Author Archives: lla

About lla

Linda Lau Anusasananan is the author of The Hakka Cookbook: Chinese Soul Food Around the World. After more than three decades writing about food for Sunset Magazine, she traced the history and food trail of her own people, the Hakka, Chinese nomadic pioneers who settled throughout the world. Her cookbook shares her journey with stories and recipes from Hakka from California to Peru.

Mom’s black bean spareribs

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My mom mixed bite-sized chunks of pork spareribs with a pungent mix of fermented black beans, garlic, and ginger. As the pork steamed, this combo of seasonings infused the pork with savory punch and filled the kitchen with mouth-watering aromas. In about an hour, with relatively little hands-on work, a succulent, intensely flavorful dish emerged.

Although the Cantonese also claim this dish, I prefer my mom’s more robust Hakka version. She used a generous measure of fermented black beans and often coarsely crushed them with the garlic and ginger to release their essence. She mixed the paste with soy sauce and the pork, then steamed the meat until meltingly tender.

Fermented black beans (aka preserved or salted black beans)

The fermented black beans (also called salted or preserved black beans), are small black soybeans fermented with salt and spices until soft and pungent. Add to meats, seafood, and stir-fries to contribute a distinctive funky, earthy flavor. Look for the beans in small plastic pouches or cardboard cartons in Asian markets.

Mom’s Black Bean Pork Spareribs

Ask the butcher to saw across the spareribs to make about 1 inch wide strips. Most Asian markets sell ribs precut into strips. Serve with hot rice to soak up the plentiful juices.

Makes 4 main-course servings or 6 to 8 servings as part of a multi-course meal

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine (shaoxing) or dry Sherry

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons fermented black beans, rinsed and chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 1/2 pounds pork spareribs, sawed across bone into 1-inch wide strips

2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion (optional)

 

1. In a wide shallow heatproof rimmed dish that will fit inside a steamer such as a 9-inch Pyrex pie dish, mix soy sauce, wine, and cornstarch. (If desired, for a more intense flavor, lightly crush fermented black beans, garlic, and ginger in a mortar and to make a coarse paste. Skip this step for a chunkier texture.) Mix fermented black beans, garlic, and ginger with soy mixture.

2. Trim off and discard large pads of surface fat off pork. Cut ribs apart between bones. Add pork to soy mixture and mix to coat.

3. Set dish on a rack over boiling water in a steamer or wok. Cover and steam over high heat until pork is tender to bite, 50 to 60 minutes. If water evaporates before steaming is complete, add more boiling water as needed. Carefully remove dish from steamer. Skim fat from juices and discard. Garnish with green onions.

 

 

Foolproof rice without a rice cooker

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Confession: I’ve never owned a rice cooker. For decades I have cooked rice as my grandmother taught me when I was just a little girl. I simply use a pan.

Popo filled a saucepan about one quarter full of Texas long grain rice. She filled the pan halfway full with water and swished her hand through the rice until the water became very cloudy. She carefully poured off the water, leaving the rice behind in the pan. She repeated rinsing the rice several times until the water was almost clear. After pouring off the water the last time, she added more water, just enough to cover the surface of the rice by about one inch. She used her index finger as a measure, the water should just reach the first line or joint of her index finger. She set the pan over medium-high heat. When the water came to a boil, she reduced the heat to medium-low and when most of the water evaporated and the surface of the rice was exposed, she covered the pan, and cooked the rice over very low heat for about 10 minutes. Cooked this way, the rice had tender grains that stuck slightly together. Often a golden crust would form on the bottom, a tasty treat for us kids. The drawback with this technique was that if the heat was too high or if the rice cooked too long at the last stage of cooking, it could develop a thick crust or burn.

Now, I eat far less rice than when I was young. I rarely eat the rice crust. To avoid waste and the rice crust I’ve simplified my rice cooking technique.

