Mung bean pakora with green chutney

---

I've been cooking lots of Indian food lately for friends, especially Northern styles, and thought I'd share recipes I've come up with from lots of experimentation, online searches and this friendly auntie's website.  This is an absolutely delicious snack and can be made in advance and fried and put together when company comes over or if you just want something wonderful.

mung bean pakora

--

you'll need

1 cup whole mung beans, soaked overnight

medium onion, diced

teaspoon ground coriander seed

3-4 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

teaspoon salt

pinch of whole cilantro leaves

teaspoon chaat masala*

1/2 teaspoon asafetida*

oil for frying
 

In food processor or blender, coarsely grind mung beans until most, but not all beans, are pulverized.  Scoop mixture into bowl.  Add flour a tablespoon at a time or until batter is stiff enough to form.  Add all remaining ingredients and mix together well.  Heat a few inches worth of oil in a saucepan on medium.  While oil is reaching temperature, roll 1 inch sized balls and pat into fat disks (see above picture)  Fry 5 or 6 at a time until outside is deep golden colored, around 3-4 minutes.  Set aside on paper towels.  (Batter keeps for a couple of days.)

perfect green chutney

--

you'll need

chopped cilantro leaves and stems, around 3 loose cups

3-4 chopped small green chili

juice of one whole lemon

tablespoon diced ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon whole cumin seed

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 teaspoon asafetida*

Heat oil in pan and gently fry asafetida and cumin seed.  Once the cumin is toasted, remove from heat and allow to cool in pan.  Add all ingredients to blender and top with cooled oil and cumin seed mixture.  Blend well.  Add more cilantro, if needed, to achieve a chunky and less liquid texture.  Serve with above pakoras.

* chaat masala can be bought or made from scratch and asafetida can be found in Indian markets.  There is no specific substitute, so you can leave them out if you cannot find them.

This is a nice sambal (chili sauce used in Malay and Indonesian food) that I've come up with.  Use it as a dipping sauce for fried tofu, a salad dressing good with cabbage and thai eggplants, a fish marinate, or as a sauce for BBQ, churrasco or roast pork.

GREEN SAMBAL

you'll need

 -

ten green chilies, whole

five shallots

five garlic cloves

juice of two limes, one teaspoon reserved

about two teaspoons shrimp paste

scant teaspoon ginger julienne

about a tablespoon of peanut, coconut or canola oil

pinch of turmeric

pinch of salt

set aside to blend

-

one tablespoon white vinegar

reserved lime juice

two stalks of thai basil (around 10 leaves)

half as much peppermint leaves

Using a mortar and pestle, crush chilies, shallots and garlic roughly.  Fry all three in oil on low heat until flavor is released and shallots and garlic start to brown.  Add lime juice, shrimp paste, turmeric and salt and cook together for one to two minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Once cool, Add mixture along with ingredients to blend (if you'd prefer a chunker sambal, you may used a mortar and pestle) Blend until combined and a paste is formed.  Will store in refrigerator for a week.

Yesterday I hosted a dinner for a few friends that was so easy and quick that I actually had time to concentrate on wine and conversation.  Nearly everything I made was recipe free and fusion, either conveniently prepared well in advance or put together almost instantly, making it more creative than previous ventures.

---

The menu

1 - cucumber, lychee and bean sprout salad with a pickled chili dressing

2 - Chinese style braised beef with radish leaves and potatoes

3 - Indian pickled eggplant

4 - tomato, watermelon and mint salad with yogurt and homemade chaat masala

5 - Fried butterfish with lime, shallots, fish sauce, green chili, coriander and Thai basil

6- Caramelized sweet and sour bitter melon

---

Now I just have to work on food presentation and food photography!

---

North Indian/Pakistani vegetarian from my newly busy kitchen: bhatoora (fried Pakistani yogurt leavened bread), chickpea masala, palak panner, brown rice lentil pilao, pineapple and pickled chili raiti, lime pickles, green mango pickles, yogurt with chat masala & a furiously hungry Ariel!

