The secret to that Chinese dish

When you are planning a Chinese meal, the secret of success lies in choosing dishes that complement each other. However, most important of all is that the dishes must provide contrast in texture, flavour and colour. Naturally, choosing dishes that are prepared by the different cooking methods is also paramount for reasons of variety.

Party and celebratory meals are elaborate in China and would often consist of numerous courses which would include starters of various meats, sea foods and marinated vegetables; quick fried foods and soup. All these items precede the special main dish which might be something as fancy and elaborate as Peking duck or Red- cooked lamb, served with accompaniments and rice.

A good Chinese family meal also offers a wide variety of dishes though all the dishes are placed on the table together. The meal normally consists of a main dish, one or two quick fried recipes and steamed as opposed to fried rice.

Regional cooking

There are four main schools of Chinese cuisine viz. Cantonese (Kwangtung Province), Haiyang, Szechuan and Peking. Each region has its own specialties that depend on the climate and availability of local produce.

Cantonese cooking is influenced by the availability of locally caught fish and seafood specialties are numerous. Stuffed vegetables are popular and in demand, often using shellfish for the filling. Canton also has the distinction of giving us the scrumptious crispy pork dishes from where they originate.

Haiyang, with its centre at Yangchow, is home for many of the steamed dishes as well as savoury dumplings. The subtle flavoured noodles which I love hail from the banks of the Yangtze river delta in this area. Over to eastern China where there is the province of Nanking, famous for its dark dishes, and Shanghai--- the trading centre--- it too has its own sophisticated cuisine.    

In contrast, the food from the Szechuan area is richly flavoured and piquant. Signature and characteristic Szechuan dishes tend to be hot and peppery which is mainly due to the use of chili peppers, hot pepper oil and the famous Szechuan peppercorns.

In my view, the food from Peking is the most varied in China. Over the centuries, chefs from the different regions of China have brought their own specialties to the capital city thus earning the distinction of being the culinary center of the country. Regardless, Peking has its very own famed cuisine, it is here that the famous Peking Duck and Mongolian Hot Pot originate. Last but not least, the northern province of Henan on the Hwang Ho (Yellow River) is famous for its sweet and sour dishes. 

Preparing ingredients

In Chinese cooking, the emphasis is on the preparation of food as opposed to cooking. This is the time consuming part, the actual cooking time is generally short in comparison to the standard Western cooking. Great care should be taken when cutting and chopping ingredients to ensure that everything is similar in size and will therefore cook evenly.

Meat must always be cut across the grain which helps to tenderise it. Usually, it is either sliced or shredded while vegetables may be sliced straight or diagonally, diced or shredded.

In order to slice a vegetable diagonally, hold the knife or cleaver at a 45-degree angle to the vegetable, with the blade pointing away from you. To shred a vegetable, cut into diagonal slices and then slice them into thin strips. To dice, simply cut the food into 1 cm (1/2 inch) cubes. Always prepare each ingredient and put on one side before starting to cook.

The most common cooking method is stir-frying and as the name implies, it is a technique of frying foods over high heat while stirring constantly. A small amount of oil is used and the food is stirred with vigor and constantly throughout the cooking which only lasts a few minutes. Stir fry cooking ensures that the food is sealed and cooked quickly so as to hold in the flavor. A wok with its round base and slopping sides is perfect for stir frying. If a wok in unavailable, then use a deep frying pan instead.   

Method:

1. Divide the broccoli florets into smaller strips and cut the stalks into think diagonal slices

2. Finely chop the white part of the spring onions and slice the green part into thin shreds

3. In a bowl, blend together the corn flour, oyster sauce, stock and lemon juice and set aside

4. Heat a wok until hot and add 2 tbsp of the vegetable oil and swirl it around before adding the chicken and stir fry for about 2 minutes, until golden and crispy at the edges. Remove from the warm and set aside and keep warm.

5. Add the remaining vegetable oil to the wok and stir fry the chopped onion, garlic and ginger over medium heat for about a minute. Increase the heat to high and add the broccoli, mushrooms and corn and stir fry for about 2 minutes.

6. Return the chicken to the wok and then add the sauce with the chopped spring onions and seasoning. Cook, stirring for about a minute until the sauce has thickened and then stir in the sesame oil. Taste and correct seasoning and serve at once on a bed of egg noodles with the finely shredded spring onions on top.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

120 g broccoli florets

4 spring onions

1 tsp cornflower

4 tbsp oyster sauce

½ cup chicken stock

2 tsp lemon juice

3 tbsp vegetable oil

½ kg chicken fillets, cut into strips, about ¼ x 2 in

1 medium onion chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

200 g fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced. Substitute king oyster mushrooms if shitake are not available

100 g canned baby corn, halved lengthwise

2 tbsp sesame oil

Salt and black pepper to taste

Egg noodles to serve