Taiwanese-Style Omelette with Dried Radish & Scallion

Another traditional Taiwanese dish that I grew up eating. We typically had this for breakfast with rice porridge. However, there's no rule that says you can't eat it with some steamed white rice at any other time of the day. Just sayin'...The radish in this dish is salted dried daikon radish that is readily available in most Asian markets. It typically comes in strips, but you can also buy them pre-chopped. Deeeeeelish!!

Ingredients:
10 large eggs
3/4 cup chopped dried radish
3 scallions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. sesame oil

1. Place 3/4 cup of chopped dried radish in a bowl and cover with water; let soak about 5 minutes, place in a colander and rinse well. Squeeze dry and set aside.

2. Beat the eggs in a bowl and stir in scallions; set aside.

3. Heat 2 tsp. of sesame oil over medium high heat in a skillet or wok. Add minced garlic & toss for a few seconds. Add dried radish and saute for about 1 minute; add white pepper and sugar; stir briefly.

4. Add the beaten eggs to the pan and stir well. Cook the radish-egg mixture as you would scrambled eggs, pressing down with a spatula to get some color on the omelette. Do not overcook. Remove to a serving dish and serve with white rice or rice porridge.

Dried radish, pre-chopped.

Soak the chopped dried radish about 5 minutes, drain, squeeze dry & set aside.

Minced garlic & chopped scallion.

Saute garlic in 1 tbsp. sesame  oil.

Add dried radish & saute about 1 minute.

Season with white pepper & sugar. Remove from heat and let cool.

Add egg mixture to the sautéed radish and cook like you would scrambled eggs (let the egg set on the bottom, then use spatula to cut through, turn over, and press down). Should be lightly browned but not overcooked.

Szechuan Preserved Vegetables with Shredded Pork (Zha Cai Rou Si)

Szechuan Pickled Vegetable ('Zha Cai') is a delicious and versatile ingredient which can be used in everything from stir-frys, to noodle soups, and as a condiment over cold tofu & thousand year old eggs, wontons in chili oil and congee (rice porridge). This "pickle" is essentially the swollen stem of a type of mustard plant that is salted, rubbed in chili spices, pressed and then preserved (traditionally in some type of earthenware jar). Nowadays (boy, I'm starting to sound dated), you can buy these in convenient packages, with some already julienned, in the refrigerated sections of many Asian markets (e.g., 99 Ranch Market). I myself still like to buy the canned variety though - seems to have more depth & intensity in flavor. If adding to a bland ingredient like tofu, you don't really need to rinse or soak the Zha Cai. However, in other dishes you might want to tone down the pungently salty and spicy flavor of this veggie by giving it a quick rinse and soak before using. Zha Cai with shredded pork is great served with steamed white rice. It's also the base for making noodles with Szechuan Pickled Vegetables and Shredded Pork ('Zha Cai Rou Si Mian').


Ingredients:
1 1/3 lb. pork loin, boneless pork chops or country ribs, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-2" shreds (like julienne)
1 1/2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. rice wine
2 tbsp. cornstarch


1 12-oz. can Szechuan Preserved/Pickled Vegetable (Zha Cai), cut into 1-2" slices

4 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 clove garlic, grated
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
3 scallions, chopped
1-2 fresh red chilies, seeded and sliced
5 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. white pepper


1. Shred the pork and place in a medium bowl. Toss with 1 1/2 tbsp. soy, 2 tbsp. rice wine, and 2 tbsp. cornstarch. Cover with plastic wrap marinate for 30 minutes. 


2. Julienne/cut the Zha Cai into 2" shreds. Place the shreds in a bowl of water and let soak 20-30 minutes; drain and set aside.


3. Heat 4 tbsp. vegetable oil over medium high heat in a saute pan or wok. Add grated garlic, ginger, scallions and toss well. Stir in the pork and cook until just done. 


4. Add shredded Zha Cai, 5 tbsp  water, 1 tbsp. sugar, 2 tsp. sesame oil, and 1 tsp. white pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until liquid is slightly reduced. Add sliced red chilies, stir, and turn off heat. 


5. Serve with steamed white rice.

Zha Cai, out of the can.

Slice the Zha Cai into 1-2" shreds.

Place Zha Cai in a bowl covered with water; soak for 20-30 minutes (not more, or else the pickled veggies will lose their flavor); drain, squeeze dry and set aside.

Scallions, red chilies, garlic and ginger.

Pork loin (in this case, country ribs). Trim and cut into 1-2" shreds, marinate in soy, rice wine and cornstarch for 20-30 minutes. 

