Red-cooked chicken chez Huang

This is without a doubt one of my husband’s favorite things to eat. 

He will get this really wistful look on his face at times, and I know what’s coming down the pike: a reminiscence about how much he loved this dish as a child. Red-cooked chicken was one of the few dishes his mother made well, and when I see that look, he will be sitting there, remembering a great meal he once had at home, getting hungrier with each passing minute. And I know what I'll have to make for dinner.

But even although this called “red-cooked chicken,” it’s not the chicken that makes him so deliriously happy here – although he certainly loves it – it’s the potatoes. Lots of potatoes soaking up lots of sauce is his personal idea of heaven. Again: Mom.

Red-cooked anything is a specialty of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai area. These two culinary goldmines that circle around the mouth of the Yangtze River are home to many savory delights, but red cooking is one of the most famous.

Potatoes, mushrooms, & chicken

You will require excellent soy sauce here (get Taiwan’s Wan Ja Shan or Kim Lan brands, if you can, as the flavor is excellent), as well as rock sugar, Shaoxing rice wine, ginger, and green onions. Everything else is optional.

The potatoes are courtesy of his mother, who hailed from the port city of Tianjin, which is further north along the coast near Beijing. Spuds are a much bigger deal there in Hebei than in the Yangtze area. They also turn this into a more stick-to-your-ribs dish that people in colder climes love, meaning that this is a bit of a crossbreed. But it’s a family dish that really knocks it out of the park.

Anyway, about those little tricks that make this casa de Huang dish extra special:

First, I like to caramelize the rock sugar. This is a whole lot easier than it sounds, since all you need to do is basically simmer the lumps of sugar in some oil and water until they melt and turn a golden brown. What this does is change the chemistry of the sauce – most importantly, the texture. Caramel turns thin sauces into unctuous robes that cling to meat and vegetables rather than run down to the bottom of the dish. It then combines with the soy sauce and rice wine to become a seasoning unto itself, something with great depth, delectable flavor, and divine mouth feel.

Caramel lends foods a satiny gloss that is almost impossible to duplicate. Your diners will be instantly seduced by the appearance, even before those first enticing whiffs reach across the table and grab them by the nose.

Caramel has this slightly bitter undercurrent that also cuts through the intense sweetness of the sugar, while the toasting of the sugar lends a slight taste of toffee that will echo around your mouth.

I am going to have you make more than you will need for this recipe, since it should end up changing your life, or at the very least making your food a whole lot better. A touch of vinegar in the mix amps up the acidity a notch, which will help discourage mold, since caramel syrup keeps for a couple of weeks if you stash it in the refrigerator. The little slick of oil in there also helps to tamp down colonization by foreign bodies (see Tips). I tend to store it in a covered glass bottle so that I can microwave it or set it in a pan of hot water to loosen up.

Amber goodness

There are lots of directions here for the caramel, but don’t get discouraged. It is super easy to make – you’ll see that for yourself the first time you actually do it – but it’s also so incredibly hot that I want to ensure that you don’t get burned, hence the detailed steps.

In addition, note the directions on covering the pan and not using your spoon to stir the sugar – these two steps will keep the sugar from seizing up and forming crystals in your otherwise silky caramel. You don’t want that.

If you’re short on time, go ahead and use plain old rock sugar or, if you absolutely must, regular white sugar. Rock sugar is infinitely preferable, since it will lend silkiness to the texture, and also won’t leave behind a sour aftertaste.

I toss in black mushrooms for their meaty aroma and incredible perfume. Lots of green onions and ginger add considerable zip to the dish, and the potatoes soak up all of these interesting elements. The chicken – it turns out – ends up being more of a supporting character here, as it tosses its meaty flavors and butteriness into the ring, but it’s not the star of the show. Not as far as my husband is concerned, at least.

Serve this with lots of hot steamed rice and a green vegetable. Expect applause.

