China Chilo

The book gives quantities but no method, which was normal for a dish cooks were assumed to know. What follows fills in the gaps and translates the cuts and measures.

• No method is givenChina Chilo is a closed stew: the meat, onions, lettuce, peas and water go into a heavy pan with the butter, lid on, over low heat until the mutton is tender. Nineteenth-century versions simmer it gently for around two hours, whether the meat is in pieces or minced.
• End neck of muttonThis is the scrag and middle neck — bony, fatty, well-flavoured stewing meat. Lamb neck fillet or boned shoulder is the closest thing at a modern counter; the original 2 lb includes bone, so less than 2 lb boneless will match it.
• Mutton is not lambMutton is generally reckoned to be over two years old, stronger in flavour and tougher than lamb, and it needs the long cooking above. If you use lamb, check for tenderness an hour in or the meat will fall to threads.
• The measuresThe book has already converted its pints to American cups: 1 pint of peas is 2 cups shelled, 1/2 pint of water is 1 cup, 3/4 pint of rice is 1 1/2 cups cooked. Follow the cup figures rather than assuming an imperial pint of 20 oz.
• PeasTwo cups of shelled fresh peas is roughly 2 lb in the pod. Frozen peas work but should go in for the last ten minutes only; added at the start they disintegrate.
• LettuceA firm cos or romaine, shredded. It is there for moisture and a faint bitterness, not bulk — it collapses to almost nothing, so a whole head is not too much.
• Skim the fatNeck of mutton plus 4 tablespoons of butter throws a great deal of fat. Skim before serving, or cook the day before and lift the set fat off cold.
• Serving and yieldThe rice is not stirred in; it is traditionally banked in a ring around the edge of the dish with the stew spooned into the middle. Feeds four generously. Some period versions, Mrs Beeton's included, season with cayenne rather than black pepper.