Conference turris::cooks

*sigh*

Actually they weren't too bad - but not what you'd get at a restaurant.

I don't know if you overseas lot can get this dish from your local Chinese, but 
it is basically king prawns battered and coated with a honey sauce and 
sprinkled with sesame seeds (and usually arrives in a nest of those little 
strings of flavoured polystyrene that Chinese folk seem so fond of).

In the absence of any idea how to make this, I finally used the Tempura recipe 
in note 2223 to coat the prawns, and deep-fried them. The batter didn't come 
out quite as I hoped it would - they tended toward sogginess. How do you avoid 
this?
 
After a couple of attempts with numerous ingredients I discovered that honey 
sauce is best when it contains only honey, water and a bit of arrowroot (you 
want it not to cloud up so don't use cornflour) ... cooked for a bit to 
thicken. I added a wee pinch of Garlic Salt, but don't think it made much 
difference.

             I had used every spoon in the kitchen by this stage.

Prawns were plopped into the honey mix and rolled around to coat, then put 
under the grill (broiler) - that made them darken ... sogginess did not 
disappear though. In desperation I stuck them in the oven for a bit - still 
didn't really crisp up. Tasted okay - but a bit TOO sweet, even for me, the 
sugar queen.

I'd advise a thinner sauce, and pouring it over the CRISPY-fried prawns at the 
table as you serve.




Can anyone improve on this?
~Sheridan~
:^)

    	Well, I have no idea how to make this, but I'll take a guess based
    on cooking roughly similar things before. First, the "batter" sounds
    really light and possibly similar to the General Tso chicken batter.
    Here's what I use for that:
    	1 egg
    	1/4 cup beer
    	2 Tb light soy sauce
    	1/4 cup flour
    	1/4 cup cornstarch
    	1/2 tsp baking powder
    	1/2 tsp salt
    	1/4 tsp white pepper
    
    You mix the batter, add the shrimp, and chill in the fridge for 1/2
    hour or so. To make them extra crispy, you can optionally roll the
    battered pieces (before you cook) in lotus root starch.
    	Heat enough oil for deep-frying in the wok until very hot. Fry the
    shrimp, several at a time, and remove to drain on paper towels. With
    chicken, after you've done them all, you do it all again to make them
    extra crispy. But I wouldn't do this with shrimp as it would likely
    overcook them.
    	Remove all but 1-2 Tbs oil from the wok. Toss in some dried chile
    peppers (whole - about 6 or so if it was me). After 20 seconds or so,
    add 1-2 tsp minced garlic and 1 tsp minced ginger root. Add "the sauce"
    which consists of:
    	1 Tb honey
    	1 Tb light soy
    	1 Tb rice wine
    	pinch of white pepper
    	pinch of five spice powder
    	1 tsp cornstarch
    
    Cooking over medium-high heat, as the sauce begins to thicken, throw
    the shrimp back in, sprinkle with 1-2 Tb toasted sesame seeds, add 1
    tsp sesame oil, and optionally some 1-2 chopped green onions or
    scallions. After several seconds, turn off the heat and remove to a
    serving platter. If you do this latter part quickly, the shrimp should
    remain fairly crisp.

    Hello all,
    Here's a really easy and tasty way to make your rice a little
    different,I use them as a starter with stir fried beef.
    Rice rings:
    Boil your rice as usual.When its done thoroughly rinse.Put in a mixing
    bowl and add salt,pepper,a little five spice,some finely chopped red
    pepper and bind it all together with an egg(s).Take the mixture and on
    a greased tray make rings of the rice about the size of a cup.
    Put under a hot grill until the rings are firm and the tops are just
    lightly browning (the egg not the rice).Serve them while they're hot.
    While I'm here I may as well tell you about my stir fry beef.
    Take a piece of steak,about half pound (cheapy stuff 'cos it'll
    marinate and become tender.)
    Slice across the grain (like a waffer thin mint) thinly.You should end
    up with long wafer thin strips and add to the marinade:
    2 cloves garlic crushed
    half a cup of soy sauce (I prefer light)
    1 heaped teaspoon of brown sugar
    Leave for 2 to 4 hours.
    Heat some light oil in a wok until it is just about to smoke then 
    taking the steak strips out of the marinade fry them off for about 1 to
    2 minutes.Serve with the rice rings or any rice of your choice.
    Variations are I add cloves to the marinade and sometimes rice wine or
    sherry.Another nice marinade that sounds dreadful is tea and honey,I
    was surprised how nice it was with chicken.
    For a main course add sliced green or red peppers (capsicums) with the 
    steak at cooking time in the wok.
    Good cooking doesn't have to be hard.
    Bon appetit.
    