The first part follows Popo’s directions. Start with a pan that has thick sides and bottom, preferably with a nonstick finish. This is important. It is easy to burn the rice in thin pans. I usually use a 2-quart pan. Fill the pan with long grain rice such as Thai Jasmine to a depth of 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep. Remember rice may almost triple in volume so allow room for expansion. Rinse the rice several times until the water is almost clear, then after draining the last time add more water until it measures about 1 inch deep over the top surface of the rice. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once it simmers, cover the pan and reduce heat to low and cook 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand covered about 5 minutes. Then you are ready to serve tender grains of rice, evenly cooked throughout the pan.

 

Register for New York Hakka Conference

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Opening night at the first New York Hakka Conference in 2015

Want to meet other Hakka? Learn about famed Hakka author Han Suyin who wrote about her Hakka ancestors. Listen to new Hakka voices such as Tao Leigh and Henry Chang who will share how to tell your Hakka story. Interested in visiting the Hakka roundhouses in Fujian province that have been declared UNESCO world heritage site? Record your own Hakka story narrative?

These are just a few of the workshops offered at the second New York Hakka Conference held from August 4 to 6, 2017 in New York’s Chinatown. More workshops will be added in the coming weeks. Register now for “Reclaiming our Hakka Heritage.” Discount conference hotel prices ends July 6. Advance registration price for 2 day conference is discounted. On-site registration, day passes, and student tickets also available.

 

Easy Chinese steamed fish dinner

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Chinese steamed fish and riceNeed a quick, no-fuss, healthy dinner? Steamed fish, rice, and green vegetables is my go-to meal that cooks in one versatile pan—a Chinese multi-layer steamer. With relatively little effort, I am rewarded with a complete meal highlighted by moist succulent fish.

The origin is Chinese. In a Hakka restaurant in Meizhou, China, we ate a steamed whole fish, very simply seasoned with a bit of ginger, rice wine, soy sauce, and green onions (page 39 in The Hakka Cookbook). Throughout China, we ate different variations of steamed fish, sometimes with fermented black beans, chiles, red peppers, and pickled mustard greens. In Meizhou, we also ate rice steamed in small clay bowls (page 270 in The Hakka Cookbook). I merge these two in this easy, quick meal. Chinese stacked steamer

With a big Chinese steamer this meal cooks efficiently in about 30 minutes.  I use a  self-contained multi-layer metal steamer. You could also use two stacked bamboo steamer racks over a 14-inch wok. Cook bowls of rice on one layer and fish on the top layer. When both are done, plunge vegetables into the boiling water in the base pan and cook briefly, then drain. Look for the steamers at the Wok Shop, Asian cookware stores and Asian supermarkets, and online. Choose steamers or bamboo steamer racks at least 11- to 12-inches wide to accommodate wide plates.

Steamed Fish and Rice for 2

In this easy version, I often use a piece of fish fillet. You can also use a small whole fish and increase the seasonings. Season fish as you like: choose from shiitake mushrooms slivers, sliced chiles, dried hot chile flakes, pickled mustard green slivers, lemon slices, fresh herbs. If desired, lightly mix the cooked green vegetables with Chinese oyster sauce and sesame oil to taste.

2/3 cup white long grain rice

12 to 16 ounces fish fillet such as rock fish, salmon, or halibut

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine (shaoxing)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon thinly slivered fresh ginger

1 tablespoon fermented black beans, rinsed (optional)

Salt to taste

1 green onion, thinly sliced or slivered, included tops

6 to 8 ounces Chinese green vegetable such as Chinese broccoli (gai lan) or yau choy (ends, trimmed and cut in 3-inch lengths), or baby bok choy (cut in halves or quarters lengthwise)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil or sesame oil

Cilantro leaves (optional)

 

1.  Fill the base of a Chinese metal steamer half to two-thirds full of water or a 14-inch wok (if using bamboo steamer racks). Set wok over a ring if it has a round bottom to stablize.  Bring water to a boil over high heat.

