Macau Cafe

4406 Del Rio Road, Sacramento, CA 95822. (916) 457-8818

My dad left Tuesday morning and I'll admit I'm a bit blue about it. We had a great time during the week he was here, puttering about town. Since he loves Chinese food, we popped over to South Land Park and visited Macau Cafe on Monday for lunch. Macau Cafe offers both Chinese and Portuguese dishes so I figured it would be a good bet that he could find something he'd like there. I hadn't been there in quite awhile so I crossed my fingers and hoped that the food there was still good. I had forgotten about the Sunflower Market opening up in the same shopping plaza; but luckily, parking was still plentiful. The interior of the Macau Cafe had changed very little since my last visit- casual, clean atmosphere, walls covered in colorful photographs of their food and an entirely Asian clientele (always a good sign). My Pops and I were sat immediately at a large table to the right, next to a man happily gnawing his way through a plate of whole crab in chili sauce. The table was nice and roomy but it made it a bit difficult to chat. (At some points during our lunch I felt like we were like the two guys from the Muppets yelling at each other across the table.) We were each handed a large book-like menu. Pops was pretty impressed that such a little restaurant had such an extensive menu. There had to be over 200 dishes in the book. It took awhile for us to look over the vast array of offerings. Their menu ranges from authentic dishes to the more mainstream. Congee, Portuguese style curry, stir-fried frog with bitter melon, lobster e-fu noodles, pan fried duck bills, goose intestines in black bean sauce and Macau style crispy pig knuckles are just a few of the more exotic dishes offered at the Macau Cafe. If you tend to be a bit of a timid eater though, don't let those dishes scare you off; they do offer an array of clay pot, soup and noodle dishes as well.

The last time I was there, I decided to try the steamed flounder along with a plate of pan-fried turnip cakes in XO sauce. The flounder was perfectly cooked and took center stage- it softly flaked away from the bones as we jabbed our chopsticks into the flesh. The fish was moist and tender with a nice, robust ginger flavor. The turnip cakes on the other hand, fell flat. The cakes were soggy and luke-warm and the sauce lacked any sort of flavor. This visit though, I was craving some clams. I ordered the clams in black bean sauce and my Pops went with the shrimp in lobster sauce. Our waitress brought out my dish first and I knew immediately that she had misunderstood my order. I had wanted the clams in black bean sauce entree but she had mistakenly ordered me the clams in black bean sauce over chow fun, which was one of the day's specials. Instead of sending it back, I decided to go with it- especially since the chow fun noodles looked quite appetizing. My Pop's food hadn't come out yet but he encouraged me to start eating, so I did. Halfway through eating my lunch I stopped, as I noticed he still hadn't received his food. It took about a good, long 15 minutes after my order came out for his to arrive at the table and I think that was only because I sat there staring at the waitress until she acknowledged that the food was going to be coming out (easing my fears that she had forgotten to put in his order). I resumed eating once his dish hit the table but was a little perturbed as my food had cooled down considerably by then. Service throughout our meal was spotty but the portions and quality of the food didn't disappoint. The servings are generous (we had leftovers to bring home) and both of us enjoyed our orders. My dish had about 10-12 clams nestled on top of a hearty serving of stir-fried chow fun noodles. There was just enough black bean sauce and onion slices to add flavor but not so much so that it overwhelmed the dish.

Overall, I was glad we decided to lunch at Macau Cafe. The Pops enjoyed his meal and said it was one of the best Chinese meals he'd eaten since leaving New York (high praise indeed!). Definitely, keeping it on the "must return" list.

Mamma Mia! Ginger-Shrimp Potstickers

If you follow my blog's Facebook page, you've probably seen me post a status every so often to the effect of baking/making/cooking while singing along to Mamma Mia. It's one of my favorite musical soundtracks and is such a fun one to belt out while in the kitchen. Well, last night I got to get my ABBA on at the Community Center Theatre and see Mamma Mia live for a second time (the first time was a few years ago). This production was just as great as the first one and restored my faith in the musical (I was a bit brokenhearted after that craptastic film version with Streep came out). Anyhow, I'm looking forward to gettin' down to some more, "Dancing Queen," and "SOS" while making another batch of these ginger-shrimp potstickers. The first batch were so dang good (we paired it up with some Trader Joe's peanut satay sauce), they were scarfed up in a blink of an eye!

(This would be a good recipe to make a double or even triple batch of...you can freeze them and cook as needed.)

