111. Steamed dumplings with marrow, prawns, egg and Fensi filling

Happy new year!!

After three continuous ‘culture notes’ on Chinese new year, let’s come back to talk some ‘real’ stuff -- food! :)) As dumpling is the most popular ‘must-have’ food during the Chinese new year celebration, I would like to share more dumpling recipes. However, this recipe is slightly different to the previous ones, as these dumplings are steamed, and with a new filling -- marrow prawns, egg and Fensi. But the way of rolling the pastry sheet and wrap it up are still the same.

As you know, the ‘famous’ Chinese dumplings are normally boiled, but dumplings can also be lightly fried (like Japanese dumplings), and steamed -- with slightly different way of making the pastry sheet.

Steamed dumplings are probably not very common in many Chinese restaurants, but you might be familiar with all the steamed ‘dim sim’. Steamed dumpling is very similar to steamed ‘dim sim’ in that respect, but in much bigger size --- that is why we always say northeast people are generous in food -- serve more and eat more. Ha…

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Hot and spicy pot (Ma La Tang) II

Chinese Ma La Tang

Continued from yesterday’s post…

When this dish got popular in China, its recipe spread to different regions. It seems, however, that different areas have adopted it differently, probably according to their own local taste. Just like outside China, all the Chinese cuisine has been adapted differently to the taste of each foreign country. :))

People in Northeast China say that the recipe for this hot and spicy pot is also slightly different to the original one. So, here is how I make it.

Well, saying that, the easiest way of making it is actually to buy the ‘sauce’ base from the Chinese supermarkets. They normally come in a big ‘sachet’, you just need to ‘squeeze’ it out, then boil it with water, and add in whatever the ingredients you like. You need to ask for ‘Ma La Tang’ soup base. If you do use them, I suggest you use half of the portion each time, or gradually add in, because it can be very very spicy!

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83. Fried bean curd sheet wraps with vegetable fillings (V)

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Chinese bean curd wraps

This is not a recipe from North East China, :)) This recipe comes totally from my ‘passion’ towards eating - try to make anything that I can eat. Ha..

The original recipe comes from Cantonese dim sim; the ones in Cantonese restaurants in England are often wrapped with duck mince and vegetables. I have never been a ‘duck’ fan, but I really like this way of cooking, so I went to buy dried bean curd sheet, and made my own vegetarian recipe.

Actually, to my surprise,  the dried bean curd sheet I bought is produced in Zhejiang, a province near Shanghai; also, in contrast to Cantonese dim sim, the recipes suggested in the package involve only vegetables, so I guess this vegetarian version is not my own invention after all. :))

Anyway, if you are like me, and love the crispiness of the bean curd sheet after it being fried, and love the combination of the vegetarian fillings with the crispy ‘skin’, you will like this recipe. :)

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82. Marrow, prawn and ‘Fen si’ (Cellophane noodles) clear soup

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Chinese marrow soup

From late autumn in Edinburgh to hot summer in Verona and Venice, to mid autumn Oxford, and now late autumn / almost early winter in Bonn / Cologne; I feel like we are traveling between different seasons rather than between locations. Long winters and summers can be unbearable, but when you travel in between seasons, you enjoy a taste for each of them for a short while; then even the hottest summer day or cold, chili winter day becomes lovely.

Here, in Bonn, it feels like late autumn, with yellow and red leaves covering the streets, together with beautiful houses on both sides of the road; my usual sadness in autumn is completely gone, instead, I am feeling joyful and grateful…

Today’s recipe, Marrow, prawn and ‘Fen si’ (Cellophane noodles) Soup (clear based) -- created by me; tested by my husband, who does not usually like marrow dishes, but he gave me a thumbs up for this one. :))

Saying it is ‘created by me’ -- I am a boasting myself a little here, or I should really take any credit at all. The thing is I could not find ‘marrow’ in the Chinese vegetable catalogue; sometimes people use the name ‘courgette’ for referring to marrow

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Chinese Fen Si (Cellophane noodles)

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Chinese cellophane noodles

中国粉丝

Fensi in Chinese cuisine

Fensi is one of commonly used ingredients in Northeast Chinese cuisine. For the translation in English, I had to look up online, the formal term for it is ‘Cellophane noodles’.

Although some people use ‘Chinese vermicelli’ to refer to ‘Fensi’, (even sometimes when I have to explain what it is, I always say Chinese vermicelli too), it is really not the same thing.

Chinese vermicelli are made from rice, and can be served as main ‘stable food’, like ‘noodles’, but ‘Fensi’ is always used in (sharing) dishes or soup cooked along with either meat or vegetables - at least in Northeast cuisine, while vermicelli is never part of Northeast food.

In a book written by one of my favorite Chinese writer, she describes ‘Fensi’ as ‘rain drops from the sky like threads, and Fensi is just that thread being collected’ --- What a beautiful and romantic description! 

Preparing Chinese Fensi

Fensi can be made either from potato (starch), sweet potato (starch), mung beans (starch). And it comes in different shapes - flat, round, slim like thread, or fatter like a small tube… They all can be called ‘Fen’, but ‘Fensi’ really only refers to the ones are ‘threads’ like. And I prefer the ‘mung bean’ ones for salad or vegetable soup dish, while potato ones for stir-fry or soup with meat.

As ‘Fensi’ normally comes in ‘dry’ form, and packed in a little ‘bunch’, they becomes difficult to separate it when you only want a little bit. We normally use scissors to cut it, but still the little pieces would jump out everywhere.

