Henry's Hunan Chinatown -

Why are there so few Hunan restaurants?  It’s a mystery and a travesty.  Every time I go to Henry’s Hunan I’m terrified that my subconscious might have, in hindsight, magnified the level of deliciousness, and that I will inevitably disappointed.  It never happens.  It’s always more stupidly tasty than I remember.  I inevitably leave, waddling, with chili smears and a drunk happy look on my face. 

Today was my first visit to the Chinatown location.  Obviously a visit to San Francisco’s Chinatown has a lot to do with where to eat.  If you’re the bunghole that leads your compatriots into the King of Crappy Frozen Dumplings, well you’ve pretty much ruined the experience for everyone.  Thank god for Yelp, you say?  Well then, smarty pants, why are Yelpers so ga-ga for House of Nanking?  Take a pass on House of Nanking unless you enjoy holding up the wall outside for an hour before eating average dishes.  Bee-line for Henry’s instead.  Preferably, wear some kind of elastic waistband. 

It's a very modest spot.  A few laminate tables and barstools downstairs by the kitchen.  Go up a few raggedy stairs to the upper level, where your plates rumble upstairs from the chefs via an old, narrow dumbwaiter.   They've spent more time on the food than the decor... and it was time well spent.  

What to eat:

Spicy Rock Cod:  A must-order.  Inside the (not greasy) breading is a huge mass of juicy white fish.  There is ared, spicy sauce full of pepper seeds all over it.  With white rice to cut the spice, it’s perfection.   Get this or the Braised Rock Cod.  Even if you NEVER order fish.  Just this one time.  Trust me.

Harvest Pork:  Not a diet dish - absolutely amazing.  Full of umami and delicious barely- crunchy cabbage. 

Hot and Sour Chicken or Beef (or anything):  (NOT the same as sweet and sour).  This is one of those special Hunan flavors.  Lean and full of al-dente carrots.  They achieve a true sour flavor in the background, unlike most crappy sweet and sour which is, let’s face it, mostly just sweet and icky. 

Shrimp with String Beans:  Only if you like salty dishes (black bean sauce on this, I believe?).  If nothing else, order because they know how to cook a shrimp to perfection, which is a rare talent to possess. 

Orange Chicken:  I can’t believe I’m writing the words “Orange Chicken” but if you’re in a group, there’s always ‘that person’ who will insist.  And it’s actually pretty delicious and full of fresh citrus.  They also exercise artful breading restraint. 

For more tips, check out this fan who has reviewed EVERY dish on his site.  That's love, my brother.  http://greasepig.com/henrys/menu_2.html

Oyster and Soy, Sittin' In a Tree (With Recipes for Pork Chow Mein and Baby Bok Choy in Oyster Sauce)

Chefs on TV are always waxing poetic about simplicity.  These are people who have an unlimited cornucopia of ingredients and kitchen tools at their disposal. Yet, after they’ve gone down the rabbit hole of gussied-up dishes that require 1,000 steps and a flambé flourish, they seem to start paring back to simple but perfectly prepared cuisine.  Short ingredient lists are hot hot hot. 

There are two ingredients that, when used together, are pretty fail-safe in the Asian kitchen: oyster sauce and soy sauce.  My cooking skills are not such that I can rely on technique alone to make a dish exceptional. Doctoring is often in order halfway through preparing dinner.  When in doubt I employ Sriracha “liberally”.  That makes just about anything edible.  An oyster/soy mix can also often save a sauce that is misbehaving. 

You can conjure up wickedly successful dishes with this very simple combination.  If you read the recipes for MANY popular stir-fries, the sauce bases rely on these two cheap, easy to find ingredients.  If you don’t have these things in your pantry already… seriously, what are you doing here?  Get your butt off my blog and into 99 Ranch, stat.  Pick up some Sriracha while you’re at it - sheesh.  The rest of you, read on for some O&S recipes.

PORK CHOW MEIN:

When you order Chow Mein at a restaurant, you could be saying one of two things.  You could mean:  “I think ‘authentic’ Chinese food is whack, and mostly made of dog gristle.”   Or you might mean:  “Chow Mein is damn delicious.  You know it, I know it, and I’m not such a hipster that I’m embarrassed to eat it in in public.  So there.”

