cucumber salad
G N I K O O C CHINESEBALI IN WITH LIZ TOMATO & 'EGG' NT braised EGGPLA
Y R T N A P E C U A S E TH VEGAN OYSTER SAUCE Vegan oyster sauce is the GOAT. My most used asian sauce after soy sauce. Sweet, salty, thick and it can take the simplest garlic green bean dish to the next level. I know many people prefer it over regular oyster sauce because it actually has more natural umami from the glutamates in mushrooms. I personally think the best brand is Wan Ja Shan, but others are available too. In Australia Lee Kum Kee's Vegetairan Oyster Sauce is callled Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce. I do not like the Ayam brand as i think the flavour is too far off from the real thing.
Shaoxing Cooking Wine This is one of the most common ingredients in Chinese cooking that will give you that Chinese restaurant flavour.This is one of the oldest types of rice wine to come out of China and there are many different grades of Shaoxing wine to choose from when you're standing in the Asian supermarket. This is an amber coloured wine has a deep and mellow taste. I recommend Double Pheonix or if you want to splash out, try a Zha Fan grade of Shaoxing Wine for even more flavovur.
Y R T N A P E C U A S E TH FERMENTED BEAN CURD Fermented beancurd is the secret ingredient you didn't know you needed in your asian cooking. It comes in plain, red, green and stinky varieties, but red is the most common in cooking. To the unknowing eye it kinda looks like feta cheese floating around in water but essentially it's fermented soy beancurd paste. A similar concept to miso but way punchier, twangier, saltier and smoother. Add a small dab to your stir-fries for a ridiculous amount of flavvour. I like the red beancurd in chilli with a touch of sesame oil. Brands I like: Wangzhihe and Eaglobe
Chinkiang (zhenjiang) vinegar One of favourite vinegars in the whole world - this is a malty, sweet dark vinegar made from glutinous rice in a 50-day 40-step process and hails from Zhenjiang, China. It's acidity with depth. This is the vinegar to use in cold Chinese dishes as you can fully appreciate the complex flavour notes. This makes the perfect dumpling dipping sauce with some soy sauce and a splash of sesame oil. Brands i llike: Heng Shun. Look for the yellow label!
chinesember cucu ad sal
INGREDIENTS 2 Lebanese cucumbers 3 cloves garlic 1 tbsp chinkiang vinegar 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp sesame oil Toasted sesame, chilli oil, coriander to serve
CUT!
crush!
! Y K N I L S or
PREPARE YOUR CUCUMBERS You can prepare your cucumbers by cutting, crushing or turning them into a slinky. Crushing is the original Chinese way and allows the cucumber to really soak up the sauce, but choose your player!
MAKE SAUCE AND ASSEMBLE In a bowl mix everything together except cucumbers, then toss the cucumbers in and coat well. Top with toasted sesame seeds and/or coriander! You can make it a few hours a head of time for the cucumbers to soak up the flavours.
& o t a m o t y r f r i t s 'egg' INGREDIENTS 2 tbsp oil 3 cloves fresh garlic, finely diced (12g) small chunk fresh ginger, finely diced (6g) 800g tomatoes, cut into chunks 1 tbsp sugar (20g) 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine 1 tbsp soy sauce 1/2 cup water 1/2 tbsp vegan oyster sauce 150g fried bean curd sheets 1 tsp sesame oil white pepper, to taste jasmine rice, to serve
dried and fried
BEANCURD 'SKIN' WHAT IS BEANCURD SKIN? Beancurd 'skin' or Yuba is what you get when you boil fresh soymilk and the layer that forms, a protein-lipid complex, the one that gets skimmed of the top (over and over again as it forms) is Beancurd Skin. It gets dried or fried before it gets sold and has a wonderful slippery ribbony texture when fresh.
DEEP FRIED BEANCURD skin This is the kind that people by for Hot Pot or Malatang as having been pre-deep fried opens more pockets in the bean curd and allows it to soak up more flavour of whatever it's sitting in. It also has more flavour and is best for this Tomato and 'Egg' recipe.
METHOD In a wok, heat the oil until HOT! Add garlic, ginger, spring onions, tomatoes, salt and sugar and cook for around 5-7 mins or until the tomatoes disintegrate into thick tomatoey sauce, stir frequently. Add the Shaoxing wine and stir into the sauce. Cook for a further minute or so. Add the fried bean curd sheets, soy sauce and water and cook until the sheets wilt and soak into the sauce. Turn off the heat, stir in the sesame oil and add a little dash of white pepper. Sprinkle with extra spring onions and serve with jasmine rice.
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chineseised bra eggplant
INGREDIENTS CRISPY EGGPLANT 500g Eggplant 1/4 cup cornflour 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp ground white pepper 1/4 tsp ground black pepper oil, for frying
SAUCE 1 cube fermented bean curd 5 cloves fresh garlic, minced 2 sprigs spring onion, chopped 1 tsp black bean and garlic sauce 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce 1/2 tbsp sugar Fresh Chilli
method
PREPARING EGGPLANT Chop eggplant into large pieces. Soak eggplant in water with a good bit of salt for at least 30 minutes, try to submerge the pieces by using a heavy plate. After 30 mins, pat dry. In a separate bowl, mix cornflour, salt, white and black pepper. Toss the eggplant pieecs in cornflour mixture so every piece is coated generously on all sides with the flour mix.
method
FEEP FRYING EGGPLANT Heat a few inches of frying oil in a deep pot or wok. The oil is hot enough if you put a wooden chopstick in and lots of bubbles rise rapidly out of the chopstick. Fry eggplant pieces for about 3 minutes, turning so that the pieces cook evenly. I would suggest frying in small batches of 57 pieces if you have a small pot, or 8-10 pieces if you have a large wok, so that the oil doesn’t lose too much heat. Drain on paper towel and set aside.
method
PREPARING EGGPLANT Mix black bean sauce, oyster sauce and sugar together in a small bowl and set aside. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan on medium heat. Cook spring onions until shiny, then add garlic and stir. Add the black bean sauce mix to the pan along with fermented bean curd until it has dissolved. Add eggplant and fresh chilli to sauce and stir lightly until the eggplant pieces are evenly coated! Garnish with freshly sliced spring onions and toasted sesame seeds!
ENJOY!