114. Hot and sour soup -- Northeast Chinese style (V)

Chinese hot and sour soup

… Eventually the long Chinese new year celebration is finished. I bet everyone in China is taking a break from all the cooking, eating, visiting, shopping… And the ashes from fireworks are being cleaned up -- I always find it bit sad when I see this, just like I don’t really like gatherings, because I don’t like to see when it’s finishing, families and friends are leaving. In Chinese, there is a saying ‘all the feasts will have to come to an end’. :(( However, the good thing is that we still have a year to look forward, and the spring is coming…

Anyway, we still need to talk about eating. :) Probably after a long feast, we should go for something simple. :) This recipe is hot and sour soup -- with clear soup base. I guess that you are not unfamiliar with the hot and sour soup served in Chinese take-aways and restaurants (outside China). Most of them are Cantonese style. For some time, I really liked it, but eventually I got really bad homesick and I started making  hot and sour soup northeast style. :)

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91. Chinese stir fried beef with cucumber

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Stir fried cucumber and beef

黄瓜炒肉片

Stir frying cucumber--- :)) I guess you might be frowning. Well, it is true, this dish does have stir-fried cucumber. And it is not any particular kind of cucumber, it is just the normal cucumbers that you would use in a salad. :)

I think this is probably one of those vegetables, such as salad leaves, which Chinese people use both for salad and for stir frying. which make it very different to western food. In Chinese cuisine, (or northern Chinese cuisine, to be more precise), cucumber can be made into salad (liangcai), or stir-fried, or even in soup (the famous hot-sour soup  uses cucumber as one of its main ingredients).

But cucumbers in China are so different from the ones here in UK. Firstly, the package. Before coming here, I had never seen any cucumbers wrapped and sold individually. In China, it is very important to see the actual skin of the cucumber before buying it, because the skin can tell if the cucumber is fresh or not.

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Chinese green bean starch salad (liang cai)

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(凉拌拉皮）

Chinese green bean starch

A friend requested this recipe -- actually I am very surprised and glad that almost every friend who tried this dish really liked it. Friends have been asking about this for a long time, but I have been lazy, sorry… :))

Chinese green bean starch salad

It is an other ‘Liang Cai’ (salad) dish -- the most traditional and popular one in the Northeast of China, not only just for summer, but also for any time of the year, it gives a fresh taste on the dining table, either for a relaxed dinner at home, or when you are having guests over -- I can almost ensure you that your guests will like it.! :))

It is originally called ‘Liangbanlapi’ or 'Liangbanfenpi), means cold mixed green bean starch. But in most of the restaurants in Northeast, you would have to order ‘wucailapi’(五彩拉皮）, a very fancy name which means "five colours green bean starch" -- chefs usually work very hard on the presentation of this dish.:)) But you can see in the picture here, I am preparing a home made version, you know, just like quick sketch for art, I did not go into the details on the canvas. ha...

Green bean and potato starch

I say it is green bean starch, but actually, potato starch, sweet potato starch, corn flour starch all can be used in the dish. I prefer green bean (mung bean) starch though, while the others are good for the soup or stir fry ... I think. It is normally sold very fresh in China, they are like a block of jelly, ‘transparent’ white. Just I thought I would never be able to have it here, I saw similar ones being sold in a pack － a dry version --- not bad either.

In some restaurants here, which claim specialising on Beijing or Sichuang food, you usually can find it on the menu as a starter; but, of course, it looks different and it tastes different.

Different regions have different ways of preparing this dish, for example, in Sichuan this dish comes in a spicy seasoning sauce. In Northern China, the sauce uses sesame paste as main ingredient along with vinegar and sugar. (sweet and sour again :))

The recipe: green bean starch liang cai

I told a friend the ingredients roughly once, but he later told me that taste was not totally right…. so…:)) this is the first recipe in which I have carefully measured each ingredient and recorded the measure, but you can improvise to your own taste. :))

Ingredients

(I made a big bowl of this salad, but if you are only cooking for 2 or 3, cut all the given amounts to half.)

Green bean starch (There are two types of green bean starch sold in Chinese supermarkets  here, one is a package of round sheets, and the other is flat strips,  like flat noodles. I think the round one is better, its texture is more close to the ‘original dish’, and taste is better for this salad, but they both do. On the left top photo, it is made with round sheet, where the right photo and the following ones is made with flat strip ones.)

Cucumber, coriander (if you are not s big fan of the taste of coriander, you can leave it out, but it does give the dish a very fresh smell and taste), carrots (optional)

Sesame paste, vinegar, white sugar, salt, sesame oil, garlic (optional)

Preparation

1) Soaking two round sheets of grean bean starch (or half pack of the flat stripped greanbean starch) into hot water for 20 -30 minutes, until they are completely soft, which can be checked by touching it, or see the change of the colour (they will turn to more 'white' and 'transparent' ). Stir every 5 minutes to prevent them from sticking together. Then chop them into smaller pieces.

2) Mash the 3 gloves of garlic.

3) Cut one cucumber and carrots into slim strips.

Mixing

1) Put prepared greanbean starch sheet, cucumber, coriander and garlic in a salad bowl.

