Yan Can Cook; 601; Best of China -- Food and Symbolism

Hi I'm Martin symbolism has always played an important role in Chinese culture. The Empress of the main Dynasty sarong that the tones were objects of great symbolisms to ensure peace and prosperity in the afterlife. Food in China is also very symbolic. Like lettuce cups stuffed with mince duck and run an only dish with three types of mushrooms raised with Gallup's and lightly fry fish fillet served with us with chili sauce. What does it all symbolized. The answers that coming up next on yanking the best of China. Yank Cook is made possible by black American foreign and seasoning sauces for home and professional chefs for over a century by Diamond walnuts. They're crunchy texture and not compliment all kinds of food. And I bought a song as a Maya and the song and by Meyer corporation

manufacturers of Starkey lawn circular are designed and engineered for the serious. Yes. Chinese culture is based on lonely traditions and believes a certain color

a certain number like 3 8 and 9 and a certain shape can have far reaching symbolic meaning. For instance the word four letters in Chinese cooking in Chinese is song choice which songs I think they called it the word full. Well all good business. So today we wish all of you well off in good business. That's why we're going to use song choice. Now the first thing I want to show you is think we didn't put this particular dish is going to Maine's duck. Meat with let his cup in the lettuce cup with of course or with poison sauce. Here you can actually go to the store and buy a frozen duck and you bowl it yourself and get the duck breast or you can actually go to especially meat market you buy the whole duck press. Like this just by the duck breast. OK and then you can remove the skin yourself and you can get ready to hear oh I have a tiny tiny bit of a duck a duck breast or you can use duck duck. I use both. OK. And I put this over

here and I sliced ESOP. And then I cut it up into little strips and. It's like that and set it aside and put it together and I cut it into strips and I stood aside and put it right here. And I go. Cut into little dice like that. OK. Now traditionally the Chinese restaurant. This is actually a very popular dish. Everywhere you go in the good Chinese restaurant you always can find this dish. OK. Particularly they normally serve this around Chinese New Year on special occasions because it's good symbolic meaning when this is all nice and done you set this aside. Remove remove the cutting board and then we don't Marilyn a dis. First of all we're going to use a tiny bit of the flavor sauce or you can just use soy sauce to marinate this OK. And that's all we really need to marinate this marinate this. OK. Always Melanie with a chopstick because it's much much easier for you to handle. And also when you stir fry does it give

you a nice food body flavor. OK. Now traditionally you go to China. They used scrap. Mins to screw up. Or you can actually use any meat. OK I just happen to love duck in this part because I don't have to overcook them they're nice and juicy instruction and then we heat up the rock. Now besides the lettuce marinated dock for a little while. OK and then we're going to show you all the other great I'm going to use. We're going to use to look at is this is a hit there's a whole piece of a coma. Of course traditionally they used water chestnut freshwater chestnut but I think we're just as good if they were built all over the country all over the world and all the supermarkets and this is how it looks inside. OK looks how very nice and crunchy and sweet That's why I'll always love a comma and then when you use them you just use a little knife and you just peel this off like this because you can actually people this whole thing I'll peel this whole thing out. Peel this and peel this peel this and this very very simple. You just peel the wealth of paring

knife peel it with a paring knife and peel it with a paring knife very easy to do this. OK and after you peel that some of the most saw I can and then you cut them up. Look at that. Cut it into little chunks like this little slices like this. OK and then you turn there's a new transistor and just stood aside and then you cut it up into little jewelry and pieces like that and you put it on your back. Set it aside and of course we will have wonderful texture. Now besides that we also want to go through some basic ingredient in this particular dish of course we would like to also have some muscle. We cut it up and sort of go like that and it's all done. It doesn't take too long to do it all and cut it up and then on the right here it's all done.

