Hunan charcuterie and leeks

A couple of more wonderful props were awarded to All Under Heaven during the last few days of 2016. 

But before we get to them, I first want to thank everyone for making this the best year of my life in spite of everything else that went on, for the simple reason that my two books were published and then received such a warm welcome. And not only that, but we moved into the house of our dreams. And then throughout the year so many wonderful things happened to friends and family. Really, I am endlessly grateful. 

Thank you for reading this blog, cooking from my recipes, and being out there in the world.

Christmas cheer in a Chinatown alley

In The Kitchn’s “6 Travel-Inspired Cookbooks for the Adventurous Cook,” Dana Velden points out that “I can't think of a reason why any serious student of Chinese food and culture would not have this comprehensive and informative volume on their shelf. Authentic yet accessible, All Under Heaven is fascinating and not as intimidating as its heft and breadth would have you believe. The author's simple line drawings help to clarify techniques and ingredients and add charm to the whole experience.”

And then in Chowhound’s “Cookbook Gift Guide for the Holidays,” Amy Sowder writes that in Heaven you can “wrap your head around all the varieties of Chinese food in this comprehensive, contemporary portrait of country's culinary geography and history that has shaped it.”

What happy reviews!

*  *  *

This is a simple recipe for the end of the year. We are all tired of making fancy stuff for the holidays – or at least I am – and so this is the sort of super easy recipe I like to turn to when I find things like excellent young leeks hanging out at the market.

We have had lots and lots and lots of rain here in the Bay Area these past couple of weeks (months?), and so produce is either fabulous (particularly cold weather crops like root vegetables) or soggy (like lettuce). I tend to go with what the market suggests, so when I spied these amazingly beautiful young leeks, I knew what we were having for dinner.

Thin leeks like these are usually the result of thinning out rows to give the lucky remaining plants plenty of room to grow into luscious mammoths. The tender ones that don’t make the cut, though, are genuinely flavorful and don’t have to be braised or chopped into submission, and that makes them excellent for stir-fries.

They require only the minimum of care: trim, rinse carefully, slice, and you’re ready to go. I’d caution that these don’t store well and the leaves turn yellow if allowed to hang around, so enjoy them the same day that you bring them home.

As for the meat, either Hunan or Cantonese cured pork belly work equally well. Hunan larou is smoked, while the Cantonese version is not but yet is ever-so-slightly sweet. To prepare the meat, rinse off a hunk, shave off the skin (discard or toss in the soup pot), and then slice the pork against the grain into thin shards. This allows the fat to render easily, and the meat won’t turn into hard nuggets if you keep the heat low as it surrenders its fat.

Look for brands that are made in the U.S. rather than China, as they will be of higher quality. Select strips that have thin ribbons of dark meat woven with the pale fat, as this means they will be both tender and flavorful. Keep the charcuterie dry and closed in a plastic bag, and it will remain in perfect condition for quite a few weeks as long as it is kept chilled – freeze for longer storage.

 

Larou hanging out a window in SF

And again, this is more of a template than a regular recipe. It all depends on what you have, what you like, and what else is being served. Feel more than free to double or halve the meat, add fresh chilies or hot sauce, toss in chopped fermented black beans, add some thinly sliced pressed bean curd... the possibilities are truly endless. 

Here is a recipe from the archives that is a bit more complex and very Hunanese with its layered flavors and perfect for the chilehead in your life. But if you want something soothing and low tech, go with today's version.

I serve this over steamed rice and nothing else really is needed on a cold winter night, except for maybe a good movie. I’m watching Die Hard for the millionth time once I finish up with this. It’s my favorite Christmas movie.

Leek and charcuterie stir-fry

Suànmiáo chăo làròu 蒜苗炒臘肉

Hunan

Serves 2 as a main dish

Gaoliang and leeks

12 ounces / 330 g young leeks or green garlic

2 red chilies or 1 tablespoon Hunan style chile sauce, optional

1 tablespoon fermented black beans (doushi or douchi), optional

4 ounces / 120  g Cantonese or Hunan cured pork belly (larou)

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons / 30 ml white liquor (gaoliang recommended)

2 tablespoons / 30 ml regular soy sauce

1. Trim the roots off of the leeks, as well as any soft or yellow leaves. You should be left with only springy stalks with bright green leaves. Cut the leeks on a deep diagonal into thin slices, and keep the greens separate from the whites. If you are using fresh chilies, remove the stems and slice them on a deep diagonal into thin ovals. If you are using the fermented black beans, rinse them in a sieve and then coarsely chop them.

Charcuterie

2. Rinse the pork and cut off the rind. Cut the meat into thin shards against the grain, preferably into deeply diagonal slices so that they don’t end up too tiny. Set your wok over medium-low heat and sprinkle the pork in there. Toss them around now and then as they render their fat. When the white parts turn translucent, scoot them up the side of the wok and toss the optional chilies in their too before moving them up to the side of your wok.

3. Raise the heat under your wok to medium-high. Add the leek whites to the wok and toss them around in the oil. When they have wilted, scoot them up the side before adding the greens. Once they have wilted, add the optional chile sauce to the bottom of the wok to heat it quickly before tossing everything together.

4. Add the sugar to the dish, toss, and then the liquor and finally the soy sauce. Toss to coat everything evenly and adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve hot.

