Darren Asato has some advice for parents and grandparents everywhere: “If they really want to pass on some good memories to their children or grandkids, they should put together a family cookbook. It may not seem like a big thing, but the meals they make for their kids can have stronger memories attached to them than any piece of jewelry or other object they might leave to them after they are gone.”
What prompted this is the memory of a dish that Asato’s mother used to make, sweet-sour stuffed won bok. “My mom did not make it often, but I usually requested it on my birthdays.”
Asato describes the dish as won bok leaves wrapped around a filling of ground beef and chopped water chestnuts, with a translucent light brown sauce. He remembers that it was baked, and he said the original recipe might have called for ground pork.
“My mom passed away a few years ago,” he said. “I enjoy cooking the recipes of hers that I do have, but I’d love to have this one.”
Asato’s sister recalls that about 45 years ago their mother got the recipe off a card given away by a supermarket — possibly the old GEM store on Ward Avenue. He is hoping that someone out there has that old recipe card. If you do, please get in touch; my contact information is below.
In the meantime I’ve come up with this dish, based on Asato’s clues. It’s similar to Chinese pork hash but uses won bok in place of dim sum wrappers. It will work as a stand-in until someone — if someone — can come up with the original.
“My mom’s recipes never struck me as important until after it was too late for her to be able to remember them herself,” Asato concludes. “There are many other recipes of my mom’s that I wish I had, but I only have the memory of how they looked and tasted. I think of her every time I make one of the recipes of hers that I do have.”
Stuffed Won Bok
- 8 leaves won bok (also called napa or Chinese cabbage)
- >> Filling:
- 3 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in water until soft
- 1 pound ground pork, or a combination of ground pork and beef
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 3 tablespoons minced green onion
- 3 water chestnuts, minced
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- >> Sauce:
- 1/2 cup oyster sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chili-garlic sauce
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch baking pan.
Bring a small pot of water to boil (about 3 inches deep). Stand won bok in water with the thickest part submerged. Reduce heat and let simmer about 2 minutes, until leaf is soft enough to bend without breaking. Drain.
To make filling: Squeeze mushrooms dry; cut off stems and discard. Mince mushroom caps. Combine with remaining filling ingredients. Form filling into 8 football-shaped balls.
Lay a won bok leaf in baking pan. Place filling on the thicker end; fold the rest of the leaf over the filling, tucking in the end. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling.
Combine sauce ingredients and pour over won bok bundles. Cover baking pan with foil and seal. Bake 15-20 minutes, until meat is cooked through (don’t overcook or it might get dry). Serve with juices from pan. Serves 4.
Note: If desired, juices can be strained and simmered in a small skillet with a cornstarch slurry to thicken into a gravy.
Approximate nutritional information, per serving (based on pork): 350 calories, 26 g total fat, 9 g saturated fat, 80 mg cholesterol, 300 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 20 g protein
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