Szechuan Ma La Poached Fish Soup...

I am an absolute fan of this soup... Ma la or Ma lat means numb spicy which is exactly what this Szechuan-style evokes on your taste buds. This soup served at restaurants is filled to the brim with red chilis in a pool of red oil and looks scorching hot, but in fact it's tamer than appearance. Coupled with the addictive slightly lemony taste and numb tingling sensation left on your tongue from the Szechuan peppercorns, it makes for a bold, rich and complex eating experience. I sweat and my sinuses act up but it's so worth it! The white fish poached in the soup, is oh so tender and soft. So many I know who don't like fish, love this soup and actually go and seek it out in restaurants! I tone the spiciness waaaay down to serve to my family and when I teach it in my Chinese class. And the results are divine indeed!

We made fish three ways in my recent Chinese cooking class. Scroll down for more...

My version... Homestyle!

What you would get at the restaurant. Ouchy!

Szechuan Spicy Ma La Fish Casserole
Makes 4 Servings

1 lb. white firm basa fish fillet, frozen and thawed, cut into large bite size pieces. (You can use rockfish, catfish or tilapia)

Note: Remove as much water as possible before marinating.

Fish Marinade:
1 egg white, reserve egg yolk (see tip below for pan-fried fish)
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsp. rice wine
1 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. Szechuan hot bean sauce or Toban Djan (Chili bean sauce)
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 green onion, cut into 1/2″ pieces
1/2 Tbsp. Szechuan peppercorns
10 Szechuan dried red chili peppers
1 Tbsp. rice wine
2 tsp. soy sauce
2 cups chicken stock or 2 cups water with 1 Tbsp. chicken bouillon seasoning
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 cup nappa cabbage, sliced
1 package of thin bean thread (use 2 to 4 bundles)
Green onion, sliced for garnish

Cut fish into 2″ pieces. Mix Fish Marinade ingredients and toss well with fish pieces. Set aside to marinade for 20 minutes.

Marinating the fish with egg white gives it a velvety, slippery smooth texture.

 
Place celery and nappa cabbage in a clay casserole. Pull apart bean thread bundles and place on top evenly, then lay the marinated fish over.

Heat oil until medium-hot in a skillet. Add chili bean sauce and stir until fragrant. Add garlic, green onions, Szechuan peppercorns, and dried chili peppers. Cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes, being careful not to burn the peppercorns or chili peppers. Add rice wine and soy sauce and stir another minute. Add stock and bring to a boil. Pour soup on top of fish. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes until fish is cooked through. Sprinkle with sliced green onions.

This was the ma la fish skillet I made with my seniors in the Monday's Chinese cooking class. They wanted spicy, so I gave them spicy.... but much, much tamer and they loved it!

Easy Pan-Fried Fish: With 1 lb. bite-size fish pieces, marinate with the reserved egg yolk, 1/8 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. cooking wine and 1 Tbsp. cornstarch. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a fry pan. Pan-fry both sides until cooked, golden and slightly crispy. 

I used sole fillets to show my class that other kinds of fish work. Firm is best as flaky fish do not hold up well for pan-frying. Perfect paired with Japanese mayonnaise.

We made fish three ways :D. The third dish is Steamed Fish Fillets with Ginger and Green Onions. Cantonese cuisine is not complete without a dish of steamed fish, traditionally prepared whole and served in an oval dish. Using frozen fish fillets is a convenient option, just as delicious, and a cinch to prepare with no fish skin or bones to contend with at the table!

Steamed Fish Fillets with Ginger and Green Onions

Let's Eat!!!

Full Recipe:

Szechuan Spicy Ma La Fish Casserole
Makes 4 Servings

1 lb. white firm basa fish fillet, frozen and thawed, cut into large bite size pieces.
Note: Remove as much water as possible before marinating.

Fish Marinade:
1 egg white, reserve egg yolk (see tip below for pan-fried fish)
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsp. rice wine
1 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. Szechuan hot bean sauce or Toban Djan sauce
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 green onion, cut into 1/2″ pieces
1/2 Tbsp. Szechuan peppercorns
10 Szechuan dried red chili peppers
1 Tbsp. rice wine
2 tsp. soy sauce
2 cups chicken stock or 2 cups water with 1 Tbsp. chicken bouillon seasoning
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 cup nappa cabbage, sliced
1 package of thin bean thread (use 2 to 4 bundles)
Green onion, sliced for garnish

Cut fish into 2″ pieces. Mix Fish Marinade ingredients and toss well with fish pieces. Set aside to marinade for 20 minutes.

