2010

UPDATES



In a packed auditorium at the Asian Art Museum, Chef Nei Chia Ji of Jai Yun cooked three Shanghai specialties highlighting the region’s famous Shaoxing rice wines.  He now shares these recipes with us at the bottom of this page.  Enjoy!





COOKING DEMONSTRATION

SHANGHAI DRUNKEN DISH


Thursday, August 19, 2010

5:00 – 9:00 pm

Admission $10 (at the door)


Asian Art Museum

200 Larkin St.

San Francisco, CA 94102

Map


The Asian Culinary Forum and the Asian Art Museum are delighted to highlight two celebrated San Francisco chefs: Chef Nei Chia Ji of Jai Yun Restaurant and Chef Martin Yan of Yan Can Cook.  The duo will share their love for Shanghai cuisine at a unique demonstration and tasting.


San Francisco’s sister city, Shanghai, has long been renowned for its subtle, elegant cuisine.  Nestled in the fertile delta of the Yangtze River, this cosmopolitan city is the heart of one of China’s most important culinary regions.  Shanghai cuisine melds abundant local produce with the eastern provinces’ richest artisan traditions: dry-cured hams, complex black vinegars, and the aged, amber-hued rice wines that infuses many  of its specialities.  The city’s gastronomic repertoire of “drunken dishes” highlights the freshest of poultry, seafood and vegetables paired with a selection of fine rice wines.

Read on for schedule and more info!


Chef Nei and Chef Yan will discuss and demo three special dishes: vegetarian goose with bean curd and rice winepickled cucumber in Huang Chiew wine, and the famous “drunken chicken” with Shaoxing wine.  Enjoy small sample bites of these dishes while enjoying the musical stylings of DJ Friendly Traveler. Toast with a drink from the cash bar, create your own art, and tour Shanghai – all in one evening!


 




Event Schedule


5:00–9:00 pm

DJ Friendly Traveler 

Cash Bars

Art activity


6:30 & 8:30 pm

Docent Conversations: Shanghai


7:00–7:45

Cooking demonstration with Chef Nei and Chef Yan


Look for three different food stations where you can receive sample bites of the dishes. Please note that these small sample bites are limited in supply; first come, first serve.







Chef Nei Chia Ji: In His Own Words


My name is Nei Chia Ji. I had no formal training when I began my culinary career. In fact I felt that because I speak only Mandarin I was forced to work as a Chinese cook. To my surprise, I soon realized that I have a natural talent and deep passion for cooking. This led me to create a new concept of cooking which combines theory with practicality, health and science and relates it to the way we live today.


I am excited about sharing this knowledge, rooted in 5,000 years of Chinese food culture, with others in culinary, commercial, and academic fields. My fourfold plan includes establishing a world-class cooking school for the study of the skills, techniques and art of Chinese food culture; a top flight banquet-style restaurant; an artfully executed vegetarian restaurant which is all-natural, organic and seasonal; and a Chinese café specializing in the regional dishes of China.


Our goal at Jia Yun Restaurant, opened in 1999, was to re-imagine traditional Chinese food in new and exciting ways. The cooking theories of Shanghai, Jia Su and Ze Jiang are founded on “developing the natural flavor.” Combined with the specialty of Sichuan and Hunan, we create dishes that are fresh, seasonal, nutritional and organic. Our emphasis on “one taste with one dish” highlights the flavors and specialness of each dish.



Drunken Chicken


Rub a small, whole chicken with salt and let marinate for 30 minutes.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Crush several thick slices of ginger and add to the boiling water along with 4 green onions.  Boil for 5 to 10 minutes until the water is fragrant.  Add the chicken, bring to a simmer, and cook over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken.  To test, poke a chopstick into the breast to check that no pink juices come out.


Remove the pot from the heat, cover and set aside to cool the chicken in its poaching liquid.  When cool, remove the chicken and immerse in ice water to firm the skin.


In a large bowl, stir together equal parts of the poaching liquid and 8-year Hua Diao wine, making sure there’s enough to cover the chicken.  Season to taste with sugar and salt.  Return the chicken to the wine mixture and let marinate overnight in the refrigerator.  To serve, remove the bones and cut the filets into bite-sized pieces, arrange on a platter, and drizzle with the wine sauce.



Vegetarian Goose


Stir to together equal parts rice wine, soy sauce, and sugar.  Add salt to taste, star anise and half a cinnamon stick.  Marinate 8 sheets of dried soy bean curd skins in the sauce for 30 minutes.


Remove the bean curd skins from the marinade, reserving the flavorful liquid.  Stack the skins and fold tightly to form a rectangle 2-by-8-inches.  Steam the bean curd skins for 5 minutes over medium heat.  Remove and let cool on a plate.


Pan-fry the bean curd skins on both sides in a small amount of oil until golden brown.  Add the reserved wine marinade to the pan and simmer for 30 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool completely before slicing and serving.



Sweet & Sour Lotus Root


Wash, trim, peel and thinly slice 1-1/2 fresh lotus roots.  Blanch the slices by plunging in a large pot of boiling water for 1 minute.  Remove and rinse with cold water until completely cool.  Drain well in a colander and set aside.


Stir together equal amounts of rice wine, vinegar and sugar.  Season to taste with salt, and adjust seasonings for a balanced sweet-sour sauce.  Tear 2 dried chiles and wrap in cheesecloth.  Add to the wine sauce along with the blanched lotus roots.  Marinate in the refrigerator at least 6 hours or overnight.




Photos

Thank you to Jay Jao for sharing his photos of the event with us: Gallery