Once Fensi touches (warm / hot) water, it absorbs water easily, and

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21. Chinese Garlic chives and prawn Pastry (part 1)

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Chinese garlic chives pastry

---  JiuCai He Zi (韭菜合子）

If you have read my post ‘Dumpling introduction’, you probably already know that there is another type of  pastry my mum would cook for our family’s Chinese New Year Eve --- here it is “He zi”.

Again, I am not sure if this kind of pastry is popular in other parts of China. The Northern provinces are famous for their ‘flour-based’ food and many Northern pastries are not that popular in the South. However, this is definitely one of the most traditional dishes in the North East of China.

A few years ago, my husband took a few of these to work for lunch. A Chinese girl who grew up in the North East of China saw him in the canteen, and was very surprised, asked him where he got that from.

Imagine a Western man peacefully eating one of the most distinctively local Northeast dishes for lunch, which btw is almost impossible to get in Chinese restaurants or takeaways in the UK. She must have been in total shock seeing him eating he zi with chopsticks, soya dip, and all. Ha… Couple of years later, we all moved to Oxford, and became good friends.

Chinese He zi

This pastry is called ‘he zi’ in Chinese, as in ‘something to cover up’, or ‘a box with lid’. To give you an idea, he zi are somewhat similar to  ‘Dim Sim’,  but Northeast style.

‘He zi’ are essentially two pieces of round thin pastry sheets with fillings in the middle.

In Chinese, there is an expression ‘Tuan tuan Yuan Yuan’,  which literally means making a round shape. It is normally used as a metaphor for referring to a family happily, blissfully united together.

Because of the shape of ‘Hezi’, my mum loves to make it especially on Chinese New Year Eve (many other Chinese make dumplings instead). By preparing he zi she wants to express her happiness for being all united, together, as a family.

It just shows how important he zi are in my family. It takes some time to make them, but they are probably easier than dumplings: the pastry sheet is bigger, and normally around 3 -4 are enough for one person.

The dough for the pastry sheet of ‘He zi’ is made exactly as for ‘dumplings’ (see here).  The size and shape is, however, different. I will post the illustration tomorrow, otherwise this post would be too long, you will get bored of me. :))

The recipe: Chinese Hezi with Jiucai fillings

I am now going to explain one of the most popular fillings for he zi in the North of China. This filling can be used for dumplings. I improvised the original recipe a little bit, but even this ‘improvisation’ is a common one.

The original filling is called ‘Sanxianxian’, as in ‘Three fresh.. fillings’. Although it is normally believed to be seafood fillings, the only kind of seafood in it are prawns.

The traditional and original recipe is composed by three items: garlic chives, eggs and dried small prawns. The garlic chives and dried prawns are very ‘Chinese’. I also used fresh prawns and ‘Fensi’ in the filling. Here are the ingredients.

Ingredients

Jiu cai, 

Jiu cai are normally translated as ‘Garlic chives’ in English, but their smell and taste are way more stronger than the ‘Chives’ we can get in the supermarkets.

In fact, sometimes, after buying ‘Jiu cai’, if we leave them in the car for a little while, the car would become super smelly (same if you leave them in the fridge for a while). My husband used to wonder if something got rotten in the fridge.:) He may not like the smell of jiu cai, but  he is a big fan of its taste in dumplings or ‘he zi’.

Unfortunately, jiu cai can only be found in Chinese supermarkets in England, and the ones sold there are not quite the ideal ones as they are not freshly cut. Anyway, they do the job. )

Eggs

Prawns,

Traditionally, he zi are prepared with dried small prawns (see the picture). The smaller ones are the best to use in this fillings, otherwise, slightly bigger dried ones are also ok, but they need to be soaked in the water for some time until get soft.

As improvised version, I also put some fresh prawns in, just for the fresh taste. So if you cannot get the dried prawns, the fresh ones in any supermarkets are just as good.)

Fensi

I am actually about to introduce these in a separate post. Let me say something now, briefly.

Fensi are a common ingredient in China. They look like Chinese rice vermicelli, but they are not made from rice, but rather from corn flour, potato, or mung beans.. etc. The best one used in this recipe is Mung bean Fensi.

Using Fensi in the filling is an improvised version of the original one, but it is also a very common way.)

Preparation

1） Wash and chop ‘Garlic Chives’ into the smallest possible pieces, like mince. (Pay attention to the bottom, the part with white stem when washing, as it is normally with muds).

2）In a heated wok, pour in 3 tablespoons of oil, then put in around two well beaten eggs, and keep on stir it, try to make the ‘scrambled’ egg into small piecse, and let it cool down.

3） Mince the fresh prawns.

4） Place a small bunch of ‘Fensi’ In a bowl, then pour in hot water to soak it to soft. And chop it into smallest pieces possible afterwards.

Mixing

1）Mix all the prepared ‘Garlic Chives’, eggs, fresh prawns, ‘Fensi’ and a handful of ‘Dried small prawns’ (if you can find in the supermarkets) together in a big mixing bowl.

2）Add in 2/3 tablespoon of salt, 3 tablespoons of sesame oil, around 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil (or seasoned oil) 1 teaspoon of five or thirteen spice powder, 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of MSG or vegetable/ mushroom essence (optional).

3） Mix everything well

Mixing the fillings

--- Here your filing for ‘he zi’ or dumplings is done!