Place celery and nappa cabbage in a clay casserole. Pull apart bean thread bundle and place on top evenly, then lay the marinated fish over.

Heat oil until medium-hot in a skillet. Add chili bean sauce and stir until fragrant. Add garlic, green onions, Szechuan peppercorns, and dried chili peppers. Cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes, being careful not to burn the peppercorns or chili peppers. Add rice wine and soy sauce and stir another minute. Add stock and bring to a boil. Pour soup on top of fish. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes until fish is cooked through. Sprinkle with sliced green onions.

Not-So-Scary Monster Cupcakes... With Spinach

Halloween is an implied occasion to indulge on the sweets, but it doesn't have to be all scary to us parents. Balance the baked homemade goodies to celebrate with some healthy and some junkie- we feel better about what we are serving and the kids won't know the difference. I discovered these great delicious bright green monster cupcakes that gets it's green from..... spinach! That's right, no dye... there's a lot of it and you can't taste it. Zero. Nada... How brilliant is that? Conducting a healthier Halloween baking session with grades 1s to 3s at Woburn Junior Public School on Halloween Day and I wanted to make sure the recipe I found on Veggie Desserts delivers on that can't-detect-the-veggie-goodness promise! Tested it over the weekend, reducing the sugar in the base as we know those cupcakes will be avalanche-laden with all the sugary stuff. Results-- ?

A cupcake admiring student at Woburn :D

The inspiration recipe found on Veggie Desserts.

Green Monster Cupcakes (adapted by Veggie Desserts.co.uk)
Makes 12 cupcakes

142 g packaged baby spinach (use up to 200 g if you wish, with no flavour detection)
4 Tbsp, milk
2/3 cup (1-1/4 sticks) butter (at room temperature)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla essence
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 170C/340F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. 

Boil a small pot of water. Blanch the spinach for 20 seconds. Refresh by running the spinach under cold water to cool, then drain, squeeze out any excess moisture and chop up finely. 

Add the spinach and milk to a tall container, then puree until smooth with a hand blender. 

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the vanilla and pureed spinach. 

Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and stir gently to combine. 

Fill the muffin cups ¾ full with the batter and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled decorate as desired.

My son commented that it looks like I am baking up guacamole cups... lol

 My family approves.... Sebastien guessed there was spinach in it but can't taste it.

They liked it so much, I plan to make them occasionally to pack for their school snack.

Moo-ving over to Woburn Junior Public School to start my Healthier Halloween session.

Part healthy. Part junkie.

We also got Oreo Spiders, Ghoulish Apple Mouths, Witch Broomsticks and Banana Ghosts.

In session with these awesome grades 1 to 3.

BOO!

I prepared the spinach mixture ahead of time before class and added it in the batter with the students. They had zero idea.... The guesses when I asked what they thought was inside after I said it was not food colouring.... cucumbers, broccoli, avocado.... lastly they guessed spinach, and was super astonished to learn that what they were gobbling contained the healthy leafy green. Haha!! Love it! :D

Happy Decorating!

From Ours to Yours... I hope you all had a ghoulish Halloween! 

Full Recipe:

Green Monster Cupcakes (adapted by Veggie Desserts.co.uk)
Makes 12 cupcakes

200 g fresh spinach
4 Tbsp, milk
2/3 cup (1-1/4 sticks) butter (at room temperature)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla essence
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 170C/340F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.

Boil a small pot of water. Blanch the spinach for 20 seconds. Refresh by running the spinach under cold water to cool, then drain, squeeze out any excess moisture and chop up finely.

Add the spinach and milk to a tall container, then puree until smooth with a hand blender.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the vanilla and pureed spinach.

Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and stir gently to combine.

Fill the muffin cups ¾ full with the batter and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled decorate as desired.

Stir-Fried Spicy Fish-Fragrant Chicken and Eggplant...

