More Take-Out

Given the amount of free time currently on my summer schedule (I work Tues-Thurs, 10-5), I think I'm probably going to be doing a lot of cooking. I'm fortunate in that the woman whose apartment I'm living in has an excellent stock of cookbooks and various pots, pans, utensils, etc. I was feeling a little melancholy yesterday--not really feeling like doing much and also a bit under the weather--but was suddenly struck with the desire to make Chinese food. The last time Gilder and I tried this, we met with great success, so I figured hey, why not give it another go. Well, cooking for one (plus the all important leftovers), I decided to go with something a little simpler and smaller than our last menu. I had a look through some of the cookbooks on the shelves and found a recipe for chicken with broccoli that looked reasonably easy and delicious. I figured I'd make another batch of bao as well, since those were SO fantastic the first time around. I neglected to bring Martin Yan's book with me (hellooo lack of space), but found an adapted version of his recipe on epicurious. Since I failed with some photos last time, and because Becca was so enthusiastic about the food photos (thanks Bec!), I took a bunch more this time!

The chicken with broccoli was incredibly simple, and a stop at the local grocery store (I was too lazy to make the few block trek to Trader Joe's...hey, they're long blocks and I'm sick!) provided me with all of the sauces I needed. My only switch next time would be to buy low-sodium soy sauce; I'd never really thought of it before, but realized afterwards that that is, in fact, the kind we have at home, and the resulting product was just a wee bit "seasoned" for my tastes. Nothing to deter one from serious enjoyment, though!

At any rate, the chicken gets a half hour marinade in a mix of soy and fish sauces, sesame oil, and garlic, and then dusted with corn starch. I couldn't tell from the recipe if this is indeed what is supposed to occur--my corn starch was quickly absorbed by the marinade on the chicken--but the whole point is to make it crispy when fried, and that happened, so I'm going to run with it.

The recipe called for 8 minutes frying in hot oil in a standard wok...I left mine in for 2 or 3, flipped them around in the oil (just barely enough to cover them), and then cooked them for another 3 minutes or so. They were starting to look dark, so I took one out to cut in half and check on. Lo and behold, they were done, so I'd say with the extremely vague "very hot oil" direction, just set your stove somewhere between 8 and 10, and keep an eye on things (as with pretty much anything of course). Here they are out of the wok and draining on a paper towel...I had to try pretty hard not to just eat them all sitting right there...
Most of the oil gets tossed, and into the wok goes some onion (since my grocery store didn't have scallions...I know, I really need to head back to TJ's), garlic, fish and hoisin sauce. After a couple of minutes, the broccoli (blanched for several minutes and rinsed with cold water to stop the cooking process) is added in as well, plus 1/2 cup or so of water (I think I'd leave the recipe and add a little less next time). Things cook down just a bit before the chicken goes in as well to coat with sauce.

And that's it! Incredibly easy and really tasty. Next time, I think I would add some more veggies and, if I could find them, water chestnuts. I'm also curious to try doing this with tofu instead of chicken. Maybe that will have to wait for Anya's help in Tuebingen..
Next up was the bao. The dough needs a bit of time to rise--it's supposed to double in size--but it's about 2 1/2 cups of flour added to a warm milk and water mixture that's had a few minutes to nurture some yeast into bubbles. (This recipe said it made a dozen bao...I made six, so either something happened with the dough, or the guy was crazy. I'm leaning toward the latter, but hey, I have leftover filling in my fridge and the dough is incredibly easy, so these are on the docket for later this week again).
The pork filling starts with a marinade of--shockingly--garlic, ginger, soy, fish, and hoisin sauce. I had six of these slices in here originally. The recipe calls for pork butt (which we used last time), but my neighborhood grocery store isn't as award-worthy as the Hanover Co-op, so they only had pork chops and tenderloin (And they certainly didn't have a meat counter with friendly staff to wait hand and foot on and advise a young woman shopping for burgers/steak/etc alone. Very sad.) The pork tenderloin worked just fine, but the butt was much cheaper, so if you can get it, use it!

Everything gets a nice 40 minute stint in the oven. Roasting at 400, basted halfway through with the marinade plus a little bit of honey, this could not be easier. I made extra to have around for fried rice and/or general snacking later this week. Gilder and I both agreed that, since it's so easy, it should be made in big batches, but I figured with just one of me this constiuted a 'big batch'. When the pork is done and cooling, some shitake mushrooms, onions (again, no scallions at my grocery store, but use them if you have them), and garlic go into the wok. More sauce is added (fish, sesame, and hoisin again, I believe, or some combination thereof with soy..it's really up to you!), and then the pork is tossed in. A bit of cornstarch mixed with water to create a paste can work as a thickening agent. The recipe called for it, and I couldn't remember if we used it last time, but it didn't hurt. The dough is rolled into a log and cut into even pieces (I started with 12, decided my recipe-adapter was crazy, and adjusted to 6, so do whatever floats your boat in terms of the bao...bow? hah. okay. It's late). Each piece is rolled into a ball and flattened with a rolling pin. A portion of filling (also judgment...I do whatever fits) goes into the center, and to make the roll you pinch the sides up to collect them between your two fingers. Twist and smoosh it to close the roll, and place them twist-side down on the baking sheet.

Normally these get an egg wash, but the eggs at my store weren't cage-free AND looked a tad questionable, so I went with just a bit of milk over the top. The're a little better with the wash for sure, but still wonderful without. When they've been in the oven about 20 minutes at 350, you get these babies!

I HIGHLY recommend trying to make Chinese food at home, or, for that matter, anything you'd typically take-out. The set-up can be a little more expensive, what with buying sauces and things, but once you do that, it's so easy to experiment or try recipes with fresh produce!