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| MINCED CHICKEN WITH LETTUCE - CONTINUED |
| 4.) Heat a wok or wide frying pan over high heat. When pan is hot, add 3 tbls. of oil. When oil is hot, add chicken and stir-fry until chicken is opaque (about 3 mins.). Set aside. 5.) Add remaining oil to the pan. When oil begins to heat, add ginger, garlic, and onions. Stir once. Add mush- rooms, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts. Stir-fry for 2 mins. Return chicken to pan. Stir the cooking sauce, |
| and add to the pan, and cook, stirring until sauce bobbles and thickens. Serve hot. To eat, spread a little hoisin sauce on a lettuce leaf, spoon on some chicken, then wrap up the lettuce leaf, jelly- roll style. Serve with steamed or fried rice. Makes 4 - 6 servings. |
| CANTONESES: |
| G.) CHICKEN & LOP CHEONG - (Chinese Sausages): |
| 2 tbls. ea., soy sauce and dry sherry; 1 tbl. sugar; 2 cloves minced garlic; 2 quarter-size slices of fresh ginger, crushed with the side of a cleaver; 1 lb. boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2" pieces; 4 med.-sized dried Sha- take mushrooms; 1/2 lb. Lop Cheong (Chinese sausages; 2 tbls. salad oil; 1 3/4 cups water; 1 cup long grain rice; 2 whole green onions, thinly sliced. |
| 1.) In a bowl, combine soy sauce, sherry, sugar, garlic, and ginger. Add chicken and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hr. Cover mushrooms with warm water, let stand for 30 mins., then drain and cut off and discard stems. Squeeze mushrooms dry and thinly slice. Cut the Lop Cheong into 1/4" thick diagonal slices. 2.) Drain chicken, reserving marinade; discard ginger. In a heavy 3 qt. pan, heat oil over high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning, until lightly browned (about 2 mins., on each side). Remove chicken and set aside. To the pan, add reserved marinade and water; stir in rice. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and cook, uncovered, until liquid is absorbed (about 8 - 10 mins.). Reduce heat to low and stir in chicken, Lob Cheong, and mushrooms. Cover and simmer, without stirring, until rice is tender (about 45 mins.). To serve, spoon mixture into a serving bowl and sprinkle with green onions. Makes 4 servings. |
| H.) WESTERN-STYLE PEKING DUCK: |
| 1 4-5 lb. duckling; 1/2 tsp. ea., ground ginger & ground cinnamon; 1/4 tsp. ea., grnd. nutmeg & white pepper; 1/8 tsp. grnd. cloves; 3 tbls. soy sauce; 5 whole green onions; 1 tbl. honey; 1/2 cup hoisin sauce or plum sauce; fresh cilantro. |
| 1.) Rinse duck inside and out and pat dry; cut off tail and discard; reserve giblets for another use. 2.) Mix together ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, and cloves. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp. of spice mixture inside duck. Stir 1 tbl. of the soy sauce into remaining spice mixture, then rub evenly over exterior of the duck. 3.) Cut one of the green onions in half and tuck inside cavity of the duck. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hrs., or until the next day. 4.) Set duck, breast side up, on a rack over 1 1/2" to 2" boiling water. Cover and steam for 1 hr., adding more water, if necessary, as it evaporates. Cool duck so it firms slightly, then drain and discard juices and green onion from the cavity. 5.) Set duck, breast side up, on a rack in a baking pan and prick skin all over with a fork. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 mins. Blend remaining 2 tbls. soy sauce with honey and brush on duck. Turn oven temperature to 500 degrees. Bake for 5 mins., or until duck skin becomes richly browned; DO NOT ALLOW SKIN TO CHAR. 6.) While duck is roasting, cut remaining green onions in 1 1/2" pieces, then cut lengthwise in thin strips. Serve green onions and hoisin sauce in separate bowls. 7.) When duck is roasted, slice off skin and cut it into roughly 2" square pieces. Slice meat into bite-size pieces. Reserve bones for duck soup. Arrange skin and duck meat on a serving plate and garnish with cilantro. Serve with steamed or fried rice. |