Variation on a classic. The green coconut milk curry and balls of rice to dip in it.
The little originality is I’ve used fish (cod fish) instead of meat. Then broccoli and goya.
The sticky rice in bamboo basket (recipe).
Served in a bowl with pakuchi (coriander).
Grab a little rice and enjoy…
A whole many around fragrant steamed chicken. That takes 4 minutes to prepare in a Chinese bamboo basket (or any steamer you improvise).
-Steam on medium heat the chicken breast with a few chunks of ginger. That takes about 30 minutes.
-Grate some cabbage, cut shiso leaves.
-Prepare the sauce by mixing : gochujang Korean sauce, rice vinegar, ground sesame and a little sesame oil. You can add sugar if you like it sweeter.
-In the second basket, add the noodles and the cabbage to steam them briefly.
The steamed chicken on top of the cabbage, with shiso, and the sauce. The meat stays very tender.
Nothing is lost. The chunks of ginger, the little juice from the saucer where the chicken was steamed, the stalks of shiso, sesame seeds and fresh wakame seaweed make a little soup.
The hot noodles with shiso leaves, kimchi and aonori seaweed.
Happy Chinese New Year to all my readers !
These “niangao” (year cakes) are offered to the kitchen gods to get a good year of good food. Then I ate them, because the Chinese gods are so busy today that they need some help.
They are simply made of mochiko (sticky rice flour ) and sugar. And a little natural red coloring.
The white and red colors have the same meaning of “good luck” and are used for New Year all over Asia.
Steamed.
Chinese and Japanese New Year used to be at the same date before Japan adopted the European calendar in late 19th Century. Eating mochi is a tradition of both.
Decorated with red baby dragons. Let’s say they are dragons. The wings are fold.
There should be dry fruits or something in them. It’s prune today to match the plum pattern of the tea vessels.
With aged Puer tea.
The best friend of a Thai green curry is this steamed rice you can grab with your fingers. The steamed rice has another texture and also a different flavor. You should try it.
Steamed rice exists in most Asian cuisines. The Japanese and Thai techniques are similar, and the differences is mostly that in Thailand it tends to be served with a dish in sauce, and by itself in Japan.
It is VERY different from the “standard” Asian white rice, side for most meals or to make sushi. For this, read this (click on text) :
Perfect Japanese rice in your cast iron pot
Tools :
This time I have used a Chinese bamboo steamer and a Japanese rice net.
You can use any type of basket, with or without lid. That works better if you place the rice in thin layers, so it’s better to have a wide basket than a deep one, or to superpose several.
If the basket has holes that let the grains of rice go through, you need a net cloth or a cheese close to retain it. Wet the cloth before using it.
If your basket cannot be used on top of a pan, use a big pan, or a slow-cooker, or a rice cooker. Line the bottom with a cloth or kitchen paper, and place a turned down saucer. Place the basket(s) on that stand. Add water in the bottom. Put the lid on the big pan.
Did you know? The bamboo steamers are great as the design of the lid makes that when the steam turns into water, it never drops down on the food and showers your steamed food (this is not a big problem for rice, but that can mess the appearance of your steamed dim sum). But grand-ma that was not impressed by Chinese technology would have told you that you can avoid the problem without investing in a steamer. Wrap the lid in a cloth/net, the fabric will absorb and take away the water.
Type of rice :
That should be a sticky rice from any country. Sticky and non-sticky rice are different varietals. Japanese mochigome is a sticky rice. I have used this.
You can cook other types of rice with this technique. That works, but you won’t get the same effect of grains sticking together.
Prepare the rice IN ADVANCE :
-In a bowl “wash” it with water. “Brush” the rice between your hands. Use lukewarm water if you don’t like it cold, but don’t skip that step. Change the water when it becomes very white. Do it again 1 to 3 times till you get a clear water. Drain.
-Cover your rice with hot or cold water and let it at least 2 hours in case of hot water, and 6 hours otherwise. Long soaking is compulsory, otherwise it will take forever to cook.