The smoked charcuterie of Hunan with leeks

Chinese charcuterie generally gets short shrift in the West because it still is pretty much unknown. But if food lovers could taste what it is that Hunan, Guangdong, and many other provinces have to offer in the way of cured meats and sausages, all of this could change in an instant.

Take for example Hunan's smoked cured pork, called Hunan larou in Chinese. It is a perennial favorite even in places like Taiwan, where there isn't an enormous contingent from that region, a testament to the intense flavor and juicy texture this variety of gammon supplies.

Like most Chinese charcuterie, Hunan-style cured pork is marinated and then air-dried for a few sunny winter days. But there the similarity ends. While most other cured meats are simply dried, Hunan's specialty is smoked over a cool fire, permeating the flesh with a sweet, heavenly flavor. Also unlike other varieties, this is a fairly moist cured meat that is taken from the picnic cut (upper front leg), salted and marinated with the skin on, and given a bit of curing salt to keep the lovely pink hue of the meat. 

The skin is often rather soft on a good piece of Hunan larou, so you can keep it on if you wish. Just be aware that the skin will pop a lot when exposed to high heat, as with stir-frying, so use a spatter guard. If you do remove it, keep it in a bag in the freezer with any other ham-like scraps and bones for tasty additions to winter soups, as it adds a gentle smokiness and depth to the broth.

Pink flesh with marbled fat

Nowadays there are some good brands -- some of them based in Taiwan or Hong Kong -- that offer meat produced in the U.S. Get those. They are vacuum packed and will keep for quite a while without refrigeration as long as the bag isn't opened. Once you do pierce the plastic, though, seal up the meat in a reclosable bag and store in the refrigerator for up to a week or so, at which point it might begin to suffer in quality.

When you choose a piece of cured Hunan pork, look for a nice, solid piece without a whole lot of scraps tossed in to max out the total weight. It should have a good piece of skin at one end with a layer of fat underneath. Avoid any pieces that look like they were taken from the shoulder, where there are lots of sinews and broken pieces of muscle interspersed with stringy fat. 

Cut off whatever amount you want, wipe it off with a damp paper towel, and then slice it up. If the meat is at all hard, sever off a hunk and then steam it on a plate for about 10 minutes, as this will soften it up considerably.

One of my absolute favorite ways to cook this is in a Hunan specialty called Hunan Cured Meat with Leeks, or suanmiao chao larou. We used to order this often at an old Taipei restaurant that specialized in spicy central Chinese cookery called Tianrentai. Located across from my personal temple of good food, the South Gate Market, it sat on a corner of Roosevelt Road, an artery that ran from the federal buildings all the way down past Taiwan University. Lots of great eating on that street, and more on that some other time.

A good piece of larou

Hunan is located in the central regions of China, just east of Sichuan and nestled next to Jiangxi province. Heaven knows what they did for seasoning before chilies were imported from the New World, but in the past couple of hundred years, those little red firecrackers completely transformed the local cuisine, as well as that of just about every other inland area to Hunan's west and south.

But back to the dish under discussion. Suffice it say that this dish was always ordered by us simply because nobody could do it better. Sweet shards of fresh leek were woven between the cured meat, thin slices of pressed bean curd (doufugan), fresh chilies, and loads of garlic and ginger. The sauce was a delectable balance between pain and pleasure: hot bean sauce (la doubanjiang) and sweet wheat paste (tianmianjiang). If you are a devoted chili head, feel free to amp up the heat with more fresh chilies and another scoop of the hot bean sauce, but try not to completely drown out the smoky flavors.

The pressed bean curd adds a nice counterpoint to all the serious flavors in this dish. Like so many classic Chinese dishes, this is another yin yang component: blandness against punchy flavors, soft texture with chewy, white against deep colors. It's all part of a package that guarantees perfect balance. 

One of my favorite Hunan dishes

Hunan cured meat with leeks
Suanmiao chao larou 蒜苗炒臘肉 
Hunan

Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as part of a multicourse meal

1 small leek or half a large leek
2 squares pressed bean curd
5 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
1 cup thinly sliced Hunan-style cured meat
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons thinly sliced ginger
1 red jalapeno, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon spicy bean sauce (la doubanjiang)
1 tablespoon sweet wheat paste (tianmianjiang)
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 teaspoons sugar
Roasted sesame oil

1. Trim the root end and the dark green leaves off of the leek and discard. Carefully clean the leek, making sure that all of the sand between the leaves has been removed. Cut the leek on the diagonal to make diamond-shaped pieces. Cut each beancurd square in half and then slice each piece horizontally into about 4 thin sheets.

The main ingredients

2. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the leeks and quickly stir-fry them until the edges just begin to brown. Remove the leeks to a plate or scoot them high up on the side of your wok. Add the sliced meat to the hot oil and quickly stir-fry them until the fat is translucent and the edges have started to brown. Again, remove them to a plate with the leeks or scoot them high up the side of the wok, but leave as much of the fat in the bottom of the wok as possible. Stir-fry the bean curd slices and add them to the leeks and meat once the edges have browned.

3. Toss the garlic, ginger, and jalapeno slices into the wok and quickly stir them around in the remaining puddle of fat to release their fragrance. Push them to the side and spoon both the spicy bean sauce and the sweet wheat paste into the hot fat; cook the sauces quickly to remove the raw taste and then add the wine. Stir it around for a few seconds more, and then return the leeks, meat, and bean curd to the wok. Sprinkle the soy sauce and sugar over everything and toss the ingredients well. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Dribble a bit of sesame oil over the dish and serve while very hot.