2.  Rinse 1/3 cup rice in fine wire strainer; drain. Place rice in a small Chinese rice bowl (about 1 cup size). Fill bowl with 1/3 cup water. Repeat for second bowl. Repeat if you want additional bowls of rice. Place rice bowls in one steamer rack. When water boils, set filled steamer rack over water, cover and steam about 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile rinse fish and pat dry. Place fish (skin-side down, if attached) on shallow heatproof dish (such as a 9-inch Pyrex pie pan) that will fit inside a steamer. Drizzle fish evenly with wine and soy sauce. Sprinkle evenly with ginger, black beans, and salt. Sprinkle white part of onion over fish. Set fish in second steamer rack.

4. After rice has steamed 15 minutes, set steamer rack with fish on top of rack with rice. Cover fish. (In a wok, you may need to add more boiling water as it evaporates.) Continue steaming until fish looks almost opaque in thickest part, 8 to 10 minutes for about 1 inch thick piece and rice is tender. In a wok, you may need to add more boiling water as it evaporates. When fish is done, lift off both steamer racks and set the stacked racks on a towel-covered counter. (Be careful, steam is very hot.) Keep steamer racks covered and allow fish to rest.

5.  Add more water to pan if pan is less than half full and return to boil over high heat. Add vegetable and cook until bright green and barely tender, about 2 minutes. Drain, place vegetable in a serving bowl.

6.  Sprinkle remaining green onions over fish. In a small pan over high heat, cook the vegetable oil until very hot and pour over green onions and fish. If using sesame oil, do not heat. Sprinkle fish with cilantro. Serve fish with rice and vegetables.

Searching for Hakka restaurants in Bangkok

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On past trips to Thailand, I had never found any Hakka restaurants. I knew Hakka lived in Thailand, but most Chinese I had met previously were Teochow. Through my book, I had met a Hakka who grew up in Bangkok. Luckily when visiting Thailand a few months ago, my new Hakka friend offered to give me a tour of Bangkok’s Chinatown.

Piang Ki Pochana
Tel: 02 221 6024

As we explored the streets bustling with Chinese New Year shoppers, we decided to try a hidden, old time Hakka restaurant in the area. Piang Ki Pochana is tucked into an alley on the way to Wat Kusolsamankarn and The Hakkas Association of Thailand. This tiny hole-in-the wall restaurant specializes in Hakka dishes. We ordered the tofu skin stuffed with minced pork, steamed stuffed tofu, pork belly with picked vegetables, and red-hued stir-fried rice noodles. Our favorite was the paper-thin tofu skin wrapped around a bit of minced pork and fried until extra-crisp. We dipped the crispy morsels into a sweet sauce infused with bits of pickled garlic.

Library at the Hakka Association of Thailand

Afterwards we visited the Hakka Association that includes an event hall and a small library. The library contains Hakka books and publications, most are written in Chinese. If you’re ever in Bangkok, check it out.

A few days later, we tried another Hakka restaurant Aiew Hin Pochana, a short BTS ride outside of city central.

Aiew Hin Pochana
Tel: 086 9456261

At this small homey restaurant we dipped small fried spring rolls filled with pork and water chestnuts into a sweet garlic-infused syrup (photo below).

Pork-filled spring rolls at Aiew Hin Pochana

Their version of pork belly moi choy was dark and succulent. Pork-stuffed tofu chunks, pan-browned on one side and braised in a clear sauce, flecked with red yeast had a mild flavor (photo below).

In our limited tasting of Hakka food in Bangkok, I was surprised to find the dishes rather mild in flavor, especially in the local environment of very spicy Thai cuisine. I need to try more dishes to get a bigger picture of the Hakka restaurants in Thailand. The red yeast rice (kuk ? ? ? ) was present at both meals. These tiny dark red particles are a fermentation by-product of the red yeast growing on cooked non glutinous rice. It adds a deep red color and faint mineral flavor to rice wine, soups, sauces, and fermented bean curd.

Anyone have recommendations for Hakka restaurants in Thailand? Perhaps Hakka cooking only remains in home kitchens. Love to hear from you.