I'll start off by saying there is absolutely zero fish in this over-the-top delicious spicy chicken and eggplant recipe, but what does it mean by fish-fragrant? The flavour of Chinese Chinkiang black vinegar combined with chili bean sauce, soy sauce, onions, garlic and ginger imparts a spicy, sweet slightly sour fish fragrance- a popular taste profile of the Szechuan region. Make this Chinese restaurant favourite at home easily with the right ingredients and a simple tip on cooking the eggplants without all that greasy oil. My family and I love it, and I have this inkling it will also stir up the savoury glands in yours too :D. 

Chinese eggplants are thin-skinned, less bitter and milder than American eggplants.

Stir-Fried Spicy Fish-Fragrant Chicken and Eggplant 
Serves 4 to 6 

1-1/2 lbs. chicken thighs, cut into strips 
¼ tsp. salt 
A few dashes of ground white pepper 
1 Tbsp. cornstarch 
1/3 cup Chinese cooking wine, divided 
2 green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces 
Cooking oil (sunflower, safflower or grapeseed) 
4 long Chinese eggplants, cut into 2-inch batons 
4 garlic cloves, chopped 
1 to 2 Tbsp. Toban Djan (chili bean sauce)- I use Lee Kum Kee 
3/4 cup water 
2 Tbsp. soy sauce 
1 to 2 Tbsp. Chinkiang black vinegar or/ substitute with a tart dark balsamic vinegar  
Chopped green onions and/or cilantro for garnish 

Marinate the chicken mixed in salt, pepper and cornstarch for an hour if possible.

Heat the skillet/wok on medium-high heat. Add 1 Tbsp. oil and then green onions. Let sizzle for a minute, then add chicken strips. Stir-fry for one minute, then drizzle 2 Tbsp. Chinese cooking wine and cook for two minutes more. Remove onto a plate and set aside.

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in the pan over medium heat. Add eggplants and stir-fry occasionally until browned, then cook, stirring for five minutes until softened. NOTE: Add drops of water every minute to help steam and soften the eggplants. Transfer to the serving plate and set aside. 

Place the skillet back on high heat and add 1 tsp. oil, chili bean sauce, ½ chopped garlic and let sizzle for 30 seconds. Then add ¼ cup cooking wine, water, soy sauce, and black vinegar. Let it come to a boil, then return the eggplant, followed by the chicken and stir-fry with remaining garlic two minutes more. Pour onto serving plate. Garnish with green onions/cilantro.

Cooking with my seniors' students over in Chinatown today! Two skillets going for two Szechuan flavour profiles-- one with chili garlic sauce, and the other one with Toban Djan chili bean sauce- the underlying spiciness in my fish-fragrant version.

Did you know there are officially 26 Szechuanese spicy profile combinations?

Serving delicious chicken and eggplant over steamed rice...

Or try something different... like serve your Chinese dishes alongside Steamed Rice Rolls dressed with soy sauce.

Rounding the meal out with a side of stir-fried snow peas with garlic.

And then countering the spicy with some sweet, giving an early nod to Halloween with this classic Taro Coconut Tapioca Soup Dessert as the second recipe in my morning's Chinese cooking class. Nummy...

Taro Coconut Tapioca Soup Dessert

Full Recipe:

Stir-Fried Spicy Fish-Fragrant Chicken and Eggplant 

Serves 4 to 6

1-1/2 lbs. chicken thighs, cut into strips
¼ tsp. salt
A few dashes of ground white pepper
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/3 cup Chinese cooking wine, divided
2 green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
Cooking oil (sunflower, safflower or grapeseed)
4 long Chinese eggplants, cut into 2-inch batons
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 to 2 Tbsp. Toban Djan (chili bean sauce)- I use Lee Kum Kee
3/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 to 2 Tbsp. Chinkiang black vinegar or/ substitute with a tart dark balsamic vinegar

Chopped green onions and/or cilantro for garnish

Marinate the chicken mixed in salt, pepper and cornstarch for an hour if possible.

Heat the skillet/wok on medium-high heat. Add 1 Tbsp. oil and then green onions. Let sizzle for a minute, then add chicken strips. Stir-fry for one minute, then drizzle 2 Tbsp. Chinese cooking wine and cook for two minutes more. Remove onto a plate and set aside.

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in the pan over medium heat. Add eggplants and stir-fry occasionally until browned, then cook, stirring for five minutes until softened. NOTE: Add drops of water every minute to help steam and soften the eggplants. Transfer to the serving plate and set aside.

