'Lion head' meatballs

For ➍ (or ➊➋ balls)

 meatballs: 

500 beef minced 

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped 

2 tbs grated fresh root ginger 

2 spring onions, finely chopped 

pinch sea salt 

1 tbs Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry* 

2 tbs light soy sauce* 

1 tbs toasted sesame oil*

1 free-range egg, beaten* 

1 tbs cornflour 

pinch ground white pepper 

  finished dish: 

10 cl groundnut oil** 

75 cl vegetable stock**

300 g Chinese cabbage, quartered lengthways 

3 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 15 m, then drained (alternative: use fresh chestnut mushrooms, sliced) 

1 tbs light soy sauce** 

1 tbs cornflour, mixed with 2 tbs cold water (optional) 

sea salt & ground white pepper 

2 large spring onions, sliced dash sesame oil 

Place all of the meatball ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine. With damp hands, take a large mound of the minced meat mixture and mould into a ball that is a little larger than a golf ball. Place on a plate and repeat with the remaining meatball mixture. 

For the finished dish, pour the groundnut oil into a large deep pan and heat over a high heat. Using a metal ladle, carefully lower each meatball into the oil and spoon some of the oil over the meatballs. 

Cook for 4-5 m, or until golden-brown all over. 

Pour all but 2 tbs of the cooking oil out into a heatproof bowl. Add the stock to the pan and arrange the slices of Chinese cabbage around the meatballs, curving them around the sides of the pan lengthways, then add the mushrooms and soy sauce and bring to the boil. Cover the pan, reduce the heat and cook gently for 15 m.* 

If the sauce is too thin**, add the cornflour paste and stir until thickened. Take the meatballs off the heat and season, to taste, with sea salt and ground white pepper. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with the spring onions, sprinkle over a dash of sesame oil and serve immediately. 

Serve with sticky white rice. 

 

*Use less liquids for firmer balls. Add some panko if needed. Alternatively, pre-cook the meatballs in the oven; arrange in a casserole dish, cover with kitchen foil and cook in a preheated oven at 100°C for 30 m.

**Use less liquids for a denser sauce. Eventually, add the cornflour mix. Or thicken the sauce in the pan, after removing the meat and vegetables

Steamed eggs with prawns, mushrooms & scallops

For ➍
3 eggs
40 cl stock
½ ts salt
1 tbs rice wine
50 g prawns, shelled
10-15 g dried scallops, soaked in warm water until soft, tear into small pieces*
3 shiitake mushrooms, sliced thinly
5 cm knob of ginger, shredded
spring onion/scallion, shredded

Beat 3 eggs with salt and rice wine, then add in the stock.

Use 1 big or 4 small soup bowls to steam the eggs. Place half of prawns, mushrooms and dried scallops in the bowl(s).

Pour the egg mixture slowly into the bowl(s).**

Heat up a steamer or a wok, half filled with water. Put the bowl(s) into the steamer, lower the heat and let it cook for 10 m. The egg custard should be wobbly.

Carefully place the remaining prawns, mushrooms and dried scallops on the surface of the egg custard. Let it steam for another 3-5 m until the egg custard is cooked.

Serve with shredded spring onions and ginger.

*Use fresh or thawed scallops instead.
**If bubbles appear, straighten with a piece of paper.

Versatile versions of steamed eggs are a common dish in Chinese households. It can include almost anything: minced pork, fish slices or clams, pig's intestines or duck liver.

Try the similar Japanese chawan mushi.

Duck breast fillets with spinach & lacquered sauce with ginger

For ➍
2.2 dl fresh brown veal stock
2 tbs soy sauce
4 shredded ginger balls in syrup
2 large duck breast fillets
900 g spinach
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves
4 tbs roasted peanuts

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Put the veal stock, the soy sauce, the ginger syrup and the shredded ginger balls in a saucepan. Reduce to half over low heat.
Finely chop the shallots, rinse the spinach, peel and press the cloves of garlic. Coarsely chop the peanuts. Keep apart.
Make diamond-shaped notches in the skin of the duck breast fillets with a sharp knife. Bake the skin side golden brown on a high heat, in a frying pan without fat, and then the other side*. Slide the duck breast fillets into the oven for another 25 m to continue cooking**. Turn the fillets over, place them on a cutting board, cover them with aluminum foil and let them rest for 5 m.
Pour 4 tbs of the released cooking fat into a sauté pan. Add the spinach, shallots and garlic. Shrink the spinach over a medium heat. Season with pepper and salt.
Slice the duck breast fillets. Serve with the spinach and the sauce. Sprinkle with peanuts and add pommes of dauphine or potato quenelles.

*Avoid splashing and pour the released cooking fat into a bowl before frying the other side of the duck breast fillets until golden brown.
**Or continue to bake in the pan until done.

Steamed scallops with ginger, soy, sesame oil & spring onions

For ➍
16 scallops, in the shell
1 ts fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs dark soy sauce
1 tbs coriander, roughly chopped
3 spring onions, thinly sliced

Pour 2.5 cm of water into the base of a wide shallow pan and bring it up to the boil.
Loosen the scallops from their shells but leave them in place. Sprinkle each one with some of the ginger.
Arrange the scallops, in batches if necessary, on a petal steamer. Lower them into the pan, reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook for about 4 m until just set. Remove and keep warm while you cook the rest. Meanwhile, put the sesame oil and soy sauce into a small pan and warm through.
Lift the scallops onto 4 warmed plates and pour over some of the warm soy sauce and sesame oil. Sprinkle over the coriander and spring onions and serve immediately.

