WIN A TSINGTAO-INSPIRED COOKERY CLASS
Fancy winning a cooking class for two at the School of Wok in Covent Garden? You’ll learn to
make a host of recipes that go perfectly with a cold Tsingtao beer. If you win, you’ll also receive a
case of Tsingtao. To enter, visit goodthingsmagazine.com/Tsingtao before 31 May 2017.
T&Cs Prize includes a 3-hour cookery class and a 24 x 330ml case of Tsingtao beer. Entrants must be over 18 and ID may be required.
SICHUAN
PEPPERCORNS
This citrusy-flavoured
husk of a berry derived
from the prickly ash
bush in northwest
China leaves a
numbing feeling on
the tip of the tongue.
It is one of the main
forms of heat in
Sichuan cooking and is
a feature in many five-
spice blends.
THE SWAP
Replace each teaspoon
with a crushed mixture
of a teaspoon of
juniper berries
and a teaspoon of
chilli flakes.
CHINESE
PRESERVED
BLACK BEANS
Providing a strong,
assertive flavour,
Chinese black beans
are actually salted,
dried soybeans as
opposed to pulses.
The salt is extremely
prominent, as is the
deeply savoury flavour.
THE SWAP
None. This ingredient
is worth seeking out,
as the beans' distinct
flavour is one that's
quite hard to replicate.
BLACK RICE
VINEGAR
Made from fermented
glutinous rice husks
(which are black by
nature), this vinegar
has a unique, deep
flavour that’s sweet,
sour and savoury.
THE SWAP
Mix 1 tablespoon of
light soy sauce with
2 tablespoons of thin
balsamic vinegar and
a tablespoon of sugar.
DRIED
MANDARIN PEEL
Adding dried mandarin
peel to stocks, sauces
or rubs lends a unique,
complex, bittersweet
flavour to a dish.
THE SWAP
Peel a tangerine or
mandarin and heat
in a dry pan for 10-15
minutes to bring out
the essence of citrus
peel, then use as
directed in your recipe.
STAPLES
& SWAPS
In my first book, Chinese Unchopped, I talked through some of the key ingredients
found in a Chinese pantry. These not only elevate whatever you’re cooking, but can
also be easily swapped for more common ingredients with similar flavour profiles.
P
eople oen assume
that when it comes
to cooking Asian
cuisines, it’s all
about the fresh
ingredients. Can’t find that
specialist ingredient fresh?
Then it must mean the dish can’t
be cooked. But that’s simply
not the case. Over my years of
teaching at School of Wok, I’ve
come to discover that keeping
a few base ingredients in the
freezer and pantry can make all
the difference to what you can
achieve in the kitchen.
It’s amazing what you can do
with frozen herbs or chopped
up spices and a well-stocked
storecupboard. In fact, I’d go
as far as to say that it’s the
pantry that really provides that
unmistakable punch of flavour in
an Asian kitchen, no maer what
fresh food's around or how bare
the refrigerator may be.
Chinese cuisine relies on
wonderful balances of sweet,
sour, spicy, salty and savoury.
Beyond the usual ginger,
garlic and spring onion, key
storecupboard items include
unrefined brown sugars, Sichuan
peppercorns, dried
red chillies, pickled cabbage,
and tofu. Then there’s ‘sacred
soy beans’; fermented and made
into pastes, soy sauces, and
brined and dried as the famous
preserved ‘black’ bean.
All these alchemical
ingredients can transform
something that would be nothing
more than an ordinary midweek
dish into something that goes
above and beyond scratching
that Saturday night itch for a
cheeky takeaway.
Orient
EXPRESS
Love Chinese cuisine? Jeremy Pang explains how to stock your
storecupboard so that a tasty meal is never far away
School_of_Wok_PromoCATHY ZP.indd 82 03/04/2017 21:08