dried tangerine peel

How do you make dried tangerine peel (chén pí)? Dried tangerine peel is a key aromatic ingredient in many Chinese dishes like tangerine beef or orange beef.

How to Make Dried Tangerine Peel

tangerines (mandarin oranges,

Sunshine

Lightly score the surface of the tangerine peel from the top of the fruit to about two thirds of the way down to the bottom. Make sure you don’t cut the fruit on the inside, or the juice will moisten the peels, which you don’t want. Basically, scoring makes peeling the tangerine easier. But depending upon the fruit you have, it may not even be necessary.

Start peeling from the top of the fruit from where the stem once protruded and peel the tangerine skin back in wedges like you would peel a banana. Once you get to the bottom, pull the entire tangerine skin away from the fruit. Set aside the fruit and enjoy it later.

Next, use a serrated knife to carefully scrape away most of the white pith on the inside of the peel. This will prevent your dried tangerine peels from being too bitter.

Place the scraped tangerine peels on a sheet pan and leave it in the sun to dry. A sunny window sill is fine, but a sunny spot outside is better, as long as it’s not too humid. Turn the peels once a day for 5 days, until completely dry. The time it takes may vary depending upon climate and weather. The dried peels must be be hard and crispy, or they may spoil. Store the dried peels in an airtight container––we like to use canning jars for this purpose.

Simmered slowly with classic Chinese spices, these pig's feet turn out very tender and with an unctuous, dark brown sauce to savour.

Chinese braised pig’s feet with soy sauce and spices

(5⅓oz) fresh ginger

garlic cloves, peeled

chillies

milliliters (⅔ cup) light soy sauce

cinnamon

star anise

65 grams/2¼oz Chinese slab sugar (1 piece), or soft brown sugar

2-3 segments chun pei (dried tangerine peel)

fine sea salt,

(3½oz) raw peanuts (use the large, skinless type suitable

onions coriander

Rinse the pig's feet under cold running water. Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add the pieces and simmer for about five minutes. Unless your pot is very large, you'll probably have to do this in batches. Drain the feet and rinse them well. Bring a fresh pot of water to the boil and repeat this process (this rids the feet of impurities).

Wash the pot. Rinse the ginger (no need to peel it) and cut it into large chunks. Put the pieces on a cutting board and lightly crush them with the side of a cleaver. Put the ginger into the pot, then add the garlic. Break the dried chillies in half, shake out and discard the seeds, then put the chillies into the pot. Add the soy sauce, rice wine, cinnamon sticks, star anise, sugar, chun pei and 1 tsp of salt into the pot, along with 600ml (2¼ cups) of water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar is dissolved.

Put all the pieces of pig's feet into the pot and bring to the boil. Cover with the lid, turn down the heat and cook at a low simmer, occasionally moving around the pieces of pig's feet so they are submerged in the liquid. After about an hour, add the peanuts.

Simmer the ingredients for about three hours in total, or until the pig's feet pieces are very tender. The sauce should reduce to a sticky, light syrupy consistency; if it's too thin, remove the lid when the meat is tender and continue to simmer. Taste the sauce and correct the seasonings, if necessary.

Remove the pieces of pig's feet and put them in a large serving bowl. Add the fu pei to the pot, if using, and simmer it in the sauce until soft. Ladle the sauce and fu pei over the pig's feet. Cut the spring onions into 1cm pieces and scatter them and/or fresh coriander sprigs over the ingredients before serving.

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Chinese braised pig’s feet with soy...

Top 2 dried tangerine peel recipes from across the web

The most viewed dried tangerine peel recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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How to Make Dried Tangerine Peel

Chinese braised pig’s feet with soy...

The most viewed dried tangerine peel recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine