Real Chinese Food

Ba Da Bing - with Ming Tsai
Having lived in Sichuan, China for over a year I was privileged to daily enjoy some of the best food I've ever eaten. It's nothing like what you get in most Chinese restaurants in America. Not far from where I grew up in Illinois we had a fabulous Chinese restaurant which became my benchmark for all Chinese restaurants in America; sadly, I moved away and the last I heard the restaurant became like most of the others I've had the misfortune to eat at. Shudder. Shudder.

I didn't really want to start dis-ing restaurants here, but to simply make a point. Good Chinese food is nothing like what we get in America and it's taken me years to find anyone to show me how to make some of my favorite dishes. Martin Yan is a wonderful showman with wonderful recipes. I like his recipe for green onion cakes though I haven't made them in years - they are a lot of work for fry bread. Give me meat!

About a year ago, I ran across a video of Ming Tsai (East Meets West) doing a show with his mother; they were making Bings together. Ming usually does a western twist on traditional Chinese cooking, but since his mother was on the show he also gave a recipe for traditional Bings. Bings are like a bigger version of the fried meat dumplings that you can get in most Chinese restaurants. They are delicious. The last time I made them my husband discovered that they taste even better if you pick them up and eat them with your hands instead of using a knife and fork. Watch out for that first bite though; the hot juices just spurt out all over! In China, they actually make a steamed bread filled with meat and HOT chicken soup that they drink with a straw before opening up the bun. How cool is that?

Some day I'll find a good recipe for Bao Tze (meat & vegetable filled steamed buns), she says with a sigh...

Anyway, here's Ming's recipe for Bings - I did make a change to the original recipe. His measurements for the water in the Hot Water dough were WAY off, but maybe he lives in a desert?

Some day when you have some extra time on your hands, make some Bings. They are a family favorite for us.

BING - Traditional Gingered Pork and Scallions

 - adapted from Ming Tsai

Serves 4-6

Water dough

2 cups (16 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/2 c + 2 T. boiling water 

Traditional gingered pork and scallions Bing

1 pound naturally fed ground pork (or beef)

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons naturally brewed soy sauce

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

1 recipe bing dough

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

oil for cooking

DIRECTIONS

Hot water dough - In a stand mixer fitted with dough hook, gradually add water to flour. Once dough forms a ball and all the dry ingredients are incorporated, remove from mixer. Dough should not be sticky, if it is, add more flour, tablespoon by tablespoon. Very lightly flour a flat surface and bring dough together into a disk. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for up to 48 hours. Alternately, you can make dough in a bowl and bring together with chopsticks or a wooden spoon.

Traditional gingered pork and scallions bing - In a large bowl, combine pork, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and scallions. Season with salt and pepper and cook a small amount of filling to check flavor. To make the bings, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and shape each into a rough ball. Flour a work surface, and roll the dough into 1/8-inch rounds. (Tip: Roll the outer edges of each round to about 1/16-inch thick.) Form about 1/3 cup of pork mixture into the shape of a hockey puck and place in center of dough. (Dough round should be about 2 inches larger than pork filling.) Bring up the sides of the dough around filling and twist ends into a spiral to seal. Cut off as much as extra dough as possible while still keeping sealed. Slightly flatten the bings. Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Add oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the bings, sealed end down, and cook until bottoms crisp and turn golden, then flip to sear other side. Add about 1/3 cup water and cover immediately. Allow bings to steam for about 6 minutes. Remove cover and allow to recrisp on both sides.

GINGER DIPPING SAUCE:

1/4 cup thin soy sauce

1/4 cup Chinese  vinegar

1/4 cup sliced scallions

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon sugar