CHINESE DISHES

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 3823, 27 November 1928, Page 2

CHINESE DISHES

CHOP SUEY, CHO ARP PIN, AND DOE LON Kl

The cult of slimness struck a severe blow at the gentle art of dining. Food was almost banished from sonic homes, and at other homes, where the same t:-hle was preserved, guests found it impossible to enjoy their food while the hostess peeked at a lean, grilled chop, oilless salad, a slice of pineapple, and a non-fattening biscuit. The dress designers, however, have decreed that curves are to come back (writes '‘Gastronome,” in the Melbourne ‘Argus’). 1t is welcome news to the thousands who, while hostesses have been pursuing the silhouette, have been condemned to dine in public places.

If there is a revival of dining it may be hoped that hostesses will make an effort to vary the monotony of British and French cuisines. Chinese cookery presents an almost unexplored field to those in search of novelties. There is a widespread belief that the Chinese live on a bowl of rice a day. I was one of those who laboured under that superstition until I had hj Chinese dinner. Tt was of twenty-one courses, a celebration of an important anniversary. Twcnty-ono main dishes—apart from innumerable side dishes of nuts and fruit and dozens of bowls of rice—pncl every one different! They wore so •.'jived that each created an appetite for the other.

Chinese-cooked rice, which is used instead of bread, is worthy of a paragraph to itself. Every grain is individual, crisp, and light. To those used li! the doughy, soggy, sticky mass prepared by many Western chefs it is a revelation. The method of cooking is the simplest. A Chinese cook laughed when I asked him whether he swelled the grains in butter or followed any 1 other of the elaborate directions given in cookery hooks. He explained how it was done. He soaked the rice in cold water for two hours. Then he strained it through a sieve and threw the rice into fast-boiling water. Aft-fir not. quite ten minutes ho strained the water off through a sieve and dashed a little cold water over the rice to s< pa rate the grains. Sometimes it is necessary to let the rice hoi! a moment or two longer until quite tender. Somebody once said that his test of a cook was whether he could hqil a potato. I would add rice to the test.

The Chinese dish most popular with Britons is chop suey, chop meaning selected, and suey, mixtures. The mixtures are of infinite variety, including finely chopped fried chicken and pork, with soya bean sprouts, and a sprinkling of roast ham, mushrooms, onions, celery, water chestnuts, steak, lobsters" giblets, and pineapples. Jt sounds barbaric, but the Chinese transmute the ingredients into a mellow dish. In the cooking of poultry the Chinese have no equal. Clio arp pin, the braised sliced duckling with mushrooms, silver cabbage, and water chestnuts, and cho ki pin, in which chicken is substituted for the duckling, would tempt a chronic dyspeptic to ruin. Boe lor ki, a cunning mixture of braised chicken and pineapple, and jar je ki—chicken fritters—should not be overlooked by the investigator of the Chinese cuisine. The Chinese treat poultry almost reverently. Everything but the breast and the choicest of the white meat is discarded.

It is arguable whether Chinese cooks excel with poultry o- fish. I have i.ever tasted anything to equal the turned prawns at the late lamented Pekin iu Sydney.. Only the smallest, sweetest, prawns were used, and they were served in a noble dish on an exquisite table inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Ng low yee (steamed fish, cooked with preserved pickles, ginger, and onions), cho loong bar (scrambled lobster), and cho yee pin (fillet fish with bamboo shoots and soya bean sprouts) have a savour all their own. No Chinese meal is complete without some succulent dim situs (pork minced with water chestnuts and enclosed in paste), and such sweets as honeyed Jychee nuts and honeyed ginger. Chinese teas repay a careful study. They range in effect from aperitifs to liqueurs. The Chinese dishes instanced are the more common, and are obtainable in any good-Chinese cafe. The real thrill comes to the investigator when, convinced that he is no mere casual diner, the waiter grins broadly and says: “ You don’t worry. I get you something welly nice.” Then is produced some dish hot on the menu, which defies analysis by even the most delicate palate, it is for ever memorable. If any hostess should be emboldened to experiment with a Chinese dish she can easily make arrangements to have it prepared ready for serving. She should also obtain a lesson in the use of chop sticks. Then she can enjoy the spectacle of her guests frantically trying to convey the food to their mouths while she does so with ease and grace. She will do well, however, to practise assiduously in private. It is not nearly so easy as it looks.