Starting this week, we'll be mounting my Food for Thought column on this blog on Tuesday, a day ahead of its publication in print. Today: A tribute to writers of Chinese cookbooks.
Gung hay fat choy! Happy lunar new year, Chinese-style. (Other cultures, including the Vietnamese, also are celebrating the lunar new year.)
The Year of the Tiger on the Chinese astrological calendar officially will begin Sunday, but family banquets, festivals, lion dances and shopping for delicacies began weeks ago.
Based on the number of Chinese-themed cookbooks in my considerable collection of older recipe books, Chinese here have been among the most prolific writers about cooking in the Islands.
Through the years, many Chinese women (and a few men, most famously chef Titus Chan) have become well-known writers and teachers, sharing, in writing and in demonstrations, recipes and techniques ranging from the simple (lo mein, fried noodles) to the impossibly eclectic (how to clean a pig’s stomach).
Among them: Daisy Wong (“Chinese Aromas from Aunty Daisy’s Kitchen,” 1978); June Kam Tong (“Popo’s Kitchen,” 1988; 45,000 copies and still in print); Gail K.T. Wong (“Gail Wong’s Authentic Chinese Recipes” 1954); Clara Tom (“Clara Tom’s Old Fashioned Method of Cantonese Cooking,” 1965); Mary Sia (“Mary Sia’s Chinese Cookbook,” 1980 ). Not to mention the young women of the now-defunct Te Chih Sheh Chinese sorority at UH, who wrote “Practical Recipes in Chinese Cooking” (1932) and all the teachers who worked with the Hawaiian Electric Co. (such as my friend Elsie Ching of Niu Valley, who last year at this time gave us a tutorial in gau) and the Narcissus Festival (such as Linda Chang Wyrgatsch of 'Aiea, who a few years ago gave me a Szechuan-style wok-fried eggplant recipe that’s still a favorite).
It remains a part of the Narcissus Queen tradition for contestants to be taught a few basic dishes as one way (and a very pleasant one) to get in touch with their roots.
Over the years, I’ve met some of these authors and teachers and learned a few dishes: traditional gau and a Shanghai-style microwave gau that’s so easy it would make a great activity to do with children, fried noodles, basic stir-frying (if I only had a really hot stove), the making of the stuffed buns called bao, how to steam a whole fish and serve it in sizzling sauce, watercress soup.
I’ve learned about “secret” ingredients — not just hoisin sauce or dark sweet soy but shaoching, the sweetish Chinese cooking wine; the strange, oversize sugary “dates” that are one key to good Chinese-style soup, and chung choy (preserved salted turnip tops), a pungent ingredient that, in small quantities, gives dishes a characteristic “Chinese” flavor
I learned the technique for chopping pork (two very sharp cleavers, wielded very rapidly, then throw handfuls of the minced pork against the bowl to create a smooth, almost creamy texture for meatballs and stuffed won tons).
This is as far as I, who did not grow up in a Chinese kitchen, generally go. If I want great Chinese food, like most of us, I go out!
But these cookbooks and teachers have helped to give me, as a food editor, insight into how my favorite restaurant dishes are made and also how first- and second-generation Chinese home cooks replicated the dishes of their parents and grandparents.
One of my favorite books on Chinese cooking is not a local one. It’s the late Barbara Tropp’s classic “The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking” (William Morrow, 1982) in which she reveals such techniques as “velveting,”: poaching meats in oil before stir-frying them. (No wonder Chinese food tastes so good.) She also shared building-block sauces and ingredient mixtures to use in a variety of recipes. Tropp died an untimely death of ovarian cancer at age 53 in 2001.
So, as we enter the season of strings of firecrackers, lion dances, red-and-gold paper mottos and box upon box of manapua and dried fruit and bakery goodies, I send my best New Year’s wishes to all the Chinese of Hawai'i, past, present, future. You have added so much to our multicultural “soup.”
E-mail me here or at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.
My mother loves split pea soup but I've never been a big fan. Found the texture unpleasing. But a while back, in some restaurant, I had a split pea soup in which the peas were cooked just al dente suspended in a broth only slightly thickened by some pureed peas. I really liked it.
After several cold mornings in a row, I was in the mood for soup and, cleaning out the pantry (which badly needed it), I found a bag of split peas and, knowing I had some stock and ham hocks and bacon ends in the freezer, decided to try to replicate the soup.
Here's how:
In a soup pot over medium-high heat, simmer together 4-5 cups chicken or vegetable stock, 1 ham hock, 1 bay leaf and 2 whole cloves peeled garlic. Simmer for an hour.
