Feeding the Dragon

A Culinary Travelogue Through China with Recipes

by Nate Tate, Mary Kate Tate

Price: $24.99
ISBN-13: 9781449401115
ISBN-10: 1449401112
Format: Paperback
Size: 9 x 10 in.
Page Count: 304 pages

“Nate Tate, who lived and studied in Beijing, initially learned how to cook authentic Chinese cuisine from his housekeeper. He and his sister ultimately went on a three-month culinary trek covering almost 10,000 miles. Along the way, they convinced the people who cooked for them to teach them about Chinese food and share their recipes. The book includes lots of photos and essays along with recipes that cover numerous provinces. You’ll learn everything from how to make a lychee martini like a resident of Beijing to how to whip up Sichuan Hot Pot. There are sample menus so you can cook to impress your friends, and a helpful glossary in the back explains ingredients like sha cha sauce and how you use them.” ––Portland Press Herald http://bit.ly/q2lvkY

Walking along the waterfront down the Rua das Lorchas, past pastel stucco apartment buildings splashed with freshly washed clothes dancing and drying in the sun and the occasional window box bursting with red and pink geraniums, the pungent smell of drying fish assaults my nostrils. All along the sidewalk, salted fish are laid out on woven wooden trays baking in the direct sunlight. Dried fish, especially bacalao (salt cod), is one of the many ingredients introduced by Macau’s Portuguese colonists and is an important component in Macanese cooking. In the fifteenth century, Portuguese fishermen came up with a way to preserve surplus fish by salting and sun-drying them on the decks of their ships.

To me, this dish is the essence of Chinese-Portuguese fusion. Fried rice, a distinctly Chinese dish, is fused with Mediterranean black olives, chorizo, and salt cod. Bacalao is used primarily as a flavoring agent in Macanese fried rice; however, it is difficult to find and prepare. We substitute a dash of Asian fish sauce in its place in this recipe, which gives the rice a similar flavor, but if you can find bacalao (or its Italian equivalent, baccalà) at a fishmonger or specialty food store, substitute 3 ounces (rehydrated and chopped) for the Asian fish sauce.

Serves 4 to 6

Fried Rice
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
Juice of 1/2 lime
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
2 large eggs, beaten
3 cups cooked long-grain white rice, chilled
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/2 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen and thawed)
4 ounces chorizo sausage, thinly sliced
1/2 cup pitted green olives

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, Asian fish sauce, and lime juice and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 3 minutes, or until the onion starts to turn translucent. Pour in the eggs and scramble until they are just set, and then immediately toss in the rice and stir until well mixed. Decrease the heat to medium and add the bell pepper, corn, chorizo sausage, olives, and the sugar mixture, and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Remove the wok from the heat and let rest for 4 minutes before serving.

The word for “pot stickers” in Chinese is guotie, literally “pot-stick,” a name they have earned from their cooking method. Chinese cooks first steam guotie in giant flat-bottomed iron pans. When all the water is absorbed by the dumplings, they are left in the pan to get crispy and “stick” to the pan. We recommend using a nonstick skillet when making these so that the dumplings don’t actually stick to the pan forever. These Guotie Pot Stickers make amazing appetizers served with the dipping sauce. We like to make more dumplings than we can eat and freeze the extra for later.

Makes about 36 dumplings

Dipping Sauce
1 cup Chinese black rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar

Dumplings
12 ounces ground beef or ground pork
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
3/4 cup minced green onions, green and white parts
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Pinch of salt
About 36 round Dumpling Wrappers (purchased premade, or see page 258)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup water

To make the dipping sauce, whisk together the black rice vinegar, ginger, sesame oil, cilantro, soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.

To make the dumplings, combine the meat, soy sauce, cornstarch, ginger, green onions, sugar, sesame oil, and salt in a bowl and stir in one direction with a chopstick until just mixed. Fill a small bowl with some water. Hold a dumpling wrapper in the palm of your hand and place 1 heaping teaspoon of filling in the center. Dip your finger in the bowl of water and run it around the edge to help make a good seal. Lightly fold the wrapper over on itself, but don’t touch the edges together. Starting at one end, use your fingers to make a small pleat on the side of the wrapper closest to you, then press the pleat into the other side and pinch together firmly. Keep making pleats down the dumpling opening in this way until completely sealed (see Dumpling Folding Tips on page 255). Repeat this process with the remaining filling and wrappers. Freeze any dumplings that you don’t intend to cook immediately (see Dumpling Freezing Tips on page 256).

Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place 12 dumplings pleat side up in the pan so that they are just touching each other. Cover and cook for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low, pour 1/4 cup of the water into the pan, and cook, covered, for 8 to 10 minutes, until all the water is absorbed by the dumplings and their bottoms are crusty brown. Repeat this process 2 more times with the remaining dumplings, oil, and water. Serve the dumplings with a side of the dipping sauce.

Feeding the Dragon: A Culinary Travelogue Through China with Recipes is the delicious result of the Tates’ trek. Arranged by the authors’ travel itinerary through nine Chinese provinces, Feeding the Dragon’s 100 recipes are presented alongside alternating first-person narratives and beautiful travel photos. From Buddhist vegetarian dishes enjoyed on the snowcapped mountains of Tibet to lamb kebabs served on the scorching Taklimakan Desert of Xinjiang Province, Western cooks will find healthy, easily prepared recipes brimming with authentic ingredients and flavors. Feeding the Dragon also offers:

• Sample menus and recommended flavorful recipe combinations for specific social gatherings
• An ingredient glossary complete with Chinese names, descriptions, and equivalent substitutions
• Online ingredient retailers for those without access to an Asian grocery store
• Descriptions of essential tools and basic cooking techniques
• Online resources about Chinese culture, including a simple language guide

Feeding the Dragon is not an Americanized adulteration of classic Chinese cuisine. It is an unforgettable journey through Chinese history, culture, and food, sure to satisfy anyone craving authentic Chinese food and hungry for knowledge of one of the world’s largest and most inspiring empires.