Ginger-Shrimp Potstickers (recipe from Cooking Light, March 2008)

Ingredients

Pot stickers:

3/4 cup shredded green cabbage

1/3 cup chopped green onions

1/4 cup matchstick-cut carrots

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound cooked peeled small shrimp

Dash of hot sauce

24 wonton wrappers (fresh or store-bought)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon canola oil, divided

1 cup water, divided


Instructions

1. To prepare pot stickers, combine first 10 ingredients in a food processor; pulse 4 times or until coarsely chopped. Working with 1 wonton wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers with a damp towel to prevent drying), spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons shrimp mixture into center of each wrapper. Moisten edges of dough with water; bring 2 opposite corners to center, pinching points to seal. Bring remaining 2 corners to center, pinching points to seal. Pinch 4 edges together to seal. (I used a gyoza press instead. You can buy these for under $2 at most Asian markets.) Place pot stickers on a large baking sheet sprinkled with cornstarch.

2. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 12 pot stickers to pan; cook 2 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Slowly add 1/2 cup water to pan; cover and cook 4 minutes. Uncover and cook 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil, 12 pot stickers, and 1/2 cup water.

3. Serve hot with favorite dipping sauce.

Gai Lan and Oyster Mushroom Noodle Stir Fry

So, recently I bought a pound of fresh stir fry noodles on my excursion to the Mei Mei Noodle Factory. I couldn't wait to cook them up in some sort of tasty noodle creation. After some hemming and hawing, I decided to take one of my favorite recipes from the book, "Noodles Every Day," for gai-lan (Chinese broccoli) and beef noodle stir fry and vegetarianize it a bit by subbing in some oyster mushrooms for the beef. I figured with the oyster mushrooms' firm, meaty texture I could marinate them just like I usually do with the beef. Bingo! It worked like a charm and tasted delicious.

Gai-Lan and Oyster Mushroom Noodle Stir Fry (adapted from, "Noodles Every Day," by Corinne Trang)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons oyster sauce

3 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or sake

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

6 oz. oyster mushrooms,stemmed

1 pound fresh noodles

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 large garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped

1.25 cups vegetable stock

1 pound gai lan (Chinese broccoli), cut into bite-size pieces

Freshly ground black pepper


Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon each soy sauce, oyster sauce and sake (or Shaoxing wine). Add the sugar and continue to whisk until completely dissolved. Stir in the cornstarch and continue stirring until smooth. Add the sesame oil and oyster mushrooms, and mix well. Marinate for 20 minutes. Drain and discard the excess marinade.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the noodles until 1 minute shy of done and drain. (We'll finish cooking the noodles at the end.)

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a skillet or wok over high heat and stir-fry the garlic until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and when hot, add the gai lan, stir frying so that the oil coats the gai lan. Pour in the 1/4 cup of the stock, turn the heat to medium-low and cover with a tight fitting lid. Cook the gai lan until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the gai-lan to the same plate.

4. Add the remaining cup of stock and the remaining 2 tablespoons each of soy sauce, oyster sauce, and rice wine to the same skillet and bring to a boil over high heat.

5. Add the noodles and cook until the liquid has almost completely evaporated, leaving the noodles lightly moistened, 2 to 3 minutes. Return the gai lan and mushrooms to the skillet and toss to mix the ingredients thoroughly. Season with pepper to taste and serve.

Spicy Ma Po Tofu for the Bachelor

Some of my guy friends are amazing cooks, some have completed culinary school, some even cook professionally and well...some of my other guy friends microwave daily and are known on a first name basis at their neighborhood Chinese takeout joint. When I suggest that they tag along with me to the farmers' market, I can see the sweat start to bead up on their forehead and a look of panic start to wash over their face. They get that deer in the headlights look and start hightailing it for the nearest exit. So this recipe is for you, dude friends- it's simple, it's really quick and doesn't involve any fancy French words. You can whip it up in mere minutes and return to the safety of your man cave before anyone assaults you with words like locavore, food revolution or Richard Blais.

Ma Po Tofu

Ingredients

1/2 lb. ground pork

1 package Ma Po sauce

1 block silken firm or extra-firm tofu, drained, cut into 2cm cubes

3 scallions, chopped (whites & greens)

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon chili oil or sriracha (optional)

1 tablespoon oil


Instructions

- Heat a tbsp of cooking oil in a wok under medium high heat. Add ground pork, cook until it's browned.

