cake? not-cake!

This is my sister-in-law. Inexplicably, she dislikes cake. I have tried to find acceptable replacements for cake over the years, and then I recently stumbled across this idea on the internet. Like a cake surrounded with ladyfingers, this “cake” has long-life noodles surrounded with spring rolls. This is a lot easier than it looks. I simply used the same filling for the spring rolls as for the noodles. Meat optional.

Cake Not-Cake (ha!)

Ingredient List for Filling (Make double for both spring rolls and for long-life noodles)

1 package Long life noodles (available dried at Asian groceries)

1 small package Bean threads (available dried at Asian groceries)

2 cups Celery, cut into matchsticks

1 1/2 Carrots, cut into matchsticks

6 Chinese mushrooms (available dried at Asian groceries), soaked in hot water to soften, about 1 hour

1 Red sweet pepper, cut into matchsticks

1 small head of cabbage, shredded

1 cup bean sprouts

1 package of large spring roll skins, thawed, if frozen.

1/4 to 1/3 cup pork, chicken, or beef slivers (optional), tossed in a little soy sauce, optional

2-4 tablespoons oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce for Long Life Noodles

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon coconut sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Make the sauce and set aside. Soak the mushrooms in hot water and set aside. Soak the bean threads in hot water and set aside. When the mushrooms have softened, trim the stems and discard them. Slice the caps into strips. Drain the softened bean threads when they become softened and begin to look translucent. If using, season the meat with a 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce, and set aside.

Make filling. Use a wok or a large 12-inch skillet. If using, sauté the meat strips in 1 tablespoon oil. Remove meat to a plate and set aside. Heat cabbage in 2 tablespoons oil until softened and shiny. Add the carrots and mushrooms, cooking until crisp-tender. Add the celery, peppers, bean sprouts and cook until crisp-tender. Salt and pepper to taste. DO AHEAD: one day before, make the filling and cool to room temperature. Then refrigerate, covered.

Divide mixture in half, reserving one half in a large bowl. Push the remaining mixture in the skillet to the sides. Add the drained bean threads to the center of the wok/skillet. Cook stirring until the noodles become completely transparent. Cut in the vegetable mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Scrape bean thread-vegetable mixture into another large bowl to cool.

Make the spring rolls. When the bean thread-vegetable mixture has cooled, prepare a dinner plate, a small bowl of water, and a baking tray lined with parchment. Roll up spring rolls around a mound of filling. Continue until all the filling is used up. Put each spring roll on the prepared baking tray and cover with a damp cloth to prevent them from drying up. If you are using a 7-inch springform pan, you will need 13 spring rolls each about 1.5 inches wide and about 4 inches tall. Heat four tablespoons oil in a small skillet. Prepare another baking tray doubled lined with paper towels and a wire cooling rack set on top. When the oil is hot, dip the tip of a wooden chopstick in the oil. When bubbles quickly gather around the tip, the oil is hot enough. Fry the spring rolls two at a time, turning quickly to ensure even browning. Remove to the prepared baking tray to drain and cool. DO AHEAD: make the spring rolls a day before and refrigerate when cooled.

Make the long life noodles about half an hour before serving. Boil a large pot of water. When boiling add the noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cool water. Add the remaining oil to the wok/skillet and heat the oil until hot but not smoking. Add the noodles and stir to coat in oil. Return the reserved vegetable mixture to the wok/skillet and mix in with the noodles. Pour over the sauce and toss noodles. Set aside to keep warm.

Assemble the cake not-cake. About 15 minutes before serving, reheat the spring rolls in the oven on a baking tray lined with foil. Mound the noodles in the center of the spring form pan. Arrange the spring rolls around the circumference. Serve with Thai sweet chili sauce.

ants climbing a tree

The inspiration for this dish came four decades ago for the birth of our second daughter. My mother-in-law flew out to Wisconsin from California to help us look after a toddler and a newborn. She helpfully took over the cooking duties. At the time I had only ever cooked recipes out of cookbooks, and had never encountered her intuitive cooking methods before. I watched her prepare her famous coffee chiffon cake using a porcelain Chinese rice bowl to measure out the ingredients. But I was tethered to measuring cups and spoons, so I knew I could never repeat the feat. She was an amazing cook. She whipped up tasty meals quickly, including this dish fancifully called “ants climbing a tree” in the Chinese cookbooks on my shelves. My mother-in-law’s recipe only included 5 ingredients: ground meat, bean threads, eggs, scallions, and garlic. And as I watched her put it all together in a wok, and seasoned it to taste with soy sauce and fish sauce, I knew I could make it too. It was the first time I ever cooked a dish without a recipe.

Although I give measurements here, they are just an estimate; a guide if you will.

Ants Climbing a Tree (Ground Meat with Bean Threads)

Yield: 4-6 servings

1 tablespoon rice bran oil

2 large cloves of garlic, minced (add more or less to taste)

Approximately 300g ground meat (chicken, pork, beef or lamb) or a little over a pound

1 bundle of bean threads

2 large eggs, beaten (1 egg is fine but 2 adds more deliciousness)

Dark soy sauce and fish sauce, to taste

2 stalks scallions, sliced thin (be fancy and slice them on the diagonal)

Boil a cup of water. Place it in a bowl and add the bean threads. Let it soften in the hot water about 7-10 minutes. You’ll know it’s soft enough when the bean threads are limp but still opaque. Drain and set aside.

Cook’s Note: To make the ground meat moist and tender, add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda with a small amount of water to a small bowl to dissolve it. Pour the mixture onto the meat during stir frying. Adding baking soda to tenderize meat is called velveting. This step is entirely optional but highly recommended.

