jo-mel
-
Posts
1,633 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by jo-mel
-
-
Thank you all for your comments and kind words.
The reason why I separate the soup and noodle/wonton boiling water: These noodles (and wonton wrappers too) bear a lot of soda-based substances. The taste is a bit nasty. While I can use the same boiling water for wontons and noodles, definitely keep the soup separate.
Another reason is to keep the soup stock clear. The wonton/noodle cooking water doesn't have the clarity after a batch has been cooked.
-
The last package of Sichuan peppercorns I opened didn't have the shiny black seeds. Somehow, thew were culled before they were packaged. Unfortunately, I don't have the package to check the brand, as I put the pepper in a glass jar and tossed the package.
But they are out there. Just check the peppercorns before you buy, if you don't want the grit.
BTW -- it didn't alter the potency of the flavor.
-
I drove by today, and the place is like an open-aired garage! But there is no floor. Just ground, and a matter of fact -- a mass of mud! No cockroaches are going to survive!!
-
Neat. I like wontons. I wrap them a little bit differently. Instead of smushing the top in like a siu mai, I fold it in half into a triangle, and then connect the two corners, similar to a tortellini.
That's what I've done, too. Or fold in half to a rectangle, pull the tails together, and make a nurses cap. OR using a wooden depressor, put the mix on the depressor, put the wonton over it and pull the whole thing off, squeezing the filling in.
But, it looks like hzrt's method looks nice and quick. I'm going to give that way a try.
-
I like the idea of cutting the shrimp into chunks instead of dicing them.
Aren't some yellow wrappers made that color from red dye #6 and not eggs? I often read the lable and not all have egg, but are yellow in color. I like the egg flavored ones better. Better flavor and texture.
-
What is that liner in the steamer basket? I like it --- whatever it is!
In that Eastern area, look for WuXi Ribs -wuxi pai gu - 无锡排骨. I know this is a WuXi dish, but it MUST be found all over that area,----- I would think.
-
I had a portable coffee set-up, but it was too bothersome, so now I use a coil, and bring coffee, cocoa, and cup-a-soup packets. Also, South Beach bars, oranges, and nuts. Also Laughing Cow Cheese, as it isn't often refrigerated in stores so I figure a few days at room temp is OK. If the room is warm, I put it on a window sill in the winter.
Long before 9/11, I was flying to Denver with a Chinese cleaver. At check-in, I told them that I had it in my suitcase. They didn't know what to do or how to label the suitcase, so they called superiors, and finally stuck a picture of a gun on the suitcase to show there was something dangerous inside!!!! LOL!
-
~~~~~~~easily eat one Dungeness crab myself.
It is like lobster. A 1 1/2 pounder is like an appetizer. A 2 pounder is better for a meal for one, but a 3 pounder makes you feel as tho you had a lobster meal!
-
Finally went to China Chalet today! I was pleased with everything. Nice interior, (interesting wood wall hangings), and the service was fine, even tho it was lunch-time and we had to wait a few moments for a table. We had to ask for chopsticks, but that only gave me a chance to practice my Chinese!
We had Scallops with Black Pepper Sauce, Lamb with Scallions and Ginger, and a stir/fry of Watercress/Chinese Spinach/Baby Bok Choy. Nothing too hot. I'll try some thing ma-la next time. I did get a take-out order of Sichuan Twice Fried Pork to have for lunch tomorrow. It was made with fresh bacon the way it is supposed to be, and I did sneak a taste when I got home. It tasted pretty good and had large chunks of mild hot peppers in it.
I definitely will go back!
-
hzrt -- those two woks you have pictured, --- do they have round bottoms? They look flattish from my angle, and the first one, especially, looks like a 'Peking' wok, as the sides look higher and less sloping than a standard wok. Plus the fact that the handle is round and hollow. That seems to be an earmark of that style of wok.
Does that cooking ring need propane, or would it take butane?
(this is fun going shopping with you!!)
-
consolidated with last post
twob -- I had to go back and reread what I wrote, as I don't remember ever ordering wonton soup anywhere in the last 20 years , nor H&S in the last 10! But it WAS someone else who mentioned those soups. The last soup I had at Joy Luck Pavilion was Pork & Sichuan Pickle (zha cai rou si tang) and the last soup I had anywhere was that same one ----that I love so much. My fav!
