Cookbooks - The Woks of Life - Good Life Vancouver

The Woks of Life by Bill, Kaitlin, Judy, and Sarah Leung

This is the story of a family as told through food. Judy, the mom, speaks about traditional Chinese dishes and cultural backstories. Bill, the dad, worked in his family’s Chinese restaurants and will walk you through how to make a glorious Cantonese Roast Duck. Daughters Sarah and Kaitlin have your vegetable-forward and one-dish recipes covered—put them all together and you have the first cookbook from the funny and poignant family behind the popular blog The Woks of Life.

Eight Treasures Sticky Rice

This auspicious, traditional dessert of sweetened sticky rice filled with red bean paste and decorated with your choice of dried fruits and nuts is often served at Chinese New Year, weddings, and birthday parties. Be sure to select at least six kinds of “treasures” for the topping, since the sticky rice and red bean paste count for two. We’ve provided a list of toppings here—along with their associated symbolism—to help you nail a dessert packed with joyful symbolic meanings. When I was growing up, we made bābǎofàn with lard, which gives the rice a glistening appearance. These days, I prefer using coconut oil. Not only is it readily available, but it also adds another dimension of flavour to the rice and complements the fruit and nuts.
This is a sweet dessert served in small portions. The recipe yields enough for 3 standard Chinese rice bowls serving 2 to 3 people each, or 2 larger soup bowls (as shown on page 299) serving 3 to 4 people each. We like to make a couple of small bowls to keep in the freezer—no special occasion necessary! Just steam to reheat, and you’ll have a delicious dessert ready at a moment’s notice.

2 cups uncooked short-grain glutinous rice (also called sweet rice or sticky rice)
1 cup water, plus more for soaking the rice
4 to 5 tablespoons (50g to 60g) sugar
desserts sweet things
2 tablespoons coconut oil, plus more for greasing the bowls and oiling your hands
6 types of fruits, nuts, and seeds, for decoration, (see suggestions)
1½ to 2 cups sweet red bean paste (store-bought or homemade; see page 287)

Decorative fruits, nuts, and seeds & their symbolic meanings:

Lotus seeds: harmony, fertility
Walnuts: family unity and harmony
Peanuts (raw, unseasoned, shelled): growth and fertility
Seeds (e.g., pumpkin, sunflower): longevity and purity
Fresh longan (“dragon eye” fruit): family unity and having many sons
Kumquats (fresh or candied): prosperity
Dried Chinese red dates: wealth and prosperity
Other dried fruits (such as raisins, apricots, prunes): sweetness and success
Red colours (dried goji berries, jarred red cherries): blessings and good fortune
Green colours (e.g., pumpkin seeds, green candied cherries): longevity and purity

SOAK AND COOK THE RICE: Add the glutinous rice to a large bowl and cover it with 2 inches of water. Soak for at least 6 hours (ideally overnight), then drain. Add the soaked rice to a shallow heatproof bowl, along with the 1 cup water. Place a 2-inch-tall metal steaming rack in the bottom of a wok (or any pot with a lid that will accommodate the bowl of rice and water) and add enough water to come up to about 1 inch below the rack. Bring the water in the wok to a simmer over high heat and place the bowl on the steamer rack. Cover and steam for 30 minutes.
Remove the rice from the steamer and use a rubber spatula to immediately mix in 4 tablespoons of the sugar and the 2 tablespoons coconut oil while the rice is still hot. Taste the rice and adjust the sweetness to your liking.

PREPARE YOUR SELECTED FRUIT AND NUTS: If using fresh, dried, or candied fruits, no preparation is needed. Lotus seeds or raw peanuts should be simmered in water over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes until softened. Other nuts and seeds can be roasted in a 350°F oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until fragrant.

ASSEMBLE THE BOWLS: Choose three heatproof individual rice bowls or two larger soup bowls in which to assemble the desserts. Generously grease the bowls with coconut oil. At the bottom of each bowl, arrange your choice of dried fruits and nuts in whatever design or pattern appeals to you—be creative! Keep in mind that the items you place in the bottom of the bowl will be on the top of the final dessert when the bowl is flipped over after steaming. Grease your hands with a little bit of the coconut oil. Without disturbing your fruit and nut design, arrange the rice in the bowl, covering the fruit and nuts with a thin layer of the rice while leaving an indentation in the center where the red bean paste will go. Press the rice down firmly so there are no air pockets. Add a large scoop of red bean paste to the center of the bowl (you can adjust the quantity to your liking). Then top the red bean paste with additional rice, so the rice reaches the rim of the bowl. Level out the top with your palms and press down with a rubber spatula to ensure the red bean paste is totally covered. Cover the bowl with an overturned plate until ready to steam.

