by Song Yi

In the northern part of China, where I grew up, people enjoy many special dishes that you just don't find elsewhere – not in the south of China, and certainly not in Chinese restaurants here in the West. When I came to the United States, I really missed that familiar food!

Here are two of my favorites, one for breakfast and one for lunch or dinner. In the mornings, jianbing guozi (which means "fried cake") can be bought from street vendors on any corner in Tianjin, my hometown. A few hard-working entrepreneurs can also be found serving it up late at night for people who have unusual work schedules. Because it's so easily obtained there, I never needed to make jianbing guozi until I came to America. Then I had to guess at the recipe.

(I should add an apology to my Western friends that there is probably a lot of latitude in these measurements. Chinese people laugh at the way American cooks insist on measuring out ingredients as if they were laboratory reagents. Life in Chinese kitchens just isn't that precise!)

Jianbing Guozi

Ingredients

• 1 part soy flour
• 2 parts white flour
• water
• small eggs as needed
• medium green onions, chopped or sliced
• Lian How brand sweet flour sauce, or equivalent (ingredients: bean, flour, salt)
• Fried sweet bread ("Chinese donut") – optional

Directions

Before starting, you need a special tool for raking the flour out into a thin sheet on your griddle. I made mine by drilling a little hole in the middle of a thin piece of wood, about 1" x 3", and mounting it firmly on the end of a chopstick. Maybe your kitchen already has something suitable.

Mix the two kinds of flour and carefully stir in water, a little at a time, until it's thin enough to work with. (The white flour is needed to hold the cakes together.) Apply a very thin layer of oil on a flat, cast-iron griddle and put it over medium heat. When it's hot, carefully drop a spoonful of the wet mixed flour and spread it out with your rake tool. Try for something about the size and thickness of a tortilla, but don't worry if it tears a little bit.

While it's cooking, break an egg over it and spread that out, too. After about two minutes, the cake will have turned slightly yellow and will be firm. Using a spatula, flip it over like a pancake and cook for two more minutes. While the second side is cooking, sparingly spread the top side with sweet flour sauce and sprinkle with the chopped green onion.

If desired, you can wrap it around a stick of fried bread, or just roll it up and eat it as-is. It's best when served with unsweetened soy beverage.

Jiaozi

Ingredients (serves 4)

• small package of white flour (or pre-made dumpling wrappers)
• water
• 1 large summer squash
• 1 lb. small, shelled shrimp (pre-cooked optional)
• 4 eggs
• 3 medium green onions, chopped or sliced
• 1 tablespoon, finely chopped ginger root
• 1 tablespoon, sesame oil
• salt (optional)

Directions

First, prepare the squash. Cut off the skin and clean out the seeds. Grate it and thoroughly mix in a large bowl with the shrimp, eggs, onion, ginger, oil and salt.

Pre-made dumpling wrappers are quicker, but sometimes they don't stick together well unless you moisten the edges with water. I generally just make my own with flour. Mix the flour with water to make it pasty. Pinch off balls about the size of walnuts and roll them out with a rolling pin. Here is where your friends can pitch in and help. As the stack of wrappers accumulates, people can be putting a spoonful of filling into each one, firmly crimping the edges together, and lining them up on a cookie sheet. After a lifetime of making dumplings, my father can do this with one hand. Don't worry if you feel clumsy at first. And don't worry if the result is not much like the tidy store-bought dumplings. The taste will be better!

Next, coat a deep skillet or wok with a thin layer of oil and put down one layer of the dumplings. Heat it over high heat, and when the dumplings are hot, carefully add water to cover the dumplings. Turn down the heat to medium, put a lid on the pan, and continue making more dumplings. After about 15 minutes the water will be gone (it will sound different) and the first batch will be ready.

Every Chinese kitchen has three staple ingredients: green onions, ginger, and garlic. The first two went into the filling, and I recommend the last one for the table. Splash a little rice vinegar over your plate of jiaozi, take a bite, and then take a nibble of a garlic clove. Say, this makes me hungry!

If you have any easy, tasty Asian recipes to share, please send them to us at P.O. Box 23744, San Diego, CA 92193-3744. E-mail: editor@jadedragon.com. If we use your article, we will send you a Jade Dragon Online t-shirt.