Radish cake is eaten during Chinese New Year as a symbol for togetherness.   My friend, Ophelia, made the dish this year again….I wish she lived closer coz I would love to get together and have a slice delicious law bak goh!  She shares the secret from her mom — the oil keeps the batter together.  In addition, she recipe-tested my recipe and this is what she says:  “I added one cup less water than your [original] recipe – I judged it by the consistency … when it looked too watery, I added a little more rice flour.  It was 11pm by the time I was done steaming.  I decided to put the whole pan outside the door, and by the Monday it was nice and firm, ready to be fried for New Year breakfast! “  Looks like the 2010 Washington DC snowmageddon did come in useful afterall!

Anyways, I promised her if she shared the picture, the recipe will be on the blog forever so she needn’t search high and low for her copy each new year!  Here we go! Do note to add more water/ rice flour as needed.

2 lbs Chinese white radish, grated
1 cup water + about 1  1/2 cups water

4 Chinese sausages, finely diced
1/4 cup dried shrimps*, soaked in warm water with 1 tablespoon sherry, drain and chopped roughly
2 + 2 tablespoons oil
4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked, or use fresh, finely diced
2 cups rice flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon five spice powder

1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon scallion, finely chopped

1. Peel and grate radish. Place shredded radish in a small pot or saucepan with 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to a boil, than reduce the heat to a low and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Let cool.  Drain radish.  Save cooking liquid.
2. Pour cooking liquid into a measuring cup. Add remaining water to make 2 1/2 cups of liquid.
3. Start a steamer over a wok of boiling water.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in wok. Stir-fry sausage, 1 minute.  Add the shrimp; fry 30 seconds and mushrooms, 1 minute.  Remove from heat. Set aside.
5. To the cooking liquid mixture, whisk in rice flour, sugar, salt, pepper, 5 spice powder and reserved radish and mix until consistency of thick oatmeal.  You may need to add more water or rice flour.  Add remaining 2 tablespoons of oil.
6. Add in sausage & mushroom mixture, scallion and cilantro.  Mix well.
7. Line a 6 inch by 9 inch (or a 9 inch diameter) cake pan with parchment paper and grease with oil liberally. Pour mixture into it. Place on rack in steamer. Steam over briskly boiling water 1 hour.  The cake is somewhat gooey at this stage.
8. When cold, refrigerate overnight to firm up the cake.
9. To serve, slice 1/4 inch thick, 2 inches wide, and 3 inches long. Fry slices in 1 tablespoon canola oil until golden brown. Serve hot.

Serves: 6-8

This is the last of the series on savory Zongzi.  By now, you should be getting the folding instructions and methods down.  Here is just a list of the regional variations you can do.

Chef’s tip: For the full detailed instructions on how to fold the dumpling and boiling the dumplings, please refer to the Cantonese Joong recipe for the leaf template and step by step instructions.

Taiwanese-style
Pork belly
Salted duck egg yolk
Shiitake
Chestnut
Scallions
Fried shallots
Dried shrimp
Peanuts
Five spice powder

Sichuan-style
Pork belly
Pumpkin slices
Sichuan peppercorn
White pepper

Fujian-style
Pork belly / chicken
Chinese sausage
Salted duck egg yolk
Shiitake
Dried shrimp
Chestnut
Five spice powder

Shanghainese-style
Pork belly
Soy sauce
Dark soy sauce
Rice wine
Cinnamon stick
Star anise
Five-spice powder

This is my nephew, Christian’s, favorite bao!  We simply call it “Dai Bao” (translated “Big Bun”) coz it’s like ye big.  The size of a Big Mac, really. These days, it’s hard to find the Dai Bao. They are becoming almost extinct in this modern world of dainty dim sums. I call it the Dim Sum Evolution Theory! When my mom visits her grandchildren in Hong Kong, she brings a few of these Dai Baos with her from PJ.  The bao is filled with chicken, shiitake mushrooms, lap cheung sausages and my favorite part – half a hard boiled egg.

Chef’s tip: Marinating the chicken with cornstarch gives it a velvety texture. The best way to determine if the chicken is cooked through is by using a thermometer.

Ingredients:

1 portion of Basic Yeast Dough – see below

Marinade:
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
1 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 Tablespoons Chinese rice wine
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper, ground
1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 1/2 lb chicken thighs, skinless, trimmed, vut into 1/2 inch strips
3 Tablespoons cilantro stems
2 pairs Chinese sausage, sliced
8 pieces shiitake, cut into half
4 hard boiled eggs, halved

8 pieces of 4 x 4 wax paper.

