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Cooking with April Woo

911 Classic Favorites

- by Leslie Glass

 

September 11, 2001 changed New York City and America forever. All of us who were there that day now know exactly how it feels to live on the front lines of war. Almost everybody lost friends and loved ones. 25,000 people lost their homes. 110,000 people lost their jobs. 1,500 children in one company alone lost a parent. And now the world is at war.

New Yorkers are in mourning for our firemen, our police officers, EMS teams, our colleagues and co-workers, mothers and fathers, chefs and restaurant workers; the companies that serviced so many of our needs. And all of America is deeply saddened as our country goes to war.

The devastation of New York has demonstrated the unity and spirit of our citizens--police, firemen, EMS personnel, doctors, psychologists, school teachers, nurses, Con-Ed workers, religious leaders, National Guard--you name it, we have rallied for each other no matter what faith or color we are. Everyone will always remember exactly where we were the moment of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center Twin Towers and what we did here for the next three weeks before the war began. Many people who were not at ground zero took comfort in cooking for those who were.

Chinatown was one of the badly hit parts of the city. Canal Street was the cutoff point for civilians. Below Canal Street, which is the heart of Chinatown, only relief and rescue workers were allowed to enter. That meant the commerce of Chinatown all but ceased. But the cooking did not stop. Chinese chefs, like many other restaurateurs in the no-enter zone, fed the rescue teams, emergency service workers, the police, firemen, construction and sanitation workers who were at ground zero around the clock, many of whom still are.

Other New Yorkers cooked for the families of victims, for the thousands of wakes and funerals. And just for their friends and families who came together to be together. In the hardest times we long for classic favorites, the treasured dishes of our childhood. Here are some of ours:

 

Hoisin Beef with Broccoli

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. flank steak or sirloin, trimmed of all fat, sliced thin against the grain and cut into 1" square "coins"
  • 2 whole scallions cut in 1" sections
  • 1 lb. Chinese broccoli, or regular broccoli, cut into pieces 1" wide and 3" long
  • 6 water chestnuts sliced into wafer thin "coins"
  • 1 clove of garlic minced fine
  • 1 clove-sized piece of fresh ginger peeled and grated
  • 4 tablespoons corn or peanut oil

Marinade:

  • 1 tablespoon Saki of Vodka
  • 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (preferably Mushroom Soy)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon potato starch (or cornstarch)
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Mix ingredients for marinade, add beef and marinate for at least 1 hour.

Sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Saki
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons potato starch

Mix together until potato starch is dissolved.

Blanch broccoli in boiling water for two minutes, then drain in a colander and rinse with cold water. Heat a Wok or large nonstick fry pan. Add 2 tablespoons oil and swirl to coat bottom. Add ginger and garlic and swirl quickly, be careful not to burn. Add the beef, brown and stir fry for a minute and a half. Remove the beef to a platter. Wipe out the pan, reheat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Add the broccoli and stir fry for two minutes. Add scallions and water chestnuts. Add the beef, stir to heat and mix. Add the sauce ingredients. Cook, stirring constantly for another two minutes, until the beef is hot and the sauce has thickened. Serve immediately with rice or scallion pancakes.

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Lobster and Shrimp Cantonese

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. Lobster
  • 1/4 lb. shrimp, shelled and de-veined, butterflied halfway
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • 3 scallions, minced
  • 1 " piece of ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1/4 lb. ground pork ( to 3/4 cup)
  • 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (mixed with ground pork)
  • 3 tablespoons saki or dry sherry
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon potato starch
  • 4 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 2 whole eggs or 3 egg whites

If lobster is unavailable or not desired in the recipe, just use a pound of shrimp. It will still be an emperor's dish.

Split lobster in half from head to tail and remove all of the insides, stomach sack, green coral and roe. Separate claws, from knuckles and crack them with a cleaver or hammer enough for easy eating (careful not to whack them into splinters). Separate legs from head and body shell, discard shell. Cut off long legs to an inch. Discard long legs, then cut the two knuckle portions in half. The tail should be split in half then each side half cut in half or quarters.

End product: 2 crackled claws, 2 cracked knuckles, 4 to 8 tail sections. The pincers knuckles are not for everybody, so you can omit them if you want.