印度餐

1 - lamb vindaloo, rajma kidney bean curry, chicken in yogurt and almond butter, mango chutney

2 - lentil dhal with brown rice, mango salad with chaat masala and lemon, spiced tea (chai)

3 - lamb kofta, black eyed pea curry, pineapple-lime raita, cucumber with mustard oil & green chili salad, mango pickles, naan bread from our local Xinjiang place.

－－－

Ever since I cooked Indian for Emilie's going away party, I've been obsessed with Indian food.  It's a wonderful, versatile, full cuisine that may be my absolute favorite.

减肥茶

Weight loss tea

Chinese, like Americans, love diet plans.  Average diets are much more oily and meaty than previous years, so Chinese are bulking up.  To combat this, there are many new products on the market, many ridiculous, designed to help you lose weight.  

Weight loss teas (减肥茶，or literally "lose/subtract weight tea") are a common, sane form of weight control and look much like Western bag teas, with a Western price to match. All of the ingredients in such tea are very Chinese, and are traditionally drank without any weight loss goals in mind.  (Strangely, all ingredients in these teas are easily bought for much cheaper at local markets or drugstores here.)

From experience, these tea ingredients are great for digestion, helping upset stomachs, relieving bloating and keeping regular.

• Pu'er tea （普洱茶）
• Cassia seed （决明子）
• Hawthorn berries （山楂）
• Lotus leaf （荷叶）
• Chrysanthemum（菊花）

西安王家
Xi'an King

With only a handful of tables and minimal decoration, this easy to pass up, ubiquitous looking hole-in-the-wall serves snacks specific to Shaanxi as well as other house specialties. Their pork and green pepper stuffed sandwiches (肉夹馍) are the best outside of the city that bears their name with homemade buns and perfectly fatty, tasty filling. Also try their potato salad (土豆沙拉); Creamy and fluffy with shredded daikon and carrot, it's frequently ordered and sometimes sold out. Other snacks to try include spinach in ginger juice (姜汁菠菜), their specialty "omelet" (鸡蛋方) and a variety of cold noodles.

It's usually packed for lunch, so be prepared to share a table with strangers if you come alone.

From 北新桥 exit B head north along 雍和宫大街 for around 100 meters. The restaurant will be on your right side.

肉夹馍

"Rou jia mo"

Silvia and I attempted this typical Xi'an street snack. It's quite Muslim meets Chinese. See if you can make it at home, too.

`~>~`

you'll need
About 1/2 lb fatty pork with skin removed
two green peppers
4 pieces of Chinese style "mo" bread (I believe thicker nan bread or pita could be substituted.)

for the slow cooker
pinch salt
couple pinches fresh black pepper
3 inch knob of ginger
3 inch piece of Chinese onion, or leek
3 cloves of garlic
1 t fennel seed
1 tsp clove
three star anise
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
2 small sticks of cinnamon or cassia bark
1 t soy sauce
2 t Chinese black vinegar
2 t Chinese red pepper sauce (this should be mostly pepper flake, peanuts and red oil. Available at nearly all Asian grocers)
1 t canola or other flavorless oil
1 tsp sesame oil

~~(~)~~

Using a heavy, non-Teflon stock, briefly heat spices until fragrant. Remove and crush with the back of a Chinese cleaver. Set aside.

In same pot, cook pork hunk until brown on all sides, but not cooked through. Remove. Place both peppers in pot and cook until brown and roasted. Remove peppers and add a cup of water to pot, scrape with a spatula to produce fond. Dice peppers and set aside. Leave pork uncut.

Add fond, spices, vegetables, peppers and pork to small slow cooker or small, lidded pot. Use above list as a checklist to make sure you have everything added. Cook for a few hours, until pork is extremely soft and fragrant.

Grill "mo" or pita-type bread either on coals (for authenticity) or on an ungreased pan on both sides until brown. Split in half, add meat mixture, and enjoy!

萝卜培根汤
(Radish and bacon soup)


`~*~`
you will need

one large daikon radish (sliced thin and halved)
four strips of bacon
juice of one lemon
splash of soy sauce
splash of Chinese cooking wine
bit of fresh pepper
salt to taste

stock ingredients
around a 1/2 lb of assorted duck or chicken parts
knob of ginger
two star anise
small stick of cinnamon
4-5 dried black mushrooms
1/2 cup of dried, shredded seaweed
one tablespoon of mini dried shrimp
one teaspoon of salt

~*~*~

In advance, add stock ingredients to a slow cooker along with three to four cups of water. Cook for around six hours. Drain and keep stock.