Soy sauce, sesame oil, Szechuan preserved vegetable, and white pepper.

Heat 2 tbsp. vegetable oil in a hot pan. Saute garlic, ginger and scallions 20-30 seconds until fragrant. 

Add marinated pork and cook until just done. 

Add Zha Cai, water, sugar, sesame oil and white pepper.

Bring to a boil.

Stir in red chilies, toss for several seconds and turn off heat.

Tofu with Thousand Year Old Eggs (Pidan Doufu)

I used to hate Thousand Year Old Eggs ('Pidan') as a kid. Probably because the only time I would be tasked with eating them was once a year when we were at my Grandma's for Chinese New Year and these darned things would inevitably show up in the appetizer course along with Chinese ham, abalone & mayonnaise, and jellyfish salad - all of which were fantabulous, with the glaring exception of those gnarly looking black eggs. Fast forward about 5-6 years after I came to California in 1983, I had an epiphany after tasting a traditional (though not in my household) rice porridge (congee) with pork and diced 1000-year old eggs. Now I rave about them. And, btw, they are, as far as I know, NOT a thousand years old...

For the uninitiated, 'Pidan' is undoubtedly an acquired taste. But once you've acquired it, you'll never go back. Here's a blurb from Wiki describing its origin and method of production:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_egg 
A recipe for creating century eggs through this process starts with the infusion of three pounds of  tea in boiling water. To the tea, three pounds of quicklime (or seven pounds when the operation is performed in winter), nine pounds of sea salt and seven pounds of wood ash from burned  oak is mixed into a smooth paste. While wearing gloves to prevent the lime corroding the skin, each egg is individually covered by hand, then rolled in a mass of rice chaff to keep the eggs from adhering to one another before they are placed in cloth-covered jars or tightly woven baskets. The mud slowly dries and hardens into a crust over several months, and then the eggs are ready for consumption.

According to some, the century egg has over five centuries of history behind its production. Its discovery, though not verifiable, was said to have occurred during the Ming Dynasty 600 years ago in Hunan, when a homeowner discovered duck eggs in a shallow pool of slaked lime that was used for mortar during construction of his home two months before. Upon tasting the eggs, he set out to produce more, this time with the addition of salt to improve the taste, thus resulting in the present recipe of the century egg.

Century egg showing snow-flake/pine-branch(松花, sōnghuā)–like patterns

Culture

On June 28, 2011, CNN's division CNNGo.com published an account of a Texan blogger in an article on "the most 'revolting' food in the world". The blogger said the dish "tastes like the devil cooked eggs for me." The remark made headlines in Taiwan and China. CNN has received thousands of complaints and the largest century egg manufacturer in China sent a letter to CNN to blame the report for being arrogant and disrespectful to other cultures. The culture clash has been widely reported with a waggery tone in China. In Chinese internet forums such as Tianya and Douban, some ridiculed the report for being "unfair" to mao dan, chicken feet and stinky tofu which have a reputation for "awfulness". A week later, CNN officially apologized for its remarks on century eggs, describing it "a delicacy in Chinese culture and by global gourmets in the know."

And for years I thought they preserved the eggs in horse urine. Go figure. If that Texan blogger really thought this was the most revolting food in the world, well he's obviously never had rocky mountain oysters before...

A simple and delicious cold dish comprised of soft/silken tofu, 1000-year old eggs, bonito shavings, scallions, cilantro, spicy pickled mustard, sesame oil & soy paste, this recipe has several iterations in both Taiwanese and Cantonese cuisine, and here's my version:

Ingredients:

Two 14-oz. packages of soft or silken tofu, drained & cut into large cubes

6 Century/Thousand Year Old eggs, peeled and cut into quarters

4-5 scallions, chopped

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1-2 tbsp. diced spicy pickled mustard ('Zha Cai' or Szechuan Preserved Vegetable) - optional

3 pkgs. (3/4 cup) bonito shavings

1 tbsp. sesame oil

3-5 tbsp. soy paste (or more, to taste)

1. Place tofu cubes in a single layer on a serving dish or platter.

2. If using the pickled mustard, chop and soak in water 5-10 minutes, then rinse and pat dry with paper towels. This will get rid of some of the excess saltiness.

3. Top with thousand year old eggs, scallions, cilantro, diced pickled mustard, and bonito shavings. 

4. Drizzle with sesame oil and soy paste. 

5. Serve with hot white rice.

Spicy preserved mustard ('Zha Cai' or Szechuan Preserved Vegetable).

Spicy preserved mustard (Zha Cai), out of the can. Not exactly pulchritudinous, but they are chock full of flavor. 

