Regular readers of this blog will know that I recently returned to the UK after living in China for almost three years. As I hope this blog shows, during my time in China I developed a passion for Chinese food, a passion which I am now intent on sharing. Thus, I hereby present my London Chinatown Food Tour!

The tour is designed as a practical introduction to Chinese cuisine and Chinese cooking, and is particularly suited to people with little previous knowledge/experience of Chinese food but who want to learn more. The tour aims to dispel the myth that all Chinese food is greasy and unpalatable, and instead showcase the many diverse and delicious foods that China has to offer.

During the tour, participants will learn about the main regional differences in Chinese cuisine, the essential items for your cupboard if you want to cook Chinese food at home, and tips on buying unfamiliar ingredients such as tofu and Chinese fruit and vegetables. There will also be the optional extra of going for a light lunch/snack after the tour at the excellent Chinatown eatery The Baozi Inn.

The Chinatown Food Tour will be on every 2nd Saturday of the month, starting in February 2011. Please email jessielevene@gmail.com to reserve your place.

Thanks!

LONDON CHINATOWN FOOD TOURS
£8 full price / £5 concessions
Every 2nd Saturday of the month, starting at 2pm
Tour lasts approximately 1 and ½ hours
Minimum number of people in tour group: 5, maximum: 12

As I wrote about some months ago, while I was in Ben Tre province in February, I went on a bike ride. This was no ordinary bike ride however, but one on which I not only got to see the cutest baby in the whole wide world, but also...

Yes, that's right - chocolate! Little did I know, but Vietnam is actually one of the world's largest producers of cacao, almost all of which they export. I doubt that this is particularly high quality cacao, but at the time, I really didn't care - I was just beside myself with excitement at actually seeing chocolate in its rawest form. Above are the beans, spread over bamboo colanders to dry in the sun by the side of the road - this method of drying is also very commonly used in China, where everything from soy beans to sesame seeds are dried in this way.

And here is an individual bean in the palm of my hand. In fact, the chocolate bean itself is inside another thin layer of skin that is discarded before use - in the photo above you can see the bean with the skin sill on, split almost in half.

And of course I had a taste. Bitter, gritty and somewhat akin to coffee beans, I wouldn't like to eat chocolate in this form everyday, but it was definitely a memorable experience. For me though, the real icing on the cake was the sheer beauty of the cacao pods, just harvested from the trees - a positive rainbow of yellow, orange and pink.

And finally, at the beginning of this post you will find (or may have already found) a very short audio postcard that I recorded very close to where these photographs were taken. Please excuse the awful sound quality!

Nothing to do with China, or even Asia for that matter, but last week I had the privilege of visiting the workshop of The Flour Station, a London baker of artisan breads, and I simply must post a few photos. I was very kindly shown around the workshop (situated, rather incongruously, on an industrial estate in Hendon), by the company's Trading Director, Sophie Taylor, who patiently answered all of my (many) questions. I learned a lot about flour, sourdough, and baking in that whirlwind hour in the workshop, but what with being somewhat preoccupied by the all the mouthwatering sights around me, neglected to make any notes, and so I'm afraid my explanations to these pictures will be a bit basic.

These are, I think, the uncooked Multigrain Baguettes.

This (I know) is the Rosemary and Sea Salt Focaccia, which had just come out of the oven.

And these are the Ciabatta loaves coming out of the state-of-the-art (and extremely expensive) ovens. I was fascinated to learn that there are no guides for the length of time the bread is baked - the time can vary depending on the weather, amount of yeast and so on, and so the bakers must have the necessary experience and intuition to simply 'know' when a loaf is properly cooked.

And finally, the three photos above are of a new variety of bread, Sundried Tomato, one of which I ended up taking home, in last three stages of their making. The first photo is of the loaves laid out on a thick fabric, after they have had their second proving. Next, they are given a quick (and very visually pleasing) dusting of flour (see photo two), and finally is gently lifted off the fabric (photo three) and laid out on the boards that will take them into the oven.

Thanks to Sophie and everyone at the Flour Station for tolerating my incessant questions and getting in way!

This is the fifth and final installment of my monthly column in Chengdoo Citylife Magazine, 'Your Chuancai Cupboard'. This month: Vinegar.

Vinegar, 醋， is among the most important condiments in Chinese cooking. One of the so-called ‘Seven Essentials’ of the traditional Chinese kitchen (along with firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce and tea), vinegar’s importance in Chinese culture even extends to the language – in Mandarin, ‘to eat vinegar’， 吃醋， means to be jealous of somebody or something.

Vinegar is said to have been invented in China during the Xia Dynasty in around 2000 BC, and has been commercially produced from as early as the 1st century AD. It is particularly prized for its sourness (one of the four essential tastes, along with salty, sweet and bitter), and it is also widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for the treatment of all manner of ailments, from high blood pressure to athlete’s foot; TCM practitioners use vinegar to promote warm (yang) energy, and it is said to be particularly effectively when eaten in autumn.

Though commonly referred to as rice vinegar, Chinese vinegars are in fact usually made from a combination of ingredients that often includes rice (both white and black), but may also utilize wheat, millet, and sorghum. The color of Chinese vinegars ranges widely, from clear to inky black, and so too does the taste, from strongly acidic to smoky and mild.

Sichuan is one of China’s four most famous producers of vinegar; the other three are Zhejiang, Shanxi, and Fujian. Sichuan’s capital of vinegar production is Langzhong, in the northeast of the province, where, unique among Chinese vinegars, bran is the primary ingredient.

