Ben Hong

Hmmm...learn something new everyday. I would have thought that a crock pot or slow cooker would not be hot enought to create the lively steam that one needs in normal steaming.

Gastro Gurl, great to see you still around, we missed you. I noticed that you visited Montreal last month, good experience? Did you get to Toronto for their HUGE Dragon Boat Regatta?

I believe that people are a) wanting to reconnect with their "roots" again and b)that more and more people are finding restaurant or banquet style foods are really not as healthy as a traditional home cooked meal. BTW, "Official Food Taster" in this fine restaurant restaurant that you guys are starting up would suit me fine.

White fungus has virtually no significant flavour, but it really adds body and crunch to the dish. I have never used nam yu or fu yu in this dish as that, to me, would mask the delightful chicken/mushroom flavours. I use chopped up bone-in odd pieces from the chicken; neck, wings, hearts, giblets, bums and backs...ooooh the juices and the gnawing . Oh a few slivers of ginger is mandatory.

I am squealing already!! Don't forget your old Sook-sook

Oh, he is just using a word that is used very often in conversation among boys/men, that is..er..ah.. male specific. Can be quite pointed.

the topic is ham yue and you talk about "clean" taste. Good one, Teepee Mui.

Ditto to what Dejah said. TP, you shouldn't tease your old Sook sook thus. Keyboard gets all gooey and slimey from the drool.

Saltfish head and dou fu soup. TP, "yong towfoo" will be attempted when winter drives us indoors again.

The teeny tiny fishies are best steamed in a dish on top of cooking rice. Sometimes they don't seem to be salty enough, so you may want to add a little soy sauce. Hot oil of course is the finishing touch. I love any kind of mui herng ham yu. The heavily fermented flesh just melts in the mouth releasing that burst of flavour.

For another aspect of the history of the Chinese traders in the Straits Region read the book "1421", by Gavin Menzies. Even if only 1/2 of what he says is true, it would still be an astounding story. I have only experienced Malaysia and S'pore three times, and I must say that the lasting memory was mainly about the food (what were you thinking??). The techniques that I encountered were basically Chinese, but my, what interesting and amazing fusions and combinations they do with ingredients. *drool,* slobber*

Proportions - who knows, it's all eyeballing cooking anyway. I guess that's probably why your parents etc can't give you a recipe. ←

Lean ground beef or pork, with pork being the heavy favourite, is the base. If you can do it, chop the meat yourself as the mouth feel is a lot nicer than commercial grinding. Chop using a food processor (electric) or the Chinese type, with a cleaver knife in each hand . Usually something salty is incorporated, mixed in or just laid on top of the meat. The salty component can be salt eggs, salt fish (haum yu), choong choy, jah choy, etc. Add a few drops of soy sauce (careful, because the flavouring ingredient is already salty), a scant tsp. of cornstarch, mix well, form into a flat patty in a semi-flat dish and steam till done. Just after you take it out of the steam, you may wish to add a few drops of sesame oil. Some of the added highlighting ingredients could be: for haum yu - slivers of ginger and scallions for salt eggs - chives for choong choy - a pinch of sugar and so on. Worcestershire sauce is N E V E R used in this very earthy home dish.

All I can say is "you have a very lucky husband and family". Is there any way to be adopted by you guys? As uncle-in-residence, pet-crotchety-old-man, official food taster, ????

Unless one uses stale or tainted meat, one shouldn't be too too worried about bacteria in jerky or yuk gon. Marinades almost always contain salt and sugar, two excellent inhibitors which act as preservatives. Dessication and smoking are also time proven methods of food preservation and every society I can think of has one form of dried meat or another in their culinary traditions. On the other hand, I would be very, very circumspect about eating meats dried from the raw form in regions that do not have good animal husbandry or slaughter practices. I am talking about parasites here...trichina (trichinosis), nematodes, round worms, and maybe the odd tapeworm or two. Most preserving methods will kill off any of the parasites themselves, but the egg cysts embedded in muscle fibres are another "can of worms" Not nice. However, if after reading my above caveats you want to get rid of your yuk gon, bison jerky, salmon jerky, beef jerky, etc. etc. PM me and I will give you my mailing address so you all can send your stuff to me...for testing purposes, of course.

