Tag: chinese soul food
Steamed Black Bean Spareribs-Microwave Magic

Steamed Black Bean Spareribs-Microwave Magic

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I am the happy owner of Anyday Cookware, a set of bowls designed for the microwave.  A podcast junkie, I am hooked on “All Things Chang”.  That is Dave Chang, chef, restauranteur, face, and creator of the Momofuku Empire.  He has waxed poetically about microwave cooking and I figure if it is good enough for him…why not?

What I really wanted to do was adapt well-loved dishes to the microwave.  Lucky me, dishes that I normally steam,  microwave beautifully.  Bonus, not only is the cooking time shortened, but the process is simplified.  No messing with steamer racks, or a large wok or pan to steam in.  You cook in the same bowl you use to prep the dish. How cool is that?  If you hate washing dishes like me, this is a HUGE.

I started with Steamed Eggs with Chinese Sausage and Mushrooms and was rewarded with a silky smooth custard in minutes.  A parade of down-home Chinese steamed dishes followed, Steamed Pork Patty, Steamed Chicken, Lop Cheung, and Mushrooms, and now, Steamed Black Bean Spareribs.

I adapted a recipe from the site Made with Lau.  Inspired to archive his chef father’s cooking, Randy Lau created Made with Lau featuring videos of his chef-father cooking classic Chinese dishes, in particular Cantonese dishes.

The Lowedown on Lau

His are the dishes of my childhood. The videos are easy to follow and more importantly, the recipes work.  His father speaks in Cantonese, so I get to brush up on my Chinese skills, while learning how to make a great dish, win-win!  My family is from the same region in China and listening to him feels like being home with my grandparents, aunties, and uncles.  Randy does a yeoman’s job translating his Dad’s cooking wisdom and his recipes into English.

The Wrap

After each cooking session, the family gathers around the table to enjoy the fruits of Daddy Lau’s labor.  They give the background and history of the dish and additional cooking tips.  It is the perfect way to round out each segment.  Made with Lau is a gem and I hope you check out their site.

The Dish

Black Bean Spareribs is a family favorite which until now, we only have when we are out for Dim Sum.  The spareribs are steamed with chilis, fermented black beans, which have lots of umami, and seasonings.   As soon as Made with Lau posted the video recipe I jumped at the chance to try it.  My biggest deviation was cooking it in the microwave instead of steaming.  Worked like a charm.

Use pork spareribs cut into bite-size pieces or you can cheat and use boneless pieces of pork.  Both are equally tasty.  Chinese markets carry ribs cut into 1-inch segments so if you are close to an Asian market go for it…don’t cut them yourself.  It’s a lot of trouble and invariably you will have shards of bone in the cut ribs-no fun. For boneless, use pork belly or pork butt for this dish.  It shouldn’t be too lean, the fat contributes both flavor and tenderness to the dish.

Fermented black beans can be found in Chinese grocery stores.  Salted and fermented black soybeans are pungent and full of umami.  A little goes a long way but it does keep well in the fridge.  There is a black bean sauce in a jar that might be a suitable sub, you would need to adjust for salt and some of the seasonings.  I haven’t tried it yet.

This is Cantonese soul food.  Serve with steaming bowls of rice and a green veggie dish like stir-fried pea sprouts.

 

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Steamed Black Bean Spareribs-Microwaved

Cantonese dish generally served at teahouse for Dim Sum. Microwaved instead of steamed! Fast, easy and delicious.
Course dim sum, Main Course, Muffins
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Black beans spareribs, Cantonese cooking, dim sum, steamed pork with black beans
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb spare ribs (baby back ribs) cut into 1-1.5 inch pieces or sub 1 lb. pork belly or pork butt cut into bite-sized pieces.
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch for rinsing ribs

Bowl 1

  • 0.50 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1/2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1-2 tbsp water or low sodium chicken stock Add if using microwave to cook

Bowl 2

  • 1 tsp dried mandarin orange peel optional, small thumbnail sized piece
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1 tsp ginger minced

Bowl-3

  • 1 tbsp fermented dried black beans rinsed and dried, smooshed
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch for pork
  • 0.50 tsp vegetable oil