Steam :
-Drain the soaked rice, transfer it to the basket. Put to steam.
-You can open and pour a cup of hot water on the rice a few times while it’s steaming. That’s not really necessary, that only speeds up things a little. But as you need to maintain water in the bottom, that’s a way to do it.
-That will take precisely … a certain time. 20 minutes is a minimum, it’s if your rice is well soaked, not in too big amount in the basket. Otherwise be patient.
Variations :
Some ingredients (pandan leaves, etc) can added to the rice to bring flavor while steaming.
Also, you can find many types garnished “okowa” in Japan. For instance, sekihan (with red azuki), kurihan with chestnut, with edamame (green soya bean), with mushrooms, etc.
The cooked rice is sticky, slightly transparent and it has an al-dente feeling under the tooth. And the flavor is encanting.
I ate it with a fish head green curry, garnished with sliced renkon (lotus roots), red paprika and cubes of konnyaku.
These Chinese meat-stuff steamed buns are called nikuman in Japan and butaman in Osaka. “-man” is a short for manto/manju which meant bun. Niku is meat. Buta is pig and in China, meat is pig, or they would settle for anything else, but that should be pork. Panda is meat too.
I don’t make my butamans because I can’t get any as in Osaka they sell them at every corner of street.
It’s because home-made is always fun and it’s the December Daring Cook Challenge. Click here.
I don’t know over the world but in the Chinatowns of Kobe and Yokohama, the fancy pandaman is a big hit. Inside, it’s meat. Well pork. That could be something else : spiced crystal noodles, sweet been paste, custard…
That’s the first time I try this fancy version and it’s very easy.
I prefer the buns filled with something soft and sweet.
The filling is very simple :
ground meat (fat pork)
onion, ginger, garlic (fresh)
shochu (sweet potato schnaps)
tobanjan Chinese hot chili sauce
potato starch
1 fresh Chinese chili pepper
Stir stir-fried the meat with lots of onion, wet with the wine, the sauce and water, let simmer till onions become like paste, let half of the day, so the meat absorbed the liquid. Recooked with more onion, ginger, the fresh chili, starch. Let cool.
Stuff the dough.
Seal, turn and…
… custom into pandas with black dough.
I have added baking powder to the dough. Because. We do that here in Osaka. Because. I think that makes them more fluffy.
For the rest, the recipe is the one of the challenge.
The black dough is colored with calamari ink, nero di sepia (from Italian grocery).
Cooked and raw.
Juicy sauce inside fluffy bread…
Steam !
(Recipe from the Daring Cook Challenge)
Bun for Steamed Char Sui Bao (Cantonese BBQ Pork Bun)
Bun Ingredients
1 cup milk, scalded
¼ cup (60 gm/2 oz) sugar
1 tablespoon oil
¼ teaspoon (2 gm) salt
2½ teaspoons (8 gm/1 satchel) of dried yeast
3 cups (420 gm/15 oz) plain flour
(1 cup=240 ml, 1 tablespoon=15 ml, 1 teaspoon=5 ml)Scald milk and then stir in sugar, oil and salt, leave to cool until it is lukewarm. Once it is the right temperature add yeast, leave until yeast is activated and it becomes frothy, about 10 – 15 minutes.
Sift flour in to a large bowl.
Add milk/yeast mixture to the flour. Bring the flour mixture together with your hands.
Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for approximately 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and slightly elastic.
Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to rise until it is double in size. This will take from 1 – 2 hours depending on weather conditions.
Punch down dough and divide in to 20 equal portions.
Roll each dough portion in to a 7 – 8cm (2¾ – 3 ¼ inches) round.
Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the centre of the round, gather the edges together at the top and place on a 8cm (3 inch) square of baking paper. Repeat until all dough has been used.
Cover and let rise for 20 minutes.Place buns in bamboo steamer, leaving space between the buns.
Heat water in a wok until it is simmering and place steamers one on top of each other in the wok.Place lid on top bamboo steamer and steam for approximately 12 minutes.
GOURMANDE in OSAKA 