Dianne Jacob posted a lovely interview with moi for her blog, and I'm so delighted with the nice things she has to say. If you want to write a cookbook, please do read her books and blog - they're the best!
Also, Susan Gordon on Signature Reads gave All Under Heaven a big thumbs up. Thank you again, Susan, for being so kind.
And a reminder: I'll be speaking at the 92nd Street Y and the Smithsonian this week. Hope to see you there!
On to this week's recipe...
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I
kind of hesitate to confidently declare this a Chinese American classic because
I used to eat it all the time in Taipei back when I was a student. Of course,
it could very well be that someone might have brought a similar recipe back
from the States. Stranger things have certainly happened in the annals of
culinary history. But the Cantonese have a delicious way of pairing beef with
tomatoes, usually with a light sweet-and-sour sauce that somehow fuses them
together perfectly, along with the usual aromatic fireworks caused by fresh
ginger, garlic, and green onions. So, like I say, who knows.
Over
the years, I’ve come to make this many ways, but the recipe below is without a
doubt my own favorite take. It’s a dish that I tend to reserve for late summer
and early autumn, the time when tomatoes can’t get any better. Plus, the
weather is still warm enough that a good plate of noodles will satisfy me
completely.
These
noodles are amazing, by the way. You can find Cantonese egg noodles in most
Chinese grocery stores, where they will be perched in a refrigerated case
alongside other pastas and chilled breads. Look for thin, light yellow strands
– the thinner the better, because then they will fry up into crispy little
shards that shatter with each bite.
When
you find a package that looks about right, check out the ingredients: there
shouldn’t be much more in there than flour and eggs. Avoid noodles that are
bright yellow, since that’s usually the mark of food coloring. More and more
American-based manufacturers are getting into the noodle-making game, so try to
find one that’s made here, as the quality will be better and they will probably
be a whole lot fresher. Keep them refrigerated, and use them up as soon as you
can, especially if you open up the package.
The
one thing that makes this recipe different from most others is that I like to
cut the crispy noodle pillow into wedges. If you’ve ever wrestled with this
dish in restaurants, you’ll know what I’m trying to avoid, since you want the
noodles nice and crispy, but they won’t surrender until they’ve softened in the
sauce a bit. I have avoided this problem by whacking them up before the sauce
gets poured on top.
If
you are serving more than two people, double all of the ingredients. However,
if you double the recipe, fry two pillows; if you triple it, make three
pillows; and so on. The reason for this is, if you make too large a pillow, it
won’t heat through before the bottom burns, so keep this in mind.
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| Now's the best time for tomatoes |
Now,
let’s talk about catsup. I’ve come to like Sir Kensington’s spiced, which has a
great balance of flavors and just a hit of chile, but go with what you like.
Taste the sauce after you mix it up and then adjust the levels with whatever
seems right. The tomatoes will also play a big part in the final flavor
spectrum, with sweet ones demanding less sugar, while tarter ones, of course,
requiring a touch more. It’s all up to you and what tastes right.
This
is a perfect meal in itself.
Crispy beef tomato chow mein
Fānqié níuròu jiānmiàn 蕃茄牛肉煎麵
Guangdong
or Chinese American
Serves
2, but can easily be multiplied
Steak:
Around
4 ounces / 110 g boneless steak
1
tablespoon mild rice wine (like Taiwanese Mijiu)
1
teaspoon regular soy sauce
2
teaspoons cornstarch
⅛
teaspoon baking soda
Noodles:
2
quarts / 2 liters boiling water
1
teaspoon salt
7
to 8 ounces / 200 to 225 g very thin Cantonese egg noodles (see headnotes)
1
teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Around
½ cup peanut or vegetable oil (used all right if it smells fresh)
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| My farmer's market overfloweth |
Sauce:
3
tablespoons catsup (see headnotes)
1
tablespoon soy sauce
1
tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1
teaspoon sugar, to taste
A
little light rice vinegar, if needed
The rest:
8
ounces / 225 g flavorful tomatoes of any kind
1
tablespoon finely chopped ginger
1
tablespoon finely chopped garlic
3
green onions, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal
1.
Slice the beef against the grain into thin pieces; the size really doesn’t
matter, just make them bite-sized and more or less evenly shaped. Toss the beef
in a small work bowl with the rice wine, soy sauce, cornstarch, and baking soda.
Allow the beef to marinate while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2.
Bring the water to a boil and add the salt. Shake the noodles into the water
and stir them for 20 to 30 seconds (or according to package directions), which
will slightly rehydrate them, but you don’t really want them cooked at this
point. Pour the water and noodles into a colander set in the sink and
immediately run cool water over the noodles, tossing them around so that they
stop cooking. Drain in the sink, tossing them now and again when you think of
it. Sprinkle on the sesame oil and toss them with this so that they don’t stick
together.
3.
Mix the sauce ingredients in a small measuring cup; taste and add a bit of rice
vinegar, if you think it needs it, but it all depends upon the catsup and
Worcestershire sauce. Rinse the tomatoes and cut larger ones into wedges or
slice cherry/plum tomatoes in half – again, they should be bite-sized and
attractive. Have the other aromatics ready to go in little piles. This recipe
can be prepared up to this point and everything refrigerated for up to a day.
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| Just amazingly good |
4.
First fry the noodles. Set a wok over medium heat and add the oil. When the oil
starts to shimmer, pile the noodles in the center of the wok. Use a wok spatula
to corral them into a neat pillow, and then lightly pat the noodles down so
that they wind around each other into a firm nest. Fry the noodles and shake
the wok a little bit now and then while keeping an eye on them until they are
golden on the bottom, which will take around 5 to 10 minutes, depending upon
your stove. Flip them over and fry until the second side is also golden, and
then slide them out onto a plate. Drain any oil on the plate and all but around
¼ cup / 60 ml of the oil in the wok into a heatproof bowl. Use kitchen shears to
cut the crispy noodles into wedges, if you like.
5.
Raise the heat under the wok to high. Toss the ginger and garlic in the hot oil
for a few seconds, and then add all of the beef. Break apart any lumps and toss
the meat now and then so that it sears and caramelizes along the edges. Once
that happens, toss in the tomatoes, green onions, and the sauce. Keep tossing
until the tomatoes are hot, and then immediately scrape everything on top of
the noodles. Serve and then revel in these early days of autumn.