-
I drove by a few days ago and they seemed to have gutted the old store. You can see waaaaaay inside and it looks like it might be a pretty BIG place! Lets hope so!
At the Montclair store, I try not to use a cart because of the movment difficulty. Over by the deli/bread section, even a basket makes it hard to move when shoppers browse -- and they all seem to browse!!
-
CFT - Thank you sooooooo much! There must be a dictionary somewhere that has those equivalents, but I don't know where it is.
I appreciate your effort.
Jo-Ann
-
Can you ask them what dishes they have that use those wonderful peppercorns?
Any Chinese diners while you were there?
I googled for a menu of the restaurant, but couldn't find one. There was one review that raved about the spiciness of their dishes!
-
Does anyong know the Cantonese for those Mandarin cooking terms words? I did 5 of them, but it is slow going as I have to go back and forth from one site to another.
Do these seem right?
1 - 煮 Zhu - jyu2
2 - 湯爆 Tang Bao - tong1 baau3
3 - 涮 Shuan - saan3
4 - 浸 Jin - jam3
5 - 川 Chuan - chyun1
-
Daniel -- If you go there again. why don't you tell them that you want "hot" -- that you like "ma la". Maybe they might let loose?
Great pictures! Just the fact that they have a different vegetable than the usual broccoli or snow peas makes them seem a cut above. the sauce on the noodles looks like the sauce for "Ants Climbing a Tree". They didn't have those transparent noodles on the menu?
-
You go first!
-
The final 10 from Kenneth Lo's Encyclopedia of Chinese Cooking.
He goes on to say: "There are many more cooking terms in China than the foregoing forty. Every province and region has its own expressions and pecularities. Some of the cooking terms are related to the material and ingredients used. But forty is a round number, and the various local terms and expressions, although they may run into dozens more, are really only variations of these principal, basic terms."
31- 烤 Kao - Same process as Western roasting. But without modern ovens, in China, the process involves piling smoldering wood and charcoal on the sides of the stove, with the food being cooked hanging in the middle. The cooking is through air-heating or direct-level radiation. It differs from 'shao', where the heat is applied from below.
32- 烘 Hong - Open barbeque-roasting. It involves frequent turning of raw food on a spit over an open fire. 'Shao' sometimes means the same thing, but 'hong' is the more specific term. It means heating mainly by radiation.
33- 煨 Wei - Cooking by burying food in hot solids such as charcoal, heated stones, sand, salt or lime. Foods generally have a thick crust or skin (ex. sweet potato), or foods wrapped in a cover - lotus leaves, mudpack, or a sheet of suet.
34- 燻 Xun - Smoking a food that has usually been cooked and previously seasoned. The food is suspended over the smoke/fire on a wire rack inside a pan or tin that has a cover. Smoldering coal or charcoal is covered with some sawdust, sugar or dried tea leaves, which creates a heavy smoke. The lid is closed and the food smokes for a measured time. Called 'hsung' in Cantonese.
35- 扣 Kou - A double process of frying first, then steaming. The main ingredient is fried, sliced, and packed in layers, with flavorings, in a bowl. The bowl contents are steamed and then inverted on a serving plate.
36 - 扒 Ba - The opposite of 'kou', in that the food is steamed first, then fried. In the final frying additional ingredients, seasonings and materials are often added.
37 - 醉 Zui - Marinating fresh or cooked food in wine or liqueur before serving. (Drunken Chicken)
The food is usually lightly cooked ('jian') then marinated in wine or liquor and seasonings for a period of time. Meat, (usually poultry) fish and seafood can be prepared in this manner.
38 - 醬 jiang and 糟 zao - Similar to 'zui', but in 'jiao', the main ingredients are soy sauce and soy jam. In 'zao' it is a paste made from wine-sediment which is called 'wine sediment paste'. (The dregs or lees from the bottom of a wine jar.) The food is lightly cooked, then placed in an earthen jar and marinated -- often several days or weeks.
39 - 醃 Yan - A general term for salting and marinating, but more specifically, the process of salting - usually with coarse salt. Heating in one form or another usually precedes or follows the salting. After rubbing with salt and saltpeter, the food is placed in an earthen jar and turned over every three days. After 9 days a weight squeezes out any remaining liquid. Such treated, meat keeps a good length of time.
