http://www.japancentre.com/recipes/33

This looks nice and esy. You can get sake and mirin (sweet wine) from Waitrose and oriental supermakets. See also our links.

If you can’t get mirin and sake, try to substitute with dry sherry and add a teaspoon of sugar.

E

July 2010

Japanese Rice is a cross between sticky rice and normal rice.

Here is the “correct” way to cook it.

http://www.japancentre.com/recipes/15

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July 2010

http://blog.japancentre.com/2010/07/14/recipe-japanese-korokke/

Put a twist into your croquettes or croquetas.

E

July 2010

http://blog.japancentre.com/2010/07/07/recipe-gyoza-dumplings/

 

Enjoy.

E

Category: Cheung Fun

 

This is the slippery white rice pasta that comes with all sorts of fillings and is covered with a sweetish soy based sauce. Unlike lasagne, instead of being layered, it is rolled with the filling in the middle. The pasta can also come plain or with cut up bits of spring onion and dry shrimps incorporated into the pasta.

 

At China palace, the prices are as follows:

 

Prawn Cheung Fun                                                       £4.10

Roast Pork (Char Sui) Cheung Fun                               £4.10

Beef (minced) Cheung Fun                                            £3.00

Deep- fried Dough Cheung Fun                                    £3.00

 

 

The deep fried dough is worth a special mention. Its Cheung Fun with what the Chinese call yu tew. The nearest thing to it is churros in Spain. So in this dish, you get both the soft and crisp texture. Cheung Fun is always steamed never boiled – it breaks up.

 

These dishes are only available during lunch time or for breakfast. I have never come across it in the evening in any Chinese Restaurants in the world even ones that offer dim sum all day.

 

Category: Others

 

Name: Baked egg tarts

Chinese name: dan tart

Price: £2.30

Summary:

This is Chinese custard tart. The difference is that the custard is enriched with egg yolk and the pastry is more like flaky (puff) pastry.

 

Under dim sum, you can also be offered pots of rice, congee (rice porridge) – just boil rice in plenty of water till the rice disintegrates, mixed meat platter (char sui, roast duck and crispy belly of pork) and occasionally suckling pig.

 

Enjoy.

 

I have nearly all the recipes. If you want to try making it, do write in and I will let you have it. However, please note that all sorts of dim sums are now available frozen so hardly anyone (except restaurants) make them. In fact I suspect that half of them simply warm up bought in frozen dim sum.

 

The only one worth making is spring roll and it is very easy. Just buy the pastry skin (frozen) from a supermarket and then put in any sort of filling that you fancy and finish it off by deep frying.

 

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Please note that the price is for guidance only – it is what China Palace charged in July 2010

Continuing a review of Dim sum – using the menu on offer at China Palace, Reading.

 

Catergory: Fried and Grilled (usually shallow fried  in a grill pan)

 

Name: Yam Croqueuttes       

Chinese Name (Cantonese):  Woo kok                   

Price: £2.60

Description:

This is a must try dish. Finely chopped pork and mushroom is bound in a rich dark sauce. This is the covered in Yam mash and then rolled in finely shredded yam and deep fried – similar to what deep fried shepherd’s pie would be like.

 

 

Name: Fried Prawn Dumplings with salad cream                

Chinese Name (Cantonese):  Har kok                   

Price: £2.80

Description:

Prawns wrapped in a pastry case and deep fried. There are normally 2 versons. A normal pastry case or a rice pasta skin similar to Fun Kwor. Inside is similar to Har Gow (the har gow skin does not deep fry well).

 

 

Name: Deep fried spring roll Vietnamese style                     

Chinese Name (Cantonese):                 

Price: £2.60

Description:

There are several types of spring rolls – the difference is: the skin and fillings. Vietnamese’s spring roll and Thai spring roll uses rice paper as a skin (not as crispy as the Chinese version which is flour and water). They also contain rice vermicelli in the filling. With Chinese spring roll, it’s normally shredded meat (chicken or pork) with shredded vegetables. Sometimes prawns are used but this is a modern version. With northern spring rolls (e.g. Shanghai), cabbage is added. Curry spring rolls and chop sui rolls are western inventions and is normally only served in fish and chip shops. Spring rolls should also be thinnish – finger size. Chop sui literally means mixed bits and was invented by Chinese Coolies working on the US Railway several centuries ago.

