Cook Chinese...: February 2007 Cook Chinese...

Cook Chinese...

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Paocai (Pickled Vegetables)

Some time ago I was working with korean girl. She was making best pickles I tasted so far. It was korean kimchi - very spicy with a lot of garlic. It's not only tasty, but also very healthy. Because of the basic ingredients in kimchi, garlic, scallions and vegetables, kimchi helps to eliminate cholesterol and promotes intestinal health. Chinese paocai is very similar to my beloved kimchi, so here it is:

Ingredients:
2 Chinese (or Italian) cabbages
5-10 spring onions
2-5 carrots
1 tbsp salt (non-iodized sea salt is the best)
1 tsp Sichuan pepper
1 tsp fennel seeds
3 star anise
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
6 medium sized dried chilis

Preparation:
Tear a cabbage into small pices. Chop the rest of vegatables. Mix everything together, add salt & than rest of ingredients. Put it all in a jar, pour water (just to cover the vegatables).

Your paocai should be ready after 2 - 3 days. You can preserve it in the fridge even for several weeks. For some more, you can continue to use the same liquid, just dump in new vegetables.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Carmelized Walnuts

Glazed walnuts are used as garnish or additon to many chinese dishes. But it may also serve as a great snack or elevenses. One way or another - here is recipe to prepare it:

Ingredients:
1 cup walnut halves
4 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp sugar

Preparation:
Toast walnut halves over medium heat in vegetable oil and sugar until caramelized.

The edges might get a little brown- but that's normal.

Variations:
Instead of sugar you may also use honey. Just mind to not sear it.
You can use brown sugar if you like.
Oil can be replaced with butter.
A little pinch of cinnamon is tasty addition to your elevenses.