My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen

by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

  BEAN SAUCE, HOT This is made from pureed soybeans, blended with salt, sugar, sesame oil and hot peppers into a reddish-brown mixture. It is quite good, quite spicy. After opening, the jar should be kept refrigerated. The bean sauce will keep four to six months.

  BEAN SPROUTS There are two varieties of these sprouts. Mung bean sprouts are grown from mung beans. They are white and plump, with crunch, and are sold by weight in Asian markets. Stored, refrigerated, in plastic bags in which holes have been punched, they will keep for no more than two days. Soybean sprouts, also white, but longer than mung bean sprouts, have soybeans growing on their tips. Not as widely available as mung bean sprouts, they can be stored the same way.

  BEAN THREADS These are often called “bean thread noodles” or “vermicelli bean threads,” or “cellophane noodles.” They are made when mung beans are moistened, mashed, strained, and formed into very thin white noodles. They come dried, in ½-pound packages, divided into four two-ounce bundles. Stored tightly wrapped and in a cool place, they will keep indefinitely.

  BLACK BEANS, FERMENTED Fragrant black beans, preserved in salt, come either in plastic-wrapped packs or cardboard cartons. They are flavored lightly with ginger and orange peel. Before using, the salt must be rinsed off. They will keep for as long as a year, without refrigeration, if they are in a tightly sealed container.

  BOK CHOY Probably China’s most recognizable vegetable. Its name translates as “white vegetable” because of it white bulbous stalk, which contrasts with its deep green leaves. Native to China, variations of it exist in different parts of China and in other parts of Asia. In Chinatown markets, smaller “baby bok choy” are usually available; in Western markets, the larger version is usually sold. Bok choy is most versatile because of its crispness and inherent sweetness. Though often referred to, in error, as “Chinese cabbage,” it bears no relation to cabbage. Bok choy will keep no more than four days in the vegetable drawer of a refrigerator, but it tends to lose its sweetness quickly, and its leaves begin to yellow.

  BOXTHORN SEEDS These are not seeds, but the tiny, red, raisinlike fruit of the boxthorn shrub. They have a faint, mildly sweet taste that can enhance the flavor of soups. They are considered restoratives, and helpful to eye health. Once available only in herbal shops, they are now available, packaged, in Chinese groceries and online. Often labeled “wolfberries,” more familiarly, “boxthorn.” The young leaves of its shrub are often stir-fried, as are the seeds, and are added to soups. Even the boxthorn twig is used to make soups, or infusions, prized by the elderly as bone strengtheners. These seeds, kept in a tightly closed container, in a cool place, will keep four to six months.

  CHILES The best, in my view, are Thai chiles, colored deep red or deep green, about 1½ inches long. They are quite hot and impart a heat to the mouth that lingers, yet they are pleasant. I also find them dependable in terms of numbers used to achieve degrees of hotness. They will keep, refrigerated, for ten days to two weeks in an open container, lightly covered with plastic wrap. Do not seal the container, for the chiles will deteriorate. They maybe dried as well, but their heat is less intense.

  CHINESE CHIVES Also known as “garlic chives,” these are more pungent than the customary western chives. They are wider and flatter, though of the same green color. Yellow chives are the same vegetable, but as they grow they are deprived of sunlight and thus become lighter. Their taste is milder than that of green chives. If unavailable, use scallions in their place, but the taste will differ. These should be used fresh. They will keep no longer than one or two days.

  CHINESE EGGPLANT This bright lavender to purple eggplant, often white-tinged, is narrower than its western counterpart and usually no more than 2 inches in diameter at its thickest. Its taste is similar to the more familiar eggplant, but its skin is quite thin and tender, and need not be removed before cooking. This eggplant should be refrigerated and eaten fresh. After two or three days their skins begin to show brown spots, and they tend to lose their sweetness.

  CHINESE TURNIPS These large white vegetables range from fourteen to sixteen inches in length, often longer, and are two to three inches in diameter at their thickest point. They have crispness and can be as hot as radishes. They will keep for one week in a refrigerator vegetable drawer, but are best used promptly.

