Open mind required when sampling China's regional cuisine

STORY BY KARA SPAK | Daily Herald Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY PATRICK KUNZER | Daily Herald Photographer

Chef Lee Huoduo prepares a whole fish that minutes earlier was swimming in an aquarium at Long Shan Jiu Lou restaurant near Toisan. Diners typically select the exact fish they want to eat.

Eating the animal with two legs, translator and guide Yang Li explained to me in a Beijing hotel lobby, is better than eating the animal with four legs.

Better still, she said, is eating what the Chinese call the animal with one leg, the mushroom.

Best of all, according to this traditional Chinese maxim, is eating the animal with no legs: the fish.

And eat the animal with no legs I did, served up whole and staring blankly at me with the same eyes that minutes before swam in an aquarium on the restaurant's perimeter, oblivious to its fate.

I ate prawns, pink and white with black beady eyes. Before I learned better, I ate their heads, filled with ash-colored mush, antenn  1/8 included.

Hours after watching local women inspect pig hooves and other cuts of hog splayed out on a roughshod table in the middle of an alleyway, I was tearing into fried pork with peppers.

Dumplings, known as shuijiao, are a popular snack or light meal throughout China. These dumplings at a Shanghai restaurant are filled with pork and served with vinegar for dip-ping. Dumplings can be boiled, steamed, fried or in soup.

I ate roast goose. Mutton. Turnips. Turtle soup. Duck. Gruel. Eggs boiled in soy sauce and tea leaves. Simple noodle soup for lunch. Baked yams for breakfast and dinner. For dessert, a bean-curd-filled, egg-shaped pastry soaked in a bowl of syrup.

Whatever they put in front of me, I ate, then turned the lazy Susan bursting with dishes so that I could eat some more.

Here at home, I'm what's known as a picky eater. Hamburgers, cheese, hot dogs, bacon - there's a long list of standard American foods I won't go near.

I heard horror stories before I left for China about the food there, which I was told "is not like the Chinese food here at all." I was warned about chicken feet and something called a hundred-year-old egg.

So I packed 14 energy bars in my suitcase, congratulated myself early on the weight I would be losing and steeled myself to spend nearly a month hungry.

Instead, traveling through China for the Daily Herald's suburban mosaic series, I discovered a staggering variety of ingredients and seasonings, most that I loved and few that resembled anything like American Chinese food's oily sauces and deep fried egg rolls.

Toward the end of the trip, as I took a pass on a bony lamb shank but confidently selected a silvery dried, salted fish with my chopsticks, I felt like I'd been invaded by someone with a more open mind and wide open mouth.

A home-cooked Chinese meal includes (clockwise from lower left) peanuts with celery and car-rots, almond pork, shengyou (a potato-like root vegetable) and cooked fungus.

Historically, Chinese cuisine developed out of necessity and geography. Periodic famines through China's 5,000-year history elevated the basics like rice and grains. The country's diverse geography and cultural diversity led to four regional cuisines, Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western. The people in each perfected their own food offerings.

While Americans struggle with obesity and the redefinition of the food pyramid, healthful eating is ingrained in Chinese culture, from the proverb about the animal with no legs to the belief that turtle soup - an oily, savory concoction featuring a lump of turtle meat in a shell - promotes long life.

More critical than the diverse and delicious menu options, I found a deeper connection to what I was eating there.

Here, my dinner comes pre-wrapped or packaged, even if I'm cooking something from scratch.

In parts of China, where many homes do not have refrigeration, the day begins with a trip to the local outdoor market, featuring fowl held in cages, meat pounded by mallets to form specific cuts and dozens of fish still flopping atop newspapers spread on the dusty ground.

Purple eggplants, an assortment of leafy greens and varieties of mushroom or other fungus sit on other market tables, waiting to be weighed by a jin, a Chinese measurement.

Street vendors sell snacks like meat-filled dumplings, mutton kebabs, fried tofu or steamed buns filled with bean curd.

Shanghai and Beijing offer four-star dining experiences and Western fast food (Pizza Hut and KFC are two Chinese favorites). We passed on both, and I believe ate better for it.

Travel, they say, stretches your mind. In my case, it also stretched my waistline.

Cut the chicken and red snapper filets into thin slices. Rinse the shrimp under warm running water and cut in half lengthwise.