Coincidentally, just last week one of my colleagues gave me a pkg. of Singapore style yuk gon that her son brought home on vacation from Singapore (where he is a teacher). It was delicious, redolent of spices, maltose, sesame oil at first smell and taste. Different from the Chinese style but what the hay, vive la difference. As for fat, I find that if I make a big batch of yuk gon, the fat deposits in the meat go "off" or rancid before I have had a chance to eat all of the batch.

Raw. Slice very thin, cut out "all" fat, marinade, arrange on racks, put into a warming oven at about 120-130 degrees F. until it is stiff and dry to the feel, turning as needed. I have a convection oven where it is possible to turn on the fan. It does a superb job.

That ain't no screams...dems his tummy growling! Ssshhhh. My rep as a glut..er.. gourmand, is spread too wide already.

As Dejah says, "welcome" mflo. This forum is a tightly knit group with a lot of expertise, especially in the "homestyle" type cooking. (I just wonder where all these Chinese ladies were when I was young and eligible 35-40 years ago? ) Anyhoo, everytime I log on it's like visiting with younger sisters (moi-moi) that I never had. The feeling is absolute great. I look forward to your opinions and advice. BTW, where are you located?

That's it. Today I will start a fast that will last 6 months, hoping that at the end, I will be "allowed" to go to Msia to visit with TP and family. Jeez, all that food porn is not really necessary (but appreciated )

A belated huzzah sent your way. Along with 3 ruffles and 4 flourishes. Ta-da a a a But, the most appropriate cheer is my own: YYyyyUUUuuuMmmmmmm

Actually all the posts are encoded. You have to know the secret handshakes and secret passwords in order to get a decoder. Pssst: The Grand Wizard ( or is it Witch?) is the Omnipresent Dejah, short for Dejah Vue, but she sees more, much more, than the past. Her glare stuns with the force of a thousand joongs. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Chief Acolyte is the mysterious TeePee. No one has ever deciphered what the initials T.P. stands for. I believe that they stand for "Tay Poh" or pastry woman in Cantonese. Reputed to be a great pastry chef, of the Chinese kind, she is quite cruel in her treatment of mere mortals, for with one swift posting of a photo of a mooncake, she can reduce grown men into slobbering, drooling fools. (Antidote to her wiles is to eat yourself silly before logging on). I am working hard to uncover the identities and modus operandi of Codenames "Trillium and hrzt".

Hey all you Young'uns, please keep on talking, y'hear. The words and pictures remind me of who and what I am...all drooling mouth and growling stomach. Not at all a bad feeling

Azian, if I pm you my address will you Fedex them top me ??

Wow, you've said a mouthful. We Chinese have depended on polished white rice for oh, let's say a half dozen millennia or more. It may not be as nutrient rich as a potato, but neither is it more unhealthy than any other staple. And yes, it could be a contributing factor in creating diabetes, but so do so many other starchy staples. The poor in China would not eat unpolished rice if there was an alternative, however remote. It's a lazy person who doesn't go that one extra step to polish the rice. To most Chinese, brown rice is animal fodder and frankly, I would rather eat white bread than go anywhere near brown rice and I am sure that many others on this board would agree with me. Rice in the white polished form represents more than just nutrition to most Asian cultures. It is iconic, the basis of a large part of our cultural heritage; it is both metaphoric and allegoric; in its pure white form, it is symbolic of purity and goodness (certain cultures like the Japanese are loath to put anything on top of their bowl of rice, like a sauce or condiment, so as to preserve the pristine appearance of the rice). It is comfort. It is life. Polished white rice as a staple has steadfastly remained the one constant through the history of over two thirds of the world's population. It will survive the present societal penchant for fads and trends in the world of nutrition.