Here they are, finely chopped. Place in a medium bowl and cover with water. Soak about 10 minutes, then rinse and pat dry. Do not use more than 1-2 tbsp. over the tofu or it may make this dish too salty. Do a taste test and then adjust the quantity as needed.

Cilantro, scallions and Zha cai.

Thousand year old eggs.

Cut the tofu into large cubes.

Top the tofu with the thousand year old eggs, cilantro, scallions, finely chopped spicy preserved mustard (Zha cai) and bonito shavings, then drizzle with soy paste and sesame oil. 

Spicy Beef Noodle Soup (Niu Rou Mian)

This is an adaptation of the Spicy Beef Noodle Soup recipe I learned from Joline Chen, my landlady in San Gabriel back in the late '80s, who liked to cook up a big batch of this soup for her mahjong buddies. She invariably used a lot of booze in her rendition, be it Shaohsing wine or whiskey, basically whatever the boys & gals happened to be drinking that night, and would always add a dollop of chili oil to each serving bowl for an extra kick. Over the years, I've made some changes to the recipe, including adding a medium carrot to this recipe, which I think adds a nice touch of sweetness, and a couple teaspoons of Szechuan peppercorns. Next to Korean tofu, this is my fav spicy soup dish for winter eats. 

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs. of beef chuck, boneless beef rib, or beef shank, cut into 1 1/2-2" pieces.
4 slices ginger
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4-5 scallions, cut into 1" sections
1 cup whiskey or Shaohsing wine
4 tbsp. hot bean paste
2 medium carrots, peeled & cut into 1" pieces
1 onion, quartered
24 cups water
2 star aniseeds
1/4 tsp. 5-spice powder
2 tsp. whole Szechuan peppercorns or 1 tsp. ground Szechuan peppercorn (optional)
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. sugar
2/3 cup soy sauce
1 cup fresh cilantro (mostly stalks), chopped

1 lb. fresh Chinese noodles (or use dried wide noodles; fettuccine is a good substitute)

GARNISH:
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Scallions, chopped
Chili Oil (Layu)
Fresh red chilies, sliced

1. Heat 2 tbsp. vegetable oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Add ginger, garlic, and scallions and saute for 30 seconds. Add beef and cook 2-3 minutes until slightly browned. 

2. Add Shaohsing wine and cook for several minutes until reduced by about 1/4. Add hot bean paste & carrot, onion, and toss for 30 seconds. 

3. Add 24 cups water, star aniseeds, 5-spice powder, Szechuan peppercorns, sesame oil, sugar, soy sauce and cilantro stalks. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. cook at least 2 hours or until the beef is really tender (longer, if using beef shank). Once the meat is tender, remove the carrots, onion, ginger, and star aniseeds (you don't want to accidentally serve these, as the seeds are as tough as bark). 

4. In the meantime, cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain & set aside.

5. To serve: pour about 1 tsp. of chili oil in the bottom of each serving bowl. Top with noodles & garnish with chopped cilantro, scallions & red chili peppers. Ladle soup over the noodles & serve immediately. 

Cilantro, scallions, ginger & garlic (left off the carrot from this shot, but it's in the recipe).

Onion & carrots.

Asian markets are kinda nowhere to be found here in Murrieta, so the traditional ingredient of beef shank is not always an option. Beef chuck roast or beef stew meat, however, are readily available.

But if you can find beef shank (99 Ranch Market carries boneless cut beef shank), then by all means use it because it will be the most tender. 

Saute the garlic, ginger and scallions. 

Add the beef and cook until lightly browned.

Add 1 cup of Shaohsing wine (or whiskey, if you prefer).

Add the hot bean paste, carrot & onion. 

Add 24 cups of water. 

Add soy sauce.

Add star aniseed.

Add cilantro stalks, 5-spice powder, Szechuan peppercorns, sesame oil, and sugar. Bring to a boil.

Shaohsing wine, soy sauce, hot bean paste, star aniseed, sesame oil. 

Cover & simmer over low heat for 2 hours or until beef is tender (if using beef shank, you'll probably need a longer cooking time, about 3 hours or more).

Remove the onions, carrots, ginger slices & star aniseeds before serving.

Chili oil (Layu).

For this dish, I like to use this brand of dried wide noodles from Taiwan (available at 99 Ranch Market). If not readily available in your neighborhood, then substitute with fresh or dried fettuccine or linguine. 

Cook the noodles per package instructions, drain & set aside.

Add about 1 tsp. of chili oil to the bottom of each serving bowl.

Add noodles & top with chopped scallions & cilantro.

Ladle soup over the noodles & garnish with red chilies.