Wash and shred the cabbage and spinach. Soak the bean thread noodles in hot water until softened.

Place the sliced chicken, shrimp, red snapper and the shredded vegetables on separate platters on the table. Place the dipping sauces on the table in small individual bowls. Make sure each guest has a complete place setting, including a dipping fork and a small bowl for placing the cooked food.

On the stove, bring the broth and water with the rice wine to a boil; add the ginger and green onion. Transfer enough broth to the fondue pot or hot pot so that the pot is about two-thirds to three-fourths full. (How much broth you need will depend on the size of the pot). Place the pot on the burner, and keep it simmering throughout the meal. Keep the remaining broth warming on the stovetop.

To serve, invite guests to spear the food with a dipping fork and cook briefly in the broth until cooked. Then dip the cooked food into light or dark soy sauce, sesame paste, hot chili oil, red rice vinegar, hoisin sauce or other sauces as desired.

Use a dipping basket to cook the vegetables in batches in the hot broth and ladle out into the soup bowls.

Serves four to six.

Nutrition values per serving: 337 calories, 16 g fat (2 g saturated), 12 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 39 g protein, 88 mg cholesterol, 1,404 mg sodium.

Nutrition values per serving (without sauces): 248 calories, 9 g fat (1 g saturated), 7 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 37 g protein, 88 mg cholesterol, 815 mg sodium.

About.com

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat, and cook the vegetables until tender. Mix in the ginger and season with salt and pepper. Remove vegetables from skillet and set aside.

Place the eggs in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Dip tofu cubes first in the egg, then the cornstarch mixture to coat.

Heat  1/2 cup oil in the skillet or wok over medium heat, and cook the coated tofu 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Stir in the peanut sauce and peanuts. Continue to cook and stir until sauce has thickened and tofu is well-coated. Serve with the vegetables.

Serves eight.

Nutrition values per serving: 364 calories, 27 g fat (3 g saturated), 21 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 14 g protein, 27 mg cholesterol, 214 mg sodium.

AllRecipes.com

3 cups all-purpose flour
Up to 1 1/4 cups ice cold water
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling

1 cup ground pork or beef
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, or to taste
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 green onion, finely minced
1 1/2 cups finely shredded Napa cabbage
4 tablespoons shredded bamboo shoots
2 slices fresh ginger, finely minced
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced

In a large bowl, stir the salt into the flour. Slowly stir in the cold water, adding as much as is necessary to form a smooth dough. Don't add more water than is necessary. Knead the dough into a smooth ball. Cover the dough and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, prepare the filling ingredients. Put meat in a large bowl; add the soy sauce, salt, rice wine and white pepper, stirring in only one direction. Add the sesame oil, green onion, cabbage, bamboo shoots, ginger and garlic, stirring in the same direction, and mix well.

To make the dumplings: Knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball. Divide the dough into 60 pieces. Roll each piece out into a circle about 3-inches in diameter.

Place a small portion (about 1 level tablespoon) of the filling into the middle of each wrapper. Wet the edges of the dumpling with water. Fold the dough over the filling into a half moon shape and pinch the edges to seal. Continue with the remainder of the dumplings.

To cook: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add half the dumplings, giving them a gentle stir so they don't stick together. Bring the water to a boil, and add a half cup of cold water. Cover and repeat. When the dumplings come to a boil for a third time, they are ready. Drain and remove. If desired, they can be pan-fried at this point.

Makes 60 dumplings.

Nutrition values per dumpling: 62 calories, 4 g fat (1 g saturated), 5 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein, 5 mg cholesterol, 31 mg sodium.

About.com

In a large saucepan, combine eggs and 1 teaspoon salt; cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and cool. When cool, tap eggs with the back of a spoon to crack shells (do not remove shells).

In a large saucepan, combine 3 cups water, soy sauce, black soy sauce, salt, tea leaves, star anise, cinnamon stick and tangerine zest. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 3 hours. Remove from heat, add eggs, and let steep for at least 8 hours.

Serves eight.

Cook's note: Eggs can steep up to 1 1/2 days for richer flavor. Store eggs unpeeled and tightly sealed in refrigerator. They will keep 4 to 5 days.

Allrecipes.com

Continue:
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• In China, more than one child isn't a choice
• China: Soup to nuts