jo-mel

Sounds like eating in NYC's Chinatown ---- have a great dinner, then cross the street into Little Italy for a fab dessert!

Interesting! What is the reasoning, or traditional meaning behind it?

hzrt --- This will be Friday night's shellfish dinner! So simple, and yet so elegant. It looks wonderful! I have kept away from most dishes that used any pork or eggs or oil in goodly amounts because of a medication induced lipid problem. BUT this week I expect good news, and this dish and the 'honey pork' will be high on the list of goodies.

I read (somewhere) that it was, as you said. a crude timing device. No clock or watch, the cold to boil 3X did the job. Also I read (somewhere) that this method kept the dumplings from a fierce boil, thereby keeping the dumplings intact.

Aw----- it is a great story!! And it is one that I will quote from now on in!! <<<<<I wonder how the person first cooked and ate shark fin discovered such a complicated procedure.>>>>> Probably, the first person tried to cook and tried to eat a shark fin ------ and couldn't! So he was hungry enough to persist? Isn't that how Chinese food evolved? ---- out of hunger? Faux Shark Fin Soup! That really appeals to lazy me!! Dejah --- HeeHee! Will you ever tell Reagan? Bet your Mom had fun with that!

Can Ken Hom be selling his soul?

Are there different qualities of conpoy? Hzrt -- the ones in your picture are larger than those I have and have usually bought. Conpoy may be expensive, but a little goes a long way, and since they last almost forever, the cost is stretched.

All the above sound great and interesting - so I won't mention that old stand-by -----banana and peanut butter.

Taste just like chicken? ← The first time I had it was on a culinary tour, in Guangzhou, in '84. We knew we were going to have it somewhere and at one restaurant a soup had both light and dark meat. I asked the guide what the soup was and he hesitated, said "Er --- ah ---- chicken!" So we knew it was snake soup! As I recall, it DID taste like chicken!!

OK - I'll play, since this is one of my favorite subjects. (I'm not Chinese) 1. Do you eat brown rice or regular rice, or do you have no rice? Rice and the larger the grain the better. 2. Do you put the rice into a bowl or plate and then top it with your entree? Or do you alternate bites of rice and dish? Rice into the bowl, food on top, bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other. I do that at home or in the restaurant. 3. Are you a chopstick user or a fork and spoon user? Chopsticks - preferably wooden ones, but NOT those individual wooden ones that come in paper packages. 4. Do you eat everything, all the vegetables but not the ________, or only meat? Everything and every last grain of rice. 5. Are you one of these people who think that fried chicken wings covered in hot sauce on top of pork fried rice constitutes proper Chinese takeout? Who eats that? 6. When ordering takeout, do you always get the same thing or do you try out different things? Sometimes, in a new place, I'll try a familiar tried and true dish to see how that restaurant does it, but usually I try something different. And if the restaurant has a separate Chinese menu, that is usually the one I order from. 7. What's your favorite place and your least favorite place, and could you please describe them? Favorite, at the moment, is China 46 and Hunan Cottage, in NJ. Both have outstanding non-run-of-the-mill food. Heavy on Shanghai and Sichuan. OOPS - This is a take-out thread. I usually eat AT those restaurants. I've had good take-our from Joy Luck Pavilion in West Orange NJ -- also from their Chinese menu. 8. Do you have a best takeout experience? Let's hear it. No best one. They have all been good -- if I've been the one to make the choices. When someone else orders and gets all fried sweet/sour stuff, well------ 9. Do you have a worst takeout experience? Let's hear that as well. There was one take-out / eat in place in Montclair NJ, years ago, that was terrible. Everything seemed to have the same dark gravy sauce and the service was terrible. This place lasted about 2 months. Everyone who mentioned it all had the same experience. The best thing about it was that it closed. You should include the question --- "How do you judge a take-out menu"?? For me, the first thing I do is check out the soup listings. If it goes beyond Egg Drop / Wonton / Hot Sour and has something more interesting-- then I am interested. The same with the vegetable listings. If I see Chinese Broccoli rather than plain Broccoli, then I am interested. I always check to see if there is anything with Black Pepper Sauce, or something beyond the usual chop suey chow mein, or a litany of meats with the same litany of vegetables. Again the noodle listing is important. I like Lo Mein but I prefer something more intriguing. On the Special's list, I am happy when there is no Happy Family, but rather offers Regional specialties. If I sound like a Chinese food snob -- I am guilty!

I like the Pearl River brand, too ----- Gold label. But I also like San-J Tamari Soy Sauce. You can get it just about anywhere, and it has (to me) a full flavor.