STEAM THE EIGHT TREASURES: Set up your wok with a metal steaming rack as before. Bring the water to a simmer. You can either steam each bowl one at a time (cover the bowls to keep them warm while subsequent batches are steaming) or place multiple bowls on a heatproof pan or plate before placing them on the rack to steam them all at once. Cover the wok and steam over medium heat for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the bowl(s) from the steamer using a clean dry towel or oven mitts. Place a flat serving dish on top of each bowl and flip the bowl upside down onto the dish. While the rice is still hot, use a kitchen towel or oven mitts to lift the bowl up to reveal your design carefully. Serve hot.

MAKE AHEAD

To make the Eight Treasures in advance and freeze, begin with freezer-safe bowls. Instead of brushing the bowls with coconut oil, line them with plastic wrap

or cheesecloth. When the bowls are assembled, cover the tops tightly with plastic wrap and freeze overnight. The next day, lift off the plastic wrap and use the liner wrap to lift the domes of sticky rice out of the bowls, then transfer to a reusable bag or container to store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, steam the rice already inverted on a heatproof serving dish for 25 to 30 minutes. There is no need to thaw the rice beforehand; brush the tops with a thin layer of coconut oil to give them a nice sheen right before serving.

Red Braised Pork Belly with Eggs

Red braised pork belly is one of China’s most popular dishes. “Red braising,” or “red cooking,” refers to stewing in a mixture of light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rock sugar, and Shaoxing wine to create a rich reddish-brown sauce. While you can “red cook” fish, beef, or even vegetables, pork belly is by far the favourite medium for this technique. My mother makes this hearty homestyle variation with hard-boiled eggs for family gatherings, without fail. When we visit her apartment in Queens, we arrive at the sight of platters on the small table just beyond the foyer, all covered with overturned plates. When we uncover the largest plate, we always find shining chunks of pork belly with amber-coloured eggs underneath.

1½ pounds lean boneless pork belly (ideally skin-on), cut into 1-inch-thick pieces
2 tablespoons neutral oil 25g rock sugar or
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 (⅛-inch-thick) slices of fresh ginger
⅓ cup Shaoxing wine
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
3 cups water (see Tip), plus more for preparing the pork and eggs
6 large eggs

Put the pork belly in a medium pot and cover it with water. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, drain the pork in a colander, and rinse thoroughly to wash off any foam or other impurities.

In a wok over medium-low heat, add the oil and rock sugar. Cook until the sugar melts into the oil. It will look syrupy and amber in colour. Take care not to burn it; if it starts to burn, immediately remove the wok from the heat or start over with a clean wok if it is beyond saving. Add the pork pieces and the ginger and increase the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally until the pork pieces are lightly browned around the edges, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and 3 cups of water. Stir with a spatula; you will have residual sugar on your spatula, so leave it in the liquid to dissolve, then bring the liquid to a simmer. Remove the spatula, cover the wok, and simmer the pork over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the eggs. Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil, then carefully lower in the eggs. Allow the eggs to boil vigorously for 1 minute, and then cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 9 minutes. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Lift the eggs out of the pot using a slotted spoon and transfer them to ice water to cool. Once cooled, peel the eggs.

After the pork has been cooked for 30 minutes, submerge the eggs in the sauce and continue cooking, covered, for another 15 to 30 minutes, until the pork is fork tender.

At this point, there will still be some liquid in the wok. Turn up the heat to medium-high to reduce the sauce, stirring continuously, until it coats the pork belly and eggs. (Be gentle with the eggs and patient as the sauce reduces.) When the sauce has thickened to a glistening coating, it’s ready to serve.

TIP! FOR EXTRA-TENDER PORK BELLY! Add 4 cups of water instead of 3 and braise the pork longer, until it is as tender as you like.

Vegetable & Mushroom Spring Rolls

Made with a meaty blend of shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, and bamboo shoots, these crispy spring rolls have so much flavour that you might not even notice or care that they’re vegetarian. We especially love the enoki mushrooms, which add a nice crunch and moisture to the filling. Make a big batch and keep them in the freezer—it’s an absolute treat to take a few out and fry them up whenever a craving hits. They’re perfect with rice vinegar for dipping.

