Chinese Chicken Stock

Chicken stock is the base of almost every cuisine, and it’s no different with Chinese food. Many of my recipes call for chicken stock, and while it’s perfectly fine to use the good-quality shelf-stable boxes or cans of chicken broth sold at supermarkets, if you want to take your cooking up a notch, try this stock recipe. I’ve adapted it from a recipe of my friend Pichet Ong @pichetong, and it is absolutely the most delicious stock I’ve ever made. Add a soft boiled egg, some noodles or pasta, some sliced scallions, a dash of soy sauce, and you’ve got dinner.

Pichet’s Chinese Chinese Stock (adapted by Jen)

1 whole organic chicken (or 4 organic chicken thighs with drumsticks)
1 bunch of cilantro, leaves and stems cut and separated
1 teaspoon white peppercorn
8 ginger coins ¼ inch thick
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 onion, quartered
2 cups of daikon, in large cubes
6 scallions
10 dried shitake mushrooms
4 dried whole chilies (or jalapeno)
1 cup Shaoxing cooking wine

Quarter the chicken and reserve the breasts and thigh meat for other use. Place the chicken in a large stockpot and add 4-5 quarts of water. Bring to a boil and skim off the impurities. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil again. Reduce to medium heat, allowing the broth to simmer for at least 2-3 hours and up to 8 hours. Allow the broth to cool before straining through a colander.

Wok-Fried Sichuan String Beans

Vegetables don’t have to be boring. And even my picky daughter loves this dish! There’s a two-step cooking process: you roast the beans first before wok-frying them. At Black Sesame Kitchen, we fry the beans in oil to give this a restaurant-style taste; at home, I prefer to roast them in the oven.
I’ll be teaching this dish, along with Kung Pao Chicken, Sunday July 5 at 7:30am ET (US/Canada).

Wok-Fried Sichuan String Beans Serves 4

1 pound green beans, with the string fibers peeled and ends broken off (if the beans are the very long variety, cut into 4-inch sections)
2-4 tbs vegetable oil with a high smoke point (canola, sunflower, grapeseed)
a pinch salt
1 tsp whole Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced scallion (or leek)
2-3 dried chili peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces (optional)
¼ pound ground pork, beef, turkey, or meat substitute like Beyond Meat
2 tbs Yibin preserved vegetable or Sichuan pickled vegetable, minced (optional)
1 tbs Shaoxing cooking wine or sherry (optional)
1 tbs regular soy sauce (Kikkoman, Lee Kum Kee premium, or Shoyu)
¼ tsp white pepper

Roast the beans:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. In a bowl, toss the string beans with 1-2 tbs vegetable oil and salt. Roast in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the beans begin to blister a little.

Infuse your cooking oil:
Heat wok over high heat and add 1-2 tbs vegetable oil. If using Sichuan peppercorns, add them and gently move them around with a spatula until they release their unique aroma, about 1-2 minutes. Remove only the peppercorns, using a curved spatula. Add the scallion (or leek), ginger, and garlic, chili peppers (optional) and stir for another 1-2 minutes. (Reduce your heat to medium high if the aromatics begin to burn.)

Wok-fry it up:
Add the ground pork (or other meat) and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the following, stirring for 30 seconds in between each addition: preserved/pickled vegetable, cooking wine, soy sauce, pepper, and finally the green beans. Toss for 1 minute, remove from heat and serve immediately.

Kung Pao Chicken

Sweet, spicy, and a little numbing, kung pao chicken is our family’s go-to Chinese chicken dish whenever we’ve got a Sichuanese craving. I’ll be teaching this dish, along with Sichuan String Beans June 26 (the class is fully booked) and July 5 at 7:30am Eastern Time (for Europe, Asia, and early bird east coasters in the U.S.).

