In a large saucepan, add the cucumber, mushrooms, diced carrot, diced ham, rice wine, and salt to the chicken broth.
Bring the soup to a boil and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add the green onion. Drizzle with the sesame oil.
Serves 4
Ground pork is used more frequently than ground beef in Chinese cooking. For a heartier soup, add a cup of Chinese noodles.
Pork and Spinach Soup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ cup ground pork
¾ cup spinach leaves
5 cups chicken stock or 4 cups canned broth mixed with 1 cup water
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
Add the soy sauce, rice wine, and cornstarch to the ground pork. Marinate the pork for 15 minutes.
Blanch the spinach in boiling water briefly, just until the leaves begin to wilt. Drain well.
Bring the chicken stock or broth to a boil. Add the marinated pork and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the sugar, salt, and spinach. Heat through and serve hot.
Emerald Soup
15 leaves of spinach
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 slice ginger
1 tablespoon oil for stir-frying
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sugar
4½ cups chicken stock or broth
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
Wash the spinach leaves and cut off the ends. Blanch the leaves briefly in boiling water, just until the leaves begin to wilt. Remove and sprinkle with cold water.
Cut the chicken into thin slices. Blanch briefly in boiling water with the ginger until it turns white. Remove from the water and set aside.
Heat a wok or frying pan and add oil for stir-frying. When the oil is ready, stir-fry the spinach very briefly (under 1 minute), adding the salt and sugar.
Add the chicken broth to the spinach. Add the soy sauce and rice wine and bring to a boil.
Add the chicken and bring back to a boil. Serve hot.
Cilantro
Also called Chinese parsley, cilantro is the common name for the leaves of the coriander plant. Indispensable in Chinese cooking, cilantro leaves lend a pleasantly musky odor to soups, salads, and stir-fries. Just remember that, like garlic, a little goes a long way. Substitute parsley leaves if you find the flavor too overpowering.
Serves 4
Made with spinach, ginger, and chicken broth, this soup is great for fighting colds. Blanching the spinach before stir-frying preserves its brilliant green color.
Serves 4
Success lies in keeping the soup hot while deep-frying the rice, so that the rice crackles and pops when it meets the heated broth.
Sizzling Rice Soup
10 squares Rice Crisps (page 82)
6 large dried black mushrooms
pound cooked shrimp
1 large chicken breast
6 cups chicken stock or 5 cups broth with 1 cup water
½ 8-ounce can water chestnuts, drained and sliced
½ cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
White pepper to taste (optional)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
4–6 cups oil for deep-frying
Two hours ahead of time, begin preparing the Rice Crisps.
Soak the mushrooms in hot water for 20 minutes to soften. Give a gentle squeeze to remove any excess liquid. Cut into thin slices. Rinse the shrimp in warm water and pat dry.
Bring a large pan of water to a boil and poach the chicken very briefly in the boiling water. Drain. Cut the chicken into thin slices.
Bring the chicken stock or broth and water mixture to a boil. Add the chicken, water chestnuts, mushrooms, shrimp, and peas. Bring the soup back to a boil.
While waiting for the soup to boil, begin heating oil for deep-frying the Rice Crisps.
Add the salt, rice wine, and white pepper to the soup, if desired. Drizzle with sesame oil. Pour the soup into a large tureen or serving bowl. Keep warm.
When the oil is hot, add the Rice Crisps. Deep-fry until the pieces puff up and turn brown. Remove from the wok and drain on paper towels.
At the table, slide the sizzling rice into the soup. The rice will make crackling sounds.
West Lake Beef Soup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
½ teaspoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ cup lean ground beef
5 cups chicken or beef broth
1 teaspoon sugar
1½ tablespoons cornstarch mixed with cup water
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
¼ teaspoon sesame oil
Add the soy sauce, rice wine, ¼ teaspoon salt, and cornstarch to the ground beef, adding the cornstarch last. Marinate for 15 minutes.
Bring the chicken or beef broth to a boil. Stir in the marinated ground beef. Bring back to a boil and add the sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt.
Boil for 5 more minutes and add the cornstarch mixed with water, stirring to thicken. When the soup has thickened, turn off the heat.
Pour the egg whites into the soup in a steady stream, and quickly stir in a clockwise direction until they form thin shreds.
Drizzle with the sesame oil. Give the soup a final stir. Serve hot.
Thick or Thin?
In Chinese cooking, thin soups are soups in which the meat and vegetables are added to the heated broth during the final stages of cooking. With thick soups, the ingredients are all added together and the soup is slowly simmered, giving the flavors time to blend.
Serves 4
Pair this dish with Beef and Bean Sprouts in Black Bean Sauce (page 115) and steamed rice for a quick and easy dinner.
