A Chinese Chef

Talking about food, I really should mention my brother. Just like how you would picture a chef: my brother looks well-built, has a passion for food and most importantly, can really cook!

Chinese food is very tasty but being a Chinese chef is not easy. I can say that probably all his friends back from culinary school have left the industry. So has he. What drives them out is the heavy work load, the dirty job, the hours, and the stress from making food to perfection.

Have you seen it on TV or somewhere? A Chinese chef stir-frying with a wok. The wok goes up and down like a firy dragon's mouth. You think 'Wow, that's really cool!" No! It's really hot there and just to handle that wok is a tough job. I remember when he was in school: the teacher asked them to practice waving a wok filled with 10kg of sand 100 times in a row - with one hand! And that was part of the test at the end of the term. From there, a lot of people had already failed. Not to mention the art and craft classes which came later on to artistically present the food.

It is a shame that my brother left the industry and now he only cooks for his daughter, wife and in-laws. Note, just the in-laws, not us. At home, my mum still cooks for us and he is happy to just relax. Occasionally, like the Chinese New Year, we can still taste his food. And each one of them is memorable!

I love watching him cooking. Unlike us, he always cooks with a long big spoon reaching and throwing a lot of sauces into his dishes while I blink. To me, he is like a magician in the kitchen. After one year graduating from the school, he was made the head chef at a three star restaurant. Besides his crafty hand, what made him successful was the thoughts he put in food. Tasting food is a process of researching, studying, and improvement. At home, he used to practice day and night with his curled knives to turn ordinary fruit and vegetables into flowers and animals for table presentation.He is a quiet person. When he cooks in front of me, that is when he starts talking. He gives me tips for cooking, bosses me around and tells me stories about food and restaurants. Then he is done, leaving a big mess in the kitchen. To be precise, he only leaves the mess to ME!

Since the opportunities of trying his food are so rare, I happily roll up my sleeves and clean up.

Polenta Pizza with Spinach Topping

I always wanted to introduce the Chinese pizza but Mark Bittman beat me to it. What I am showing you here is not on a restaurant menu. This however, indeed is a traditional dish from Beijing. My mum has been making these for us since I could remember. This Polenta 'pancake' actually convinces me that the Chinese must have invented pizza because it looks so similar to the Italian pizza. The only difference is that we cook it on a flat pan rather than in the oven.

HOW TO PREPARE:
*Pour water over finely ground corn grit (Polenta), stir to a runny liquid polenta mix;
*Heat a large flat non-stick pan, coat the entire pan with olive oil for about 20 seconds;
*Spread the mix in the pan to make a thin pizza base (3 table spoons for a 10 inch base);
*Add fresh spinach leaves all over the base, as much as you would like (then I added Chinese dried mini shrimps. You can also replace with bacon, sausage or pepperoni);
*Season the entire pizza with salt and pepper; Close lid for about 5 min;

If you are getting tired of the cheesy pizza, this is so worth trying. We made three different toppings - spinach, tofu and salmon, for one meal. I didn't have to table serve since the moment they were placed on the cutting boards for slicing, we started munching. They quickly disappeared.

Mark Bittman suggested the pancake as breakfast which I quite like. Sometimes I also bake a few more bases and store them in the fridge. In the mornings or even for an afternoon snack, I quickly toast them and add toppings of scrambled eggs, cheese or Nutella.

Even in the time limited mornings, you can microwave them. The softened base with either sweet or savoury toppings, are equally delicious.

Taste of Home: Tomato and Omelet Stir Fry

The food I make now in New York are mostly recipes I learned or created based on what I saw and tasted from different parts of the world. But nothing can compare to the taste from home.

I am lucky. My mum has this magic ability to satisfy people with her food and my brother used to be a pro chef. At home, we view food scholarly. Food unites us. I can't, however, afford the kind of cooking times they have in Beijing.

When I crave food from back home, I will have to go for the quick and easy ones. Here is one of them: Fried Tomato and Omelet.