Cook bacon in the bottom of a heavy, Teflon-less pot. Once crispy, remove and set aside then deglaze with a slash of Chinese wine and scrape the fond. Lower heat. Add stock broth and two additional cups of water. Add diced radish and cover, cooking on low for about thirty minutes. Add soy sauce, salt, pepper, bacon pieces and lemon juice and cook for just a couple of minutes. Serves four.

Camel jerky from Xinjiang province. Bought in a store that specializes in things from that region. So far, not eaten.

鬼街

Lamb meat sold in a Ugyur shop

The new subway line 5

～＊～

My neighborhood.

I live in an old Beijing district know as Dongzhimen（东直门）which is actually the historic Eastern gate to the city. Much of the old history is lost, but the area beyond the gate entrance is still known for hot pot restaurants. This street, now called Dongzhimen nei, is where I live. Beijing residents know this same street as gui jie (鬼街，or "ghost street") and it's filled with places to eat, neon signs and red lanterns. The Russian embassy is very close, so the area has a small Russian feel with a few restaurants and shops catering to these diplomats or expats.

What's the history of your neighborhood?

兔子
I eviscerated and cooked this rabbit over the weekend. He was gooey and shiny and filled with purplish orbs and slippery, clotted blood. He was then chopped up and cooked with lots of chili and sichuan peppercorn. Deliciously gamey, rich meat.

四 川泡菜 (sichuan pickles) They fermented for a week, then we ate them. They were actually a little immature, so I'll shoot for two weeks next time.

Cauliflower with smoked Sichuan bacon and brown rice.

Silvia dancing at D-22.

绿豆粥。(mung bean porridge) This horrid looking puce liquid is actually an incredibly delicious and healthy Chinese breakfast.

How to

Boil 1 part unhusked, whole mung beans in about 8 parts water for a minute or so then let sit, covered for an hour. Then, reboil. Add a sizable chunk of natural rock sugar and continue to simmer until the beans have broken up in the broth. (About 45 minutes) Remove and set aside most of the beans with a slotted spoon. (You could also use a colander.) Each bowl should be mostly broth with some beans thrown in. The resulting beverage will be sweet and rich with a distinctive taste. (No need for a spoon!) Really healthy; Chinese even make this into ice cream.

This lady was in all-black, included round black frame glasses. Her shoes were non-nondescript, scuffed men's shoes in the smallest size imaginable.

味精
(MSG)

I've been reading (and cooking) from Fuchsia Dunlop's Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook since I got back to Beijing. The recipes are all from 湖南 (Hunan province) which is also Mao Tze Teng's hometown, and the writer goes into incredible depth with each dish, tying it all in to the history of late 20th century China. Real Cultural Revolution food is poverty food, along the lines of cucumber pickles, shredded radish, boiled tofu and fried seaweed. However, Dunlop mostly tackles fully traditional, hearty peasant dishes along with complex banquet food, making the recipes more reminiscent of quieter times and less placed within the historical context constraints that the title suggests. Included are even some of Mao's favorite recipes gathered from his own family.

Dunlop writes a little about the food additive MSG, mostly negatively. Monosodium glutimate is the chemical compound that produces umami, or richness, in food. This glutimate is naturally occuring in fermented foods, (parmesian cheese, miso, black bean paste) some meat, some vegetables seafood, mushrooms and sea vegetables. 50 years ago or so, chemical glutimates were developed by the Japanese and have since been added to snack foods, dashi, stir-fries and to disguise the taste of cheap food.

As we all are aware, MSG is now very present in Chinese food.

