STEAMED RICE NOODLE DUMPLINGS WITH SCALLOPS
250 g/½ lb. scallops (without corals)
50 g/1¾ oz. (about 6) water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon freshly chopped Chinese chives
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
24 wonton wrappers
3–4 tablespoons sunflower oil
Sichuan Chilli Dressing (see recipe below)
spring onions/scallions, thinly sliced, to garnish
a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
a medium bamboo steamer
Serves 4
Begin by preparing the scallops, cutting away the grey muscle attached at one side, and chop into small cubes. Put the scallop meat into a bowl with the water chestnuts, garlic, Chinese chives, soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil, and stir to mix.
Lay the wonton wrappers flat on a board and place a teaspoon of the scallop mixture in the centre. Brush around the edges with a little water and draw the sides up and around the filling, pressing the edges together to seal. Transfer each one to the prepared baking sheet.
Dip the base of each dumpling into the sunflower oil and transfer to the bamboo steamer. Cover and steam over a pan of simmering water for 10–12 minutes until firm and cooked through.
Serve with the dressing, garnished with the thinly sliced spring onions/scallions.
100 ml/⅓ cup sunflower oil
1–2 teaspoons dried chilli/hot red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon black vinegar
2 teaspoons caster/granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
Makes 200 ml/¾ cup
Heat the oil in a small saucepan set over medium heat until it just starts to shimmer. Remove from the heat and stir in the dried chilli/hot red pepper flakes. Set aside for 30 minutes, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve/strainer into a clean bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients and serve as required.
Note: If you are making this dressing ahead of time, omit the peppercorns and add just before serving.
EGG NOODLE, BLACK CLOUD EAR FUNGUS & TOFU SALAD
15 g/1½ cup dried black cloud ear fungus
200 g/7 oz. fresh egg noodles
½ cucumber, peeled
1 large carrot
150 g/6 oz. marinated tofu, thinly sliced
4 spring onions/scallions, thinly sliced
100 g/1⅓ cups sliced Chinese cabbage/Napa cabbage, sliced
a small handful each of mint and coriander/cilantro
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
DRESSING
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
1 tablespoon caster/granulated sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon chilli/chili oil
Serves 4
Put the black cloud ear fungus in a large mixing bowl, cover with boiling water and soak for 20 minutes until softened. Drain well, pat dry with paper towels and slice thinly, discarding any tough stems. Set aside.
Meanwhile, cook the noodles by plunging them into a saucepan of boiling water. Return to a boil and simmer for 2–3 minutes until al dente. Drain and immediately refresh under cold water before draining again. Dry thoroughly using a clean tea/kitchen towel and set aside.
Cut the cucumber and carrot into thin strips and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the black cloud ear fungus, tofu, spring onions/scallions, cabbage and herbs and toss well.
To make the dressing, beat all the ingredients together in a small bowl until the sugar is dissolved.
Stir the noodles into the salad, add the dressing and toss well until evenly combined. Serve in bowls, sprinkled with the sesame seeds.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1-cm/½-inch piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 spring onions/scallions, finely chopped, white and green separated
300 g/10½ oz. white mushrooms
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or pale dry sherry
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
8 even-sized Little Gem/Bibb lettuce leaves
coriander/cilantro leaves, to garnish
finely chopped red chilli/chile, to garnish
Makes 8
Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan/skillet. Add the ginger, garlic and white spring onion/scallion and stir-fry over medium heat for 1 minute.
Dice the mushrooms into 1-cm/½-inch pieces and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the rice wine or sherry and stir-fry for 1 minute, until cooked off. Add the soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Toss through the green spring onion/scallion.
While the mushroom mixture is hot or at room temperature, spoon it into the lettuce leaves, filling each one with the mixture. Garnish with coriander/cilantro leaves and finely chopped red chilli/chile and serve at once.