HOW TO PREPARE:
* Break and fry a two-egg omelet till it is soft and yellow (make sure it is not over cooked);
* Separate them into 1x2" pieces while still in the wok; Set aside in a dish;
* Heat a table spoon of olive oil in the wok again and throw in some chopped spring onion for aroma;
* When the spring onion starts to sizzle, pour two large chopped (1x2" chunks) juicy tomatoes into the wok; Stir fry for about 1 min until every piece is fried;
* Add some salt and stir again; Salt will help the tomato juice to come out;
* Add about two table spoons of sugar (or to taste) until the tartness of the tomatoes disappears;
* Put omelet back in the wok, stir well, close the lid and cook on medium heat for about 3 mins; (If there is not enough juice to stew the tomatoes, add a little bit of water.)
* Stir once or twice during this time, Then it is ready to serve;

The dish should be served with a bit of sauce from cooking. The combination of savoury and slight sweet taste is alluring and the golden omelet softened in the tomato sauce is extremely smooth. In a weekday evening, after only less than 10 minute's preparation, the satisfaction is imminent.

Tofu & Cabbage Soup

Photo by : myviaggi

I personally love Chinese style soups. They are easy to make and very appetising. Here is an example. A soup I have loved since I was a child. A soup I crave for wherever I move to.

All you will need are: Chinese cabbage leaves (no stems), Tofu, spring onion, salt, Sichuan pepper corns and sesame oil for flavouring.

HOW TO PREPARE:
* Measure water with the soup serving bowls to adjust portions, and bring to the boil;
* Add 2-3 Sichuan pepper corns per portion;
* Add Tofu (or some seafood if you prefer) and a sprinkle of chopped spring onion, bring back to the boil;
* Add cabbage leaves, chopped or torn to reasonable sizes; bring to the boil again;
* Season with salt and a drizzle of sesame oil;
* Serve

We get used to avoiding the pepper corns while eating. But it's better if you count the number of pieces and take them out. Another way is to pack the pepper corns in a tea bag or tea drainer. This way, it's very easy to exclude them from the dish while serving.

A nice, warm, quick, easy, and refreshing appetiser or side soup.

Stir-fried Beef and Peppers with Black Beans

Photo by : myviaggi

A friend of mine cooked stir-fried beef last night and it was delicious. As always, she applied her tenderness into her dish: the peppers moistened with the beef juice and five spices were mouth-watering.

My five spices sitting on the shelf having been long neglected. The star anise however, are the true stars whenever I cook beef.

To cook the above, you will need (serving 2):
1/4 pound stir-fry beef, thinly sliced (mine was from the Korean grocery store ready to cook); Marinate with 1 table spoon of soy sauce, white wine or cooking wine, and half teaspoon of sesame oil; (If you'd like more beef, the amount should be just enough to coat the beef.)
1 table spoon of potato starch;
1 large sweet pepper in 1/4" sliced;
1 chili pepper thinly sliced;
1 teaspoonful of black beans (optional, available at Chinatown, or replace with salt or soy sauce to taste)
2 cloves of garlic sliced, half baby green onion Julian cut, 4 star anise (for flavouring only)
1 table spoon of soy sauce and sweet seasoning (or sugar)

HOW TO PREPARE:
* Marinate beef for 5 min. Add potato starch, fold with one hand till almost every piece is coated. I also sprinkled some roasted sesames.
* Heat olive oil lightly in a wok, add garlic, chili pepper, green onion, and star anise. When everything starts to sizzle...
* Add beef. Separate the beef pieces while frying. 1 min only then add black beans, continue to stir for about another 1 min.
* Add sliced sweet peppers. Then soy sauce, sweet seasoning (alternatively a touch of sugar).
* Stir all ingredients until well mixed for no longer than 3 min.
* Serve.

This dish gives you a mouthful of flavours of all the ingredients with occasional surprises of black beans and sesames. Just do not bite the star anise!

Don't miss my friend Zakia's recipe. She has a different approach using spices. The dish is mild, warming and homey.