Serves 4
Use firm tofu for this soup so that it will hold its shape during cooking. Vegetarians can substitute vegetable stock for the chicken.
Bean Curd Soup
2 cakes firm tofu
1 green onion
4 fresh water chestnuts
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon shredded ginger
5½ cups chicken stock or broth
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
Drain the tofu, and cut into 1-inch cubes. Slice the green onion on the diagonal into thirds. Cut the top off the water chestnuts, peel the skin, and chop.
In a large saucepan heat the oil on medium-low heat. Add the ginger and cook briefly until aromatic.
Add the chicken stock or broth and bring to a boil. Add the salt, rice wine, tofu, and water chestnuts. Bring back up to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in the sliced green onion.
Serves 1
Don't feel like cooking? Serve with Chinese-Style Gado Gado Salad (page 70) for a convenient summer meal.
Creamy Fruit Salad
½ cup plain yogurt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
2½ teaspoons honey
1 half section of cantaloupe or other melon
Process the yogurt, cinnamon, and honey until smooth. Spoon into the middle of the cantaloupe.
Bird's Nest Soup
4 ounces bird's nest
Basic Chicken Velvet (page 160), use the amounts specified in the recipe
6 cups stock or broth
1½ teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
teaspoon white pepper, or to taste
2 green onions, minced
¼ cup ham, chopped
To prepare the bird's nest, soak overnight in water. Drain thoroughly. Spread out the bird's nest and use tweezers to carefully remove any foreign materials or dirt. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and simmer the bird's n
est for 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly and check again for any foreign material.
Prepare the Basic Chicken Velvet.
Bring stock or broth to a boil. Add the bird's nest and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the rice wine, salt, and sugar.
Fold in the Basic Chicken Velvet and bring the soup back up to a boil. Add the white pepper. Stir in the green onions and ham or add after serving as a garnish.
Exotic Bird's Nest
Not keen to try a soup filled with twigs and branches? Actually, bird's nest isn't made from traditional nesting materials. Instead, the swiftlet — a type of swallow — makes a nest using its own saliva, which hardens upon exposure to air. The swiftlet inhabits remote caves in China and Southeast Asia. Retrieving the nests can be hazardous; the men who perform this task often come from families that have been earning their living in this manner for generations.
Serves 6
Be sure to take extra care when preparing this expensive delicacy. Combine bird's nest with rock sugar and water for a sweet dessert soup.
Serves 3
This simplified version of a famous Chinese wedding soup can be served as a snack or as a sweet dessert soup.
Sweet Red Bean Paste Soup
4 cups water
1 piece dried tangerine peel, 2–3 inches wide
½ cup Sweet Red Bean Paste (page 269)
cup sugar
In a medium saucepan, add the 4 cups water and the dried tangerine peel. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Add the Sweet Red Bean Paste. Continue simmering for another 30 minutes. Add the sugar, stirring to dissolve. Chill before serving.
Chinese Wedding Soup
Traditionally, sweet red bean paste soup is made with raw adzuki beans and contains lotus seeds, a symbol of fertility in Chinese culture.
Serves 4
Traditionally this dessert would be made with Chinese almonds, which are actually apricot pits.
Sweet Almond Soup
½ cup unblanched almonds
3 tablespoons long grain rice
2 tablespoons Chinese dates
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2½ cups milk
2 tablespoons sugar
Process the almonds in a blender or food processor into a fine powder. Combine 3 tablespoons of the processed almonds with the white rice and process again. Add water, a few drops at a time, to form a paste.
Process the Chinese dates into small pieces and set aside.
Add oil to a preheated wok or heavy skillet. When oil is hot, add the milk and heat until it is almost, but not quite, boiling. Add the almond and rice paste and cook for 10 minutes at a near boil, stirring frequently.
Bring the milk to a boil. Add the sugar, stirring. Add the Chinese date pieces. Serve chilled.
Chinese Potato Salad
4 potatoes
2 eggs
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
1½ teaspoons chopped cilantro leaves
¾ teaspoon Hot Mustard Sauce (page 18)
¾ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon plus a few drops of sesame oil
1 cup shredded napa cabbage
cup chopped red onion
Boil the potatoes and hard-boil the eggs. Drain and peel the potatoes, and cut them into bite-sized squares. Slice the hard-boiled eggs.
Mix together the mayonnaise, soy sauce, cilantro leaves, Hot Mustard Sauce, and sugar. Stir in the sesame oil.
