Yakisoba with Pork (or chicken) and cabbage - (Jessie via the NY Times)

Ingredients:
6 oz. dried Chinese Egg Noodles (Chukamen Noodles)  (or 10-12 oz. fresh)
1 T sesame oil
3 T peanut oil
2 T minced or grated ginger root
2 Pork chops, thinly sliced - or substitute chicken, shrimp, or tofu - cut meat thin while still partially frozen
1 small head Napa or Savoy cabbage, shredded (about 4 Cups)
2 carrots - shredded
2 T ketchup
1/4 Cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
2 T mirin, or a pinch of sugar
few drops tobacco sauce or "cock" sauce to taste
1 bunch scallions, chopped

Directions


1. Bring a pot of water to boil, salt lightly and add noodles.  Cook until just done, about 3 minutes.  Drain in a colander and run under cold water to stop cooking process.  Toss noodles with sesame oil to keep them from sticking together and set aside.

2. Put peanut oil in large skillet over medium high heat.  When its hot, add ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

3. Add meat and cook for 5 minutes until no longer pink, and starting to brown around the edges

4. Add cabbage and carrots to skillet and stir. Sprinkle with salt lightly.  Continue to cook until vegetables soften, adding a bit of water as needed to keep them from sticking.

5.  Meanwhile, stir together in a small bowl ketchup, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, miring, and hot sauce.  When vegetables are soft and any liquid has evaporated, add noodles and sauce to skillet.  Toss to coat everything well and cook until noodles are warmed through.

Serve topped with scallions.

Comments
Can add steamed frozen peas, or fresh snap peas - uncooked


Serves 4, takes about 30 minutes start to finish

Crispy Tofu (David and Diane)

Ingredients
1 package (16 oz.) soft tofu or 1 package regular-firm tofu, drained.
¼ tsp cayenne
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp white pepper
2 eggs
1 cup flour
½ cup Japanese bread crumbs (panko)

Sauce
1/3 cup vegetable broth
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 ½ tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
¾ tsp cornstarch
2 Tbs cooking oil

Directions
Getting Ready:
Cut tofu in half horizontally to make 2 pieces, each about ¾ inch thick. Cut each half into quarters to make a total of 8 rectangles.

In a small bowl, combine cayenne, salt, pepper. In a wide bowl beat eggs. On a plate combine flour and panko.

Combine sauce ingredients in a pan (or microwave on high for three minutes)

Cooking:
Bring a pot of water to a simmer. Add tofu and parboil for two minutes. Lift out with a slotted spoon. Pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with cayenne mixture.

Place wide non-stick frying pan over medium heat until hot. Add oil, swirling to coat sides. Dip tofu pieces in egg, drain briefly, then dip in flour-bread crumb mixture. Cook, turning once until golden brown, 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove pan from heat.

Heat sauce until it boils and thickens, You can carefully add some corn starch to speed thickening. Add the starch to a small amount of liquid in a small bowl first, then blend in the thick paste to the rest of the sauce – otherwise clumping will occur.

Pour sauce onto serving plate. Arrange tofu on sauce.

Can be combined with broiled, marinated asparagus and hydrated shitake mushrooms on the same plate.

Serve with rice.

Twice Cooked Pork (from Sunset Wok Cookbook) (David and Diane)

Ingredients
1 pound lean boneless pork in as few pieces as possible
1 Tbls dry sherry
1 thin quarter size slice of fresh ginger root – crushed with the side of a cleaver
3 green onions
1 tsp. hot chili sauce (Cajun style), or 1 small dried hot red chile, crumbled
4 tsp. Hoisin sauce – Asian food section
1 Tbs Soy sauce
1 small red bell pepper,
1 small green bell pepper
Small bunch thin asparagus (in season)
3 Tbs oil
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp. minced ginger

Directions
1. Place pork, sherry and ginger slice in a 2-quart pan. Add enough water to just cover the meat. Cut one of the green onions into about 4 pieces and add to pan. Bring to simmer, cover, and simmer until meat is tender when pierced (about 45 minutes)
2. Start the rice cooking.
3. Cut up the peppers into 1” squares. Remove skin from garlic. Cut the other green onions into ¾ inch length. Okay to use most of the green part if it’s not tough.
4. In a bowl combine the chili sauce, Hoisin sauce, soy sauce.
5. Remove the pork from pan and slice it across grain into 1-inch slices.
6. Put a wok over high heat, add oil when hot. After oil is heated, add bell peppers and asparagus (if in season) and stir fry until cooked to your satisfaction. Add a few drops of water if wok appears dry. Sprinkle with salt once when done, and remove from the wok.
7. Add a bit more oil to the wok and let it heat. Swirl around. Add garlic, and minced ginger, then quickly add the cooked pork and stir-fry for about 1 minute until pork has been browned slightly. Add bean sauce mixture to the wok and toss until pork is coated with sauce. Add in cooked bell peppers and remaining green onions. Stir from 30 seconds to a minute and serve immediately.