Steamed fish with ginger & scallions

For ➋-➍
600-800 g fish [porgy, black sea bass, Boston mackerel, or trout], scaled & gutted*
5-6 scallions, divided
4 cm knob ginger**
[optional alternatives: coriander or chilli]**
salt & pepper, for seasoning
1 ts Shaoxing wine or sherry
1 lime, juice & zest, divided
3 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs fine mild red wine vinegar
1 tbs sesame seeds
4 tbs sesame oil
[optional green: sautéed pak choi]
[optional aromatics for steaming water:
star anise
knob of ginger, roughly sliced
Szechuan peppercorn
scallions or green garlic]

Rinse the fish with cold water inside and out and pat dry. Score a couple of gashes in the flesh on either side of the fish.
Slice 4 of the scallions and the knob ginger into a fine julienne and set aside. Save the scraps for stuffing the fish belly. Season the fish belly with salt and pepper and the ts of wine or sherry.
Stuff the fish with the scallion and ginger scraps and the lime zest.
Take a large stock pot and put about 8 cm of water in it and bring to a boil.
Inside the pot, place an inverted cake pan or some other such thing so that you can rest a large plate with the fish on it inside the pot and out of direct contact with the water. (The fish will be on a plate that is resting on another object that is in direct contact with the bottom of the pot.)
Chop the final scallion into 3 pieces and rest it on the plate. Season the fish with salt and pepper on the outside with and place the fish on the plate.
Place the plate on the object in the pot, cover the pot, and steam over high heat for 10 to 12 m (more for a larger fish), until done.
While the fish is steaming, mix the soy sauce with the vinegar and lime juice.
Remove the fish carefully and place on a serving plate. Place the julienned ginger and scallions across the top of the fish and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
Heat the sesame oil in a small pan until just before smoking, then pour over the fish.
Finally, pour the soy sauce mixture onto the plate and serve. This fish is also quite tasty still served at room temperature.
Serve with rice or some sautéed greens like pak choi.

*This can be made with fish filets, but fish in the bone comes out much more moist and flavorful, as well as being a beautiful presentation.
**Add coriander or chilli to the ginger, or make a mix.

pak choi @ wok

For ➍
700 g pak choi or baby pak choi
1½ vegetable or peanut oil
1-2 tbs cloves garlic, finely minced
1 ts grated fresh ginger
3 tbs broth or water (or 2 tbs broth/water + 1 tbs wine)
salt to taste
½ teaspoon sesame oil

Trim the pak choi stem end. Cutting the thick stem off will ensure that the pak choi cooks evenly. Separate out the leaves, keep the tender center intact and clean under running water. Drain.
Finely mince garlic and grate fresh ginger with a microplane grater. Grating the ginger helps break up the tough fibers.
Place wok or frying pan on your stove and pour in the cooking oil. Do not heat yet. Add the garlic and ginger to the cold oil.  Turn the heat to medium-high. Let the ginger and garlic gently sizzle in the oil.
When the aromatics become fragrant and light golden brown, add the pak choi leaves. Toss very well to coat each leaf with the garlicky, gingery oil for 15 s. Pour in broth, water or wine.
Immediately cover and let cook for 1 m.
Season with salt and drizzle a bit of sesame oil on top.

Black cod with scallions & ginger @ microwave

For ➋-➍
2 225 g black cod fillets, with skin or not (or use halibut, rockfish, trout, black sea bass, pomfret or sole)
4¼ ts soy sauce
¼ ts sesame oil
4 0.6 cm thick round slices of ginger plus 1 tbs finely julienned ginger, for garnish
5 or 6 scallions, white & green parts separated & julienned
1½ ts Shaoxing or other white wine
3½ tbs peanut oil

Place each fillet in a separate microwave-safe zip-top bag, then place the bags skin (or skinned) side down next to each other on a microwave-safe plate.
In a small bowl, combine soy sauce and sesame oil. Set aside. Divide ginger coins and white part of scallions between the 2 bags. Pour half the wine (¾ ts) into each bag. Push air out as much as possible.
Microwave until fish becomes opaque and flakes easily, 3½ to 5 m in an 800-watt oven.
Transfer each fillet to a warm serving plate and drizzle each with half of the soy sauce mixture. Garnish with scallion greens and julienned ginger.
In a small pan, heat peanut oil until sizzling. Drizzle the hot oil over each fillet and serve immediately.

Ginger fried rice

For ➍
10 cl peanut oil
2 tbs minced garlic
2 tbs minced ginger
salt
2 thinly sliced leeks, white & light green parts only, rinsed & dried
650 g day-old cooked rice
4 large eggs
2 ts sesame oil
4 ts soy sauce

In a large skillet, heat 10 cl of peanut oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and brown. With a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels and salt lightly.

Reduce heat under skillet to medium-low and add 2 tbs of peanut oil and leeks. Cook about 10 m, stirring occasionally, until very tender but not browned. Season lightly with salt.

Raise heat to medium and add rice. Cook, stirring well, until heated through. Season to taste with salt.

Fry eggs in remaining oil, sunny-side-up, until edges are set but yolk is still runny.

Divide rice among 4 dishes. Top each with an egg and drizzle with ½ tsp sesame oil and 1 tsp soy sauce.

Sprinkle crisped garlic and ginger over everything and serve.