  CHOI SUM A leafy vegetable with thin, tender stalks. It is totally green, from its large outside leaves, to the smaller inside leaves, to the light green stalks, which are crisp and sweet. Choi sum, like other leafy vegetables, tends to lose its sweetness, so it should be eaten as soon after purchase as possible. They will keep, refrigerated no more than two to three days, after which their leaves turn brown and they lose their taste.

  CORIANDER This aromatic leaf, or yuen sai, is also called “fresh coriander” to distinguish it from the spice seeds, as well as “Chinese parsley” and “cilantro.” It is similar only in appearance to parsley. It has an intense smell and a distinctive taste, used either as an ingredient or a garnish. Suggestions that Italian parsley be used as a substitute are without merit. Their aromas and tastes are markedly different. There is no substitute for coriander, which should be used fresh, so that its bouquet will be appreciated. It may be refrigerated for a week at most.

  EGGS, PRESERVED The eggs most often preserved in China are duck eggs, the most common of which are called “thousand-year-old eggs.” They are considerably younger than their name says. Raw duck eggs are wrapped usually with a pasty mix of salt, tea leaves, rice husks and a preservative, sodium bicarbonate, and allowed to cure for fifty days. The shell becomes mottled gray, the inside of the egg like

  aspic, the yolk a deep, dull green, the white a deep brown. These eggs used to be shipped in earthenware crocks. Now they are packed, six to a package, labeled “preserved duck eggs.” They are often eaten as they are, sliced and accompanied by pickled ginger, and in congees and soups. A cautionary note: As these eggs age their insides tend to shrink and dry. They should be kept refrigerated, for about 2 weeks.

  EIGHT-STAR ANISE These are the tiny eight-pointed hard star fruit of the Chinese anise tree. Also called “star anise,” their flavor is more pronounced than that of anise seed. They should be kept in a tightly sealed jar in a cool, dry place, and will keep six months, though their intensity and flavor will gradually ebb.

  FIVE-SPICE SEASONING The five spices in this mix can be any combination of eight-star anise, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, licorice, nutmeg and Sichuan peppercorns. Different manufacturers prefer different mixtures, though the anise and cinnamon tend to be dominant. You may devise your personal five-spice mixture by having it mixed at a herbalist shop. Often the spices are ground into powder that is quite pungent, and should be used sparingly. The mixture is used to flavor foods such as soybean cakes, barbecued pork, stews and long-cooked dishes. Care for this seasoning as you would eight-star anise.

  FLOUR There are, to be sure, countless brands of flour in the markets, but I have determined, after many tests and trials, that one commercial flour is best to use in making breads and dim sum doughs: Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour, Enriched, Bleached. There are, in the Chinese kitchen, other flours, starches and powders that are essentially milled flours. These are listed separately.

  GINGER This is also referred to as “gingerroot.” It flavors foods quite well. When selecting gingerroots, look for thick roots with smooth outer skins, because ginger tends to wrinkle and roughen with age. In addition to providing flavor, it serves to diffuse strong fish and shellfish odors. It should be used sparingly and should be sliced, often peeled, before use. Its strength is often dictated by its preparation. I use ginger sliced, peeled and unpeeled, lightly smashed, julienned, minced and shredded. When placed in a heavy brown paper bag and stored on a shelf in a refrigerator, it will keep two weeks. There is also so-called young ginger, which is very smooth, slightly pink in color, without the tough skin of older ginger, and quite crisp. It is often called “spring ginger,” as well, but this is a misnomer, for it is a
vailable year-round. I use this young ginger to make my ginger pickle. In recent years a “yellow ginger” from China has come on the market. These roots are yellower in color, their flavor more pungent.

  GINGER JUICE Although this is available in small bottles, a better-quality ginger juice can be made at home. It is simple and quick to make. Grate peeled ginger into a bowl, then press it through a garlic press. Make as needed. Its shelf life, refrigerated, is two days.

