I am happy to share with you one of my favorite sides, Chinese Sauerkraut 酸菜 Suan Cai, also known as Sour Mustard Greens.

There are two distinct types of suan cai are found in China:

Northern China has used Napa cabbage (Chinese: 大白菜; pinyin: dà bái cài) as the traditional vegetable of choice.

Southern China uses the thick stalk varieties of Chinese mustard (Chinese: 芥菜; pinyin: jìe cai; Jyutping: syun1 coi3) variety to make suan cai. Production of suan cai differs from other pao cai in that the vegetable is compressed. This is accomplished by placing a heavy weight such as a large rock on top of the cover of the container so that the Chinese cabbage inside the container is slowly pressed as fermentation takes place. The processing of the vegetable helps to create a distinct flavor.

Suan cai is often used in cooking with meat, especially pork. It is said to neutralize the grease of meat.

Ingredients:
Pickled Mustard Greens
Sugar
Crushed Garlic
Thai Red Chili
Sesame Oil

Beef Noodle Soup Recipe: https://youtu.be/exhWxXi-00E

Happy Cooking,
Uncle Bill

#Chinesesaurkraut #suancai #酸菜 #taiwansaurkraut #sidedish

Hello! Welcome back to another episode of Uncle Bill’s Kitchen. Here at Uncle Bill’s Kitchen, we really enjoy eating Asian food. Especially Spicy Chinese Food! One of my all time favorites is a well known dish from Sichuan called Mapo Tofu (四川名菜麻婆豆腐). Easy to make and very satisfying, this recipe is sure to be one of your all time favorites. The origin of mapo tofu can be traced to 1862 during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and to a couple surnamed Chen, who ran Chen Xingsheng Restaurant, a small eatery near Wanfu Bridge in north Chengdu. Unpleasantly, the mapo comes from the pock-marked face of Mrs. Chen – ma meaning pock, po meaning elderly woman. Oil porters crossing the bridge would use their stock to save money and ask the Chen restaurant to make them something nice.

Chen Mapo, as she came to be known, had her own unique way of cooking tofu, famous for its pleasant look, smell and taste. Chengdu Records, published in 1909, shows the restaurant’s name was eventually changed to Chen Mapo Tofu Restaurant and listed as one of the 23 most famous restaurants in Chengdu in the late Qing Dynasty. Its flavor, price and suitability with rice meant mapo tofu became a Chinese food staple, spreading nationwide.

The best philosophy for mapo tofu is: The simpler, the better. Even though the ingredients are cheap, mapo tofu is seen as a test of any aspiring chef’s skills.

Courtesy of The World of Chinese, www.theworldofchinese.com

Ingredients:
1/4 lb. Ground Pork
1 Tbsp. Dried Asian Chili Flakes
1/2 tsp. Sichuan Pepper
2 Tbsp. minced Garlic
2 Tbsp. Minced Ginger
1/2 C. Chopped Green Onion
2 Tbsp. Hot Bean Sauce
4 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
40 oz. Soft Tofu (20 if you like it meaty)
4 Tbsp. Mi Gio (Cooking wine)
1 C. Water Corn Starch Slurry
2 Tbsp. cooking oil

See Video for instructions.

#mapotofu #Sicuancooking #sicuanfood #tofu #spicychinesefood