SIMPLE CHINESE, FOLLOWED BY A LOBSTER

The past half year has been in some ways a feast of solitude. Good food, cooked as I like it, without worrying about other people's tastes and dietary peculiarities, in between nibbling snacks in Chinatown.
Given that I am a middle-aged single man, this is easy to manage.
I buy many of my ingredients in Chinatown, primarily because such things as sparklingly fresh seafood and streaky pork (五花腩 'ng faa naam') are not commonly available elsewhere, and non-Asian supermarkets and groceries never stock bitter melon, long beans, mustard stalks, or lactuca indica (A菜 'ngaa-choi').

The other reason I get my food in C'town is because I tend to cook sort of Chinese a lot of the time. Also Dutch or Dutch-Indonesian, slapdash Indo-Chinese, and due to prolonged exposure, Indian.
But in the last half-year, mostly Chinese.

[The recipes linked below will eventually end-up cross-posted on my food-blog (Cooking with a Lizard, but I haven't gotten around to that yet. It's been updated to the first of this year, but not further.]

You might enjoy revisiting these food essays.
Or telling me how wrong my recipes are.
Feedback is always appreciated.

And if you have dishes that you want to tell me about, please do.
On reading what's below, you'll know what I go for.
Feel free to surprise me; I like surprises.



焢肉
HONG BAK VERSUS... HONG BAK; A FUKIENESE QUANDARY
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2014/09/hong-bak-versus-hong-bak-fukienese.html
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 02, 2014
A traditional dish among the Fujianese (福建人) in South-East Asia. Fat-layered pork sealed on one side, slow-braised to perfection with soy sauce, sugar, and a splash of sherry or rice wine. As the fragrance rises, you remember favourite aunties and the meals that they prepared.


炒臘腸涼瓜
BITTER MELON TO LOVE
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2014/08/bitter-melon-to-love.html
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2014
Probably the easiest way to prepare bitter melon. I myself am inordinately fond of bitter melon, but there are a few people who can't seem to bend their buds around the taste. Very sad for them.


滬式上湯獅子頭
LION HEADS IN SOUP
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2014/08/lion-heads-in-soup.html
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014
Large meaty balls in broth. Very Shanghai, very Hong Kong. At its simplest it is profoundly old-school and tastes of home, but if you doll it up it is also festive. Very satisfying.


蝦醬蒸五花肉
SHREDDED GINGER, SHRIMP PASTE, AND PORK
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2014/07/shredded-ginger-shrimp-paste-and-pork.html
WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2014
Streaky pork simply steamed. The pig is a marvelous animal. No wonder every one's fondest memories taste like pork. And ginger. And shrimp paste.


茶葉蛋
CHINESE TEA EGGS
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2014/07/chinese-tea-eggs-cha-ye-dan.html
TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2014
Boiled eggs. What could be easier? And why are you actually buying those, when you could make them at home? Soy sauce, dried orange peel, star anise......


海味或乾海產 -- XO醬
XO SAUCE -- WHAT AND WHEREFORE
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2014/07/xo-sauce-what-and-wherefore.html
SATURDAY, JULY 12, 2014
Not so much a condiment as a cooking ingredient. And not at all precious and rare, despite the hoopla. Make a batch at home, rather than buying an expensive and tiny jar.


魚香茄子
FISH FRAGRANCE EGGPLANT
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2014/06/fish-fragrance-eggplant-imagine-what_20.html
FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2014
Home-cooking, Szechuanese style, as Hong Kong people imagine it, and Chinatown restaurateurs provide in many convenient locations.
But why eat out, when you could eat in?


蠔仔煎蛋
HOKKIEN OYSTER OMELETTE
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2014/06/hokkien-oyster-omelette.html
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 04, 2014
A favourite snack of Fujianese people, especially in Singapore and Penang. But also popular as late-night munchies in Taiwan.
Almost a cliche, but a good one.


避風塘炒蟹
HELL FOR CRUSTACEANS
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2014/06/hell-for-crustaceans.html
SUNDAY, JUNE 01, 2014
Typhoon Shelter Crab: a very Hong Kong specialty, and one of the must tries of your visit. If you go to Hong Kong. Otherwise, make it at home. First time, for yourself; you're experimenting. Second time, for your wife or girl-friend; that's why you experimented first.


HACHEE
DUTCH HASH
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2014/05/dutch-hash.html
THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014
That doesn't look Chinese, does it? It isn't. What it is, is a very nice simple Netherlandish stew. Profoundly a taste of somewhere else, even exotic, here in the New World.



Well now. To finish with something very Cantonese, about as totally Cantonese as it can possibly get, here's lobster:


薑蔥龍蝦
GINGER SCALLION LOBSTER
['geung chung lung-haa']

One lobster, about two pounds.
Quarter cup chicken stock.
Quarter cup cornstarch.
Quarter cup sherry.
One TBS oyster sauce.
Half a Tsp. freshly ground pepper.
Half a Tsp. salt.
One thumb of ginger, peeled and slivered.
Half dozen scallions, cut diagonally.
A few drops sesame oil.

Oil as needed.


Mix sherry, soy sauce, and one tablespoon corn starch in a bowl and whisk smooth. Add chicken stock and set aside.

Dump lobster headfirst into a cauldron of boiling water, and cook for about three of four minutes more after it returns to a boil.
Remove, rinse under cold water. Drain.

The head may be removed and cleaned to decorate the serving platter, OR chopped in half and whacked, cleaned of some of the weird stuff inside as you see fit, and treated the same as the remainder of the beast. 
Some people like sucking on the head.

Twist off tail and claws. Using a heavy cleaver split tails in half along the length, then across into large chunks. Whack each part of the claws to expose the meat.
In a large bowl, dust the lobster pieces well with the cornstarch and the salt and pepper, tossing to coat.

Heat one or two cups of oil in a large wok till almost smoking. Slide in the lobster pieces and fry till pale golden and barely crisp. Remove and drain in a sieve over a metal bowl.

Decant almost all the oil, and heat what remains till almost smoking. Add ginger, scallions, and stirfry fragrant. Return lobster to pan and stir to mix. Re-whisk the sherry and cornstarch mixture, and pour into the pan. Once the glaze thickens, add a few drops of sesame oil and slide everything onto a platter.



Remember: rice and Sriracha hot sauce with everything, plus Oolong tea or Pu-Erh for clarity and harmonious digestion, followed by a pipe full of matured Virginia tobacco, or a cigar.

If you really want to go total Chinatown, have a bowl of "old fire soup" (老火湯 'lo fo tong') alongside the meal. Blanch some meaty bones plus chicken and lean pork (瘦肉 'sau yiuk'), rinse, and dump in a pot to simmer with a slice of ginger and a carrot. Tonifying herbs if you wish, and know how to use them. Use plenty of water, the broth should be light in flavour and clear. Simmer for several hours on a low flame, adding liquid as needed. A few minutes before you need to serve it, add watercress or pre-soaked wood ears, plus maybe a little cilantro. It is not a hefty dish, but merely a pleasing liquid accompaniment. Done well, it is a fundament, as much as the rice and the tea.




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