Appetizers

Bau Recipe

1         T. dry yeast

3        C. flour

½        C. cake flour (this ingredient is very important for the correct taste)

¾        C. sugar and 1 t. sugar

1/3        C. shortening

1         C. lukewarm water

Combine ¾ C. sugar and flours.  Add yeast dissolved in ¼ C. lukewarm water and 1 t. sugar.  Allow yeast to "grow" before adding to sugar and flour mixture.  Mix well with hand.  Add shortening and ¾ C. lukewarm water.  Knead a few seconds.  Cover bowl and let stand in warm place until dough rises. 

Filling

6        oz. Chinese barbecued pork, diced

1         T. oil

2        T. water

½        t. sugar

½        t. soy sauce

1         t. oyster sauce

1         t. hoisin sauce

2        t. cornstarch

4        t. cold water (for thickening)

1.    Heat wok, add oil; stir-fry pork for 2 minutes.

2.    Add 2 T. water, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce and hoisin sauce. Bring to a boil.

3.    Prepare thickening by mixing the cornstarch and 4 t. cold water. Stir into the mixture and cook for 1 minute. Let cool before using.

Shaping the Buns

Place dough in a greased bowl and let rise for 1-2 hours.  Punch down and take a small amount of dough and form into a shallow bowl shape.  Put 1 T. filling in the center, close and twist dough to form a bun.  Put the bun on a 2" square of white paper.  Place buns on a cookie sheet and allow them to set and rise until light (about 1 hour) in a warm place.  Steam for 20 minutes.

Note: Steamed cha siu baus keep in the refrigerator for 1 week.  If frozen, they will keep for months.

Makes 16 baus.

Susan lnouye

Curry Chicken Triangles

½        C. (4 oz.) diced chicken

½        C. butter or margarine, melted, plus 2 T. solid (divided use)

2        T. all purpose flour

½        t. salt (or to taste)

1½      t. curry powder

2/3      C. undiluted evaporated milk

¼        C. finely chopped green onion

¼        C. toasted pine nuts

12       sheets phyllo dough

In medium skillet, cook chicken in tablespoons of butter until no longer pink.  Stir in the flour, salt and curry powder.  Cook about 1 minute. Gradually add the milk.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens.  Remove from heat.  Stir in the onion and pine nuts.

Preheat oven to 375˚.  To assemble the triangles, place 1 sheet of phyllo dough on a flat surface and brush lightly with some of the melted butter. Add 2 more sheets to this, buttering each sheet.  Using a rolling cutter, cut phyllo sheets to 4” x 18 " strips.  Spoon 1 tablespoon of filling onto short end of each strip.  Fold 1 corner of strip diagonally over the filling so short edge meets the long edge, forming a right triangle.  Continue folding over at right angles until the end of the strip to form a triangular shaped package.

Repeat this process with remaining strips and filling.  Brush top of each triangle with butter. Place on baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. These taste great!  If desired, chutney may be served as the dipping sauce.

Marianne Lee

Deep Fried Wonton

3        small pkgs. REGULAR Jimmy Dean Sausage

1         bunch scallions, green part only, finely diced

1         egg

A little less than ¼ C. soy sauce

2        pkgs. wonton wrappers....the freshest that you can find and at least 50 in each package.

You'll need a deep fat fryer to cook wontons.  Heat the oil to the highest setting.  Mix the pork sausage, diced scallion and egg together with a fork.  Add soy sauce until the mixture is a tan or light brown color.

Take a teaspoonful of the mixture and place in the center of a wonton wrapper.  Dot the edges of the wrapper with water to help it stick together.

Gather the edges of the wonton wrapper; press together and twist the edges to look like a duffle bag.  For another look, gather 2 corners together, then roll like a party favor, twisting ends closed.

Heat the oil in the deep fryer and fry the wonton until golden brown in color. Remove from fryer and let drain on a steel rack until cooled down.  Once cooled, arrange on serving platter or bowl & enjoy!

