LITTLE ROCK — What began as a quest to fill a college language requirement evolved into a decade-long adventure of travel, Chinese food and family bonding for siblings Mary Kate Tate and Nate Tate, the authors of Feeding the Dragon: A Culinary Travelogue Through China With Recipes (Andrews McMeel Publishing; $24.99).
In 2001, Nate was a student at Tsinghua University in Beijing learning the language with no intention of writing a cookbook. That summer, his 16-year-old sister Mary Kate visited and they traveled around the country.
As members of an Air Force family, they were no strangers to international travel and had lived abroad. During this adventure, however, they landed in a bit of trouble that ultimately started them on the journey to create the cookbook.
“We ended up getting lost in Yunnan province and we were stranded out in the mountains,” Nate says. “We had put a tarp over ourselves to keep mosquitoes off.” The siblings wandered through the countryside for a couple of days, and eventually found a village where a family took them in.
“They made an amazing meal for us,” Nate remembers, “and it was kind of the beginning of the book.” They realized they wanted to return to China and to share their experiences with the world as well as friends and family back home(many of whom are in central Arkansas) through photos, stories and recipes.
In 2005 the duo returned to China and traveled 9,700 miles via train, plane, rickshaw, motorcycle, horseback and even donkey cart. Along the way, they met many people who were willing to share their regional recipes and culture.
“We had learned Chinese and they thought that was pretty great that someone would learn it,” Nate says. “They let us come back in the kitchen. We would write down every single thing they did and would come home and test it.”
BEIJING
Creating one of the most well-known Chinese dishes - Peking Duck - at home is a challenge. Traditionally, the birds are pumped full of air until the skin separates from the meat. They look like balloons as they are left to air dry, Nate says. The ducks are then smoked over coals made from fruitwood trees until the skin turns crispy.
The Tates devised a way for home cooks to re-create the traditional taste by drying the duck in the refrigerator or with a hair dryer. “You want to get the skin really dry so it becomes crispy when it cooks. I think it is great; it tastes very similar to the real stuff,” Nate says.
Peking Duck 1 (5-pound) duck 3 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine OR dry
sherry 1 tablespoon warm water 8 green onions, white parts only, slivered
into 3-inch lengths 1 medium English cucumber, peeled and
slivered into 3-inch lengths 20 Mandarin pancakes (see notes) 1/2 cup Chinese sweet noodle sauce
(see notes)
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Use a knife to scrape any rough patches off the duck’s skin. Remove the giblits if necessary, cut off the wingtips, and remove excess fat around the cavity opening. Rinse the duck and blanch in boiling water for 4 minutes.
Remove and pat dry with paper towels.
Combine the honey, rice wine, and warmwater in a small bowl. Liberally brush several coats of the honey mixture all over the duck. Place the duck upright in the refrigerator and let dry for 6 hours (or more) uncovered, or speed up the process by drying the duck with a hair dryer (on cool setting) for 20 minutes (or more).
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the duck breast-side up in a broiling pan and cover loosely with foil to prevent burning.
Roast the duck for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Remove the foil and roast for an additional 10 minutes, or until the skin turns a deep orange-brown.
Place the green onions and cucumber slivers on a serving plate. Warm the individual pancakes in a dry skillet over high heat for a few seconds and place them on a separate serving plate. Carve the duck into thin strips and arrange the meat on a platter. To serve, roll some duck meat, green onions, cucumber and a little bit of Chinese noodle sauce in a Mandarin pancake.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Notes: Mandarin pancakes and Chinese sweet noodle sauce are available at Asian markets.
Look for the pancakes in the freezer section.
Chinese sweet noodle sauce is also known as sweet bean paste. It is a dark-brown or black sauce. If you’re unable to find it, hoisin sauce is an acceptable substitute.
SHANGHAI
While studying abroad at a university in Beijing, Nate relied on food stalls and night markets for most of his meals. Variations of fried noodles are sold from street carts all around the country. But the Tates were most fond of this version from Shanghai.
“The sauce is made with dark soy sauce that gives them a dark brown color. I just really like how it’s so easy and tastes so good,” Nate says.
Shanghai Fried Noodles
12 ounces fresh thick round
noodles OR Japanese udon
noodles 2 teaspoons toasted sesame
oil 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce 2 teaspoons light soy sauce 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon cornstarch,
dissolved in 1 tablespoon
of water 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger,
minced 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 3 green onions, white parts
only, chopped 1 star anise 2 cups snow peas, trimmed 2 cups shredded napa cabbage
Prepare the noodles according to package directions or boil until al dente. Rinse the noodles under cold water to get rid of any starch and then drain well. Toss the noodles with the sesame oil until they are evenly coated and shiny.
Combine the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch slurry in a small bowl.
