PRESSURE COOKING CHINESE RECIPES · 2015-08-14 · the pressure cooker, you can now enjoy...
Transcript of PRESSURE COOKING CHINESE RECIPES · 2015-08-14 · the pressure cooker, you can now enjoy...
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PRESSURE COOKING
CHINESE RECIPES
How To Cook Delicious Chinese Food Fast
(Includes photographs of food recipes and preparation
steps)
By Judy Henson
Published 2015 By Rank Books
www.rankbooks.com
Copyright © Rank Books
ISBN: 978‐981‐09‐6426‐9
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the author or the
publisher.
To preview more inside pages go to:
www.rankbooks.com/judyhenson/judy.html
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IntroductionThe first thought that came to my mind when my husband
told me to that he wanted to give me a pressure cooker was
that it may be dangerous as I have never used one before.
We have heard horror stories of how pressure cookers
exploded when left unattended or causing burns and scalding
incidents.
The technology has changed now. These cookers now come
with safety locks and pressure release valves that prevent the
pressure cooker from being opened at high pressure or it can
release steam once the pressure inside is excessive. Hence,
proper pressure is maintained at all times with such safety
features.
However, while the product is safe, it does not mean that the
user is safe. You still need to take precautions. When my
pressure cooker arrives, the first thing I did was to spend one
hour reading the pressure cooker manual.
I wanted to know how to lock it and unlock it, how to release
pressure after cooking and most importantly, where are the
areas where steam will be coming out so I can keep my hands
and face off the steaming vents to prevent accidental burns. I
wanted to know how to reduce the heat on the stove and
how to control the pressure etc. You may think I am a timid
housewife and over‐reacted but please be cautious when
using a new cooking equipment.
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If you have never used a pressure cooker before, you need to
know that there are two different types of pressure
cookers. The stove top pressure cooker that sits on a gas
burner or an induction top and or the electric pressure
cooker that can be placed anywhere as long there is an
electrical outlet. Your cooking style or level of comfort will
dictate whether you will want an electrical or a stove top
pressure cooker.
AboutTheRecipesInThisBookThe 30 recipes contained in this book are cooked using the
stove top pressure cooker using an induction cooker top.
However, these recipes are also applicable for electric
pressure cookers. Each recipe comes with step‐by‐step
pictures (except for 4 recipes) showing the cooking process
so you have a good idea how to do it. I have covered a range
of recipes for meat, fish, vegetables, noodles, rice and soups.
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These recipes are my own tested recipes using authentic
Chinese sauce, spices and ingredients. You may have to visit
you nearest Asian supermarket or grocery shops to get some
of these sauces such as light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and
sesame oil needed to cook these Chinese dishes. A list of
sauce used for the recipes is found at the end of the book.
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The cooking techniques used in these recipes are simple and
easy‐to‐follow. Some dishes are so simple such that you just
add all the ingredients into the pot, add a bowl of water,
close the lid and cook under pressure and it is good to eat in
10 minutes. Some may require a little extra effort of
browning or deep‐frying the meat before cooking in the
pressure cooker.
Quick deep‐frying of meat coated with sweet potato flour or
all‐purpose flour can help to seal the flavour of the
marinated meat. This may involve using another pan or pot
so it is more troublesome. But the taste is enhanced. Pork
ribs, and even beef slices, can be deep‐fried for one minute
before cooking in the pressure cooker.
Some recipes involve only steaming without using any oil at
all so it is ideal for making the perfect healthy dish.
The pressure cooker is indeed a versatile cooking equipment.
You can use the pot to sauté, quick‐fry like a low‐frying pan,
browning, braising, stewing and steaming.
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HowDoesPressureCookerReduceCookingTimeForChineseRecipes?To get a rich and flavourful bowl of Chinese soup requires at
least an hour of simmering on low heat on the stove. With
the pressure cooker, you can now enjoy restaurant quality
soup at half the time. A bowl of rich ginseng herbal chicken
soup can be made in 30 minutes with the pressure cooker.
