The Hirshon Pai Gwat – Steamed Spare Ribs In Black Bean Sauce

January 15, 2015 by The Generalissimo Leave a Comment

I am a dim sum fiend and have been a regular at my go-to restaurant for more than 17 years now. That means this gweilo (aka white devil) never has to wait for a table.

EVER. 🙂

It took me 13 years of regular visits to achieve my exalted status, and I am always a pampered and privileged guest. Rank hath its privileges indeed!

One of my favorite dim sum to order is “Pai Gwat”, steamed spareribs nuggets in an addictive sauce that includes Chinese fermented black beans (a great culinary weakness of mine). As it happens, this dish is not that difficult to replicate at home (unlike the majority of steamed dim sum items – one of which metaphorically sent me on a short visit to the winsome land of insanity trying to duplicate).

I hope you will have the courage to give this recipe a try, citizens – it’s worth your attention, I promise!

Battle on – The Generalissimo

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¾ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
2.5 tablespoons oyster sauce
5 tablespoon fermented black beans, rinsed twice — take ½ the beans and lightly mash them in the shaoxing
4.5 tablespoons tapioca flour
¾ teaspoon sesame oil (Kadoya brand preferred)
½ teapoon hot sesame oil
8 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon baking soda
thinly-sliced red jalapeno or fresno chilis (to taste)
1 pinch white pepper

Have butcher trim enough spare ribs so that you will have 2.5 lbs. net.

Have the butcher then cut the spare ribs into 1 or 2 inch cubes. Add cubed spare ribs to marinade ingredients (minus the tapioca starch), mix thoroughly, then massage in the tapioca starch to the ribs to seal in the flavors and refrigerate overnight in heatproof dish – bring back to room temperature before proceeding.

Put 3 cups of water in wok and bring to a boil. Put the marinade and spare ribs in a steamer and place on wok. Steam for 90 minutes, stir, place ribs in individual bowls, replenish water if needed and steam an additional 20-30 minutes. Add a few drops of sesame oil to each prior to serving.

Yield: 6 servings

The Hirshon Sichuan Chili Oil – 四川辣油

January 6, 2015 by The Generalissimo Leave a Comment

Since my last post was for a spicy “holy” oil from Italy, it occurred to me that a counterbalancing Yin to the European Yang was required.

As such, and in the spirit of banishing the flu that still wracks my body, allow me to share my personal recipe for Sichuan Chili Oil! True Sichuan flavors include a wide range of spices beyond chiles, as you’ll see in this recipe. It’s easy to make, but uses a number of surprising ingredients that will send you to Chinatown, your Indian grocer and beyond.

It’s worth it, trust me!

My recipe uses plenty of Sichuan peppercorns for the proper málà (麻辣) or “numbing spiciness” flavor profile. You can add or subtract some of the more esoteric items as needed – but don’t change or reduce the Sichuan peppercorns! 🙂

Use Sichuan chili oil as a condiment with Chinese-style dishes or build an entire dish around it: simply heat the oil in a pan, add the desired amount of “sediment” and stir-fry your choice of ingredients. Finish the dish with a splash of soy sauce and, if you wish, some oyster sauce and/or Shaoxing wine (绍兴酒). It’s all good. 🙂

Notes on Ingredients
Black cardamom. Please don’t substitute the more common green or “Indian” cardamom. It is better to omit this spice entirely if you can’t find it. Black cardamom has a wonderful smoky camphor aroma and is found in most Indian grocery stores as well as better spice shops.

Cassia. This is Chinese cinnamon but not “true” cinnamon (Ceylon cinnamon). It has a less refined (but more authentic) flavor than the expensive true cinnamon. Substitute regular cinnamon sticks if you can’t find 桂皮 in your Chinese grocery store.

Chinese fermented black beans. These are entirely different than the black beans you’ll find in Southwestern US or Mexican cuisine – please don’t confuse the two! Known as douchi (豆豉) in Chinese, they are made by fermenting soybeans that have been heavily salted and sometimes mixed with small amounts of ginger. They have a wonderful pungent, salty flavor that adds tons of umami depth to dishes.

