Photo/Illutration Pork spareribs simmered with string beans (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

Editor’s note: In the Taste of Life series, cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.

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Whenever he has the spare time, chef Liang Baozhang heads to his fields.

Five years ago, when he was at a loss as to how to get hold of Chinese green chili pepper and fennel, a farmer told him that he had an unused plot of land. Liang decided to grow them.

“It was hard at first because I had no experience, but I got hooked,” says the 60-year-old chef.

Now, he has a farm in Saitama and Ibaraki prefectures, where he grows various vegetables including Chinese vegetables that are used at his restaurants.

“I take advantage of the power of natural soil and stick to organic farming,” he says.

Liang pulls up weeds and harvests the vegetables himself.

“When I’m out in the field, my head empties, and I simply feel great. It is a great way to release stress,” says Liang.

On Dec. 2, he opened a new restaurant in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward. The restaurant resembles a small drinking place on a street corner in China and serves Chinese “oden” hotpot and gyoza dumplings, among other items.

It is the 12th Chinese restaurant that Liang runs.

In addition to those serving his native northeastern Chinese cuisine, there is one restaurant that offers local dishes from the Hunan province.

“Once or twice a year, I visit China to try dishes for future reference. When I eat in different regions, the dishes are good, impressive and full of discoveries. I cannot help but think of opening a restaurant to serve them,” says Liang.

While he lived in China, he rarely left Qiqihar to travel.

“I never thought I would be traveling around China this much,” says the chef with a smile.

Simmering is a popular cooking process among homes in northeastern China. This week’s recipe introduces pork spareribs simmered with string beans, potatoes and carrots. You may use pork belly instead of spareribs.

“The key is to slowly saute the meat first to cook off the water content,” Liang says.

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Liang Baozhang (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

The vegetables absorb the flavor of the meat and the dish offers a soothing savory meal accentuated by the sweet aroma of the star anise.

“When I started running the restaurants, I did so to make a living and didn’t have a preference about what I served, but I was blessed with great encounters," says Liang. "I hope to continue popularizing Chinese food culture in Japan. I would like to open restaurants outside of Tokyo as well.”

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Born in Qiqihar city in China's Heilongjiang province in 1963, Liang Baozhang is the owner of a string of Chinese restaurants. He came to Japan in 1995 and in 2000 he opened Ajibo in Tokyo’s Kanda district, which offers home cooking from northeastern China.

BASIC COOKING METHOD

Main Ingredients (Serves 2 to 3)

150 grams pork spareribs, 100 grams string beans (ingen), 80 grams each of carrot and potato, 3 grams ginger, 5 grams green onion (naganegi type),18 ml soy sauce, 5 grams sugar, 1 star anise, bit of salt

1. Cut pork spareribs into bite-size pieces. Remove hull from string beans and halve. Peel carrot and potato and cut randomly. Finely chop ginger and green onion.

2. Pour bit of oil (not listed above) in a wok and stir-fry ginger and green onion.

3. Add spareribs and saute slowly until water content of meat cooks off.

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Stir-fry pieces of pork spareribs until they change color. (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

4. Add string beans and steadily heat until cooked.

5. Add soy sauce and sugar, then carrot and star anise. Pour in just enough water to cover all ingredients. Check taste and add bit of salt if needed.

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Add just enough water to cover the ingredients. (Photo by Atsuko Shimamura)

6. Simmer on lower medium heat for 15 minutes. Add potato and simmer for another 10 minutes.

7. Turn up heat to cook off liquid. Serve.

About 265 kcal and 2.0 grams per portion if listed amount is for two portions
(Nutrient calculation by the Nutrition Clinic of Kagawa Nutrition University)

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From The Asahi Shimbun’s Jinsei Reshipi (Life Recipe) column

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