    Geoff

Here's a popular little dittie I had often while travelling around china
it was most popular in Nanjing....

	1x Tub Fresh tofu
	1x Green capsicum/pepper/paprika (whatever you want to call them)
	1x Red   ditto/blah/blah/blah
	1x White onion
	3x Red Chilli's
	5x Dried mushroom soaked in water
	Ginger
	Garlic
	Arrowroot/cornflour
	soy sauce
	Rice vinegar
	a little oyster sauce

	Chop onions and capsicum into 2cm squares, chop roughly chilli, garlic
	and ginger, soak the mushroom in warm water. mix arrowroot/cornflour,
	soy, vinegar and oyster sauce (I think you can use something else for
	this, it's mainly the colour that's important, perhaps some stock etc)

	Fry off onions, chilli and capsicums, add mushrooms, ginger and garlic
	add blob of tofu, and mix up/chop with spatula, add sauce ingrediants
	and mix until tofu looks like scambled eggs. and that's about !!!

	It was also served with a cucumber and tomatoe salad before hand.

	Chop cucumber (Lebanese type cucumber) into 10cm length strips,
	crush about 6 cloves of garlic and put ontop with some salt,
	sprinkle seasame oil and soy sauce over top.

	I found leaving a the garlic in the soy sauce overnight adds even
	more flavour  :-)

	Scott, Esq.

	

At Perking  Garden  in  Lexington,  they  serve  a dish at lunch time called
Peking  Noodles.   The  Chinese  name  is something like Tsa Tsa Mien.  It's
looks  like  a  chinese spaghetti dish, but the sauce is dark brown and uses
pork instead of beef.  I suspect the sauce is a combination of hoisin sauce,
sweet  bean  sauce,  and  some kind of mild spice.  Does any one know how to
make this dish?

Thanks,
Albert

Tsa Chiang Mein (Peking Meat Sauce Noodles)

1 lb  lean pork, minced (or ground pork)
1/4 cup (or less) vegetable oil
1/2 cup bean sauce
2 TBS hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp white pepper
2 scallions, finely chopped
3-4 tsp sugar
cooked noodles
bean sprouts, shredded radishes, shredded cucumber for garnish

1. Heat oil in wok.  The exact amount of oil you need will depend on how
   fatty the pork is and how oily you want the dish to be.  The Peking
   Garden style is sparing on the oil.  You need enough for the pork to
   fry properly.  I've found that if you use normal (not extra-lean) ground
   pork, the pork itself has enough fat that you don't need any added oil.

2. Add pork and stir fry 3 minutes, until all pinkness is gone.

3. Add bean sauce and hoisin sauce. Stir-fry 2 minutes.

4. Add sugar and white pepper.  Cook 3 minutes.

5. Add scallions and stir to blend.  

6. To serve, place a portion of noodles in a bowl.  Diners place some of
   the garnishes as they wish over the noodles, then spoon on a few
   tablespoons of the meat sauce.

Addendum:

.6 is the recipe from one of the Chinese cookbooks I have.  I've found that 
you get something closer to what they serve in Chinese restaurants in New 
England if, before you add the pork, you stir-fry a chopped small onion in 
a bit of oil.

--PSW

Re: .6

Thanks for  the quick response!  Did the recipe want just regular bean sauce
or sweet bean sauce?

Thanks,
ALT

Regular bean sauce.  I use the Koon Chun brand, the kind that has soy bean 
halves in it.  This is what they label simply as "bean sauce".  I prefer it 
to the "ground bean sauce" (or miso), because it isn't as salty and 
therefore works better in this dish.

--PSW

    I've found a source of fresh Bok Choy at a great new Chinese Retail cum
    wholesale shop recently opened in Reading. Question is, how does one
    cook this stuff? I've searched my cook books and turned up nothing.
    
