Chinese cooking not so hard

Press, 24 October 1978, Page 14

Chinese cooking not so hard

Chinese food used to be sadly misrepresented by “chop suey joints”. But today the knowledge of how to cook a Chinese meal is spreading to many Westerners who want to make these dishes at home. Chinese cooking is often simple, even for beginners, provided a few simple rules are followed. The first thing to remember is that preparation and cooking are two separate procedures. All preliminaries must be done before cooking starts. Although cooking is simple it cannot wait while some last-minute ingredient is made ready for the pot. The first secret about Chinese food is that it must be cooked quickly ana at a very high temperature. Since cooking time is so short it is unwise to take your eye off the pot — each minute can be crucial in the preservation of crispness characteristic of Chinese cooking. It is essential to keep to the cooking times stated. Although some ingredients will be unfamiliar, do not leave them out. If you do you will not be producing true Chinese dishes. The Chinese use oil in their cooking — peanut oil: do not subsitute anything else. Peanut oil is the best for high-speed cooking and locks in the flavour. Use cornflour for thickening — not ordinary flour. Vegetables rather than meat predominate in Chinese meals. The Chinese prefer meat in small quantities. Do not add extra meat to the recipe simply because you think the amount is too small. You will be surprised at how good the results taste. A properly planned dinner includes one poultry dish and sometimes a soup. Sweets as such are virtually never served, although some hosts will serve fresh fruit after a meal. Try these Chinese recipes:— CHI-CHU (a soup) 3 tbsp long grain rice 5 tbsp short grain rice 3-J pints chicken stockjib cooked chicken meat — cut into J inch cubes 1J tsp salt 6 tbsp finely shredded cabbage i pint finely shredded lettuce

Preparation: Combine the rice tn a medium-size saucepan. Add enough cold water to cover, and stir thoroughly. Pour off the rinsing water. Have the rice, stock, chicken, salt, cabbage, and lettuce handy. To cook: In a large heavy saucepan bring the chicken stock to the boil over a high heat. Stir in the rice. Partly cover the pot. Reduce the heat and simmer for two hours. Add the salt then the chicken. Then ladle into individual soup bowls. Garnish with cabbage and lettuce. PEKING DUCK A No. 8 Tegel duckling. 3 tbsp honey 2 spring onions (cut into 2 inch lengths). 21 pints water 4 slices root ginger THE SAUCE 3 tbsp Hoisin sauce 1 tsp peanut oil 21 tsp water ij tsp sugar Preparation: Wash the duckling then pat dry inside and out. Tie One end of a length of cord around the neck skin. If the skin has been cut away loop the cord under the wings. Suspend the bird from the string in a cool airy place for three hours to dry the skin. Ccfmbine water, honey, root ginger, and onions in a large flameproof casserole over a high heat. Holding the duck by its string lower it into the boiling liquid. With the string in one hand and a spoon in the other, turn the duck from side to side until all the skin has been moistened with the liquid. Remove the duck and hang it up in a cool place for two to three hours. Discard the liquid. Make the sauce by combining the Hoisin sauce (available from Chinese food stores), water, oil, and sugar in a small pan and stirring until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil then reduce to the lowest heat and simmer uncovered for three minutes. Pour into a small bowl, cool and reserve until ready for use. To Cook: Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Roast the duck for half an hour.

Transfer it to a carving board. With a small sharp knife and your fingers remove the crisp skin from the breast, sides, and back of duck. Cut the skin into 2 by 3 inch rectangles and arrange them in a single

layer on a heated dish. Cut the wings and drumsticks from the duck, cut all the meat away from the breast and carcase. Slice the meat into pieces 2 J inches by | inch and ar-, range them with the wings and drumsticks on another heated plate. To serve place the dishes of duck and the bowl of sauce on the table. Serve with thin pancakes. Traditionally each person spreads a pancake flat on his plate, brushes it with sauce. Then adds a piece of duck skin and meat. The pancake is then rolled into a cylinder and picked up and eaten with the fingers. Peking duck will serve six people.