Baoning vinegar is the most famous and widely used brand made in Langzhong, but others do exist – I particularly like that made by the Langzhou 朗州 company, which is sweeter than the Baoning variety. At the Langzhou Vinegar Company, the traditional method of production is still in use, and goes as follows.

First, rice and dried corn kernels are steamed, and then are added to a mixture of bran and over 60 traditional Chinese medicines and herbs. This mixture is then left to ferment in sealed containers for up to 60 days, then is mixed with spring water and seeped for 2 to 3 days. Finally, the liquid is strained, boiled, bottled and is thus ready for use.

Though not as commonly used in Sichuan’s cuisine as in other parts of China, vinegar is nonetheless an indispensable part of the Sichuanese kitchen. Black vinegar is more commonly used than white vinegar, but the latter does feature particularly in cold dishes. Black vinegar can be bought at dried good stalls at markets, while supermarkets usually stock a wide variety of many different types. Outside of China, Chinkiang vinegar, widely available in Oriental supermarkets, is an acceptable substitute.

Perhaps the most famous Sichuanese dish that uses vinegar is the ridiculously easy Tiger-Skin Peppers， 虎皮请教， pictured above. Below is a recipe I’ve adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop’s Sichuan Cookery; the size of green pepper you use for this dish can vary – if you like it spicy, go for the long, thin ones; if not, go for a larger variety.

Tiger-Skin Peppers 虎皮请教

4 green peppers (capsicum)
Cooking oil
1-2 tablespoons black vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt to taste

1. If using large green peppers, quarter and discard the seeds and stems. If using the small kind, just squash slightly with the side of your cleaver. Mix the sugar and salt into the vinegar until they are completely dissolved.
2. Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok until smoking, and then add the peppers. Stir-fry over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes, or until the peppers are tender and their skins blistered and streaky.
3. Finally, remove the peppers to a serving dish, drizzle with the vinegar mixture and serve.

Here is the fourth installment of my monthly column in Chengdoo Citylife Magazine, 'Your Chuancai Cupboard'. This month: Ya Cai.

Ya cai, is one of Sichuan’s most famous and distinctive food products. Made from the stems of a variety of mustard green, it’s fragrant and distinctive flavor is found in many of the regions dishes. Said to have been invented in the early 19th century, ya cai is just one of the myriad different preserved vegetables used in Sichuan’s cuisine, including zha cai, da tou cai ('big head vegetable')and many other regional varieties.

Ya cai’s primary ingredient is jie mo cai, a type of mustard green native to Southeast Sichuan. Around 4-5 months after being planted, the mustard green plants are harvested in the 9th lunar month. The leaves are then discarded, the stems sliced into even strips, and the strips hung out on poles to dry.

The making of ya cai is unusual among Sichuanese ingredients, in that while doubanjiang (chilli bean paste) and dou chi (fermented black beans) only require one fermentation stage, ya cai demands two. Once sufficiently dry, the mustard green stems are mixed with salt and left to ferment in sealed containers for 3 to 6 months – small ceramic pots called tu tan are traditionally used. This is the first of the two fermentation stages.

Once the first stage is complete, the mustard green stems are boiled with brown sugar for 8 to 9 hours, and are hung up to dry out once more. Now, star anise, Sichuan pepper, and other spices are added, and again, the mustard green stems are left to ferment in sealed containers for another 3 to 6 months.

In Chengdu’s markets you can sometimes find un-cut ya cai – long, straggly strips of green-brown vegetable, bought by weight – but mostly ya cai is bought already chopped up in small, sealed packages. When buying ya cai make sure to buy a brand based in Yibin, the city about 250km southeast of Chengdu which is the most celebrated producer of this ingredient. Once opened, you should store ya cai in a sealed container in a cool, dry place.

Though a few different brands exist, by far the most common is Yibin’s Sui Mi Ya Cai Company, who apparently started the practice of chopping up ya cai, hence the name – sui mi means crushed rice, referring to the appearance of the company’s bitty, pre-cut ya cai.

Ya cai is often mixed with pork for the stuffing of baozi, and is also a vital ingredient in Yibin’s signature dish, ran mian (‘burning noodles’). But it is perhaps most famously used in one of Sichuan’s most popular vegetable dishes, Dry-Fried Green beans. I’ve eaten countless different versions of this dish, but this one is my favorite.

Dry-fried Green Beans

250g green beans
2 tablespoons ya cai
1 tablespoon fermented black beans (dou chi), rinsed and drained
5 dried chillies, halved and seeds discarded
1 teaspoon Sichuan pepper (huajiao)
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced, and the same amount of ginger, thinly sliced
3 spring onions, cut into 3cm lengths
50g minced pork (optional)
Cooking oil
Salt to taste

1. Top and tail the green beans, and cut into 5cm lengths.
2. Heat your wok, and add about a tablespoon of cooking oil. Once hot, add the pork and stir-fry for a few minutes until cooked through, and then set aside.
3. Add a tablespoon of oil to the wok, and once hot add the beans, stir-fry for a couple of minutes, and then add another 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Stir-fry for another 3-5 minutes, or until the beans are tender. Remove from the wok and set aside.
4. Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok, and once hot add the garlic and ginger slices. Stir-fry on a moderate heat for about 30 seconds, and then add the chilies and Sichuan pepper. Stir-fry for another 30 seconds, taking care not to burn the spices, and now add the ya cai and dou chi and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.
5. Finally, add the spring onions (and the pork, if using), and return the beans to the wok. Stir-fry for another minute or so, add salt to taste, remove to a serving dish and serve.