40 - 風 Feng - A process of drying in the wind, instead of by compressed marinating in a jar. On their own these preserved meats and fish are edible and appealing, they are often used in conjuction with fresh food adding a distinctive taste contribution.
-
Next 10 cooking terms. In some cases, I couldn't find the characters in full form, so I spliced them.
21- 淋 Lin - "Splash frying". Food is not actually immersed in the frying oil, but is suspended above the pan, and oil is ladled steadily over the food until it is cooked and browned. It is a controlled method of frying, and seasonings can be added before or during the cooking. As this 'craftwork' is done under the eyes of the chef -- it is a prized product.
22- 溜 Liu - A form of wet frying, often in a flat pan where direct contact can be had without continual movement. A sauce is added after both sides have been fried, or during the final phase of cooking. Often used for fish. In Canton, the term 'Hua' is used.
23- 貼 Tie - A non-scramble form of oil frying in a small amount of oil. The food is not turned. Stock or water may be used, while the frying is going on, so as to keep the top soft. (pot stickers). The term 'tie' is sometimes applied to cooking a large piece of food, in which both sides are cooked completely and when cooking is completed, the food is removed from the pan and sliced before serving.
24-火& 邊 Bian - A type of frying (mostly vegetables) in which 10 to 15 % of oil is used in relation to the weight of the vegetable being cooked. The oil is seasoned, the vegetable then fried. Stock or water is then added to steam/fry or to prevent burning.
25- 熬 Ao - Similar to 'bian'. Fried food or vegetable is partly cooked. Water or stock is added and the dish is finished with a high-boil and high-fry ending with the food being part fried and part steamed. Often used with crab or lobster.
26- 炆 Wen - Similar to Western braising. Food is quick fried, seasoned, then when water or stock is added, the heat is lowered and cooking continues. A thickener is then added to the pan to finish the dish
27- 火 & 屈 Jue - Similar to 'wen'. The fried, seasoned, braised food is removed to a serving dish. The sauce is then finished and poured over the food.
28 - 焗 Ju - Another variation on braising. The fried, seasoned food has its added liquid reduced to desired thickness by low heat slow cooking, or controlled high heat cooking. 'Ju' also can mean pot-roasting or casserole cooking with a minimal amount of liquid.
29- 火& 倉 Cang - Fried, braised dishes are placed on a serving plate. A separate sauce is heated, poured over the food and allowed to cool. The dish is served cold. 'Cang' also describes 'cold mixing' or 'cold tossing' (as in salad making). 'Cold mixing', in China, generally applies not to vegetables, but to noodles.
30- 塌 Ta - Deep-frying in batter, draining, then cooking and braising with various liquids. Also used to describe the same process with an initial steaming before the deep-frying and braising.
-
HeeHee -- I was going to say it was so 30s, 40s, 50s!!
Aeons ago I'd seen them in restaurant supply places.
But I can't remember when the last time was that I'd seen them in use. I will say that it was in the last 10 to 15 years, as I remember thinking to myself --- oh-look!
-
I was reading 'live oysters' and thinking 'oysters on the half-shell' Chinese style ----- then I saw the steamed part. Could regular raw oysters also be used for this great sounding dish?
When we were in our martini drinking days, DH would shuck clams or oysters for our 'just grown-ups' dinner on a Friday night when all the kids were in bed. DH was quite good at shucking, but even with a proper clam or oyster knife, he would still cut himself. Couldn't be the martinis, tho ------- or could it? LOL!
-
[...]14- 燴 Hui - "Hot assemble in thickened soup". Strips of different foods --- cooked, semi-cooked or fresh are fried together with vegetables and seasoning. A soup is added, plus more seasoning, and cooking continues with a thickener added at the end.[...]
Would this be the technique used in the "thick soups" served at the Taiwanese restaurant I like in Flushing? Wouldn't surprise me. I don't know when I'll have the chance to check the characters on their menu, though.
Pan -- The author also says that transparent bean-thread noodles are often used. Those noodles absorb almost all the soup, ----"the results would be what might be termed as 'solid gravy'". Did the soup you have have noodles?