Red-cooked chicken chez Huang

Huángjiā hóngshāo jī  黃家紅燒雞

Jiangsu, or thereabouts

Serves 4 to 6

Marinating chicken

Caramel syrup:

3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil

1 cup (more or less) yellow rock sugar, preferably in relatively small chunks

1 cup (240 cc) water, divided in half

1 tablespoon rice or apple cider vinegar

Chicken and vegetables:

Around 1½ pounds (700 g) chicken wings, cut into sections (or thighs, preferably with the skins on)

3½ tablespoons regular soy sauce

½ tablespoon dark soy sauce

3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil

10 thin slices fresh ginger

5 green onions, trimmed and chopped into 1-inch (5 cm) pieces

8 dried black mushrooms, soaked until supple, trimmed, and cut into quarters (strain the soaking liquid)

½ cup (120 cc) Shaoxing rice wine

1 cup (240 cc) boiling water,

2 medium Yukon Gold or baking potatoes (or up to 6, if you are feeding someone like my husband)

Green onions from the garden

1. To make the caramel syrup: use a medium-sized stainless steel saucepan for the caramel since it’s non-reactive (meaning it will not cause a chemical reaction, like aluminum will) and its light color will help you notice when the sugar is turning amber. Pour the oil into the pan and add the rock sugar. Heat these together over medium-low heat, gently shaking things around occasionally. The hot oil will soon start to open up the fissures between the crystals, so use a wooden spoon to lightly tap on the sugar as it heats up. When the lumps start to noticeably crumble, whack them a bit harder to encourage them to dissolve into a wet sand. (If a couple of large lumps remain, don't sweat it – they will break down later in Step 2.) Put your spoon to one side and don’t use it anymore.

2. Pointing the pan away from you so that you don’t get splattered, add half of the water. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, cover it for a few minutes to wash down any sugar crystals in the pan and give the rest of the lumps a chance to dissolve, and then uncover. Add all of the vinegar and bring the liquid back to a full boil without stirring.

3. Briskly boil it for around 10 minutes, swirling it now and then, until it starts to turn amber and caramelize. When the syrup is an even golden brown, lower the heat to medium-high and – while again directing the pan away from you – carefully add the rest of the water. The syrup will boil furiously at this point, but the water will serve to immediately lower the heat and prevent the sugar from burning. When it subsides, swirl the hot caramel around until it is smooth. Pour this into a heatproof measuring cup to cool. Makes 1 cup (240 cc).

Way too many/still not enough potatoes

4. Wipe the chicken parts with a paper towel and place them in a small work bowl. Pour the two soy sauces over them, toss well, and let the chicken marinate while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

5. Add the oil to your wok and set it over medium-high heat. Add the ginger and half of green onions (reserve most of the chopped green leaves for garnish in this very brown dish), and stir these around until they brown. Scoot them up the side of the wok. Add the chicken to the wok, but reserve the marinade. Brown the chicken on all sides, getting a little caramelization going if you can (revel in the amazing aroma while you're at it), and when the chicken is browned on all sides, add the mushrooms, their strained soaking liquid, the rice wine, about ¼ cup (60 cc) caramel syrup, and enough boiling water to barely cover the chicken. Simmer the ingredients over medium heat until the meat can be easily pierced through the thickest part with a chopstick, around 15 minutes for wings, 25 minutes for thighs. (You can make the dish ahead of time up to this point. Let the chicken rest in the sauce for up to 3 days, which will only make it taste more amazing.) Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken from the wok to a large work bowl. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning with more soy sauce or caramel or rice wine as desired.

6. While the chicken is cooking, peel the potatoes, if you like, and cut them into 1-inch (2 cm) cubes. Add these to the sauce left in the wok, add the cup (240 cc) of boiling water, stir, and simmer the potatoes until they are barely tender. Raise the heat to high, add the chicken, and rapidly boil the sauce down until only around a couple tablespoons remain and a fine gloss robes each piece. Sprinkle on the green onions, toss one final time, and serve.

Tip

If you would like a more standard dessert-type glaze with no oil, either melt the rock sugar in half of the water and caramelize it as directed above before adding the second half of the water, or else follow these directions for the caramel recipe I made to go with moon cakes.

Crunchy stir-fried potatoes... what a concept!

Just about every self-respecting northern Chinese restaurant in the U.S. has this on the menu. This has its own logic because, again, it uses two vegetables from the Americas but, again, puts a definite Chinese spin on them.

If you have never had potatoes just barely cooked so that they are still naturally crunchy, you are in for a definite surprise here. The potatoes are definitely not raw, but rather seem like a whole new invention. The secret lies in selecting the right potatoes; my go-to variety is Yukon Gold, which keeps its shape as it cooks and also retains its snappy character.