Implements
2-quart sauce pan
wok

Comments
The pork in this spicy Szechwan dish is actually cooked twice – first simmered, then quickly stir fried. You can do these tasks on separate days, but you don’t have to. The key is the mixture of sweet and hot sauces and proper stir frying technique. This is a great dish for frozen pork. Makes 3-4 servings. Serve with steamed rice.

Prawns in Lime Coconut Sauce (David)

Ingredients
¼ cup shredded coconut (I keep this in the freezer for handy use on many dishes)
1 lb raw prawns
1 Tbs oyster sauce
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
2 stems lemon grass (white part only), finely chopped
1 Tbs lime juice
1 tsp hot chili sauce or 2 tsp chopped red chili – or spice to taste
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp soft brown sugar
½ cup sliced fresh basil – more is okay too
Rind of 2 limes

Directions
Spread the coconut on an oven tray and toast it in a slow 300 deg. F oven. Watch carefully. I do this in a toaster oven. Shake the tray occasionally. About 10 minutes.

Peel and devein the prawns. You could also buy precooked frozen prawns – just cook them less.

Combine coconut milk, water in a large sauce pan and slowly bring to a boil. Add lemon grass, lime juice, chlli sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar and simmer for 12 minutes.

Add prawns and cook until they turn pink – around 5 minutes

Just before serving, mix in the slivered basil leaves.

Sprinkle toasted coconut on top and long threads of lime rind before bringing to the table steaming hot.

Serve over short grain brown rice or white Japanese sticky rice.

Implements
Large sauce pan
Wooden spoon

Comments
Can add crushed garlic if you like at the very end with the basil – no need to sauté it first. I use Sriracha Hot Chili sauce in lieu of chili peppers. It is found in the Asian food section (any good Louisiana chili sauce will work too) and is easier to control than actual chili peppers to adjust the temperament of the food. If you really like coconut, use less water and more coconut milk.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking time 30 minutes
Serves 4

Braised Fish with Hot Bean Paste (Allen and Nirelle)

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds fish

A
1 Tbs hot bean paste
1 Tbs each of chopped green onion, ginger root, garlic

B
1 Tbs soy sauce
1/2 Tbs sugar
1/2 Tbs white vinegar
salt
1 1/2 cups water

C
1Tbs cornstarch
2 Tbs water

D
3 Tbs chopped green onion

Directions
If using a whole fish make diagonal cuts along spine to allow sauce to permeate fish.
Heat wok and add 4 T oil. Swirl oil around wok. Fry fish until golden on both sides, then remove and set aside.

Add more oil to wok if necessary. Stir fry (A) until fragrant. Return fish to wok.

Add (B), cover, and cook for 4 minutes. Remove fish and reduce sauce to about half the original volume. Add (C) and stir. Add green onion and drizzle over fish.

Comments
The original recipe calls for whole carp but who wants to eat carp. I have made it successfully with haddock and tilapia. Sea bass or stripped bass would be good, too. I have made this recipe for the two of us and used half portions and that worked fine.

The fish is actually boiled after frying. Be careful not to overcook the fish. If the fish is whole and thick, it may have to be turned half way through so that it is evenly cooked. And the boiling time has to be adjusted accordingly. For example the recipe calls for boiling a whole carp (ugly!) for eight minutes, but for the thin fish such as telapia, four minutes is plenty. If you are not careful the fish will disintegrate as you lift it out of the wok and the result will be fish sauce, not whole fish topped with a wonderful, aromatic gravy. That's ok too. Just dump it unceremoniously over pasta and serve it to such children you may have who are as yet naive.

Typically hot bean paste is labeled as "with Chili" not as "hot".

Spicy Stir-fried Prawns (Allen and Nirelle)

Ingredients
A
1 1/3 pounds prawns
1T cornstarch
oil for frying

B
2T chopped green onion
1T chopped ginger root
1/2 T minced garlic
1 tsp hot bean paste
1T fermented rice wine or cooking wine
4T ketchup
1/2 T sugar

C
salt
1/2 T cornstarch
1 cup water

Directions
Rinse, shell and devein prawns
Coat prawns with cornstarch
Heat wok, add oil
Deep fry prawns for 2 minutes, remove, drain
Discard oil in wok, reheat wok, add 2 T olive oil
Stir fry (B) until fragrant
Add (C) and bring to boil
Add prawns, stir briefly and transfer to platter


Comments
I coat prawns by shaking them in a bag with the cornstarch. Adjust cooking time for size of the prawns. Adjust boiling time to achieve degree of sauce thickening you like.

The number of people fed by this quantity varies from four to twelve depending on a) whether you are Chinese or American, b) what else is on the menu, c) whether or not you are using chop sticks and d) how many people around the table maintain a Kosher diet.

Leek is a good substitute for green onion. And using good hot bean paste is critical. I have been using Soy Bean Paste with Chili made by Lan Chi. Typically hot bean paste is labelled as "with Chili" not as "hot".