jo-mel

(shhhhhhh!)

I would have loved to have said---- "And what species of 'brassica' would that be? The problem is that these blow-hard, know-it-alls can't see themselves.

Brooks Hamaker, aka "Mayhaw Man", has posed this very question just today in a discussion on Varmint's Pig Pickin' final arrangements ...the thread do you add hard boiled eggs to your potato salad? or do you avoid them? This is a very big issue here .. please add your responses in order that we might find some common ground for the proper potato salad .... ← Potato salad just needs sliced potatoes, lots of scallions, a dressing of mayo/oil/vinegar, pepper AND capers - lots of capers. NO EGG!

I've always likes mooncakes at room temp -- with tea. Then last year I bought a box of mini ones of various fillings ---- including pineapple. Those were new to me as I'd always eaten the semi sweet cakes. Well, I put them all in the freezer so that I wouldn't pig out. One day I took a pineapple one and nuked it. The filling almost boiled because of all the sugar ------BUT what a flavor!!!! I don't normally have a sweet tooth, and my present diet makes sugar a no-no, but I went right out and bought a box of ALL pineapple, and ate one a week till they were gone -- from the freezer to the m'wave to my mouth. I can hardly wait to get them again this year!

Thanks for all the comparisons! I'll have to check out a Wegman's. There is one about 30-45 minutes away.

Hope to see all of you in the Spring. (A better time for me, right now)

Definitely not a bun. The amazing thing about these dumplings was once I steamed them, they had a ridge at the bottom of them that contained the juice - some more than others. I was told by the maker that I was to make a little hole in the side, let it cool off a bit and drink the juice before eating the dumpling. Dumplings. One of life's little miracles. Thanks everybody for all your insights. s ← <<<<<<I was told by the maker that I was to make a little hole in the side, let it cool off a bit and drink the juice before eating the dumpling.>>>>>> You mean you are supposed to ?WAIT? I want that gravy, and "I want it as soon as the dumpling is in my spoon! LOL! I don't care what the terms are for dumplings and buns and bready stuff. If it is made with dough, leavened or unleavened, if it is steamed/boiled/fried --- whatever ---- I want it! And I don't even want a dip for it! Just the way it comes out of the steam/water/pan --- whatever ---- is fine with me! Some supermarkets are making these little tiny oval shaped jiaozi. I bought some and planned to serve them as potstickers, for a gathering. But they didn't stay in place in the pan, so I stir/fried them, then added some broth with flavorings (a la Hugh Carpenter's Santa Barbara pot stickers) let them re-brown, and served them in a bowl. They were a big hit!

When the Chinese milled their own rice for personal use, more of the nutrients were kept. Machine milled rice took care of that. But in earlier days (according to Anderson) polished rice was more costly, therefore more prestigious. And more practical, too, storage wise. Except for a few weevils, most insects didn't go near it because of the lack of nutrition in it. Another comment he made, made sense. When you are going to eat rice 3 times a day, you want a rice with as little flavor and texture as possible. That last bit about 'flavor' is interesting. I've always found the white rice in China had a flavor that I can't find here. I LOVE the taste of it all by itself. I like the rice here, too, plain and even cold with pepper and vinegar, but it is not the same as that great rice in China.

Sometimes the notation on a menu says -- "No added MSG". I guess since it is not physically added, then that covers for the MSG already found in prepared sauces. The whole hue and cry about MSG and Chinese food does a dis-service to Chinese food. No one talks about Japanese food or all the soups and cold cuts and frozen entrees and a miriad of stuff in the supermarkets which disguise the letters MSM on the ingredient labels with other words that mean the same thing.

Dejah - Is that book the same as the Wei-Chuan Snack cookbook? The Wei-Chuan series is always dependable. Also good is Eileen Yin Fei Lo's "Dim Sum Cookbook", and Florence Lin's "Complete Book of Chinese, Noodles, and Breads" But these last two only have penciled sketches, not colored pictures. BUT, the descriptions are excellent. Finding them might be difficult. That last is out-of-print. Anyone know if someone will smarten up and have it reprinted? As far as telling which ones are for what, is difficult. Wontons can be used in soup, can be boiled can be fried-- etc. And some raised dumplings are steamed, plus fried. Then there is the combo cooking of potstickers - frying/steaming/frying. And you can do your own thing and have a delicious dish. One time I treated shao mai as potstickers. Tasty! It is just a matter of getting to know the different styles by doing and eating and enjoying the whole process!