This recipe is adapted from one by Rhonda Parkinson for About.com.   Yeah, I said About.com.  What’s it to ya?  Delicious is as delicious does, that’s what I always say. 

This version contains soft noodles in a gravy-like sauce.  Using red onions instead of white adds depth of flavor.  Both the sauce AND the marinade are made of oyster and soy sauce.  Doesn’t get any simpler than that.

Ingredients:

Marinade:

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Salt and pepper, to taste

¾ teaspoon cornstarch

Sauce:

1/2 cup water or chicken broth

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons cornstarch

4 - 6 tablespoons water

Other:

½ pound bean sprouts

8 oz pork loin, sliced thinly

3 ribs celery

1/2 pound bok choy or broccoli

1/2 pound fresh or straw mushrooms

I small red onion

2 green onions or spring onions

3 – 4 cloves garlic

Vegetable oil for frying and stir-frying, as needed

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Preparation:

Mix marinade ingredients thoroughly and add the pork.  Marinate for 20 to 25 minutes.

WHILE MEAT IS MARINATING:

Prepare the sauce:  In a small bowl dissolve the 2 tablespoons cornstarch with the 4 -6 tablespoons water. Whisk the water or chicken broth with the oyster sauce, soy sauce and cornstarch/water mixture and set aside.

Cook the noodles according to the package directions.  Shoot for al dente - do not overcook noodles.

Cut the celery and the bok choy into 1/2-inch pieces on the diagonal.   Clean and slice the mushrooms. Peel and chop the onion. Cut the green parts of the green onions into 1-inch strips, and chop the white ends into smaller pieces.

Heat a wok or frying pan over medium-high to high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the noodles. Fry in batches for 4-5 minutes, adding oil as needed. Remove the noodles from the pan.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil. Add the onion and the meat.  Stir-fry until the redness is gone and the meat is nearly cooked through. Remove the cooked meat and onion from the pan.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil.  Stir fry the bok choy, celery, mushrooms, garlic and bean sprouts for 2-3 minutes until softened.

Give the sauce a quick restir. Add the meat and onions back into the wok, making a "well" in the middle if the wok for the sauce. Add the sauce and bring to a simmer, stirring quickly to thicken. Mix everything together. Stir in the green onions. Pour the cooked vegetable and sauce mixture on top of the noodles. Garnish with the toasted sesame seeds.

BABY BOK CHOY IN OYSTER SAUCE

A simple side dish that pairs well with just about any Asian meal and can be prepared in less than 10 minutes.  You can substitute many other greens with tasty results.  This really sets off the bright, slightly bitter taste of the bok choy. 

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds Baby Bok Choy

2 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons oyster sauce

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

Vegetable Oil, for cooking

Cut ends off of baby bok choy and separate leaves.  Leave the “hearts” in the middle of the bok choy intact. 

Dissolve cornstarch in water in a small bowl.  Mix oyster sauce and soy sauce together in a separate bowl.

Heat a wok or pan on medium-high or high heat.  Add 1 tablespoon oil.  Add bok choy and stir fry, 30 seconds.  Add garlic and stir fry 1-2 minutes more, until bok choy begins to wilt.  Add oyster/soy mixture and stir 1-2 times.  Add cornstarch mixture a bit at a time, stirring constantly, until sauce has achieved desired thickness.  Serve at once. 

Wok This Way or "A Wok for All Seasons"

Casualties of my wok seasoning episode include a much-prized Riedel wine glass and a patch of skin from my finger via a second degree blistering burn.  It was worth it.

Aaaaah... Finally my very own authentic Chinese wok.  Unlike my previous, Americanized slightly embarrassing heavy flat-bottomed bomber of a thing that weighs 50 pounds.

This new delight comes direct from “The Wok Shop” (naturally)  on Grant Ave in Chinatown, SF.  My beautiful and talented pal Sally presented me with this most glorious Christmas gift.  Alas, it has been haunting my hall closet until now, gathering dust.  I’ve even brazenly cheated on it with my old flame, Mr. Inferior Department Store Wok, a couple of times.  Why?  One word – seasoning.  There is a two page booklet of seasoning instructions that comes with this bad boy and I’ve gotta say – it was intimidating.  That, combined with an unpleasant memory of The Wok Shop has caused me to do some major procrastination when it comes to wok seasoning.  You can’t just rip off the plastic, fire up the stove and start throwing food into this thing, you know.  There’s a process. 