  GINGKO NUTS These hard-shelled nuts are the seeds of the gingko tree, a common shade tree in China. They are shaped like tiny footballs, pale yellow when raw, they become translucent when cooked. They must be cooked before being eaten, and are available fresh or canned. When fresh, with shells on, they require cooking. Those in cans, shelled, are already cooked. Raw nuts in shells will keep, refrigerated, in a plastic bag for four weeks. Cooked ginkgo will keep for only four to five days. Canned nuts, when opened, should be used within a week. Both canned and raw gingkos should be refrigerated.

  GLUTINOUS RICE This short-grained rice is often called “sweet rice” and “sticky rice.” When cooked, its gluten makes its kernels stick together in a mass instead of separating the way extra-long-grain rice does. It is often labeled “sweet rice.” One of its best uses is in making congee, where it is mixed with another short-grained rice with less gluten. There are also black glutinous and long-grained glutinous rices. The black rice is often used to make sweets, particularly in Southeast Asia.

  GLUTINOUS RICE POWDER This finely ground dried glutinous rice is used in making steamed rice cakes and as a base for dumplings. It is also known as “glutinous rice flour.”

  HOISIN SAUCE A thick deep-brown, sweetened sauce made from pureed soybeans, garlic, sugar and chiles. Some brands add a bit of vinegar as well, others thicken the mixture with flour. Often it is referred to, erroneously, as “plum sauce,” which it most certainly is not. Hoisin sauce comes in jars. Once opened, the jar should be refrigerated. It will keep two to three months.

  JICAMA Known in Chinese as sah gut, this bulbous root is sweet and crisp, with a sand-colored exterior and a white interior. It may be eaten raw or cooked. In Mexico and the Southwest its name reflects its origins, but it has become widely cultivated in China and elsewhere in Asia. It is a fine substitute for fresh water chestnuts. Stored in a brown paper bag, refrigerated, it will stay crisp for three to four days.

  KETCHUP Ketchup from China comes in bottles. It is made from tomatoes, vinegar and varied spices. The difference between ketchup from China and that in the West is that Chinese use it more as a coloring agent than for its flavor. Chinese ketchup can be found in Chinatown markets, but if unavailable use the Western kind. It is believed by some that ketchup originated in China. In southern China, on the island of Amoy, there is a mixture of fish essence and soy sauce called keh chap, that is believed to have been a precursor.

  LOTUS LEAVES These large leaves of the lotus plant, sold dried, are used as food wrappings. The leaves impart a distinctive, and pleasant aroma to the foods they are wrapped around, after being moistened. In China, we always had access to fresh lotus leaves, but these are rare in the United States, where usually only dried lotus leaves are available. Once only sold commercially to restaurants, lotus leaves are now packaged in smaller amounts and can be found in Chinese and Asian markets. These dried leaves will keep indefinitely, and even as they become more brittle with age, they are resuscitated after being soaked in water, but as they age they lose some of their inherent aroma.

  LOTUS ROOT This gourd-shaped root of the lotus often grows four or five together, connected like a string of sausages, each four to five inches long and three inches in diameter. When the root is cut across, there is a pattern of holes not unlike that of Swiss cheese. Their texture is crisp and dry, and they should be kept refrigerated in a brown bag and used quickly, since they tend to turn brown and lose their crispness and flavor quickly.

  LOTUS SEED PASTE This deep red-brown paste is made from the olive-shaped seeds of the lotus plant pod cooked with sugar. The cooked paste is used mainly as filling for pastries and for special sweets such as moon cakes. The many brands of paste comes in cans, generally all of equal quality. Once removed from the can, the paste will keep, refrigerated, in a closed container, for two months.

  MUSHROOMS, CHINESE BLACK These dried mushrooms come in boxes, cellophane packages, or loose. They are black, dark gray, or speckled black and gray and their caps range in size from about that of a nickel to three inches in diameter. Those in boxes are the choicest, both in size and color, and are priced accordingly. They are referred to in China as “flower mushrooms,” thick and meaty. Chinese black mushrooms must always be soaked in hot water for at least twenty minutes before use, their stems discarded, and the undersides of their caps should be thoroughly rinsed and squeezed dry. Dried, they will keep indefinitely, at room

  temperature in a tightly closed container. If you live in a damp or humid climate they should be kept frozen. These are the same mushrooms known outside of China as “shiitakes.” I prefer them dried rather than fresh, for the intensity of their flavor. If you cannot get dried black mushrooms, use fresh ones.

