Cooking The Books

Tian Shui Mian - The Recipe

This could be a landmark moment in the global spread of Sichuan cooking, the first English language tian shui mian recipe - maybe (I'm sure someone can prove me wrong). 

As mentioned previously tian shui mian managed to fight off stiff competition from about 600 other meals to make it into my top ten.  The bitter sweet sauce, hot chili and lip-numbing Sichuan pepper clinging to thick, chewy hand made noodles was almost too good for words.  If you've been to Baozi Inn then it's on the menu there although they call it something like Sweet and Spicy Noodles.  I've not eaten it though so can't comment on their version.

Loving it so much I obviously I wanted to recreate this meal so soon after getting back to Blighty I turned to Fuchsia Dunlop - whose books are my favourite Sichuan resource - but, alas, nothing.  Next up came Google but whilst it got me slightly warmer (the dish is mentioned on a couple of English language sites, incuding this site at number one) there was still no recipe.  Luckily I'd bought a couple of Chinese language Sichuan recipe books whilst travelling so dictionary in hand I waded through the indexes of them.  Still nothing.  At my wit's end I had the bright idea (even if I say so myself) to utilise the Chinese language pack installed on the PC, get the symbols in Google and search with them.  Bullseye!  Pages of recipes in Chinese, all I needed to do then was translate. 

Luckily for me the gf's cousin was over from Malaysia last weekend so I called upon his services and we flew through the ingredients, all bar one that is - red soy sauce.  This completely stumped both him and me but another symbol fueled Google search told us this was a sweetened, flavoured soy sauce (not the sweet bean paste I had guessed was in it when first tasting the dish).  They were also kind enough to provide a skeleton recipe.

Armed with this information and a couple of attempts to get it just right I can now present to you tian shui mian.  On top of being damn tasty it's got the added bonus of requiring you to make your own noodles which (ignoring pasta) was a first for me.  I wasn't sure of the gluten content of Chinese noodle flour so I decided to try a 50:50 mix of strong and plain flours on the first attempt, this worked perfectly so I'm sticking with it.

Tian Shui Mian, serves 4 people for a light meal

Noodles

200gr of plain white flour
200gr strong white flour
200gr water
1ts salt
Oil for rolling out

Sauce

65gr red soy sauce (see note below)
50gr chili oil, with sediment
1 TB sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 ts chicken powder (optional)
10gr sesame paste, I used the dark Sichuan kind but you can use tahini too
2ts roasted and then crushed Sichuan pepper

Method

For the noodles combine the flours and the salt then add the water, stirring and kneading till all the flour has combined.  There's no need to knead till smooth like you would bread, at this point anyway.  Place in a bowl and cover, leaving for 30 minutes.

At this point remove the dough and give it a knead.  As the dough has had half an hour to hydrate it should knead easily, coming together in a smooth lump in little time at all.  Once smooth cover in clingfilm and leave while you put the sauce together.

Sauce

This couldn't be much simpler, once you've made the red soy sauce that is.

Combine everything except the Sichuan pepper in a bowl and stir until the sesame paste has broken up and all is combined

To Finish

Oil the dough, roll out to 5mm thick then cut into noodles 5mm to 10mm wide.  Dust well to avoid sticking.  Once they're all cut place into boiling water and cook until floating, probably 3 minutes.  Have a nibble on the end of one to check they're done.

Drain the noodles and split between four bowls, place a quarter of the sauce on top of each and then sprinkle with Sichuan pepper.

To Eat

Stir the noodles with your chopsticks till they're coated with the sauce and then enjoy.

Note: Red Soy Sauce

Ingredients

80ml light soy sauce
120gr molasses brown sugar
1 TB rice wine
1 star anise
1 5cm piece of cassia bark (Chinese cinnamon)
Small pinch of fennel seeds

Method

Mix it all up and simmer over a water bath for 15 minutes until slightly reduced and thickened.  Strain and cool.

The excess can be used for more tian shui mian (once will not be enough) or to dip dumplings in.