Prepare the dough
1. Make 1 recipe of Basic Yeast Dough for Steamed Buns. Make sure you cover the finished dough with a damp tea cloth.
Preparing the filling
2. Mix all the marinade ingredients (oyster sauce, soy, sesame oil, wine, salt, pepper, sugar, cornstarch and water) together in a bowl. Add chicken and marinate 2 hours. Toss in the chopped cilantro stems.
Assembling
3. Take a dough portion, work into a round ball about 2 inch in diameter. Flatten it into a 8-inch round with a rolling pin about ¼ inch thick. Make sure the edges are half as thin as the center.
5. Place 2 heaping Tablespoons of chicken into dough. Add 1/8th of the sausage, mushrooms and the half egg. Pull the sides to meet at the center, making a ruffled fold as you work. Pinch the top together and give it a twist to seal. Pinch off any extra dough at the top. Place onto a piece of waxed paper.
6. Place buns in steamer about 2 inches apart and cover with a damp cloth. Allow buns to rise in a draft-free place for about 20 minutes.
Steaming
7. Place steamer over the simmering water for 25minutes, or until bun is well risen or when a thermometer inserted into the bun reads 165F. Add water if necessary so that wok is not dried out.

Serves: 8 buns

Basic Yeast Dough Recipe

This is a recipe for the dough of the fluffy white skins of the char siu bao and the shanghai cabbage buns. It’s truly versatile — you can use the same dough and fill it with sweetened mashed red beans or lotus seeds for a dessert treat. Or just steam it by itself to turn it into “man tou” essentially steamed white bread that is used to soak up the wonderful sauce of Sichuanese or Hunanese dishes. If you shape the bun into a flat disc, it becomes the base for peking duck.

The dough can be allowed to rise slowly, covered, in the refrigerator for 1 day. Bring to room temperature before using. If you are not using the dough straight away, punch it down and wrap tightly with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.

3 Tablespoons sugar
½ Tablespoons active dry yeast
½ cup + 2 Tablespoons hot water
½ cup + 2 Tablespoons cold water

3 cups unbleached “00” or high protein bread flour plus additional for kneading
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted

Part 1: Making and proofing the dough.
1. Proofing the yeast: Dissolve sugar in hot water. Add cold water to make a warm solution (105 – 115°F). Dissolve the yeast in the sugar solution. Stir lightly, and let stand in a warm place until mixture develops a creamy foam, about 7 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)
2. Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle, and add yeast mixture and oil and stir to incorporate the flour until dough holds together and just come away from side of bowl. Add a little more water if needed.
3. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead. Lightly flour your hands if necessary. Knead (by using the heels of your hands and your body weight to push away from you, pull it back and fold in the sides of the dough towards the center. Turn the dough right angle every few kneads) until dough is smooth, soft, and elastic, about 10 minutes. Form into a ball.
4. Lightly oil a large bowl, put the dough into the bowl and turn the dough so that all sides are coated. Cover the bowl tightly with a plastic wrap/damp tea cloth and let dough rise in a warm (75-80°F), draft-free place until doubled in bulk, 1-3 hours. The dough is ready when it does not spring back when poked with a finger.

Part 2: Finishing the dough – Using the dough
1. Uncover the dough, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
2. Flatten it and make a well in the center. Sprinkle baking powder in the well, gather up the sides and fold to the center to incorporate the baking powder. Knead lightly for a few minutes till it becomes a ball again.
3. Divide the dough into two cylinders. Cut each into 4. Make 8 2-inch ball portions. Cover dough with a damp tea cloth as you work.
4. Proceed with dumpling recipes

Note: This basic dough can be used for char siu bau steamed pork bun recipes, plain steamed man tou recipes, shanghai cabbage steamed buns, chicken steamed bun recipes.

Lotus Leaf Sticky Rice (at the dim sum table, call it “hor yip lor mai kai”) blends the Cantonese flavor trinity of Chinese lap cheung sausages, dried shrimp and Shiitake mushrooms.  The lotus leaf imparts a wonderful aroma to the rice.  If you can get fresh lotus leafs the better, otherwise, head to Chinatown and you can get a stack of two dozen dried leaves for like 99 cents.

The same rice filling makes a wonderful thanksgiving turkey stuffing….skip the lotus leaves, of course.

Chef’s tip: Cut off the stem end of the leaves to make the leaves more pliable.  Also, if use a Thai Sticky Rice bamboo steamer to produce the best sticky rice texture.

