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Types of Garlic Chives, Buying and Cooking Tips, Nutritional Information When is a chive not a chive? When it's a Chinese garlic chive.

With their white flowers, long green shoots and lack of a bulb, garlic chives bear a strong resemblance to regular chives. That's not surprising, since both are members of the onion family. However, in this case appearances are deceiving. While the standard chive has a mild flavor similar to onions, Chinese garlic chives are known for their strong “garlicky” flavor.

The combination of a chive-like appearance and strong flavor makes garlic chives a popular seasoning. You’ll find chopped chives showing up in Chinese recipes for soups, stews, salads and even meat marinades. But don’t feel you need to get out the wok to enjoy them. Garlic chives make a flavourful alternative to regular chives in non-Asian dishes.

Feel free to add a few snips of garlic chives the next time you’re preparing scrambled eggs or an omelette, or substitute them for regular chives in a recipe for herbed bread.

Need another reason to try them? They’re a great substitute for garlic on nights when you don’t feel like smashing and peeling cloves. Now, all that’s left is to decide which variety of Chinese garlic chive - all of which come from the same plant - best meets your needs:

Standard garlic chives (Gau Choy) – Garlic chives look similar to chives, but their leaves are broad and flat instead of hollow. Their garlicky flavor enhances cooked dishes, particularly ones where the food is slowly simmered in a sauce, such as red-cooked stews or soups, or in a stuffing. Use them also to add flavor to stir-fries. They go particularly well with eggs and seafood – you’ll often find them paired with scrambled eggs or prawns.

Flowering Chives (Gau Choy Fa) – Flowering chives have hollow, light green stems and yellow buds on the end. But don’t let their delicate appearance fool you: flowering chives have a stronger garlicky flavor than Gau Choy. A popular delicacy in Chinese cuisine, they are used in salads and stir-fried alone. The yellow buds make an attractive garnish and, unlike regular chives, they are edible. Their popularity means that flowering chives are often easier to find than garlic chives, both in regular supermarkets and Asian groceries. Feel free to use them in place of garlic chives.

Yellow Chives (Gau Wong) – Yellow chives are garlic chives that have been grown under cover, without any exposure to direct sunlight. This prevents the leaves from turning green, as the plant’s chlorophyll-absorbing molecules never kick into action.

Yellow chives have thick flat leaves, a yellow color, and a mild, “oniony” flavor. Like flowering chives, they are considered to be a delicacy, and often served alone or paired with another vegetable in a stir-fry. Use them in soups, with noodles, or whenever you want to add chives with a milder flavor than either garlic or flowering chives.

Garlic Chive Preparation and Cooking Tips

Fresh garlic chives have a short lifespan. When purchasing regular garlic chives, look for dark green leaves with no sign of wilting. Remove any dark green leaves that have wilted before cooking. Flowering chives usually come packaged, with the ends already trimmed. Look for a bright green color and fat yellow buds. Both of these types of chives will last for a few days stored in the crisper section of the refrigerator. Fresh yellow chives, on the other hand, should be used within the same day. Whichever type of chive you buy, trim off the ends if they are not already trimmed and wash thoroughly before using.

For best results, add the chives near the end of the cooking process – otherwise the flavor fades.

Nutritional Information About Garlic Chives

Garlic chives pack a major nutritional punch for a mere 30 calories per 100 grams. Low in fat and high in dietary fibre and protein, they contain high amounts of Vitamin C and carotene, and are a good source of calcium. They also contain Vitamin B1 and B2. In Chinese medicine, garlic chives are considered to be a yin or warming food.

Garlic Chives – The Ultimate Antiseptic?

Like other members of the garlic and onion family, garlic chives contain a sulphur-rich mustard oil that aids digestion and helps promote the flow of blood. The rejuvenating power of this oil has been known since ancient times, when chives were used to heal wounds. Today, Chinese cooks put garlic chives’ antiseptic qualities to good use by combining the chives with pork fat to season a wok.

Labels: Chinese food

# posted by warmb @ 10:40 PM 0 Comments

Prepared black bean sauce takes the work out of rinsing and mashing fermented black beans in this quick and easy spareribs recipe. Serves 4 to 6.

