Happy Chinese New Year! Or as you'll all be saying in 20 years time....happy new year...
Hello!
Greetings from the year of the Horse, which I am told tastes very good and is healthier for you than Beef and Lamb. Don't let that scientific piece of information sway you though; if you hate Tesco for "not telling you", that's fine.
So Chinese New Year this year has been a very heavy 3 days of gluttony and cooking, none of which was done by me this holiday. Chinese festivals are an exclusively matriarchal affair: that isn't sexist or misogynistic, it's just true. My wonderful mother cooked up a storm; Roasted Duck and Pork, FooChow rice stickss with egg and dried shrimp, Sweet and Sour Pork (yes, we had 2 white people with us. Again not racist but true), steamed bass and Ma Po tofu.
I'm including the Bass recipe today as it is one of the few things on that list she's bothered to teach me how to do. To be honest, a lot of it is just made up as you go along. So, here is a recipe, without measurements...novel...
Equipment:
1 Wok
1 large bamboo steamer
1 large oval bowl/dish for the fish (when the boats come in, dance for my....you get the picture)
Ingredients:
1 Whole seabass, about 300-400gr (supermarkets usually stock the smaller animals. If you've got connections at Chapman's fishmongers then get a big one)
1 thumb of ginger (or knob for those of you who don't have any thumbs. Vice versa works too.)
1 large medium-heat chilli, breed unspecified
2 cloves of garlic
"Some" Juice (of 1...) lime
"Some" sesame oil
"Some" soy sauce
"Some" fish sauce
"Some" brown sugar
"Some" coriander leaves (fresh would be ideal in this instance. Dried are a bit Crystal Palace Football club)
"some" (little, probably about 50ml. Sorry!) water
Method:
Scale the fish with the back of a knife and lay in the dish, head and all. Remove the fins with a pair of scissors and discard. Then chop the garlic, chilli, ginger and half of "some" of the herbs and mix together. Smear this collection of chopped ingredients over the fish and then add the concoction of lime juice, soy, sesame, fish sauce and sugar. Set your Wok to stun (medium heat) and pour boiling water into it through the bottom of the steamer. Put the fish dish (sing along if you know the words) into the steamer and put on the lid, steaming for about 10-14 minutes depending on the size of the fish/how you like it cooked. I like mine a tiny bit under as the fish will continue to cook until serving. Watch out for bones with this one if using a whole fish. If filleted and de-boned you will still need to be a bit careful.
Ultimately: whole fish for the traditionalists who don't want to incur the wrath of 1.3 billion Mandarin speaking, Sharkfin-eating kung-fu fighting angry Chinamen. Fillets for those who, quoting music lecturer, "can't be bothered."
Enjoy! For those who can't eat fish...PAHAHAHAHA you're missing out on something golden.
BenY
Greetings from the year of the Horse, which I am told tastes very good and is healthier for you than Beef and Lamb. Don't let that scientific piece of information sway you though; if you hate Tesco for "not telling you", that's fine.
So Chinese New Year this year has been a very heavy 3 days of gluttony and cooking, none of which was done by me this holiday. Chinese festivals are an exclusively matriarchal affair: that isn't sexist or misogynistic, it's just true. My wonderful mother cooked up a storm; Roasted Duck and Pork, FooChow rice stickss with egg and dried shrimp, Sweet and Sour Pork (yes, we had 2 white people with us. Again not racist but true), steamed bass and Ma Po tofu.
I'm including the Bass recipe today as it is one of the few things on that list she's bothered to teach me how to do. To be honest, a lot of it is just made up as you go along. So, here is a recipe, without measurements...novel...
Equipment:
1 Wok
1 large bamboo steamer
1 large oval bowl/dish for the fish (when the boats come in, dance for my....you get the picture)
Ingredients:
1 Whole seabass, about 300-400gr (supermarkets usually stock the smaller animals. If you've got connections at Chapman's fishmongers then get a big one)
1 thumb of ginger (or knob for those of you who don't have any thumbs. Vice versa works too.)
1 large medium-heat chilli, breed unspecified
2 cloves of garlic
"Some" Juice (of 1...) lime
"Some" sesame oil
"Some" soy sauce
"Some" fish sauce
"Some" brown sugar
"Some" coriander leaves (fresh would be ideal in this instance. Dried are a bit Crystal Palace Football club)
"some" (little, probably about 50ml. Sorry!) water
Method:
Scale the fish with the back of a knife and lay in the dish, head and all. Remove the fins with a pair of scissors and discard. Then chop the garlic, chilli, ginger and half of "some" of the herbs and mix together. Smear this collection of chopped ingredients over the fish and then add the concoction of lime juice, soy, sesame, fish sauce and sugar. Set your Wok to stun (medium heat) and pour boiling water into it through the bottom of the steamer. Put the fish dish (sing along if you know the words) into the steamer and put on the lid, steaming for about 10-14 minutes depending on the size of the fish/how you like it cooked. I like mine a tiny bit under as the fish will continue to cook until serving. Watch out for bones with this one if using a whole fish. If filleted and de-boned you will still need to be a bit careful.
Ultimately: whole fish for the traditionalists who don't want to incur the wrath of 1.3 billion Mandarin speaking, Sharkfin-eating kung-fu fighting angry Chinamen. Fillets for those who, quoting music lecturer, "can't be bothered."
Enjoy! For those who can't eat fish...PAHAHAHAHA you're missing out on something golden.
BenY
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