The main reason for this is because in traditional Chinese cooking stocks made from fish, seaweed, pork, chicken, beef, mushrooms, etc. are used commonly to flavor stirfries and soups with extra glutamate flavor. Villages without electricity or freezers would have to constantly keep stocks bubbling and simmering to prevent them from becoming rancid, so a cook became a slave to kitchen because of the need to constantly make and keep fresh stock. Also, if a family can't afford enough meat, there will not be enough bones for the stock. This means the other dishes suffer and won't have that umami taste. MSG is wonderful for those who cannot afford to keep stock. I heard a story told by a Chinese woman about how her mother would make boiled cabbage for lunch. They were too poor to afford real stock, so they had to just use well water. To make the simple, otherwise tasteless food palatable, the mother just added a dash of inexpensive MSG. To poor Chinese, 味精, or "flavor powder," is a miracle spice.

The negatives outweigh the positives. China's food is arguably the most complex and vast in the world, which anyone who's been to a supermarket in Beijing can agree with. You can study it for 10 years and find new dishes, ingredients and techniques everyday. This being said, traditional cooking methods have been threated for most of the late 20th century up until now. Pesticide ridden vegetables, antibiotic injected meat and processed foods are used in most restaurants and MSG is used as a cover-up in a more heinous way than a poor mother guising up her cabbage broth. I've had truly hideous food in this city, but I still believe in the potential of traditional Chinese cooking methods. Maybe I have to travel south to gain faith again.

I've been really into pomelos, which are also called Chinese grapefruits. They are the largest edible citrus; gigantic boulders that can feed three people generously. The outside flesh is spongy and smells very rich and rindy when you peel it. The taste is like a super light grapefruit, sweet and sour, a very dry citrus with huge segments. If you find them somewhere, buy the ones with an indentation on the stem (a "female") because the taste is usually better.

Also in season is hawthorn berry, a very popular Chinese berry used frequently in medicine and juices. During Spring Festival, people buy tremendous skewers of haw on large sticks covered in hard sugar, much like our candied apple. (They're called 冰糖葫芦 in Chinese) It's also eaten dried or used in special teas. The flesh is very soft and the texture is a little like cooked sweet potato. The taste is sour and complex, almost like tamarind and apples mixed together, although it's quite original and fairly incomparable to other fruits. You buy 'em by the bag. Absolutely delicious.

What's your favorite fruit? Post.

\'~^*^~'/

Chinese McDonald's don't feature apple pies, but instead have peach, pineapple and taro root pies. (Yummy purple!)

---小吃---

If you see a busy restaurant in Beijing with crowded tables, 串(Chinese meat on a stick called "chuan") grilling outside and bamboo steamers filled with 饺子 (thinly wrapped steamed pork dumplings) being quickly rushed in from the coal-filled steel drum outside, chances are the place is a good choice. These are 小吃店，or "little eat" restaurants that make simple, homey dishes and are common in both traditional neighborhoods and apartment blocks. They are usually open late and serve predicatable Chinese comfort food. Like anything, some are great and some suck horribly. Below are some examples of what you can order:

• 宫保鸡丁 (or "Kung Pao" chicken as we call it) This is a dish I outlined in the last entry, a sweet and spicy mixture of cucumbers, chicken, peanuts and chili.
• 回锅肉 （or "Twice cooked pork") A wonderful dish using the pork belly drenched in chili oil and fried with fermented black beans and lots of green onion.
  
• 麻婆都府 (or "Grandma's tofu") A mix of soft tofu and beef served casserole style. Has a strong 麻辣, or "spicy numbing" taste due to the Sichuan peppercorns.
• 鱼香肉丝 (or "fish fragrant shredded pork") A sour/sweet pork mixture cooked with dried shrimp to give a slightly fishy taste.
• 東坡肉 (or "Dong Po pork") If done well, this is the best pork you'll ever eat in your life. It's mostly the fat right below the skin with a small piece of meat hanging off. It's cooked in anise and cinnamon until it's extremely soft.
  
• 山西刀前面 (or "Shanxi style knife-cut noodles") This is like Chinese chicken n' dumplings with large cut dough pieces, dried soybeans, bok choy, bits of pork and vinegar in a salty broth. The noodle place near where I work makes this excellently.
• 包子（or "bao zi") These are big, puffy dumplings that are a little yeasty. The local ones are huge, like a sandwich, and usually contain diced Chinese spinach. Dip the doughy goodness in vinegar and chili flakes. Yum!
• 粥 （or "rice porridge") A typical breakfast dish, or late night snack, zhou is a healthy soup make with leftover rice or beans and many, many kinds of additions. There are lots of restaurants that only serve zhou and have literally 100 variaties.
  
