stellarWOK

My Hot & Sour calls for chicken stock that is flavoured with light and dark soys and this mostly where the color comes from. I imagine the Chinese black vinegar would be good in it but I haven't tried it for soup yet. Mine is quite spicy but the spicyiness is from white pepper. Maybe I haven't been around enough, but mine is better than any I have had in the U.S. Very complex. I also use black fungus, dried and fresh mushrooms and a little sesame oil. We do not eat pork and the beef I substitued was just fine for me. But red, I cannot imagine it.

We had a huge Dong Zhi festival at our house and I cooked a 7 course meal banquet style. Here was the menu. Appetizer: 1. Lamp Shadow Sweet Potato Chip (Sprinkled with a little sugar and drizzled with soy, hot oil, and sesame oil sauce) 2. Soup: Hot And Sour Soup Entree's 3. Sweet and Sour Chicken 4. Wok Sweared Green Beans (With Sweet & Pungent Meat Sauce) 5. Spicy Slices of Beef w. Tangerine Peel (With Sichuan Peppercorns) 6. Kung Pao Chicken Dessert: 7. Candied Tangerine Peel dipped in Chocolate

This is just a quick, perhaps trivial question, but I got to thinking about how to store ginger root. What does the forum think?

"Hot-pot" restaurants in Sichuan have been know to lace the stock with opium (to make their fare addictive, I suppose) but you've provided the first evidence that they may be into hallucinogenics, too. Ah! Now I haev at least one other explanation...of course, I cannot explain my fear of horses any other way. Or my ravenous appetite for great Chinese food.

Unfortunately, names of Chinese restaurants spin into a blur but after entering this forum, I do remember Shun Lee in NYC, the dish was Hunan Lamb. Never had anything like it since that time. But without doubt, the most memorable experience was the first time I had Szechuwan in a small restaurant in N.C. Here is where the story transcends the culinary. I felt as though I was transported back to a time when I could remember another life when I was Chinese. The spiciness of the dish made me aware of so many things. This experience really stuck with me. As I explored the experience and the thoughts that followed, I felt I had met my death in that life outside the circle of a military camp by being trampeled to death by a horse. As I continued to watch the events, I could see the hoof of a horse crushing my chest on the left side and a rib punctured my heart. Years later at a palm reading, the reader told me I died in my first life from an injury on my left side by a horse. It was just some red peppers..I swear. Kung Pao Chicken nothing more. At times when I walk into a Chinese restaurant, the management and staff seem to recognize me even though now...I am not Chinese.

That flavor could very well be from dark sesame oil. I will have to sample it again. My nose tells me when sesame oil is present, then the flavor. I am not sure it is sesame. I would love to watch a master wok cook at work. As noted somewhere else in this forum, when I need really high heat, I take the wok ouitside and use a separate burner on my grill. Hmmm...I should take the opportunity to finish the scallion bread with the grill surface.

Here, in my city of Boise, the numbers of Chinese in the population were very large at one time. It surprises me then to note that to get great Chinese food, I often have to make it home. There are a couple of good restaurants. One of them serves a lunch with a side dish of chow mein and it is a mix wheat noodles, onions, soy, & bok choy. It has an illusive smokey flavor I can't attribute to anything but it is an interesting note that I would not know how to duplicate. All in all is is about a cup of the dish served with every lunch. I savor it. Love the new look of the Forum. Why don't we have an emoticon for "Yum!"? Would this one do?

I have sereral in my collection, many have passed through my kitchen from various libraries but I have three favorites. In order: The Gourmet Chinese Regional Cookbook by Calvin B.T. and Audrey Evans Lee This was my first volume about Chinese cooking that I acquired in 1978. The thing I like most about this volume is that the book covers the cultural and historical backgrounds about how a particular region came to produce it's own unique flavorings and culinary styles. I also find it valuable because it has recipes from the major regions of China. When I do a Chinese dinner party, I want to have a variety of taste sensations, while I could be happy with sichuan alone, I want something broader in a full menu. Land Of Plenty by Fuschia Dunlop This volume is very new and I like it for many of the same reasons as the previous one. While it addresses only the region of Sichuan it includes lots of information about the culture and history of the region. Agreed, there is no substitute for sichuan peppercorns but there are some recipes here that do not call for it. It would be a valuable read from a library if sichuan peppercorns remain hard to find, just for the techniques and other ingredients mentioned. The section for appetizers and dumplings is quite extensive. I wish there were more recipes for beef and lamb as pork is the main "meat" focus as it is in the region. (Lamb dishes are more popular in the north.) Just a side note of personal preference. Mrs. Chaing's Szechuwan Cookbook by Ellen Schrecker with John Schrecker The recipes are from Mrs. Chaing, the editing, layout and commentary by the authors. The thing I like about this book is that when the ingredients are listed, the text with how they are going to be used is laid out right next to them on the page. For some, this can help with conceptual leap between ingredients and how to manage them and when they are going to be used. I think any good cookbook about China, or any country for that matter, will have good information about the area, it's history and culture, and often the way the geography affects the either the food resources or how they are produced. These books above have all those things and great recipes.

Sorry to let this thread lapse for so long...and missing the focus of the response. But, I found a good recipe for the velveting and I consider it essential step in some of the dishes that call for stir frying meat, esp. chicken for a Chinese dish. As noted before...1 1/2 -2 cups of oil heat in a wok to about 275º 1 large egg white 1 tablespoon corn starch 1 tablespoon Cooking Sherry - or Shaoxing Rice wine 1/2 Tsp. salt 1 tablespoon peanut oil (I use oil previosly seasoned from frying chicken and refrigerated for freshness) Coat the chicken pieces and in small batches, pass through the heated oil for about 30 - 40 secs. just until the chicken turns white. If it turns yellow, it will be tough later on. Remove form the oil, and drain and set aside for use in the stir frying. The result: Tender, soft chicken after stir frying in Kung Poa chicken. Definitely, the step I was looking for to gain the texture I found so desirable.

For those in NY area, who have successfully managed to purchase the purloined, or otherwise hard to find Sichuan peppercorns...be interested in making a purchase for a person such as me...stuck here in the hinterlands of Boise? Absolutely none to found here.

I'm sorry...did I mention tofu? I was thinking primarily of chicken and beef. I've encountered velveted Kung Pao Chicken at a restaurtant in San Diego. It ws the most unique version of Kung Pao I've ever had, and the most memorable. Unlike the usual thigh meat, it seemd to be velveted white meat. I was trying to cut down on experimenting since each attempt at the the perfect Kun Pao is a very controlled set of variables. No?

I realize this thread seems to have died several months ago, but I picked it up from a Google search about Velveting Chicken. So, if anyone is still tracking this topic, I'd appreciate the input. Granted, velveting imparts a distinctive texture to the food prepared in this way. So far, the techniques here mention velveting with oil. In another forum, I found references to velveting with boiling water, or perhaps broth. Has anyone compared these techiques? Supposedly, the non-oil method makes a "softer, livelier" texture. any thoughts?