Chinese Cookery Class

20/09/13

 In China they have a thing called Mid-Autumn Festival and according to Wikipedia it’s kind of like Thanksgiving in America. While I don’t know much about it, I do know that it meant we got the day off work so Rory and I decided to take a Chinese cookery course. When we went to Thailand we went on the most amazing all-day cookery course. We spent the morning walking around the busy city markets and once we’d bought some cookery supplies we took a train out of the city and cycled to a remote farm where we spent the entire day cooking amazing food. It was one of the best things we did while in South East Asia, so we wanted to see what China had to offer. After doing some online research we found a recommended cookery school, booked ourselves in for a crash course in Cantonese cooking and when Friday morning rolled around we hopped on the subway and set off on another adventure.

Down the hutong...

 

 

Despite being located in an actual hutong the school was easy to find and in no time we were led through an ancient looking door, down a twisting alleyway and in to an open courtyard. Within minutes we began our first dish of the day. In Thailand we prepared the ingredients for each individual dish and then cooked and ate that dish immediately but today we prepared all the ingredients at once. We then proceeded to cook the dishes consecutively with no break between each dish. This was a real shame as we didn’t have time to actually eat and enjoy each individual dish, rather we sat and ate everything at once but by the time we had finished cooking the last dish the first dish was freezing! Luckily Rory and I realised this was happening so we became excellent speed eaters and managed to cook and at least get a few mouthfuls of each dish before we had to start the next one! While it wasn’t graceful or culturally sensitive, I’m glad I got to at least taste each dish while they were fresh from the wok  :)

 

While the cookery course wasn’t as good as the one in Thailand we did cook some very tasty meals and it was a nice change. The day would have been more enjoyable if we were given time to eat and enjoy each dish before moving on to the next one but I suppose we are in China and nothing they do makes sense! When I wrote about the cookery school in Thailand I included all the recipes so I thought I would throw up a few on here. I would never in a million years have chosen to eat eggplant but that was my favourite dish! I was also pleasantly surprised by the wilted lettuce – who knew that throwing salad in a wok was a good idea?! I also think it’s pretty amazing that they cook everything in a wok – it’s a real pain when you want to cook some brownies or have a wee baked potato but they make it work and they really do knock out some good food. The recipes were all very easy and they took very little time to prepare and cook so if you’re in the mood for some authentic  Cantonese cuisine give them a go!

Chilli and Garlic Eggplant

 

Ingredients

180g of eggplant, cut in to small finger size

10g of minced pork

2 tablespoons of minced picked chilli

1 teaspoon of ginger

2 teaspoons of garlic

Seasoning;

1 teaspoon of sugar

2 teaspoons of soy sauce

2/3 teaspoons of vinegar

A little sesame oil

Thickening;

½ teaspoon of starch/cornflour

3 teaspoons of water

1. Heat wok on middle flame, add 2 tablespoons of oil. 

2. Add the eggplant and stir until soft – then remove.

3. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, turn to a low heat, add the pork, stirring until the pork separates and the colour changes.

4. Add the chilli, ginger and garlic, stir until fragrant and add 100ml of water.

5. Add the seasoning, mix well and add the eggplant

6. Cook until the water has reduced by half – then add the thickening and allow to coat the eggplant

7. Add the spring onion

8. Turn off the heat, add the sesame oil, serve

Stir Fried Lettuce

 

Ingredients

500g of lettuce

Seasoning

2 tablespoons of minced garlic

2 tablespoons of light soy sauce

1. Tear the lettuce in to big pieces

2. Season wok with 2 tablespoons of oil over a high flame.

3. When the oil smokes add the lettuce, stir until the lettuce wilts

4. Remove lettuce and drain the water

5. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the wok, reduce to a low flame

6. Add the garlic, when it begins to colour add the soy sauce and increase the heat

7. Add the lettuce, quickly mix and take out, serve

Black Pepper Beef

 

Ingredients

125g of sliced beef

70g of sliced green pepper, red pepper and onion

Meat Marinade

1/8 teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon of light soy sauce

½ teaspoon of dark soy sauce

½ teaspoon of wine vinegar

2 teaspoons of corn starch

2 teaspoons of water

Seasoning

1 teaspoon of julienned ginger

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

1 piece of spring onion – the white part

Sauce

½ teaspoon of black pepper

½ teaspoon of light soy sauce

½ teaspoon of dark soy sauce

½ teaspoon of oyster sauce

3 tablespoons of water

½ teaspoon of starch

1. Marinate beef with marinade for 15 minutes

2. Season the wok with 1 tablespoon of oil on a high heat

3. Add the green pepper, red pepper and onion, stir until fragrant and remove.

4. Season wok with 2 tablespoons of oil, add the ginger, garlic and spring onion

5. Add the beef, allow to cook and add the vegetables

6. Add the sauce, mix well and serve

Pork Rib with Soy Sauce and Sugar

 

Ingredients

1kg of pork ribs

Seasoning 1:

Slice a few pieces of ginger

2 pieces of star anise

Seasoning 2:

1 ½ tablespoons of dark soy sauce

4 tablespoons of light soy sauce

4 tablespoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of Chinese white wine (apparently this is 30% alcohol)

4 tablespoons of vinegar

1. Chop the ribs in to 5cm long sections

2. Season wok with 2 tablespoons of oil, add the ginger and ribs, stirring until fragrant, about 5 minutes

3. Add 200ml of water, the star anise and all the ingredients in seasoning 2

4. Cover and cook on a low heat for 1.5 hours or until the water is gone, serve.

If you're interested in reading about our Thai cookery course here's the link - alternativey you can type Domestic Goddess in to the search bar on the right :)

 http://ginamccune.blogspot.com/2012/11/domestic-goddess.html