Now we're going to start cooking because we don't have to waste time here. Letters he is writing panel rock you want to cut down on the used oil use nonstick frying pan. Use that kind of oil. OK heat it up about two teaspoon. Always use very little. Such a thread and then a few one after this get ready. You put some garlic and ginger. OK God. And Ginger a tiny bit of garlic and a tiny bit of ginger. Just press this. Ministers ministers put it aside put aside the ministry put it aside. It won't find a minister all you have to do is do it one more time and it's done and then when this is done you put the garlic and ginger right there and you missed this little bit. Look at that. OK and then put the duck or right here get there. Oh no kids as does the third strike.

Absolutely one of them. Still not fooled though not too long and then put the mushroom. Beautiful kind of a hay coma. Because it's such a small piece and some nice chopped carrot nice and colorful and some dye used to Kinny everything you need to create some nice wonderful color right there. And US survey finds that there. Make sure you post around kitchen exercise have a balanced diet always exercised and then put a lot of soup stock whole look at that and a kind of a sesame seed oil. Let it cook for a little while but I was sorry saws. Look at that. And of cause kind of a whine. OK let us cook for a few seconds while we're doing it here. We're going to talk a little bit about some of the things that everybody should

know about the symbolism. For instance traditionally in Chinese restaurant they use Oyster for this particular dish dry oyster oyster in China it's called whole hosting means good business. OK. That's why they use dry oyster. You can use when dry or Sears steam. They look like this nice and soft and very fragrant of course some people love smoke oyster. So in this particular dish we actually put a kind of a small chorister and this let's put some smoke or oyster in our dish get yeah let's put up her own business model. And of course the size of this look at that and the last minute. We're going to put some walnut chop Warner right here to give that nice touch. Get this when they're all done we shut it off and we're going to serve. OK we'll show everybody how easy it is to do this OK. Look at that. Why I'm surfing this we're going to get a sprawling.

And get a leftist Cup. All you have to do is to get a lettuce. Open it up and use a knife to trim this into a nice cup like this. We're good at just trim and trim it up and then you can just put this right here. Look at that just the right amount and put it right over here. One big heaping teaspoon with the duck meat and then you serve it right here. And before we serve and garnish it I want to show you. This is also symbolic look at this this is our poll now. This also means abundance. That's why I always put around the altar in the middle of the dining room and this is. Manger an orange or 10 during this also very good because a symbol of goal and also of course symbolism. Red Envelope. This is means good luck and good fortune. Inside there is always money that a parent or grandparent give

it to the children and grandchildren all anybody single and then is there that's money. Look at that. We have a beautiful and Tikhon look at it. And Tikhon This is from the Ching Dynasty and of course we also have some real expensive goal from Dollar Abraham Lincoln dynasty. Look at that. We have all of these and we wish you wonderful good luck and this is done let us cut wood duck and. Warner. That turtle in China is a symbol of long life. The last time a visit the famous Ming to Mao style Beijing I came across a turtle the size 0 but naturally I have to say hello. Remember the story of the territories and here in China just like in the West the total has a very important symphonic meaning in Chinese culture. Every percent of patients long Jevon tranquillity touching a turtle it's little bit like touching off a pink ACORN It all depends on

its own tail. If I get a chance that's fertile I will forever be free and worry free. If I touch the tail supposedly I will be living for ever. So I learned to cover all the bases and I touch and feel this way. I can look forward to. Well I'm very very tall and relaxed in fact not only I like to touch the tail but I would also like to. Place it so I can live even longer. Today's show is all about symbolism. Look at this. I'll show you the little ignition and corns. This is what we're going to do today because I'm going to show you a dish that everything is round and symbolize we're serving you a plate of gold coins. And also the number three in Chinese is sung. So it's highly symbolic because this sounds similar to the word for

