teaspoons rice wine
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 Mix the Sauce ingredients well and set aside.
2 Bring the chicken or vegetable stock or water to a boil in a pot, and add the ginger, spring onions and peppercorns. Add the Sauce and daikon slices, and stir. Lower the heat to medium and simmer, covered, for 12 minutes.
3 Add the pork, stir, cover again, and simmer for 3 more minutes, then turn off the heat completely.
4 Before serving, discard the ginger and spring onions. Transfer the soup to a soup bowl to serve at the table, or ladle individual servings into bowls.
This soup may also be prepared with beef or lamb. The best choice from the point of view of health is lamb, because lamb fat is far more digestible and actually benefits the human liver and heart, rather than clogging them up. You may also try using fresh fish fillets cut into thin strips, in which case you should reduce the final cooking time (when fish is added to the soup) to only 1 minute. Fresh chopped coriander leaves or parsley may be sprinkled onto each individual serving as a garnish.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Hot and Sour Soup
There are many ways of preparing the famous Sichuan hot and sour soup. Heavily seasoned and chock-full of highly nutritious ingredients, it is particularly popular as a winter food. The recipe given here includes various meat ingredients, but an equally tasty vegetarian version may also be prepared (see note below).
100 g (4 oz) chicken breast
30 g (1 oz) Yunnan ham or prosciutto
1 cake firm tofu
30 g (1 oz) canned or fresh bamboo shoots (see note)
1 small carrot
4 big fresh or dried black Chinese mushrooms
30 g (1 oz) wood ear mushrooms
1 liter (4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock, or plain water
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
75 g (½ cup) green peas
2 eggs, well beaten
1½ tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder
2 tablespoons cornflour mixed with
4 tablespoons cool water
1 bunch fresh coriander leaves, chopped
6 slices ginger, finely shredded
4 spring onions, chopped
1 Poach the chicken and ham in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and set aside to cool. Shred finely with fingers or a sharp knife and set aside.
2 Cut the firm tofu, bamboo shoots, and carrot, and set aside.
3 If using dried mushrooms, soak them separately in hot water for 20 minutes and drain. Diced all the mushrooms, discarding the stems, and set aside.
4 Bring the chicken or vegetable stock to a boil in a large pot. Add the salt, sugar, peas and the reserved meat and vegetables and stir well. Return to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
5 Slowly drizzle the beaten eggs across the surface of the simmering soup and leave without stirring for 1 minute.
6 Add the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, black pepper and Sichuan pepper, and stir to blend for 1 minute.
7 Stir the cornflour and water again, then pour slowly into the simmering soup while stirring gently, and keep stirring until the soup thickens. Simmer 1 more minute, then turn off the heat.
8 Serve garnished with coriander leaves, ginger and spring onions.
Bamboo shoots are the fresh shoots of the bamboo plant, which make an excellent vegetable. Fresh shoots taste better than canned, but must be peeled, sliced and boiled in water for about 20 minutes before using. Pre-cooked sliced bamboo shoots, packed in water, can be found in the refrigerated section of supermarkets and are convenient and ready to use. Canned bamboo shoots should be boiled for 5 minutes to refresh before using.
For a vegetarian version, use vegetable stock or plain water and double the tofu and black Chinese mushrooms.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins
Noodles with Sesame Chili Oil
In addition to its delicious taste, this dish delivers a rich parcel of nutritional and medicinal benefits. The sauce contains sesame paste, which is an excellent source of essential fatty acids and benefits bowel functions. Ground peanuts, known in ancient China as "the food of the immortals", provide a quick source of energy, and Sichuan pepper assists digestion and assimilation of nutrients. The recipe below uses ordinary dried wheat noodles that may be purchased in any Asian grocery, but you may also use fresh noodles, as well as rice, buckwheat, egg, or any other type of noodle you wish.
300 g (10 oz) dried wheat noodles
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon coarsely ground roasted peanuts
2 spring onions, finely sliced
Sauce
3 teaspoons sesame paste
165 ml (2/3 cup) water
3 teaspoons black soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder
2 teaspoons red chili oil
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 To mix the Sauce, place the sesame paste in the bottom of a bowl and slowly pour in the water whilst whisking continuously to blend. Add the soy sauce, sugar and Sichuan pepper, while stirring continuously, then add the chili oil and the vinegar, and blend well.
2 Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the dried noodles and cook according to the directions on the package.
3 Drain the noodles in a colander, rinse in cold water, drain, place in a large bowl, then drizzle on 1 teaspoon sesame oil and mix well.
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