This recipe was part of my final class at Whole Foods San Mateo last month.  It was nice to have some of my students whom I have been working with for many years  – Nancy, Bernie, Chris and Yuko were there, as well as my friend, Joyce and the new host of my cooking class in the Peninsula, Wally. It was a nice way to “wrap” up a 7-year teaching stint at Whole Foods.  We wrapped and we ate, and wrapped and ate a variety of spring rolls.

Chef’s tip:   Fresh beancurd skin is quite difficult to find.  Hodo Soy is probably the only folks who sell it in the US.  If you ever see some, you just have to buy it and taste the difference.   For this recipe, if you can’t find the fresh ones, the frozen ones will have to do.  The dried ones would not work.  When rolling the spring roll, ensure no air bubble is trapped within.  Make it compact and dense by pushing out any air bubbles.

Marinade

¼ teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon black, thick soy sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce to taste
½ teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons Five Spice powder
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 lb pork fillet or pork loin, cut into small cubes
3/4 cup water chestnut
1/2 cup cilantro stems, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
¼ cup yellow onions, chopped

20 pieces  6X6 inch fresh beancurd skin/ yuba
1 Tablespoon cornstarch mix with a little water to make a slurry
6 cups canola oil for deep frying

To make the springroll

1. Mix filling ingredients together and marinade for 30 minutes, up to overnight
2. To assemble lobak, place beancurd skin square with one corner facing you.  Next place about 2 Tablespoons of the filling on the bottom third of the skin.  Shape the filling into a cylinder, about 3-inches long.  Fold the bottom flap up and over the filling.  Fold the left and right side over the filling. Holding the sides in place, roll up into a tight cylinder.  Moisten edges with the cornstarch slurry to seal.  Lay the rolls flap side down on a baking tray.  Repeat folding the remaining rolls.
3. Heat oil over medium heat till 350F. Deep fry springrolls till golden brown, about 5-6 minutes.

LOH BAK DIPPING SAUCE

1 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
¾ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice powder to be mixed with a bit of water
A pinch of white pepper

1 Tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 3 Tablespoons water
1/2 egg white
1 teaspoon oil

To make the sauce:

4.     Mix all the seasoning ingredients with the stock and bring to a low boil.

5.     Add cornstarch mixture slowly to thicken the sauce.  You may not need all of it.

6.     Beat the egg white and drizzle into the sauce, wait till the egg white becomes opaque white, then stir slowly.  Finish with 1 teaspoon of oil.

Serves: 10

On a cold rainy day like this, a nice hot bowl of “tong suey” warms the body like no other.  This wonderful sweet soup is relatively high in protein and has gingko nuts which is supposed to be good for you.

Chef’s tip: Tying the pandan leaves into a knot crushes the leave cells, releasing the fragrant oils of the plant.  Poaching the eggs without heat leaves the egg nice and tender.

12 cups water
1 cup pearled barley
3 pandan leaves, tied into a knot
3 sheets yuba
1 cup gingko nuts, shelled
1 cup rock sugar, to taste
2 eggs

1. Rinse pearled barley.  Add water and bring to boil.  Simmer for one hour till the “soup” is cloudy.
2. Add in  pandan leaves, yuba skin and gingko nuts and simmer another 15 minutes.
3. Remove pandan leaves,  add sugar, still till melted.
4. Remove from heat.  Break the eggs into the sweet soup, wait 20 seconds, then stir very slowly to break the yolks to form “egg flower”.
5.     Ladle the sweet soup into bowls.  Serve piping hot.

Serves: 8

The “Sam Poh Tong” temple between Ipoh and KL is a popular spot for KL folks that  stop by to buy the monks’ vegetarian specialty – the Chat Thye – a tightly rolled log of fresh yuba skin.  Some people call it mock chicken, mock goose, whatever.  It’s delicious and high in protein.  Makes a great snack.  It’s always a trick to try to slice it as thinly as you can.

Chef’s tip:  There’s only one place in the Bay Area that you can get fresh yuba skin – Hodo Soy in the Ferry Building, or at farmers’ markets in Berkeley and Palo Alto farmers.  The owner, Minh Tsai, is a true visionary in bringing Asian-style tofu products made from are non GMO, organic soy beans which just taste much better than the ones you find in your Chinese grocery stores.   Well, if you can’t get fresh ones,  reconstitute dried yuba by soaking in warm water for 10 minutes, and then pat dry.

4 large sheets fresh yuba (bean curd skin) about 15 inch diameter, cut into half
½ cup vegetarian broth
2 Tablespoons light soy sauce
1 Tablespoon roasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon cayenne / chilli powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 small piece of star anise

Cheesecloth

Kitchen twine

1. Mix the broth, soy sauce, sugar, sriracha and star anise in a small saucepan and gently simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove star anise and add sesame oil.   Let cool.  Set aside.
2. Spread a 12 x 8 inch piece of fine cheesecloth over a baking tray. Place a half-sheet of the fresh yuba on the sheet
3. Brush the yuba with soy sauce mixture. Cover with another piece of yuba and brush. Repeat until half the yuba and half the sauce is used.
4. Roll the stacks of yuba tightly, taking care to snug in the edges to make a uniform compact cylinder and wrap it in the cloth.  The finished yuba log should be about 6 inch X 2 ½ inch diameter.  Quickly tie the log with kitchen twine.
5. Repeat with remaining yuba and sauce.
6. Brush logs with remaining sauce, and place on a metal/glass plate.
7. Bring a wok of water to boil with a steamer.  Steam the roll, covered, over boiling water for 10 minutes.
8. Let yuba logs cool to room or cool temperature, let it sit at least 30 minutes. Unwrap and sliced into 1/3 inch thickness.