 

 

Name: Minced Squid Cake                

Chinese Name (Cantonese):                     

Price: £2.80

Description:

This is similar to a Chinese fish cake – prawns, fish or squid. The “fish” is fincely minced and then made into a thick paste with flour and water + seasoning. It is then formed into balls or fish finger shape and cooked in boiling water or fried. The version in China Palace uses squid.

 

 

Name: Grilled Prawn Bean Curd Rolls                     

Chinese Name (Cantonese):                      

Price: £2.60

Description:

Bean curd is very versatile. You buy it in sheets (dried). After soaking in water, it becomes soft. You can the add any sort of fillings, roll it up spring roll shape and steam, fried or deep fried it.The fried version is crispy on the outside yet soft on the inner layer.

 

 

Name: Deep fried vegetable meat buns                    

Chinese Name (Cantonese): Shan cheen choi yuk paw                     

Price:£2.80

Description:

This is actually not deep fried but grilled (2 sides) of a bun with minced pork and pak choi filling. The shin is similar to char sui paw. Please note, in certain restaurants, this is served steamed – its is then simply called choi (vegetable) yuk (meat)  paw (bun).

 

 

Name: Mixed meat croquettes                      

Chinese Name (Cantonese):  Harm sui kok                   

Price: £2.50

Description:

This is a strange piece of dim sum – like char sui paw, it is both sweet and savoury. The skin is made of sweeten glutinous rice flour. The inside is a savoury meat mixture – similar to that used in yam croquette. The resulting product is crispy on the outside, sticky on the layer just beneath the crispy bit and savoury and slightly runny on the inside – work this one out!

 

 

Name: Won Ton (deep fried)             

Chinese Name (Cantonese):                      

Price: £2.50

Description:

Won ton is minced pork and prawns with chives, wrapped in a dough skin and is usually boiled and served with a broth or noodle soup. The deep frying produces a large crisp skin.

 

 

Name: Pan fried Turnip Paste                      

Chinese Name (Cantonese):  Law bat koh                  

Price: £2.50

Description:

This is made by mixing mashed turnip with flour and water. To this dry shrimps and Chinese sausages are added. The “cake” is then steamed, cut up into sliced and fried.

I have not come across many westerners that likes this first time – it’s an acquired taste.

 

 

Name: Grilled Pork Dumplings (pot stickers)                       

Chinese Name (Cantonese): War tip                   

Price: £2.50

Description:

Minced pork (can be minced beef or chicken) in a dough  skin that is fried in a frying pan.  In the case of China Palace, they add prawns to the pork mixture. After 5 minutes – do not disturb the dumplings, a small  glass of water is added, a lid is then put on the pan – this allow the rest of the dumpling to be cooked in the steam. The pan frying gives the dumplings a crispy bottom.

 

 

Name: Roast pork puff                      

Chinese Name (Cantonese):   Char sui sow                  

Price: £2.50

Description:

The contents of char sui paw in a puff pastry – baked.

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This is very easy.

Ingredients:

Pork tenderloin

Hoi Sin sauce

Tomato ketchup

Ginger

Recipe:

Mixed equal qualtities (100mls) of tomato ketchup and hoi sin sauce. To this add a teaspoon of chopped ginger. Cover and marinate your pork tenderloin (in one piece) for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. Grill until cooked – keep turning so that it is not burnt on one side. Approx 15 minutes to cook or leave in an oven at 200C for 20 minutes on a wired rack.

Make sure that there is no “pink” meat when the tenderloin is cut up. Cut into chunks or strips for use in any receipe.

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Dim Sum in Chinese literally means touch the heart. Now a days, it means snack size and not main course size.