Makes 25 spring rolls

FOR THE FILLING
2 ounces dried shiitake mushrooms (about 20 medium)
3 cups hot water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
7 ounces fresh enoki mushrooms
3 tablespoons neutral oil
1 tablespoon finely julienned fresh ginger
2⅔ cups finely julienned carrot (about 8 ounces)
¾ cup thinly sliced shallots (from 3 to 4 medium)
8 ounces canned bamboo shoots, julienned (about 2 cups; see Tip, page 47)
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce
½ teaspoon white pepper powder
½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Fine sea salt

FOR ASSEMBLY, FRYING AND SERVING
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons boiling water
1 (12-ounce) package of spring roll wrappers (25 sheets)
Neutral oil, for frying
Rice vinegar, for serving (ideally, Shanghai rice vinegar)

MAKE THE FILLING: Soak the shiitake mushrooms in hot water for 2 hours (or overnight), until fully rehydrated. Drain, reserving the mushroom-soaking water. Squeeze out any excess water, remove any tough stems, and thinly slice the mushrooms.

Add 2 tablespoons of the mushroom-soaking water to a small dish with the cornstarch to make a slurry. (Save the remaining mushroom-soaking liquid.)

Trim off about 1 inch of the root ends of the enoki mushrooms, then wash, drain, and separate the large bunches into thinner strands.

With a wok over medium heat, add the neutral oil. Cook the ginger for 30 seconds, until caramelized on the edges. Add the carrots and shallots, and stir-fry for 2 minutes, until the oil turns an orange colour from the carrots and the shallots absorb some of that orange hue.

Add the sliced shiitakes and the bamboo shoots. Increase the heat to high and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until any liquid released from the vegetables has cooked off completely.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper, and sesame oil. Stir to combine. Add the enoki mushrooms and 1 cup of the reserved mushroom-soaking water (leaving behind any sediment at the bottom of the bowl). Increase the heat to high and cook for 2 minutes, until the enoki mushrooms are cooked through and there is still some visible sauce in the wok. Add salt to taste.

Stir the cornstarch slurry again to fully combine, then pour the slurry into the center of the mixture.

Immediately turn off the heat, and with the residual heat, stir and mix everything well. The mixture should be wet, but there should be no standing liquid. (If there is still standing liquid, continue cooking over medium-low heat to reduce it.) Transfer the filling to a bowl and let cool completely (to expedite, transfer it to the refrigerator).

ASSEMBLE THE SPRING ROLLS: Prepare another slurry by mixing 1 teaspoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons boiling water. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place a spring roll wrapper on a flat, clean work surface, with one corner pointing toward you (it should look like a diamond). Place about 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling 2 inches from the corner closest to you. (For accuracy, you can weigh the filling and divide that total by 25 to get an exact filling weight for each spring roll.)

Roll the corner over the filling once and gently press down on both sides of the filling to flatten the spring roll wrapper and squeeze out any air bubbles. Next, fold both the left and right sides of the wrapper toward the center. Continue rolling the spring roll into a tight cigar. When you’re about 2 inches from the opposite corner of the wrapper, stir the cornstarch slurry with your finger, then gently brush it on the edges of the wrapper (like an envelope seal) and finish rolling. (Using egg wash can create stains on the wrapper after frying, which is why we use cornstarch slurry.) Place the spring roll seam side down on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat until you’ve assembled all the spring rolls. The spring rolls must be either fried or frozen within 1 hour of assembly (see Freezing Spring Rolls).

FRY THE SPRING ROLLS: Place a wire cooling rack on a sheet pan or line a plate with paper towels. Fill a small pot (which requires less oil) with 2 to 3 inches of the neutral oil—just enough to submerge the spring rolls when frying. Heat the oil just slowly over medium heat until it reaches 350F on an instant-read thermometer. Or by dipping a bamboo or wooden chopstick into the hot oil. The oil is ready when small bubbles form around the chopstick.) Fry the spring rolls in small batches of 4 to 5 at a time. Use chopsticks or a slotted spoon to turn the spring rolls a few times during the frying process, and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes. If you notice the oil temperature dropping, increase the heat under the pot. If the wrappers begin to form bubbles on their surface, the oil is too hot; turn off the heat until the oil cools to 350°F. Transfer the fried spring rolls to the wire rack or plate to drain. Serve with rice vinegar for dipping.

FREEZING SPRING ROLLS

Place uncooked spring rolls on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Cover tightly with plastic wrap (or a clean plastic grocery bag) and freeze overnight. When frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer bag or container and store them for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to fry them, transfer them directly from the freezer to the fryer. Do not thaw them beforehand.