This dish is very versatile. You can use as many or as few chilies as you like, and if you have little kids or are just heat adverse, cook the chilies with the potatoes and so reduce their vibrancy to a muted hum. Otherwise, add them toward the end so that they barely warm through and so provide serious sparks. You can also add things like finely chopped garlic or fry some dried chilies before the ginger and onions… it all depends up your predilections and what else you’re serving.

By the way, northern and northeastern Chinese refer to potatoes as tŭdòu 土豆 (“earth beans”), while in many southern places they are known as mǎlíngshŭ 馬鈴薯, literally “horse bell tuber,” because small round potatoes looked like the small round bells that once jingled on horses. 

However, the potato's names are legion depending upon where you are in China: in Shandong it is called an “earth egg,” in Anhui it’s referred to as “Western sweet potato,” in southern Fujian and Chaozhou they call it either “Dutch tuber” or by the Malay word kentang, and so on. 

Peeled & unpeeled

Stir-fried potato and green chili threads

Qīngjiāo chǎo tŭdòusī 青椒炒土豆絲

Beijing
Serves 4 to 6 

4 cups potatoes (preferably Yukon Gold) cut into thin (⅛-inch) matchsticks

3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil, plus more as needed

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

½ cup finely chopped green onions

2 to 3 green jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced into long, thin strips

1. The potatoes can remain unpeeled, if you like. Be sure not to cut the potatoes too finely, as then they will mush up. Place the potato matchsticks in a medium work bowl and cover with cool water while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Then, just before cooking them, drain the potatoes well, dump them out onto a tea towel, and pat them as dry as you possibly can, as this way the potatoes will fry rather than steam into a fat clump.

2. Heat a wok over high heat until it starts to smoke and then add the oil and salt. Swirl them around to lightly dissolve the salt, and then toss in the ginger and green onions. Quickly fry them for about 30 seconds to release their aromas, and then add the potatoes. (If you like your chilies milder, add them at this point so that they cook more.) Toss the potatoes once in a while so that they lightly brown. (Add the chilies at this point if you want more of a kick.) Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot.

Where Tibetan history & potatoes intersect

Tibetan food has been influenced by many cuisines over the centuries, located as it is at the edge of one of the great ancient Asian crossroads. I say "edge" because that is a very important concept when it comes to Tibet, the true hermit land for most of the last millennia.

You see, the Silk Road never made it through Tibet. This enormous and arid place is circled by a natural barrier consisting of the Earth’s highest mountains to the west and south, while the Kunlun and Nanshan Ranges to the north tack Tibet firmly to China at the edge of the vast Gobi. And so, the Silk Road split off into northern and southern routes that bypassed the massive ring of peaks around Tibet’s great central plain.

Because of this unique terrain, Tibet remained hidden for most centuries. Before this, Tibet's people had a fearsome reputation as warriors who had conquered parts of China and both Nepal and northern Burma. But then Buddhism wound its way north from India and over the narrow passes into the heartland of Tibet, and its gentle teachings softened this warlike people to such a remarkable degree that by the tenth century they had closed themselves off behind their mountain passes, and few non-Tibetans other than Chinese officials were thereafter allowed into their hidden world.

Yukon gold wedges

And so, while traders and explorers were kept from stepping foot into this mysterious land – a preference that was underscored in spite of pacific Buddhist creed by executing trespassers with little mercy – the Tibetan people sent their own traders down the winding passes into their neighbors’ territories to obtain whatever ingredients could not be locally grown or made.

This story is a roundabout way of introducing why there are so many warm Indian spices here, for the fragrance of India hovers over many of Tibet’s most beloved dishes.

Rather than using generic curry powder, the people of Tibet often mix together these spices individually to lend unique aromas to each recipe, employing whatever seasonings best complement the main ingredients. And, like good Indian cooks, the spices are first lightly fried in oil or butter to deepen the flavors and release their fragrance. Fenugreek in particular needs to be toasted in warm oil or butter to remove its bitterness and allow its aroma to bloom.

