Familial Kitchen Duty

It’s a hot summer evening and i have house guests, people who like to eat out and cook in as much as I do. Since it’s their first night in Silver Lake, we vote for a restaurant so that we can catch up over dinner--and plan all the meals we’ll cook together in the days ahead.

I drive us to San Gabriel, to the huge mall at Valley Boulevard and Del Mar Avenue. The Great Mall of China, as it was dubbed by Times food writers years ago, is a vast shopping complex as busy as a small city. By the time we arrive, the sky is a dark, velvety blue, and the mall is colorfully lit and festive. The parking lot is full; the restaurants, thronged. Our choices are, among many others, Muslim Chinese food at Tung Lai Shun, Chinese barbecue at Sam Woo and terrific supple noodles at Chu’s Mandarin.

I’ve chosen this mall for two reasons. One is to eat great Chinese food with my friends, which we do at Chu’s, where, in addition to noodles, we feast on seared string beans, Chinese bacon and garlic shoots, and seafood soup. The other reason is to buy groceries afterward at the 99 Ranch Market, which has an encyclopedic produce section and a block-long meat and fish counter that includes tanks of live shrimp, sculpin, crab and eel. I’ve been trying out a new cookbook, “The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen: Classic Family Recipes for Celebration and Healing” (Simon & Schuster), by Grace Young, and I am eager to stock up on staples so that my guests and I can experiment further.

Grace Young was born and raised in San Francisco’s Chinatown and comes from a family that takes cooking seriously. Her father can slice ginger so finely that it curls off the knife (just try that!), and both of her parents can turn out a multi-course meal in a small kitchen to the deafening roar of an exhaust fan (try that too!). A few years ago, Young began asking family members for their recipes, and with the recipes came stories and reminiscences of a lost time, as well as a culinary philosophy in which the flavor and healing properties of a dish are inextricable.

In addition to fascinating anecdotes and concise recipes for classic dishes, Young’s book offers invaluable shopping instructions, a glossary of Chinese ingredients and photos of the basics--sauces, dried foods, fruits and vegetables. The author explains which ingredients are shelved together, how to avoid being overwhelmed in the produce section and what to expect at the butcher counter. The equipment she deems essential (steamers, flat-bottomed woks, sandpots) can all be found on the housewares aisle.

The next night, my friends and I cook from Young’s book--cooking being, for us, as entertaining as eating. We prepare shrimp dumplings, stir-fried pea shoots, lemon chicken, rice and cabbage noodle soup. I am in charge of making the lemon chicken recipe, which looks suspiciously simple: The proportions seem small to me--one tablespoon each of wine, honey, soy sauce and oil? Only one lemon? And only three slices of ginger? But the finished dish is a revelation: tender chicken fragrant with lemon in a gingery, honey glaze.

Now the only question is: What will we cook tomorrow?*

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Lemon Chicken

Adapted from “The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen”

by Grace Young (Simon & Schuster, 1999)

Makes 4 to 6 servings as part of multi-course meal

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2 pounds mixed chicken parts, on the bone

1 tablespoon Shao Hsing rice cooking wine or pale Sherry

1 tablespoon thin or light soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey

1 lemon

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 slices fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

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Chop chicken through bone with meat cleaver into 2-inch pieces, or disjoint into serving pieces. Combine rice wine, soy sauce and honey in medium bowl.

Shave 1/8-inch off ends of lemon. Halve lemon crosswise and cut each half into 4 wedges. Remove seeds.

Heat 14-inch skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add oil, lemon wedges and ginger, and stir-fry until lemon wedges and ginger are lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. (Be careful: Wet lemon wedges will cause oil to splatter.) Transfer oil, lemon wedges and ginger to plate.

Carefully add chicken, skin side down, to skillet. Cook undisturbed 3 to 4 minutes, adjusting heat between medium and medium-high as chicken browns. Turn chicken with metal spatula and pan-fry until chicken is browned but not cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour off excess fat. Sprinkle salt, rice wine mixture, browned lemon wedges and ginger. Cover and simmer over medium heat 3 to 4 minutes. Turn chicken, reduce heat to low and simmer until chicken is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately.

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Food stylist: Christine Anthony-Masterson