This google page has a few links and pictorials on boning a chicken: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navc...oning+a+chicken I've never done a chicken, but I did do duck, and as I remember, the most important thing was a good, short sharp paring knife. The hardest part was separating the skin a flesh from the backbone and keeping the skin intact But I did it! I love Ti Kuan Yin -- but the way I like it is probably sacriligeous. I like it light. Even tho I've had it in the YiXing pot, I still like it steeped lightly and I like the second steep even better.

I'm with you, Ben. I do understand the admiration of the diners toward the chef who goes through all that work for a dish, cost-wise and time-wise, but I will pass on making it. I once made a pile of Four Happiness Shao Mai, in which the shao mai is formed with four openings in the top -- and each opening has a different shredded filling. Not exotic as the present subject, but all the work did not really enhance the taste --- and so I never did them again. It was probably very unChinese of me to consider myself and not those who ate the shao mai, but when they just gobbled them down, that was it!! But then again, I am not Chinese, so I can act like a dabizi! (can't I?) JH - I hope your guests appreciate your efforts!!

Thanks for all that! LOL! I must remember what I am eating, the next time I am eating it!!

Also they can be used as a dip. Toasted and crushed, they can be used plain, or with some salt added, to dip fried shrimp or ribs in. (or is it "in which to dip shrimp and ribs"?)

I knew it was some time back -- but I wasn't sure exactly when. She had great books. I just wish she had had as much recognition as some other Chinese cookbook authors.

Thanks. I'll look into those recipes. I really like Yan Kit-So's books - especially her Classic one. It is full of great side information.

Looking forward to???? Let me think ------ Capsicum Noodles? Or maybe, the Salt/Pepper Shrimp and Squid. No scratch that. How about the wrapped flounder? That's good of course, but I really like the sticky rice in that great chicken --- or perhaps the Ruby Pork? ------still thinking ------ can't beat Shanghai noodles! Awww -- just bring it all out! I'm looking forward to everything!!

That reminds of one of my college roommates. For 2 years he cooked ramen noodles about every other night, and he threw in a few chicken wings (no seasoning) to white-boil them. Yike! Ramen... college students' best friend. ← Hzrt --- Thanks for that correction in the title!! I should have used "&" in the first place. About Ramen noodles -- they are a no-no on South Beach, but I just couldn't resist some of the fast, simple ideas when you have to have something -- anything -- and have it, even with guilt. It reminds me of the recipes of yore that began with "Take a can of mushroom soup------" Now it is "Take a package of Ramen noodles-------"!

Thanks for that assurance, Ben! The recipes looked good and when I saw one for butternut squash with salted black beans, I was sold ---- er ----- I bought the book!!

Count me in along with DH (2 of us) I've never had a problem with the U-Turn at Grand Street. Since I know it well, is it still better to use Broad Street? There are 3 GSP exits (northbound), for Rt. 46 East. The best one, by far, is Exit 157.

I had a gift certificate for Barnes and Noble. Naturally I made a bee-line for the Chinese cookbooks. Maybe I should have done it on line, as the store didn't have that much of a selection ---- and I already had most of the ones they had on the shelves. I by-passed the new Ken Hom 'easy' book and Yan's Chinatown. This last one wasn't separated into the Chinatowns -- just a lot of recipes. So I finally settled on this one by Leeann and Katie Chin as it seemed like solid home cooking without a fuss. A few pictures, but the book is mostly recipes. Any of you know this book? I haven't tried any yet. Actually, hzrt's recipes will come first. (been very busy lately, but hope it is soon behind me so I can come and read more) HeeHee -- I also bought a book on Food in History. Looks interesting, altho only part of it is China. And ---- I bought "101 Things To Do With Ramen Noodles".. Looks like a cheaters guide to faster than fast ramen meals. (Sorry about the spelling error in the sub- title. When I tried to edit, the title line wouldn't come up)

Lots of recipes out there, but not all tell you the trick in deep-frying them is to press the balls against the side of the pan. The following link is good: http://chinesefood.about.com/od/desserts/r...meseedballs.htm And here -- from our own Dejah, you have a pictorial: http://www.hillmans.soupbo.com/soos/seedball.html (Dejah -- I had never seen your wonderful on-line site!!!! It is great!)

So -- from reading these reviews, I get the idea that Noodle Central is not just about noodles. I was looking forward to trying it out --- thinking that noodles were the main point of the dishes. But I guess not. Now I'm not that excited.

Another link to sea cucumbers. Both preparation for dried -----and lots more than we need to know. http://www.itmonline.org/arts/seacucumber.htm I never have seen a sea cucumber as it is in the sea. Pretty!