Remove ham hock and add 2 cups dried split peas and 1/2 cup finely chopped raw bacon. Simmer over medium heat for 1-2 hours. Use a slotted spoon or a Chinese wire basket scoop to pull out 3/4 of the peas. Set aside. Continue to simmer until peas are soft, adding water as needed (I had to add several cups to keep it from sticking) for an hour or so. Puree peas and bacon and return to pot with a splash of vinegar or lemon juice. Add 1 peeled carrot, chopped into bits, return partly cooked peas to pot and simmer 30-45 minutes. Remove bay leaves and garlic (if it hasn't melted totally into the soup). Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Continue cooking, if needed, or hold on warm until serving time.
With some fresh-baked homemade rolls, this made a wonderfully filling supper.
STILL LOOKING FOR YOUR STORIES OF THE OLD RANCH HOUSE RESTAURANT: Thank you to so many who have already written in. I'll let you know when this story is going to run.
NOBU'S BACK: I'll be going on a farm tour at MA'O farm in Wai'anae with famed Japanese fusion chef Nobu Matsuhisa this week. Should be fun and a learning experience. They're going to have us working on the farm for a while, then we'll eat lunch featuring their fresh, organic produce. I'll let you know when that report will appear.
THIS WEEK IN TASTE: The Great Almond Cookie Quest.
NEXT WEEK IN WEDNESDAY'S TASTE SECTION: Lions and tigers and teddy bears, oh my! The strange world of obento fanatics. AND COMING UP: Easy, streamlined bread-baking.
Chicken curry from the freezer, fridge and pantry.
I used to waste a lot of food. This was in part an occupational hazard: Often, I'd test several recipes in a day or in a weekend and it was impossible for just we two to eat it all before it went bad. I'd take the food to the office or to friends when I could but we couldn't always keep up.
But in these very tight economic times, I'm working hard not to do that anymore. I'm learning to cook smaller portions. And I'm cooking carefully out of the pantry and the fridge.
Two days ago, for example, I baked opah in an Asian marinade (shoyu, sesame oil, ginger, honey, cider vinegar and sesame seeds). But I'd bought too much fish and there was a hunk left over. So the next night, noticing a can of mushrooom soup in the pantry, I made an opah noodle casserole. It worked. I've been doing a lot more of this recycling and have found that if the first preparation has a rather mild flavor, it can readily be paired with a different seasoning for a second go-round.
Today, I noticed a basket full of potatoes growing "eyes," a lone yam and a lot of onions and, in the fridge, a rather tired red bell pepper and a small container of tomato paste. What could I do? Decided to make a vegetable and chicken curry (had chicken thighs in the freezer). Sauteed everything separately with a mixture of hot Madras curry and — thinking about my friend spice maker Kai Cowell, whose house burned to the ground on Round Top earlier this week — a goodly amount of Kaiulani Spices Exotic Curry Rub and Seasoning. Dumped it all in a casserole and baked it. Very nice.
The point is, if you've tended to err on the side of extravagance and waste, as I have done, commit your inner cook to "making do" — your own personal "Top Chef"-style challenge. My goal: Nothing goes down the garbage disposal but cores and peels.
NOTE: Still seeking stories about the old Ranch House restaurant. Message me here or at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.
NEXT WEEK IN TASTE: The Best Almond Cookies Ever.
AND COMING UP A LITTLE LATER: Those wacky bento box fanatics. Why do they get up at the crack of dawn to make a bento in the shape of a teddy bear?
STARTING NEXT WEEK: My Food for Thought column will appear on this blog site on Tuesday afternoon, a little makana for My Island Plate fans — you'll get the column ahead of print readers. The blog will be refreshed every Monday and Friday with Food for Thought appearing every Tuesday.
I'm all over the place this week, writing about the local meat industry (2/3/10 Advertiser print edition and online), the cute bento craze (to come in future Taste section), quick and easy breadbaking from scratch (also to come), readying for a farm tour with chef Nobu Matsuhisa (next week), looking forward to an informal Chinese cooking class with friends. So this blog is a miscellany, too.
A good Web-friend
Had lunch last weekend with a Web-friend — Grace Sunu, someone I previously met only on the phone. She has a site about Asian food, mostly Korean food (NotJustRice.com). I wrote about her some months ago. A Manoa girl, she left the Islands with her husband 30 years ago and now lives in Raleigh, N.C., where she manages to continue to cook her Asian favorites despite the lack of readily available ingredients.
We had a good foodie fanatic chat. She shared an idea I liked and plan to use. She noted that, in many restaurant dishes containing tofu, the tofu has been deep-fried to give it a pleasing caramelized crust.
