ross dobson food

In any Chinatown, anywhere, you will find Chinese barbeque. Agreed, some of the stuff is pretty alien to non Chinese but if you have a closer look you will see some very familiar looking morsels like little barbecued quail, roast as well as the red barbecued (char siu) pork and succulent soy braised chickens. Here are some snappy, easy recipes using Chinese barbecue duck, soy chicken and roast pork with some closer to home ingredients.

spicy hoi sin beans with barbecue pork
1/4 cup vegetable oil
200g green beans, trimmed
200g barbecued pork (char siu), chopped
1 large red chilli, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons hoi sin sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce

Heat the oil in a hot wok. When smoking hot add the beans and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove the beans and place on some paper towel and pour off all but 1 tablespoon oil from the wok. Add the pork, chilli and garlic and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the hoi sin and soy sauces and the beans and stir fry for 2 minutes, so the sauce is thickly coating the beans.

star anise and orange duck hot pot
1 cup Chinese rice wine
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 cup orange marmalade
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 Chinese barbecue duck, chopped into 10-12 pieces

Boil the rice wine,chicken stock, marmalade, fish sauce, star anise and cinnamon stick in a pot for 10 minutes, to really get all the flavours together. Add the duck and cook on a rapid simmer for 15 minutes so the sauce really thickens and coats the duck pieces. Serve with plain rice to make the most of the exotic, delicious sauce.

chicken noodle soup
1/2 Chinese soy chicken
1.5 litres chicken stock
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
200g fresh egg noodles
2 handfuls bean sprouts
1/2 cup chopped coriander

Finely slice the skin and meat of the chicken and place in a bowl. Bring the chicken stock to boil and add the soy sauce with a pinch each of salt, sugar and white pepper. Add the chicken and simmer. Meanhwile, cook the noodles in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, drain and divide amongst 4 serving bowls. Ladle over the soup with bean sprouts and coriander on top.

For as long as I can remember sherry was listed as an ingredient in Chinese recipes. What has this strong flavoured, fortified grape wine, of Spanish origin have to do with Chinese cooking? Absolutely nothing. But it was considered a suitable substitute in the days when chinese rice wine used to be hard to come by. To read more click on below. Meanwhile, you may like to try this drunken chicken recipe. I have made the easy version here, using chicken breast instead of the traditional recipe which uses a whole chicken and takes some time.

drunken chicken with ginger and spring onion
(the easy version)
2 cups Chinese rice wine
6 thin slices ginger
2 large free range chicken breast fillets
6 spring onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 teaspoon light soy sauce

Place the rice wine, ginger slices and chicken in a saucepan and pour in enough water to just cover the chicken. Slowly bring to the boil. As soon as the liquid boils, turn off the heat and place on a tight fitting lid. Let the chicken poach for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the spring onions and grated ginger in a small bowl. Heat the oils until smoking hot and pour into the bowl. Stirring a few times. Add the soy sauce.
Slice the chicken and serve with steamed rice and greens with the sauce drizzled over.

If you could pick one ingredient to sum up Chinese food, it may very well be the black bean.
Cheap as chips, and sold in absolutely every Asian food store, these are a truly versatile and flavour packed ingredient.
Don't be afraid of them! Here are some really simple recipes using black beans.
A friend of mine recently cooked the ginger and black bean pork with Japanese noodles. So good was it, her husband was suspicious she had been secretly going to cooking school!
Try for yourself and click on below if you want to read more about the ubiquitous black bean.

black bean and chilli crab
1 large live mud crab (about 1kg)
2 tablespoons salted black beans
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
4 spring onions, whites chopped, green part thinly sliced
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine

Place the crab in the freezer for at least 2 hours, until it stops moving. Remove the head shell from the crab and discard. Pull out the grey gills underneath the head and discard. Rinse the crab. Cut in half through the centre of the crab then cut each half across to give 2 large claws and 2 sets of small claws. Gently crack the claws with the back of a cleaver or rolling pin.
Place the black beans, sugar, stock and oyster sauce in a bowl and lightly mash the beans with a fork. Set aside.
Heat a wok and when very hot add the oil, swirling around to coat the wok in the oil. Add the crab pieces and stir fry for 1 minute. Remove the small claws to a bowl and continue cooking the large claws for 1 minute, until they are an even orange colour all over. Remove the large claws to the bowl with the other crab pieces and drain all but 2 tablespoons of oil from the wok. Add the garlic, ginger and spring onion whites to the wok and stir fry for a few seconds until aromatic, but do not burn. Add the rice wine and let it sizzle and evaporate then add the black bean sauce mixture to the wok. Bring to the boil then return the crab to the wok and stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Remove the crab to a serving bowl, boil the sauce for a minute more then pour over the crab. Sprinkle over the spring onion greens and serve with a finger bowl and steamed rice.

