jo-mel
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Posts posted by jo-mel
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Watermelon rind is best eaten with the jar in one hand, and a fork in the other.
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Well, I'm not exactly an absolute beginner, but I found the web-site fun. The owner put a lot of work into it.
Jason --- As Susan said -- "What the author also fails to note is that in many cases, the Chinese name on the restaurant sign bears *no* relation to the English translation."
Case in point is China 46. Their sign translates as "9 Fish" (九魚 - Jiu Yu) (China 46 is one terrific restaurant in Northern NJ.)
Thanks for the link. I bookmarked it.
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I have well-stocked shelves and refrigerator. Lots of crackers (no Hydrog. oils) peanuts, Chinese umbrella cookies --- in the refriig are , at the moment, 9 different fruits, all kinds of cheeses and pickley things --------BUT, if there was a bowl of leftover noodles, be it spaghetti, or a Chinese noodle dish, THAT would be what I would grab for if I had a snack attack. Left-over zhajiang mian, spaghetti with clam sauce, noodles with cheese sauce , whatever----I could eat it cold, just as it is! And be happy!
Since we eat latish, I don't get hungry in the evening ------But for breakfast, I'd attack those noodles!
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It's past midnight, and I am hungry. If I were still living in Hong Kong, I would have loved to walk downstairs from our flat to some 24 hour shops and have a bowl of wonton ho-fun and a dish of deep-fried fish skin.
So what did you finally snack on??
My refrigerator is the only place that is open -- where I live, but I don't have snacking desires as such. Before bed is a wedge of Laughing Cow and a glass of red wine.
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Are the jiggly, black, shiny cold squares, in some Dim Sum places Grass Jelly -- or a black rice concoction? (no liquid with it --- just plain)
Not grass jelly. They are sweet rolls made of black sesame and some binding agent (gelatin?) I believe.
Ah-- Yes! That was it---- Black Sesame. Thanks! I had it so long ago that I forgot what it was.
I guess I have a ??treat?? ahead of me with Grass Jelly?
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Are the jiggly, black, shiny cold squares, in some Dim Sum places Grass Jelly -- or a black rice concoction? (no liquid with it --- just plain)
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If I had a choice, I would take the non-liver links. I simply like the taste better.
When I see a Sandy Pot dish on the menu, with sausage and chicken in it ----I get it! Wonderful winter dish!
Making Pearl Balls, I've always used the usual mix you find in any recipe: pork/mushrooms/ w/chestnuts and so on, but I saw one recipe using chopped Lop Cheung as a flavoring, and it is now in my staple Pearl Ball. I had both versions in a class, and the flavor of the ones with the sausage was the favorite.
I also like them just plain steamed (thin diagonal slices) and served with a dip as an appetizer.
And then there is stuffing with sticky rice; and there is sausage topping for potted rice; and braised with cabbage; and -----------------
Can you guess that I like Chinese sausage??
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~~~~~~~~~ traditional Chinese opera before? If you haven't, it should be a real ear-opener.
LOLOL!
DaTong, NW of Beijing, on the Mongolian border has its grimy parts, too. But as in all Chinese cities, there are many memorable areas. They have a 9 Dragon Wall there. And the Hanging Temple that is a 'must see' if you are in the ares. It's an overnight train trip.
One other North of Beijing city -- Chengde, had no grimy areas that I could see. FULL of historic places, tho. Lovely place! That one is a few hours train trip. But there is so much to see there that it needs more than a day.
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I tend to find the stuff sold in supermarket has ridiculously pessimistic shelf lives and storage instuctions "Refrigerate after opening and consume within 3 days" whereas imported ones have much longer shelf lives or none at all.
Things like fermented black beans seem to keep forever, and stay moist, even though they are just packed in a cardboard box.
I wonder just how much of that caution is just 'legal protection'.
The fermented black beans have the salt for protection, but for all my 'dries' -- including those beans, my biggest concern is the flying stuff -- the moths, and their worms. I use bay leaves freely, altho 48 hours in the freezed is supposed to destroy those pesky weevils.
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The small Kikkoman bottles are commonly used as part of the table setting in Chinese restaurants (some of which have been know to refill them with cheaper soy sauce!). They may have omitted the refrigeration advice to avoid freaking out the more obsessive customers ("How long has this bottle been sitting out????"). The regular Kikkoman is so salty that it probably doesn't matter.
I guess that is the reason that the little squat bottle has this on the bottle:
"Do not fill with other than Kikkoman"
I could never fit Koon Chun (my first soy) or the old tall Pearl River bottles on my shelves, so I used the little squat bottles and (shhhhh) filled them with 'dark' and 'light/thin' soy.
Don't tell anyone!!
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Gloria Bley Miller's "1000 Recipe Chinese Cookbook" has a chapter entitled "Storing Information". I have more or less followed her guide, but her advice does not always follow what it says on jars and bottles, and vice versa.
