All Activity

I suspected that you might ask. Unfortunately, my answer is unsatisfying: "Chinese spinach" is how they were labeled at the local international market, and a quick internet search was unsatisfying. This is the link for the product: Chinese spinach: H-Mart (clicky) I can say that the market also offered "regular" spinach, which had smaller, rounder leaves and collapses more easily when exposed to heat.

Over here there's a discussion about plastic clamshells and plastic waste in general: how to avoid it, whether to avoid it, what to do instead. I'm writing about a related problem: what should we use to store produce for best refrigerator life and quality? My best friend is not prone to overbuying produce, but she does like to have a variety of fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator in small quantities. She does not like to waste food. She lives in San Diego. Now that the plastic produce bags ubiquitous in most of the USA have disappeared from California grocery stores, she's looking for good solutions to the produce storage question. For example: she used to wash lettuce, wrap it in a cotton towel, and put that in a plastic produce bag and into the refrigerator. It would last for a week or two until it was used up. She'd keep the sturdy vegetables, like carrots, celery and broccoli, in the plastic bags in which she'd bought them until they were used up. And so on. The California grocery stores now only provide compostable produce bags. As noted here, the bags don't keep the produce nearly as long or as well. Now the question is: what to do instead? What qualities are needed for a good storage solution? 1. She doesn't want to buy plastic storage bags (Glad, Zip-lok, etc). 2. In her household, containers of water with vegetables stored in them (celery, green onions, herbs) are an invitation to disaster in the refrigerator. 3. She wants some sort of flexible bag material to envelop said vegetables, for storage in the crisper drawer. She doesn't want a bunch of glass (or hard plastic) containers. 4. She can sew. That leads to the question: what exactly is it that made those plastic bags so good for produce storage? Was it their ability to cut off oxygen? Moisture? Something else? More to the point, what's a good substitute? Right now she's looking at rip-stop style nylon, that we all use(d) for backpacking stuff sacks. It's flexible, washable, and helps cut off oxygen. But is that what's really needed? What materials, or material characteristics, do we need as a substitute for those wasteful plastic produce bags?

I think that is correct, but I'm hardly an expert.

Another question. What's the difference between 'regular spinach' and 'Chinese spinach'? I often buy spinach in China. Call me Popeye. But it's no different from spinach in Europe. Wikipedia offers some clues but I wonder what it is you are actually eating. Malabar spinach?

Thank you. So why are they exposed to / packed with TSP in the first place? Fattens them up for a better weight?

The issue with TSP and scallops is it causes them to retain water. This works against a good sear. Look for “dry packed” scallops to avoid excess water.

I made a paste from ground up Cheerios and used it to remove a stain from my entryway carpet.

Hmm, now I know why I can't stand Cheerios. I can only imagine that the box that they come in has more flavor.

I still hope @Paul Bacino weighs in with why his shrimp didn't have TSP: how he knew it didn't, and why it might have in the first place.

I had but a vague recollection of it being used as a cleaning agent ... I guess we both learned something. That junk is in Cheerios which, sadly, my sister eats quite often ...

I'm so excited! After a thirty year search I have found it! 羊肝 (yáng gān)! Yes! Lamb's liver! Lamb leg meat has hitherto been the only ovine meat available. Generally, southern Chinese tends to avoid lamb / mutton, whereas northern and western China can't get enough. In fact, China has the largest number of domestic sheep in the world. This southern aversion has been changing as street-side spicy grilled lamb skewers have spread across China. Yet, until now, no offal. One supplier is carrying limited stock and urging customers to be quick as it is only available for a short time in the morning. So I got up early! I have to buy the whole liver. No hardship! 800g for $8.50 USD.

Talking of crabs reminds me of this. 蟹黄 (xiè huáng), literally ‘crab yellow’ is that yellow stuff you find in crabs that most people clean away. It is edible and even prized here. It is the roe, ovary, oviducts and digestive glands of Mrs. Crab. Similar to lobster tomalley in nature. It is relatively rich in nutrients such as nutrients and phospholids. Probably, the best known use of ‘crab yellow’ is in Shanghai’s famous 蟹黄汤包 (xiè huáng tāng bāo), ‘crab yellow’ soup dumplings. It also appears in a number of Cantonese dim sum dishes. I’ve seen crab yellow congee as well as ‘crab yellow’ fried rice or fried noodles. I’ve eaten ‘crab yellow’ baozi buns, where it is mixed with minced pork in the filling. 🍜 It is sold in jars of varying sizes as well as in larger cans for the restaurant trade. Once opened, it needs refrigeration for storage so I buy it in these small 100g jars which cost me around $1.50 USD. The type of crab is unspecified.

Until now, I had no idea that what I think of as a cleaning agent was used as a food additive. I stand educated.

Another time travel thread because this is the only one I could find historically about green chickpeas. I found a bag of frozen green chickpeas in my freezer. I think I might have grabbed them shopping months ago thinking they were some other type of frozen bean. Anyway, I have never even been aware of green chickpeas and wanted to use them. I wanted to prepare as simple as possible to understand the flavors. A cup or so of water, the 16oz bag of frozen gr chickpeas, and sprinkle of salt and 0 minutes pressure in the instant pot. I am not the biggest fan of dried chickpeas, hummus is really not something I crave, so my chickpea skepticism was on the high side. Green chickpeas are delicious, sweet, creamy and a fresh green flavor, mirrors edemame a bit. Even the bean liquor is delicious to sip. I am planning to go and mistakenly buy more bags of these. I was not expecting success.

Liuyang black bean chicken: chicken thigh chunks marinated with soy sauce, twice-fried, and removed. Stir-fry a whole head of garlic, sliced ginger, fermented black beans, Shaoxing wine, red chile flakes, and rice vinegar. Finish with scallions and sesame oil. This is a long-time favorite. Stir-fried Chinese spinach leaves with garlic: Yup, its that simple (plus a pinch of salt). I liked the Chinese spinach - nice flavor, and a bit more robust vs. regular spinach.

Milkman!! Fabulous! I remember in winter finding the milk had frozen, shot it lid and created a three inch column of frozen cream out the top! Today the closest I have is Instacart!

Oh my gosh! I can just taste them = thank you!

I love that you have a milkman. Haven't had any such thing for years. It was my job as a youngster to put the milk bottles out (with cash tucked in the neck) after supper for the milkman the next morning. Once a month we got to have a quart of chocolate milk - such a nice treat from the Nestles' Chocolate Quick.

Trader Joe's has some interesting cakes. this one is quite nice ; slice : Im of the school that more often than not , cake was invented to carry frosting. the ratio here is nice. a way back on this thread I tried the gluten version ( im not opposed to gluten ) and it was also nice , possibly a bit lighter cake wise than this. each version might benefit from some vanilla ice cream .

Goulash-Potato Gratin - mix of beef chuck and pork shoulder gets first braised with bell peppers, onions, rosemary, bay leaves, tomato paste and paprika in beef broth and red wine. Then topped with thinly sliced potatoes and gouda (tasty but turned out to be a bit soupier than planned)

Tri Sodium Phosphate, perhaps.

Probably referring to STTP.

A Tempranillo from Baja California Mexico. With Detroit Pizza 🍕

Sorry, please translate TSP in this context? I know it can't be "teaspoon" or "trisodium phosphate"....