spare rib and black bean hot pot
Put 16 American style spare ribs in a pot of boiling water, turn heat off and cover with a lid for 20 minutes. Drain well. Cook 4-6 chopped spring onions, 2 teaspoons of grated ginger, 2 sliced large red chillies, 2 chopped cloves garlic and 2 tablespoons of salted black beans (roughly mashed) in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a casserole dish for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of Chinese rice wine to the pan so it sizzles and boils. Add the ribs to the dish with 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons each of soy and oyster sauces and a pinch of sugar. Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook in a 180C oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the ribs from the sauce and place the casserole on the stove top and boil until the sauce has thickened a little. Return the ribs to the sauce and serve with steamed rice.

ginger and black bean pork with Japanese noodles
Heat 2 tablespoons of  vegetable oil in a wok or frypan and cook 1 tablespoon of mashed black beans, 2 teaspoons of grated ginger, 2 chopped cloves of garlic and 4 sliced spring onions for just a few seconds. Add 500g pork mince and stir fry for 4-5 minutes. Add 1 cup water, just a splash of light soy sauce, 1/2  teaspoon of sugar and bring to a rapid boil for 5-6 minutes, until thick and most of the liquid has evaporated. Cover to keep warm while cooking noodles. Cook 200g dried wheat noodles (somen or udon) for 2 minutes (a bit longer for udon). Drain and divide into four serving bowls. Spoon over the pork and sprinkle with some chopped coriander or spring onions.

In their natural state, shimeji mushrooms grow in clumps on trees. But no matter how they are packaged, they still look like something from a science lab. In fact, many of the Asian varieties of mushrooms we eat in Sydney do come from a lab of sorts; Arrold’s Spawn Laboratory, housed in an abandoned railway tunnel in the southern highlands of New South Wales. Here, Dr Noel Arrold, microbiologist, has created the perfect environment, with the required constant balance of low temperature and high humidity. In the cold, wet caverns, Arrold uses a unique blend of Australian sawdust to mimic the mushrooms’ natural state.

Aptly then, shimeji translates to ‘mushrooms that grow in the damp’. They are sold in clusters comprised of dozens of small individual mushrooms, about four centimetres long, joined at a spongy base, which at some time would have supported them to a tree. They are pretty and delicate, in an alien sort of way, with their white stems and oyster coloured caps. They have a fresh, organic aroma, similar to your standard field mushroom, and can be used raw in salads or quickly cooked in soups and stir- fries.

To prepare shimeji gently separate the stems at their base. Typical of most mushrooms, shimeji are highly absorbent so avoid rinsing them in water. If they need cleaning prior to cooking, wipe with dry kitchen towel. Store all mushrooms in a paper bag or in a clean glass bowl covered loosely with a clean cloth.

Shiitake are the most popular variety and more common than ever. They are the velvety fawn coloured mushrooms found fresh amongst your field, button and swiss brown. Shiitake are quite similar in shape and size to the swiss brown but you can use your nose to discern. Shiitake have a strong, earthy aroma. The smellier the better. Their stems need removing and can be saved as a tasty addition to a stock. Their full flavoured flesh can be so meaty you may need to cut a cross in the top of larger ones so they cook evenly. These qualities render them perfect in a butter based steak sauce, thinly sliced and with a splash of soy sauce making them feel right at home. By the way, shiitake, when dried, are sold as Chinese dried black mushrooms that require re hydrating in hot water prior to cooking. Their essence is more concentrated than the fresh type.

Enoki mushrooms, native to Japan, are also sold under the Chinese names of velvet foot, snow puff and golden needle. Enoki come as clumps consisting of dozens of thin, ivory strands, with tiny caps, no longer than fifteen centimetres. They need a good trim prior to eating. Raw, their aroma is both acrid and sweet. Their flavour is delicate, fruity and light making them almost too good to cook. An exotic addition to a salad or throw into a stir fry at the last minute and they become silky threads. Perfect with noodles or  added to a hot-sour soup spiced with pepper.

