One of the regions we learned about in Regional Cuisines of China was Beijing, the capital of China. Beijing’s cuisine is a combination of all the other regions of China. Popular dishes are Peking duck, hot and sour soup, and Fried Rice. See below for two of the recipes we made in class!
Hot and Sour Soup
Ingredients:
16 oz fresh firm tofu (cut into thing strips)
8 oz lean pork (cut into thin strips)
1/2 oz dried black mushrooms (soak to soften and cut into thin strips)
1/4 oz dried cloud ears (soak to soften and cut into thing strips)
1 oz dried lily flowers (soak to soften and drain)
4 oz bamboo shoots (cut into strips)
10 c. boiling water
3 T chicken base
Thickener solution:
2 T cornstarch
4 T water or broth
1 T light (thin) soy sauce
1/2 t. sugar
1 t. salt
3 eggs (lightly beaten)
2 green onions (cut into 1/8″ length)
Hot and sour solution:
3/4 c. rice vinegar
1 T. white pepper powder
1 T. sesame oil
2 t. chili oil
Preparation:
- Follow the above cutting instructions for tofu, pork, black mushrooms, and bamboo shoots and set aside.
- Mix the hot and sour solution: rice vinegar, white pepper, sesame oil and chili oil.
- Bring the broth to a boil, add the pork, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, lily flowers and cloud ears. Cover and cook 3-4 minutes, then add tofu, following with the thickener solution. Add the beaten egg slowly. Garnish with green onions and pour the soup into the hot and sour solution. Mix well and serve.
Happiness Fried Rice
Ingredients:
6 c. cold cooked rice (best if done night before)
6 oz. Chinese BBQ pork/pseudo ham/Canadian bacon (cut into small strips)
12 oz boneless chicken
4 eggs (lightly beaten) – cook egg strips
4 oz bean sprouts
1/2 c. carrots (cut into small strips)
3 oz pea pods (remove fiber and cut into thirds)
2 oz sweet red pepper (cut into small squares)
3 oz green peas (rinsed and drained well)
Seasoning for Darker Rice:
2 T. dark (black) soy sauce
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper powder
1/2 t. sugar
Seasoning for Lighter Rice:
2 T extra light soy sauce
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. white pepper powder
1/2 t. sugar
4 T. cooking oil
2 flowered green onions for garnish
7 T cooking oil (peanut)
Preparation:
- Bring 4 cups water to a boil, add chicken breast and cook 10-12 minutes. Remove to cool and cut into small strips.
- Heat small saucepan with 2 t. cooking oil until very hot. Pour 1/4 of eggs into the pan and lower the flame. Fry on one side until it is light brown, then fry on the other side. Remove and cool. Repeat with remaining eggs. Cut the egg into small strips.
- Use 1/2 of the cooked rice. Heat 2 T of cooking oil in a wok until smoky hot. Add the cooked rice. Add pork and other meat, the darker seasonings, and then add 1/2 of the remaining ingredients. Stir fry for three minutes and set aside.
- Cook the other half of the cooked rice using the lighter seasonings and the remaining 1/2 of the remaining ingredients.
- Display the fried rice in a yin yang shape on a large serving platter.