Marianne Lee

Doong (Chinese Tamales)

1 lb. pkg bamboo leaves

5 lb. sweet rice

2-3 lb. green mung beans, split or whole

2 lb. fresh pork with skin if possible (bacon part)

1 lb. ham, fatty pieces

1 lb. lop cheung

1 lb. lop meat (Chinese bacon)

1 lb. chestnuts (fresh or dried)

1 dozen salted eggs

salad oil, salt, borax (lye water is the same as Pang sa or vinegar)

kite string, scissors, large pot with cover

Advance preparation:

Leaves - boil leaves in big pot of lye water. Add 2 big T. of lye water or vinegar for each 1 lb. leaves. Rinse and wash leaves individually to remove sand and dirt.  Soak in water until ready for use.   

Rice - wash rice 2 days ahead of time. Leave soaking in water until ready to use.

Beans - if using whole beans, wash several times and soak overnight.  If using split beans, wash and rinse off as much as the green hulls as possible. This is a tedious process and may require many rinses.  This can be done the same day or the day before. Don't soak split mung beans too long or they will get water-logged.

Pork - cut fresh pork into chunks about 3"x1"x1/2". Salt each piece, stack neatly and refrigerate overnight.

Ham - cut ham in bite size strips. Each piece should have some fat on it.

Lop cheung and lop meat - cut into small strips

Chestnuts - shell fresh chestnuts and remove all hulls from nut meat.  If using dried chestnuts, soak in water overnight.

Preparing to assemble:

Rinse and drain leaves. Drain rice.  Add 1/2 t. borax and 2 t. salt or more for 5 lb rice. Mix well.  The borax is to keep the rice from sticking to the leaves. Too much borax makes the rice cook up hard. Drain beans well.  Salt to taste, mixing well. Saute chestnuts in hot oil and salt for a few minutes.  If using dried shrimp, saute them also.  Peel salted eggs and separate the whites. Cut each yolk into 2-3 pieces, add 1-2 T. oil and toss lightly.  Arrange all ingredients on table. Have scissors and kite string ready.

Assembling:

Fold a large leaf to form a cup-like boat.  Put 2-3 T. rice into folded leaf.  Add 1-2 T of beans, add meat, shrimp, egg and nut ingredients in desired quantities.  Cover with more beans and rice, wrap additional leaves around for depth.  Fold ends of leaves over to cover rice and form a neat bundle, then tie tightly with string before it falls apart.  Follow same procedure until all main supplies are exhausted. Makes approximately 2 dozen doongs.

Cooking:

Have a large pot of boiling water ready. Put assembled bundles in water, make sure they are completely covered with water.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat.  Make sure it continues to boil. Add more boiling water if necessary.  Boil for six hours.

Gor Shee Ju

Green Salsa

8-10   tomatillos

½        yellow onion

1         clove garlic

1         bunch cilantro

1         jalapeno pepper 

3        T. olive oil

1         chicken bullion cube

Puree first five ingredients in blender or food processor.  Combine puree and remaining ingredients in sauce pan and cook just until heated through.  Do not boil.  Remove and serve at once.

Can be served with tacos, enchiladas, chips etc.

 Joanna Wright

Inarizushi

15       ages

6        C. Japanese rice

          Dashi:

2        C. dashi

1         T. shoyu

1         C. sugar

½        t. salt

Vinegar seasoning:

¾-1     C. sugar

1         C. Japanese vinegar (if using American vinegar, add a little water)

1½      t. salt.

Cut 15 age's in half and open with knife.  Cover with cold water and bring to a boil in an uncovered pot.  Do this three times to remove the oil.  Boil age's in dashi until all the dashi is absorbed.

Heat vinegar seasoning until sugar dissolves.  Immediately add to cooked rice (6 cups cooked to 1½ C. vinegar solution)  and immediately season with vinegar.  This can be made up ahead of time and stored in the pantry.

Stuff rice into age's.  Makes 30.

Margie Lew

Joanna's Red Salsa

2         cans Mexican style stewed tomatoes (14 oz.)

1         can green chiles (6 oz.)

½        bunch cilantro

1         bunch green onions

2        T.vinegar

1        T.Worcestershire sauce

1         t.cumin

1         clove garlic

1         Serrano chile

Blend together in a food processor or blender.

Joanna Wright

Makizushi (Rolled Sushi)

Select ingredients to be used and prepare well in advance so it will be well cooled by the time the rice is cooked, mixed with vinegar syrup and cooled.  Choose ingredients for color as well as flavor for an attractive finished sushi.

