Chinese Style Chicken Tempura

Ma Laoshi has taught us another recipe in our Chinese cooking class.

Ingredients:
1 cup potato starch
1/2 cup flour
2 egg whites
cold water (you can even use use water with crushed ice)
2 chicken breasts
oil

Slice chicken breasts into slivers. You'll want to cut along the top of the chicken, shaving off slice by slice.

Then beat your egg whites until they are foamy white. Add in the potato starch, flour, and approximate 1/2-1 cup water. The mixture should be about as thick as cake batter, adjust starch, flour and water according to get to this thickness. Coat the chicken slices in the batter. You can let the chicken sit in the batter as you heat up oil in a wok or deep-sided frying pan. Heat up about 2-3 inches high worth of oil. When the oil starts crackling and popping, it is hot enough for you to carefully (using cooking chopsticks ideally) drop in coated chicken slices piece by piece. You want to be extremely careful during this step as you could get burned by stray cooking oil. Also use a spatula to scrape the chicken batter and pieces off the side of the wok so it doesn't stick. When the pieces fry to a LIGHT tan color, scoop them out and let them cool to a warm temperature--not burning hot anymore. Pour more oil into the cooking pan if it is no longer at 2-3 inches in height. Heat it up to a high heat until it begins to crackle and pop again. Carefully put the chicken pieces back into the oil to fry again until golden brown. Scoop them out and drain on paper towels or in a metal strainer. Serve. The absolute key to this recipe is to double fry, otherwise you won't get any of the crispiness you need, and the chicken might not even be fully cooked.

Ma Laoshi served our chicken tempura with a mixture of black pepper and salt on the side to dip it in. You can even sprinkle this mixture on top of the chicken if you think dipping is too much trouble, but sprinkle sparingly because it can easily become too salty. Also, I recommend serving this on a bed of green and red peppers or lettuce to add a sprinkle of color. If you really want to put in the extra work for a really tasty result, stir-fry the chicken with green and red pepper pieces, long dried pepper, and some chili oil for a spicy, tangy chicken dish. This recipe is a really good base for any coated chicken stir-fry, and you can even do this with other meats.

Best of luck to your eating with chopsticks adventures!

Mapo Tofu, Mild Northeast Chinese Version

Also known as "mala" tofu, this Sichuan dish has gained popularity all over China in its different variations. I learned a very mild 东北麻辣豆腐. I just wanted to post a quick recipe I learned from Ma Laoshi's northeast cuisine cooking class before I forget the ingredients. I have tried my best to find translations for all the Chinese names. Also, Ma Laoshi rarely gives us an accurate measurement of his ingredients, so I have guestimated based on what I saw. It could be wrong, but adjust according to your taste.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Sichuan peppercorn (be careful, this stuff has the ability to make your tongue go numb)
1/4 cup star anise
1/2 package fermented black beans
Handful of dried heaven-facing pepper (指天辣椒), dried long and thin whole peppers you'll often find in Chinese cooking
Chili oil (I think the teacher actually used chili paste)
Chicken stock (powder, the Chinese brand with the orange/yellow can and a green cap)
Salt
Soysauce
Oil
2 large (5x3x3 inch) blocks of firm tofu, cut into small cubes (about 5 normal sized blocks should work)

In a wok or large-sized pan, heat up about 1 cup of oil. When the oil starts dancing, toss in the Sichuan peppercorn (I have been trying to find some kind of a replacement for Sichuan peppercorn, and the closest thing I can think of is dried fennel. However, try your best to find Sichuan peppercorn). Let the peppercorn fry in the oil for about 4-5 minutes before scooping out only the peppercorn and tossing it away. The oil should be nice and flavored with the "嘛" flavors of the peppercorn now. Next fry the star anise in the oil for about 2-3 minutes, but do not scoop it out.

Add in the tofu cubes with about 1.5 cups of water. Add in the chili peppers and chili oil/paste as well as the fermented black beans. Be careful when stirring tofu as it breaks easily. Always use the rounded back side of a spatula or a spoon to "push" the tofu around gently. Let the water boil in the mixture and allow the tofu to absorb the flavors. Gently stir to make sure the tofu doesn't burn at the bottom of the pan. At this time, you should test a small piece of tofu to see if it is cooked, also test out the flavors to see if it is spicy enough to your liking. Lower the heat to simmer and toss in 2 tablespoons or so of chicken stock and some salt. Also pour some soy sauce over the entire dish and "toss" everything. You might not be as amazing as my 82-year-old cooking teacher to flip a wok, but you can always give it a try if you don't mind sacrificing some tofu. Let it simmer for about 2-3 minutes as you prepare plates.

Since I love to cook, I have a few other suggestions to add more flavors to the dish. Try also tossing in the "head" of scallions (the light green part) in the oil when you first start, and then throwing in some chopped scallions into the dish. I also like some grated ginger. Also, you can add more things other than just tofu into the dish. Also try some green peas, thinly sliced pork, Wood Ear (木耳), thinly sliced carrots, green/red peppers, and anything else you can think of as long as it is suitable to cook in a short amount of time (don't want to overcook the tofu).