jo-mel

I was just running over the new posts and I realized that my latest stack was not here! I remember writing it, but I guess I never clicked 'post'!! A few days ago, I was in the attic and came across a stash of books that I had forgotten all about. Every so often, when I run out of shelf space, some of my books go to the attic and are all but forgotten. But there they were! It was like meeting old friends. Soooooo, would you please add 31 more to the list?

Interesting that you should ask this. I had just mentioned a Chiu Chow dish, on the New York thread, that uses a bed of 'crispy spinach'! I hope this is what you are looking for. It really is a taste sensation. The first time I had it, I had no idea it was spinach, but fell in love with it and was delighted to find a recipe for it. According to Ken Hom's "Fragrant Harbor", you pick through spinach and remove any tough stalks. Wash the spinach till all sand is gone, then DRY THOROUGHLY!!!. Heat a couple cups of oil in something deep, till very hot. Add the spinach - a good handful and deep/fry for about 45 seconds until they are deep green and crisp. Remove with a slotted ladle and drain on paper towels. Continue with the reat of the spinach. (In his Chiu Chow chicken, Hom uses 1/2 pound.) Simple! Tasty!! But please be careful of that hot oil and any spinach that is wet!! I've always kept a large cover nearby to catch the splatter. No matter how dry the spinach seems, there always seems to be a drop of water to play havoc. Now that you can get the microwavable spinach (usually baby spinach) it is already washed, so you would have dry spinach to begin with. A real time saver!! But still keep that cover close by, and stand back, until the sputtering stops, as even 'dry' leaves are moist leaves.

Peeps can sit right there in front of me, all day, and I can ignore them. Doesn't matter what color or shape. Until ----- I have one! Then the whole box disappears. I like them soft - really soft so that I can squish them to the roof of my mouth where you can hear and feel the squish!

Whatever way you finally end up cooking your whole fish, dont forget to pull out the ckeek nugget and slowly savor it for its tenderness and sweetness. It is the BEST part of the fish! One Chinese hint I've used when cooking a largish whole fish, that won't fit into a steamer --- or even into a large wok for deep/frying: Simply cut the fish in half with a diagonal slice across its center <~~~\~~~< When the fish is cooked, put the two pieces back together again, and pour the sauce over -- hiding the 'scar'.

Ironbound section of Newark --- Portugese and what else?

How about 'nothing' over the refrig? I have a small kitchen, so I had the soffits opened, and have put casseroles, woks and steamers up there. It is not unattractive. Over the refrig, I have hung a 24' wok, (where else to put it??) and my cumbersome electric wok is on the refrig top.

I will never dip my hands in a sink of soapy water, unless I know what is in that water --- that is sharp. I will never wear loose, long ,sleeves when I am cooking or working with pans (woks) with long handles. I will never reach for the nutmeg, thinking it is curry. I will never push 10 minutes on the microwave, when I mean to push 1 minute. I will never sit next to a right-handed person at the table, if I can help it. I will never say 'never' about food related thingies --------oops-- I already did!

Trillium ---- I had been told that those different cuts of bamboo shoots, in tubs of water, were from large restaurant-sized cans which were simply opened and placed in tubs of water. That they actually weren't fresh, because the fresh bamboo had a short 'shelf life' and didn't do well in transportation. Not so? I never actually asked the grocer. This was years ago. I kinda assume, that fresh may now be available, as I see it in the markets, in its husk --- not in water. Do they now husk them and place them in the tubs?

A big YES to the fresh chestnuts and bamboo! Now that fresh bamboo is available in some markets, it would be a nice addition, and I don't have to explain fresh chestnuts to those who have experienced them. I don't like to chop these two vegetables too fine, as I like the crunch --especially from the chestnuts.

I like all crab. I've had Blue and Hairy, and both were wonderful. The large crabs I've had had all been frozen, and tasty when cooked, but I've never had them fresh. The only time I've had soft-shelled crab, the crab shell was already being formed, so the experience was not the best, and I've avoided them ever since. Coming from lobster country, I prefer my shellfish meat in big pieces, so my favorite crab is -----shelled!

