By Alex Y. Vergara
Anyone can cook, really! In fact, anyone can be a “master” cook. At least, that was how Jereme Leung, Chinese celebrity master chef, made us believe one morning last week, as he conducted a brief master class among lifestyle journalists in the kitchens of Conrad Manila. Leung, of course, is the man behind China Blue by Jereme Leung, a “modern” Chinese restaurant he established several years ago in Hong Kong, but now has branches in a number of Asian cities, including Manila.
Leung makes it a point to visit China Blue’s Manila branch at the Conrad at least twice a year. This time, alongside Manila-based Executive Chef Eng Yew Khor, he introduced a number of dishes to China Blue’s menu, which are available until the end of October.
Among the dishes in China Blue’s special menu are Guang Dong-style Chicken and Endamane Salad with Wasabi Dressing, Braised Quinoa and Beetroot Wonton in Barbecue Duck Consommé, Pan-Seared Cod Fish with Nippon Pickled Ginger and Carrot Sauce and Wok-fried Barley Rice with Matsusaka Pork with Pickled Vegetables.
Depending on the public’s response, some of these dishes might become part of China Blue’s regular menu. If you do have a favorite, let the restaurant’s staff, especially Chef Khor, know about it.
One of the highlights of Jereme’s trip, however, was teaching a group of mostly non-cooks a rather simple but tricky dish said to be popular in certain regions of Northern China and Northern Japan: Hundred Rings Nippon Cucumber Salad with Chinese Aged-rice Vinaigrette.
“It’s a classic dish in Northern China that’s known for its simplicity as well as complexity,” said Jereme. “It’s simple because all you need are fresh Japanese cucumbers and certain ingredients for the dressing, which you can readily find in your pantry. It’s complex because it takes a bit of skill and loads of patience and concentration to prepare it. You can choose between the Chinese and Western knife, but be very careful because both knives are supposed to be sharp.”
The tricky part involves not cutting any of your fingers as you slice each cucumber cross-wise multiple times from end to end. It sounds easy at first blush, but the real challenge is not to slice the cucumber all the way through so as not to split it into two or more parts. The two chefs, Jereme and Khor, then took turns demonstrating how it’s done. Before long, it was our turn to do it, as we were each given our respective work stations.
Tune out the noise, Jereme encouraged us, and just focus on your cucumber. If you focus hard enough, he continued, you might even zone out and experience a Zen-like state. What was supposed to be a relaxing experience became a task for many of us, as we focused on not breaking the cucumber into two while now hurting our fingers.
“If you manage to slice your cucumber from end to end without breaking it, you would have sliced it at least 120 times,” said Jereme.
Once you’re done, you flip the cucumber before slicing its opposite side, again from end to end. This time, though, you follow a diagonal angle. Just like before, you try to slice the cucumber without breaking it into multiple pieces. Once you’re done, you stretch the cucumber a bit and discover how it has virtually turned into a spring akin to a toy Slinky.
The dish may be popular in certain parts of China, but according to Jereme “only 10 percent of Chinese chefs” know how to do it. Because of the “unique cuts” it underwent, the cucumber’s membranes broke in such way, leaving it with a distinct crispness, he added.
“Give your sliced cucumbers an ice bath,” Jereme commanded, as we submerged our respective cucumbers in half-filled metal trays with crushed ice and cold water. “Leave them for a while and start mixing the other ingredients for your cucumber dressing.”
By other ingredients, he meant the following: 10 g. of sesame oil; 60 g. of soya sauce; 10 g. of sugar; 10 g. of dark soya sauce; 20 g. of rice vinegar (black); 1 g. of white pepper powder; 15 g. of raw garlic; and 5 g. of fried garlic.
“To give your salad an authentic taste, it’s essential to use black rice vinegar from China,” said Jereme.
After mixing everything but the fried garlic in a smaller bowl, we were asked to take our respective sliced cucumbers from their ice bath, and plate them. We then each poured our dressing on the cold cucumber before sprinkling it with roasted garlic, as final touch.
What’s the verdict? Our cucumber salad, Northern China-style was surprisingly crunchy, refreshing and savory enough. It was neither too salty nor two sour. And because the cucumber was cold, it was an ideal starter, especially on a warm summer day.
One journalist almost ended up finishing her own salad creation had not someone reminded her that an eight-course lunch would soon be served. With our tummies full after less than an hour, we went home happy later that afternoon, as we bask in the thought that we’re now master cooks of at least one authentic Northern Chinese dish.
