Stir-Fried Charcuterie
Grandma’s love for sharing food never grew old. Even when she took on her late 80’s, she did her best to give family members a taste of her village back in the Hunan province of China. Her go-to ingredients typically starred some smoked protein, multi colored chilies and soy sauce marinated beans for a umami finish. I remember those good old days when visits to her apartment always began with a table full of her cooking. It wasn’t until I was a little older that I realized that there was a theme besides love to her culinary spread. Turns out she always tried to feed us Chinese New Year dishes. Like Turkey is to Thanksgiving and chocolate to Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year’s also has its unique food offerings specific to each province and family. In Grandma’s village, the celebratory food of choice was always smoked meats, be it fish or pork, steamed whole fish, and or roasted pig. Turns out, even when my parents were in their teens, smoked meats would take days to prepare and preparations would have to begin months before because of the weather requirements of the curing process. As a result, these dishes were only eaten to welcome the New Year. Mother and Uncle always spoke fondly of Grandma’s home-smoked fare. Growing up during war times, New Year was the one time people allowed themselves to forget how bad things were for the country and for their own torn families. And the only way to do that correctly in Chinese culture is through food. Mother says in her childhood, New Years Day always held the most delectable foods. Scarce things like candies and smoked meats would appear on that day and excite all the kids in the family.
Grandma’s love for sharing food never grew old. Even when she took on her late 80’s, she did her best to give family members a taste of her village back in the Hunan province of China. Her go-to ingredients typically starred some smoked protein, multi colored chilies and soy sauce marinated beans for a umami finish. I remember those good old days when visits to her apartment always began with a table full of her cooking. It wasn’t until I was a little older that I realized that there was a theme besides love to her culinary spread. Turns out she always tried to feed us Chinese New Year dishes. Like Turkey is to Thanksgiving and chocolate to Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year’s also has its unique food offerings specific to each province and family. In Grandma’s village, the celebratory food of choice was always smoked meats, be it fish or pork, steamed whole fish, and or roasted pig. Turns out, even when my parents were in their teens, smoked meats would take days to prepare and preparations would have to begin months before because of the weather requirements of the curing process. As a result, these dishes were only eaten to welcome the New Year. Mother and Uncle always spoke fondly of Grandma’s home-smoked fare. Growing up during war times, New Year was the one time people allowed themselves to forget how bad things were for the country and for their own torn families. And the only way to do that correctly in Chinese culture is through food. Mother says in her childhood, New Years Day always held the most delectable foods. Scarce things like candies and smoked meats would appear on that day and excite all the kids in the family.
Fast forward to half a century later to more abundant days in the capital of California, Grandma continued to celebrate family gatherings like she would have New Years day in decades past. When she realized smoking meat on the balcony was a fire hazard, she took to buying smoked meats from Chinese markets and used other ingredients to make the most of it. Living in separate states meant our visits were less often than ideal. That meant every visit was filled with Chinese New Year fare, the best she could offer in her mind to express her joy at seeing us. I don’t remember Grandma’s version very well since the last time I ate it was nearly 15 years ago. Only the name strikes a bell in my memories. Uncle John’s version is a lot more familiar. Though not inherently difficult to make due to modern production capacities and conveniences, this dish represents love and tradition in mother’s immediate family.
Uncle John's Stir-fried Smoked Pork
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 to 2 teaspoons Chinese chile-garlic sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 pound smoked pork, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 large leeks, white and pale green parts only, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
- Steamed white rice, for serving
- In a small bowl, whisk the chicken broth with the soy sauce, chile-garlic sauce and cornstarch. In another bowl, toss the pork with the sesame oil.
- In a large skillet, heat the canola oil until nearly smoking. Add the pork and stir-fry over high heat until lightly charred in spots, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the leeks and stir-fry until tender and lightly browned in spots, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir the sauce, add it to the pan and cook, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom, until thickened, about 1 minute longer. Serve right away with rice.
