Asian Cuisine

Why Chinese Cuisine?

Learning to Cook Chinese

Thoughts on some commonly used ingredients in Chinese recipes

Lobster Sauce

Shrimp with Lobster Sauce

Fish Fillets with Lobster Sauce

Chicken with Fermented Black Beans

Salmon and Broccoli with Fermented Black Beans

Mongolian Beef

Mongolian Beef, Economical Version

Braised Short Ribs Mongolian Beef Style

Country Style Beef Ribs, Mongolian Beef Style...Browned, Simmered, glazed in an Electric Frying Pan

Why Chinese Cuisine?

Mom needed to be especially prudent how she spent her limited discretionary money. When she did, imagine how special what she spent it on must have been.

On occasion, mom would pull out the menu from her favorite restaurant in Boston’s Chinatown. It was loaded with notes reminding her which Chinese items we liked best; Chinese spare ribs always topped the list.

Mom would call in her take out order and a taxi delivered our Chinese food. I remember looking out of our first-floor apartment window on Cleveland Place waiting for the first glimpse of headlights on Snow Hill Street perpendicular to our narrow alleyway. I’d wave to let him know which was our doorway. I remember that paper bag stapled shut, those white food boxes, bag of crispy noodles, condiments, and fortune cookies.

Mom and I talked mostly about our entertaining family and laughed while appreciating our special treat. Il meglio dei ricord; Dio vi benedica mama.

Learning to Cook Chinese

I began learning about unique Chinese ingredients like fermented black beans, many great recipes, and the nuances of cooking authentic Chinese at least 35 years ago after purchasing Irene Kuo’s time tested book “The Keys to Chinese Cooking”. I believe it’s still the most definitive cookbook on Chinese cuisine. I’ve certainly never found one better!

Her book alerted me to techniques like “velveting”. Ever wonder why chicken cooked in Asian dishes is always tender and juicy? Velveting is a coating and sealing technique that keeps chicken, shrimp, fish, and beef moist during stir frying. Once velveting ingredients are systematically applied, it's sealed either in hot oil or water.

Slippery coating is similar and helps tenderize economical cuts of meat.

Anyone that wants to learn how to cook authentic Chinese, purchase “The Keys to Chinese Cooking”.

Thoughts on some commonly used ingredients in Chinese recipes.

Mincing Ginger…brings out the intensity of ginger’s flavors. I use a meat pounder. Place quarter size slices on a cutting board. Cover with plastic or wax paper and pound. Finish briefly with a chopping knife.

Soy sauce, traditional verses less sodium…Commercial brewed soy sauce is made with fermented soy bean paste and may contain grains, salt brine, cultures, water, etc. Knowing the origin of soy sauce helps understand its saltiness. Salt was expensive in ancient China. Soy sauce was a way to economically stretch salt.

Saltiness can be cumulative when adding ingredients like fermented black beans, oyster, and fish sauce. Lower salt soy appears to have slightly less flavor intensity (I’ve taste tested both using the same well-known brand), remember you can add more salt but can’t take it away. You can only dilute salt by adding water and thickener; not a great alternative. I now lean towards low salt soy unless I'm sure the dish won't be over salted.

Scallions...I buy scallions in 5.5-ounce sealed cellophane packages. Perhaps because they are protected, they always seem to be noticeably fresher. Freshness will determine if the outermost layer needs to be removed.

Fermented black beans…are black soy beans that are fermented and salted. Additional ingredients like ginger, orange peel, soy sauce might also be added. Whole beans are imported in cellophane bags and sold in some Asian grocery stores. Several brands are also available on Amazon. Some grocery stores carry black bean paste in jars and added ingredients like garlic. Unlike paste, whole beans can be rinsed to remove excess salt; paste can’t. Use paste in moderation.

Origin appears to be Cantonese. Their bold flavors pair exceptionally well with other hardy flavors like ginger and garlic. I love the sauces they help create. Some of my favorite recipes are Shrimp, Beef, and Flounder with Lobster Sauces.

Boston Style Lobster Sauce and Shrimp with Lobster Sauce

These popular favorites were available throughout Boston and much of New England and usually made there with ground pork, fermented black beans, minced garlic and ginger, scallions, sherry, soy, and more options in a rich dark sauce that includes sherry and soy. Although classically finished with scrambled egg, optional for others. Neither contain lobster but “featured” in Lobster Cantonese.

This incredible bold sauce can accompany poultry, seafood, vegetables, shrimp, rice, soft or crispy Chinese noodles.

Outside New England, Chinese restaurants mostly offered bland Lobster Sauce with a delicate clear broth. My favorite dark and bold versions are rarely found. When we relocated, I went on a mission to learn how to cook “Boston” style Lobster Sauce.

See below for my results. Enjoy.