Ingredients:

6 dried lotus Leaves or six 1 cup-ramekins or small heat-proof bowls

1 1/2 cups sweet glutinous rice, soaked 6 hours
1 Tablespoons peanut oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups chicken stock

2 pieces boneless chicken thigh,trimmed, skinless, cut into ½ inch slices
1 Tablespoon peanut oil
½ Tablespoon oyster sauce
½ Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon dried shrimp, soaked and drained
1 Chinese sausage, thinly sliced
6 pieces of fresh Shiitake mushroom, sliced
6 slices of char siu ( 4 oz), thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of water
1 sprig green onions, chopped

Preparing the lotus leaves (if using, otherwise, slightly oil 6 ramekins).
1.    Snip off the hard stalks ends of the lotus leaf.  Soak the lotus leaves in hot water until softened.  Cut into 2 if they are large.
Preparing the rice.
2.    Wash the rice and cover with water.  Set aside at least 6 hours to overnight.
3.    Prepare a large pot of water with steamer.  Line steamer with cheesecloth.  Drain rice.  Place rice evenly on the cheesecloth.
4.    Place rice in a steamer over boiling water and steam for 20 minutes.  Transfer rice to a bowl.
5.    Mix the oil, sugar, and stock in a small pot and bring to a boil.  Pour the hot stock into the cooked rice mixture and stir.  Cover with plastic wrap and leave to stand 10-15 minutes.
Preparing the filling
6.    Marinate the chicken with oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar and sesame oil.
7.    In the wok, heat the oil, fry the dried shrimp and Chinese sausage.  Set to the side of the wok.  Add garlic and saute for half a minute until it becomes light golden then add chicken.  Brown the chicken, about 2 minutes.  (need not be cooked through).
8.   Add mushroom, char siu and toss back the dried shrimp and sausage.
9.    Add ½ cup of water and add to the wok.  Stir until the sauce is thick and glazes the meat.  Remove from heat and toss in the green onions.
Assembling
10.    When rice is done, divide into 12 portions.  Divide the filling into 6 portions.
11.    Place lotus leave flat on a work surface.  Patch any holes with additional leave pieces.
12.    Place 1 portion of rice onto the center of the leave. Make a well in the center.    Place a portion of the filling.  Drizzle in any sauce from the chicken.  Top with another portion of rice.  Pack it tightly to make a small rectangular mass about 3 inch X 2 inch.
13.    Wrap one side of the leaves over the filling, then take the opposite side and overlap like you are folding a business letter into 3.  Then take the left third and fold it under the rice middle.  Repeat with the opposite side.  Place the rice bundle on its folded ends on a steamer.
Steaming
14.    Place lotus parcels in steamer basket over simmering water and steam for 30 minutes. Add water if necessary so that wok is not dried out.

Serves: 6

Chef’s tip: If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, get the Wycen lap cheung (Washington/Stockton or Clement/7th) . They make their sausages locally and offer extra lean 100% chicken sausages.

Filling:
½ cup pine nuts, toasted
2 heads iceberg lettuce

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thigh, trimmed of fat and minced
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon sesame oil
½ Tablespoon canola oil

2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Chinese wax sausage, diced small, ½ inch cubes
1 Tablespoon dried shrimps, soaked, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon ginger, grated
2 Tablespoon Shaoxing wine
¼ cup water
10 fresh shiitake mushrooms, diced small, ¼ inch cubes
3 oz waterchestnuts, drained and diced finely,1/8 inch cubes
2 Tablespoons green onions, green and white parts, chopped
2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 Tablespoon sesame oil

¼ cup hoisin sauce
Cilantro sprigs

Preparing the lettuce
1.    Toast the pine nuts, set aside.
2.    Using a paring knife, cut around the stem core of the lettuce, then carefully separate the lettuce leaves.  Reserve outer leaves for other use.  Use a knife or scissors to cut the inner leaves into rough 4 inch rounds.  Pat leaves dry.  Make 30 cups. Chill.
Preparing the filling
3.    In a food processor, pulse the chicken until it is chopped roughly (or use a cleaver and cutting board to mince).  Marinate the chicken with cornstarch, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and oil.
4.    In the wok, heat ½ Tablespoon oil, fry the Chinese sausage until it has rendered its fat.  Push to the side of the wok or if you are not using a wok, remove to a prep plate. Next, add another ½ Tablespoon oil, fry the dried shrimp with the remaining garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
5.    Then add the chicken, drizzle the Shaoxing wine around the sides of the wok and stir-fry till it becomes brown and caramelized.  Push chicken to the side of the wok or remove from the pan.
6.    Next, add a little oil if needed, the chopped shiitake, sauté until mushroom is tender, then add toss back the chicken and sausage.
7.    Add ¼ cup of water to the wok.  Stir until the sauce is thick and glazes the meat.
8.    Add the waterchestnut.  Remove from heat, stir in the chopped green onions and cilantro.  Finish with the sesame oil.
Assembling
9.    Brush each lettuce cup with hoisin sauce.
10.    Spoon a heaping Tablespoon of the chicken mixture into the prepared lettuce leaves and sprinkle with pine nuts. Garnish with a sprig of cilantro.

Serves: 30 cups