Despite their dreadful bedside manner, The Wok Shop has excellent seasoning instructions.  My wok is kind of a classic version with cast iron cauldron and handles.  The rim is very thin, almost to the point of being a sharp edge.  It is fairly light and easy to handle. Here’s how it looked out of the package:

These are the steps I followed with success (aside from the flesh scorching and the breaking of other kitchen items): 

Step 1: WASH - Because the wok travels, literally, on the “slow boat from China”, it is covered with a protective film to prevent it from rusting en route.   Scrub the wok with an abrasive sponge or brush to begin to remove the film.  The water that runs off will be grey.  I had to wash the wok several times before the grey color began to disappear.  Even so, I could not get the wash water completely clear.

Step 2: COAT the wok, inside and out, in cooking oil.  Vegetable oil was my choice; peanut and corn should also work fine.  Personally I’d avoid olive oil, as it has no place in Chinese cooking.

Step 3: BAKE the wok, upside down, in your oven.  400 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven, let cool, wash gently, coat with oil again, and repeat.  Now it’s staring to look like the beat-up premium pre-seasoned woks hanging from the ceiling in The Wok Shop.  It takes on a shiny, lacquered look with a copper color. 

Step 4:  STIR FRY a large handful of chives in the wok with some oil.  While stir-frying, rub the chives against the sides and bottom of the wok vigorously.  They will absorb any remaining metallic taste left in the wok. The onions will become charred and fragrant; this is the point at which you will start to feel like this puppy was going to crank out some tasty goods.  The wok will begin to blacken as your seasoning is complete. (if you are brave enough to eat the seasoning chives, write to me and tell me how they taste)

FOLLOW UP:  The first couple of dishes to hit the wok were not extraordinary.  The heat was a bit hard to control.  The first time it smoldering hot and would scorch garlic in a quick 5 seconds, popping and spitting oil all over the place.  The second time I started out slower but the meat met a medium-heat wok and cooled it down too quickly.  Keep at it!  Over time you’ll find the good old “middle way” that will produce an awesome, take-out worthy stir fry. 

The first time my kitchen smelled like the back room of a Chinese restaurant…. woooooo damn!!

  

Forbidden Rice

In the spirit of research for my 500 word article on “Forbbiden Rice” AKA Chinese Black Rice, I whipped up a batch in my own kitchen.  How else to properly confirm other’s description of the “rich, nutty flavor”? 

This falls into the “Authentic? No.  Delicious? Yes.” category.  The first recipe is a go-to for us with green beans – we just added shrimp with ultra-yummy-compete-with-take-out results.  This is perfect for Chinese newbies.  You can’t screw it up and it includes ingredients essential to have in the pantry if you are even considering cooking Asian food.  The second recipe (modified from 101cookbooks.com) is a new one and worked just right in my darling, most-beloved rice cooker. No special steps necessary – just dump it in there and hit “play”.   

Sesame Green Beans (courtesy Food Network). 

Note: Fellow White Girl Rachel Ray also has a SGB recipe on this site.  Though it’s rated higher by the masses, trust me when I say it’s inferior.

Sesame Green Beans Recipe

Forbidden Coconut Rice

2 cups black (“forbidden”) rice

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 1/2 cups water


C’mon rice cooker, you know what to do

Black rice is earthy and packs more of a flavor punch than white rice.  It’s more of a stand-alone dish than a carrier for other dishes.  The texture is firm and a little chewy – not sticky.  Awesome change of pace; the taste is almost like wild rice but is a better match for Asian flavors.  True – coconut milk is second only to butter and garlic if you want to make something bland or disgusting taste like a 5 star meal… so next time perhaps an experiment with just water.  Most sources recommend rinsing the rice in 4 changes of clean water, but I’m only motivated enough to do one.  Didn’t seem to hurt it any.