Jing and Jack Wang's Kao Fu

Recipes

Kao Fu

By Jing and Jack Wang

If there’s a dish that reminds Jing and Jack Wang of their home in Shanghai, it’s kao fu (the Chinese name for wheat gluten). “Everyone knows this dish in Shanghai,” Jing says. “We truly eat it at home.” Jack serves this wheat “meat” with white rice. They always eat it with unseasoned rice, because the cooked, seasoned kao fu has a pretty strong flavor, she says. Shanghai food tends to rely on soy and sugar, which you’ll see reflected in this recipe. As for the wheat gluten itself, it has a spongy, airy texture and Jing says it’s great served warm or cold.

Ingredients

Serves 2 to 4

500 grams of dried kao fu (wheat gluten)

10 grams of dried black ear mushrooms

10 grams of dried lily flowers

Hot water for soaking kao fu, mushrooms and lily flowers

15 grams oil

5 grams ginger

2 grams of cooking wine

8 grams of light soy sauce

5 grams dark soy sauce

20 grams sugar

750 grams water

10 grams peanuts

Instructions

Fill a large bowl with hot water and soak kao fu until soft. Drain in a colander and set aside. Fill another bowl with hot water and soak the dried black ear mushrooms and dried lily flowers until they are soft. Drain in a colander and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok set to high heat. Add the ginger, then add the kao fu. Stir fry for about two minutes.

Add the mushrooms and lily flowers to the wok, then the 750 grams of water. Add the cooking wine, light soy, dark soy and sugar. Stir to boil, then simmer for about 45 minutes. Top with peanuts. Serve.

Bio

Before moving to the United States, Jing and Jack Wang ran a successful contracting business in their native Shanghai. In China, Jack also had a background in cooking, while Jing had a career in sales. In 2007, they opened Jing’s Chinese Restaurant in the Third Ward’s Marshall Building, with Jack as the chef and Jing managing the front of the house.

Jing Wang

Jing’s Chinese Restaurant

Jing Wang

Jing’s Chinese Restaurant

About Jing’s Chinese Restaurant

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