As discussed above, Lobster sauce is available in Boston and most of New England. This recipe is made with ground pork flavored with fermented black beans, garlic, ginger, and scallions in a hardy dark sauce that includes sherry, soy. It is classically finished with scrambled egg; some consider it optional.

Fermented Black Beans are whole soybeans that are salted and fermented. They are usually found imported in cellophane bags and jars in some Asian grocery stores, also at Amazon. You may be able to find jars of black bean paste locally with added ingredients combined. I find contents unacceptably salty.

Once ingredients are gathered and prepped, cooking times for Lobster Sauce is quick.

Remember, you can lighten up on recommended low salt soy sauce and correct for taste later.

Fermented Black Bean Sauce

Ingredients:

Spice mixture

2 generous tablespoons fermented black beans
4 larger cloves garlic minced.
3 quarter size slices fresh ginger minced.
4 small scallions chopped fine, about 1/3rd cup
Cooking oil

Ground Pork

½ pound ground pork

Thickener

2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup water
Drizzle of oil

Sauce

2 tablespoons dry sherry
2-3 tablespoons low salt soy sauce
½ teaspoon sugar
1 cup chicken broth

Thickener

2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup water
Drizzle of oil

Optional Seafood

A pound of flakey seafood

Preparation, about an hour before cooking, rinse fermented black beans in a strainer. Place in a cup partly covered with water. Beans will absorb water and lightly soften them.

Sautee lightly flowered seafood until just cooked through. Keep warm.

When ready to cook, coarsely chop fermented black beans. Spread them in the frying pan with garlic, ginger, chopped scallions and about 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Sauté while stirring for a about a minute.

Add ground pork. Use the edge of a spatula to break pork apart throughout while stirring. When browned stir in sauce ingredients.

Prepare thickener, cornstarch and set aside.

Bring lobster sauce to a simmer. Gradually thicken as desired.

Place over seafood.

Serve with plain or fried rice, soft or hard noodles.

This dish was popular at all Chinese restaurants and take-out counters throughout New England. Yet, I never found it in outside and if I did, it certainly didn’t resemble it’s characteristic deep brown sauce with chopped pork, flavored with fermented black beans, garlic and ginger.

As discussed above, it was imperative I learned how to make it to enjoy it! Best of all, it’s easy to assemble. And with the help of Amazon and the occasional Asian specialty shops, I had access to authentic fermented black beans.

The recipe for Lobster Sauce above will accommodate up to 2 pounds of shrimp. I prefer about 1 ½ pounds of extra-large. Shrimp is quick cooked in hot oil and briefly simmered with sauce to capture all flavors. Reheat with some water to enjoy leftovers. It’s as joyful as finding pizza in the refrigerator the next day.

Remove shrimp shells and devein. Rinse in cold water and set on paper towel to dry.

Follow the recipe for Lobster Sauce above. Keep warm.

In a separate pan large pan, heat ample cooking oil hot enough to sear shrimp. Rapidly stir fry shrimp for about 30 seconds and remove. Don’t overcook. They will be reheated in the lobster sauce before serving.

Reduce heat to medium. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the oil. Reheat lobster sauce adding water as needed. Add more soy if needed. Incorporate the shrimp and simmer briefly if not cooked through. Serve.

Although Lobster Sauce is associated with shrimp, it also pairs exceptionally with other seafood. This variation is usually made with fillet of sole or tilapia. Unlike above, fillets are partcially cooked with the sauce and can also be "velveted".

The Chinese have an incredible cooking technique called velveting that prepares meat, poultry, and seafood for stir frying. After marinating they are blanched in oil or water that seals and protects. Surfaces also form a “silky” texture.

For fish fillets, Irene Kuo suggests a marinade of sherry, salt, pepper, cornstarch, oil and a well beaten egg.

For this dish, Lobster Sauce is prepared ahead. Even though delicate, fish can be sautéed and cooked through whole with a simple flour dusting. The dish is then finished by steam warming the fillets on lobster sauce and covered. It is served in hunks of fish plated with lots of lobster sauce.

Follow the recipe for Lobster Sauce above. Keep warm.

Rinse fillets and dry on paper towels. Preheat a sauté pan to medium high with an ample amount of olive oil.

Dredge fish in olive oil and shake off excess. Sauté both sides until fish is just cooked through. Remove fish to a holding plate.

Discard all but 2 tablespoons of oil. Stir Lobster Sauce into pan used to cook fish to capture cooking pan to capture all flavors. Add water as needed for consistency. Top with cooked fillets. Spoon some of the sauce over fillets and cover for a few minutes. Serve sauce with hunks of fish.

Who would have thought a recipe with ground pork and fish would ever taste this good!

Optional velvet coating: Place strips of fillets in a bowl. Add salt sherry and pepper and mix well. Add egg white, cornstarch and oil. Gently toss fillets to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Saute and continue the recipe as above.

