Popular Recipes of China

Print Mail

RSS

Bird's Nest Soup
Chinese delicacy, Bird's Nest Soup is prepared from the saliva nest of swifts. The edible bird's nests are among the most expensive animal products consumed by humans. The nests have been traditionally used in Chinese cooking for over 400 years, most often as bird's nest soup.

Ingredient 

3 ½ ounce (approx)	Dried bird's nest
6 cups	Rich chicken stock for soup
1 kg	Chicken breast
2 tablespoon	Cornstarch
2 tablespoon	Rich chicken stock for paste
1 tablespoon	Dry sherry
1/4   cup	Rich chicken stock
2	Egg whites
1 teaspoon	Salt
2	Green onions, minced
1 tablespoon	Minced Smithfield ham

Preparation
Soak bird's nest in cold water overnight, drain and rinse. Spread softened nest pieces on plate. Pick out prominent pieces of ‘foreign' matter like feathers, twigs etc. with tweezers.

Debone chicken breast, remove membrane and muscle fiber. Pound the meat with cleaver handle to break down tissue and mince until it is pulp.

Make medium-thick paste with cornstarch and chicken stock. Bring rich chicken stock for soup to boil. Immediately add bird's nest; simmer 30 minutes.

Mix dry sherry and remaining stock; dribble slowly into minced chicken. Lightly beat egg whites with a fork; fold gently into chicken so they are not completely blended.

Add salt to soup. Bring soup back to boil and add chicken mixture slowly so soup does not cool. When soup returns to boil, it is ready to serve. You can hold it at this point on low heat. Pour into serving bowl, garnish with green onions and ham.

Peking Duck
One of the most famous duck dishes of China, Peking Roast Duck hails from Beijing. Being prepares since the Yuan Dynasty, now it is considered as one of China's national food. The duck meat is served with steamed pancakes, scallions and sweet noodle sauce.


Ingredients 

5-6 pound	Duck
8 cups	Water
1 slice	Ginger
1	Scallion, cut into halves
3 tablespoon	Honey
1 tablespoon	White Vinegar
1 tablespoon	Sherry
1 1/2 tablespoon	Cornstarch, dissolved in 3 tablespoons water
Few	Scallions for garnish

Preparation
Clean duck. Wipe dry and tie string around neck. Hang duck in cool, windy place for 4 hours.

Fill large wok with water and bring to boil. Add ginger, scallion, honey, vinegar, and sherry. Let it boil. Pour in dissolved cornstarch and stir constantly.

Place duck in large strainer above larger bowl. Pour boiling mixture all over duck for about 10 minutes. Hang duck again in cool, windy place for 6 hours until thoroughly dry.

Place duck breast side up on a greased rack in oven preheated to 350 degrees. Set a pan filled with 2 inches of water in bottom of oven. Roast 30 minutes.

Turn duck and roast 30 minutes more. Turn breast side up again. Roast 10 minutes more.
Use sharp knife to cut off crispy skin. Serve meat and skin immediately on a pre-warmed dish.

Kung Pao Chicken
Classic Szechuan cuisine of central-western China, Kung Pao Chicken is named after Ding Baozhen, official in the Qing Dynasty. The recipe is named after his title Gong Bao.

Ingredients

Preparation
Combine chicken and cornstarch in small bowl. Toss to coat.

Heat oil in large non-stick skillet or wok and add chicken. Stir fry for 5-7 minutes or until no longer pink in center. Remove from heat.

Add onions, garlic, red pepper and ginger to skillet. Stir fry 15 seconds and remove from heat.

Combine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in small bowl. Stir well and add to skillet.

Return chicken to skillet. Stir until chicken is well coated. Add in nuts. Heat thoroughly, stirring occasionally.

Serve over hot rice.

Chicken Fried Rice
Chicken Fried Rice is one of the most popular rice dishes from China. It is a healthy meal that is complete by itself or can be served with other chicken or lamb-based gravy.



Ingredients 

4 cups	Cold cooked rice
8 ounces	Chicken, cooked & chopped
2	Eggs
1/2 cup	Green peas
1	Medium onion, diced
1	Green onion, diced
According to taste	Seasonings - Light Soy & Oyster Sauce, Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon	Oil for stir-frying

Preparation
Beat the eggs lightly, add a dash of salt. (Add a bit of oyster sauce, if desired.

Heat wok and add oil. When oil is ready, pour 1/2 of the egg mixture into the wok and cook over medium heat, turning over once.  Cook the other half the same way.  Cut the egg into thin strips, and save for later.

Stir-fry the onion on high heat for a few moments, remove and set aside. Do the same for the green peas. 

Add oil, turn down the heat to medium and stir-fry the rice. Add the soy sauce, salt, pepper and oyster sauce.  Add the chicken, onion and green peas and combine thoroughly.

Serve chicken fried rice with the strips of egg on top and the green onion as a garnish.

By: Shuchita Bist
GOWEALTHY.COM © 2008
For comments: editor@gowealthy.com