Mix the potatoes, eggs, shredded cabbage, and chopped red onion together in a large bowl. Mix in the mayonnaise sauce. Keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Main Dish Salad
The common tossed green salad is unknown in Chinese cuisine. A salad can be hot or cold, an appetizer or part of the main meal. It may even take the place of a sorbet when served between courses.
Serves 6–8
For extra bite, add up to ½ teaspoon of curry paste to the potato salad before serving.
Serves 4
This Chinese take on the popular Indonesian salad features peanut sauce without the lime juice. Serve with scented rice for a light supper.
Chinese-Style Gado Gado Salad
Peanut Sauce (page 20)
2 red potatoes
2 hard-boiled eggs
½ English cucumber
½ cup snow peas
½ cup cauliflower
½ cup spinach leaves
½ cup carrots, chopped
½ cup mung bean sprouts
Boil the potatoes with their skins on and slice. Boil the eggs and cut into thin slices. Peel the cucumber and cut into thin slices. String the snow peas. Chop the cauliflower.
Blanch the snow peas, spinach leaves, carrots, and bean sprouts.
Arrange the vegetables on a platter, working from the outside in. You can arrange the vegetables in any order, but the boiled egg slices should be placed on top.
Pour the Peanut Sauce over the salad. Serve immediately.
Serves 6
This is an excellent dish to serve on summer days when you want something more substantial than chicken wings or potato salad.
Steamed Beef Salad
Spicy Steamed Beef (page 124)
1 bunch Romaine lettuce leaves
1 carrot, shredded
1 cup raw cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons red rice vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
A few drops sesame oil
Prepare the steamed beef. Place the cooked beef in a sealed container in the refrigerator and leave overnight.
Place the vegetables in a medium-sized bowl and toss with the red rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil.
Serve the steamed beef on a plate with the salad arranged around it.
Watermelon and Watercress Salad
¼ cup rice vinegar
½ teaspoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon chili sauce
¼ teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame paste or peanut butter
2 tablespoons water
2 cups watercress
1 small tomato
1 leaf Romaine lettuce, shredded
10 1-inch cubes of watermelon, green peel and seeds removed
For the dressing, place the rice vinegar, lemon juice, chili sauce, sesame oil, sesame paste, and water in a blender and process until smooth. Place in a bowl and set aside.
Wash the watercress. Drain thoroughly, and remove the stems. Cut the tomato into thin slices.
Toss the watercress with the Romaine lettuce and tomato. Place in a serving bowl and add the watermelon cubes. Drizzle the dressing over. Refrigerate leftover dressing in a sealed jar. It will keep for 3–4 days.
Peanut Butter Is a Substitute
The more authentic version of this dish uses sesame paste. Made from toasted sesame seeds, sesame paste has a sweet flavor similar to peanut butter, which makes a convenient substitute. Although it is also made from ground sesame seeds, the Middle Eastern tahini is not a good substitute for sesame paste: It is made with untoasted sesame seeds, giving it a very different flavor.
Serves 2
For extra flavor, add a few Spicy Roasted Peanuts (page 274) to the dressing before processing. The dressing yields cup.
Serves 2
Rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar both mean the same thing. Rice vinegar is simply rice wine that has been allowed to ferment.
Hot Spiced Cucumbers
½ English cucumber
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon red rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon chili paste
Peel the cucumber and cut into thin slices. Place in a bowl and toss with the salt and leave for 15 minutes.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Place the cucumber in a clean bowl and pour the s
auce mixture over. Serve immediately or chill.
Serves 2
This is a wonderful picnic dish. For a less spicy version, leave out the chili paste.
Creamy Cucumber Salad
1 English cucumber
¼ teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup plain yogurt
½ teaspoon cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon chili paste
1 Asian pear
Peel the cucumber and slice. Place in a bowl and toss with salt, allowing to stand for 15 minutes.
Place the garlic, yogurt, cilantro leaves, honey, lemon juice, and chili paste in the blender and process until smooth. Makes cup.
Serve the cucumber slices on a plate with the dressing on the side. Garnish with Asian pear slices.
Bean Sprout and Carrot Salad
2 cups mung bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
½ carrot, shredded
1 tablespoon red rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon chili with garlic sauce
¼ teaspoon sesame oil
Trim the ends of the bean sprouts if desired. Combine with the shredded carrot.
Mix together the red rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, chili with garlic sauce, and sesame oil. Drizzle over the mixture of bean sprouts and carrot, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
Green Onion Brushes
This attractive garnish is easy to make. Simply slice a green onion into 1½ -inch pieces, then, starting in the middle and going left, cut several slits with a pin. Repeat in the other direction. (Leave a small section in the middle untouched so that the green onion doesn't fall apart.)
THE EVERYTHING® CHINESE COOKBOOK Page 7