giving lying particularly to speak Chinese where it's Cantonese or Mandarin. Here I am going to show you the ingredient I'm going to use here. I have some scallops scallop is perfectly round. Look at that nice and round. We're going to slice the salad. Horizontally horizontally look at. Three pieces. Nice and round and we'll put it aside. We'll cut another piece horizontally horizontally and then put it another piece and cut another piece horizontally and then all done. Now always prepare your food ahead of time with the scallop already we're going to merrily I was scallops with a tiny bit of SOL. Look at that tiny bit of salt. About half a teaspoon or so a tiny bit of white pepper and also a tiny bit of corn starch. OK very very simple and if you want you can even put a tiny bit of whining. OK this is how we marinate it don't have to use soy sauce because particular when you do scallops and prawn make sure well

you marinate it for about five to six minutes any time anywhere from two to three minutes. Let us set aside and put a right here OK. And then in the meantime we also want to show you the audience we're going to use. We have some nice wrung mushroom. As I said I love mushroom. Good fiber good potassium long calorie nice and fresh available all year round and also have some black mushroom. OK and of course some strong mushroom is not a basic things. First we're going to heat up a lot and we're going to do it. OK. Make sure everything is done properly. First use a kind of Oreo. OK Anne. It will make it nice and tasty We have some chop Charlotte. OK so we can stir fry I was scallops chopped shallot look at that nice child Charlotte. OK we can do that when we sprays the most wrong we can actually do this with the scallops either way.

OK nice and flavorful and then we'll put mushrooms scallops rely in here a lot of scallops will let the race let the pins on one side. OK very little oil. Who can say Chinese food is not healthy. Use only vegetable oil. There's a tiny tiny bit. When this one is done on one side nice and hot. OK you turn a city on a side look at that. Turn to the other side. Make sure they are nice and cook on each side. Why I am doing this. Want to get ready. All the other mushrooms. OK here I'm going to put in all the other mushroom in there this is a three three mushroom of cos if you life you can replace this with this wonderful always to mushroom. All was wrong talian brown mushroom all fresh tacky Muslim slaughter that doesn't take too long to cook at all. OK you don't want to over.

The Skeletor you also called your skull if you loose it. OK what makes scallop wonderful it is nice and flavorful and tender and succulent. OK make sure they're nice and done when it's done if you take it out and you slide it in rural Iowa video look at that. Slide it right over here and then you complete your mushroom. Now here we have dots you talkin mushroom. Nice turn round like that the get a nice and round straw mushroom and put them all here and of course fresh mushroom. All of these wonderful mushrooms and then you're going to get to put a kind of a log to give over wrong. Get them all seafood. Rolf is fine and then a lot of raised a little while with a tiny bit of so it was one tiny bit of whining where the tiny bit of sugar were about a bit of a killing god exhausts

get that to any garlic sauce to make it nice and spicy. A lot of people love hot and spicy dishes. Let's get that you covered this and let it brace for a little while. OK now look at that so far you have seen all the dishes. Look at that we have something already braze you braise it over medium very broad proximately. Five to eight minutes when this is all nice and done you take it out and grab a plate. Even the dish I want to show everybody look at this dish. Even a fish is symbolic. We are serving you a fish plate with a fish fish is abundance abundance plentiful so that's why we put all of these right in the middle. On top of these you look at that. Because we are serving all these wonderful mushroom. Look at that this is beautiful. We don't want to waste any at all. Make sure that

nothing is release when this is nice and done we'll take it over here and we'll put that scallops right on top. Look at that. Put that goal. Corn scallops right on top. Look at how beautiful the dish is this is what you call symbolism. Everything is gold. Everything is wonderful and everything is nice and this. Is our braze mushrooms which succulence gallops. No one believes the symbolism than the families of China. A trip to the famous Beijing is quite an educational experience. 36 Lions camel warriors and scholars in the God of the emperors of the Ming dynasty

as much as there were no talks only she was around for that if and then they choose. Final resting place here and the word fish in Chinese is sung. You mean abundance. More than enough and that is the symbol of wealth and abundance in China. Here is a recipe using fresh wonderful fish. Here we have why in snapper you can use any white fish you can even use the sermon if you want. First I want to use this needle nose prior to care with all of the bones. There's any bone here we want to remove the bone. OK. Because I don't want to eat bones you see. Remove the bone remove the bone pull the bone

