We have Gai-lan...Chinese Broccoli. We get our vegetables on Thursday or Friday. Call us if you like: 683-5958.

Recipe by Rhonda Parkinson.

Oyster sauce nicely complements the slightly bittersweet taste of Chinese broccoli (gai lan). Blanching turns Chinese broccoli a beautiful jade green, but you can use reqular broccoli if it's not available. Serves 3 to 4.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:

• 10 ounces Chinese broccoli (gai lan)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 slice ginger (about 1/2-inch thick)
• Sauce:
• 3 tablespoons chicken broth or water
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Preparation:

Wash the Chinese broccoli. Cut off the ends if not already trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces (about 2 inches long).
In a large saucepan, add enough water to cover the broccoli. Add the salt, baking soda and ginger. Bring to a boil.
While waiting for the water to boil, prepare the sauce. Combine the chicken broth or water, oyster sauce, rice wine or dry sherry and sugar. Bring to a boil in a small saucepan. Turn the heat down and keep warm while blanching the broccoli.
Add the Chinese broccoli to the boiling water. Cook until the stalks are tender but crisp (3 - 4 minutes). Rinse in cold running water. Drain.
Pour the sauce over the broccoli. Serve immediately.

More Chinese Broccoli Recipes
Chinese Broccoli With Oyster Sauce - in this recipe the broccoli is cooked in the wok and with sauce added in the final stages of cooking.
Bean Curd With Chinese Broccoli - a filling and nutritous dish combining

We have lots of Chinese sausage in our cooler. Check out this recipe...

...using this delicious sausage:

Chinese sausage adds its distinctive flavor to this home cooked fried rice recipe. Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Black pepper, to taste
• 5 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil for frying, or as needed
• 1 - 2 Chinese sausages, diced (I used 2)
• 1/4 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 4 cups leftover cooked rice
• 1 teaspoon oyster sauce, or to taste (I used 1 teaspoon)
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• Extra salt and pepper to taste, optional
• 1 green onion, finely chopped, optional

Lots of new products this week - More shelf items and stock increased twofold.

Visit YAO the next chance you get.  Browse our new stock and pick up some ingredients for a home-cooked, special, meal.

-tp

Bun Cha: Vietnamese grilled pork with rice vermicelli

Bun Cha: Vietnamese grilled pork with rice vermicelli

Excellent, well-illustrated recipe, and it uses tapioca skins.

Tapioca Spring Roll Skins at YAOs

What's the skinny on these Vietnamese tapioca spring roll skins? You soak them in hot water briefly until they're soft and pliable, and then roll up whatever julienned vegies you wish in them kinda like a tortilla.  This is ONE way to use them, of course.  Google tapioca skins for more info.  -tp.

Thai Recipes

We sell many items used in Thai cooking.  Check our shelves and check this site for dozens of Thai recipes, FREE: http://www.importfood.com/recipes.html

New Products.........we've shelved many new items in the last few days.

Stop in. Have a look.  Ask our clerk or store manager questions about products.  Our manager speaks two dialects of Chinese and also speaks Spanish.

Included in new items are some Maggi product. Here is site for recipes from Maggi:
http://www.descubremaggi.com/CookingIdeas/RecipeAdvancedSearch.aspx
and
http://www.descubremaggi.com/CookingIdeas/RecipeSearchResults.aspx

-tp

We do not sell matsutake mushrooms, but it's the season..

For a unique flavor, try the matsutake. This heavy white or brown meaty delight has a thick cottonlike partial veil. The surface is smooth and dry, the stem short and broad. With age, the cap and stem develop rusty stains where bruised. But it is the odor that identifies this mushroom. It is very spicy and clean, like no other foodstuff. Japanese chefs treasure this delicacy, and their preparations reveal how to bring out its strong fragrance and individual flavor.

Try marinating matsutakes for 10 minutes in soy sauce, dry sherry or sugar, and good-quality bland oil. Then roast them on a grill until golden brown and serve alongside a main course. Matsutakes will do wonders for chicken broth and stir-fried dishes. Cut both stem and cap in small pieces, as this mushroom is firm and chewy. It has a magnificent penetrating unique flavor not like anything else: spicy, but not peppery.

When making rice, quickly lift the lid of the cooking pot and throw in a handful of matsutake bits. Replace the lid to allow the rice and mushrooms to harmonize inside the pot. This elevates a bland grain to ethereal heights.

Matsutakes blend well with chicken or fish. Even when frozen for a whole year, they retain most of their original zesty flavor.

Fresh or frozen mushrooms may be used interchangeably in all recipes.

[Source: http://www.mssf.org/cookbook/matsutake.html ]

Matsutake Gohan

Ingredients:

• 2 large matsutake mushrooms (or 3 medium ones)
• 2 1/2 cups Japanese rice
• 2 tablespoons sake (Japanese rice wine)
• 1 tablespoon mirin (a sweet-tasting Japanese cooking wine, can be omitted if you can't find it)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 cups kombu dashi (soup stock made from kelp and water, amazingly good!)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth and cut them lengthwise into 1/8'' pieces.
Add all the ingredients in a small cast-iron or stainless steel pot. Stir them well, and let them sit for 20 minutes to an hour to let the flavors start melding.