Heat the vegetable oil over high heat. Add ginger, garlic, green onions, and star anise and stir-fry for 10 seconds. Add the snow peas and cabbage and stir-fry for 1 minute, or until the snow peas are cooked but still slightly crunchy. Add the soy sauce mixture and stir for 20 seconds. Toss in the noodles and stir until the noodles are coated with the sauce and heated through. Serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings.
YUNNAN
In far southwest China lies Yunnan province, a tropical area that borders Burma, Laos and Vietnam and is known for its rich natural resources and plant diversity. Area cooks make good use of abundant fresh, locally grown ingredients. The Tates were in the Xishuangbanna territory wherethey sampled many dishes created by members of the Dai ethnic group.
“This recipe, the first time we had it, we were at a night market in Jinghong. They had a bunch of different things they were grilling on the banana leaf, such as meat or fish or a pig brain. They had them marinated in different sauces and spices. We loved it. It is a very simple flavor marinade and makes the fish taste really good,” Nate says.
Dai Banana Leaf Fish 3 fresh small red chiles,
seeded and thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon fresh ginger,
minced 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup loosely packed fresh
cilantro, coarsely chopped 3/4 cup loosely packed fresh
basil, coarsely chopped 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1/4 cup white wine 4 (6-ounce) filets whitefish,
such as tilapia or halibut 4 banana leaves OR 12-inch
pieces of aluminum foil
Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Use a mortar and pestle (or pulse lightly in a food processor) to mash the chiles, garlic, ginger, salt, cilantro and basil into a chunky paste. Whisk in the oil and wine until blended well.
Place a fish filet to the right of center on a banana leaf. Place one-quarter of the cilantro paste on the fish and spread around until the fish is covered. Foldthe left side of the banana leaf over the fish. Fold each of the three open sides inward several times to make a packet with a tight seal. Use wooden picks to seal the folded edges. Place the packet seam side up on a baking pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the fish is white and cooked through.
Serve in the banana leaf (or in a fresh one), or remove the fish from the foil and place on a plate with all the juices.
Makes 4 servings.
SICHUAN
The Sichuan province has a unique flavor all its own, called ma la, which means mouthnumbingly spicy, Nate says. Most traditional dishes havethis flavor, which combines dried red chiles with Sichuan peppercorns. Although they look like black peppercorns, they are actually a type of pod fruit that grows wild in the mountains. The peppercorns have a chemical in them that makes your mouth numb, Mary Kate says. “Combine them, you get this really addicting flavor.”
Nate agreed. “It takes a different mindset to appreciate spicy food at that level. You just have to realize that you like the burn.”
Spicy Sichuan Green Beans 1 pound fresh green beans,
ends trimmed and cut into
3-inch lengths Oil, for deep frying 1/2 tablespoon Sichuan
peppercorns 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon fresh ginger,
minced 6 to 10 red chiles, seeded and
chopped 3 green onions, white parts
only, chopped 4 ounces ground pork 2 tablespoons light soy sauce 1 teaspoon chicken powder
(optional, see note) Salt
Make sure the green beans are dry, with no water clinging to them. Heat 1 inch of oil in a wok over high heat until little bubbles appear around a bean dropped in the oil. Add the green beans and fry for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The bean skins should look crinkly with brown spots. Using a perforated strainer, transfer the beans to paper towels to drain.
Drain all but one tablespoon of oil from the wok and reheat over medium-high heat. Add the Sichuan peppercorns and stir-fry for 10 seconds. Add the garlic, ginger, chiles and green onions and stir-fry for 20 seconds. (Make sure not to burnthe spices). Add the pork and stir fry for about 1 minute, or until all the meat is browned. Toss in the green beans, soy sauce and chicken powder (if using) and stir-fry for 1 more minute.
Season with salt to taste and serve.
Makes 4 servings.
Note: Chicken powder is a chicken seasoning or bouillon powder, such as Knorr or Lee Kum Kee brand.
TIBET
Trekking through the mountains of Tibet, the Tates stayed in several monasteries. The natives drink butter tea daily. The tea is paired with tsampa, a roasted barley flour, to make a dough. The traditional Tibetan diet is very plain.
“If you go to Tibet you are going to drink a lot. It’s cold there, even in the summer, because [the elevation] is so high. I just remember always sitting around cradling a cup of the stuff to keep warm and kept drinking it,” Nate recalls. “It’s a unique flavor.”Tibetan Butter Tea 4 cups water 1 heaping tablespoon loose
black tea 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sugar 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 2/3 cup half-and-half
Combine water and tea in medium saucepan, bring to a boil, and then turn off the heat and let steep 5 minutes.
Use a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth to strain the liquid over a large bowl; discard the tea leaves. Transfer the liquid back to the saucepan and bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to a simmer. Add the salt, sugar, butter and half-and-half and whisk until the butter has completely melted and a little foam forms on the surface.
Serve the tea in small bowls.
Makes 4 servings.
Food, Pages 29 on 02/01/2012