Place the skillet back on high heat and add 1 tsp. oil, chili bean sauce, ½ chopped garlic and let sizzle for 30 seconds. Then add ¼ cup cooking wine, water, soy sauce, and black vinegar. Let it come to a boil, then return the eggplant, followed by the chicken and stir-fry with remaining garlic two minutes more. Pour onto serving plate. Garnish with green onions/cilantro.

Wontons and Sui Gow Dumplings...

I can't even begin telling you how much I love wonton noodle soup. It has all the elements of heaven in a bowl- my ultimate favourite and nostalgic comfort food! The intoxicating aroma and flavour from the love poured into making the finest soup, the gorgeous pillowy morsels of savoury shrimp, pork and chives and the chewy strands and tangles of long noodles. The most fondest memories as a child was sitting around the kitchen table with my family preparing them together. Mom was always the one cooking that mouth-watering homemade broth (see below for a pork and chicken bone broth recipe) and dad in charge of compiling the filling. My brother, sister and I would sit there eagerly with wonton skin in hand and a spoonful of filling in the other, and go as fast as our little fingers could wrap them. Sigh... those were the days... However, in this household so far we've had more than our share of wontons go through the kitchen, and it has become a favourite mainstay with my kids too. One that hopefully when they are old enough to help me out, that they too will have fond nostalgic thoughts when they're all grown up and think back about our time together bonding over wontons... And secondly, so blessed I get to teach it outside too!!

There are two kinds I often make-- wontons that is wrapped smaller with pork, shrimps, black mushroom fungus and chives, and the other is its big heartier cousin shrimp dumplings, called "sui gow" in Cantonese (水饺). These are large boiled Chinese soup dumplings that literally translates to "water dumplings", made out of shrimps- chopped and minced, pork, black mushroom fungus and bamboo shoots. So which one do I make in my cooking class? Why choose, when we can make both :D

Side Note: As one of the contributing authors to a global cookbook collaboration The Taste of The Place, I am super excited to share with you my stories and favourite recipes in the China chapter- and of course wontons, my favourite all-time foods is one of the four recipes. 

Wonton Soup in The Taste of The Place

Here are the dibs to making a delicious Pork and Chicken Bones Broth (my mother taught me to cook both kinds of bones together for a harmonious savoury and sweet broth):

Bring a pot of water to a boil; add a teaspoon of salt and two slices of ginger. Add pork neck bones (this premium cut is famously used in Korean Spicy Pork Bone Soup Gamjatang for its hearty meat). Bring the water back to a boil for two to three minutes, then drain it over a strainer. Rinse the bones under cold running water and wash between the crevices to rid gelatinous fat and any grit. Discard the ginger slices. Rinse the pot, add water and bring it back to a boil with the blanched bones. Add the chicken carcass or bones (trimming extra fat and skin). Cover and reduce heat to medium-low to cook for two hours. Skim the layer of fat and scum that builds up on the surface periodically to achieve a clean broth. To season the soup without adding more salt, I usually use salted turnip slices. They can be found in the preserved vegetable aisle in Asian supermarkets. One large piece sliced into thin strips adds a nice savoury salty flavour and texture to the broth when added at the last 20 minutes of cooking.

Often, I top a meaty bone along with my noodle soup and enjoy it dipped with soy sauce and sesame oil. If there are leftovers, the bones would continue to flavour the soup making it even more tastier the next day. Flavour on flavour!

Salted turnip slices perfectly seasons the soup.

Certainly in my element with wontons... feeling like a champ right here lol!

At my TDSB Learn4Life Chinese Cooking Program

Two mixtures ready to wrap and seal.

(L) Sui Gow Dumplings and Pork and (R) Shrimp Chives Wontons 

The key to sui gow dumplings is the springy bounce with each bite. To do this, you would mix minced shrimp (minced finely with a knife until close to a paste) to the pork and mix well with a pair of chopsticks, raking the meat mixture back and forth for several minutes to create a sticky blended mixture. Scroll below for the full recipe and see this Post for more.

Wontons in the making.... Hung Wang is my favourite brand of wrappers and noodles. Full recipe below.

I am so lucky under TDSB Learn4Life to work with these AmaZing seniors in a Chinatown community centre every week to create all sorts of Chinese savouries! Especially those foods I loved since childhood. Always ecstatic when I hear how they made their own versions, or shared my recipes with their friends... Music to my ears and heart!