Mudbug --- thanks for that link to the Chinese food data base. It is indeed not working, but I copied the address, and will check from time to time. About the 'celtuce' / 'asparagus root' ---- The ""A Choy" you're inquiring about, pronounced "ah choy" is a variety of celtuce - which is also known as Stem Lettuce, Asparagus Lettuce, Celery Lettuce and Chinese Lettuce. It is a member of the Asteraceae (sunflower) family. It is also known as "Yu Mai Tsai" in Chinese. I didn't know it was called Ah Choy or Yu Mai Tsai. I've only known it as Wu Sun or in Cantonese- Woh Sun. The very first time I had this vegetable, it was in a stir/fry and was still crispy. I was completely taken by it. I've had it since. Sometimes it is too soft, and not as good (to my taste), but it is one of those vegetables that are available in Asian markets --- but don't seem to make it to menus! Too bad. P.S. - Thanks for all the work giving that information!

How about the change in table manners, then and now? When I was little, I didn't notice others and their own manners, as I was too busy trying to mind my own, but I think that the 30s and 40s dining would be so special that everyone would be on their best behavior. No one would even think of wearing a hat, or talking with a mouth full of food or chew with their mouth open. I'm talking about fine dining restaurants, not diners and counters. At counters, because you are usually sitting on a stool, and it is less formal, you tend to have your elbows on the counter --- or at least you tend to lean on the counter. Today, it seems as tho anything goes. I've seen some of the above in some of the better places. Some firms even give courses in table manners, don't they?

This has the effect of getting much of the food away from the warmed plate and exposing it to air circulation, so that your food will have started to get cold even before it arrives at the table. In fact, if a melting effect threatens to destablize the architecture, the plate may not be warmed at all. Scientific chefs are working on an antigravitational device which will allow soup to be served vertically. LOL! Just taking the time to arrange the food artistically on the plate, would tend to cool it, I would think. The bit about "In fact, if a melting effect threatens to destablize the architecture------" -----If the foods sit under that warming light, waiting to be picked up by the waiter/waitress/waitperson, too long, then the top of the tower of food just might be affected by the light --- being that it is so close to the source of heat! I wouldn't like to see food plopped on the plate, as in a hash line, but I think the old axiom 'hot foods hot and cold foods cold' should be the rule in serving --- not towers accented by a stalk of leafy celery. About the soup ----SHHH! Don't give anyone any ideas!

Fat Guy --- You wrote about matching dishes being different. I call that "The Meatloaf Syndrome". Everyone makes meatloaf and usually they are all good, but they are all different. My meatloaf is different from the gal next door, and the hash house down the street. All good, all different, all called 'meatloaf'. Back to your original question about changes over the decades: Back then, items were flat on the plate. There was a place for the Grilled T-Bone, which lay beside the French Fried Onions which lay beside the Green Beans Almondine. You still find that arrangement nowadays, of course, but artistic cooking has introduced 'horizontal' displays, with the fried onions on top of the steak, which may be on top of the beans, or the beans may be displayed as a frame for the steak, with a scattering of almonds for added visual effect. I don't know when the artistry effect came into being, but the only time I remember having food on top of each other was something like a Fried Clam Platter, when the clams were piled on top of the fries because of the lack of room. No artistic intent at all.

I'm no expert on chicken in restaurants, as I couldn't bother cutting it off the bones ---- politly. Could the taste difference be in what the chickens were fed 'in the old days'?? When I was in China, the chicken DID indeed have a different flavor than the chicken in this country. (it WAS chicken, BTW) The first time I noticed it was in the 80s and all of us noticed the taste difference. It was much stronger than what we expected, but we knew it was chicken because of the texture and close examination. Chickens, at that time in China, ran around. Even the texture was tougher. This was not just one visit in one place. I noticed it in many places, over a period of years. Just a thought ---- the feed given to the chickens? Also, fresh chickens as compared to frozen?