- Reduce heat to medium-low. Add sauce, tofu and scallions. (Add chili oil or sriracha at this point, if you wish.) Stir-fry, blend well.

- Serve with steamed rice.

Gung Hay Fat Choy! : Chinese 'No Clay Pot' Chicken Casserole

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2000 of something." ~Mitch Hedberg

Yesterday kicked off the first day (of fifteen) for the Chinese New Year. To celebrate the Year of the Rabbit, I thought it would be fun to cook Mr. S. a Chinese inspired dish for dinner last night...I decided to go with this Chinese 'No Clay Pot'  Chicken with Soy and Ginger, which had just won the Best Healthy Casseroles Contest recently on Apartment Therapy. It's a simple dish but quite hearty and aromatic The kitchen smelled so delish during the preparation that Mr. S. kept wandering in, wanting to "help." I did tinker with the recipe a tiny bit so if you want the original version, you can find it here: The Kitchn. Anyhow the end result was a flavorful, versatile rice dish that can be eaten alone or used as a main dish (pair it with some yummy veggies like sauteed gai-lan) or as a side dish (would work well with some roasted duck).

Chinese No 'Clay Pot' Chicken Casserole

serves 6

Ingredients

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon shiro miso paste

2 boneless chicken breasts, about 1 pound, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3 scallions, roughly chopped, plus extra to serve

3 garlic cloves, minced

1-inch piece fresh ginger, roughly grated

2 ounces good Italian salami, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

10 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, caps thinly sliced

1 tablespoon canola or peanut oil

2 cups Chinese long grain rice (* I would not try and sub in a different type of rice as it could get mushy)

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups vegetable stock


Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F.

2. Whisk together the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a medium bowl.

3. Stir in the chicken, scallions, garlic, ginger and miso paste and toss so that they are coated thoroughly with the liquid.

4. Place this mixture in the refrigerator and let marinate for at least 15 minutes while you cook the mushrooms.

5. Place an oven-safe pan, like a 3-quart Dutch oven, over medium high heat on the stove.

6. When it is hot, add the sausage and turn the heat down to medium-low.

7. Let the sausage slowly release its fat. When the bottom of the pot is slick with the sausage fat, add the mushrooms.

8. Turn the heat back up to medium high heat and let the mushrooms cook, without stirring them, for 5 minutes. Flip them over and cook for another 3 minutes.

9. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pot, and sauté the rice briefly to develop some toasty flavor (you don’t want to brown the rice here, just sauté it for 1 minute or so), then add the salt and the chicken mixture from the fridge.

10. Pour in the stock. Bring to a boil.

11. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid or with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Make sure to taste the rice for doneness before taking it out of the oven. Let stand 5 minutes, covered, before serving.

12. Stir up the rice before serving, as the chicken and mushrooms will have risen to the top during baking (see photo below). Stir thoroughly so that they are incorporated throughout the rice.

13. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve with extra soy sauce and chili garlic sauce, if desired.

Stir-fried Chinese Long Beans

I was perusing through the farmers' market recently and had to do a double take. At the table where I usually buy my Chinese Long Beans (aka Yardlong Beans) there was something amiss. I inched closer to get a good look and next to the green Chinese Long Beans were a few bundles of  beans…similar in length and texture but a vivid purple in color. Curious, I asked the young girl behind the table, “Are these beans supposed to be purple? Is there a difference in flavor?” She confessed that she had never eaten them before and was just helping out at the table for the day.  So I figured for $1 a bundle, I’d give these Barney looking beans a shot.

For those of you unfamiliar with Chinese Long Beans, they are much longer (on average 12"-30" in length), wrinklier and a bit chewier then your run-of-the-mill green beans. As for the purple beans, you can prepare them the same way you would the green Chinese Long Beans. My favorite method is to stir fry them.

Just in case you were curious as to how the beans look in comparison I found a pic online with the two varieties of beans side by side.

 Photo Source

Stir-fried Chinese Long Beans

1 lb. Chinese long beans, trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 3 inch lengths

1 T oyster sauce

2 t minced fresh garlic

1 t soy sauce

¼ cup water or low sodium vegetable broth

- Heat 1 T of canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add minced garlic. Cook, stirring until garlic starts to change color (about 1 minute)
- Add the long beans. Saute for about 30-45 seconds until they soften.
- Add water or broth, soy sauce and oyster sauce.
- Cover and cook until beans are tender (but not mushy).
- Remove the lid. Cook, allowing excess liquid to evaporate.
- Add salt if so desired.