jo-mel

ROTFL! With a hollow chopstick of course! I hadn't looked at the directions -- just the ingredients, so missed that nugget! Wonder what the author was trying to say?

I wondered about parmesan as both Thermidor and my absolute fav -- Lobster Savannah (Locke Ober / Boston) --use parmesan. Surfing, I found this link to a HongKong lobster recipe with cheese, but it doesn't answer the cheese question, as it calls for "soft" cheese. Cream cheese? http://www.nicemeal.com/seafood/seafood12.html

How about on-line? http://www.freshwasabi.com/

If you get the real stuff in a restaurant, just ask them where they get it -- or if you can buy some of theirs. You think??

From what I remember, the present Kam Man on Rt 10 in Hanover used to be Maxims and was owned by a couple from Hong Kong. They had another short-lived store in the Brunswick area. When they divorced, she sold that location in Hanover to Kam Man (who then enlarged and upgraded it) and she ran the Maxims on Rt. 46. Then she sold that off to new owners who changed the name to Top Quality. Where the HongKong lady went next, I don't know. Top Quality's new owner seemed quite nice and eager to please. I hadn't noticed any deterioration in the store -- nor the smell, the last time I was there. (A couple of weeks ago?) There is, of course, the odor of dried fish and vegetables from their packaged goods, but you get that in Chinatown -- just on the street! The smells in East West are another kettle of fish! Pun intended. The have the musty packaged goods smell, of course, but even before they went into fish and meat, the place had its own odor. The fish made it worst. When they first opened up, the refrigeration under their vegetables was non-existant. You had to be there when produce arrived to get anything fresh. The first time they had meat and fish was pretty bad. The fish eyes were not clear and the meat --- well, let's say --- I didn't buy any. When they expanded to an extra room, they had refrigeration for their vegetables, but there wasn't the care for them that even the smallest store in C'Town had. There was plenty of ice under the fish and the meat looks fresh, but I have never bought any, altho I see plenty of Asian housewives buying meat & fish. The floor is always wet in that area. I do get jarred and packaged things at East West, and rarely some dough/noodly things. The Chinese owner, Mr. Ho is very nice, but he should get a clue. Kam Man is the place I go to most of the time for all my stuff. Not as much fun as Chinatown, but it has everything and they are helpful if you need to ask a question.

I had some leftover Sheng Kee brand mini mooncakes. Since they have an expiration date, and since I knew they wouldn't be eaten soon, I froze them. there was a box of mixed ones (yum!) and a box with 'pineapple paste' (so-so) ones. This morning I wanted something sweet with a second/third cup of coffee and decided to try a moon cake. I took one of the pineapple ones out of the freezer and stuck it in the m'wave, timed it for a minute -- but meant to take it out in about 20 seconds when it would be thawed. Well -- it went the full minute and was kind of swollen when I took it out. And HOT! So I let it cool for a moment and took a bite. Wonderful!!! Not the bland taste as when room temperature. Pineapply moist and some parts were chewy where the sugar bubbled. Really good! I will nuke them again! And again---------

Cheese as in, say---- cheddar?

Smelt (gutted) is one fish I have eaten head to toe, but it was not in a Chinese style. Breaded and fried Smelt brings me back to childhood, when we would fish for them at night, using a light. Caught them by the dozens. Wonderful distinctive flavor! As a kid, we often had meals of just 'cheeks and tongues'. From cod and haddock, I guess. The only 'whole' fish I have eaten in China was White Baitfish. So tiny, that is the only way to eat them. The first time I had them, they were deep fried and I thought they were deep-fried onions, until I saw the little black eyes. Very tasty. Nothing beats 'out of the water and into the steamer' for purity of flavor, but I'm not locked into any particular form of cooking -- as long as it is not overcooked.

Would your Mom share one of the cheeks with me? ---please? If the fish is deep/fried to my liking, then I want the fins. Better than potato chips! Aside from the purity of a basic steamed or poached whole fish, I have a liking for Squirrel Fish, but I haven't yet decided on the topping. Toppings for fish? Whether whole, fillets or steaks, I like a simple "5-Willow Sauce". You all have/know this sauce?

The first place I saw the reference to brown bean sauce as the traditional choice for Peking Duck was in Bruce Cost's "Asian Ingredient's". Craig Claiborne/Virginia Lee "The Chinese Cookbook" has two sauces for their roast duck. Both use bean or ground bean sauce. Calvin Lee's "Chinese Regional" has 2 sauces, the first using brown bean sauce -- the second uses hoisin. Thumbing thru other recipes, some call for hoisin, some plum, one had a combo of the two. Others have tianmianjiang -- sweet soybean paste/jam, one online recipe had ground bean sauce with hoisin as an alternative. So I guess the traditional one is open to guess. I couldn't find anything on it in my 'food in Chinese culture' books. When I had the brown bean sauce with the duck when I was with the group of travel agents, it was in Beijing at the Wu Fang Zhao (or Zhai) restaurant. I made a notation in my food log, and wondered if they were pulling something over on us -- not using hoisin. So i guess I was wrong. I like the sweet sauce rather than salty.

HZRT - Yes, Capital sauce is sweeter, than that for Zha Jiang Mian, but doesn't it come down to the chef for the noodle dish? I've rarely seen two recipes alike. Sometimes it is ultra salty, sometimes sweet. I usually stick to a recipe with a combo of both. One time in China, I was with some travel agents. We were served Bejing Ya (duck) and the spreading sauce was brown bean sauce -- not hoisin. I'd since read, in a couple of places, the brown bean sauce was the traditional base for the sauce --- that hoisin came later and is usually the choice. Any truth to this that you know?