In this beautiful dish of curried potatoes, we see three more imports, but this time around they are from the Americas: potatoes, tomatoes, and chilies. It is hard to imagine Tibetan food without this New World trifecta, but the Tibetan people have adopted them and made them integral components of their local cuisines to such a remarkable degree that they seem almost native to the Himalayas.

Tibetan curried potatoes 
Shogog khatsa

Tibet
Serves 4

Vegetables:

1 pound thin-skinned potatoes, like Yukon golds

Filtered water as needed

½ large onion or 1 small onion

4 cloves garlic

1 Roma or other meaty tomato

Tibetan comfort food

¼ cup peanut or vegetable oil

1 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger

3 dried Thai chilies

Curry:

1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil

½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon ground cumin

3 tablespoons filtered water

1. Rinse the potatoes and then cut them into wedges that are about ½ inch on the outside. (You don’t have to peel them unless you want to.) Place them in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat and then lower the heat to a gentle simmer; cook the potatoes until they are cooked through but not falling apart, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain in a colander and cover with a clean tea towel to keep them warm.

2. While the onions are cooking, cut the onion into ½-inch or so dice and lightly mash the garlic cloves. Cut the tomato in half and squeeze out most of the seeds before cutting the flesh into ½-inch or so dice. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat and add the ginger, chilies, onion, and garlic. Fry these gently until they just begin to brown, then add the tomato and continue to cook these together until the tomato is soft. Place these vegetables (but not the potatoes) into a small food processor or blender and puree them.

3. Rinse out and dry the wok; heat the oil and fenugreek seeds in it over medium heat until the seeds have turned a nut brown. Add the butter, paprika, turmeric, and cumin, and gently fry these spices together until they smell wonderful. Pour in the water and the puree, mix these together, and then fold in the potatoes. Gently warm the potatoes in this sauce until heated through. Serve hot.

Tips

The most important steps to this ingredient have to do with toasting the spices. The fenugreek has to be toasted first, as otherwise the seeds will be hard and bitter.

Fried onions are always good

At the same time, you have to keep a close eye on the ground spices to keep them from burning. I do this by never raising the heat above medium and stirring the spices almost constantly. As soon as they are toasty and fragrant, I remove them from the heat.

A wonderful book about Tibet and the people who tried to ferret their way into this hidden land – “secret agents and soldiers, adventurers and fortune hunters, missionaries and mystics” – is Peter Hopkirk’s Trespassers on the Roof of the World (Tarcher, 1982).

Crepes and chili potatoes from Xi'an

I went to Xi'an to see the terracotta soldiers and stayed for the food.

Honestly, I love Xi'an. Unpretentious, beautiful, old fashioned, this former imperial capital that was once called Chang'an has become a bit of a cultural backwater, and few folks would notice it if it weren't for those soldiers from 2,000 years ago. 

That's what brought me there, but it is not what captured my imagination. In fact, I became more than a bit grumpy during our stay, as tour groups are herded into what seem to be mandatory "dumpling feasts" that have pretty but tasteless food, and it truly bothered me that I was wasting valuable stomach space and time on this endeavor.

Yum

There's just so much more to enjoy there, and much of it is the friendly people and glorious things they eat. After I got home, I wanted to learn how to re-create their street snacks and the things that families put on their tables, for it's simple, good food with haunting flavors and textures.

Take, for example, today's dish. Shaanxi (where Xi'an is located) has traditionally been a relatively impoverished area, and so the people there have learned to be frugal. However, they also love to eat, and this is the sort of meal that people on tight budgets could present to their guests with considerable pride. Everything works perfectly. Not a scrap of meat is in here, no fancy vegetables or sauces. The main ingredients are just flour and potatoes, which may sound like a carb meltdown, but it's a triumph of ingenuity over cash flow.

China's northern provinces are justly famous for their noodles and breads, but another item that doesn't get mentioned enough are its crêpes. Yes, crêpes.

Frying crepe

Again, nothing foofoo about this at all; simply flour, water, and salt fried in a barely oiled flat pan. But what you end up with are thin pancakes that are wonderfully bouncy and chewy, their edges rimmed with crunch, and they are the ideal foil for the potatoes. The people in Shaanxi province often wrap any number of items in crêpes, so this is a delicious skill to master if you like the local foods as much as I do.

