Asian Cuisine - Western China

Our menu for Western China this week was:

• Tea smoked quail
• Sweet and sour cucumbers
  
• Stuffed eggplant
• Kung pao chicken
• Da dan mian
• Ma-puo doufu
• Stir fried long beans
• Fish flavoured pork shreds
• Spicy fried beef shreds

Tea smoked quail is a wonderfully flavoured dish served with the Sweet and sour cucumbers. The quail is smoked in a mixture of rice, mandarin peel, cassia bark, jasmine tea, brown sugar, and star anise. Once done, it is wok fried to complete the cooking process. The cucumbers are julienned and tossed in a dressing of chili, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil. Chef commented that our presentation for the salad side was very nice on this dish, while the quail was peculiar as we served 2 on the plate, one halved and the other whole, stacked on each other. While the presentation was slightly off, the flavour was excellent on the quail, as well as on the salad.

Stuffed eggplant is a dish of eggplant sliced almost the whole way through then stuffed with a ground pork mixture containing green onion, ginger, and garlic. Once stuffed, the eggplant is patted with cornstarch and deep fried to give it a crispy outside. Finally, the cooking process is finished by braising the eggplant until it has absorbed the braising liquid, giving it some extra infused flavours. For this dish, Chef was happy with the flavour although he commented that it could have used a little extra time braising or some more braising liquid to get a little more of that flavour in the dish. However, the flavour was generally good and the presentation was nice on this dish.

Kung pao chicken is a spicy chicken dish where the chicken is marinated and then wok fried to cook. Once done, the oil is drained off the pan, chilies are fried in a small remaining amount of oil to activate some of the spice in the oil, and then the chicken is returned to the wok and a sauce is added to coat the chicken. I made this dish extra spicy and Chef was very happy with the flavour and spice on the dish. The presentation was very good as well.

Dan dan mian is a noodle soup dish where the noodles are served on a sauce of soy, rice vinegar, sesame paste, chili and sesame oil. The chicken stock is served in a side bowl to this and is added to the noodle and sauce mixture when ready to eat. Chef was happy with our presentation and our flavour on this dish, with no particular criticisms.

Ma-puo doufu is a tofu and ground pork dish, where the pork is fried in a sauce mixture until nearly done and then the tofu is added. Chef commented that our presentation was nice on this dish and that the flavour was fantastic, exactly what it was supposed to be.

Stir fried long beans is a simple dish of long beans blanched and then stir fried in a garlic, ginger, and rice vinegar sauce. I added some peppers and chili paste to the sauce to bring some heat and extra flavour to the dish which Chef enjoyed. The presentation was simple but worked, and he was overall happy with the dish.

Spicy fried beef shreds is a dish of shredded beef that is marinated and then stir fried. Once brown, the meat is removed and vegetables are cooked with some chilies to give spice, but should not be overcooked to prevent loss of colour and texture. The meat is then combined with the vegetables and they are glazed with sesame oil and served. Chef commented on the good flavour in this dish and was happy with our presentation.

Fish flavoured pork shreds is another dish with a confusing name, as there is absolutely no fish in this dish. However, the combination of ingredients leaves the final product with a slight fish taste. The pork is seasoned in dark soy sauce, then wok fried. Once done, the pork is removed and wood ear mushrooms and water chestnuts are added to the wok to cook briefly, and then green onions, ginger, and garlic. Wine is sizzled in and all ingredients are combined back in the wok along with a sauce mixture which is cooked until thick and then glazed with sesame oil and served. Chef commented again that our flavour was very nice on this dish and that the presentation worked well also.