Heat oil in large wok or skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the meat and stir-fry until no longer pink. Season to taste with dark soy sauce, or add just enough to darken the meat. Mix well. Add half the scallions and stir to combine.

Cook’s Note: Dark soy sauce is not salty. It is a somewhat thick sauce used mainly in Chinese cooking to color food without adding salt. If you only have light soy sauce which is salty, (“light” refers to the thickness of the sauce) add a small amount to color, mix and then taste. Remember you will be salting the dish with fish sauce later. Or you can skip the fish sauce and salt the meat now.

Add the soaked bean threads and stir until well-combined with the meat. Cut the meat and bean threads together using the spatula for stir frying. The heat will turn the bean threads from opaque to transparent. Pour over the beaten eggs and let it sit for a few seconds until slightly set around the edges. Then stir fry until the eggs are cooked through and well distributed. Sprinkle over fish sauce. This is finishing the dish with fish sauce, so go lightly. Add just enough fish sauce for a delicate aroma, the merest hint of pungency. Plate. Sprinkle over the remaining scallions. Serve at once with steamed brown rice.

steamed eggs with ground pork and shiitake mushrooms

When I read Fuchsia Dunlop’s cookbook Every Grain of Rice, I was so happy to find this recipe for Steamed Eggs. I grew up eating this. In a Hakka home this is the ultimate comfort food, with the ground pork settling in a flavorful base at the bottom while the egg steams to a custard-like consistency above it.

I made some adaptations to the original recipe. I used the mushroom soaking water so it made the egg custard brown instead of yellow. For some reason, mine does not steam in 8-10 minutes, but more like 15-20. But no matter, you still get the same beautiful result. I recommend using foil rather than plastic to cover the steamed eggs as I burned by fingers trying to pull hot plastic stuck to the bowl. Anyway, do try these Steamed Eggs. Even if you didn’t grow up eating it, it’s not too late to start.

Steamed Eggs with Ground Pork and Shiitake Mushrooms

Yield: 2-4 servings

For the Custard

2 dried shiitake mushrooms (you can substitute fresh, if you prefer)

3 large eggs

2/3 cup/150ml warm chicken stock or water (I used the mushroom soaking water, cooled)

1/4-teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry

2 tablespoons scallions, finely sliced on the bias

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped (optional)

2 tablespoons rice bran or canola cooking oil

2 teaspoons light soy sauce (can use Golden Mountain or Maggi seasoning sauce)

For the Pork (optional but highly recommended)

1 tablespoon rice bran or canola cooking oil

4 oz (100g) ground pork (can use beef or chicken)

1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine

If using dried mushrooms, soak them in hot water for at least 30 minutes to soften. Trim the stems and discard. Chop the caps finely. Set aside.

Meanwhile, prepare a steamer. I put about 2-inches of water in the base and cover it so it comes to a boil faster. Don’t put the rack on top or the hot metal will burn your hands when you go to put the bowl of eggs to steam in it.

If using the pork, heat a wok or skillet over high heat. Add the oil and stir-fry the pork and mushrooms until the pork is just cooked. Add the wine and salt to taste. Set aside to cool. If it’s too hot, it will scramble the eggs.

Beat the eggs thoroughly with a whisk. I use a pair of wooden chopsticks which is the traditional way to whisk eggs in a Chinese kitchen. Add the stock, water, or mushroom soaking water, salt, wine, and the cooled pork-mushroom mixture. Mix well.

Pour the mixture into a heatproof bowl at least 3-4 inches deep. As it steams, the heavier pork and mushrooms will settle at the bottom. Cover bowl with waxed paper or tin foil. Place the bowl in a steamer rack. Uncover the steamer, the water should be boiling vigorously by now, and place the rack on top. Cover the rack. Steam 15-20 minutes or until the top is set. It should not be liquid if you tilt the bowl, but firm and somewhat jiggly when lightly pressed.

Remove the cover and scatter over the scallions. Heat the cooking oil until smoking, then ladle it all over the scallions. It will sizzle. Finish by pouring soy sauce, Golden Mountain, or Maggi seasoning sauce over the eggs. I skipped this step and simply sprinkled Maggi sauce over the top and scallions.

Sichuan ants climbing a tree

This recipe is from Fuchsia Dunlop’s Food of Sichuan. It is spicier than my Teo Chew mother-in-law’s version but nonetheless delicious.

Ants Climbing a Tree (adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop, Food of Sichuan)

100g dried bean thread noodles

3 tablespoons rice bran oil or a neutral oil like canola

100g ground pork, finely ground

1/2-tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry

1 teaspoon light soy sauce

1 -1 1/2-tablespoons of Sichuan chile bean paste (toubanjiang)

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 cup/236g stock or water

1/2-teaspoon dark soy sauce

Scallions, sliced, for garnish, optional

Remove the bean threads from the packaging and place them in a large bowl. Pour boiling water over them to soften, 5-10 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

Heat a large skillet or wok on medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. When it is hot, stir-fry the pork until it is no longer pink and is in tiny pieces. Add the wine or sherry and the light soy sauce.

Push the pork to one side of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, chile bean paste, and stir fry until the oil is red and fragrant. As toubanjiang can be salty, start with a tablespoon and taste, only adding more if more salt is needed. Add the ginger and garlic stir-frying until fragrant, 30 seconds. Stir the pork into the sauce. Add the stock or water, dark soy sauce, and the noodles. Toss to combine.

Return the heat to high and cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid is absorbed by the noodles. Cook 3-5 minutes until the noodles are cooked through, becoming translucent. Add the scallions, if using. Stir to combine. Serve hot with plain steamed rice, and a vegetable side. I turned some broccoli and mushrooms to good use, mixed with garlic, Sichuan pepper, and salt.