One example --- She says that Chinese Chili Sauce does not have to be refrigerated. My favorite brand is Lan Chi and years ago it had no refrigeration information on the jar. So armed with her advice and with no instruction on the jar ---it remained in my cabinet for years (different jars, of course!) Then I read some where that it should be refrigerated. I looked at my latest jar --- and there it was --- "keep in refrigerator after opening"!!!! The long arm of the legal world???? BTW - No one ever got sick eating it, and it never turned bad. It did lose its power as the jar emptied, but did as well in the refrigerator when I started to obey the warning.
Bley-Miller's book was written when Hoisin Sauce always came in cans. She tells you to place leftovers in tightly covered jars and refrigerate. Fine. But I have jars of Koon Chun Hoisin which has no 'refrigeration' warning ---- and a jar of Lee Kum Kee says to refrigerate their Hoisin! I must look at jar of Wei-Chuan to see what they have to say. Wei-Chuan Peking Sauce andCantonese Sauce say to refrigerate.
Bley-Miller says you don't have to refrigerate Oyster Sauce ---- Again I didn't for years. But I see that 2 different brands (Hop Sing Lung / Lee Kum Kee) suggest refrigetation, so now I do. Koon Chun oyster sauce says nothing on the label!
One other example of conflicts --- MeeChun Pickled Ginger - "Keep refrigerated after opening" , but a jar of Pickled Ginger from Thailand -- nada!
One more---- The tall bottle of Kikkoman soy sauce (not the low-sodium) says to refrigerate, but the little squat Kikkoman bottle with the red top has no instructions on it!
Generally, I keep wine, vinegar, sesame oil, chili oil and some soys in a cabinet along with all the dried,semi dry, and canned stuff. The soy in the cabinet is Pearl River. (which now comes in a shorter bottle and can fit on my shelf!!) That brand says to refrigerate, but I never have. The other wets all are in the refrigerator, along with salted shrimp and scallops.
I haven't helped, have I.
As Trillium says, 'conditions' and such can be your guide.
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Pan -- While in Beijing, see if you can find JianBing, on the streets. I mean -- it is not on the street ---it is street food. The vendor will have his own cart with a big griddle on which he pours a batter, covers it with egg, scallions, hot stuff, then rolls it up. Wonderful!! (cheap!)
Here's a mini-tutorial/demonstration of jian bing-making in Beijing:
Thanks for that, Gary! Is that Ditty Deamer's site? It's been a long time since I visited her pages. They are wonderful!
I never had the you tiao on the jian bing, but just the plain with egg, scallions, & chili was wonderful. (wrapped in paper, of course)
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Pan -- While in Beijing, see if you can find JianBing, on the streets. I mean -- it is not on the street ---it is street food. The vendor will have his own cart with a big griddle on which he pours a batter, covers it with egg, scallions, hot stuff, then rolls it up. Wonderful!! (cheap!)
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OK--- Which came first --- the chicken or the egg????? LOL!
I'd read that the Chinese cuisine 'arose out of hunger'. I wish I could remember who said that, but I guess it makes sense for for many cultures.
My interests lie in Chinese food, and I'm always referring to my reference books on it: Chang's "Food in Chinese Culture"; Anderson's "The Food of China"; and Simoonds's "Food in China".
Who decided to boil water? Who first drank cow's milk? (from a cow?)
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BLACK PEPPER SAUCE
Ingredients:
1 scallion, finely minced
½ tsp. minced ginger
1 cup chicken broth
1 ½ Tbsp. sherry
1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
1 tsp. or more black pepper (to taste)
salt (opt.)
½ tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
Preparation and Cooking:
--Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and mix well.
--Bring to a boil, while stirring.
--Cook while stirring until thick and bubbly.
--Combine with stir/fried meat and vegetables.
Jo-Mel: Your black pepper sauce is close. I would add onion, garlic, a few mashed black beans (fermented), and some tomato sauce/paste.
As for the process, I would:
- First heat up the pan with oil. Add onion and garlic and ginger and scallion to saute for a minute.
- Then dash in the sherry or vinegar
- Then add black beans, black pepper and everything else except cornstarch, cook to boil
- Finally add cornstarch to thicken the sauce
- Combine with meat/vege.
Thanks for the suggestions! I think they will give the sauce more depth. The sauce I had at one restaurant did have a touch of vinegar in it, I'm sure and the color was not just soy brown. I will edit the recipe in my files.
The dish at that restaurant (mostly Chinese diners) was Sizzling Skewered Oysters in Black Pepper Sauce and really is good! I get it whenever I go there. The first time I had it, I asked what kind of oysters were used. They were big, succulent and very tasty. The waiter said they came from a can!!! Surprised me!!!
I often get a 'sandy pot oyster casserole' in NYC's Chinatown, and I assume they are canned also. No matter. I will still order it as it is a wonderful dish.
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It's HSBC in the U.S. (Hong Kong-Shanghai Banking Corporation).
