72 FEBRUARY 2021
- Spoon^1 / 2 cup dressing into a large serv-
ing bowl or platter; place fried vermicelli
in the center. Arrange carrot, cucumber,
daikon, onion, bell pepper, yuba, eda-
mame, and microgreens around fried ver-
micelli. Sprinkle with shallots, peanuts,
pickled ginger, and sesame seeds. Top
vermicelli with fried taro and pomelo, and
garnish with flower petals. - With the salad as the centerpiece, each
guest should use their chopsticks to gen-
tly incorporate the dressing. Encourage
guests to serve themselves. Serve
remaining^1 / 2 cup dressing on side.
MAKE AHEAD Dressing can be made up to
3 days ahead and stored in an airtight
container in refrigerator.
NOTE Find umeboshi paste and taro root
at Chinese grocery stores or online.
Ba Bao Fan (Eight-Treasure Rice)
PHOTO P. 63
ACTIVE 40 MIN; TOTAL 1 HR 50 MIN
SERVES 6Any variety of dried and candied fruits can
decorate this lightly sweet sticky rice des-
sert, but using a lucky assortment of eight
is traditional. The Chinese word for the
number eight, ba, sounds similar to fa,
which means prosperity and confers fortu-
itous meaning on the dessert. Chang likes
to decorate hers with an opulent assort-
ment that includes candied orange peel,
goji berries, amarena cherries, kumquats,
lemon peel, edible flowers, mandarins,
lychees, red dates (jujube), maraschino
cherries, gooseberries, kiwi berries, pome-
granate, dragon fruit, and sliced figs. Do
not substitute sushi or other short-grain
rice here; sweet glutinous rice contains a
starch that helps the grains stick together
without getting mushy.11 / 2 cups uncooked sweet glutinous rice
(such as Rom America) (about 10^3 /^4
oz.)
13 / 4 cups water, divided
2 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more
for greasing pan
11 / 2 cups preserved or candied Chinese
fruits (such as mandarin orange
slices, cherries, dates, kumquats,
lychees, kiwis, kiwi berries, goji
berries, and/or red dates), divided
1 / 2 cup sweetened red bean paste
(such as Shirakiku)
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. granulated sugar
1 /^4 tsp. cornstarch
1 / 2 tsp. grated lemon zest plus 1 tsp.
fresh lemon juice- Place rice in a fine wire-mesh strainer;
rinse under cold water, stirring rice with
your fingers, until water runs clear, about
1 minute and 30 seconds. Transfer rice to
a small saucepan; add 1^1 / 2 cups water.
Bring to a boil over high. Stir once; cover
and reduce heat to low. Simmer until
water is absorbed, 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove from heat; let stand, covered,
until rice grains are almost tender with a
slightly firm center, about 10 minutes.
Uncover; stir in brown sugar and butter.- While rice stands, fill a large stockpot
with water to a depth of 2^1 / 2 inches. Fit a
steamer basket in stockpot, making sure
water doesn’t touch steamer. Bring water
to a boil over high. Generously grease a
6- x 3-inch round cake pan with butter.
Press 1 cup candied fruit onto bottom of
prepared cake pan, forming a decorative
pattern. - Spoon 1^1 / 2 cups cooked rice mixture
over fruit in cake pan, 1 spoonful at a
time, pressing to form a compact, even
layer with fruit anchored in place. Spread
red bean paste in an even layer over rice,
leaving a^1 / 2 -inch border. Press remaining
(^1) / 2 cup candied fruit evenly around edge
of cake pan. Spread remaining 1^1 / 2 cups
rice mixture over bean paste, pressing to
form a compact, even layer. Cover tightly
with aluminum foil.
- Place cake pan, foil side up, in steamer
over boiling water. Cover stockpot;
reduce heat to medium, and steam 1
h o u r. - Meanwhile, whisk together granulated
sugar and cornstarch in a small sauce-
pan over medium. Whisk in remaining^1 / 4
cup water. Cook over medium, whisking
often, until sugar dissolves and thickens
into a very light syrup, about 4 minutes.
Stir in lemon zest and juice; remove from
heat. - Remove cake pan from steamer;
remove foil, and let cake cool slightly,
about 10 minutes. Run a knife along edge
of cake to loosen. Place a small cake
stand on top of cake pan, and invert;
unmold onto stand. Pour lemon syrup
evenly over cake. Slice into wedges, and
serve. For clean slices, dip knife into
warm water and wipe clean between
slices.
MAKE AHEAD Ba bao fan can be made up
to 1 day ahead and stored in an airtight
container in refrigerator.
Prosperity Toss Salad
TOTAL 50 MIN; SERVES 6 TO 8Tossed with a sweet-tart and salty dress-
ing made from umeboshi, or pickled Japa-
nese plums, each ingredient in Chang’s
version of this colorful composed salad
has an auspicious meaning. She serves it
as an appetizer to raise good luck.SALTED PLUM DRESSING
1 /^2 cup umeboshi paste (such as Eden
Foods)
1 / 4 cup rice vinegar
21 / 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
11 / 2 tsp. minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tsp. mirin
SALAD
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 oz. uncooked rice vermicelli
noodles, gently pulled apart and
broken
1 cup^1 / 16 -inch-thick x^1 / 2 -inch-wide
taro root ribbons
1 cup^1 / 16 -inch-thick carrot ribbons
1 cup^1 / 16 -inch-thick cucumber
ribbons
1 cup^1 /^16 -inch-thick daikon ribbons
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 cup thinly sliced green bell pepper
1 cup^1 / 2 -inch-wide fresh yuba (bean
curd sheets) ribbons (such as Hodo
Foods)
1 / 2 cup cooked and shelled fresh or
thawed frozen shelled edamame
1 / 2 cup fresh microgreens or bean
sprouts
1 / 4 cup crispy fried shallots (such as
Maesri)
1 / 4 cup salted roasted peanuts
1 / 4 cup drained pickled sliced ginger
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
1 large pomelo or Ruby Red
grapefruit, peeled and segmented
Edible flower petals, for garnish- Make the salted plum dressing: Whisk
together umeboshi paste, vinegar, sugar,
sesame oil, ginger, and mirin in a small
bowl until blended and smooth; set aside. - Make the salad: Pour vegetable oil
to a depth of 1^1 / 2 inches in a large wok;
heat over medium-high until a deep-fry
thermometer reads 350°F. Working in 2
batches, add vermicelli noodles, and fry
until noodles puff and float to surface,
about 7 seconds. Using a spider or slotted
spoon, flip noodles, and fry 3 seconds.
Using a spider, remove noodles from oil,
and drain on a large paper towel–lined
plate. Add taro root to wok, and fry, stir-
ring often, until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes.
Drain on a paper towel–lined plate.
The calm before the prosperity
salad toss: Piles of cucumbers,
taro root, carrots, and radishes,
cut into noodle-like ribbons in a
nod to the symbol of longevity,
await their auspicious fate at the
center of Chang’s table. Radishes,
pomelos, and green vegetables
like cucumbers are symbols of
good fortune.