What to have with them? Well, they can be part of a dim Sum selection. They can be an appetizer. If you are having a meal where all forms of cooking are represented -- stir/frying -oven-cooking, deep/frying, etc . --- they can be your steamed dish. They can be the pork representative in a meal covering all textures and flavors. A soft, bland but tasty pork ball in contrast to a hot beef, a sweet/sour fish, and a crispy chicken. They can be with a simple soup, and a spinach salad for a lunch. How about as dear Barbara Tropp suggested --- Pearl Balls, by them selves, with a light red wine or a full bodied white. Jo-Ann

Ruth is so right about the iceberg lettuce. Not only was it THE lettuce of choice, but the dressings were clear, (Italian) and pink, (French) -- or of course a type of Thousand Island / Russian. When the health/Mother Earth movement with its fresh sprouted seeds came along, in the 50s, the salad bars appeared. I don't know the history of salad bars, or when the vast variety of greens gained their foothold, but they seem to give salads their own special position. (My Mother's verion of salad was iceberg lettuce topped with chopped tomatoes and cukes, mixed with mayo --- as a dressing. There was a time, in the 50s, when some restaurants -- mostly steakhouses in my area -- began to offer a BIG wedge of iceberg, with your choice of dressing to eat BEFORE you were served your steak. Some said that it was a way of filling you up, and filling in time, while you waited for the steak. Along with the steak came huge baked Idahos with your choice of sour cream or butter, and bacon --- or all three. I wonder if that was the beginning of the monstrous servings that have become so popular. Iceberg lettuce may be another of those items that was once popular, faded away as the yuppie greens appeared, but has again appeared and respected for its crispness. I wonder if the Chinese Lettuce Wraps have helped foster this?

My mother use to make Porcupine meatballs when I was a kid, and I made them for my own kids. I'm talking about the kind where the meat and raw rice are mixed together, and dropped into a sauce that was mostly tomato sauce. Easiest dish in the world, as you don't have to brown the meatballs first --- just drop then in the liquid, and they are on their own. The rice stuck out when they were cooked -- hence the name. I wonder what their origin is? I guess most countries have their version of meatballs and rice. The Chinese Pearl balls are my favorite, I think.

It's one of my favorites too, and many years ago I asked the Chinese restaurant that introduced me to it to write it down, and I've scanned it. Indeed, when I show this in Chnese restaurants, they say "ong choy" or "tong choy" and call it Chinese Water Spinach or Hollow Vegetable. I'm also quite fond of Garlic Stems and Pea Tips as well. Where do people like to eat them? I go to New Lok Kee in Flushing. Thanks for the characters. I'd always seen 空 - (kong) for 'ong', but never looked for your character - 'tong'. Does anyone know of a Chinese food listing - online - in Chinese Characters? I can get what I want from my online dictionaries, but I was looking for a regular list of ingredients/food that has the character included. I have plenty of lists from my Chinese dictionaries and Chinese cookbooks, but I wanted something from online. BTW, - has Yu Choy/You Cai been mentioned? I love it!