Garnish

  • red chili pepper, deseeded and deveined a few slices, optional
  • 2 green onions sliced

Instructions

  • Place our fermented black beans in a bowl, and rinse them under running water for 15-20 seconds. Gently massage the beans as you do this. Drain the water, and set the bowl aside to let the beans rehydrate for a couple of minutes then smoosh them with the back of a spoon. Set aside
    Soak orange peel in warm water, set aside for 10-15 min. Once soft, dice.
  • Slice red chili pepper and green onions. Set aside
  • Rinse and dry ribs and place in bowl. Add cornstarch to the ribs, and massage the ribs around to evenly mix the cornstarch around the surface of each rib.
  • Rinse the ribs in running water for 1 to 2 minutes, massaging the ribs as you go. Pour out all of the water, and press and squeeze the ribs against a colander to get rid of excess water.
  • Wrap the ribs in a thick paper towel, pressing and patting to absorb moisture.
  • Place ribs in a large microwavable bowl. Make marinade.
  • Combine salt, sugar, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine in a small bowl. Mince garlic, ginger, orange peel, and add to a second bowl.
  • Add soy mixture and ginger-garlic mixture to bowl of ribs. Mix and massage the bowl of ribs well. Approximately 45-60 seconds to blend.
  • Add black beans to the bowl of ribs, mix well.
  • Add sesame oil and cornstarch. Mix the ribs to evenly coat each rib with cornstarch. Spread out evenly in bowl. Sprinkle chilis on top and drizzle with remaining 1/2 tbsp of oil. Cover with lid, open the vent on lid if it has one, or leave lid slightly ajar on bowl.
  • Microwave on full strength for 5 minutes. Remove, careful it's hot and stir mixture. If it seems dry or the sauce is too thick add 1-2 tablespoons of water or stock. Scatter green onions on top. Place lid back on and microwave for anouther4-5 minutes.
  • Remove from microwave and allow to stand for 30-60 seconds. Serve with lots of rice.

Notes

Heat wok on stove, placing a steamer rack in the center of the wok. Add enough boiled water so that it just barely covers the entire steamer rack.  Transfer the ribs into the plate you'll be steaming with, being careful not to let any ribs be covered by one another. Add the chili pepper slices, and pour vegetable oil on the ribs.
Cover the wok, set the stove to its highest heat setting, and steam the spare ribs for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, turn the heat off, uncover the wok, garnish with the green onions and serve.
Itching for Fuzzy Melon Soup (Mo Gwa Tong=毛瓜汤)

Itching for Fuzzy Melon Soup (Mo Gwa Tong=毛瓜汤)

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Now don’t freak over the term Fuzzy Squash or Melon.  This squash does have a fuzzy exterior but it is scraped off before cooking.  You are left with a sweet, mild, squash that is wonderful in soups, as a side dish with Chinese sausage and bean thread noodles, or stuffed with meat filling and steamed-my favorite, but for another post.  We’re talking soup today.

But Let’s Start with Soup ABCs

We can break down Chinese Soups into two categories, quick soups and long, slow simmer soups.  We tend to have quick soups on weekday workdays and save slow simmered soups (老火湯,) for the weekend.  Both types are delicious of course.  Many of the slow simmered soups are thought of as tonics.  Various herbs are added for their health benefits.  Valid?  I’m not sure, I just know they are delicious and comforting.  But if you ask my 90+-year-old mom, she would say she is living proof.

But This is About Quick and Easy

I learned how to make this soup from my Dad, the King of “dinner on the table in less than an hour”. To start, marinate ground pork for a couple of minutes (ok, more like 10-15min), then fry it with a couple of slices of ginger until it is no longer pink.  Add water or chicken stock along with the rehydrated mushrooms and salted turnip and simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Toss in the squash, bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the soup simmers for another 15 minutes or until the squash is translucent.  Finish by adding the tofu, and egg and simmer for a couple of minutes to cook the egg.  Taste for seasoning, add salt if needed. Garnish with scallions, and bada bing bada boom, ready to eat.  My kids always throw rice into their bowls of soup, just like I did when I was a kid.  This soup is a favorite, right after Corn Soup.  This is down-home Cantonese soul food, da best.

