Spice Cabinet Chinese Lessons

This past week when I needed space for a jar of newly dried basil from my garden, I found myself cleaning out my spice cabinet. I pitched sage, curry powder, and lemon pepper that was way past its prime, and then my fingers touched Chinese Five Spice Powder, or wuxiang fen (五香粉), which is a mixture of spices--most commonly star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and ground fennel seeds.

I turned to my daughter who was nibbling on a snack, “Do you want to hear a funny story about your dad?”

I told her about how my dear husband, when we were first married, loved to cook but didn’t have much experience cooking Chinese dishes, despite growing up in Shanghai.  One day he tried making the ubiquitous Chinese dish Fish-fragrant Pork Slivers (Yuxiang Rousi, 鱼香肉丝).  However, at some point in his youth, he misheard the name of the dish as Wuxiang Rousi, and as a result, thought that the defining spice used in this dish was in fact wuxiang fen, Chinese Five Spice Powder.

Well, fast-forward a few months, and my husband decided to make this new dish for his mother who was in town visiting.  After taking a bite, she exclaimed, “What did you put in here?” “Wuxiang fen,” he answered.  

“The dish is called Yuxiang Rousi not Wuxiang Rousi,” she laughed, barely able to get the words out of her mouth. And to this day, this story brings much laughter around his parents' dinner table.

“Do you get it?” I asked my daughter,  “Daddy confused the word wu, meaning five, with yu, meaning fish.” 

“Yeah,” she said, laughing to herself and repeating “wu” and “yu.”

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If you’re wondering what Yuxiang Rousi is and how to make it, check out Moveable Feast’s adaptation of Sichuan food expert Fuschia Dunlop’s recipe: 
http://moveablefeast.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/mindblowing-fish-fragrant-pork-slivers-yu-xiang-rou-si/ 
and another recipe by Chef Wang:

http://traditionalchineserecipes.blogspot.com/2011/05/yu-xiang-zhu-rou-si-fish-fragrance-pork.html 
(I like his suggestion about putting the pork in the freezer before slicing; my father-in-law does this).

"You want me to eat this?"

“Here, try this,” I handed my daughter a snow pea, just picked minutes ago from my garden and still hot from the stovetop where it was stir-fried.

“Eww,” she wrinkled up her nose.

I thought about my options.  I could force her to try it. I had done this with other foods in the past to little success.  My little drama queen would barely touch the dreaded food to her tongue, whine, gag, and then feign crying. 

“You don’t have to eat it, but I challenge you to try it,” I offered.

My daughter eyed me suspiciously and then brought the snow pea toward her lips. 

I looked down at my plate, pretending to take no interest in her vegetable-eating dilemma.

No longer than ten seconds later, I looked up.  The snow pea was gone and she was licking her fingers.  

“Where did it go?” I couldn’t hide my surprise.

“Oh, it was okay,” as she continued to lick her fingers.

I proceeded to tell my daughter that vegetables grown in a garden usually taste better than those bought in the store. Garden-grown vegetables have robust, complex flavors compared to their bland store-bought cousins. The snow peas tasted both lightly sweet and salty (I added salt when stir-frying), tender and at the same time crisp, and they tasted very green. I know that sounds strange but they tasted green. 

Last night I picked a handful of snow peas from the garden again to stir-fry for an evening snack.  My daughter watched me eat from the bowl of hot peas, and then put down her ice cream bowl to snatch one of the largest peas from me.  “Yum.  These snow peas are so good,” she said as she wolfed it down.

Basic Recipe for Stir-fried Snow Peas

1. Wash snow peas and remove strings (just a personal preference).  Let air dry (this is important so the oil doesn’t splatter when you add the pods to the pan)
2. Heat enough oil (I use canola) just to cover the bottom of your pan (I use a deep sauce pan to avoid oil splatters). High heat will scorch the pea pods so keep the temperature around medium-high. 
3. Add the pea pods and stir or turn to coat each pod in oil (approximately 30 seconds).
4. Add several tablespoons of water (The amount will depend on the number of pea pods you are cooking. The snow peas should not float in the water nor should the water be so little that it makes the oil “spit”)
5. Cover the pan partially and allow the snow peas to cook an extra 2-5 minutes to taste (I like my snow peas a little crunchy so I tend to cook them less).  Add salt to taste approximately 30 seconds before you take the snow peas off the stove.  
6. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Recipes for Summer: Lemonade

I've always thought that making homemade lemonade required real lemons, a juicer, or really strong hands. And while real lemons probably do make the best lemonade, I don't have a lemon tree in my backyard (though that would be very nice!). So, here's the next best thing in four simple steps: 

1. Start with making a simple syrup by dissolving 1 cup of granulated (white) sugar (I use less because I like my lemonade sweet tart) in 1 cup of water over low heat until dissolved.

2. Remove from heat and pour into pitcher for refrigeration (If you are pouring into glass, make sure that the pitcher is approved for high heat. I cracked my favorite pitcher when I forgot to look). 


3. Add 1 cup 100% lemon juice (Santa Cruz makes a tasty organic lemon juice) and three to four cups of cold water. 


4. Refrigerate until cold and serve over ice, with a slice of lemon or sprig of mint, or however you like to drink it.

Cheers!

(Adapted from "Perfect Lemonade Recipe" at http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_lemonade/)