Kenneth Lo said that a Lo Han Chai --(Chinese Monastic Vegetable Ensemble) is a dish essentially in the tradition of a 'hui' except that all ingredients are vegetarian.
-
Soaked and cut into strips, you can use them in a vegetarian mu shu dish. One book has them cut into pieces and stir-fried with garlic, ginger, scallions and soy sauce.
They also last forever in a kitchen cabinet.
-
Next ten cooking terms.
Does anyone know the Cantonese or Toisanese terms? I only have the Wade-Giles that is written in the book --- which I changed into pinyin.
Also -- if you think there should be corrections, please speak up. I'm editing the long explanations from the book.
11- 蒸 Zheng - A form of steaming, in this case - 'open steaming'. A bowl, plate or basin is placed on a rack in a steamer, with the boiling water some inches below. Or steaming in multi-layered baskets with enclosed sides.
12- 燉 or 炖 Dun - Closed steaming. This is done in a container that has been sealed by foil or a lid. Food first has a short boil followed by a rinse to clean impurities. All seasoning is done before the actual steaming begins.
13- 烹 Peng - Frying food on either side until brown, then water or stock, and supplementary ingredients are added. Cooking continues, on low heat, until the liquid has been reduced to dryness.
14- 燴 Hui - "Hot assemble in thickened soup". Strips of different foods --- cooked, semi-cooked or fresh are fried together with vegetables and seasoning. A soup is added, plus more seasoning, and cooking continues with a thickener added at the end.
15- 拌 Ban - "Hot toss and scramble". A range of strips of food, (cooked, semi-cooked and fresh) are quickly fried into a 'hot salad'. It differs from 'hui' in that no soup is added. Prior flavoring of the cooked or uncooked foods provides a distinctive quality.
16- 炸 Zha - Deep frying. It is often one of two or three stages of cooking, as in marinated and steamed food having a final deep fry, or cooked wontons being deep-fried. It can be divided into 3 categories: 'plain fried' where food is cooked or deep/fried on its own; 'soft fried' when sauces are added after excess oil is drained away; 'dry fried' when food is dipped into flour, cornstarch or a batter before being fried.
17- 汆 Cuan - One continuous deep frying process. Oil is 'just hot' -- not too fierce, and the sizzling noise after the food is introduced is just barely audible, so that the food can be cooked for 10 to 15 minutes without burning.
18- 炒 Chao - Stir/frying in a small amount of oil. Ingredients, cut into strips or pieces, are kept in more or less continuous movement -- so that the surfaces come into contact with the pan, oil and seasonings.
19- 爆 Bao - Rapid cooking over high heat in oil or stock. Differs from 'chao' in that it is the final step in a multi-stage cooking process. The food has been seasoned and flavored, or cooked in a previous stage, then finished in an 'explosive' manner in a quick frying process. If stock or water is used, thin slices of meat or vegetables are dipped into a rolling boil.
20- 煎 Jian - Cooking in a small amount of oil -- longer than 'chao' and much longer than 'bao'. Larger chunks or pieces are used than 'chao' or 'bao', hence more time is needed to cook through. 'Jian' can be used as one phase in a multi-cooking process. Any gravy or sauce is prepared separately and poured over the dish afterwards.
Looking for some American Chinese recipes
in China: Cooking & Baking
Posted
Welcome Ash123!
I don't want to jump in before hzrt, but here is one idea:
I've used many different sauces for Gen. Tso's Chicken and the one I have settled on is a glaze type that is not too sweet. The cooking of the sauce to a glazed state makes a darker color than usual.
Caramelized Glaze
6 Tbs. Sugar
3 Tbs. Cider vinegar
5 Tbs. Soy sauce
1 tsp. Cornstarch
Brown some some small dried chilis in oil (watch for fumes that causes coughing) add 4 diced scallions for a minute, then add a minced clove of garlic and 1/4 tsp. minced ginger and cook till aromatic. Add the sauce mix. Heat to a boil, stirring constantly until the foaming subsides and the sauce thickens slightly and turns to a glaze. Add the chicken and toss well to coat.
About the quality of the chicken --- have you tried double frying the pieces? Makes a big difference in the coating quality. I much prefer dark meat chicken in this dish. The texture is more to my liking, and I think was the original choice.