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5 from 3 votes

Fuzzy Melon Soup

Down home Cantonese Soup, Fuzzy Melon Soup is quick and easy
Course One dish meals, Soup
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Fuzzy Melon Soup, mo gwa tong
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 fuzzy melon Scraped and cut into slices, 1/4 inch thick
  • 1 salted turnip Separate pieces, you will have a center chunk wrapped with a slice of root and leaves. Use 1 piece, either the slice, or leaves or the center chunk, rinse the piece you are going to use lightly with cold water to remove salt. Return remainder to bag for later use.
  • 3 dried shiitake mushrooms Soaked in hot water to soften (20 minutes)
  • 8 cups water or 1:1 chicken stock:water or add 1 heaping T Better Than Boullion Chicken base to water.
  • 1-2 slices fresh ginger Smash slices with the flat of a cleaver or knife to help release flavors
  • 1 block tofu (1/2 carton tofu) soft, medium, or firm, diced to 1/2-3/4 inch cubes if using firm tofu.
  • 1 egg lightly beaten
  • 1 stalk green onion diced
  • 2-3 springs cilantro garnish
  • 1 tsp soy sauce

Marinade for Pork

  • 3/4 cup ground pork
  • 1 tsp rice wine
  • 1 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1/4 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt and a dash of white pepper

Instructions

  • Combine marinade ingredients with ground pork. You can use chicken or turkey if you like. Let sit for 10-15 minutes
  • Scrape fuzzy melon with a knife to remove fuzz and top layer of melon. Once scraped it should still be light green in color. You can use a peeler but it will take more of the squash than necessary and the pale green layer will be removed. It's NBD. Cut melon in half lengthwise and then cut each half lengthwise to create quarters. Cut each quarter crosswise into ~1/4 inch thick slices. Set aside.
  • Heat 2 tsp of vegetable or peanut oil in a medium saucepan (3-4 qt). Add ginger and pork. Saute' until pork loses pinkness.
  • Add water/stock, mushrooms, and turnip to saucepan. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a low boil for 15 minutes. You can add soy sauce at this point or before tasting for salt in the next step.
  • Add squash to stock, bring back to a boil and immediately reduce heat again to a low boil. Cook until squash looks opaque rather than white and has softened but still retains its shape (about 10-15 minutes). Taste and season with salt if needed.
  • Add tofu and heat through. Once soup is hot again, lower heat to a gentle simmer or turn it off. Stir soup with chopsticks or spoon in one direction, add egg in a slow steady stream to create egg ribbons in soup (like egg drop soup). Or crack the egg into soup and let it poach without breaking the egg up. My dad always let me have the egg, lol. Daddy's little girl.
  • Garnish with green onions or cilantro, serve immediately.

Notes

Remove mushrooms from soup, thinly slice mushrooms and add them back to the soup. 
The egg is optional if you don't want to add it, fine.  My dad would crack the egg into the soup and let it poach, the winner gets the egg (or whoever whined enough to get it).
Salted Turnip-here is a link to a description of the one I use.  Found in most Asian markets, in particular Chinese Markets
Egg Dumplings (Gai Don Gok)

Egg Dumplings (Gai Don Gok)

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One of my favorite homestyle dishes my mom would make is Egg Dumplings or Gai Don Gok.  My mom’s version of Gai Don Gok or Dan Jiao uses her recipe for won tons and replaces the flour wrapper with egg.  Whenever my mom visited she would make a batch of won tons and egg dumplings.  While the kids were at school we would head to the Chinese market for ingredients, pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, and fresh wrappers.  As soon as we got home Mom would set about making the won ton filling.  Half of it was always reserved for egg dumplings.  As soon as she was done wrapping won tons, she started on the egg dumplings.   She wanted to make sure she had a plate of hot dumplings ready and waiting when the kids came bounding through the door.

Unfortunately, not only is my mom too frail now to make her dumplings but the COVID pandemic has prevented us from visiting her in person.  We are being robbed of precious moments we could spend with her.  Our only consolation is the aggressive measures taken were successful and thankfully she and the other residents remain virus-free.