Hence, the pressure cooker cuts down on cooking time by at
least 50 percent for most dishes. I used to hate cooking bean
soups as it takes too long. Now I can have a bowl of sweet
green bean soup done in 15 minutes without even pre‐
soaking the beans.
To cook Chinese braised dark soy sauce duck (whole duck)
which normally takes an hour to cook can now be cooked in
just 30 minutes. Steaming a fish that previously took 20
minutes to steam is now done in 5 minutes. Another example
is braised pork ribs which usually takes 20 mins on a pan, is
done in just 10 minutes using the pressure cooker. So, you
save lots of time cooking plus, the pressure cooker seals the
flavours of the meat, making the food delicious.
HowtogetthebestFlavoursFromYourPressureCooker?Many new users tend to add to much water into the pot and
drown the meat and vegetables till the food become
tasteless. Another common mistake is over‐cooking,
vegetables become mushy and soft like puree and meat
becomes stiff due to over‐cooking. When using a pressure
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cooker, controlling the right amount of liquid in the pot and
the cooking time are the two success factors for producing
delicious food.
Here are more cooking tips to improve your food taste.
Garlic, onions and ginger must sauté for 30 seconds to
one minute until fragrant before adding vegetables and
meat. Use little oil about 1 tablespoon of oil is enough.
Don’t add too much water, if you are not cooking soup or
a whole big chunk of meat like a whole chicken, half a
cup of water is enough. If you are cooking a whole
chicken or there are more ingredients in the pot or for
longer period of cooking time like an hour or more, it is
logical that more water is needed. For steaming
vegetables which take a minute, half a cup of water is
enough. For braising fish or meat, one cup of water is
enough.
You may replace water with chicken stock, beef stock or
even fish stock when cooking to make the food tastier.
DON’T use thickeners before cooking. Flour, starch
(potato or corn flour) should be added after pressure
cooking has completed. If not the cooking liquid inside
the pot will thicken making it hard to boil or risk
scorching the bottom of the pot. Remember, only add
the thickener and simmer it into your dish when pressure
cooking is finished.
If you end up with too much cooking liquid after cooking
under pressure, simply reduce the liquid by bringing it to
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a boil uncovered and reduce until the desired
consistency.
For consistent results, cut foods into pieces of uniform
size to promote even cooking. Take note that if you put
frozen meat than meat that are thawed, you need a
longer cooking time. Also, larger pieces of meat will take
considerably longer to cook than say smaller cubed
pieces.
Marinate the meat with light soy sauce, cooking wine
and sesame oil before cooking will help to make it more
tasty.
In this section, I outline the main cooking techniques and
cooking tips.
Steaming:
There are 2 ways to use the steaming method.
For vegetables such as broccoli or cauliflower which
cooks fast, add half a cup of water to one cup of water
into the vegetables and pressure cook for just 1 minute.
Turn off the heat and fast release the pressure to prevent
over‐cooking. The effect is the same as blanching the
vegetables in a pot of boiling water.
Use the pressure cooker pot as a steamer to steam fish
or whole chicken using a steaming rack.
Saute: This is often used before cooking under pressure
begins. This involves, adding a table spoon of oil into the
pressure cooker pot and stir‐fry quickly at high heat. Most
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recipes require you to saute onions, ginger, garlic, dried chilli
and mushrooms before cooking to release the fragrance of
the ingredients.
Braising: This involves stir‐frying and then adding water or
chicken stock to let the meat simmer. Minimum one cup of
liquid ‐ water, juice or stock is needed for braising. Braising is
fast and excellent using a pressure cooker because the meat
is juicer and more tender than using other equipment.
Stewing: This is similar to braising but more liquid is added
when cooking and the cooking process requires a longer
simmering time than braising.
SafetyTipsWhen using pressure cookers, basic safety precautions
should always be followed:
• Read all instructions in the manual carefully before use.
• Do not use the Pressure Cooker for anything other than
intended use.
• Do not use Pressure Cooker to pressure fry oil.
• Know where the safety mechanism and pressure release
valves are located. Ensure that these parts are not damaged
and they are properly cleaned with no obstruction before
use.