The gorgeous wontons and water dumplings made by the collaboration of my very hands-on students! 

Sui Gow dumplings coming to a floating boil and baby bak choy added to the soup for a bit of veggies.

This is also a great recipe for your kids to help with the dumpling wrapping and build on their finger dexterity. My kids love helping me and they feel extra special when they boast during dinner how they prepared our meal together :).

My youngest insisted on helping! :D

Wontons and water dumplings are made regularly in my kitchen. Making a full batch to eat some fresh and freeze the rest for another family meal on a whim. See below recipes for tips on freezing.

Sui Gow dumplings with noodles in soup.

Eat the hunky pork meat off the bones too! Dip them in soy sauce with a bit of sesame oil. YUM!

Happy happy boy, enjoying the dumplings he had part making.

If you have leftover meat mixture, make them into meat patties and pan-fry in a little oil. These were from the sui gow filling from my cooking class. You can really get the springy texture (Cantonese calls it "dan ngah"-- which translates to bounce teeth)... cause yeah they were lol.

Full Recipes:

Pork and Shrimp Chive Wontons
Makes about 70 dumplings

1 lb. lean ground pork
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1 tsp. fish or chicken bouillon/seasoning powder
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. Chinese cooking wine
400 g raw shrimp, shelled, cleaned, rinsed and chopped
1/3 cup dried black mushroom fungus slice, rehydrated in water for 1 hour, drained and chopped
1 handful Chinese chives, finely chopped or 4 green onions, finely chopped
1-1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 package of wonton wrappers (I like the Hung Wang brand)

Season ground pork in a large bowl with salt, pepper, seasoning powder, soy sauce, sesame oil and cooking wine; incorporate well. Add shrimps, mushroom fungus and chives and mix well. Add cornstarch and mix again. Wrap and chill at least one hour for flavours to meld.

Assemble wontons right before cooking. Place 1 Tbsp. filling in centre of wonton wrapper. Wrap the skin upwards to encase the filling and pinch at the top to seal. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. Cook immediately and freeze the remainder (see tip). Do not refrigerate or they will get moist and stick to the plate.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Carefully add the wontons and cook for three to four minutes or until all the wontons are floating. Remove with a large slotted spoon or strainer.

TIP: Place a plastic wrap on the bottom of a Tupperware or reusable plastic container. Lay 

the wontons in a single layer. Then, cover with plastic wrap to add a second layer. Place another plastic wrap before closing with lid. Can be frozen up to two months if properly sealed.


Sui Gow Dumplings
Makes about 70 dumplings

1 lb. lean ground pork
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1 tsp. fish or chicken seasoning powder
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. cooking wine
1-1/2 packages of 400 g raw shrimp, shelled, cleaned, rinsed and patted dry
1/3 cup dried black mushroom fungus slice, rehydrated in water for 1 hour, drained and chopped
1/2 cup of chopped bamboo shoots
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 package of wonton wrappers (I like the Hung Wang brand)

Season ground pork in a large bowl with salt, pepper, seasoning powder, soy sauce, sesame oil and cooking wine; incorporate well.

Coarsely chop the shrimps. Take half and mince well with a sharp knife. Add the minced shrimp to the pork and mix well with a pair of chopsticks, raking the meat mixture back and forth for several minutes to create a sticky blended mixture. Add the cornstarch, remaining chopped shrimps, mushroom fungus and bamboo shoots and continue to rake the mixture until well distributed. Wrap and chill at least one hour for flavours to meld.

Assemble dumplings right before cooking. Wet the top triangle of the wrapper with your finger tip dipped in water. Spoon 1-1/2 Tbsp. filling in centre of wonton wrapper. Wrap the bottom triangle upwards to encase the filling and pinch at seams to seal. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. Cook immediately and freeze the remainder (see tip). Do not refrigerate or they will get moist and stick to the plate.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Carefully add the wontons and cook for three to four minutes or until all the dumplings are floating. Remove with a large slotted spoon or strainer.

FREEZING TIP: Lay the dumplings slightly overlapping if there are many on a baking tray and freeze for 20 minutes; this will prevent sticking. Then, place a plastic wrap on the bottom of a Tupperware or reusable plastic container. Lay the dumplings in a single layer. Then, cover with plastic wrap to add a second layer. Place another plastic wrap before closing tightly with lid. Can be frozen for two months if properly sealed.