Shanghai offers a lesson in how to create simple dishes that can be quickly assembled and cooked in one pot.
On arrival in Shanghai, where I was to cook for local chefs, I asked to be taken to a restaurant that defined Shanghainese cuisine. I was taken to a Thai restaurant to eat pad thuy noodles. Shanghai does not have a cuisine of its own; it is a melting pot of other influences, largely because of its history of European occupation and its burgeoning future as a financial and cultural capital. One consistent feature, though, is its use of alcohol and sugar. The food is surprisingly sweet and has often been marinated in Chinese cooking wine, which is similar to dry sherry. Once cooked, the food is dipped into dishes of deep, smoky-flavoured black rice vinegar that brings a sense of balance.
My next meal, eaten with a local chef, really got to me. The three dishes were served family-style in a brightly lit restaurant. First came the curious steamed and fried bun known as xiao long bao. Filled with hot liquid, it had a flavour and texture best described as robust. The next dish involved fermented tofu, which tasted like rotting fish and had as much texture as a cold, wet kitchen sponge. I waited for an edible transformation to take place, but all that happened was an increased level of nausea. The final dish involved so much chilli that I began to pray for salvation – it came later in the form of a foot massage, which brought peace and calm.
I know people who return from overseas trips and begin to furiously cook recipes from the countries they’ve visited, not wanting to leave out any ingredient. I am not one of them. I prefer to use the lessons learnt, involve the new tastes I may have acquired and adopt a style of eating that appeals. What appealed most in Shanghai was the immediacy of the food, the simplicity of quickly assembling a collection of ingredients and cooking them all in one pot.
There are times when I just want one-pan cooking, when I want to spend no more than 30 minutes chopping and preparing, so that I can get on with my evening. These recipes are a collection of familiar ingredients put together with the seasonings and sauces that sit in bottles on the window ledge near my stove. Wonton skins and Sichuan peppercorns are available from Asian food stores.
The smell of the dumplings cooking, and the condensed steam running down the kitchen window are as instantly comforting as a foot massage.
Prawn Wonton Dumpling, Stir-fried Lettuce and Sichuan Pepper Sauce
Pepper Sauce
1.5 litres chicken stock
3 cloves of garlic
2 coriander roots
1½ tbsp Sichuan peppercorns, roasted and groundv
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp water
Prawn Dumplings
350g prawn meat
6 spring onions
1 tsp palm sugar, grated
½ tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
½ tsp sesame oil
12 wonton skins
Stir-fried Lettuce
1½ tbsp peanut oil
3 cloves garlicv
8 spring onions
½ iceberg lettuce
1 cup coriander leaves
Bring the stock to the boil and cook until it has reduced by half. Peel and smash the garlic and wash the coriander. Add to the stock with the peppercorns, vinegar and mustard. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Mix the cornflour and water, then whisk into the sauce and allow it to thicken slightly until it coats the back of a spoon. Strain through a fine sieve and set aside.
To make the dumplings, purée two-thirds of the prawn meat in a food processor until smooth. Roughly chop the remaining meat and combine the two in a large bowl. Finely slice the spring onions and grate the palm sugar. Add to the bowl with the soy sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil, then mix well.
Lay the wonton skins out on a bench and place a heaped teaspoon of filling in the centre of each one. Lightly brush the edges with water and top with the remaining skins. Press the edges together to seal, pushing out any air. Cut into circles with a cutter. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, then cook the dumplings in a steamer basket for 5 minutes.
To stirfry the lettuce, heat the oil in a wok. Finely slice the garlic and cut the spring onions into 3cm lengths. Fry in the oil until fragrant and soft. Cut the lettuce into 5mm-wide strips, then stirfry quickly in the wok until slightly singed. Remove from the heat and drain the lettuce. Stir the coriander leaves through and pile the lettuce onto a large serving plate. Arrange the dumplings on top and spoon over the sauce.
Enough for 6.
THIS IS more of a roast with stirfried vegetables on the side than a beef stirfry. Steamed rice goes well with it.
Rib-Eye with StirFried Black Beans, Oyster Mushrooms and Spring Onions
600g boneless rib-eye beef
2 tbsp sweet soy sauce
2 tbsp peanut oil
1 small red onion
2 cloves garlic
330g can of black beans
1 red chilli, chopped
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp sherry
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 bunch asparagus
1 bunch of sliced spring onion greens
10 oyster mushrooms
a handful of coriander leaves
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Rub the beef with the soy sauce, then leave it for 30 minutes at room temperature. Heat half the peanut oil in a frying pan, then sear the beef on all sides for 10 minutes or so. Place the beef in the oven for 20 minutes, then remove and leave to rest in a warm place for 10 minutes. Heat the remaining oil in a wok. Finely slice the onion and chop the garlic, then fry with the black beans and chilli until fragrant. Add the sugar, sherry, sesame oil, oyster sauce and vinegar, then cook until it has reduced slightly. Slice the asparagus and spring onions diagonally and tear up the oyster mushrooms. Add to the wok and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish. Slice the beef and lie it on top of the vegetables. Garnish with coriander and serve with noodles.
Serves 6.
Snapper with Mussels, Wok-Fried Vegetables and Crème FraÎche
4 tbsp peanut oil
6 x 120g pieces of snapper fillet
450g mussel meat
3cm piece of fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic
2 spring onions
1 long red chilli
6 asparagus spears
50g snow peas
100ml chicken stock
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
100g oyster mushrooms
4 tbsp crème fraîche
Heat a wok until smoking, then add half the oil and quickly stirfry the snapper and mussels in 3 batches until golden and just cooked. Remove the seafood from the pan and keep it warm.
Wipe the wok clean. Peel and grate the ginger, chop the garlic and spring onions, then seed and chop the chilli. Cut the asparagus on the diagonal and trim the snow peas.
Heat the remaining oil in the wok until just smoking. Quickly fry the ginger, garlic, spring onions and chilli until fragrant, then add the asparagus and snow peas and cook until tender. Return the seafood and any juices to the wok with the stock, soy sauce and sugar. Bring to a boil. Tear the mushrooms into pieces and fold in around the fish. Arrange on a large serving plate, spoon the crème fraîche over the top and serve.
Enough for 6.