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• Never open the Pressure Cooker until it has been cooled
and all internal pressure has been released. Read your
manual on how to safely release pressure.
Never touch the steel surface of the pot, always use the
handles when moving the pot from one place to another.
• Never use the Pressure Cooker without liquid, as this could
result in damaging the cooker by overheating. Most pressure
cookers abide by this water level rule.
Minimum liquid: 0.25 litres or 1 cup of water
Maximum fill volume (food): 2/3 of the Pressure Cooker
Maximum fill for liquid: half full
• For foods which foam or rise (e.g. rice, legumes, broths, or
dried vegetable), do not fill the cooker more than half full.
Over‐filling risks clogging the vent pipe and developing excess
pressure.
The time for the pot to build up pressure is not part of
the cooking time. The cooking time for each recipe starts
after it has reached the pressure level.
BasicOperationofaPressureCooker1. Add the ingredients and meat into the pot.
2. Add a bowl of water and use high heat to bring the
food to a boil.
3. Stir evenly to prevent food from sticking in the pot.
4. Cover the pot with the lid and lock the lid in place.
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5. While at high heat wait for the pressure to build up
inside the pot. This is indicated by the pressure
indicator button popping up AND a steady, but not
forceful, amount of steam starts to exit the valve at
the top of the pot. The steam coming out will be
steady and you’ll hear a hissing sound. As soon as
this happens, reduce the heat to medium‐low and
cook for the indicated cooking time according to your
recipe.
6. Watch the indicator button, if it falls below later, you
can turn up the heat again. Read the manual on how
to adjust the heat.
7. Once a while, check on the cooker to make sure the
heat does not go up too high causing the hissing
sound and steam escaping for the vent. If this
happens, reduce the heat.
8. When the cooking time is reached, you can use fast
release or the slow release method.
FastreleaseOverRunningWaterMethod:Bring the pressure cooker pot to a sink. Turn on the tap and
let running water over the pot to cool down. Beware that
steam will escape from the vent and do not put your hand
anywhere near and face away from the pot to prevent
escaping steam from scalding. The pressure indicator valve
will start to drop and now you can unlock and open the pot.
NaturalReleaseMethod:To natural release of pressure, simply turn off the heat under
the pressure cooker and allow the pressure cooker to cool sit
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until the pressure naturally drops. This typically takes around
10 to 15 minutes.
FastReleaseorQuickReleaseOnTheStoveMethod:Most pressure cooker has a quick pressure release
mechanism on the pot. For the one I am using, it requires me
to unlock it midway and allow the steam to be released.
Steam will be released rapidly and this must be done with
caution. This method takes about 2 minutes. Look away from
the pot, turn the steam valve away from you and do not put
your face or hand over it as liquid may spill out as well as the
steam. Check your instruction manual on the fast release on
the stove method.
CookingYourFirstDishTo familiarise with your pressure cooker, I suggest you start
with a simple pork ribs soup or chicken soup before going
into other recipes. Notice where the steam is emitted, and
how to increase or decrease pressure in the cooker by
controlling the heat level of your stove (Induction or gas
stove) when the pressure gets excessive. Learn how to lock
and unlock the pressure cooker as well.
UsingaGasStoveorInductionStoveI feel the induction stove is safer as it has a built‐in timer. You
can set the timing once the pressure is attained and leave it
to cook for 10 , 15 or even 30 minutes without much worry.
The gas stove to me is unsafe as there is a risk that you may
burn your kitchen if left unattended. If you use a gas stove,
carry a timing device with you so it can alert you and beep
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you when it is time to turn off the cooker. Keep your ears
open and be alert when you hear hissing sound from the
kitchen as it means too much pressure has built up in the
cooker and you need to turn the heat down.
Above shows the pressure cooker set used for writing this book.