Bring the mixture to a boil by turning the heat to high. When it starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot with a lid and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
Turn off the heat, but keep the lid on and let the dish cook for another 10 minutes or so. Then remove from heat, fluff, and wait until it cools to an edible temperature.
This recipe is really simple but really good! It's an easy matsutake mushroom recipe that serves as a good introduction to their complex flavor.

When harvesting, please consider the environment, the relationship of the mushroom to the soil, the pine trees, and the animals living in the forest.  Don't overdo it, please. It is important to respect matsutake as you would any mushroom. Don't pick more than you need. If picking commercially, leave some in every patch so they can drop their spores and propagate..

NEW ITEMS IN STOCK, INCLUDING MEXICAN GOODS ON 10/6/2010

If you want something in stock that we don't have, please...

...put your request in the book on the counter.  If we have more than a few requests, we will make an effort to stock the item, if feasible.
                                                              -tp, Op. Mgr

Chinese condiments. Good, basic reference

Go to: http://www.orientalfood.com/kitchen/ingredient/ChineseCondiments.shtml

Examples from site:

Hoisin Sauce
A rich brownish red Asian sauce made from soybean paste, garlic, vinegar, sugar, and spices. Constantly used in Egg Rolls, Cha Siu (barbecued pork) and other dishes.

Oyster sauce
A staple condiment of Chinese cooking, this rich brown sauce is made with oysters, soy sauce, salt, and spices. The fishy taste abates in the brewing process. Be aware that cheaper brands may have MSG and other additives.

Chinese vegetable: On-Choy, 空心菜 - IN STOCK

posted by ellen under food 08/27/10

My favorite vegetable is the Chinese dish 空心菜 (pinyin: kong xin cai) or in Cantonese, On-Choy. The literal translation is hollow heart vegetable. It totally makes sense once you take a look at the green stems…which are hollow on the inside! I always ask for this dish in any Chinese restaurant- even if its not on the menu because it is often a specialty dish. If you try it you might even impress the waitstaff with your Chinese vegetable knowledge.

Ingredients:
One bunch On-Choy/空心菜
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil - I think peanut oil is used most often in cooking, but correct me if I'm wrong.
salt to taste

Directions:

1. Take the vegetable and unbundle it. Cut about 1/2 inch-1 inch off the stems and discard.
2. Next separate the leaves from the stem. Just gently snap off the leaves and separate from the stems and put into separate bowls. (I like to do this because the leaves cook so much faster than the stems, so starting with the stems will keep your leaves tender and not overcooked). Wash the leaves and stems thoroughly and dry. (Sometimes I lay them out on a paper towel to dry. This is so that when you toss in the vegetables later you do not get crazy oil splatter from the water)

3. Add oil to a pan, add garlic and turn to high heat.

4. When you hear the garlic start to sizzle, add the stems. (Be careful of oil splatter if the stems have any excess water). Cook for ~2-3 minutes or until the stems start to get soft, but not fully cooked (taste one to try).

5. Add in the leaves to the pan and slowly mix as the greens cook. Don’t worry- they shrink A LOT!  Cook another 2-3 minutes until greens are just tender. Add salt to taste.

Note: Another variation I like is instead of salt to use 豆腐乳(fermented tofu). Thoroughly mix 1-2 cubes with some water in a separate bowl and add in pan in lieu of salt.

6. Take vegetables out of the pan immediately otherwise they will continue to cook and get tough. Even if you take them out onto a plate, they will still cook a little.

Gai-lan or gailan - We have gai-lan. We get our vegetables on Thursdays or Fridays. Call if you like.: 683-5958 in Sequim

Gailan resembles a cross between tradition broccoli and cabbage. It is generally green, with a thick, crunchy stem and a large, flat leafy end. There is small flower heads on near the end on some pieces, and the whole thing, stem through flowers and leaves may be eaten. It is found often in Cantonese and in Vietnamese dishes, with each part of the Gailan having a distinct and different flavor. There is a little bit of a 'bitter' taste to it, which sets it apart from the Western, traditional broccoli found in many homes throughout the United States. [Source: http://www.associatedcontent.com ]

Gai lan tastes a little like head broccoli but it’s crunchy stems and thick leaves give it a flavour all its own. The stems, leaves and flower buds can all be stir fried, steamed or added to soups and casseroles. Thick stems should be cut in half and added before the leaves as they take longer to cook. One of the most popular ways to cook gai lan is to steam or stir fry with a little chicken stock and serve drizzled with oyster sauce.

To cook Gailan properly, via stir fry, I first prepare a stir fry setup in a wok, a traditional method of stir frying. It's a very large pan, and is made to handle the rough and often vigorous work required for this type of cooking. I add a little bit of olive oil to the wok, and heat it on high till it is sizzling.

Then, I throw in a spoonful of salt and minced garlic, being careful to avoid the resulting popping oil. Next, I immediately add the washed and sliced Gailan, quickly tossing and turning it to ensure it does not burn. After about a minute of this, I pour the stock sauce over the Gailan.