Kung Pao Chicken
4 servings

For the Chicken:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh, cut into small bite-sized pieces
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup chicken stock
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp vegetable oil (canola, sunflower, grapeseed)

For the Stir-Frying:
2 tbsp vegetable oil (canola, sunflower, grapeseed)
1 ½ tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
¼ cup dried Sichuan chilies, roughly chopped
2 tsp chili flakes or ground chili pepper (or to taste, depending on your desired level of spiciness)
1 tbsp each minced ginger and garlic
¼ cup scallions, cut into bite-sized pieces
½ red bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
½ green bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
¼ cup roasted unsalted peanuts or cashews

For the Sauce:
1 tsp Shaoxing cooking wine or sherry (optional)
1 ½ tbsp Shanxi vinegar or rice vinegar
2 tbsp regular soy sauce
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp white pepper
2 tbsp sugar

1. Velvet and tenderize the chicken:
Place chicken in a medium bowl, add salt, and chicken stock a little at a time. It’s best to use your hands for this step, but you may also use chopsticks or a large spoon. Add cornstarch and thoroughly coat the chicken. Add the oil and coat.

2. Make the sauce:
Mix together all the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

3. Stir-Fry:
Add 1 tbsp oil to the wok and place over high heat. Add the chicken and stir for 3-4 minutes until partially cooked. Remove from the wok. Clean wok by wiping with a bunch of paper towels or rinse with hot water and a brush.

Return the wok over high heat and add 1 tbsp oil. Add the Sichuan peppercorns and stir occasionally for 1 minute. Remove the Sichuan peppercorns with a Chinese cooking ladle or curved spatula. Add the dried chilies, ground chilies (or chili flakes), scallions (or leeks), ginger, and garlic. Stir for 1 minute. Add the red and green peppers and stir for another minute. Add the chicken and stir for 3-4 minutes. 

Add the sauce and stir for another 2-3 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked. (You may check the chicken by removing a piece and cutting into it to see if the meat is done.)

Add the peanuts (or cashews), toss, and remove from heat. Serve immediately. 

Scallion Pancakes

Flecked with salt and scallions, these delicious savory bing (pancakes) are addictive.

I’ve been teaching these in my live stream cooking classes and have a huge stack in my freezer these days, so I can take them out for a quick breakfast, or side for lunch or dinner. If freezing, roll out the pancakes and then freeze them in zip-lock bags, in between layers of parchment. When you want to eat them, remove them from the freezer, defrost for 1 hour, and pan-fry.

Makes 8 pancakes

4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup minced scallions or leeks
salt, to taste
a vegetable oil with a high smoke point (canola, sunflower, etc)

Place flour in a large bowl. Add water 1/4 of a cup at a time and use two chopsticks to stir into the flour. Once incorporated, repeat with the remaining water. Knead for 2-3 minutes. The dough should be pliable like putty but not stick to your hands. Cover with a wet towel and let sit for 30 minutes.

Turn dough onto a well-floured board or surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Work with 1 piece at a time, covering the rest with a wet towel. Roll the piece into a ball and place on the board. Flatten it with your hand. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough as thinly as you can. Brush the dough with oil and sprinkle with scallions and salt.

Roll the dough into a loose tube. Pinch close each end of the table. Brush the top of the tube with oil. Roll the tube into a coil (like the pattern of a snail shell).

Place the dough upright on the board, the way you would with a cinnamon roll. Then flatten the dough again with your hand, gently pushing it downward at an angle, so that the dough forms overlapping layers. Roll out the dough until it’s less than 1/4 inch thick.

Heat a flat pan on medium high for 1 minute and add 1 tablespoon oil. Once the oil is hot, place the flattened dough in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium. Flip once the bottom has turned golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Cook on the other side until it browns. Plate and serve.

This recipe can be adapted with an endless variety of fillings, from Sichuan peppercorns & cooked minced pork to cinnamon & sugar.