Serves: 6

My family eats this dish for lunch on the first day of Chinese New Year for the “opening of the year” meal.  It’s all vegetarian, so I guess it’s to set us up for good karma for the year for not killing any animals, even if it’s only one meal a year.  Well, if that >1 billion Chinese all over the world skip meat for just one meal, that’s a lot of animals not killed.  In non-Asian places, the dish is aka Buddha’s Delight – although it really has nothing to do with the Buddha, but it sure is a delightful dish despite its somber colors!  Anyhoo, this chye choy is very delicious with a mix of mushrooms and soy derivatives, and makes a great vegan offering.

Chef’s tip:  The “fatt choy” are those little black strands you see in the picture.  (no worries, its not hair!  We do respect food safety standards.)  It’s a kind of seaweed.   But with a name like “fatt choy” like in Kong Hee Fatt Choy, eating it brings you good luck!  Happy year of the Tiger.

8 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced or halved
4 oz Nameko mushrooms, whole, trimmed
4 oz crimini, halved
1 cup cloud ears mushrooms, fresh or reconstitute ½ cup dried
1 cup tiger lily buds, fresh or reconstitute ½ cup dried
1 cup enoki mushrooms

3 Tablespoon canola oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups Napa cabbage, sliced

8 cubes fermented bean curd
3 Tablespoon canola oil
1 cup water

2 cups fried tofu puffs
1 large piece yuba, fresh or reconstituted, cut into 2 inch strips
2 oz gingko nuts, shelled
2 Tablespoon soy sauce
2 oz mung bean noodles, soaked
1/2 cup “fatt choy” seaweed

1. Soak dried mushrooms (if not using fresh) and lily buds in hot water for 15 minutes.  Trim hard ends off lilies.  Tie a knot through each bud.
2. Thinly slice shiitake and cloud ears.
3. Slice napa cabbage.
4. Heat a large wok.  Add 1 Tablespoon oil and 1/3 of the minced garlic and fry till it sizzles.  Add cabbage, fry for a minute until wilted.  Remove and set aside.
5. Add 1 Tablespoon and remaining garlic and fry till it sizzles.  Add fermented bean curd.  Add the shiitake, and the remaining mushrooms, except for the enoki.  Saute until mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes.  Add water and bring to boil.
6. Add tofu puffs and yuba and gingko nuts.  Cook 1 minute.  Add soy sauce to taste.
7. Add mung bean noodles and seaweed, bring to boil, or until noodles are translucent.

Serves: 6

Ma Po Do Fu is probably the most popular (or at least the gentrified version is a permanent item in the Chinese take out menu) of Sichuanese cuisine. As many of you know, the “ma” refers to the hot and numbing spice, not some old lady with pock marked face, which the dish is sometimes referred to.  It’s truly a Chinese comfort food.

Chef’s tip: The steps below may look laborious but frankly, I am just trying to line out in great detail the steps in wok cooking.  It literally takes about 5 minutes or less to cook the dish.  This dish employs the classic steps in working with a wok.  The wok is designed so that the hottest part of the pan is the bottom part, that’s where you brown the meat, etc.  The sides of the pan serves as the in between placeholder, where you park parts of the dish while you cook the other parts, before tossing them all back together.  That way, ingredients that need different cooking times get their own special treatment and you come out with the perfect crunch and tenderness.

8 oz ground beef
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
1 lb silken tofu
4 tablespoon scallions, white part, chopped

Sauce
1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorn
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ginger, finely minced
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
1 tablespoon chili bean paste
1 tablespoon fermented black beans (optional)

1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar

½ tablespoon cornflour, plus 2 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons scallion, green part

Preparing the meat
1. Mix ground beef with 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce and shaoxing wine.  Set aside

Preparing the vegetable
2. Dry fry the Sichuan peppercorn. Lightly grind peppercorns
3. Chop scallion (white part), ginger and garlic finely, set aside separately
4. Cut bean curd into 1 inch cubes.

Cooking the dish
5. Heat the wok over high heat.  Add the peanut oil followed by the marinated meat.  Drizzle remaining shaoxing wine around the side of the wok.  Fry for 1 minute until meat starts to brown.  Push the meat to the side of the wok.
6. Add chili bean paste, fermented black beans, and fry till the oil is separated, about half a minute.
7. Add chopped garlic, ginger and scallions (white part).  Fry till fragrant – about 30 seconds.  Toss with the meat.
8. Add broth, soy sauce, and sugar
9. Add tofu, stir lightly and bring to boil.  Then lower the heat and simmer 5 minutes.
10. Combine cornstarch with water to make a slurry, add to the sauce, toss to cook until sauce thickens.
11. Add chopped green scallions and crushed Sichuan peppercorns, toss to coat.
Serve immediately.

Serves: 6