The Invisble Man Breakfast - Pork Chop, One Egg and Grits

I recently read The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.  Whilst the novel did little for me I was rather intrigued by a breakfast he was offered at one point in it - pork chop, one egg and grits.  Pork chops have blessed my breakfast plate before whilst across the pond, most notably a thick cut one - apple brined then smoked on a barbecue - in a Minneapolis hotel and whilst I was pretty sure I couldn't match that combination of flavours in the home kitchen I'm far from averse to big lumps of meat first meal of the day, whether they're apple brined and smoked or not.  Time to add another entry Southern USA entry to the blog.

In case you don't know grits are made from hominy corn - corn that has been treated with lye much the way that corn is treated prior to making nachos and tacos that is coarse ground and boiled.  What you end up with is a polenta-like substance, white in colour and pretty mild in taste.  As with polenta cooking in stock and adding some butter post cooking can move away from the blandness, leaving a creamy and tasty side to the first meal of the day.

Before cooking these I had a little google around to see if the dish was a real one or if he'd made it up.  It seems it's real and it also seems such dishes are currently very popular in New York's fashionable eateries where they've made the move from Southern breakfast table to New York any time table.  Whilst reading a review of one such restaurant I saw a dish of shrimp with grits and a fried egg which looked so good it nearly knocked the pork chop idea for six but as the idea for this post has been in my mind for a good 4 months though I stuck with them.  With a load more grits in the cupboard you can bet you'll see the shrimp recipe on here soon though.  Watch this space.

Post-eating I'm glad I wasn't swayed by the shrimp.  The well seasoned and smokey pork was just the thing in the morning and the grits played their part well, providing a light flavoured backing so that charred pork really stood out.  The rich egg yolk was happy on both the pork and running through the grits.  I imagine it would work perfectly the morning after the night before if you fancy something other than a full english.  If the idea of 6oz of pork for breakfast doesn't grab you then you can always go New York style and have it of an evening instead.

Pork Chop, One Egg and Grits, per person

1 pork chop

1 egg

1 portion of grits

Method

Prepare the grits as instructed, using stock instead of water or milk.  Once cooked add a spoonful of butter.

Whilst the grits are cooking season the pork chop well with salt and pepper and cook on a griddle to taste, I go for 3 minutes a side leaving a juicy chop with a hint of pink in the middle.

Fry the egg.

Serve, grinding some black pepper on the grits.

Pork and Chili Bean Noodles

There's only so long one can eat Western food and for me that appears to be about 2 weeks.  I'm now firmly back on an Asian diet.  This wasn't my first foray into Asian dining since returning but whilst my jiaozi wrapping skills have improved no end after a lesson in Beijing, my attempts at recreating a filling I had there (lamb with Chinese celery), whilst tasty, weren't worthy of a blog post.  If you're interested in my dough handling skill improvements though have a little look here compared to these ones from a couple of days back. Go me.

The pork mince recipe from the post title is an attempt to replicate another dish I had in China.  Here the meat is lifted with the inclusion of lots of umami laden items - chili bean paste, black beans and soy all add mouth feel leaving something truly bursting with flavour.  It is very versatile too, the red oily sauce will coat dry noodles beautifully and if you want something wet then add a ladleful of stock and it will be transformed into a fiery pork noodle soup.   For the latter a little black vinegar moves it towards hot and sour.  If you're having it dry then serve some steamed chinese greens with oyster sauce alongside.  If you're serving it as a soup then get the greens in the bowl with it.

Pork and Chili Bean Noodles, serves 4

400gr of minced pork

150ml of water

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

3cm knob of ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 TB black beans, rinsed and chopped

1 ts sugar

2.5 TB chili bean paste

1/2 - 1 ts chili flakes

2 ts light soy sauce

1 ts dark soy sauce

1/2 ts salt

2 spring onions, finely sliced

Handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Noodles of your choice for 4 people (I used banh pho wide flat rice noodles), prepared as per packet instructions

Pak choi or choi sum

Method

Heat some oil in a wok and add the garlic, ginger and black beans, stirring till fragrant.  Add the mince and fry till browned.

