Beggar's Chicken, a Chinese Delicacy

Long back I read about a Chinese delicacy known as "Beggar's Chicken" and was waiting for an opportunity to try my hands on it. It is the Chinese version of the roasted chicken dating back to the Qing dynasty. The process involves wrapping a whole spiced chicken in lotus leaves, then encasing it in mud and roasted in open fire. When fully cooked, the mud forms a hard shell around the chicken and cracked open before revealing the deliciously roasted chicken inside.

As per the legend, a beggar in Zhejiang province stole a chicken from a village, and buried it in mud. He retrieved the mud covered chicken latter, and instead of cleaning the mud he just threw it in an open fire. This resulted in hardening the muddy shell around the chicken with a deliciously roasted bird inside. He then started selling chickens cooked this way and made a fortune for himself, also creating a Chinese culinary tradition known as "Beggar's Chicken".

Five-Spice is one of the main ingredients in making Beggar's Chicken. It is a roasted, powdered blend of spices like Cinnamon, Fennel seeds, Clove, Star Anise and Sichuan Pepper. It is mainly used in Chinese cooking as well in most of the Asian countries. All these spices are growing in our area too. Though I got all raw spices, I could get Sichuan pepper in powdered form only.

Thanks to lmnopeas for her instructable on "Chinese Five Spice Powder" at: http://www.instructables.com/id/Chinese-Five-Spice-Powder/

I followed her instructable in making the Five-spice powder for the Beggar's Chicken recipe.

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Chinese Chili Tofu

NOTE: Please refer to the image above to have an idea about most of the ingredients:

Main Ingredient:
250 Grams Firm Plain (unflavored) Tofu. NOTE: If you want to try an Indian Fusion version, replace this with Paneer(Cottage Cheese)

For Batter 

4-5 tbsp cornflour 4-5 tbsp while flour  2 tsp soy sauce pinch of baking powder salt to taste 6 tbsp water

Other Ingredients:

Ginger Root about 1 inch 8-10 Garlic clove (if small) 4-5 (if large) 6-8 spring onions (mine were really small, see the picture) (Keep their greens separate for garnishing) 4-5 Green Chilies 1 Medium Size Green Bell Pepper 1 Medium Size Red Bell Pepper (OPTIONAL, replace with green) 1 Medium Size Yellow Bell Pepper (OPTIONAL, replace with green) 1 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp sugar 2 tbsp cornflour 1 tsp oil Salt to taste MSG or Ajinomoto OPTIONAL (Some studies suggest that they are unhealthy, but I think eating occasionally is ok, take your call) Red Chili Sauce OPTIONAL (if you want to make it hot)

Kitchen Tools:

Deep frying pan, Spatula with holes Kitchen Absorbent Paper A large bowl for batter A handy kitchen grater tool. A small bowl for cornflour mix.

Having yellow and red bell pepper will add natural color to our food, but if you don't have them, just use green ones.  It is absolutely Ok to increase of decrease some ingredients in this recipe, believe me it will taste just fine. Just cook it with love :)

Lets jump into the kitchen :)

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Chinese Dumplings Two Ways With Sichuan Dipping Sauce

We're going to show you how to make Chinese Dumplings two ways. The first is boiled dumplings which ,in this case, are served with Sichuan Dipping Sauce. The second is pan seared style which are usually served plain or with a little light soy dressing.

My girlfriend is Chinese and since we've been dating I have learned many Chinese recipes from her. This is one of the more fun ones to make, especially with a group of friends and family. 

This one is easy...

Dough: 5 lbs Flour 3 Cups water

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Fried Chinese Crab Balls

These little guys make awesome hors d'oeuvre, as well as elegant entrées. Here I've made crab, shrimp, and lobster balls, and I'll show you how to do it!Ingredients:
1 pound of Sea-Meat. (Crab, Shrimp, Lobster, etc)
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon oil (or bacon fat)
1 teaspoon of finely ground salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 egg white, lightly beaten
A few dashes of white pepper powder
Wonton skins

Tools:
Wok / deep fryer
measuring cups
bowl and whisk
knife and cutting board
small food processor

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Chinese Five Spice Powder

Chinese five spice is a popular blend of five spices used in Chinese cuisine and other asian cooking . It's one of the most interesting spice blends on the market because it represents a wide range of flavors from sweet, salty and bitter to pungent & sour. Rumor has it that the Chinese were trying to create a "miracle powder" that was representative of all the five elements : wood, fire, earth, metal & water. 

While no one knows the exact origin of the powder, it really adds a magnificent flavor to fatty meats and stews. It also makes for a kick-ass rub. It's really versatile and can be used not only in cooking but also adds a unique flavor to baked goods. 

Sichuan Peppercorns are a really neat ingredient. They cause a mild tingling numbing sensation in your mouth. They were banned from being imported from the U.S. from 1968-2005, because they were believed to be capable of carrying a citrus canker, harmful to the fruit of citrus tress & foliage. Don't worry through, there was never any concern of harm through human consumption. 

Chinese Five Spice Powder

2 tbsp Ground Saigon Cinnamon

2 tbsp Star Anise

2 tbsp Sichuan Peppercorns

2tbsp Cloves

2 tbsp Fennel

Tools: 

Spice Grinder

Cast Iron Skillet

Put all the spices in a cast iron skillet except for the cinnamon and lightly toast for 2-3 minutes over low to medium low heat. The spices are ready when they become really fragrant. Remove from the heat and place in a spice grinder. Grind the spices until you achieve a fine texture.

Place the spice powder into an air tight container. The powder is best when used within the first 6 months. 

Enjoy! 

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slow-cooked crispy chinese pork belly

I love pork belly. It's a great cut of meat with lots of flavour and is also one of the cheapest you can get.  I love it so much we're even serving it at my upcoming wedding. This recipe uses Chinese flavours to complement the richness of the meat and is great served with simple stir-fried greens and some steamed rice. There are no complicated techniques here or hard to find ingredients but you do need the time to allow the marinade to work and for the pork to slow cook.

Don't worry if you end up with some left over meat. Why not make your own egg-fried rice and add in the left over meat shredded.

If you like this recipe don't forget to stop by my blog for more food ideas.  http://eating-properly.blogspot.co.uk/

1kg (approx) bone-in pork belly with the skin scored (you can use boned instead if you prefer)
1 onion cut into large slices
2 carrots peeled and cut into 2 or 3 pieces
2 sticks of celery cut into 2 or 3 large pieces
100/200ml cold water depending on method

Marinade:
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp chinese 5 spice powder
3 cloves garlic, finely minced/grated
thumb sized piece fresh, peeled ginger minced/grated
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 stick lemongrass
2 dried red chillies, finely chopped

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