Teem Syun Ye Choi Fa - Sweet & Sour Cauliflower
This recipe is a culmination of cooking with Mama Wong, who owned Chinese restaurants in Holland and Toronto, and chatting with my friend Choi, whose parents owned a Chinese restaurant in Wales in the 1970s. Customers would travel for miles to eat Choi’s father’s famous sweet and sour pork. Making this dish at home, I much prefer to use the freshest of ingredients and follow Mama Wong and Mr Leung’s lead.
Serves 4
FOR THE CAULIFLOWER
• 230g mountain yam (available at Asian stores), grated
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
• 3 cups (720ml) neutral oil
FOR THE BATTER
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup cornstarch
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp white pepper powder
FOR THE SAUCE
• juice of 2 oranges
• juice of 1 lemon
• pinch of salt
• pinch of sugar
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 4 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp water
FOR SERVING
• chopped scallions and shredded red cabbage, for garnish (optional)
Make the cauliflower: In a medium bowl, mix together the yam, garlic, soy sauce and salt. Add the cauliflower, tossing to coat the florets well. Marinate for 20 minutes.
Make the batter: In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, and white pepper with ½ cup of water. Dredge the cauliflower florets in the batter, a few pieces at a time, coating them well. In a wok or medium pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil; it’s hot enough when you insert the tip of a wooden chopstick and lots of tiny bubbles quickly form and encase the chopstick. Deep-fry the cauliflower in batches for 3 minutes until crispy. Strain out of the oil onto a cooling rack and set aside. Save the oil in a heatproof glass jar for future use.
Make the sauce: In the same wok or frying pan over low heat, bring the fresh orange and lemon juices to a boil. Season with the salt and sugar. Add the tomato paste, then slowly add the cornstarch slurry until thickened slightly. Add the fried cauliflower and toss to coat. Serve with garnishes, if desired.
Sing Jau Chaau Mai - Singapore Noodles
This dish was created in the 1950s by Hong Kong chefs keen to cook with the amazing spices, namely curry powder, that were brought to the city by the East India Trading Company. The name is said to have been an added flourish to make this stir-fried noodle dish stand out from traditional Cantonese ones. This curry-flavoured vermicelli is typically cooked with Madras curry powder, not paste. If using powder, add 2 tsp after frying the garlic and ginger. I prefer the paste because the curry powder has to cook for a longer time to avoid a grainy texture.
Serves 4
FOR THE SAUCE
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
• 2 tbsp Grandma’s Curry Paste (below)
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp raw cane sugar
• ⅛ tsp white pepper powder
FOR THE NOODLES
• 3 bundles (200g total) vermicelli (thin mung bean noodles)
• boiling water, for soaking
• 2 tbsp neutral oil, plus more as needed
• ½ onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
• 2 or 3 small carrots, cut into matchsticks
• 2 celery stalks, cut into matchsticks
• ½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 cups (120g) finely shredded red cabbage
• 12 fresh shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 scallions, cut into 7.5cm segments
MAKE THE SAUCE
In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of water with all of the sauce ingredients and stir until well combined. Set aside.
MAKE THE NOODLES
Place the noodle bundles in a large bowl and add enough boiling water to cover them by 7.5cm. Soak for 5 minutes, then drain and loosen the noodles with a pair of chopsticks. Cover the bowl with a plate and set aside.
In a wok or large frying pan over high heat, heat the oil. Add the onion and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, then add the garlic and ginger, cooking for another minute until fragrant. Add the carrots and celery and stir-fry for another 2 minutes before adding the bell pepper, cabbage, and mushrooms. If the ingredients are starting to look a little dry and are sticking to the pan, add a little more oil or a splash of water. Toss in the vermicelli and add the sauce, stir-frying for 3 minutes to evenly combine. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with scallions. Serve hot.
Ga Lei Jeung - Grandma’s Curry Paste
This paste is based on a recipe from Mama Wong (my college bestie’s mom), which she learned in Hong Kong in the 1960s from an Indian neighbour. Eating this brought me back to my childhood and to my paternal grandmother’s Hong Kong Curry.
Makes 1½ cups (360 ml)
• ½ cup (120ml) vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 6 tbsp (36g) Madras curry powder
• 3 tbsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• ¼ tsp white pepper powder
• 3 tbsp vegan butter
• 1 or 2 fresh bird’s-eye red chillies, sliced (seeded if you prefer less heat; optional)
In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 3 minutes until fragrant and the onion has softened. Stir in the curry powder, turmeric, salt, sugar, and white pepper. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the butter to keep the paste from drying out. During the last minute of cooking, add the fresh chillies, if using. Transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to mix until smooth.
Transfer the mixture to a glass jar and cool completely before storing it in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
MAMA WONG TIP
• Curry paste and curry powder aren’t necessarily interchangeable because there is so much more depth of flavor in a paste. In a pinch, you can use a premade Thai yellow curry paste or curry powder with the addition of more aromatics like onion, garlic and ginger.
Siu Hau Jou - Laughing Sesame Cookies
The name of these cookies automatically puts a smile on my face. How can one celebrate Lunar New Year without this joyous treat? Bring in laughter for the new year with some happy food. Pistachios laugh too! Hoi sum gwo directly translates as “happy nuts”, making them another joyful new year’s snack that I like to add to my Togetherness Tray.
Makes 30 cookies
• 1½ cups (210g) all-purpose flour
• ¹⁄3 cup (60g) raw cane or granulated sugar
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp melted vegan butter or cooking oil
• 3-5 tbsp (80ml) hot water
• 1 cup (120g) white sesame seeds
• 4 cups (960ml) neutral oil
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the melted butter. Stir in the water 1 tablespoon at a time until a large dough ball forms; set aside for 30 minutes. Pour the sesame seeds into a small bowl and set aside. Fill a second small bowl halfway with water.
Divide the dough into 30 equal pieces, each about the size of a cherry, and roll each piece into a ball between your palms. Fully submerge a dough ball into the water, then roll it in the sesame seeds to evenly coat. Repeat with the remaining dough.
In a wok or medium saucepan over high heat, heat the oil; it’s hot enough when you insert the tip of a wooden chopstick and lots of tiny bubbles quickly form and encase the chopstick. You can also test one sesame ball first. Deep-fry the cookies in batches. Using a slotted spoon or spider strainer, gently place 5 or 6 balls into the hot oil, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting; this will prevent the sesame seeds from burning.
When the balls start to float to the surface of the oil (after about 50 seconds), turn the heat back to medium-high and cook until golden brown and bursting open, 3-4 minutes. Make sure to move them around for even cooking and keep an eye on them so that they don’t burn. Drain the cookies on a wire rack and repeat with the remaining dough. When cooled completely, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 10 days.
An edited extract from The Vibrant Hong Kong Table: 88 Iconic Vegan Recipes from Dim Sum to Late-Night Snacks, by Christine Wong (Chronicle Books, $70).
