Can't stand the heat?Get into the kitchen
By Wu Huixin |
July 11, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AS temperatures soar, people talk a lot about excessive internal heat - yang (hot) energy - often a problem in summer. In traditional medicinal food therapy, coping with yang requires getting in tune with the energy through modifying diet and lifestyle.
In Hangzhou - the water city - locals traditionally prepare summer dishes designed to quell the heat and balance the body's energy. Popular choices include lotus root dishes and lightly flavored soups.
Lotus roots, a specialty of Hangzhou, make regular appearances on locals' dinner tables, with those growing in West Lake particularly sought. In traditional medicinal food therapy, lotus roots are said to clear internal heat, reduce blood pressure and replenish moisture, especially in the lungs.
Meanwhile, soups made out of vegetables can draw hot energy out of the body, while providing vitamins and natural fibers.
Today, Shanghai Daily recommends six classic everyday dishes made by Hangzhou locals during summer, that are easy to try at home.
Lotus root dishes
? Candied lotus root
An episode of recent popular food documentary series "A Bite of China" featured candied lotus root, describing its long history and delicate taste.
A traditional dessert in south China, candied lotus root has a sweet smell and luscious taste. Hangzhou's version enjoy a great reputation for tenderness and sweetness.
First, soak glutinous rice in water for two to three hours and wash and remove the outer layer of the lotus root.
Next, cut off the stalk above the lotus root, but don't throw it away.
Third, stuff the holes of the lotus root with soaked glutinous rice. You can use chopsticks to poke the rice in firmly. Then reattach the stalk to the stuffed lotus root using toothpicks.
Once all this is done, immerse the whole lotus root in a pot of water, adding 45 grams of brown sugar and eight or nine red dates. Boil on a high heat until cooked, and then simmer for half an hour.
Next, add 15 grams of rock candy and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Finally, slice the lotus root into pieces when it has cooled.
? Lotus root salad
Lotus root salad is a traditional Zhejiang dish, which tastes refreshing and helps digest grease. It is easy to prepare - even for people who don't usually cook.
Choose a white and tender lotus root, as these are more delicate, and cut it into round slices, showing its cross-section holes.
Put the slices into a pot, add water and boil.
The next step is vital to getting the dish right. Remove the boiled lotus root pieces from the water and plunge them into icy water. As the hot slices are cooled down instantly, the texture becomes crisp as the starch is removed in the process.
Finally, simply mix the lotus root pieces with dressing according to your own taste. In addition to common soy sauce and vinegar, garlic, shredded ginger and chopped green onion are recommended.
? Lotus root fried with celery and lily
This dish also has a poetic Chinese name He Tang Xiao Chao (lotus pond cuisine).
Celery is packed with protein, carbohydrates and minerals while lily is both a culinary delicacy and a traditional tonic.
When celery, lily and lotus root are fried together, they help nourish yin (cold) energy, replenish fluids and clear internal heat.
First, remove the outer layer of the lotus root, slice it and place the pieces in water to avoid blackening through oxidation.
Next, cut the celery and lily into pieces. Then put the sliced lotus root in a pot, cover with water and boil.
Third, plunge the boiled slices into icy water to get them crisp.
Finally, stir fry the celery and lily with oil and salt. After a while, add the lotus root and continue frying for a few seconds.
Soups
? Watermelon and pork chop soup
Watermelon is a seasonal fruit synonymous with summer days. Usually, people eat the pulp and throw away the rind. But in Hangzhou, locals have long made use of the humble rind to make a delicious soup.
In traditional medicinal food therapy, watermelon rind has a heat removing and detoxifying effect. When cooked with pork chops, it can make up for the body fluid loss.
First, dice the rind and clean the pork chops. Second, put the chops into a pot with around three bowls of water and cook. Next, add the pieces of rind to the pork chop soup and continue stewing for 50 minutes.
Finally, add salt and monosodium glutamate to the soup.
? Bitter gourd and pork chop soup
The bitterness of the gourd stimulates the production of saliva, increasing the pleasure of eating. In addition, eating bitter gourds in summer can help prevent heatstroke and cure heat rash.
First, scatter Chinese five spices on the pork chops and brush them with beaten eggs. Next, put the pork chops in an earthen pot with about three bowls of water and cover with ginger and chives. Cook over low heat for 40 minutes. Add salt and bitter gourd in the pot and braise for another 15 minutes. Finally, scatter some monosodium glutamate.
One tip to remember: don't braise the bitter gourd too long, otherwise, it will turn yellow and the fragrance will disappear.
? Towel gourd, tomato and dried bamboo shoot soup
People from south of the Yangtze River love dried bamboo shoots, which traditional Chinese medicine says aids digestion.
Hangzhou cooking makes use of the plentiful local supplies of bamboo, and towel gourd, tomato and bamboo shoot soup is a classic dish.
First, chop and dice the towel gourd, tomato and bamboo shoots.
Next, fry the tomatoes over high heat until they become soft.
Third, add the bamboo shoots and three bowls of water to the tomato pottage and simmer until the bamboo shoots cooked.