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RecipeListing1.Braised Chinese Five‐Spice Duck
2.Spicy Braised Beef With Black Bean Sauce and Dried
Noodles
3. Chinese Cabbage Rolls Stuffed With Minced Pork and
Prawns
4. Fried Lanzhou La Mian (Noodles)
5. Chinese Fragrant Rice With Chinese Sausages and
Mushroom
6. Sweet Sour Chicken
7. Chinese Pork Ribs With Red Pepper and Bitter Gourd
8. Emperor Herbal Chicken
9. Three Cups Chicken
10. Chinese Dark Soy Sauce Stew Pork
11. Sweet Soy Sauce Chicken
12. Steamed Chinese Wrapped Chicken
13. Steamed White Glutinous Rice With Chicken Meat
14. Braised Fish
15. Sweet Sour Fish
16. Mackerel With Dried Red Chilli
17. Stir‐fried Broccoli and Cauliflower with Carrot
18. Egg Tofu Scallops
19. Steamed Tofu With Minced Pork
20. Chinese Cabbage with Fried Bean curd and Mushrooms
21. Stuffed Minced Pork With Bitter gourd
22. Stir‐fried Shitake Mushrooms With Potatoes
23. Pork Ribs With Winter Melon Soup
24. Pork Ribs With Sweet Corn, Carrot and Potatoes Soup
25. Lean Pork With Radish and Red Carrot Soup
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26. Pork Ribs With Old Cucumber Soup
27. Red Beans With Barley Sweet Soup
28. Chilled White Fungus With Longan Fruit
29. Sweet Black Glutinous Rice Soup
30. Sweet Potato Pancakes
SomeCookingTermsUsed:Serving Size: The recipes are designed for a serving size of 2 to 4
persons.
1 tsp = One teaspoon
1 tbsp = One tablespoon
I Cup of water = 200 ml of water
High Heat (referring to the induction cooker) = 180 degree Celsius
temperature of the Induction Cooker Stove
Some pressure cooker has 2 heat levels control. Level 1 is for
cooking vegetables, fish and poultry. Level 2 is for cooking more
robust food and meat like whole duck or huge chunks of meat.
Level 1 (referring to the pressure cooker) : Low Heat Level
Level 2 (referring to the pressure cooker): High Heat Level
If you are using an electric pressure cooker, just use high heat if
there that is the only level you can have.
Refer to end of book for list of sauce needed for these recipes :
Main Chinese Sauces and Key Spices Required
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1.BraisedChineseFive‐SpiceDuck
PressureCookingTiming:25Minutes
Ingredients Whole duck
5 stalks of Chinese mushrooms
1 Chinese sausage cut into I cm wide each
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 x 2 cm of cinnamon stick
4 star anise
1 tablespoon cooking oil
5 garlic clove
3 garlic clove chopped
1 tbsp. of cooking wine
2 inch of ginger sliced
1 tbsp of brown sugar
1 cup of chicken stock
1 cup of water
Marinate: 1 tsp sesame oil
1tbsp of cooking wine
3 tsp of five‐spice powder
2 tsp light soy sauce
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Instructions:1) Marinate the duck meat with five‐spice powder,
sesame oil, light soy sauce and cooking wine
2) Massage the exterior of the duck with the mixture
3) Add 1 table spoon of cooking oil into the pot and use
high heat for cooking
4) Add the chopped garlic, Chinese sausages, sliced
ginger, mushrooms, cinnamon stick, star anise, into
the pan and stir‐fry the garlic until fragrant for about
30 secs
5) Put the duck meat into the pot
6) Add chicken stock and water into the pot
7) Add dark soy sauce and brown sugar into the pot and
mix well
8) Add cooking wine into the pot
9) Cover the pot with the lid and lock it
10) Maintain at high heat and wait for the pressure to
build up to level 2.
11) Set the cooking time to 25 minutes when pressure
level is reached
12) Reduce the heat to low about 100 degrees and
maintain the pressure at level 2 and adjust as needed
to keep the pressure constant
13) After 25 min, natural release pressure
14) Unlock and open the lid once the pressure indicator
shows it is safe to do so
15) Remove the meat and serve
16) Optional: You may turn on the heat on the cooker to
high and bring to a boil and let the liquid lessens