200 g/7 oz. dried Hokkien noodles
1.25 litres/5¼ cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons grated fresh root ginger
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine or pale dry sherry
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
200 g/1½ cups sliced chicken breast fillet
250 g/½ lb. or about 6 whole pak choi/bok choy, roughly chopped
2 spring onions/scallions, thinly sliced, plus extra to serve
salt, to season
TO GARNISH (OPTIONAL)
fresh chillies/chiles, sliced
a small bunch of coriander/cilantro
Serves 4
Plunge the noodles into a saucepan of boiling water and cook for 3–4 minutes until al dente. Drain, refresh under cold water and shake dry. Set aside.
Pour the stock into a large saucepan with the ginger, soy sauce, rice wine and oyster sauce and set over medium heat. Bring slowly to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes.
Stir in the chicken, pak choi/bok choy and spring onions/scallions and simmer for 3–4 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
Divide the noodles between bowls, pour over the chicken soup and serve garnished with some sliced chillies/chiles and coriander/cilantro, if you like.
Note: If using fresh Hokkien noodles, cook for 2 minutes instead of 3–4. If using vacuum-packed, pre-cooked noodles, rinse under boiling water only before use. For either you will need 500 g/1 lb. 2 oz.
1 tablespoon sunflower or vegetable oil
2-cm/¾-inch piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely sliced
200 g/7 oz. flowering Chinese chives or Chinese chives, chopped into 2.5-cm/1-inch lengths
200 g/7 oz. raw prawns/shrimp, peeled
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or pale dry sherry
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
½ teaspoon sesame oil
Serves 2
Place the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute until fragrant. Next put in the Chinese chives and stir-fry briefly.
Add the prawns/shrimp and stir-fry. As soon as the prawns/shrimp turn opaque, add the rice wine or sherry and sizzle briefly. Lastly, add the soy sauce and sesame oil. Stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until the Chinese chives are just wilted. Serve at once, with noodles if you like.
PUFF PASTRY
Water dough:
100 g/¾ cup Asian white wheat flour, plus extra for dusting
1 heaped tablespoon caster/superfine sugar
40 ml/3 tablespoons water
30 g/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Butter dough:
100 g/¾ cup Asian white wheat flour
50 g/3½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
EGG TART
100 ml/⅓ cup milk
50 g/¼ cup caster/superfine sugar
2 eggs
seeds from 1 vanilla pod/bean
a small round fluted pastry cutter
12 individual mini tart pans
Makes 12
First, make the puff pastry. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ingredients for the water dough. Form the dough into a ball and knead lightly until smooth and silky. Wrap the dough with clingfilm/plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for 15 minutes. Divide the dough into 12 and roll each piece into a ball. Cover with a damp tea/kitchen towel and set aside. In a second mixing bowl, repeat the same full process with the butter dough ingredients, but instead of chilling, rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
To assemble the dough, take a water dough ball and knead gently and briefly. Very lightly flour the worktop and use a rolling pin to roll out the ball of water dough to a diameter of 7.5 cm/3 inches. Place a butter dough ball in the centre and wrap the water dough around to enclose it completely. Turn the dough ball over so that the join is on the underside. Roll the combined dough into a thick square package. Fold the package into three and flatten with the rolling pin again. Repeat this fold and roll process twice with each ball. Cover and rest in the fridge for 15 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the egg tart filling.
Preheat the oven to 200˚C (400˚F) Gas 6.
Beat together the milk, sugar, eggs and vanilla seeds in a large bowl until the sugar has fully dissolved. Pass the mixture twice through a sieve/strainer to make it as smooth as possible.
Roll out each chilled dough ball and use the cutter to stamp out circles of dough to fit the mini tart pans. Lay a circle of dough in the tart pan and prick the base with a fork. Repeat for all 12 dough balls. Let the tart cases/shells chill in the fridge for 5 minutes.
Pour the egg mixture into the tart cases/shells to come three-quarters of the way up the sides and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 170°C (325°F) Gas 3 and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack before serving.