Moments of Comfort

Missing my mom, the memories of making won tons and egg dumplings with her popped into my head.  I felt the urge to make won tons and egg dumplings.  Just like Mom,  I hand-chopped everything-the pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, shrooms, and onions for the filling.  I wrapped wontons and then set about making egg dumplings.  The hubs and kids came walking through the door just as I put the finishing touches on the plate of Gai Don Gok.  Mom would approve.

I love the combination of pork and shrimp but the filling can be made with all pork.  Substitute ground chicken for a portion of the pork if you like.  That is the beauty of Mom’s Super Duper Won Ton and Everything Filling for egg dumplings, stuffed squash, or meatballs in soup, it is versatile and pretty darn tasty.

It will take a little bit of practice to make the dumplings unless of course, you are an omelet pro.  Then it will be a piece of cake.  Whip eggs with water (one teaspoon per egg) and set aside.  Have everything next to the stove.  Heat a sufficient amount of oil to generously coat the bottom of the frying pan.  I use a stainless steel pan generously oiled to keep the egg from sticking.  Heat the pan over medium-low heat.  It can’t be too hot or the egg will brown too much before the filling has a chance to cook completely.

The Dumpling Process

Use a Chinese soup spoon (this is what mom and millions of other Chinese moms use to measure) or an equivalent (1.25 tablespoon volume) spoon and fill it with the egg mixture.  Pour this into your pan to create a 3-inch circle, lower the heat if the egg cooks too quickly.  Scoop the filling (about 2 teaspoonfuls) and drop it on one side of the egg circle.  Immediately fold the egg over to cover the filling and form a crescent-shaped omelet.  Gently press down the filling to flatten it so it cooks evenly.  Flip the dumpling over and cook to a light golden brown, approximately 30 seconds per side. Push to the side, or transfer to another pan set on low heat to set while cooking additional dumplings.   Serve with ketchup or oyster sauce.  The egg dumplings are delicious in soup just like won tons.

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Egg Dumplings (Gai Don Gok)

Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Egg Dumplings, Gai Don Gok
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

Pork & Shrimp Filling

  • 3/4 lb ground pork
  • 1/4 pound fresh shrimp peeled and deveined and roughly diced
  • 4-6 water chestnuts peeled and coarsely chopped, fresh or canned (rinse before using)
  • 3-4 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked, drained and coarsely chopped
  • 2 stalks of green onions coarsely chopped
  • 1 T cilantro leaves finely chopped (optional)
  • 1/2 inch knob of fresh ginger peeled and minced
  • 1 T soy sauce
  • 1 T oyster sauce
  • 1 T rice wine or sherry
  • 1/2 tsp. sugar
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil optional

Egg Wrap

  • 4 large eggs, slightly beaten plus 1 t water per egg substitute stock for water

Instructions

To Make Filling:

  • Place ground pork and shrimp in a medium sized bowl. Add seasonings. Using chopsticks or a spoon, stir the mixture in one direction until the ingredients are well combined. Transfer half of the filling to a bowl. Reserve the other half for won tons.
  • You can pre-shape the filling into little balls to have ready for frying the dumplings or scoop little balls while you are frying if you like.

To Make Egg Dumplings

  • Break eggs into a bowl, add water and beat until thoroughly combined. Place the filling and egg mixtures by stove. If water is used, add a dash of salt and pepper to the egg mixture. Omit salt if stock is used.
  • Heat a stick-resistant or non-stick skillet over medium low heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan. I use a steel pan with a generous amount of oil to coat the bottom.
  • Using a large spoon (or Chinese soup spoon) spoon approximately 1.5 tablespoons of egg mixture into the pan to form a circle. Cook about 10 seconds, when the egg edge is set, place 2 teaspoons of filling on one side the egg. Using a spatula and fork, fold the other side of the egg over the filling and gently press down. Cook for 15 seconds and flip. Cook 30-45 seconds on the second side. If the filling seems soft and not quite done, continue to flip and cook. The dumplings should be a golden color. Adjust heat so the filling cooks through and the egg doesn't brown too much.
  • Transfer the dumpling to another pan set on low heat. This keeps the dumplings warm and ensures they cook through. Continue to cook additional dumplings.
  • Serve with ketchup or oyster sauce.