To prepare:

Combine the ground pork, soy sauce, pinch of garlic, pinch of the ginger and 1tablespoon of potato starch in a small bowl. Combine saki and sugar in a small bowl. Combine the rest of the potato starch and chicken broth in small bowl. Mix well before adding. Put eggs in a bowl, careful not to break the yolks. If you want to omit yolks, use 3 egg whites.

To cook:

Swirl 2 tablespoons oil in a large frying pan or wok, add pork mixture and stir fry several minutes until cooked through. Remove from pan, set aside. Swirl 2 tablespoons oil in same pan add ginger and garlic, stir fry 1 minute, add lobster, stir fry 2 or 3 minutes, then add saki mixture and cover to cook through, about 5 minutes. Remove lid and add shrimp, stir fry 1 minute more. Add half of scallions, add chicken broth. After a minute add the pork. Then turn off the heat and add the eggs, stirring very gently just to blend into the sauce a little, egg yolks included. Then cover to let the eggs steam into the sauce. When the eggs are white but not yet hard, remove to a warm platter and sprinkle with the rest of the scallions.

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Ants Climbing Tree

Yummy ground pork with cellophane noodles, April's personal favorite.

Ingredients:

  • 3 ounces rice noodles (soaked in very hot water 1/2 hour or more)
  • 1/2 lb ground pork
  • 2 tablespoons dark soy
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced or grated
  • 3 scallions, green cut diagonally into 2" slices, white minced
  • 4 tablespoons peanut or corn oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon saki
  • 1 tablespoon potato starch
  • 1 teaspoon hot chili sauce or few drops hot sesame oil
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar

To marinate:

Combine saki, 2 teaspoons potato starch, soy sauce, hot chili sauce or sesame oil, the minced white part of the scallions, and ground pork. Mix very well and marinate for 20 minutes. Drain cellophane noodles and cut in half with scissors. Combine sugar, chicken broth, and the rest of the potato starch. Mix well.

To cook:

Swirl oil in wok until very hot. Add garlic and ginger, stir fry one minute. Add pork mixture, toss to coat, then stir fry, breaking up the pork so there are no lumps. Add the noodles, then the chicken broth mixture. Mix well. Cover and cook for about five minutes. Add additional soy sauce and hot sauce if necessary. Pile on a warm platter with pork sauce on top and garnish with green part of scallions.

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Fragrant Eggplant

Ingredients:

  • I medium eggplant, cut in 2" finger width strips
  • 3 scallions, green part cut in 2" strips, white part minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1" piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
  • 4 tablespoons peanut oil
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon (or more) hot chili sauce
  • 2 tablespoons Saki
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth mixed with 2 teaspoons potato starch or corn starch

Optional garnish:

  • 1 tablespoon toasted black sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon red pickled ginger

To cook:

Swirl oil in a wok or large fry pan until hot, add ginger, garlic, white part of scallions and stir fry 1 minute. Add the eggplant and stir fry 3 minutes. Add sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce and saki, continue to stir for another 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and potato starch. Cook until eggplant is soft.
Equally good served hot, at room temperature, or cold.

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Golden Tofu with Peapods and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

  • 1 pad firm tofu, cut in 1" nuggets
  • 1/2 lb. peapods, ends snipped off
  • 6 dried mushrooms soaked for 1/2 hour or more in hot water
  • 1 tablespoon Saki
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon potato starch
  • 1" fresh ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1 cup peanut or corn oil

To prepare:

Blanch peapods in boiling water 1 minute. Rinse in cold water. Squeeze water out of reconstituted mushrooms and cut off stems with a sharp knife. Mix saki, chicken broth, soy sauce, sugar, potato starch well in small bowl.

To cook:

Heat oil in wok until sizzling point, fry a handful of nuggets at a time until golden brown, then drain on paper towels. Discard or save all but 2 tablespoons of the oil. Wipe out wok, reheat and swirl in the oil, add ginger and stir fry a few seconds. Add peapods and stir fry 2 minutes, add mushrooms, chicken broth mixture and tofu. Stir fry until all of the ingredients are hot. Serve immediately.

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