Ingredients

2 ¼ pounds boneless and skinless chicken breasts

Oil Velveting

1 teaspoons Kosher salt
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 large egg whites
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Additional ingredients:

1 bunch scallions
1 ½ tablespoons minced ginger
2 tablespoons finely chop garlic (about 4 cloves)
2 Tablespoons fermented black beans
vegetable oil as needed

Sauce:

3 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons dry sherry
2 teaspoons sugar
1 ½ cup water

Thickener:

2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup water

Cut breasts into bite size pieces. Velvet by tossing chicken in a bowl with salt and dry sherry.

Whisk egg whites until protein breaks up and whites just start to froth. Thoroughly mix with the chicken. Sprinkle chicken with cornstarch, folding until chicken is dusted all over. Coat chicken pieces with oil. Cover bowl and set aside for at least a ½ hour.

Cut tips of scallions. If outermost layer is fresh, bright, and moist without any browning, cut diagonally into 1-inch slices. If not remove outermost layer first. Reserve.

Place fermented black beans in a fine mesh strainer. Rinse well under cold running water. Empty beans onto paper towel to blot moisture; coarsely chop and set aside

Mix sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Whisk thickener, corn starch and water in another bowl.

Finish velveting in batches. Place enough cooking oil in a pan to just cover chicken. Heat oil to medium. Lightly cook coated chicken, flipping only a couple of minutes until all sides are mostly white but not cooked through. Be careful not to pierce through the coating. Remove to a holding plate. Discard oil.

Quick sauté scallions by flipping them in fresh oil over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds. Remove to a bowl.

Sauté ginger, garlic and black beans for a few seconds stirring constantly. Remove to a separate bowl.

Add additional oil as needed. Stir fry velveted chicken until cooked through, about 2 minutes. Mix in the contents of the bowl with ginger, garlic, and black beans. Give the sauce a stir and add to the pan. Let contents simmer together for about 3 or 4 minutes until sauce starts to evaporate. Mix in scallions.

Give the thicker a final stir. Stir in about half of thickener. Gradually add more until ingredients glaze and the sauce thickens to a light creamy consistency.

Adjust with more soy sauce to taste if needed. Serve with white or fried rice.

Place fermented black beans in a fine mesh strainer. Rinse well under cold running water. Empty beans onto paper towel to blot moisture; coarsely chop and set aside

Mix sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Whisk thickener, corn starch and water in another bowl.

In a pan large enough to hold all ingredients, sauté ginger, garlic and black beans for a few seconds stirring constantly Remove to a separate bowl.

Bring uncovered chicken broth to a rapid bowl. Add frozen broccoli. When broth has evaporated, stir fry broccoli in cooking oil. Remove.

Quick sauté salmon on both sides but not cooked through (still translucent in their centers). Also remove.

Assemble... mix ginger, garlic, and black beans with sauce. Simmer together for about 3 minutes in the sauté pan until sauce starts to condense. Thicken with cornstarch mixture to desired consistency. Add broccoli and finish salmon until just cooked through.

Adjust with more soy sauce to taste if needed. Serve with white or fried rice.

Once introduced to Mongolian Beef at one of the nation’s best known Chinese restaurant chains, home chefs went on missions to develop copycat recipes. Many recipes are similar even identical. Sauce’s ingredients are often found in Chinese cooking, scallions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, cornstarch, and brown sugar.

The dish is also relatively simple. Sauce requires minimal prepping and is systematically cooked in a single pan. Beef is sliced, lightly coated with corn starch, and rested to seal in flavors while helping beef crisp as recommended. Meat is seared, combined with sauce, glazed, then garnished with pre-cooked scallions. Dish is simply delicious.

The secret to great Mongolian beef is to quick sear tender beef strips all around in small batches making sure centers are cooked tender and moist. Overcooking will result in dry tough beef.

I have tested my Mongolian Beef recipe with different cuts of beef. Although somewhat tougher, Flank is perhaps most common. Sliced thin and cut against its grain helps make it less chewy.

My favorite is “choice” Rib-Eye steak. It is moderately priced with sufficient marbling for natural tenderness. It can be sliced a little thicker to help prevent accidently overcooking through.

I usually cut strips about 1” wide by 2 ½” long, ¼ to 3/8 inch for tender cuts.

Friends have shared surprisingly great results using economical shaved beef.

For convenance, I’m including two sets of ingredients proportioned to generously serve 4 or 6 guests.

For Tougher Cuts of Beef, please see my recipe below using a slightly modified version of Irene Kuo’s “Slippery Coating for Beef” featured it in her incredible Chinese cookbook, “The Keys to Chinese Cooking”. Cornstarch is dissolved with water and mixed with soy sauce. Magically coating and resting beef with this mixture turns tough beef tender; second version below. Somewhat borderline tender, flank can also benefit from slippery coating.

