Tepee

It's so unfair that some people can handle so much chilli heat and some of us can't. I think you have taken snacking weirdness to a new level, RRO.

I'm liking how this thread is ferreting a lot of lurkers who can COOK! Welcome to the forum, RRO! That looks so yum! Shredded last night's leftover chicken to use for frying vermicelli for lunch. That blob is part of a bag of rendang gravy given to me by the nasi lemak stall woman yesterday as she was closing up. My hubby and I constantly get 'extras' from places we ta-pau food...must be our charm Cat's away again....not cooking tonight. Kids want roadside burgers/hotdogs.

Very very nice, Nishla. And, you've made another of Ben Sook's fav dish, the sauteed amaranth.

Char siu doesn't have to be served warm or hot. Noodle or rice shops I go to just take the slab of char siu off the skewer and slice the portion you want; they are never heated. And we don't get them in sweet sauce either, just a cursory spoonful of cooked oil and black soy sauce. I have to request for more sauce for the children before I can get any. Puzzling indeed that the restaurant you go to is so stubborn in their ways. Perhaps their char siu isn't that great and they think they need some sauce to improve on the flavour. Make your own, it's easy.

When someone gets the boot at work, do you guys say, chau yau yue(cantonese) (fry cuttlefish?). I wonder how that came to be? Both stinks? Kent and Chee Fai....now let's see you google this.

Thanks, guys, for this most interesting bit of history. Never knew I was tearing into a traitorous couple when I eat yau char kwai. And, if that is not vicious enough, I sometimes dunk them into black coffee with great satisfaction.

Thought Genghiz Khan would like some royal company....made Beijing Emperor Chicken, the easiest thing to do. Just rub a powdered herbal mix all over the chicken and steam wrapped for 2-3 hours depending on the size of the chicken. I'm afraid my nekkid chicken isn't a pretty sight. The girls only eat chicken skin deep-fried. So I usually strip the chicken of skin and fats for steaming. This morning, I dropped in at the wet market which was in front of the post office I went to. I was delighted to find 2 items not always available...water chestnut and fat broccoli stems. Quick stir-fry of the above plus carrots, onions and gingko nuts.

You should have explained indeed; I enjoyed your run-down of the process to cooking "/k/***'s Killer Krab"! . Yep. Frying a garlic/ginger/chilli mix is hilarious! What? You are not chinese? I assumed you were all along.

Slurpppp. Details, please! Killer Crab as in the name of the crab or the name of the dish because it's so yum!?

Oh yes, it's venison. But I shall have to ask the cook where they get their meat...not easy to find. I think not many folks here are even aware there are such noodle stalls.

Go, Nishla, go! I love the pic of the bitter melon dish...I cut it that way too. Looks so pretty.

Heh heh....I peeked at the Dinner Thread (yum!!) before you posted this and was just about to ask you (and Nishla, by the way) not to hold out on us. Wow, you really can tolerate a lot of heat! Both the long beans and the Khan look and sound delish.

The only venison dish I have eaten in Malaysia is Geong Choong Chau Fun (Noodles fried with ginger slices and lots of spring onion with thick gravy). There are 2 stalls I know here which does a fantastic version. The meat is delicious and velvety, and the noodles have terrific wok hey. Dunno if that's anywhere near shanghainese style, though. Now, you're making me lose sleep....until I ta-pau those noodles. You are a gem of a teacher.

Awww....thanks, shaya and C. sapidus. I guess I, myself, wished to see other cooking besides my own, which most of the time, isn't 100% chinese. I use grapeseed oil, hardly use oyster sauce, and try to use as much organic products as I can. The idea is half the time, we eat out or pack home (where I have less control...lol, a conscious choice), so the least I can do is try to balance out on the 'health issue'. But, that's just me. On using whole chillies vs other ways of using chillies...I would suggest you start a thread on it. Never really noticed it until you mentioned it. Interesting.

Sigh....I think some of you must be tired of seeing my again. East Meet West tonight. Carrot Pumpkin Soup served with Sour Cream Chinese Marinated Siew Pai Kuat (Roasted Pork Ribs) done Long Time Low Temperature, then a quick and high heat stir fry with more dark soy sauce and honey in the wok before serving. Half-eaten pic. Salad of Long Beans, Tomatoes and Starfruit dressed with sesame oil, calamansi juice, sugar and fish sauce, sprinkled with chopped toasted peanuts and sesame seed.

Ooookie. Was the oyster sauce beaten into the egg, then fried? Or was the oyster sauce drizzled on the fried egg? Haven't been using oyster sauce...ran out and never got any to replace. I usually season the egg with white pepper, light soy sauce and a pinch of salt. Hmm...oyster sauce, eh?

Oh...I thought they were freshly made.

Yup! I am given 10 secs flat to be done with the shooting. Or I'll get a messy dish to photograph. I used to hate to take dinner pix because it meant taking under artificial lighting conditions; it is always more flattering to take pix in natural lighting. But, all is not lost. Adjust the white balance setting (assuming that your camera is not the most basic point and shoot) to tungsten or flourescent accordingly. I now have a good dSLR camera and a prime lens which I'm very happy with; don't need much light to take pix. Just got an external flash yesterday...a be-early christmas prezzie fm DH...apparently, a flash is wonderful if you know how to use it. Will consult my sifus this weekend. Well, I haven't tried it myself, but I'm sure it's to do with the size of the pix. Make them smaller to fit side by side. Dunno about centering. Photography is fun! To be more precise, FOOD photography.... p/s Tip: Most dishes look good at an angle of around 45 degrees.

Tks, Kent. Yes, it's supposed to resemble a flutterby. I saw it a year ago at a dimsum place (their combination was red bean paste and lotus seed paste) and have wanted to make it since.

Dai gah jeh...mark your papers first. We can wait. And, you can also answer my questions later too. 1. I have no idea what that sea thing is. When dried, it looks like a 2D lollipop. I think it's some cheap substitute for scallops. 2. What's jeera rice? 3. That Ambrosia Delight, whatever it is, is making me drool. What a feast for China! Thanks for your kind words...that will buy you a couple more pix.

Peony, the lotus paste is by itself. For the other filling, I mixed ground black sesame seeds with finely-chopped winter melon, then added ko fun and water (agak-agak).

Thank you for posting your dinner, Nishla. It's especially heartening to see a non-chinese (you are not a chinese, I presume?) cooking chinese, and doing such a great job. Your soybeans are intriguing...I've never seen green soybeans before.

Hi Pix of soup made with old cucumber

Hey, guys!! We started off so well. Where is everyone? For those of you who are not able to post pix, we'd love just hearing what you ate. I feel so self-conscious now. Soup flavoured with pork ribs and some dried seamonster creature hubby bought from a seaside town...see thing in spoon. Also has peanuts lurking at the bottom of the bowl and old cucumber. A vegetable we call choy taam (looks like brussel sprouts with bigger leaves?). Initially, I was supposed to make BBQ pork ribs, but the ribs took too long to thaw, so what wuz a responsible homecook supposed to do so that her family get their protein? Call the neighbourhood resto which does great and cheap homestyle food. Kung Po Fish Fillet. I made this during the weekend...ping pei rolls. The top is lotus seed paste and the bottom is black sesame seed plus winter melon. A very well-received sweet.

You're welcome Ken. Gosh, PCL, you move from place to place faster than I switch forums.