Next, put the towel gourd into the pot and continue braising.
Once the towel gourd is cooked, add salt and monosodium glutamate.
In Hangzhou - the water city - locals traditionally prepare summer dishes designed to quell the heat and balance the body's energy. Popular choices include lotus root dishes and lightly flavored soups.
Lotus roots, a specialty of Hangzhou, make regular appearances on locals' dinner tables, with those growing in West Lake particularly sought. In traditional medicinal food therapy, lotus roots are said to clear internal heat, reduce blood pressure and replenish moisture, especially in the lungs.
Meanwhile, soups made out of vegetables can draw hot energy out of the body, while providing vitamins and natural fibers.
Today, Shanghai Daily recommends six classic everyday dishes made by Hangzhou locals during summer, that are easy to try at home.
Lotus root dishes
? Candied lotus root
An episode of recent popular food documentary series "A Bite of China" featured candied lotus root, describing its long history and delicate taste.
A traditional dessert in south China, candied lotus root has a sweet smell and luscious taste. Hangzhou's version enjoy a great reputation for tenderness and sweetness.
First, soak glutinous rice in water for two to three hours and wash and remove the outer layer of the lotus root.
Next, cut off the stalk above the lotus root, but don't throw it away.
Third, stuff the holes of the lotus root with soaked glutinous rice. You can use chopsticks to poke the rice in firmly. Then reattach the stalk to the stuffed lotus root using toothpicks.
Once all this is done, immerse the whole lotus root in a pot of water, adding 45 grams of brown sugar and eight or nine red dates. Boil on a high heat until cooked, and then simmer for half an hour.
Next, add 15 grams of rock candy and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Finally, slice the lotus root into pieces when it has cooled.
? Lotus root salad
Lotus root salad is a traditional Zhejiang dish, which tastes refreshing and helps digest grease. It is easy to prepare - even for people who don't usually cook.
Choose a white and tender lotus root, as these are more delicate, and cut it into round slices, showing its cross-section holes.
Put the slices into a pot, add water and boil.
The next step is vital to getting the dish right. Remove the boiled lotus root pieces from the water and plunge them into icy water. As the hot slices are cooled down instantly, the texture becomes crisp as the starch is removed in the process.
Finally, simply mix the lotus root pieces with dressing according to your own taste. In addition to common soy sauce and vinegar, garlic, shredded ginger and chopped green onion are recommended.
? Lotus root fried with celery and lily
This dish also has a poetic Chinese name He Tang Xiao Chao (lotus pond cuisine).
Celery is packed with protein, carbohydrates and minerals while lily is both a culinary delicacy and a traditional tonic.
When celery, lily and lotus root are fried together, they help nourish yin (cold) energy, replenish fluids and clear internal heat.
First, remove the outer layer of the lotus root, slice it and place the pieces in water to avoid blackening through oxidation.
Next, cut the celery and lily into pieces. Then put the sliced lotus root in a pot, cover with water and boil.
Third, plunge the boiled slices into icy water to get them crisp.
Finally, stir fry the celery and lily with oil and salt. After a while, add the lotus root and continue frying for a few seconds.
Soups
? Watermelon and pork chop soup
Watermelon is a seasonal fruit synonymous with summer days. Usually, people eat the pulp and throw away the rind. But in Hangzhou, locals have long made use of the humble rind to make a delicious soup.
In traditional medicinal food therapy, watermelon rind has a heat removing and detoxifying effect. When cooked with pork chops, it can make up for the body fluid loss.
First, dice the rind and clean the pork chops. Second, put the chops into a pot with around three bowls of water and cook. Next, add the pieces of rind to the pork chop soup and continue stewing for 50 minutes.
Finally, add salt and monosodium glutamate to the soup.
? Bitter gourd and pork chop soup
The bitterness of the gourd stimulates the production of saliva, increasing the pleasure of eating. In addition, eating bitter gourds in summer can help prevent heatstroke and cure heat rash.
First, scatter Chinese five spices on the pork chops and brush them with beaten eggs. Next, put the pork chops in an earthen pot with about three bowls of water and cover with ginger and chives. Cook over low heat for 40 minutes. Add salt and bitter gourd in the pot and braise for another 15 minutes. Finally, scatter some monosodium glutamate.
One tip to remember: don't braise the bitter gourd too long, otherwise, it will turn yellow and the fragrance will disappear.
? Towel gourd, tomato and dried bamboo shoot soup
People from south of the Yangtze River love dried bamboo shoots, which traditional Chinese medicine says aids digestion.
Hangzhou cooking makes use of the plentiful local supplies of bamboo, and towel gourd, tomato and bamboo shoot soup is a classic dish.
First, chop and dice the towel gourd, tomato and bamboo shoots.
Next, fry the tomatoes over high heat until they become soft.
Third, add the bamboo shoots and three bowls of water to the tomato pottage and simmer until the bamboo shoots cooked.
Next, put the towel gourd into the pot and continue braising.
Once the towel gourd is cooked, add salt and monosodium glutamate.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