It's wasn't "moved" from Shanghai, but closed/renamed after the revolution ("liberation", to be precise, as the "revolution" was in 1911). It existed in HK well before 1949.
The shipping, banking and real estate magnates (Li Ka-Shing is another notable example) who moved from Shanghai to HK were actually keepers of a capitalistic ethic that began in Ningbo and moved THROUGH Shanghai.
There's an old anecdote about the Lord Mayor of London visiting the Mayor of Shanghai, and asking: "is it true, as I've heard, that the smartest people in China come from Shanghai?" "No," said the Mayor, "the smartest people in China come TO Shanghai." There's still some truth to that.
This doesn't have much to do with food, though.
Well--- we can still "bank" on dim sum being food for topic!! LOL!
Dim Sum in the South, Dian Xin in the North, Yum Cha in Australia ---- What is the Shanghainese word/s for this delightful type of food?
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hz -- Have you ever tried poaching the salmon and then putting whatever sauce you wish on it?
Just put the salmon in a pot and just cover with water. I like to flavor the water with lemon and maybe some white wine. / Bring to a slow simmer. / Cover pot, and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. / Then turn the heat off and let it sit, covered, for another 10 minutes. The fat is usually melted off.
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Simoond's "Food in China" has some interesting bits about the use of sugar in China, and it's use as one of the 'five-flavors'. Balance is a key, but some dishes are sweet -- like Almond Float and Lotus Seed Soup.
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Scallops with garlic would make an eye appealing presentation. (or shrimp)
In China, I had it 'stir/fried with chicken', but I didn't write down what the sauce was, in my 'food log'. I've had it 'stir/fried with radish', also -- again I didn't write the sauce flavor.
I did peel them with a potato parer, until the tough exterior was gone. When they were parboiled, the translucent green was beautiful, but the clear color was lost with the black beans. Tasty dish, tho.
Next purchase will be for a cold appetizer. I've done a cold appetizer a la Barbara Tropp, using broccoli stems. A beautiful dish, and my guests could not tell what the vegetable was! The stalks, sliced diagonally and blanched, have that same beautiful translucence as the wo sun. No one would ever guess what this vegetable is , if I used it!
Thanks to all of you, for your help.
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萵 笋 (筍) Are we on the same page?
The stem was rather tough, so I par-boiled them in strips. I will do it with beef and black beans.
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I've like Wo Sun when I've had it, but when I've made it myself, it was pickled, or a poor attempt to stir/fry it.
Any ideas on a recipe that would make it stand out? I've looked through some of my Chinese cookbooks, but except for some basic information, I haven't, as yet, found any recipes. Going google was no help.
Any ideas?
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Pan -- That Sheraton Hotel that others have mentioned, has a section called "Guilin Food Street". It is a little place, (and it is inside)--- in the back area of the hotel. (I walked outside to get to it.) It has a buffet that features Cantonese and Guilin food, and when I was there, they offered:
Yang Chow Fried Rice
Sauted Peppers and Eggplant (spicy hot)
Stir/Fried Celery
Beef Slices Stir/Fried with Whole Fresh Chili Peppers
Deep/Fried Crispy Pigeon
Sausage Patties
Deep/Fried Battered Water Chestnuts
French Pastries.
As I recall, it wasn't expensive, but that was in '96. The place is still there. (I googled that Sheraton)
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On the issue of Tang Bao, I think you can think of tang bao as the generic umbrella name for this sort of dumpling. All xiao long bao are tang bao but not all tang bao are xiao long bao! They are bigger than xiao long bao.
That's a good way to put it!
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YangShuo is plunk -- right in the middle of those Karst Mountains! It is not a big place, but just look up and there is a close-up of them.
I can't give food recommendations, as it has been a while since I've been there, and places change.
On tour -- you usually go from Guilin, down the Li River to Yangshuo, and then bus back. I've stayed in both places, -- Guilin several times, and Yangshuo twice. I'd pick Yangshuo. It is smaller and altho the riverfront is now teeming with vendors, it is still more rural than lovely Guilin.
Guilin does have its special beauty and rock formations and famous caves.
One of the specialties, in Guilin, is Bamboo Rat -- a fox that eats bamboo. And I've had whole deep/fried crispy pigeon. Whole - but no feathers. It was good.
"The Eater's Guide to Chinese Characters": Chinese Food & Eating Translations
in Cookbooks & References
Posted
Jason -- the '9 Fish', as 'longevity and abundance' is also represented in a "9-Fish scroll" that Cecil has on his wall in China 46.
The sign outside the restaurant has 9 as 九, and it is also on his menu, but his logo uses the 9 - 久 which also means 'long time', so either 'jiu' gives the meaning of long or forever.
All in all, it is an auspicious meaning for a business--- which the name China 46 lacks.
hrtz-- I didn't know that about the fish tank. Do they keep extra fish on the side so that they can keep the tank census up?