Wok ‘n Rowland

One taste of the good food in Rowland Heights is not enough. If you live too far away for frequent visits, why not try reproducing the dishes at home? When we asked local chefs to give us the recipes for some of our favorite dishes, we discovered that none are difficult to cook. Some do require unusual ingredients, but virtually all of them are available in large Asian markets.

Although this Taiwanese dish tastes of star anise or five-spice powder, it contains neither; the anise flavor comes from aromatic red-stemmed basil, which you can find in Thai, Vietnamese and other Asian markets. The Thai name for this herb is “horapha”; the Vietnamese call it “rau que.”

THE CHICKEN GARDEN’S THREE-CUP CHICKEN

Oil for deep frying

1/2 chicken (about 1 3/4 pounds), cut with bone into 1- to 1 1/2-inch chunks

1/4 cup sesame oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Chinese wine

10 slices ginger root

10 cloves garlic, peeled

3 small dried red chiles

2 green onions, cut into 2-inch lengths

1 cup loosely packed Asian red-stemmed basil

Heat oil in wok or deep fryer. Fry chicken until partially cooked, about 2 minutes. Drain well. Remove all oil from wok. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, wine, ginger, garlic, chiles and green onions. Bring to boil.

Add chicken. Boil and stir about 10 minutes, until liquids have almost evaporated. Add basil and cook and stir until wilted. Turn chicken into heated casserole and serve at once. Makes 4 servings as part of a Chinese meal.

Each serving contains about:

470 calories; 1,098 mg sodium; 96 mg cholesterol; 35 grams fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 27 grams protein; 0.26 gram fiber.

At the 99 Ranch Market deli, you’ll find all kinds of prepared Chinese dishes, including sesame chicken, salted baked shrimp, fried pork chops and noodles. One day, we saw this unusual pork dish with crisp chive flowers.

JULIENNE PORK AND BEAN CURD WITH CHIVE FLOWERS

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon Chinese wine or dry sherry

1/4 cup chicken broth or water

3/4 to 1 pound pork tenderloin or lean pork, cut julienne

1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil

1/2 teaspoon minced ginger root

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 green onion, chopped

4 ounces pressed bean curd, cut julienne

12 stalks chive flowers, cut into 3-inch lengths

2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sugar, Chinese wine and broth and set aside. Add 2 teaspoons soy sauce to pork.

Heat peanut oil in wok over high heat. Add pork and stir-fry 3 minutes until no longer pink. Remove from wok and set aside.

Add ginger and garlic to wok and stir-fry until fragrant. Add green onion, bean curd and chive flowers. Cook 3 minutes or until bright green and tender-crisp. Add soy sauce mixture and simmer 1 minute. Return pork to wok and mix. Stir in cornstarch paste and cook just until thickened. Add sesame oil. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

221 calories; 465 mg sodium; 40 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 19 grams protein; 0.07 gram fiber.

You can use shrimp or chicken in place of rock cod in these two recipes adapted from Sam Woo Restaurant. Both start with frying the cornstarch-coated fillets. You can then pick the final flavor; the first is hot with chile, the second sweet with orange sauce.

ROCK COD FILLETS WITH SPICY SALT (From Sam Woo)

1 pound rock cod or red snapper fillets

1 1/4 teaspoons sugar

Salt

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Cornstarch

Oil for deep-frying

1 teaspoon 5-spice powder

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

2 green onions, diced

1 to 2 serrano chiles, seeded and finely diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Cut fillets into 2-inch pieces. Combine with 1 teaspoon sugar, salt to taste and soy sauce. Place about 1/2 cup cornstarch in bowl. Dredge each piece fish with cornstarch (use only enough cornstarch to lightly coat surface of fish).

Heat oil to 360 degrees in wok. Deep-fry fish, few pieces at time, 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown. Drain and set aside.

Combine 5-spice powder, white pepper, remaining 1/4 teaspoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside in small serving bowl.

Remove all but 1 tablespoon oil from wok. Turn heat to high. Saute green onions, chiles and garlic 1 to 2 minutes. Add fillets, toss quickly and remove to serving platter. Serve immediately with 5-spice mixture on side. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

138 calories; 399 mg sodium; 42 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 24 grams protein; 0.34 gram fiber.

ROCK COD FILLETS WITH ORANGE-SESAME SEED SAUCE

1 pound rock cod fillets

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Salt

White pepper

Cornstarch

Oil for deep frying

Orange Sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Cut fillets into 2-inch pieces. Combine fish with soy sauce and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Place about 1/2 cup cornstarch in bowl. Dredge each piece fish with cornstarch (use only enough cornstarch to lightly coat surface of fish).

Heat oil to 360 degrees in wok. Deep-fry fish, few pieces at time, 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown. Drain. To serve, spoon Orange Sauce over fish and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

230 calories; 379 mg sodium; 42 mg cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 26 grams carbohydrates; 24 grams protein; 0.17 gram fiber.

Orange Sauce

1/3 cup sugar

Salt

1/4 cup vinegar

3 tablespoons orange marmalade

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Combine sugar, salt to taste, vinegar, marmalade and orange zest in saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Stir water into cornstarch, stirring until dissolved. Add to marmalade mixture and heat just until thickened. Makes about 1 cup.