A popular New York Times recipe

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Last week in the April 1, 2017 edition of  The New York Times digital feature “Our Ten Most Popular Recipes Right Now” I was surprised to find Stir-fried Pork and Pineapple from The Hakka Cookbook (page 92). A friend had alerted me to the publication. The recipe had come from an article that Mark Bittman had written in 2013 after he had visited my kitchen to cook with me from The Hakka Cookbook. Here’s the original story.

I had eaten this easy dish in a Hakka tea house in Taiwan. Stir-fry pork strips with fresh pineapple chunks, bits of crunchy black fungus, and hot chile slices. The dish reminds me of a purer, leaner, fresher take on sweet and sour pork. Give it a try.

Hakka sweets in Hong Kong

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Chuen Cheung Kui Restaurant

Have you tasted these Hakka sweets–deep-fried milk or steamed Hakka buns?

Days before Chinese New Year, anthropology professor Sidney Cheung of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, took us to a local Hakka restaurant, Chuen Cheung Kui Restaurant in Hong Kong. We ate traditional Hakka dishes such as salt-baked chicken and stuffed tofu, but for me, who loves sweets, what I remember the most were the desserts. Like most Chinese desserts, they had intriguing textures but were not very sweet compared to Western versions.

Deep-fried Milk

I had read the deep-fried milk was a must-try at this restaurant. Big lumps of mildly sweet milk pudding were coated in a thin light batter and deep-fried until crisp and golden. Served hot with sugar to dip into, they were irresistible. Unlike other versions of fried custards or puddings I have eaten, these were softer and more voluptuous in size. The crisp exterior deliciously contrasted with the smooth pillow-soft milk pudding interior.

Steamed Hakka Buns

Cheung’s kids insisted we also order the steamed Hakka buns that they had eaten here before. I’m glad they did. Steamed buns, the color of aged ivory, cratered with craggy fissures, sat on a square of banana leaf. Their texture and appearance resembled the bready exterior of a steamed pork bun. The bread boasted a fine, dense, moist, tender crumb. I detected a mild caramel sweetness and golden color that might have originated from brown sugar or the Chinese brown slab sugar. Even though they had no filling, we couldn’t stop eating these soft, slightly sweet buns.

Do you know these Hakka desserts? If so, please share your recipes.

Details:

Chuen Cheung Kui Restaurant
Shop C, 1/F, Alliance Building, 133 Connaught Road
????133?????1?C?
Hong Kong
Hong Kong Island, Sheung Wan

Learn the secret to moist chicken breasts

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Last week my friend Lorraine Witte at The Chinese Lady posted a youtube video of the two of us cooking together. We cooked Steeped Chicken Breasts (page 22) with Fresh Ginger-Onion Sauce (page 66) from The Hakka Cookbook.

The recipe uses an easy Chinese steeping technique uses residue heat to gently cook chicken so the meat remains moist and juicy. Learn how to do it in this video. The zesty sauce of minced fresh ginger and green onion also uses a Chinese technique with boiling hot oil that preserves the fresh flavor of the ingredients but tames their harsh raw bite. Add these techniques to your go-to cooking secrets.

If you would like to see my other food videos check out the ones I have on grokker.com . I demonstrate how to cook Chinese dishes, some are Hakka. There is a free 14-day trial period if you register. Afterwards, use my personal discount code– lindaa9monthly –to get the reduced price of $9 a month. You are not limited to my recipes. There are almost 1700 food videos from 52 experts that teach baking to healthy cooking. Also if you are a yoga or fitness devotee, there’s over 80 teachers and1800 videos to choose from with a monthly price cheaper than a single yoga class.

Chinese food in Myanmar

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Last month, while traveling through Myanmar (aka Burma), I received notice of a new post from The Sandy Food Chronicles. The headline read” In Myanmar: Ham Choy in Monnyinjin”. She writes about finding the Hakka salted mustard greens (ham choy) in the Shan state near Inle Lake. What a coincidence, I am in the same area. A few days later I find a dish of pickled mustard greens and radish tops on the table, ready to add to my noodle soup.

