glass noodle salad

glass noodle salad
Originally uploaded by kattebelletje.

There are these dishes you just forget about. They used to have their golden years, when they were regularly on the menu, you had their ingredients in the cupboard all the time, and everyone really enjoyed them (especially you) - and then they were all forgotten.

Perhaps you had it too much; or you met new people who thought it nothing special, or the ingredients disappeared from your regular shopping trips - or you just moved on to some nicer, newer dishes. Or you simply forgot. This is one of these dishes, lengban fensi Chinese 'cold mixed glass noodles'.

I had it at least once a month in the 90s, because it is so easy, and I wrote about it in my cookbook-to-be (a simple computer handout, which I gave to some friends), and there I discovered it again last week. It is great as a side dish for larger dinner parties, because it is a cold salad and can be made beforehand. Plus it is really yummy.

You will need:

1 packet of glass noodles (100 grams)
half a cucumber
sesame oil; soy sauce; Sichuan-pepper oil; rice wine or mirin; [optional: chili oil or chili paste]

Boil water and pour over glass noodles. Let soak for 20 minutes until soft. Use scissors to cut noodles into smaller strips, but don't overdo this ;-)
Make a nice tasting sauce with about 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 to 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, and at least 3 to 4 tablespoons of Szechuan pepper-oil. This very flavorsome, peppery, addictive oil can be found in Asian supermarkets. The oil is made from Sichuan pepper, the true Sichuan spice which gives its special kick to almost any Sichuan dish. Use a lot of it- your salad will definitely improve!
Add some Shaoxing rice wine or Japanese mirin for extra flavor, taste for salt. Mix the noodles with the mixture until all flavors are absorbed by the noodles. If you like spicy you can add some of your favorite chili oil or chili paste as well.

Cut half the cucumber into julienne strips and put on a plate. Then put the noodles over (I had too many noodles for the plate). Let sit and enjoy with Peking duck, jiaozi or any other Chinese dinner stuff. Even my daughter who says she doesn't like spicy added heaps of it on her plate and finished it all. The noodle salad is back to stay!

Beef with orange peel

Beef with orange peel by kattebelletje.

Well, it has been a while, hasn't it? I must say, after starting the site tokowijzer I really didn't see the hype coming! The new site was very well received; we got a lot of good reviews and more visitors that kattebelletje ever had. I have spent many hours updating the site and making pictures. And I have been lurking in Chinese supermarkets for even longer times than before. I have tried many ingredients I wouldn't have bought otherwise - and I have tried out more frozen dumplings than I have in the last 5 years!

This is one of the dishes I made with the ingredient orange peel, chenpi niurou. It is one of my favorite Szechuan beef dishes : it has a dark flavor, mildly spiced by the red dried peppers and with a very fragant flavor of the orange peel. The beef is chewy and has a sweet tinge. I used to use fresh tangerine peels, but stocking up on these dried orange peels is very easy, so all you need is a chunk of beef to get you going.

For this recipe you will need:

500 grams of braising beef (klapstuk, sukadelap)
6 to 7 slices of fresh ginger
4 dried chili peppers (the long pointy ones)
6 pieces of dried orange peel (Chinese shop)
Shaoxing rice wine
soy sauce (light and dark), sugar, rock sugar, salt

Cut the beef in bite size pieces. Slice the ginger. Snap the orange peel into smaller chunks. Fry the ginger and dried pepper in a couple of tablespoons of oil until fragrant (careful, don't burn!), then add the beef and brown on all sides. Splash with almost a cup of Shaoxing rice wine and add 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce (or a little more). Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and a walnut-size chunk of rock sugar and stir. Bring to a boil, take off the scum of the surface of the liquid, then put a lid on and leave on a slow simmer.

The beef has to simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours; check regularly to stir and to check if there is still enough liquid. Add a little water if needed. At the end of the cooking process taste the sauce and add more salt or soy if needed. For extra flavour you could add some orange juice, too. The beef has to be dark and the sauce has to cling around the meat - the rock sugar makes the sauce have a beautiful shine.

Take the beef off the heat, sprinkle on some sesame oil, and put on a plate. This dish can be eaten hot or cold: a perfect starter or a perfect dish for a Chinese meal - at least it is not a last-minute stir-fry to worry about. You can eat the pieces of orange peel if you like, they will taste of pepper and soy and beef. Lovely.