Oranges. Make sure you remove as much wax as possible from the rind. Warm water and a little liquid dish detergent works – just make sure to thoroughly rinse the orange before peeling.

Purple gromwell. This is an ingredient you definitely won’t find in your regular grocery…and probably not your Asian grocer, either. It is traditionally used to make Crimson dyes and in traditional Chinese medicine. Purple gromwell is also what naturally gives Sichuan chili oil its brilliant red color. You can ask for it at any herbalist in Chinatown – an entire bag (you only need a small piece) is under $2.

Sichuan peppercorns. These are essential to Sichuan cuisine, though you’ll be hard pressed to find them in a regular grocery store. Neither a type of black pepper or a variety of chili pepper, they are actually the dried berries of a species of prickly ash tree. They are not hot, but produce a strangely numbing effect that is essential to real Sichuan cooking. Sichuan peppercorns can be easily found in Chinese grocery stores.

Battle on – The Generalissimo

The Hirshon Sichuan Chili Oil – 四川辣油

Ingredients

2 cups peanut, sunflower oil, or another “high smoke point” oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (香油) (Kadoya brand strongly preferred)
3-inch length fresh ginger, thinly sliced
5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
¼ cup Sichuan peppercorns (花椒)
2 tablespoons cloves (丁香)
1 large piece of cassia bark (桂皮) (2-3 inches)
4 whole star anise pods (八角)
2 black cardamom (草果)
2 Bay Leaves
Peel (zest only, no white part) of one tangerine (preferred) or ½ a navel orange
15 dried whole red facing heaven pepper (Capsicum annuum var. conoides; Chinese name: 朝天椒; pinyin: cháotiānjiāo, also known as 指天椒; pinyin: zhǐtiānjiāo meaning 'skyward-pointing chili pepper'), which is a cone-shaped, medium-hot chili pepper or 30 Chiles de Arbol
2-3 small/medium pieces of purple gromwell (紫草)
⅓ cup dried red chili flakes
½ cup Chinese fermented black beans (douchi), (豆豉) roughly chopped
2 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorns, slightly crushed (optional)

Instructions

Prepare your jar. Have a sterilized glass jar and lid ready to store the finished chili oil.
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Flavor the oil. Combine all ingredients except for the dried red chili flakes, Chinese fermented black beans and the second listing of Sichuan peppercorns in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
Slowly raise the heat until the oil starts to bubble. Sustain a very gentle simmer for 20-25 minutes, ensuring the oil doesn’t boil too vigorously. Press down on the solids periodically, especially the purple gromwell so it releases its red color into the oil.
Strain the oil. I pour the entire contents of my still hot saucepan into a French press and let the spices steep for an additional 5 minutes or so. Use whatever you have on hand to strain the solids from the oil if you don’t have a French press.
Finishing the oil. Place the red chili flakes, black beans and additional Sichuan peppercorns in your sterilized jar. Pour the strained oil into the jar. Use a spoon to press the spices to extract as much oil as possible. I like to add a few pieces of the strained ginger and orange peel to the jar as well for extra flavor. Seal the jar and let stand for about a week before using. You can use it right away, of course but I like the chili flakes and black beans to season and truly absorb the complex flavors of the chili oil.

https://www.thefooddictator.com/the-hirshon-sichuan-chili-oil-hong-you-%e5%9b%9b%e5%b7%9d%e8%be%a3%e6%b2%b9/

The Hirshon Niu Rou Mien – Taiwanese Spicy Beef Noodle Soup

December 27, 2014 by The Generalissimo Leave a Comment

Picture used under Creative Commons License from the excellent blog at www.ladyandpups.com

This recipe is pretty much the national dish of Taiwan – who wouldn’t love a spicy beef noodle soup?! There are annual competitions in Taipei for who can make the best Niu Rou Mien – I’d like to think mine would at least place. 🙂

Given that we are now officially in Winter in the Northern Hemisphere, this seemed like a very appropriate recipe to kick off the blog with. It’s authentic to its roots but modified just enough to make it revolutionary and unique (as well as supremely delicious!). It is also a rarely-known dish outside Taiwan and that needs to be changed ASAP.

