Category: Recipes

Cowpeas Noodle Stew 豆角焖面

I cooked this dish for lunch yesterday. I prepared a whole package of noodles, a whole medium potato, and a bag of cowpeas plus meat. It is A LOT. So naturally, I asked Joe, “Do you think it is too much for two of us? Shall I not use the entire package of noodles?” Joe said, “What? NO!” I have only made this dish two times before, but the first time this dish appeared on our table, it had made to Joe’s top list of favorite dishes.

If the name of this dish makes no sense, it is probably because I made it up. I can not find a previous translation of this dish title, at least online. I have to admit though that I also do not own one copy of Chinese cookbook in English. I saw one huge Chinese cookbook published by Phaidon in a bookstore the other day and got quite excited, for I trust Phaidon. However I picked it up and flipped through, and it was disappointing. Too many recipes, not enough explanation and almost no picture. This cookbook was a large print and costs a fortune. I clearly judged the book by the cover and thought that it contains impeccable food photography. I also searched for Chinese cookbooks published in English in my local libraries and was disappointed again. My point is that I do not have many references. So, my dear readers, you have to bear with me now and in the future that it is likely I will translate Chinese dishes myself and introduce to you.

So let’s get back to the recipe. You might be wondering what the heck are cowpeas? I did not know its English name and googled it out. It is a common vegetable on Chinese dinner table. They look like french beans. Here is the wiki link for cowpea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowpea. It is worth to mention that this dish originates from the Northern China. Generally speaking, southern Chinese eat rice as their main source of carb, while northern Chinese mainly eat food made of wheat. Why do we love this dish so much? Because it is one meal in a single wok, and it has such a strong punch of flavor.

I serve this noodle stew with a side sauce containing vinegar and garlic. I love adding the sauce into my bowl of noodles. The acidity from the vinegar cuts through any excess richness from the stew, together with the raw minced garlic, the sauce actually brings out more flavor of this dish. I feel I am such a Northerner when I eat like this. Background story: Northern Chinese and Southern Chinese have a different culture. They generally have distinctive features in appearances. There are also different sets of personality traits that are often associated with Northerners and Southerners. (Stereotypes of course but with a grain of truth) For example, Southern Chinese are petite compared to the Northerners; Southerners are often viewed stingy about money. Northerners are straightforward and forthright. While it is so easy to make friends with the Northerners quickly, they may be harder to deal with professionally because they tend to boast and promise too much in the first place. So the list of stereotypes goes on and on. In the food context, it is because raw garlic is too strong for Southerners’ palate. Not to mention the huge portion of this Northern dish may faint a Southern lady. 😛 Well, I am no delicate lady; in fact, I am viewed rather manly by Chinese standard. So I will dig in.

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Cowpeas Noodles Stew

A Northern Chinese noodle dish with cowpeas and pork stew.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 3
Author Dylis

Ingredients

  • 3 Cloves Garlic
  • 1 Piece Chili Pepper
  • 1 Stem Young garlic leaves optional
  • 200 grams Slices of Pork Preferably with some fat
  • 1 Potato
  • 250 grams Cowpeas
  • 350 grams Fresh Noodles Thin or flat
  • 1 tbsp Oil In principle any kind would do, but I do not suggest olive oil
  • 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
  • 3 tbsp Light soy sauce Add in 2 tbsp first and taste while it is cooking and add gradually to your liking
  • 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sugar for stew
  • 2 tbsp Chinese vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp sugar for side sauce

Instructions

  1. 2. Heat wok at medium heat until it is hot and then add oil in. Add garlic and chili pepper first and fry for a bit. Then add garlic leaves, stir fry until the leaves are softened. Next, add potato slices and cowpeas in the wok and cook until potatoes turn somewhat translucent. Take all ingredients out of the wok.

  2. 3. Add bit more oil in the wok and add pork slices in. Stir fry until pork slices are half cooked. Now dump all vegetabls cooked in last step back in the wok and mix well. Next, add light and dark soy sauces and water to just cover all the ingredients, put on the lid, and turn up the heat to high. 

  3. Make a sauce by mixing vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and some garlic together. Serve this noodle stew in a big bowl and pair it with the sauce. When eat, spoon the vinegar sauce on the noodle and mix. 

 

 

Chinese Spinach Salad with Peanut Sauce 花生酱拌菠菜

“Salad” is a word introduced to China, and was translated by pronunciation rather than meaning. The Chinese word for salad, 色拉 ( se la ) therefore sounds foreign. It makes people think that salad is a foreign genre of dishes to Chinese. It seems logical that we created a new word for “salad” because we did not have one in our language. But we do. We have this type of dish called 凉拌菜，literally translated to “cold-mix-dish”. “Cold-mix-dish” is cold, and ingredients are mixed with dressing. So…it is a salad. Almost any ingredient can be used as the primary ingredient in a cold-mix-dish, but vegetables appear most frequently. In a formal meal, cold-mix-dishes are served before hot dishes. Although there isn’t exactly a concept of appetizer in Chinese cuisine, I think cold-mix-dishes serve this purpose. Dressing sauce often invovles vinegar, which stimulates appetite. (However it is not the case in the recipe I am going to discuss below. I will get into other cold dishes with different vinegar dressings in the future.) In casual home meal, cold-mix-dishes not only add varieties to the table but also are good section to incorporate vegetables into diet.

I am going to introduce one of the most popular Chinese salads in my house—The Spinach Salad with Peanut Sauce or as we call it peanut sauce mix spinach 花生酱拌菠菜. It is quick, simple, and nutritious. I like to make it when I want to add another vegetable dish but do not wish to spend much time on it.

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Chinese Peanut Sauce Spinach Salad

Course Salad
Cuisine Chinese
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 7 minutes
Author Dylis

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch Spinach or about 215g
  • 2 tbsp Peanut Butter crunchy
  • 1 tbsp Water
  • 1 tbsp Sugar
  • 1 tsp Fresh/light Soy Sauce

Instructions

  1. Add enough water in a pot, after water boils, add spinach in and cook for 2 minutes, then take them out and rinse under cold running water.

  2. Squeeze spinach to get rid of excess water.  Cut spinach into 4cm/1.5 inch, and stack them on the plate.

  3. Spoon peanut butter into a mixing bowl, gradually add water, then add soy sauce and sugar until it achieves desired consistency and balanced taste of sweet and savoury.

  4. Spoon dressing on spinach and serve.

Recipe Notes

  • There is another dish called sesame sauce mix spinach. Guess what, it is the exactly same dish with sesame butter.
  • The amount of water you add depends on the consistency of your peanut butter. Mine is all natural crunchy peanut butter, and is very very sticky. Similarly the amount of sugar and soy sauce also depends on the type of peanut butter you use. Mine is not sweetened, so 1 tbsp of sugar works fine. I suggest add half of the portion listed in the recipe if your peanut butter is sweetened. Then gradually build up. Taste it as you are mixing.
  • Dressing should be running and not too sticky.
  • I like using crunchy peanut butter to add texture, but it is entirely your preference.
  • It is a good idea to wash and blanch the spinach keeping them in the same direction in a bunch. Then when you take them out and cut them, they look organized. Well, it only matters if you wish they look organized.

All photo credits to Joe.

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