Dishtionary

Absolutely loved this recipe from Serious Eats (adapted from Jamie’s Kitchen).  The dish is not only dee-licious, but it sure looks like a beauty once on the plate.  This version of the recipe yields 2 servings.

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium savoy cabbage (root end sliced off; and leaves separated)
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger
• 4 scallions, white and light green parts, chopped
• 1/8 fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 red chili
• 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1/2 pound chicken breast
• 1/2 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained
• 1 tablespoons juice and 1 teaspoons grated zest from lemon or lime
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/8 cup soy sauce

Steps

(1) Bring a large pot of (salted) water to boil.  Place the cabbage into the water and blanch for 2 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon into cold water (to stop the cooking).  Drain and set aside.

(2) In a food processor, pulse the garlic, ginger, scallions,cilantro, red chili, fish sauce, chicken, water chestnuts, lemon juice and zest, sesame oil, and a dash of salt.  Process until completely pureed (consistency should be paste-like).

(3) To assemble the cabbage wraps, lay out cabbage leaves.  Place 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the root end of a leaf.  Fold the leaf over once to enclose the chicken, fold both sides in, then fold over one more time so that the seam is down.  Repeat with remaining leaves/chicken.

(4) Fill a pot with an inch of water, place a steamer inside, and bring water to boil.  Assemble the chicken wraps seam side down in the basket.  Cover and steam until chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.

(5) Meanwhile, combine the hoisin sauce and soy sauce in a small bowl to make the dipping sauce.

(6) Serve with dipping sauce with toasted sesame seeds sprinkled on top and fried rice.

Chinese food made in your kitchen tastes as good as the “stuff” you get at the Chinese restaurant.  Serves 2.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Marsala
• 1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 3/4 pound chicken breast (pounded & sliced)
• 1/2 onion sliced
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Steps

(1) In a small bowl combine soy sauce, Marsala, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and pepper to taste and stir until sugar is dissolved. 

(2) Marinate chicken and onions in soy sauce mixture, turning occasionally, 25 minutes.

(3) Put oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Remove chicken and onions from marinade, letting excess drip off and reserving marinade, and cook until browned and cooked through. 

(4) Transfer chicken and onions to plate and keep warm. 

(5) Pour reserved marinade through a sieve into skillet and boil until reduced to about 2 tablespoons.

(6) Drizzle chicken and onions with sauce and serve with rice.*

*Pictured is yam and yellow squash rice.

Mott Street, at dusk, is a mad house.  I had been excited about my meal at Peking Duck House, but as I passed one open fish market after another, with its end-of-day bargaining escalating to a clamorous level, fish guts washed across the sidewalk, the stench, at first, unbearable, but after the fourth, fifth, sixth market, nearly suffocating, I feared that I might have lost my appetite.

But as I made my way inside Peking Duck House, what with its sophisticated décor and ambient lighting, I quickly distinguished this restaurant from those typically settled in Chinatown.  One word – tablecloths.  What I’m trying to say is that the place looked clean, and cleanliness was all I needed to help me forget about the funky rotten fish outside. 

Since we were a party of 8, the staff seated us downstairs where most of the large tables were located.  The atmosphere wasn’t as elegant as the upstairs, but a bigger table meant the addition of a Lazy Susan – and a Lazy Susan makes everything better.  Among us was Willy, the menu leader – the one who took charge and did all the ordering of food for the table.  In the context of a Chinatown restaurant, a menu leader is essential, preferably someone of Chinese descent, but someone who has been to the restaurant before will also do – and for us, non-Asian Willy had been to Peking Duck many a times. 

We started with a selection of three different kinds of dumplings – chicken, pork, and steamed vegetable – as well as scallion pancakes and cold noodles with sesame sauce.  The appetizer dishes were good, not anything that shocked the senses, but let’s be honest, these aren’t the dishes that define Peking Duck.  That’s right, you go to Peking Duck for the duck.  That golden, crispy, devour your face off duck.  And, it was truly dee-licious.  We polished off three of these bad boys and, yet, barely made a dent in the bill. 

For a belly-popping dinner at $25 bucks a head plus a convenient BYOW (“bring your own wine”) and no-corkage fee policy, Peking Duck House is the perfect spot for a Chinese-Food frenzied group.  

Peking Duck House
28 Mott Street, Chinatown