Cut beef against its grain into convenient size strips, about an inch wide, 2 ½ inch long, ¼ to 3/8 inch thick. Can be done well ahead, even a day ahead and refrigerated.

Trim scallions, rough bottoms, tips, and any wilted skins. Cut diagonally in one-inch lengths.

Peel ginger and cut into quarter size pieces. Cover with wax paper and smash with a cleaver or mallet and chop.

Finely chop garlic.

Coating, place beef slices in a baking pan with sides or in a bowl. Sprinkle with all the corn starch a little at a time while flipping the meat. Make sure beef is coated on all sides. Set aside for at least 15 minutes.

In a pot, sauté scallions in a small amount of oil over medium-low heat for about 30 seconds. Remove to a plate or bowl.

Add ginger and garlic in the same pot, stir for about 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce, water, and dark brown sugar. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer until sauce starts to thicken. Remove from heat.

Cook beef in a large pan over high heat (can be done in batches). Add enough cooking oil to just cover the beef. Best if beef is quick cooked crispy but more important not to overcook, have some pink inside; beef will be warmed again with sauce. Temporarily remove beef and discard cooking oil.

Add cooked beef to the pan with the sauce. Stir very briefly to heat the sauce and glaze the beef

Finish the dish with the scallions. If desired, you can also add a little heat with red pepper flakes to taste.

We serve it next to a scoop of Chinese steamed rice. Another very easy option, serve it with packed and

prepared frozen fried rice. Follow package heating directions.

Cut economical beef into strips as instructed above. Instead of coating beef with simple cornstarch, use "Slippery coating".

To assemble slippery coating, dissolve water with cornstarch until smooth. Mix with soy sauce and oil to form a paste. Toss cut beef to loosten slices. Continue tossing with slippery coating covering pieces on all sides. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. When ready to use, place beef on counter to reduce chill.

Follow the remainder of the original recipe above. As mentioned above, even with slippery cating, best if beef is quick cooked crispy but more important not to overcook, have some pink inside. Temporarily remove beef and discard cooking oil.

Serve as recommended.

This is a variation of my Mongolian Beef recipe above. Both are flavored and glazed with our sweet and savory Mongolian sauce. This adaption replaces thin sliced crispy beef with Beef Short ribs that are browned and slow cooked at a modest 275° with Mongolian sauce in a Dutch oven. Ribs fall off their bones and become very tender in about 2 hours.

Sauce includes scallions, minced ginger, garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, slightly thinned with water.

Ribs are finished single layer in an open roasting pan topped with sauce. Temperature is increased to 350°direct heat. Results, ribs are fork tender and glazed. Sauce is slightly thickened with incredible complex and sweetened Asian flavors.

Ribs can be served as an appetizer, family style placed over Chinese noodles, rice, and/or roasted vegetables like carrots tossed with olive oil and garlic. Plan on 2 short ribs per person, about 3 pounds for four hungry adults.

Dry ribs with paper towel. Lightly sprinkle with salt and black pepper.

Preheat oven to 275° direct heat.

Remove root tips of scallions. Cut stalks diagonally in one-inch lengths.

Brown and lightly sear ribs on all sides with cooking oil, about 8-10 minutes per batch. A Dutch oven or similar pan that can go from stovetop to oven with cover is most convenient.

Remove short ribs. Skim and discard all but a couple of tablespoons of fat. Try to preserve flavor bits.

Sauté scallions in medium-low heat in the same pot for about 30 seconds. Remove to a plate. Add ginger and garlic in the same pot; stir for about 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce, water, and dark brown sugar. Bring to a light simmer. Remove from heat. Stir sauce.

Coat ribs and position them flat on the bottom of the pot as best as you can. Cover and place in the middle of the oven. After about an hour, flip ribs over and continue roasting. When meat has fallen off the bone, about another half hour remove pot.

Place meat single layer in an open roasting pan. Pour sauce over. Raise oven to 350° direct heat. Every 15 minutes flip ribs. Sauce will thicken to a light sauce, ribs glazed, and beef will have the consistency of pulled pork.

Toss with cooked scallions and serve.

Dry ribs with paper towel. Lightly sprinkle with salt and black pepper.

Remove root tips of scallions. Cut stalks diagonally in one-inch lengths.

Lightly sear ribs on all sides with cooking oil in a large electric frying pan; Remove short ribs.

Prepare Mongolian Sauce. Sauté scallions in medium-low heat in the same pot for about 30 seconds. Remove to a plate. Add ginger and garlic in the same pot; stir for about 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce, water, and dark brown sugar. Stir sauce.

Heat to a low simmer. Toss ribs with the sauce and maintain the simmer. Periodically stir ribs. When ribs are tender, remove cover and thicken sauce enough to coat and lightly glaze ribs.

Toss with cooked scallions and serve over rice.

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Asian Cuisine