• 串（or "meat on a stick") Ubiquitous snack that shows the ancient influence of the middle east over north China. Usually lamb, but sometimes chicken, pork of veggies are available.
• 红烤牛肉面 (or "red cooked beef noodles") These are awesome when made well. Homemade noodles with bits of beef bone and meat cooked in a number of Chinese spices.
• 炒饭（or "fried rice") Wonderful and usually made with a number of additions. Common choices include pickled vegetables, beef, sausage or egg n' tomato. Very different from our Western Chinese restaurant counterpart.

~-*--炒饭--*-~
(fried rice)

No picture for this recipe, but it's a really basic, very typical Chinese dish that everyone in the world is familar with. This is simple, unpretentious, homey and yummy comfort food.

--

you'll need...
--

cooked, leftover rice, around 4-5 cups
a mess o' green onions, around 10
About 1/2 cup Chinese dried sausage, diced (Use any dry, sweet cured sausage as a substitute)
tb dried chilli, crushed
a bit of finely shredded ginger
tb dried shrimp
cooking oil
light (regular) soy sauce
3 eggs, beaten
---

Add oil to wok, enough to coat. Cook sausage with green onion (white part only) dried chilli, ginger, pinch of salt and shrimp until fragrant on medium flame. (a minute) Add rice and some soy sauce and keep it moving. Cook for two minutes or so then add eggs and keep the mixture moving. Add more soy sauce to taste, but don't overdo it. You're done when the rice and eggs are "dry" and a few grains are browning. Turn off heat, add green part of the green onion and mix well. Serve with a side of cucumbers in dark vinegar and garlic and cheap beer for a very Chinese lunch.

干煸四季豆
or
Sichuan "dry fried" green beans


This is an easy dish with a distinctive, delicious taste. It's a 酸菜, or sour dish, so it pairs well with something a little spicy and sweet. It's common in restaurants in Beijing, although it can be too oily or soggy if made poorly. Everything to make this can be easily found outside of China, so happy cooking!

you'll need

---
about 1 1/2 lb or so green beans, untrimmed
half medium daikon or "oriental" radish, finely shredded
green onion, about 10 springs
Japanese rice vinegar or white vinegar
salt
dried red chili
1/4 cup fatty pork or bacon, sliced thin
couple drops mustard oil
good Chinese cooking wine
peanut/veggie oil or animal oil (for frying)
---

Add about 1/2 cup vinegar to radish. Toss and set aside.

In a wok heat some peanut oil, about a cup, and a 1/2 tb salt. Add washed, then well toweled, green beans in batches and toss gently. Cook for about 4 minutes until beans are "dried" looking and brown in spots. Once all are cooked, towel off very well and top with a few ice cubes to maintain crispness.

Empty oil from wok. Cook pork (coat very lightly in salt) or bacon, chili and green onion (only bottom white parts, no roots). Cook until pork is done through, then re-add beans and radish. Cook just until heated through. Serve topped with green onion.
---

new jars

Top row from left: dried mint, red chili, star anise, green Sichuan peppercorn, dried et ceteras used for stewing meat. Bottom row from left: dried rosemary, dried shrimp, roasted sesame seed, bay leaves, red Sichuan peppercorn.

in unrelated news...

Last week was the National Congress meeting, something that occurs every 5 years and helps elect new officials and enact new delegation. Internet banning has been tightened, there have been more police on the street, immigration issues with Africans has been stepped up, visa restrictions for foreigners imposed and all sorts of new nonsense that will probably never be enforced has been created. I've seen a number of blank faced, frowning, ancient men sitting behind placards with their printed names on CCTV as well as a fairly surprising number of pictures of sleeping officials or completely ridiculous pictures of president Hu shaking hands with a Xinjiang man or Yunnan woman is exotic, costumey garb. It's all a joke and, surprisingly, most Chinese seem to know this. The average villager knows it's something "big," but doesn't think it'll effect their hometown or do anything useful in the countryside.