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds pork spareribs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 teaspoon minced ginger

Oil for stir-frying

2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 4 teaspoons water, optional

Sauce:

2 tablespoons black bean sauce with garlic, or to taste

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 cup water or chicken broth (low-sodium broth is best)

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

PREPARATION:

Trim the ribs and cut into 1-inch pieces.

Mince the ginger. In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients and set aside. Heat the wok on medium-high to high heat and add oil. When oil is ready, add the ginger and stir-fry until aromatic (about 15 seconds).

Add the spareribs, stir-frying until they are lightly browned. Add the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. While the ingredients are cooking, mix together the cornstarch and water if you are going to use it. Once the ingredients are finished simmering, give the cornstarch/water mixture a quick re-stir and add, stirring to thicken. Serve with white rice.

Labels: Chinese food

# posted by warmb @ 10:24 PM 0 Comments

Try to vary the meat and vegetables in a dish, so that there is an interesting variety of flavors, textures, and colors. Prepare everything before you start cooking: meat, vegetables, and sauces.

Wash green, leafy vegetables ahead of time. This gives them more time to drain so they will not be too wet when you stir-fry.

While it's nice to own one, you don't need a cleaver to cook Chinese food.

Place all the cut vegetables on a tray or cooking sheet. That way, you won't forget anything. Just be careful not to mix them up, as cooking times will vary among vegetables.

Drain tofu before using, as this allows it to absorb the other flavors in the dish.

Marinate fresh meat.

Always cut beef across the grain.

Cut the meat into uniform pieces so that it will cook more evenly. If you're not using a recipe, a general rule is to cut everything into bite-sized pieces.

When adding oil for stir-frying, drizzle the oil down the sides of the wok.

When deep-frying, to tell if the oil is hot enough, simply stick a chopstick in the wok. When the oil sizzles all around it, you can begin adding the food.

Don't use dark soy sauce unless the recipe specifically calls for it. When a recipe simply says to add soy or soya sauce, use light soy sauce or one of the Japanese brands such as Kikkoman.

If preparing stir-fried meat and vegetables, stir-fry the meat first and set it aside. Usually you will return it to the wok with a sauce during the final stages of cooking.

When stir-frying vegetables, cook the toughest and thickest vegetables for a longer period than the softer, leafy vegetables. Vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, and cabbage need to be cooked longer than bok choy, which in turn is cooked longer than snow peas or bean sprouts.

If you are uncertain in what order to cook vegetables, simply stir-fry them separately. Never overcook.

Once you've gained a bit of experience and can "guestimate" amounts such as one teaspoon or two tablespoons, try storing sauces in plastic containers similar to the syrup dispensers used in restaurants. This cuts down on the amount of washing up after each meal. Just be sure to label each of the containers!

Always use fresh ginger, not powdered.

If desired, use sugar as a substitute for MSG (Monosodium Glutamate).

The formula for mixing cornstarch and water is 1 to 2: for example, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water

Taste the dish and adjust the seasonings as desired.

And finally, in the immortal words of one of my favorite cooking teachers: "the two most important things about Chinese cooking are a hot stove and a sharp knife.

Labels: Chinese food

# posted by warmb @ 8:00 PM 0 Comments

Sweet and sour chicken is a very popular dish and there are several different ways to make it. In this recipe, black rice vinegar heightens the tartness of the sauce. Here is another recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken with lemon.

Makes 3 - 4 servings of sweet and sour chicken, or 4 - 6 as part of a meal Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3/4 cup baby carrots

1 cucumber

1/2 red bell pepper

1 garlic clove

Marinade:

2 tsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1 tsp cornstarch

Batter:

1 - 2 eggs, lightly beaten

3 TB potato starch*

Sauce**:

4 1/2 TB rice vinegar

1 1/2 TB black rice vinegar

3/4 cup water

3 TB tomato paste

4 1/2 TB brown sugar

3/8 tsp chile sauce, or to taste

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 6 teaspoons water

3 1/4 cups oil for deep-frying and stir-frying

Directions:

Cut the chicken into 1/2-inch cubes. Marinate in the rice wine or sherry and cornstarch for 30 minutes.