Just some random, unexpert, thoughts. (And, I also found Anzu's post to be quite thoughtful.) As a guide once said --- Most Chinese expend 1/2 their calories working and the other 1/2 getting to and from work. But who knows what is going to happen, not that cars are on the increase. Restaurants usually use stir/frying and deep/frying for their dishes as that is the quickest way to get the food moving. Some, but not all, of course. Take a look at what the restaurant staff is eating. A big bowl of rice, with food for flavorings. Not what you'd find on the tables of the buying public. Sugar --- isn't the small amount used in a dish used to keep a balance between the salt and sweet taste? Sort of a ying/yang thing? That is ------in dishes that are not meant to be salty or sweet. All the overly sweet dishes are typical of the Western world. 100 skewers of beef and lamb? That's a lot of beef and lamb! I doubt that the Chinese would eat that much, even in 3 days. I'm not disputing this as Ive eaten those skewers, too -- but not that many. The vendors I've seen there seem to cater to visitors, and park themselves near stores or tourists busses. Cornstarch is often used because it keeps the thickened sauce on the food, keeping the food hot longer. Eating in Chinese homes, both here in the US and in China a couple of vegetable dishes, often tofu, steamed stuff, a soup, and stewed dishes. And ---- that big personal bowl of rice. And these people worked long hours expending the calories. When I see merchants in NYC's Chinatown eat out of a take-out container, I always (surreptitiously) take a peek. Usually it is a lot of food, and heavy on the rice. Often the person is of normal weight and not very busy or active. I guess they eat meals as meals, and skip all the snacking. When I studied in China, there were 2 dining rooms. Both were Chinese food, but one was set up for foreign students with an array of silverware and chopsticks and plates. Let me correct that --- the foreign students had choices between Chinese and a couple of Western food selections. Breakfasts were eggs, congees, crepes and other sweet cakes. I only had fried eggs once. Even tho oil was rationed at the time, they must have fried them in a 1/2 cup of oil!!! The Chinese dining room was all Chinese and the students all went there with their own personal bowls (good sized bowls) and chopsticks. The food was served right into those bowls. It was what you'd find on those tables that the wait staff would eat. Lots of rice, some stewed dishes and the like. Where did I read that "the Chinese cuisine grew out of hunger"? With 'plenty' arriving in China and all the fast food places, who knows what the future will bring. I hope they keep their senses. Good topic!

What is the difference between Whole Foods and Trader Joe?

They're sold in Hong Kong wet markets. They don't look like the ones in the cans - they're soft, round balls. I didn't realise they were the same until I bit into it. If I knew how to use my digital camera better, I'd take a pic and post it. ← About that shape. From what I've read, the little nublets haven't grown up enough, yet, to pop that covering. I like both, but I especially like the little Disney cartoon umbrella shape! I can see a little elf sitting under it!

Didn't someone say (when the moving topic first came up) that there was a sign at the Montclair store, that they weren't moving? Fib? -- or do they plan to keep the Montclair store, too?

I know what you mean! LOL! Using a tortilla press helps. but I gave it up and would rather eat them out.

Brown Bean Sauce/Yellow Bean Sauce (or paste)are the same thing. Whatever name it is called, it is a paste made from yellow soy beans, fermented and seasonings added. I had chicken with brown bean paste last night, and I like eggplant with brown bean sauce, also. I'm loyal to brands. I started with Koon Chun and it is my preferred brand for this. Also, I use the regular bean sauce, rather than the 'ground' version.

Hong Kong Dim Sum ---A small book I bought somewhere. I'm too lazy to translate the characters of the source, but It was sold at the Ginn Wall Co. in SanFrancisco. It has some of the usual dim sum tidbits, but also has some interesting items ---- steamed then deep/fried meat pies; and a savory pancake with pork/shrimp/leeks/carrots and a batter with shrimp paste. Chinese Food and Cooking - (Chang/ Kutscher) has a chapter on Dim Sum. 25 pages packed with recipes. A lot of the usual, but also things like Sweet Potato Balls and Lotus Cakes. No pictures. All business.

