A Taste of Taiwan with Tina Long
From Taiwan to your kitchen!
Ingredients:
- 1 large Napa cabbage (about 1.5 kg)
- ½ large daikon radish (about 500 g), julienned
- 2 carrots, grated
- 3 spring onions, slice
- 2 tbsp Korean red chilli flakes (adjust to taste)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp gochujang (red pepper paste)
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fermented tofu (substitute with miso or anchovy paste)
- Salt for sprinkling
How To Make Taiwan-Style Kimchi
- Cut the Napa cabbage into bite-size pieces.
- Toss with a handful of salt and let it sit overnight to draw out
moisture. - Squeeze gently to remove excess water.
- In a bowl combine chili flakes, sugar, vinegar, ginger, garlic, gochujang and the fermented tofu.
- Blend until smooth – you’ll get a rich red paste full of umami.
- Add your cabbage, grated daikon, grated carrots and spring onion into a large bowl.
- Pour over the spicy paste and mix well (use gloves if you don’t want red hands).
- Every piece should be evenly coated.
Ingredients:
- For the Taiwan BBQ marinade (Sha Cha 烤肉醬)
- 3 Tbsp Sha Cha sauce
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp honey 1 Tbsp rice wine
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- A dash of black pepper
- For the proteins:
- Pork belly: Slive into 1 – 2cm thick strips & remove rind.
- Marinate in the sauce for 1 hour or overnight.
- Grill until
golden and slightly crispy. - Chicken Breast: slice into 1cm strips.
- Marinate for 30 minutes.
- Grill over medium heat, brushing with sauce unti caramelised.
- King prawns: Clean, butterfly & devein, keeping tails on.
- Brush with sauce and grill for 2 – 3 minutes per side.
- How to serve: Assemble bao buns with kimchi and grilled prawn and pork belly.
- Few spring onion ribbons and
fresh coriander to garnish.
How To Make Taiwan-Inspired Braai Feast
- For the sauce: Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until smooth.
- Use half as a marinade (marinate your meat for 30 –
60 minutes). - Keep the other half as a basting sauce while grilling – brush it on for that glossy
- Taiwanese aroma.
Ingredients:
- 800g chicken mince
- 100g spring onions, finely chopped
- 1L chicken stock (clear stock or homemade bone broth)
- 10g agar-agar powder (to gel the soup)
- 30ml rice wine
- 20g dashi powder or concentrate
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 38g oyster sauce (about 2 Tbsp)
- 30g fresh ginger, grated
- 30ml sesame oil
- 30ml coconut oil
For the soup dumpling dough:
(makes about 200 wrappers)
- 300g bread flour
- 4g salt
- 5g cornstarch
- 80 – 85ml water (at room temp)
- 1 small egg (or ½ large egg beaten, about 25g)
- 12 – 13ml neutral oil (2 ½ tsp)
How To Make Chicken Soup Dumplings
- Step 1: Make the soup jelly (The Hidden Broth) – In a pot combine chicken stock and agar agar.
- Bring to a boil while whisking – simmer for 1 – 2 minutes until the agar fully dissolves.
- Pour into a shallow tray and refrigerate for 1 hour until set.
- Once firm, cut the jelly into small cubes – these will melt inside the dumplings to create that signature soup burst.
- Step 2: Make the filling – In a large bowl, combine chicken mince, egg, ginger, rice wine, dashi, sugar, oyster sauce.
- Sesame oil, coconut oil and spring onion.
- Gently fold in the soup jelly cubes.
- Mix until just combined – don’t overmix or fulling with become tough.
- Chill for 30 minutes while preparing the wrappers.
- Step 3: Wrap the dumplings – place a small spoonful of filling in the centre of a thin dumpling wrapper.
- Pleat and pinch to seal the top (like a little pouch)
- Keep covered with a damp cloth while you work.
- Step 4: Steam – line your steamer with perforated paper or cabbage leaves.
- Steam over boiling water for 7 – 8 minutes until the dumplings are translucent and bouncy.
- Serve immediately – the broth inside will be piping hot!
- Combine flour, salt, cornflour in a large bowl.
- In a separate jug, whisk water, eggs, oil.
- Pour wet into dry gradually, stirring until a rough dough forms.
- Work the dough for 8 – 10 minutes until soft and elastic – it should bounce back when pressed. (if too dry, add a splash of water, if too sticky dust with flour)
- Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 – 45 minutes so the gluten loosens up and the dough rolls easily.
- Shape the wrappers – fill with chicken soup dumpling mixture, pleat and seal.
- Steam for 7 – 8 minutes until the dumplings look translucent and springy.