Cooking Class- Pak Choi and Bean Curd Wrap

I’ve finally found a way around the firewall that has blocked this site for the last few months. It’s still a bit slow to enter, so I have to start with a Word document and then patch it into the blogger site. It’s a bit of work, but at least I feel as though I am less mute than I have been in the last while.

So here to celebrate, is a post about my cooking class. After missing it for a couple of months (busy traveling back and forth to North America), it was a good homecoming. I met some new friends, saw some old ones again, and of course learned a couple new recipes and had an excellent meal. So here, for you is two recipes for cold dishes to place on your table as starters for a great Chinese meal.


Ningbo Syle Stewed Pak Choi

Pak Choi (sometimes known as baby bok choi)- 200 grams
150 grams of sugar
50 grams of chicken granules (these are the chicken bouillon powder)
25 grams dark soy
10 grams black vinegar
fresh ginger cut in small slices
green onions, sliced thinly

Wash the pak choi thoroughly. Cut them into ½ or ¼. Heat wok and add cooking oil. Stir fry pakchoi for a minute, add a little water - cook until the vegetables are bright green, then take out and drain the oil. With a little oil, heat the ginger and onions for 2 minutes. Add the pak choi to the wok and the sugar, chicken granules, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and heat until the liquid is gone. The vegetables will be a dark brown and quite caramelized. Remove from heat and add vinegar. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours.



Bean Curd Sheet Rolls

Minced (ground) pork 250 grams
1 egg

1 tbsp sugar
½ tbsp salt
½ tbsp of chicken granules
chopped garlic
chopped ginger
1 tbsp Chinese wine
½ tbsp white pepper
chicken stock (this is more like a really thick chicken consommé)
Bean curd sheets (probably found in asian markets)
Green onions cut into 2 inch segments

Lightly beat egg and add to the minced pork. Mix well until the result is quite soupy. Add sugar, salt, pepper, chicken granules, wine, garlic, ginger. Take your bean curd sheets and cut into six segments (this recipe makes 18 dumplings- so six segments per 3 bean curd sheet). Add about 2 tablespoons per segment and roll. Place your dumplings into a dish with sides (that fits your steamer), add water until they are covered half way, pour consommé on the top and add onion segments. Place everything in steamer and cook for about 10 minutes. The water should turn into a broth. Place the entire dish into your refrigerator for at least 24 hours before serving.

This last recipe is flexible enough to accommodate all different types of fillings- pork and shrimp, pork –water chestnuts-mushrooms, ground chicken…..

It had been so long since I had been to one of these classes, that I had forgotten to bring my camera, and I am having some trouble figuring out how to get a stock photo on this post- so for now, this will be free of illustrations.