Your Big Red Book: Four More From The Cultural Revolution Cookbook

SpicyWhite Radish Salad

The Chinese seldom eatvegetables that have not been cooked thoroughly, but this one is an exception.These large radishes -- which you can often find in American supermarkets --are especially sweet and lend themselves to being eaten raw. Topping this dishoff with a large spoonful of crushed, roasted nuts will add even more flavorand texture.

Ingredients

1large white, Daikon radish (if unavailable, 2-3 turnips may besubstituted)
3-4 clovesof garlic
1 slice ginger(about the size and thickness of a quarter)
1 tsp.(5 ml.) vegetableoil
2 Tbsp.(30 ml.) sesameoil
3 Tbsp.(45 ml.) soysauce
3 Tbsp. (45 ml.) dark vinegar(but white will do)
1 tsp. to1 Tbsp. (5 to 15 ml.) hotsauce, to taste (Chinese cooks use a paste made with hot peppers, but Tabasco sauce may besubstituted)

Method

1. Wash and peel the radish and slice it into strips about 2-3 inches (5-7 cm.) long and 1/4 inch (6mm.) wide. Crush the garlic and chop the ginger, mixing them together into a smooth paste.
2. Mix all the ingredients (except the radish) together and add them to the garlic-ginger paste. Blend them well into a sauce.
3. Arrange the radish pieces on a serving plate, cover with the sauce and serve.

Notes:    

1. The other night, when I couldn’t find a daikon radish at mylocal market, and didn’t feel like essaying the turnip version, I substitutedinstead a combination of thinly sliced red radishes and baby bok choy.  It was excellent.  I have not tried adding the crushed roastednuts yet, but I imagine it would be wonderful.  

2. Chinese dark vinegar is a complex blend from the Chinkiang Province ofChina made of glutinous rice and malt.  Ihave seen it in both extremely affordable (at Chinese groceries) and overlyexpensive versions (at Western specialty markets). It is somewhat similar to abalsamic vinegar, which may be substituted. Another “close enough”equivalent might be a red rice vinegar with asmall amount of superfine sugar added.

Fried Eggs With Chives

The Chinese adore this combination of flavors;they feel eggs and chives are a match made in heaven.  This dish was popular among peasants andsent-down youth because both principal ingredients could be raised at homelegally and consumed privately during most of the Cultural Revolution.

Ingredients

1 largebunch chives (about the diameter of a half-dollar or 30 mm). (Chinese chives recommended, if possible.)

4 eggs

Dash of salt

5 tbsp.cooking oil

Method

1. Rinse off the chives and cut them intosmall pieces, each about an inch (2.5 cm)in length.   

2. Beat the eggs and add thesalt.  Heat the oil in a wok.  When it begins to smoke, add the chives andstir-fry them until their color changes into a deep green. This should takeabout a minute.  

3. Add the eggs and stir-fry them until theysolidify.  Remove and stir.

Steamed Savory Egg Custard

This was a particularly popular dish duringthe Cultural Revolution because it did not require oil, which was strictlyrationed, and because portions could be increased by dilution so that addingmore water meant feeding more people.

Ingredients

2 eggs

3 ½ cups (900 ml.)cold water

Dash of salt

¼ scallion (spring onion)

1-2 Tbsp. sesame oil(optional)

Sprig of cilantro or parsley (for garnish; optional)

Method

1. Beat the eggs in a dish and add 1 ½ cups(about 400 ml.) of the water and the salt. Mix well.  Cut the scallion intosmall pieces.

 

2. Put the mixture in a heat-safe dish witha cover.  The covered dish should fitinside your wok.  Add the remaining waterto the wok and bring to the boil.

3. When the water begins to boil, place thecovered dish in the wok and then cover the wok itself.  Turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 10minutes.

 

4. Remove from the wok.  Just before serving, sprinkle the scallionand drizzle the sesame oil (if desired) on top of the custard.  Garnish and serve.

Vinegar-Glazed Chinese Cabbage

This dish is most common in north China, wherecabbage enjoys a longer growing season. It is best when made with dark vinegar. Even balsamic vinegar, which is not native to China, gives it awonderful flavor.

Ingredients

1 small head of Napa cabbage

3 cloves of garlic

1 Tbsp. (15 g.) cornstarch

2 Tbsp. (30 ml.) cold water

4 Tbsp. (60 ml.) cooking oil

3 Tbsp. (45 ml.) dark vinegar

Dash of salt

Method

1. Rinse the cabbage thoroughly and removeany brown leaves.  Slice the leaves inhalf lengthwise and then crosswise into shreds that are approximately 3-4 inches (7-10 cm.) long. 

2. Slice the garlic into thin pieces.  Combine the cornstarch and the cold water (itmust be cold to avoid lumps) and make a smooth paste.

Heat the oil in a wok until it just begins to smoke.  Then add the garlic and stir-fry for 10-15seconds.  

3.  Add the cabbage and stir-fry for about two minutes, until it hassoftened completely.  Add the vinegar andsalt and stir-fry for 10 more seconds until it is completely mixed.  