Wonderful pictures! I'll have a little of each, please! About the Shredded Pork dish what you wrap in the wonton ---- Maybe Sweetened Soy Bean Paste? The jar I have has both salt and sugar in it and has both flavors well pronounced when tasting it. Or, how about a combo of Hoisin and Bean Sauce as you would find in a Zha Jiang Mian sauce? Would the zhou have a dash of vinegar to give a hint or sourness? Or sour pickle of fish as one of the ingredients? Even the silkworms look interesting!! What's the stuff hanging out of the tray in fromt of the silkworms? Octopi? I envy you your trip. Thanks for letting us in on it.

Toliver -- thanks for the reminder that this was indeed covered. AAMOF, we do heat them ourselves, don't we, when we toast them?!

So --- who's an expert on the quality of the 'heat treated' as compared to 'unheated'? The last ones I bought, a few months ago -- in NYC's KamMan were in a plain store filled package. No name -- just a price hand written on the plastic. They were VERY good! No explanation as to their 'treatment'.

I'm with you on the vegetables. I want their flavor, of course, but I also want their texture. I want the crunch of the waterchestnuts, and I delight at a bite of ginger.

When I get my ground pork from a Chinese store, there are usually a couple of selections ---- both have some fat, but one has more than the other. I've used both, but the fattier one usually makes a juicier dumpling -- of course.

I've also been on SBD, for a little over a year. I've lost 30 pounds. Slow but steady, and in the right direction. I don't stick to it to the point where I'm a pain, but am selective when it counts. ( Even Dr. Agatston strays) For zucchini noodles, ever try the Spirooli? It's a gizmo that turns zucchini into thick 'noodles' in an instant. Great with sweet potatoes, which I then mix with a little EVOE, and roast. There is a recipe that originated with Atkins -- called Deep Dish Pizza Quiche. I do the SBD thing with it and you'd swear you were eating pizza with a crust. Great recipe. Again about noodles. I don't mind the Whole Wheat ones, but much prefer the texture of brown rice noodles.

I have the same box and absolutely love them! I've been nibbling them for about a week, and plan to get more. I like the small size and the variety.

No experience with slaying crabs, ------ but lobsters I can handle. I use to be upset when I had to deal with them, especially when I slit the wrong spot, one time, and the poor thing didn't die as I shelled him live. Traumatic for both of us! But then I read something from The Galloping Gourmet -- Graham Kerr. He said to put the lobsters in 98.6'water for about 20 minutes. Warm enough to lull the lobsters to sleep and they then quietly drown and die. You have to use them immediately as a chemical reactions sets in really quick in lobsters. I don't know about crabs -- the chemical reaction. I mean. But if the crabs nod off and die, that might be a way to do the dirty deed and be humane about it.

Good pictures! I like that marble board. The dough looks good enough to eat raw. (but then, I'm a raw dough nut) I've never used Shepherds Purse. Is it sharp like watercress, or bland like spinach? When I don't make my own dough, I prefer Gyoza wrappers rather than wonton. The Gyoza have more body -- even more than the Shanghai-style wonton wrapper. They also have a 'not quite round' shape that makes pleating easier. (Pretty ring!)

Mongo ---- the waiter showed up with the food and informed that since he couldn't remember whether i'd asked for the red or the lemon he'd asked the chef to mix them HUH?? If it was white clam sauce/red clam sauce I could see the mix but red/lemon??? He never thought of coming back to ask you?? He didn't think you'd find the mix not of your choosing? He chose for you?? I hope you didn't tip him!

Thanks for that, Laska! I will be away from the computer for a couple of days, but when I get back, I will try to implement it. I have a Wenlin program, and SOMEDAY I will chain myself to this chair and get it to work for me. To keep this in the proper food mode, I will do all the above with a cup of tea and a few slices of mooncake -- trying to decide which filling I like best. Report will follow!

There it is! All the ingredients for 'red cooking' with the final step being the deep-frying to accent the flavors. Sounds wonderful!

I'll have an order of each, please -- plus a bowl of rice!! I never noticed Hong Shao labeled for deep/fried pigeon or squab. I wonder if the bird was rubbed with any of the common Hong Shao ingredients, before cooking - like anise, cinnamon soy, etc. I'll have to keep my eye out for the characters on menus. I always think of it as braising - but now I want to know more about it. When I think of Hong Shao foods, I always remember an incident that happened about 25 years ago. My DD was living in England -- right out of college and wanted to make HongShao Chicken Wings -- A favorite. So she called by phone, from England to New Jersey, saying she couldn't get any chicken wings in the food stores. What should she do?? I told her to just get a whole chicken and cut it up and adjust the cooking time! At that time, you didn't make casual long distance calls for a recipe question!!!!! LOL!

Food fight! Food fight! (Who is Britany?) (just kidding) "Chinese Gastronomy" has a forward by Lin Yutang in which he says: "Tastes can be good or bad, instinctive or cultivated, ostentatious or sophisticated and restrained. Also there is personality about types of cuisine, about certain types of preferences. It varies like the music of composers." The actual authors of the book don't mention Cantonese or Sichuan (or other regions, when they write about flavors, but they do speak of 'plain flavors' (bland, if you will) appearing simple because all the seasonings blended into it are undetectable. And about the amount of art that goes into bringing out the 'natural' taste. ----------They then go into 'complementary flavors' in which individual ingredients preserve their identity while complementing each other. They go into it a little more deeply than that, but that seems to be the gist. I think of two dishes -- Chicken Shreds with Yellow Chives - subtle flavorings but a wonderful classic dish. Is it any better than Twice Cooked Pork which asserts itself? Both different, but both dishes that I would enjoy equally because of those differences.