Oyster mushrooms are also known as abalone mushrooms. Like the other varieties these too grow naturally in cold areas on deciduous wood. Their caps are oyster shell shaped and in the wild resemble a bed of oysters. They have a short stem and flare out to form a cap. They are smooth and creamy white with delicate ribbing underneath, like gills. Raw, their odour is almost unpleasant, with a slight fishy whiff. Cooked, the rankness goes and they melt in your mouth. Their slippery and silky texture makes them good in stir-fries with prawns and crispy snow peas or in a creamy risotto.

Black fungus are appropriately named wood ear, tree ear or black cloud ear mushrooms. They have frilly, fleshy tissue resembling the delicate curls of an ear. The stem is a small nodule and the ‘cap’ is dark brown.  One side is shiny like kelp, the other like soft skin. Closely related is white fungus, resembling a sea sponge. Both are prized in Chinese cooking for their unique crunchy texture and can be eaten raw in salads. To cook, remove the woody nodule and finely slice the mildly nutty flavoured caps. Perfect with steamed white fish or stir-fried quickly with asparagus and chinese greens.

Exotic Asian mushroom varieties are now more common than ever and available year round. Keep them well away from your heavy stroganoff, these exotic beauties are best partnered with light fresh flavours and in fusion dishes. (to read more click on mushroom story below)

exotic mushroom risotto
100g shiitake mushrooms
150g shimeji mushrooms
150g oyster mushrooms, sliced
100g enoki mushrooms
75g butter
1 clove garlic, chopped
4 spring onions, finely chopped
1.5 lt chicken stock
400g medium grain rice
1/4 cup rice wine
1 / 2 cup roughly chopped parsley
1 cup finely grated parmesan

Prepare the mushrooms by removing any stems (saving the shiitake for the stock if you wish), finely slicing shiitake and separating the shimeji and enoki by gently pulling apart.
Heat 50g butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When the butter sizzles add the garlic and spring onions and cook for a couple of minutes, until softened. Add the shiitake and shimeji mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes then add the oyster mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Stir through the enoki for a minute then place the mixture in a  bowl. Set aside.
Heat the stock in a separate saucepan and simmer. Heat the remaining butter in the saucepan and when it sizzles add the rice and stir for 1 minute. Add the rice wine and cook for a minute until almost all the wine has evaporated. Add 2 cups of hot stock and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until the stock has been absorbed. Add half a cup of stock and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Repeat until all the stock has been incorporated into the rice. This should take about 20-25 minutes. Stir through the mushrooms, parsley and half the parmesan. Cook for 1 minute to heat through then serve with remaining parmesan on top.

chinatown mushroom and tofu stir fry
Cut a 200g block of firm tofu into 2cm cubes. Heat 1 cup of vegetable oil in a wok until smoking hot and cook the tofu for 3-4 minutes, until golden. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the oil, leaving the tofu in the wok. Add 3 chopped spring onion, 1 teaspoon of grated ginger and 1 chopped clove of garlic and stir fry for 1 minute. Add 500g of sliced mixed Asian mushrooms (try enoki, oyster, shiitake and shimeji) and stir fry for 2 minutes, so the mushrooms just start to wilt. Pour in 1/4 cup chicken stock, 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and gently stir fry for a minute, to evenly coat the mushrooms in the sauce.

In April the Sydney heat and humidity  finally goes, unwillingly, and what my mother calls 'Easter weather' arrives. This highly technical term simply means cool days and crisp nights. Perfect for soup.

One of my all time favourites is long and short soup. The long part are the thin egg noodles. You can buy these fresh or dried. The Japanese call them ramen. The short part of the soup are the dumplings or won tons. You can make these but the theme here is cheating so check out the many pre-made commercial varieties. They are usually sold frozen and buy them as you would any frozen product; read the ingredient list and avoid those with artificial additives.

So keeping this in mind, and with the addition of a few other ingredients like Chinese barbecue pork (char siu) and some fresh Chinese greens,  you can easily recreate this classic soup at home.

• 2 litres chicken stock
• 16 good quality frozen won tons
• 200g fresh thin egg noodles
• 2 handfuls of roughly chopped chinese broccoli (or bok choy)
• 200g chinese barbecue pork (char siu) finely sliced
• 2-3 thinly sliced spring onions
• sesame oil, to serve

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Bring the stock to boil in a separate saucepan and reduce heat to a simmer. Add the won tons to the boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes, until they rise to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon and divide between 4 large bowls. Add the noodles to the water and cook for 2 minutes. Drain well and place the noodles with the won tons. Add the chinese greens to the stock and cook for 1 minute, so they soften and turn emerald green. Spoon the hot stock and greens over the noodles and top with slices of pork, spring onions and a good drizzle of sesame oil.
Serves 4.

Check out other recipes in chinatown