Luk Yue restaurant is famous for its noodles, and this dish is easy to duplicate at home. Yee-fu noodles (also spelled e-fu) are dried noodles processed so they cook quickly. Many Chinese markets carry them, packaged in loose clumps. The cooked meats may be purchased at Chinese delis.

LUK-YUE’S PAN-FRIED TRI-SHREDDED YEE-FU NOODLES

1/2 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms

1 (8-ounce) package yee-fu noodles

3 tablespoons peanut oil

1 cup julienned steamed chicken

1 cup julienned barbecued pork

1 cup julienned roast duck

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

4 to 5 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water

15 stalks yellow chives, cut in 2-inch lengths

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Soak mushrooms in warm water until tender. Drain and cut julienne. Cook noodles in boiling water until tender, about 45 seconds. Drain and set aside.

Heat wok until hot. Add peanut oil and saute chicken, pork and duck meats. Stir in mushrooms. Add water and simmer 3 to 5 minutes. Add salt, sugar, soy sauce and pepper. Stir in cornstarch paste and cook just until thickened, about 1 minute. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Gently mix in noodles, chives and sesame oil. Cook over medium-low heat just to heat. Do not overmix. Serve hot. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

497 calories; 1,362 mg sodium; 76 mg cholesterol; 18 grams fat; 49 grams carbohydrates; 33 grams protein; 0.79 gram fiber.

Those long, pale-green shreds you see in bins in the produce section of Chinese markets are green papaya, ready to use in salads and relishes. Here’s an adaptation of one such salad, served at Pho So 1 Restaurant in the 99 Ranch Market complex.

GREEN PAPAYA SALAD WITH SHRIMP AND PORK

1 1/2 cups shredded green papaya pulp

4 teaspoons vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

2/3 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 tablespoons cold water

20 basil leaves, coarsely chopped

1 cup cooked medium shrimp, sliced in halves

1 cup thinly sliced cooked pork

2 tablespoons chopped peanuts

Asian chile sauce, optional

Fish Sauce Dressing

Combine green papaya, vinegar, sugar, salt and water in bowl. Let stand at least 15 minutes in refrigerator. Toss with basil leaves and garnish with shrimp, pork and peanuts. Serve with chile sauce and Fish Sauce Dressing to taste. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

137 calories; 511 mg sodium; 69 mg cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 16 grams protein; 0.71 gram fiber.

Fish Sauce Dressing

4 teaspoons vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons cold water

1 to 2 teaspoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons finely shredded peeled carrot

Combine vinegar, sugar, water, fish sauce and carrot in bowl. Makes about 1/3 cup.

This thick, soupy dessert from the Hainan Chicken Restaurant may be served hot or cold. It’s made with black glutinous rice, which you can find in large Thai and Asian markets. Pandanus leaves are boiled with the rice to add a special flavor. If you can’t find them, substitute a dash of bottled pandanus flavoring.

BLACK RICE PUDDING (Bubur Pulut Hitam)

2/3 cup black glutinous rice

6 cups water

4 fresh or frozen pandanus leaves

3 cups coconut milk

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Wash rice. Place in large saucepan with water and bring to boil. Add pandanus leaves. Cover and simmer 1 hour or until rice is tender. Stir in coconut milk, sugar and salt. Bring to boil, stirring. Cook until mixture is thick but still fluid, like a gruel. Remove pandanus leaves. Serve hot or cold. Makes 8 servings.

Note: If desired, lightly salted thick coconut milk may be spooned over top of each serving.

These crisp, wafer-like cookies are from MyStore Bakery in City of Industry. Although we’ve reduced master baker Jason Mao’s recipe from a giant quantity so that the cookies may not look exactly like the ones at the store, they taste wonderful. If you add a bit of almond extract, the flavor becomes more intense.

THIN ALMOND COOKIES

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup cake flour

3 tablespoons egg white

1 whole egg

1 1/2 cups sliced almonds

1/4 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine sugar and cake flour in bowl. Stir egg white and egg with fork. Add to flour mixture, mixing well. Stir in almonds and extract, if desired.

Spoon about 1 tablespoon mixture, about 2 inches apart, on buttered baking sheet. Gently flatten top to spread almonds. Reduce baking temperature to 300 degrees and bake cookies 25 to 30 minutes. While hot or with baking sheet still on oven rack, remove each cookie using spatula and transfer to wire rack. Cool. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

Each cookie contains about:

61 calories; 5 mg sodium; 7 mg cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.34 gram fiber.

A sample taste of this pastry-wrapped cake, freshly baked at the 99 Ranch Market bakery, was delicious. You may use your favorite pound cake recipe, but the frozen loaf works perfectly.

POUND CAKE IN PUFF PASTRY

1 sheet frozen puff pastry from (17 1/4-ounce) package

1 (1-pound) loaf frozen pound cake, thawed

1 egg yolk, stirred

Thaw puff pastry according to package directions and roll to 15x11-inch rectangle. Wrap pound cake all around with pastry. Place seam-side-down on baking sheet and score surface with fork in lines to mark where cake will be sliced. Brush with egg yolk.

Bake at 350 degrees 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 10 to 12 servings.