  NOODLES There are many variations on the noodle in China, all known collectively as mein. There are wheat flour noodles, fresh, fried and dried, of various widths, made from flour either just mixed with water or with eggs added. There are rice noodles, also fresh and dried, of various widths. Very fine rice noodles are often labeled “rice sticks.” There are even so-called mung bean noodles, which are simply another name for bean threads. For most Chinese noodle dishes, most varieties of Western noodles will be quite suitable. For example, vermicelli, capellini and angel hair pastas will do nicely as substitutes for very fine wheat noodles. There are no substitutes for rice noodles. As with all noodles, those fresh and soft should be used as soon as possible; those dried will keep indefinitely.

  OILS Peanut oil is the preferred oil of the Chinese kitchen, and surely of mine, not only for its inherently healthy properties, but for the nuttiness it imparts to dishes. Peanut oils from China and Hong Kong emit a more intense aroma and flavor than do domestic peanut oils. For all of the recipes in this book, you may use canola, corn or soybean oil as well as other vegetable oils, but the flavors they will impart will be quite different. If I had to choose one alternative, it would be canola. Never use olive oil as a substitute, for the high heat necessary to cook most Chinese dishes will cause the olive oil to smoke and burn too quickly.

  OYSTER SAUCE This sauce is based upon oysters that have been boiled and dried, cooked into thickness, then ground. It is a highly prized versatile seasoning, not only for its distinctive taste, but for the richness of its deep brown color. There are many brands, but I prefer the Hop Sing Lung oyster sauce from Hong Kong. Once open, a bottle should be refrigerated and will keep four months. Unrefrigerated, it will also keep for a good period of time if used often and quickly. I prefer to refrigerate it.

  PRESERVED MUSTARD These are preserved mustard plants that have been cooked, preserved in salt and sugar, then dried. It is called mui choi in China. Brown in color, and put into plastic bags, it is soft and pliable, and is used in steaming, stir-frying, braising, and in soups. This is often labeled “salted mustard.” It is often sold loose as well. Often tiny salt crystals can be seen on the preserved mustard, but it does not affect its taste. It should be stored in a sealed jar, at room

  temperature, and will keep six months. The longer it is kept, the darker it becomes. Before use the leaves must be opened and the salt and grit thoroughly removed by washing.

  RED BEANS These small, deep-red beans are generally used in sweets, or sweet soups, although occasionally they are combined with other foods in casseroles. They are sold in plastic sacks, by weight and will keep for six months in a closed container. The most frequently used form of red beans is in a paste. The beans are soaked and boiled, then mashed and cooked with sugar, and finally mashed with either lard or peanut oil into a paste. The p
aste, which comes in cans, is used as fillings for pastries, buns and dumplings. Once opened, the paste should be kept refrigerated, in a closed compartment. It will keep four to six weeks.

  RED DATES These dried fruits come in plastic-wrapped packages labeled either “red dates” or “dried dates.” Do not buy pitted, for they lose taste after being pitted. Once opened and removed from the package they should be placed in a glass jar, covered and stored in a cool place. They will keep six months.

  RICE Rice is the Chinese universal, particularly in the south, where it is the core of every meal. Its varieties are many. Rice in China is short-, medium- and long-grain, with extra-long-grain rice considered the finest. The kernels of short-grain rices, of which glutinous rice is one, tend to be stubby and contain much starch. Medium-grain rices are slightly longer, with a bit less starch. Extra-long-grain rice kernels are just that: long, with little residual starch. Cooked, the kernels separate and the rice becomes fluffy. Short-grain rices tend to clump together when cooked, as do most medium-grain rices. The best of the extra-long-grains are grown domestically in the south, particularly in Texas, and there are jasmine-scented extra-long-grains from Thailand that are excellent. Rice, as a crop, is mai; cooked as a food, it is fan.