While the chicken is marinating, prepare the vegetables: mince the garlic clove, peel and cut the cucumber into thin slices, and cut the red pepper into cubes. Chop the baby carrots. Bring a large pot of water to boil and blanch the carrots briefly in the boiling water. Drain thoroughly.

In a small saucepan, add the ingredients for the sweet and sour sauce and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and keep warm.

To deep-fry the chicken: Preheat 3 cups of oil to 350 - 375 degrees Fahrenheit. While waiting for the oil to heat, brush the chicken cubes with the beaten egg and dip in the potato starch to cover. Deep-fry the dredged chicken pieces in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the wok. Deep-fry for 3 - 4 minutes until the chicken turns golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

To deep-fry the chicken a second time if desired: bring the oil temperature up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Deep-fry the chicken in batches, very briefly for less than a minute, until the chicken turns brown. Drain on paper towels. Drain all but 2 tablespoons oil from the wok. When oil is hot, add the garlic and stir-fry briefly until aromatic. Add the carrots. Stir-fry for about 1 minute, then add the red peppers. Add the cucumber or save to use as a garnish. Bring the sauce back up to a boil and add to the wok, mixing with the vegetables. Add the chicken. Heat through and serve over rice. Garnish with the cucumber if desired.

Cornstarch can be substituted for the potato starch

This recipe is designed to make extra sauce for mixing in with the rice. It can easily be adjusted either up or down depending on how much sauce you want - just be sure to keep the proportions constant. For 3/4 lb of chicken, reduce quantities by 1/3 - ie. use 3 TB rice vinegar, 1 TB black rice vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 2 TB tomato paste, etc.

Labels: Chinese food

# posted by warmb @ 7:52 PM 0 Comments

Labels: Chinese food

# posted by warmb @ 7:33 PM 0 Comments

Beijing Roasted Duck has the reputation of being the most delicious food in Beijing. It is usually a fixed item of dinner on any Beijing tour itinerary. Eating Beijing Roasted Duck is also one of the two things you are absolutely supposed to do while in Beijing -- the other one is climbing the Great Wall.

The hometown of roasted duck is actually Nanjing City of Jiangsu Province in East China. In the 19th year (1421) during the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the emperor moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing, and hence roasted duck was introduced to Beijing and became an imperial dish.

Beijing ducks are called force-fed ducks, which are raised for the sole purpose of making the food. Force-fed, they are kept in cages which restrain them from moving about, so as to fatten them up and make the meat comparably tender.

Beijing Roasted Duck has two kinds: Menlu Roasted Duck (duck roasted in the oven) and Gualu Roasted Duck (duck roasted over the fire). The preparations include: first rubbing the ducks with spices, salt and sugar, and then hanging them in the air for some time. To make a Menlu Roasted Duck, first burn the Kaoliang stalks in the oven till the sides of the oven turn hot, then put the ready-duck inside until the duck is baked date-red and shining with oil by the heat of the oven and the remaining heat of the ash. To make a Gualu Roasted Duck, the ready-duck is baked in the oven directly over the burning wood of peach, jujube or date trees, which gives off a special fragrance, with very little smoke; bake until the duck becomes brown with rich grease perspiring outside and have a nice odor. The best roasted duck has a crisp skin and tender meat.

Beijing Roasted Duck is always served in well-cut slices. The chef cuts the meat into thin slices, each having a piece of skin and perfect with the complete layers of the meat. Then the meat is served with very thin pancakes, Chinese onions and special sauce -- usually sweet bean sauce. The way to eat it is to coat the thin pancake with sauce, slap on a few pieces of meat and roll up the pancake. Chopsticks are optional: it is much easier just to grab the thing with your bare hands. Normally there are many dishes served with the duck, including a dish of fine-cut shallot bars, a dish of cucumber bars and finally a dish of paste-like soy of fermented wheat flour. The dinner usually ends with a rich cream-colored duck soup made from the duck

Labels: Chinese food

# posted by warmb @ 11:57 PM 0 Comments