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Authors: Lorraine Clissold
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Japanese rice that was the best imitation, if slightly too stodgy. The following year Xiao Ding accompanied us to the UK a second time. She met us at the airport, dragging my favourite suitcase behind her. I knew better than to say anything, as there is a fine line between borrowing and taking, but I was surprised that she had needed to ‘borrow’ such a large piece of luggage. On her first trip she had packed an extensive wardrobe, appearing at breakfast in a pink and yellow flowered two-piece with a miniskirt; though when she found the rest of us in jeans or tracksuits she reserved her best clothes for photo opportunities. My hopes that the case might be half empty were dashed when I took hold of the handle to swing it on to the trolley and found I could barely lift it. ‘What on earth have you got in there?’ I gasped,wondering how we would manage the baggage allowance. She looked at me as if I was stupid: ‘Rice,’ she answered.
Simple fried rice
Chao fan
Boiled rice is the more usual accompaniment to cai , though elaborate versions of fried rice feature in banquets. This simple recipe is generally made to use up leftovers. We often eat it for breakfast.
If you don’t have any leftovers you will achieve a better result by cooking the rice the day before, leaving it in the fridge overnight then breaking it up roughly before using.
1 tbsp oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 spring onion, finely chopped
500 g/1 lb/2 cups leftover cooked rice
(brown, white or a mixture)
1 slice of ham, chopped into small squares
50 g/2 oz/½ cup cooked peas
½ tsp salt (or to taste)
Heat the wok to a high heat, add half the oil, and let it heat up. Tip in the beaten egg, allow it to puff up then stir it as it cooks to break it up. Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and set aside, allowing the excess oil to sink to the base of the wok.
Add the remainder of the oil, then the spring onion and the rice, and stir with a spatula until all the grains are separated. Turn the heat down slightly if the mixture is browning. Add the chopped ham, egg and peas and stir them in well.
Season with salt, mix well and serve.
Or any other grain . . .
Because the Chinese diet has such an infinite variety of cai , (dishes), Chinese diners often enjoy their fan, or staple, finely cooked and, as I learned from Xiao Ding, they tend to become very attached to their local type of rice. She once explained to me that rice was still a novelty to many Beijingers because before 1941 the area did not have irrigation systems to grow rice as a staple crop, so the diet was based on wheat. Certainly Beijing is famous for the dumplings and flat-breads I have already mentioned, and also noodles and pancakes. Compared with rice though, these are generally regarded as lighter options, to be eaten when time is short.
For modern living, combination dishes such as fried noodles, offering both fan and cai , have the advantage of convenience, and while I came to love rice and seldom go a day without using it in at least one meal, I like to use different grains or pasta and often mix my vegetables in with them, fusion style. New varieties of staple foods are reaching Western supermarket shelves all the time. Barley is ideal for risottos; the protein-packed quinoa makes a tasty salad, cornmeal (polenta) and water makes a pizza-type base, and the soaked and steamed grain is delicious cut in slices and fried.
Bread
So what’s wrong with sandwiches anyway? For many of us in the West, bread is such an integral part of our diet that the thought of giving it up overnight is terrifying (though many people have had to because of the rise in gluten allergies). If you like bread, and it likes you, then you can still enjoy our Western favourite as a staple food. Better and more interesting varieties of bread are appearing in the West all the time, and there is no doubt that the stoneground,organic varieties featuring wholegrain ‘designer’ flours and even nuts and seeds, are superior
Simple fried rice
Chao fan
Boiled rice is the more usual accompaniment to cai , though elaborate versions of fried rice feature in banquets. This simple recipe is generally made to use up leftovers. We often eat it for breakfast.
If you don’t have any leftovers you will achieve a better result by cooking the rice the day before, leaving it in the fridge overnight then breaking it up roughly before using.
1 tbsp oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 spring onion, finely chopped
500 g/1 lb/2 cups leftover cooked rice
(brown, white or a mixture)
1 slice of ham, chopped into small squares
50 g/2 oz/½ cup cooked peas
½ tsp salt (or to taste)
Heat the wok to a high heat, add half the oil, and let it heat up. Tip in the beaten egg, allow it to puff up then stir it as it cooks to break it up. Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and set aside, allowing the excess oil to sink to the base of the wok.
Add the remainder of the oil, then the spring onion and the rice, and stir with a spatula until all the grains are separated. Turn the heat down slightly if the mixture is browning. Add the chopped ham, egg and peas and stir them in well.
Season with salt, mix well and serve.
Or any other grain . . .
Because the Chinese diet has such an infinite variety of cai , (dishes), Chinese diners often enjoy their fan, or staple, finely cooked and, as I learned from Xiao Ding, they tend to become very attached to their local type of rice. She once explained to me that rice was still a novelty to many Beijingers because before 1941 the area did not have irrigation systems to grow rice as a staple crop, so the diet was based on wheat. Certainly Beijing is famous for the dumplings and flat-breads I have already mentioned, and also noodles and pancakes. Compared with rice though, these are generally regarded as lighter options, to be eaten when time is short.
For modern living, combination dishes such as fried noodles, offering both fan and cai , have the advantage of convenience, and while I came to love rice and seldom go a day without using it in at least one meal, I like to use different grains or pasta and often mix my vegetables in with them, fusion style. New varieties of staple foods are reaching Western supermarket shelves all the time. Barley is ideal for risottos; the protein-packed quinoa makes a tasty salad, cornmeal (polenta) and water makes a pizza-type base, and the soaked and steamed grain is delicious cut in slices and fried.
Bread
So what’s wrong with sandwiches anyway? For many of us in the West, bread is such an integral part of our diet that the thought of giving it up overnight is terrifying (though many people have had to because of the rise in gluten allergies). If you like bread, and it likes you, then you can still enjoy our Western favourite as a staple food. Better and more interesting varieties of bread are appearing in the West all the time, and there is no doubt that the stoneground,organic varieties featuring wholegrain ‘designer’ flours and even nuts and seeds, are superior
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