I didn’t meet anyone who identified as Hakka but I’m sure they must be here. The Chinese population in Myanmar is roughly 3% and most come from Guangdong, Fujian, and Yunnan. The Chinese have invested in development in this country, so many Chinese have come to work and live here.

Since Myanmar is bordered by China, India, Laos, and Thailand, it’s not surprising to taste those influences in the cuisine. Chinese and Indian flavors strongly show up. Our guide tells us that most restaurants serve Chinese food, because customers prefer it since they can eat Burmese food at home. That was also true 40 years ago when I first visited Burma in the mid-70’s, I came here to report on Burmese food but no restaurants served it, only Chinese food. I could only find Burmese food in homes, not restaurants. Luckily, I had connections and was able to visit a family and eat a home-cooked Burmese meal. For me, there are many similarities in a Chinese and Burmese meal. Both are centered around rice.

Soy-braised pork belly resembles similar Hakka dish in this typical Burmese meal.

My photos show some of the dishes we ate on our recent tour. Lots of meat and vegetable stir-fries, noodles, and stir-fried vegetables show a strong Chinese hand. The soy-braised pork belly reminded me of Hakka stews.

Simple meat and potato curries were less complex and spicy than Indian versions. Light and brothy soups with a few vegetables were  present at most meals. Some were thickened with legumes.

The salads boast a distinctive Burmese flavor– vegetables lightly dressed with lime juice, chile, ground dried shrimp, fried shallots, fish sauce, and peanuts. Condiments such as relishes, chile pastes, and pickles allow diners to tailor dishes to their taste.

Burmese tomato salad in back, Chinese noodles in front

Chinese New Year long life noodles

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roosterHappy New Year! Khiung Hee Fat Choy! 恭禧發財!  On January 28, 2017 we celebrate Chinese New Year. This year will be the Year of the Rooster.

Food plays an important element of this celebration. Many traditional New Year dishes using ingredients with auspicious symbols and meanings appear on the new year’s table. Many family favorites also appear at the dinner.

I adapted this noodle recipe for the family potluck. The noodles symbolize long life. These noodles can be made ahead, served at room temperature, and are highly transportable. The easy sauce that dresses the noodles is adapted from Fresh Ginger-Onion Sauce on page 66 of The Hakka Cookbook. I have used the zesty sauce on noodles and added a few crunchy vegetables to make a room temperature side dish. This sauce is often served with Steeped Chicken (pages 22, 23), Salt-Baked Chicken (page 64), or Salt-Poached Chicken (page 226). For a festive meal, serve the noodles with one of these Hakka chicken preparations.

Fresh Ginger-Onion Long Life Noodles

If desired, add 2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar (Chinkiang) or rice vinegar to the sauce for a slight tang.

Makes 6 to 8 side-dish servings

Noodles:

1 pound dried Chinese wheat noodles

3 or 4 stalks celery, thinly sliced on the diagonal

1 red bell pepper, cut in thin slivers

Fresh Ginger-Onion Sauce

1/3 cup minced peeled fresh ginger

3 tablespoons minced green onions, including green tops

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

1. For the noodles: In a 6 to 8 quart pan over high heat bring about 3 quarts water to a boil. Add noodles, stir to separate and cook until noodles are barely tender to bite, 5 or 6 minutes. Drain and rinse with water well. Drain well and place in a large bowl. Add celery and red pepper.

2. For the ginger-onion sauce: In a 1 1/2 to 2 cup heatproof bowl, mix the ginger, onion, and garlic. In a small pan over high heat cook the oil until it ripples when the pan is tilted and is very hot, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the hot oil over the ginger mixture (it will bubble vigorously) and mix well. Add 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

3. Pour Ginger-Onion Sauce over noodles and mix well. Add more soy sauce and salt to taste, if desired. Serve warm or cool.