this way it will be nice and fresh. OK. Pulled all the bone now and then I'm going to cut this into nice pieces like this. First we can do three pieces. OK. Three pieces and then each of these truly you can two three pieces trim this one piece to piece and three pieces okay. And then after you can do three pieces you're going to use this technique. Very interesting technique. Look at this. You go at an angle 45 degree all the way to the skin but not cutting through the skin. Cut it. Cut it. Cut it and then after that you go score score score and score it this way. When you open it up they look like this. That's why we're going to make nice pine cone fish or puck you pine fish and then you do another one. One two three four and then cut it up an angle 45

degree 40 degree then one long time 45 45 45 and 45 and then go one see. Very very simple. This is all nice and done. You set this aside. And then you slightly does this does this OK. One piece does these. OK. Now this is already MCs were kind of cornstarch tiny bit of. White paper and trying to soften the flowers is already season. OK you can season ahead of time or you can season it in the flower. OK it's already seasoned with some salt and white pepper. OK. Look at that and after that you dig this into the wash and then you come back here and you did this. The idea of doing this in this way when it comes time it looks really nice. Look at that.

Nice and given in the beginning and then you put it right here. Look at that. Put it right here. And then she could have all your idea of stripping this and it's marinate this at the same time you can ruin some of that moisture so when you deep fried it they would not come up all over the place was not splash. OK one the pieces when this is done. You removed these because you don't need this anymore. And then we clean up our hands and I'm going to keep riding in these nice hot oil make sure the oil is hot enough. Look at that the bubbles start to come out and see the bubbles start to come out. That means the oil is hot enough so we can deep fry this. When you defy this. Make sure you do in this little trick. You go like this. OK look at it like that. Look at that look at that and then you put it in the UK. Make sure it comes out really nice. You go like that. And you go like that and you put it in.

OK the idea is to make that pine cone or pole couponing look at that and then when this is all nice and done I'll always learn to clean up. They're really important in the meantime while you're at the front is you can get you know sweet and sour sauce. All I have to do is get some and then Iker rice vinegar one portion of rice vinegar thought about about maybe one third of a cup and also one third cup of water and one third of a cup of ketchup and a tiny bit of sugar. About two tables one to sugar and a tiny bit of chili sauce all nice and wonderful. But if you don't have time no problem. And then you have the second one up if you don't have time. You know what you can do all you have to do is go to the store and buy some stall boat. Sweet and sour sauce OK. Very easy to do when this is all nice to ready you take it out and put a tiny bit of sesame seed on to get that

nice flavor. Make sure they are nice and flavorful. This is all nice and done and then the fish is also done. Look at that beautiful piece of fish. Nice pine cone like that. Take it out. Beautiful. Look at that nice beautiful pieces of fish. Nice beautiful pieces of fish like that. And this is done and the sauce is also done and we are going to sew right over here with our beautiful fisherman. Oh look at that. This fisherman is with a big humongous piece of carrot. Look at how beautiful fish Pine Cone fish Pine Cone fish. And then of course serve a beautiful suit. Inside I was sauce like that sweet and sour sauce when sour sauce when sour sauce. And that is what you have a wonderful occupying fish was sweet and

sour sauce. And now the lotion all of these fish pond fish is this dragon fish particularly when you entertain the home for a big party and it's very easy to make is beautiful because in China food and symbolism go hand in hand with each bite we think we're sinking our peeves into 5000 years of history. So remember if you years and you can judge in all the dishes made by Martin again in this series you can make it home from Martin Yan's Allen their journey through time number on your screen. Enjoy more than 125 step by step recipe more than 60 photographs plus Martin's own cooking techniques and temps. One hundred six point seven thirty six hundred. Yes possible by

home and. By my lawn. Yes.