Kampyo:  Wash in water, rubbing together to remove yellowness, change water often.  Soak 1 hour, drain and cook in dashi, turning often until tender.  5-10 minutes.  Lift out and cool thoroughly.

Shitake:  Soak mushrooms 1 hour; wash and rinse. Cook in dashi 15 or 20 minutes until tender.  Lift out mushrooms, cool, remove stems and cut in ½ inch slices.

Carrots:  peel and slice 1 or 2 large carrots lengthwise, ½ inch thick.  Cut each slice in 3 or 5 strips.  Cook in dashi until tender, drain and cool.

Egg strips (cut in ½ inch strips)

Shredded shrimp (powdered) or tuna

Pickled radish (yellow) - cut in thin strips same shape as green beans

Choose 1 green

Spinach:         Wash, parboil few minutes, rinse and drain.

Green beans:   Wash, parboil until just tender, rinse and cool.

Cucumber:           Cut in thin strips 8-1/2" long, marinate in mild vinegar, sugar solution.  Drain.

To roll sushi, use 8"x8" roasted seaweed and a sudare (flat bamboo roller). Place seaweed on sudare, sprinkle some water over the seaweed and spread rice over 3/4 of the seaweed's area.  Add shrimp or tuna in the middle and spread over entire width of rice.  Add 2 strips of kampyo, 1 strip of carrot, pickled radish and green vegetable. Spring small amount of water on exposed seaweed. Roll the sudare with the seaweed to obtain a nice roll. Chill slightly. To serve, dip knife in water and slice into 1/2 inch widths.  Arrange on plate and serve.

Margie Lew

Marge’s Salsa

1         can S & W Mexican style stewed tomatoes

1/2      bunch cilantro (or less)

1          small can diced green chiles (optional)

salt to taste

Chop tomatoes.  If you have a hand mixer, you can squeeze out the juice from the can, then put your mixer in the can and chop it up quickly.  Chop cilantro and add to tomatoes.  Add chiles if desired.  Serve with white tortilla strips (Grande is my favorite).

You can make this up in 5 minutes and it’s always a big hit!

Susan Inouye

Pedro's Dip

1         large can refried beans

1         8-oz. sour cream

½        head lettuce, shredded

4        fresh tomatoes, sliced

4        stalks green onions, chopped

1         green chili, chopped (optional)

4        oz. grated mild Cheddar cheese

1         14-oz. can sliced black olives

1         large fresh ripe avocado

Few more leaves of shredded lettuce 

Cheddar cheese (to sprinkle on top of last layer)

Use a 9”x13” pan or casserole dish.  Add chili salsa for a more spicy dip.

Procedure:

Layer each of the ingredients in the order listed. Layer sour cream by dotting with spoonfuls (you may not use it all).

Serve with tortilla chips.  Serves 20.

Margie Lew

Salsa

3        14-oz. (or 2  26-oz.) can tomatoes – Mexican flavor recommended

1         bunch cilantro

2        green bell peppers, cored and diced

1         bunch green onions, finely sliced

1         T. sugar

1         T. salt

pepper

dried chilis, other seasonings to taste

Combine 2/3 of the tomatoes with 2/3 bunch cilantro in a blender at low speed until cilantro is in small pieces.   Pour into a large mixing bowl.  Add both green peppers.  Chop remaining cilantro and add. Add finely sliced green onions.   Stir together and add the last can of tomatoes, coarsely blended.  Add sugar, salt, pepper, and chili.  Stir all ingredients well, and allow them to sit for ½ hour in the refrigerator for flavors to blend.

Cathleen Alton

Seafood Mold

1         can mushroom soup

1         C. mayonnaise

1         8-oz. cream cheese

1         pkg. gelatin

1         can water chestnuts, minced

1         C. celery and/or olives, minced

2        green onions, chopped

½        lb. crab meat and shrimp, shelled, deveined, and cooked

Heat 1 can mushroom soup (no water).  Cream 1 cup mayonnaise and an 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese.  Dissolve gelatin package into 3 T. hot water and add to soup.  Mix soup into the mayonnaise mixture.  Add water chestnuts, celery,  and/or olives, green onions, ½ lb. shrimp and crab meat.  Place in mold and let jell.   Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Monica Sakamoto