Anzu -- sorry to have taken so much time getting back to you. I really like the Shanghai book. They have dishes that I've had in my fav Shanghai restaurant, here in NJ. Also, another favorite recipe -- Wu Xi Ribs. The only thing I wish it had were more noodle recipes. But if you see this book in Chinese stores, you can skim thru it. Full of pictures, stewed dishes, pork belly recipes, Shihzitou meatballs, braised pork shoulder with crystal sugar sauce, fish head casserole, crab in bean paste sauce, seaweed flavored yellow fish rolls, drunken chicken, and generally really hearty Shanghai food. About the Sweet Pinenut Cream Soup, let me see if I can get the recipe to you in a format that will not bollix copyright laws. -----You need some black or white sesame seeds -- 1/2 a cup. (Wash and dry them --- that's what the recipe says) Then they go into a dry frying pan and stirred forabout a minute. Let them cool. -----Then you need to deep fry the pine seeds in some warm oil until they are golden. Scoop out and let them drain on paper towels. -----Put 2 cups of water into a blender and add the sesame seeds. Blend until very fine, then pour into a saucepan. -----Add 4 cups of hot water to the sauce pan with the water and sesame seed mix, and add 6 Tbsp. of sugar. Bring to a boil. -----The recipe then says to add 5 Tbst of cornstarch and let the soup thicken while stirring. , but I assume it means to mix the cornstarch with some cold water, first. -----Add 3 Tbsp. of milk and take off the flame. -----Pour into a large soup bowl and sprinkle with the pinenuts. That's it. The picture of it, in the book, looks dark, so I assume it is made with black sesame seeds. Does that help?

Pan --- Swatow is one of the Guangdong regional foods. I'm not sure which transliteration 'Swatow' is, but it is the same as ChouChow /ChiuChow regional cooking. One of those dishes is a simple but wonderful dish of chicken served with those deep-fried spinach leaves from an earlier post. Remember that one? The King Che is mispelled in parts of that book. Another listing in the book has it as Kiang-Che or in the modern spelling - Jiang-Zhe. It is a type of Shanghainese cooking from cities in in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. The dishes listed are: Deep fried fish rolls / Spiced jellied pork / Shredded jellyfish salad / Sweet candied walnuts / Sauteed black mushrooms with soy sauce / Stir-fried river shrimp / Deep-fried sweet baby eel / Wined chicken wings / Braised shark fin with crab meat / Sauteed tri-colored sliced prawns / Braised turtle with chestnuts / Deep-fried spiced pigeon / Stir-fried crab with bean sauce / Stewed whole chicken in casserole / Special steamed dumplings / Baked cake Chinese style / Sweet pinecream soup.

I have the Wei-Chuan series, Beijing, Shanghai and Sichuan. There are also Cantonese and Taiwanese cookbooks in their series. I have found these in Chinese grocery stores. Eileen Yin-Fei Lo has a good one limited to Cantonese. Also I have other Szechuan cookbooks by Delfs; and Mrs. Chiang. For Hunan I have Henry Chung's Hunan Style Chinese Cookbook. The Ma Family covers Swatow food. Pei Mei, Vol1 has Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western recipes. ------and Vol3 inclused recipes from the usual regions as well as Fukien, Taiwan and 'King che'. Other general regional books include Lo, Gin/Castle, Florence Lin and Leeming/ Huang and Esther Chen. But these books are all from the 70s.

I'm usually guided by the ingredients -- salt content, fat, hydrog stuff, fiber etc ----not the brand as such. But the fact really is that I tend to read the labels of the better brands rather than the store brand. But when DH wants his favorite dinner in the world --- hamburgers, mashed potatoes and canned peas (honest!) I usually get La Soeurr (sp) canned peas. I someday should try out the store brand and examine the two and give a taste test. Is it true that some store brands have their name on items also made or canned by the better known brands?

The first time I had one of these, (China '84) I thought they were crabapples, too. They tasted like them, but that could have been my mind thinking they were apples. I bit into it to see what the inside looked like and it seemed to be less than perfect. Not with worm holes, or bruise marks, but not quite 4*. But I ate them anyway --- and have since. I now know they are Haw Fruit.

I shouldn't have used the word 'bother'. It's just that I'm trying to rethink the whole 'seasoning' process so I can understand what actually is taking place ---- and your answers are doing just that. They have been a help. Thank you. One other question-- Is 'spun steel' the same as 'carbon steel'?

This whole question is still bothering me. I keep reading on 'google' about 'pores' -- which I now agree are not there. I assume carbon steel expands and contracts with heat. Does that explain the terms 'impregnation with oil' and absorption of oil' -----that I've come across in my search? I'm just trying to understand the process and want to better explain it when I have my cooking classes.

Just a quick nitpick that is driving this former chemist crazy... carbon steel is not porous, it's reactive. That is, it's easily oxidized. Heating the pan up does not open up the pores in the metal, to change the metal at all you'd have to go to much, much higher temperatures. On a stove top you'd change the chemical structure of the oil before you change the structure of the metal. regards, trillium ← I looked to the book where I read about pores in a carbon steel wok. It was Tropp's first book TMAOCC. She does use the word pores as: "pores". She speaks of the metal as 'drinking up the oil', and in another paragraph she says to wipe the oil-soaked cloth evenly around the wok 'deliberately driving the oil into the wok'. I'm not questioning your chemistry, but could you explain how the carbon steel does absorb the oil? A heated metal/oil reaction?