Food & recipies |
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TEFLChina Teahouse: Life: Food and recipes:
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Ovens
Countertop electric ovens about the size of a large microwave are available in large department stores in China. Think of what an *oversized* toaster oven would be like and look in the cooking appliances department. These countertop ovens are smaller than regular western ovens but if you accommodate this you can bake all kinds of western delights -- banana bread, blond brownies, chocolate cake, cream puffs, etc. (send me your favorite recipes for ovens or not for ovens and I'll put them here at the Teahouse).
When you move along in life and leave your job in China, be sure to tell you FAO that you want the *next* foreign English teacher to get your oven; to emphasize it, you can print out this Web page and put it in the oven with a special "hello" from you :-)
Pancakes
Pancakes can be bought from street vendors here in Changsha. No syrup or butter on them though.
If you want a recipe, I have a good one. My students enjoyed the pancakes, but weren't too sure about the syrup....
2 cups wheat flour or 1 1/2 cups wheat and 1/2 cup buckwheat or corn flour
(note that the buckwheat makes the pancakes a really yellow colour)
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder (can be bought here in small plastic packages with
red lettering...it is very active stuff so only use a scant tablespoon)
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tbsp oil
Chuck (no apologies!) all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix. Beat the wet ones separately then beat them altogether until not too lumpy. You know the drill.
Brown sugar syrup tastes enough like maple syrup if you are desperate enough. 2 cups of brown sugar to one cup of water. Boil for a few minutes. Let cool and refrigerate. Or you can ask someone from North America to send you a bottle of Mapleine maple extract as long as they use lots of bubble wrap.
Hey, Nicole, you GO girl! Sounds like you and I should get together for a bake-off. I haven't made the apple pie, but have done bread pudding and most of the other stuff. I have one of those mini ovens.
And Matt, yes, I will make you a tall stack if you stop in Changsha on the way to Yiyang.
cheers from Ruth McAllister in Changsha, Hunan
Mapleine/Maple Syrup
To make maple syrup all you need is Mapleine (do not buy Maple Extract, an entirely different product), sugar and water. It's sometimes hard to find the real product, but worth the search. Two bottles should get you through a year or more in China. They're small and sealed.
I was raised on Mapleine maple syrup overseas and now our family uses it in
the US too. It's cheaper than "real" maple syrup, there's no corn syrup and
no additives, and you can make it on demand and have nice hot syrup for breakfast
whenever you want.
YUM.
Liz in Changchun, Jilin
Banana bread
(originally from Lola Schappel, former teacher in Guangdong Province)
1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
1/2 cup shortening (oil)
1 cup mashed bananas
2 beaten eggs
nuts, raisins and/or cinnamon (optional)
Mix all dry ingredients into bowl. Mix in oil, eggs, and bananas. Mix only until dry ingredients are moistened. Bake at 180 deg C for about 1 hour or until it tests done by sticking in a knife or toothpick and it comes out clean
Blond brownies
For those living in 'big cities' with access to things.
1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar (light works best, if you can find it!)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring
1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)
powdered sugar - also called icing sugar or confectioner's sugar
Melt butter over low heat. Stir in brown sugar and mix well. Remove from heat and stir eggs, stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in vanilla and nuts. Spread into well greased pan (8x10).
Bake at 180 deg C for 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar while warm. Cut into squares after cooling for a few minutes. Enjoy!!
Chocolate cake
(originally from Claudia Johnson, former teacher in Jinzhou, Liaoning and Cangzhou, Shangdong)8 x 8 inch pan, or pie pan or whatever you can creatively substitute.
T = tablespoon
t = teaspoon
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup white sugar
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/4 cup cocoa
generous 1/4 cup oil (about 2 T extra)
1 t vanilla
1 T white vinegar
1 cup water
Sift dry ingredients into ungreased pan. Add oil, vinegar, vanilla. Pour water over all and stir with a fork until smooth. Bake at 180 deg C for about 35-40 minutes. Insert a toothpick and when it comes out clean the cake is done. Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. You can take it out of the pan at this point, if you like.
Icing can be put on top when the cake is completely cool.
Cream puffs
This is easy to make and will really impress your friends! It is however, sensitive to whether conditions. It might not work in the humid summer of the south, but then who wants to cook in the summer in the south of China anyway...sigh...
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter (not margerine)
1 cup flour
4 eggs
Heat oven to 200 deg C. Heat water and butter to a rolling boil in saucepan. Stir in flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball (about 1 min). Remove from heat. Beat in eggs thoroughly, 1 at a time. Beat until smooth.
Drop from spoon onto ungreased baking sheet into 8 large mounds or maybe 16 smaller mounds about 3" apart -- or in a small Chinese over, whatever you can get away with.
Bake 45-50 minutes, less for smaller mounds, or until puffed, golden brown and dry. Allow to cool slowly. Cut off tops with sharp knife. Scoop out soft dough. Fill with something, like ice cream or fresh fruit salad and top with sweetened condensed milk, or anything else that suits your imaginagion. Can also be filled with savory things, like tuna or chicken salad.
Makes 8 large puffs or a lot more smaller ones.
Muskegon salad
(original from Denise Schott in Muskegon, Michigan, USA, former adventurer in South Africa)
I've made this a number of times here in China and there are never any leftovers. I have made in a my wok as I don't have a large bowl.
Blend and chill well:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 cup oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce (Kikkoman is the best if you can find any)
1 teaspoon salt
dash black pepper
Then:
Melt 1/2 stick (2 ounces) butter
[yes I know the butter, when you can find it doesn't come in sticks so I just
guess]
Add:
2 packages instant noodles, crushed (discard flavor packets)
3 1/2 ounces slivered almonds, I chop my own
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
and sauté until golden brown
(cool and store in an air tight container)
Combine and set aside:
large head of Chinese cabbage or celery, slice or chop thin*
2 bunches green onions, sliced
*In China what I use is called 'bai cai,' which in the USA is called Chinese cabbage.
When ready to serve, combine cabbage and onions with noodle mixture and pour on dressing. NOTE: Only mix together what you need. Leftovers are just okay, as the crunchy bits get soggy.