Homemade Beijing-Style Dumplings

For the filling:
3/4 pound ground pork (or your choice of ground meat or seafood)
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 ⁄2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
11⁄2 teaspoons finely minced ginger
1 tablespoon finely minced leek or scallion (using the white or light green part)
2 cups of your choice of shredded or finely minced vegetables

For the dumplings wrappers: 
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups water
or Frozen Dumpling Wrappers, if you must  

Serve with soy sauce, vinegar (rice or Shanxi preferably), and chili oil (Lao Gan Ma or Sriracha)

1. Knead the dough: Place the flour in a large bowl. Stir in 1 cup of the water, then work the water into the flour with your hands. Slowly add more water, about 1⁄4 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly so the water is fully incorporated before adding more. Stop when the dough is springy and soft, not too dry but not slippery. Transfer to a clean surface and knead for 3 to 5 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and let sit while you make the filling. (Dough may sit up to 1-2 hours at room temperature.)

2. Make the filling: In a bowl, mix the ground meat and water vigorously with chopsticks or a fork, about 50strokes, making sure to mix in one direction. The pork should have the consistency of cake batter. Add the egg and mix another 20 to 30 strokes. Add the soy sauce, salt, and sesame oil and mix again. Add the garlic, ginger, and leek. Blend well. Add the vegetables. Blend well. The filling is now ready to fold into the dumpling wrappers.

3. Roll out the dumpling skins: Divide the dough into three equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope, about 3⁄4 inch in diameter. Slice the ropes into inch-long pieces. Lightly sprinkle the pieces with flour, and roll them with one hand on the counter to form balls. Squash each ball with the center of your palm to flatten it like a silver dollar.

 Sprinkle flour over the dough and work surface. Working with a rolling pin and one piece of dough at a time, start from the center of the dough and roll outward, then roll back to the center. Turn the dough a few degrees and roll again. Continue rolling, turning the dough in the same direction, until you have made a full revolution. The dumpling skin should be flat and round and slightly bigger than your palm. It probably won’t be a perfect circle the first time you try, or the second, for that matter. Your technique will improve as you go along.

Stack the wrappers and cover with a damp cloth to prevent them from drying out while you finish rolling. Use them immediately.

4. Wrap the dumplings: Place a dumpling skin in your palm. Scoop a dollop of filling in the center of the skin. Fold the skin in half, and pinch the top of the semicircle together. Starting from one side, pleat and pinch the edges until the filling is fully sealed and the dumpling has the shape of a crescent.

5. Cook the dumplings: While you are wrapping, fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Add the dumplings in batches of 20, and when the water returns to a boil, cook for 5minutes. Drain and serve immediately, with soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil.

Cuban Black Beans & Rice

This recipe goes with a recent article I wrote for Heated, Mark Bittman’s Medium.com blog.

What I love about black beans and rice is that they go well with almost any protein. You can pair them with scrambled eggs, roast pork, fried chicken, roasted fish, and sausages. We’ve even eaten them with hot dogs, the rice and beans a healthier stand-in for white hot dog buns — what could be more kid-friendly?  

Cuban Rice and Black Beans

2 cups white or brown rice (chose your variety)

2 cups dried black beans
1 large green pepper, sliced in half
1 1/2 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 yellow onion, minced
4 large cloves garlic
1 tbs minced fresh cilantro (or culantro, a Cuban herb, if you can find it)
1 tsp minced fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried oregano) 
1 dried bay leaf
2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp cooking wine (vino secco)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp olive oil 

Cook the rice according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (My favorite way to make rice is in an InstantPot.)

Soak the beans for 3-4 hours or overnight. Boil the beans in a pressure cooker with 2 1/2 quarts of water, half the pepper, and 1 tbs vegetable oil until soft, about half an hour to an hour (depending on how long you’ve soaked them). Turn off the heat. 

Mince the other half of the green pepper. In a small frying pan, heat 1/2 tbs of vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and green pepper and stir for 4-5 minutes until the onion and garlic are well browned. Add the contents of the pan into the pressure cooker and mash the beans with a wooden spoon. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the olive oil into the pressure cooker, cover, and boil for 10-15 minutes until it is well thickened. Remove from heat. Add a tsp of olive oil and stir before serving, with steamed white rice.