Move the mince to one side of the wok and add the chili bean paste to the other, giving it 30 seconds cooking.

Add the water, soy sauces, chili flakes, salt and sugar, stir to combine then simmer till the water has evaporated.

Add the spring onions and coriander then serve over noodles, with or without stock.

 

Boiled Gammon and Pease Pudding

This dish has been in my mind for ages.  I was almost craving it even though I'd never tried it before. 

Boiled gammon is a delight, one that I think is too frequently overlooked in favour of its roast sibling.  I love how juicy it remains and the way it breaks down along the muscle striations.  Add to that the melt in the mouth fat and skin and one shouldn't miss the drier roast version at all.  The pease pudding was an unknown entity though, but split pease cooked in gammon stock had to be good.

Back when I was a child 'Pease pudding hot, pease pudding cold, pease pudding in the pot 9 days old' was known to everyone but having mentioned it to my 16 year old brother the nursery rhyme seems to have disappeared as much as the dish has.  He now knows them both though and the pease pudding got a thumbs up from him.  I was a fan too, the blandness of the pea is lifted by the stock and onion and the final seasoning with black pepper added welcome spice.  Rumour has it you can fry up any leftovers but alas none managed to survive our meal.  Next time I'll make more so I can see if this tastes as good as it sounds.

This recipe serves 4 with lots of gammon leftover.  You can use this and some of the stock to make a pea and ham soup, if not it's obviously a fine sandwich filling.

Boiled Gammon with Pease Pudding

Ingredients

1.6kg joint of gammon
1 onion, halved and peeled
4 sticks of celery, cut into quarter lengths
2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
3 bay leaves
A few black peppercorns

250gr split yellow peas, soaked overnight
1 small onion, finely diced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
A small bunch of herbs - thyme, rosemary, bay - or 1/2 ts of dried mixed herbs
25gr of butter

Method

Cover the gammon with cold water and bring to the boil.  Remove the gamon and discard the water.  This gets rid of excess salt as well as any scum from the joint.

Mix the peas, onion, garlic and herbs and wrap into a muslin parcel, twisting and tying securely.

Place the gammon back into the stock pot, add the veg, bay, peppercorns and muslin parcel then cover with water.

Bring to the boil then turn down the heat and simmer for 2 hours before removing the pease pudding and the gammon.  The veg can be discarded and the stock saved for a pea and ham soup.

To finish the pease pudding scrape it from from the muslin, remove the sprigs of herb and place into a bowl then mash with the butter.  Add lots of black pepper and salt to taste.

Slice the gammon quite thickly and serve with the pease pudding and some English mustard.  Winter greens like kale make a nice accompaniment.

A Hearty Broth

When it's cold few things beat a good soup.  Here sweet carrot and swede mix with nutty barley and the earthy lamb. It's pretty similar to scotch broth, just missing a couple of things and upping the barley as that was the ingredient I really fancied.  With said barley it's almost a meal in itself but I wouldn't miss the opportunity of dipping crusty bread into flavoursome stock just because of that.  The lamb adds flavour and texture but omitting it would leave a tasty vegetarian soup too.

Lamb, Winter Vegetable and Barley Broth, serves 4

Ingredients

400gr stewing lamb
125gr barley
250gr swede
1 medium carrot
1 medium onion
1/2 a leek
Vegetable stock, I use the Marigold bouillon powder
2 bay leaves
S&P

Method

Brown the lamb then drain the fat then add stock to cover, simmering for an hour until the lamb is nearly tender. While the lamb is boiling simmer the barley for 15 minutes then drain. 

Remove the lamb, take the meat from the bones and chop into 1cm bits.

Peel the swede and carrots and cut into a 1cm dice.  Chop the onion and leek to the same size.

Add the meat, vegetables and grain to the stock, adding more stock until it's well covered.  Add the bay leaves and lots of black pepper then simmer for an hour, topping up with stock if it looks low, till the barley is swollen and toothsome.

All you need to do now is check the seasoning and tear off a hunk of bread.