But since she tries to avoid fatty preparations, she uses this technique: Press water from firm tofu (place the block of tofu under a weight and allow it to sit for an hour or so to drain). Cut tofu into bite-size pieces. Dress with olive oil, salt and pepper and arrange in a single layer on a nonstick baking sheet (or one lined with Reynolds Release foil). (Or spray the tofu with olive oil spray for even fewer oil calories.) Bake in a preheated 425-degree oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden. Tofu prepared this way can be used in stir-fries, salads, braises, stews — anywhere you use bite-size tofu. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.
Grace's latest video blog is on bi bim bap, that bowl-of-rice-with-everything-on-top Korean dish. (It is, she says, how Koreans use up leftovers.) Her video outlines a number of toppings but not one of her favorites: sesame sauteed cucumber. Japanese or English cucumbers are preferred for this or you can use standard cucumbers (if using standard ones, they must be peeled and seeded, the others can be used as is). The idea of cooking cucumber seems to have been lost in the U.S., though some other cultures do it all the time.
Here's how: Using a mandoline or Japanese slicer, slice 1 pound cucumber paper-thin, place in colandar, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and allow to weep and drain. After a half hour or so, squeeze the liquid from the cucumber slices (no need to rinse). Then, over medium high heat, saute cucumber slices in a little sesame oil and season with black pepper and sesame seeds.
Doesn't that sound good? Grace is just full of good ideas and solid technique like that. Check out her blog and videos.
Remember the Ranch House?
News that a new Ranch House restaurant has opened (at 449 Kapahulu Ave., above Hee Hing) prompts us to ask:
• Do you remember Spencecliffe’s old Ranch House, in Aina Haina, which operated from the 1950s to 1987? Did you go there often? Did you find hidden treasures? What are your memories? We plan a little tribute to the original Ranch House and would appreciate hearing from you. E-mail us: taste@honoluluadvertiser.com. Weigh in at myislandplate.honadvblogs.com. Or write Island Life/Ranch House Memories, 605 Kapiolani Blvd., Honolulu, HI 96813.
Marylene's latest baking creation. Brownies were frozen before use.
One of closest friends is a baker who counts among her closest friends another baker. From these associations, I get some of my best tips.
My pal Marylene Chun (her blog is anythingtoeat.blogspot.com) told me this one: One of the hardest things for home bakers is to tell when something is done. She has learned to wait until you can smell the scent of the baking item. Five minutes later, it will be done. I tried it and it's pretty reliable. I tend to make mistakes in baking because I'm impatient; the scent test taught me to wait.
(Other markers: springs back from a gentle touch, skewer or toothpick in center emerges clean, internal temperature, which is the best way to tell that yeast breads are done.)
Marylene's good friend, Tina Ho Wing, a Los Angeles culinary instructor and professionally trained pastry chef, shared a tip for freezing baked goods. Tina and Marylene both like to bake cookies or cakes en masse to give during the holidays or for other occasions, but you've got to spread out the work or you'll exhaust yourself. The usual answer is to bake ahead and freeze.
The problem: Often, the baked goods "taste frozen."
Tina's solution is to wrap each item individually with plastic wrap, rather than just throwing a mess of cookies into a Ziplock. Wrap each cookie, then place in a zippered plastic bag.
Tips:
The item must be COMPLETELY cool before wrapping. With most baked goods, it's best to let the item cool just a few minutes in the pan, then turn it out on a rack, unless the recipe specifically suggests otherwise.
Use the "cater wrap": Wrap around in one direction, then turn the product and overwrap in the opposite direction to be sure it's completely sealed.
Express as much air as possible from the plastic bag before freezing. Some people not only press on the bag but zip it almost closed, then use a straw to suck out remaining air. Or you can use one of those commercial sealing systems.
If you're going on a baking binge, be sure there's room in your freezer. The faster the food is frozen, the better the quality. Food will freeze fastest if there's room for the chill air to circulate around it. Crowding doesn't matter with a bag of peas but it's important with delicate baked goods.
Freeze food in the smallest possible pieces. For example, when Marylene makes a pound cake, she cuts it into thirds, wraps each, then freezes.
Don't hold baked goods longer than a month.
Defrost the items slowly, first in the refrigerator, then on the counter.
YET ANOTHER tip from Marylene: In baking the brownies for the picture above, she used the "cradle" technique: Line the pan with a strip of foil with two ends lapping over either side. Pour in the batter. Bake. When you're ready, you can use the ends as "handles" to lift the item out of the pan.
For brownies and bars, Marylene likes to use a pizza cutter rather than a knife. "It's the only thing that will make precise cuts," she said. But it only works for shallow bars or brownies.
Wanda Adams, author of "The Island Plate: 150 Years of Recipes and Food Lore from The Honolulu Advertiser" and "The Island Plate II," has been writing about food for 30 years.