 

Traditionally, Dim Sum is only served till mid afternoon. It is eaten at breakfast, lunch and as a fill me up before dinner. There are many types and are very different between Southern China and Northern China. Most of the dim sum available in the UK originated from Canton although one or two of the northern dim sum has made it onto the list. For example, steamed Shanghai dumplings (sometimes called soup dumplings) and pot stickers (grilled dumplings) have become part of the dim sum offerings in this country.

 

This article is based on the dim sum menu at China Palace (Reading). I have only included the more common ones which should be available in any Chinese restaurant that serves dim sum.

 

Please note that each portion normally contains 3-4 dumplings.

 

Category:  Steamed

 

Name: Glutinous Rice Dumpling                   

Chinese Name (Cantonese):  Nor Mai Kai                    

Price: £3.20

Description:

This is made up of chopped up chicken cooked  a soy sauce based sauce. The chicken is covered in glutinous rice, wrapped in lotus leaves and steamed.

 

Name: Seafood bean curd skin roll               

Chinese Name (Cantonese):                      

Price:£2.80

Description:

This is mainly prawns in an oyster sauce, made into a spring roll shape using bean curd skin – steamed. Bean Curd skin is more texture than taste.

 

Name: Prawn Dumplings                  

Chinese Name (Cantonese): Har Gaw                   

Price:£2.80

Description:

Whole prawns wrapped in a light rice based pasta skin and steamed. In certain versions, chopped bamboo shoots are added to give it a slight crunchy texture.

 

Name: Welks in curry sauce              

Chinese Name (Cantonese):                      

Price:£2.80

Description:

Exactly what the name says.

 

Name: Prawns and chives dumplings                       

Chinese Name (Cantonese):  Fai Choi Har Gaw                    

Price:£2.50

Description:

Same as prawn dumplings but with the addition of a lot of chives

 

Name: Minced pork dumplings                     

Chinese Name (Cantonese):  Sui Mai                    

Price:£2.50

Description:

This is an open top dumpling with a minced pork meat ball surrounded by a pasta skin. In certain version, crab and prawns are added to the meat ball

 

Name: Steamed dumplings Chiu Chow style            

Chinese Name (Cantonese):  Fun Kwor                  

Price: £2.50

Description:

Same type of pastry as used in prawn dumplings. The Chiu Chowstyle is filled with chopped up root vegetable and will come slightly crunchy. In certain Chiu Chow dumplings, prawns are added (not here)

 

Name: Steamed Minced Beef Meat Balls                   

Chinese Name (Cantonese): Knaw Yuk Yeun                     

Price:£2.50

Description:

Finely minced beef meat balls.

 

Name: Steamed Beef Tripe with Ginger and Spring Onion                           

Chinese Name (Cantonese): Knaw bat yip                   

Price: £2.50

Description:

Exactly what the name said.

 

Name: Spare Rib in black bean sauce                       

Chinese Name (Cantonese):                      

Price: £2.50

Description:

Chopped up spare rib – bite size with the bone still in – in a black bean sauce.

 

Name: Spicy Chicken Claws in Black Bean Sauce                

Chinese Name (Cantonese):Fun Chow                

Price:£2.50

Description:

Exactly what the name said. The Chinese eat for texture and they like squid, skin etc. Chicken feet is mainly eaten for the skin around the foot.

 

Name: Roast pork bun                       

Chinese Name (Cantonese): Char Sui paw                 

Price:£2.50

Description:

Char sui in a bun. If it’s in pastry its char sui sow. The slightly sweet sauce with in is based on oyster sauce.

 

 

Name: Steamed Shanghai Pork Dumplings                                      

Chinese Name (Cantonese): Shui loon paw

Price:£2.50

Description:

Minced pork with chives and ginger to which soup jelly is added. Therefore when the dumpling is cooked, there is liquid (melted jelly) within the dumpling. Beware, you can burn your mouth if you eat this straight from the steamer.

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 Part 2 – fried dim sum

PS I’ll offer some dim sum recipe later this week including the easiest way to make char sui.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/pure-and-simple-skye-gyngells-mouthwatering-mezze-dips-2008643.html

This is quite fancy stuff.

E

July 2010

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/the-real-sweet-and-sour-sauce-2001349.html

Unusual recipe.

E

June 2010