2) In a bowl, put 4 big tablespoon sesame paste, mix in with water to make it thinner. (I found it is a bit difficult to dissolve it just by water, so I pour in a few drops of oil, then water.)

3) Then put 3/4 table spoon of salt, 3 table spoon of rice vinegar, just a bit less than 2 table spoon of white sugar, 1 and half table spoon of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce and mashed garlic into the sesame mix.

4) Pour the mixed seasoning into the salad bowl, and mix everything together.

Chinese green bean starch liang cai

----- Start eating, otherwise the greanbean starch could be soaked into the sauce too much, getting sticking, and will lose the original texture.

Good to have it with rice, either boiled or egg fried, and.. try with beer, if you drink. :))

8. Chinese vegetarian recipe: Black fungus and cucumber salad

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-- Liang cai: Mu'er (black fungus) 

& Huanggua (cucumber)

凉菜：木耳拌黄瓜

Chinese black fungus salad

I was born in late July, the hottest time in Northeast China, love the sun and the hot, I mean really hot weather. ( At least, I think this the reason why.:)))  When I was in China, every summer, everyone would tell me that I lost lots of weight…. How nice! :)) Well, one of the reasons for this was that I never stopped moving around, even in the hottest days.  Another reason is that I love eating  ‘Liang Cai’ (Chinese salad, or literally ‘cool dish’) in the summer --- little or no oil, low fat, mainly vegetables, healthy, how could I not lose weight? :)  The taste is … super fresh, perfect for the ‘summer stomach’.

For the past couple of weeks, the weather has been so so so .. good, amazing for April in the UK. So I have been making a lot of different ‘liang cai’ dishes these days: partly because of the good weather, but partly also because of a feeling of nostalgia towards summer in my hometown.

This is one of the dishes. I am not sure whether this particular one can be labeled as ‘traditional Northeast Chinese dish’, at least I don’t remember having it when I was living in China. Only a few years ago, we went back to my hometown to see my parents, my dad ordered this once in a restaurant. I totally fell in love with it.

It is originally prepared only with Chinese black fungus and cucumber. But, one day, I had some fried peanuts left,  and I was just looking for a way to finish them off. So, I put the peanuts into the dish, and --- it worked, and it combines so well with ‘old vinegar’. :)) So I started adding peanuts in. However, the peanuts are totally optional.

Chinese black fungus

Chinese Black Fungus

 There is a lot to say about this ‘Black fungus’ -- it is a kind of Chinese mushroom, the most famous one is from the mountains called ‘Da Xing An Ling’ crossing the whole three Northeast provinces. In UK,
you can find them in most Chinese supermarkets, and sometime also in the ‘foreign food’ sections of Sainsbury's and Tesco. However, the one that you can find in the ‘foreign food’ section of standard supermarkets often comes from Japan, it is sold in a little glass jar containing only a few pieces, and it is quite expensive. I honestly cannot tell the difference with the ones we have in Northeast China,  so it is probably better to buy them in a Chinese supermarket (and if they are produced in Northeast, even better). It is sold dry, and needs to be soaked before cooking it. The black fungus will double or triple its size after soaking. So, every time I go back home, I always carry lots of them back, they can last forever. There are also some compacted ones in little boxes --- not highly recommended, as after soaking in water, they will fall apart in small pieces.

‘Black fungus’ in Chinese are called ‘Mu Er’, which literally means ‘the ear of the wood’. It normally can be cooked in soup, stir-fried, or in salad. It is super nutritious -- has lots of properties for iron intake and blood pressure...etc. And in this dish, adding up the peanut (with niacin, fiber, vitamin E…) and old vinegar (helping digestion and blood circulation, anti-aging..etc), it cannot be healthier. :))

The recipe: Chinese black fungus salad

Ingredients

Mu’er (black fungus), cucumber, peanut
Oil, salt, old vinegar (if you don’t have it at home, you can use rice vinegar instead, however the taste can be a bit different), anise star, cinnamon stick, wasabi (optional), mushroom or vegetable essence (optional)

Preparation

1) Soak the ‘Mu er’ (black fungus) into hot water for 15- 20 minutes, until it is tender (every bit is stretched out), wash out thoroughly, and tear it into smaller parts. (It can also be boiled if you think it is difficult to soak to tender).

2) Chop the cucumber diagonally into thin slices.
 

3) Fry the peanuts in the hot oil, let it cool down afterwards.

Cooking (more like mixing all the ingredients together)

1) Heat around 4-5 table spoons of oil in the wok, then put a few anise stars and a couple of cinnamon sticks in the hot oil.

2) Remove the anise stars and cinnamon sticks from the oil. Allow the oil to cool down.

3) Mix tendered ‘Mu er’ (black fungus), sliced cucumber and fried peanuts together in a salad bowl, then add in ‘flavored oil’ (from step 1), 1 teaspoon of white sugar, 2-3 tablespoons of old vinegar, half teaspoon of salt, half teaspoon of mushroom or vegetable essence (optional) and squeeze in a bit wasabi (if you like).

Black fungus and cucumber salad

----- Mix everything together well, done! :))

How simple! If you like, you can also put in ‘minced’ garlic and chopped spring onion and a few drops of chili oil.

You know, if you are thinking of preparing dumplings, this Liang Cai dish is just perfect as a side dish!! :)