Bamboo Leaf Pockets
While mother’s recollection of New Year’s specialty food features smoked pork, dad’s memories feature glutinous rice pockets filled with savory meats and vegetables
( or sweetened bean/fruit/nut pastes) enclosed in bamboo leaves . Dad’s beloved stuffed rice pocket is a more traditional food than smoked meat stir-fries. The rice pocket has history, folklore, and multiple variations across the continent. Though grandma had her own version, the original rice pocket is said to have been created to commemorate the death of a famous Chinese poet around 300 b.c. Folklore has it that the patriotic poet committed suicide after he was exiled by his king so that he would not have to see his beloved country conquered by another government. Inspired by his patriotism, the villagers couldn’t help but to throw the rice dumplings into the river in hopes that the fish would feast on the rice instead of his body. Though this particular item is eaten specifically during the dragon boat festival holiday around June or May, Grandma also made it for Dad and his sisters during New Years too. Her version of the pocket contained shrimp, braised pork, mushrooms and onions. A beautiful meal in one, much like a tamale, empanada or gyro wrap, grandma’s savory version covered all the major food groups- they contained a starch, protein, fat, and vegetable. Moreover, as with the smoked pork, this labor intensive pocket traditionally required much ahead of time preparation and planning. For example, the outer leaves were not available year round and had to be acquired well in advance and would have to be soaked in warm water one day before being used to wrap the other ingredients. On day two, the filling itself would have to be cooked with different spices and condiments as did the rice in two separate containers. Once all three components were ready to go, the products were assembled in a three-step process: 1) grab a leaf and line the middle of it with sticky rice, 2) place a ball of filling in the middle of the rice and fold the leaf up, 3) tie up the leaf and place the pocket in a steamer and let the flavors meld into each other.
Unfortunately, Grandma never passed down her secret rice pocket filling recipe. On the other hand, this food has withstood the test of time and is readily available in Chinese grocery stores, restaurants, and other specialty stores. Though they won’t be the same as Grandma’s, at least a semblance of Dad’s childhood will always be readily available.
*The recipe below is a alternative recipe to Grandma's savory rice pocket with similar ingredients.
Gluittonous Rice Parcels
Ingredients
- 40 large dried bamboo leaves (2 for each zongzi)
- 20 long strings (for binding leaves)
- 1 kg (2.2 Ib) long grain sticky rice
- 2 kg (4.4 Ib) pork belly, sliced into 3 cm (1") cubes
- 10 salted duck's egg yolks
- 40 small dried shiitake (black) mushrooms
- 20 dried, shelled chestnuts
- 10 spring onions, cut up into 1 cm (1/2") lengths
- 500 g (18 oz) dried radish
- 100 g (3.5 oz) very small dried shrimp
- 200 g (7 oz) raw, shelled peanuts (with skins)
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice wine
- Vegetable oil
- 5 cloves of garlic, roughly crushed
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 star anise
- 1 teaspoon five spice powder
Prepare and cook ingredients
- Soak rice in water for three hours, drain.
- Stir-fry pork for a few minutes. Add chestnuts, soy sauce, rice wine, ground pepper, 1 teaspoon of sugar, star anise and five spice powder, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Remove pork and chestnuts from liquid and set aside.
- Boil peanuts until tender (30 minutes to 1 hour).
- Soak mushrooms until soft. Clean and trim stalks. Cut into 2 or 3 pieces. Stir-fry with a little liquid from pork stew.
- Halve duck egg yolks.
- Chop up dried radish finely and stir-fry with 1/2 teaspoon sugar and garlic.
- Stir-fry spring onions until fragrant.
- Stir-fry shrimp for a few minutes.
- To a large wok or bowl, add rice, peanuts, radish, shrimp, spring onions, a little liquid from the stew mixture and 2 tablespoons of oil. Mix well.
- Soak bamboo leaves in warm water for 5 minutes to tenderize, before washing thoroughly in cold water.
- Wet strings to make them more pliable.
- Take 2 leaves with leaf stem or spine facing out. Overlap them lengthwise in inverse directions (pointed end of one leaf facing the rounded end of the other).
- With both hands hold leaves about 2/3rd of the way along their length. At that point bend them so that they are parallel lengthwise and also overlap. This should produce a leaf pouch that you cup firmly in one hand.
- Add a small amount of rice mixture, compressing with a spoon.
- Add 1 piece each of pork, chestnut, mushroom, duck egg yoke.
- Add more rice until you have nearly a full pouch. Compress firmly with a spoon.
- Fold leaves over the open top of pocket, then around to side until pocket is firmly wrapped. pocket should be pyramid shaped with sharp edges and pointed ends. Trim off any excess leaf with scissors.
- Tie up pocket tightly just like shoes laces with a double knot. Normally they are tied to a bunch of pocket.
- *Steam for 1 hour, unwrap and serve.