    However, undaunted I did stir fry the batch I bought: a tiny amount of
    oil, chopped garlic, fry stalks first then throw in leaves at end. The
    result was delicious. Had it with roast beef and potatoes; a nice
    combination of British and Chinese cuisine.
    
    About the only other thing I've done with Bok Choy is chop it and add
    it to the 'Doll' Brand 'instant' noodles.
    
    Angus

This is  a  recipe  for  baked  pork  buns (not the steamed kind).  Saw this
recipe  on the usenet and my wife tried it last night, comes pretty close to
the real thing.  However, the dough doesn't quite have the same taste as the
real  thing.  If anyone knows how to make a better version of the dough, I'd
be interested.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
This recipe was a Pillsbury Bake-Off finalist this year.
It earned Wayne Hu of West Bloomfield, Mich., a trip to 
San Diego to participate in the contest.

Chinese Roast Pork Buns  (Bau Buns)

Roast pork:
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 garlic clove, minced
1-1/2 pounds pork steaks (1/2-inch thick)

Sauce:
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth

1 (17.3-ounce) can Pillsbury Grands Refrigerated 
	Buttermilk Biscuits

Glaze:
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon water
1 egg white

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line a broiler pan with foil.  In
blender container or food processor, combine all roast pork
ingredients except pork.  Blend until smooth.  Generously brush both
sides of the the pork steaks, reserving the remaining sauce.  Place
the pork steaks on the foil-line pan; bake 30 minutes.  Brush both
sides of pork with remaining sauce and bake 10 to 20 minutes more
until tender.  Let cool.  Finely chop the meat.

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and sherry.  Blend well.  Heat
the oil in a wok and stir-fry onion and water chestnuts until the
onion begins to brown.  Add soy and hoisin; stir to coat.  Add the
chicken broth and stir in the cornstarch mixture.  Cook and stir
until thickened.  Remove from heat; stir in pork.

Separate the dough into 8 biscuits.  Press or roll each into a
5-inch circle on a lightly floured surfance.  Place about 1/3 cup of
the pork mixture in the center and gather up the edges, pinch and
twist to seal.  Place seam side down on an ungreased cookie sheet.
In a small bowl, beat the glaze ingredients until blended; brush
over buns.  Bake at 375 until golden brown.  8 sandwiches.

    I have been looking for a recipe for a sweet/hot sauce, the type that
    is often used with Mandarin fried beef/chicken or orange peel beef. I
    am also looking for a recipe for a good sweet and sour sauce, (the type
    that is served in restaurants). Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    
    Ted Gibson

	Here's a bulk standard sweet and sour sauce I once got from a restaurant owner...

	a little orange juice, 
	apple juice and 
	lemon juice
	lot's of chinese red wine vinegar  (it smells of five spice and is a nice pink colour)
	arrowroot flour (as it's clearer than cornflour)
	sugar
	either vege/chicken stock or plain water (to make up half the volume)
	a little ground pepper (usually white)
	a drizzle of sesame oil  (say about 10g)

	add it all together, cook until thickened and a little longer to cook the starch
	out!!!!  this doesn't seem to have to colour that restaurants seem to be able
	to get (since the colour comes from the vinegar in this case) so I believe there
	are other things missing, but it does for the meanwhile....

	Scott, Esq.

    Here's a bulk standard sweet and sour sauce I once got from a
    restaurant owner...

    a little orange juice, 
    apple juice and 
    lemon juice
    lot's of chinese red wine vinegar  (it smells of five spice and is a nice 
    pink colour)
    arrowroot flour (as it's clearer than cornflour)
    sugar
    either vege/chicken stock or plain water (to make up half the volume)
    a little ground pepper (usually white)
    a drizzle of sesame oil  (say about 10g)

    add it all together, cook until thickened and a little longer to cook
    the starch out!!!!  this doesn't seem to have to colour that
    restaurants seem to be able to get (since the colour comes from the
    vinegar in this case) so I believe there are other things missing, but
    it does for the meanwhile....

    Scott, Esq.

    

The red color in restaurant sweet-and-sour sauce comes from red food 
coloring.

--PSW