4.   Then add the cornstarch mix and continue tocook. The liquid will thicken quickly. Transfer to a platter and serve.

Vinegar starts here

NOTES:   

1.  My previous entryabout The Cultural Revolution Cookbook proved to be extremely popular, so I thought posting afew more of the delicious recipes would be a good idea and, I hope, encourage readersto buy the book, which is both inexpensive and incredibly worth owning.   

It has been great to see Sasha Gong and Scott D. Seligman’s work receiving very good reviews and what seems to be a lot ofattention in the press.

2.  Regular visitors here may have noticed that I tend to postvegetarian recipes (and sometimes fish and seafood), but I’d like to mention thatThe Cultural Revolution Cookbook alsocontains excellent meat, poultry, fish and seafood dishes.  The book’s hallmarks are simplicity, community and humanity, all scarce ingredients in these current dark and angry days.

So, for all the people who are unlikely to be daily lunching on Dover sole anddining on Wagyu beef, thismay be  

Your Big RedBook.

As Clear as Tofu and Scallions: The Cultural Revolution Cookbook

INTRO:  




Of my various 2011 "Christmas books" (they ranged fromvolumes of political  analysis  and invective to artistic, natural history andculinary works), my absolute favorite was The Cultural Revolution Cookbook by Sasha Gong andScott D. Seligman.


When I first read about the book's impending publication, Ithought it must be a sort of joke item.  Remembering the CulturalRevolution, one tends to think about politicalterror, acts of terrible and confusing cruelty, social destruction and materialprivation, rather than cuisine.

During the Cultural Revolution




But Sasha Gong, a Chinese-bornAmerican academic whose family was relocatedfrom Guangzhou to Hunan province during the Cultural Revolution,significantly interrupting her schooling, has in this handsome, beautifullywritten and sensibly priced book, transformed proverbial lemons into lemonadeas she tells the story of learning by necessity to live, cook and eat simply in the countryside, growing, preparingand sharing pure, good and traditional food.


I have been cooking from the excellent,delicious recipes in this book non-stop and I am pleased to present you with one of Ms. Gong'ssimplest, easiest and best meals.  If you want, you can elaborate on itby adding minced or sliced ginger,  hot chilies or various types of pickledvegetables .  It's splendid as is, however, and the title of this post,explained in the text following the recipe -- "Asclear as tofu and scallions" -- used as a simile for  integrity orflattering sobriquet -- is an image I understand and find very moving.  

 Tofu

TofuWith Scallions and Sesame Dressing

Ingredients




1 scallion
1 cake firm tofu (bean curd)
2 tsp. sesame oil
Pinch of salt




Tofu was invented in 164 BC bya Chinese nobleman trying to make medicine, and it has taken its rightful place asa major source of protein in the Chinese diet.  This amazingly simple dish is incredibly tasty,low in fat and high in protein.  Use a firm bean curd to make it becauseit will hold its shape better this way.


Shred the scallion into verysmall pieces, cutting it on the bias to maximize surface area.  Rinse the tofu and place it on a microwave-safe serving plate.  


Warm it by microwavingit on high for one minute, or simply heating it very gently in a conventionaloven.


         Remove the tofu from the oven, and with a sharp knife or cleaver, cut it up into small pieces about 1 ½ inches (4cm.) long, an inch (2.5 cm.) wide and about ½ inch (about 1.5 cm.) thick. 



         Sprinkle the scallion, sesame oiland salton top of the tofu pieces and serve while still warm.




Note:  There were obviously nomicrowaves in the Chinese countryside during the Cultural Revolution, nordid peasants have convection ovens.  They would simply have soaked the tofu – which would havebeen freshlymade – inhot water for 10 minutes to heat it up.

Sesame

“Supreme Instruction – 

‘ Struggle against selfishness and criticize revisionism’”

During the Cultural Revolution, people were often accused of offenses, from stealing or engaging in extra-marital affairs to slacking off or having “bad thoughts.”  Meetings ofvillage production teams were forums for dispute resolution where people wereoften compelled to criticize themselves or defend themselves against suchaccusations.  A good defense was toproclaim one’s loyalty and demonstrate knowledge of communist doctrine, with whateverrhetorical flourishes one could muster.  



     This dish – its milky white bean curd a sharp contrast to the deep green of its scallions – provided a useful metaphor.  Ifyour innocence was  ‘as clear as tofu and scallions,” then anyone ought to be able to appreciate it. 



Excerptedfrom:  The CulturalRevolution Cookbook by Sasha Gong and Scott D. Seligman (Hong Kong, Earnshaw Books, 2011)

Scallions

OUTRO:



Iconfess a deep and profound love for Chinese bean curd.  Although it is fine in this country, especiallywhen it is freshly made, it is out of this world in China. 



     Thinking about bean curd, which I probably do an abnormal amount,brings to mind the final testament ofthe Chinese poet Qu Qiubai, imprisoned and then executed by the Kuomitang because he was too ill to depart onthe October 1934 LongMarch.   One of his final acts was composing a goodbyenote, "Some SuperfluousWords," which after praising flowers,moonlight and factory chimneys, concluded byrecommending "AnnaKarenina" and "The Dream of the Red Chamber" and stating, last ofall, that "the Chinese bean curd is the most delicious food in the wholeworld.  Goodbye andfarewell!."

Qu Qiubai – "Some Superfluous Words"

 

Thismakes me think of the author, Sasha Gong