My version of this classic recipe adds some Northern Chinese touches – cumin, cardamom, golden rock sugar and minced flowering chive buds, plus using mushroom-flavoured dark soy sauce for even more “low-note” flavour punch.

This isn’t a “short-cut” soup by any means – but it will reward your labor with the soul-warming essence of spicy beef goodness.

Battle on – The Generalissimo!

The Hirshon Niu Rou Mien – Taiwanese Spicy Beef Noodle Soup

Ingredients

3 lbs beef soup bones
3 lbs short ribs with bones
3 star anise
½ tablespoon cardamom seeds
½ tablespoon cumin seeds
12 crushed cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons minced flower buds of flowering chives
1 bunch scallions
2 tablespoons Szechuan peppercorns
3 tablespoons mushroom-flavoured dark soy sauce
⅓ cup light soy sauce.
2 tablespoons pulverized golden rock sugar
4 dried Sichuan chili peppers, torn into pieces, with seeds
About 8 tablespoons of chili paste with black beans
Sesame oil (Kadoya brand preferred)
Fine Chinese wheat noodles (often labelled as “wonton noodles”)
Baby Chinese broccoli, baby bok choi, or shanghai bok choi

Instructions

Put a wok or large saucepan onto high heat. Add some peanut oil and brown the soup bones. Then transfer the bones to either a large stockpot or a 5 quart slow cooker.
In small batches, put the short ribs into the saucepan. Add enough chili paste to get the meat well coated – after they become well-browned, transfer them to another pot.
Add just barely enough water to cover the short ribs and then simmer until they’re cooked through. Drain the liquid, and add the liquid to the slow-cooker.
Add more chili paste to the cooked ribs, and put them into the fridge overnight
In a fresh pan with some peanut oil, add the garlic, shredded chilis, anise, and ginger until they just start to brown – then add them to the slow-cooker.
Add the two soy sauces, the peppercorns, and the whites of the scallions to the slow cooker, plus cumin and cardamom. Then add enough water to fill the cooker.
Turn the cooker on to simmer, and let it cook for at least 12 hours.
Put the broth through a fine sieve, and then back into the slow cooker. Throw away the sieved ingredients.
Take the refrigerated beef, and add it to the broth. Add water until the pot is about as full as it was when you started the night before.
Let it simmer for another 4 to 6 hours, until the meat is falling apart.While it’s simmering, taste it, and add salt or chili-paste as needed; if the vinegar in the chili paste makes it too sour, add a drop of sugar.
Now, the main dish is done – lots of wonderful spicy beef broth is yours to savour!
Cook the noodles in boiling salt-water.
To serve, bring the soup to a boil. Add in a couple of stems/leaves of the vegetable you picked for each serving, and let it cook until just cooked through.
For each serving, take a large soup bowl. Put a couple of drops of sesame oil into the bottom of the bowl.
Then add a large helping of noodles, beef, vegetables, thinly sliced scallion tops, and the minced flowering chive buds and fill with the broth.
Also, you may wish to add pickled vegetables (suan tsai) – the TFD recipe for suan tsai follows:
3 tablespoons chopped pickled mustard greens
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons sesame oil
½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn / salt blend
3 teaspoons sweetened black vinegar
1 tablespoon minced hot chili peppers
Make sure to rinse off the pickle brine of the mustard green prior to chopping.
Combine mustard green, minced garlic and chili peppers and stir fry.
Add salt and vinegar and finally drizzle the suan tsai with sesame oil just before removing from heat.

https://www.thefooddictator.com/the-hirshon-niu-rou-mien-taiwanese-spicy-beef-noodle-soup/