (You will need about 10 pcs for this recipe, but huntun can be arranged on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, frozen, bagged and frozen).

To make the Soup:

10 won ton
3 cups chicken stock (for 1 lg bowl or two small bowls)
3 very thin slices of ginger
3 small-med bai cai or napa cabbage leaves (or six small spinach leaves)
dash of white pepper
1/2 to 1 tsp of sugar to taste
Salt to taste.
1/2 green onion, thinly sliced on an extreme diagnonal for garnish
Sesame oil for garnish

Blanch cabbage leaves for 1-1/2 minute, drain and cut out thickest portion of spine and slice into 1” diagonal pieces. Set aside. Slice 1/2 green onion on sharp diagonal for garnish.
When you are almost ready to serve, begin heating the soup with ginger slices, salt, sugar and white pepper to a very gentle simmer, tasting and adjusting seasoning; in the meantime place approximately 10 dumplings into boiling water, stir occasionally, and cook for 2 1/2 minutes. Remove and cover for a few moments while the soup is prepared. As soon as the soup barely simmers, put the cabbage or spinach into a serving bowl or two individual bowls, then the wontons, and pour in the soup. Garnish with sliced onion and sesame oil.