You might have never tried stir-fried potatoes before, and this is a great place to start. China's north has taken to such native American foods as potatoes and chilies like a house on fire, and now they are as much a part of the local cuisine as anything else. But instead of baked or mashed or french fried potatoes, you will find stewed and braised and even stir-fried renderings of this lovely tuber.

Onion & potato matchsticks

When you stir-fry potatoes, the key is to use the right variety of potato and then cut it correctly. Yukon Golds are great, as they hold their shape and don't break down like regular baking potatoes. If you don't have them in your area, ask your grocer to recommend something similar.

Next, you'll need to cut these into thin matchsticks called julienne. Don't be tempted to grate the potatoes; you'll end up with mush rather than gently crunchy strips. See the directions below on how to do this right.

This makes a deliciously satisfying meal any time of the day. I especially enjoy this for breakfast with a bowl of hot soy milk. 

Dappled crepes

Crepes and chili potatoes 
Jianbing juan tudousi 煎餅捲土豆絲 
Shaanxi
Makes 6 filled crepes and serves about 2 people

1 cup Korean noodle flour (see Tips)
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm filtered water
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, or similar variety
2 green onions, trimmed
4 tablespoons (or so) peanut or vegetable oil
1 to 3 teaspoons dried powdered chili (see Tips)
1 teaspoon sea salt
Chili Sauce (see below)

1. Place the flour in a medium work bowl. Stir the salt into the warm water until it dissolves and then mix the salt water into the flour to form a thin batter with the consistency of cream; it's quite all right if there are some lumps in the batter. Let it sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Cut into slices, then julienne

2. You may peel the potatoes or leave them unpeeled, whichever you prefer. Rinse the potatoes and pat dry. Slice off one edge of the long side of a potato so that it lies flat on your cutting board. Then, cut the potato into very thin slices before cutting the slices into very thin matchsticks. Repeat with the other potato. Cut the green onions into 2-inch pieces, flatten slightly with the side of a cleaver or heavy knife, and cut them into thin matchsticks, as well.

3. Heat the oil in a wok over medium high and add the chili powder to taste, as well as the salt. Let the chili heat up in the oil and slowly turn from red to brown. Turn the heat up to high and add the potatoes and green onions. Stir-fry quickly until the potatoes have lost their rawness but are still slightly crisp. Cover the wok, remove from the heat, and let it sit on the side while you cook the crêpes.

Make the chili oil

4. Heat a flat skillet about 8 inches in diameter over medium high. Lightly oil the pan using a piece of paper towel dipped in oil. (More than that and the crêpe will roll around in the pan, rather than stay put.) When the oil barely starts to smoke, pour in about a sixth of the batter and swirl the pan around so that the batter covers most of the bottom of the pan. Cook it, adjusting the heat as necessary, until the top has some bubbles and is fairly dry, and the edges start to curl up. Flip the crêpe over and cook for a few seconds to barely brown the other side. Remove to a plate and cover with another plate to keep the crêpe warm. Repeat with the rest of the batter until you have about 6 crêpes.

5. Make the Chili Sauce (below). Serve the crêpes and potatoes hot alongside the sauce, and have everyone fill and roll their own crêpes, dribbling a bit of the sauce inside the crêpe. Eat with chopsticks at the top of the roll and the fingers of the other hand steadying the bottom. Enjoy.

Chili Sauce

Chili Garlic Sauce

This is a sauce I like to make for just about anything, from dumplings to meats to veggies:

2 tablespoons Lee Kum Kee brand Chili Garlic Sauce (or your favorite)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 tablespoons roasted sesame oil

1. Heat the chili garlic sauce and soy sauce together in a pan until bubbly. Remove from the heat and pour in the sesame oil, taste, and adjust seasoning.

2. Scrape into a small bowl and serve.

Tips

Korean noodle flours

The Korean noodle flour I love has changed its packaging. Here is a picture of the new look on the left, with an equally good brand on the right. Both work really well for Chinese breads and pastas, as they have the correct amount of gluten. American flours tend to have too much gluten, and so Chinese recipes made with them come out tough.

Use as much or little chili powder in the potatoes as you like. It's hard to give an exact amount, as chilies and palates differ so much. Besides, you can always add more zip with the sauce if the filling is not hot enough.