Yunnan Ham with Broad Beans & Goat Cheese

This post is sponsored by Direct Contact PR. All opinions are my own.

China is a vast country that is too hard to comprehend in it's entirety. Looking at the cuisine of one region gives one a much better sense of a piece of it's culture than a broad Chinese cookbook. British journalist Annabel Jackson and Australian chef Linda Chia have put together a spectacular collection of over 100 authentic recipes from the Yunnan region of China in their cookbook: The Yunnan Cookbook: Recipes from China's Land of Ethnic Diversity.
The Yunnan region is a unique part of China because it boarders on so many Far East countries: Tibet, Burma, Vietnam and Laos. All of these different ethic groups have influenced this very simple and delicious cuisine. I chose to share with you: Yunnan Ham with Broad Bean & Goat Cheese because it exemplifies the simplicity of the food from this area and it also illustrates how unusual Yunnan food is to a Westerner. I never heard of a Chinese dish that contains cheese. So please enjoy this recipe and get yourself a copy of this cookbook before Chinese New Year in February. You will not only be engrossed by the interesting recipes but you'll find the cultural and geographic information so fascinating too.

Yunnan Ham with Broad Beans & Goat Cheese

by Linda Chia reprinted with permission from Direct Contact PR
Any kind of seasonal beans can be used for this Bai dish. The beans absorb the flavors of the ham. Use mild Gouda as a substitute for Rubing.
Ingredients: 25g/1oz Yunnan ham, both lean and fat, thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 shallot, crushed 100g/3 1/2 oz broad beans (shelled weight) 50 ml/ 1 3/4 fl oz water 100g/ 3 1/2 oz goat cheese (Rubing) cut to double the size of the beans 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns Salt, to taste

Method: 1. Render the ham fat in a pan over medium-hot flame until the fat is translucent. Remove the lean ham and set aside.
2 Using the rendered ham fat, stir-fry the garlic and shallot with the beans for 2 minutes, add a little water, cover and cook for about 5 minutes until the beans are tender.
3) Stir in ham and cheese, sprinkle with peppercorns and salt.

My cooking notes: I used regular ham, fava beans instead of broad beans, red pepper flakes instead of Sichuan peppercorns, and mild Gouda cheese instead of Rubing.

Weekly Menu Plan:

Sunday: 16 Bean Soup with homemade bread Meatless Monday: Roasted Vegetables with extra virgin olive oil over pasta. (leftover veggies) Tuesday: Beef with Dried Apricot Tagine and Quinoa Wednesday: Feast of the Seven Fish Thursday: Meat Lasagna with Green Salad Friday: Leftovers Saturday: Turkey Soup made from frozen leftovers from Thanksgiving.

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