A few more words------ As I grew up in a Boston suburb, I can only report on what I experienced in that area in the late 30s and 40s. In the 50 I finally experienced the 'big' world out there. Because the 30s were not THAT long after the crash, many people in my area just didn't go out to restaurants that often. It was something special to do so. We had Ham's, which was essentially a Friendly's kind of place. Most popular after going to the movies, to get a Frappe or a hamburg. They may have served regular meals, but it was mostly a hang-out kind of place. There were 2 of them in my town of Winthrop -- pop 17,000? Because people watched their pennies, a cheap place to go was Chinatown in Boston, and that is where I have my first clear memory of going to a restaurant. Little towns did not have their local Chinese restaurant or take-out. AAMOF, ethnic restaurants were not the norm. We went to Boston for true restaurant eating, be it Italian or just a plain old common ordinary restaurants. When International menus came into being, it meant an upclasse type of place. Maybe that is the big difference that I see ---- ethnic places can be found everywhere! Being from Boston, seafood places were all up and down the highways, or in places along the ocean. Good seafood that was 'in season'. It had to be fresh and local as there wasn't the transportation speed we have now. The 'catch of the day' actually was. It wasn't flown in from Europe or even the NW. Vegetables also followed in the same manner. Corn came from the fields and most fresh vegetables were also 'in season'. Now you can get asparagus and all vegetables, year round. Because of that, there are many more vegetable choices. Having vegetables year round may be a blessing, but having the first asparagus in early spring, or corn from the first harvest was pretty special. Be it at home, or in restaurants, seasonal foods always semed to taste better. What has stayed the same? Quality ruled then and rules now. However, the popularity of a place can be because of a critics words. A good review seems to ensure a crowded place, even tho the good chef may have moved on. So it seems that the closer communication ---be it magazine, newspapers, or the internet may have its negatives. When a place becomes an 'in' place it seems to remain, unless a critic follows up. To add to the "Hello! My name is Kevin, and I'll be your waiter for the evening" --- the newer habit of the waiter/waitress stooping to be at table level to speak to you is ridiculous. Whoever started that stupid practice should be forced to eat stale bread. It is foolish to compare prices of meals then and now, as everything is relative. Paying $5 for a lobster dinner was steep, in the past, when income was below $10,000. What has come , gone and come back again? Mashed potatoes! The return of homey foods is welcome ---- look at the popularity of Boston Market. Meatloaf and homestyle foods have regained respect in restaurants. I miss the feeling of eating out as being pretty special. Something you really looked forward to. I miss the good manners you would see in restaurants. I'll have to think about what I don't miss.

The usual name for these meatballs is "Pearl Balls". I see from the recipe from Gourmet, that they use long grain rice. The traditional rice to use is glutinous rice -- also known as 'sticky' or 'sweet' rice. The composition of the glutinous rice is different from long grain and the cooked result is an opaque shiny pearl-like rice -- rather than plain white -- hence the name "Pearl Balls" --'Zhen Zhu Rou Wan'. The recipe in Gourmet is pretty basic. I make mine using Chinese dried mushrooms, and recently have been adding Chinese sausage, which gives them a special flavor. They are fun to make and make a great presentation when served from the bamboo basket in which they are steamed. Before they are steamed, they look pretty, sitting on the rice, but the lettuce loses its color after the steaming process -- ending kinda washed out. The pearl balls can be steamed on waxed paper, but I prefer the lettuce. The rise IS indeed sticky, so they have to sit on something, and cannot be placed on the bamboo alone. This recipe is a combo of one that I have developed over the years, adapted from several others: PEARL BALLS Ingredients: 1 cup uncooked glutinous rice lettuce leaves, or leafy substitute Meatball Mixture:1 pound lean ground pork 8 dried Chinese mushrooms – soaked 30 minutes to rehydrate 8 canned waterchestnuts chopped, not too fine ¼ cup bamboo shoots chopped same as water chestnuts 1 tsp. minced garlic 2 Tbsp. finely minced fresh ginger 2 whole scallions, minced 1 egg 1 ½ Tbsp. soy sauce 1 ½ Tbsp. sherry 1 tsp. sesame oil OPT: 2 links Chinese pork sausage, soaked in hot water till soft, then chopped.fine. Preparation: Rinse the rice and soak in cold water 2 to 3 hours. Rinse the mushrooms, cut out tough stem. Chop fine. Combine meatball mixture and form into 1 inch balls. Drain rice and spread on a clean cloth towel, or paper towels. Roll meatballs, one at a time, over the rice – pressing lightly to make rice adhere. Cooking: --- Add water to a wok, up to one inch below the level of the food to be cooked. ----Bring water to a boil. ----Line the steamer racks with leafy greens or waxed paper. ----Place meatballs on lettuce – leaving ½ inch spaces. ----Place racks over the boiling water, cover, and steam for 30 minutes. Notes: Pearl balls can be cooked a day ahead. Steam only 20 minutes. Cool and refrigerate. Re-steam 20 minutes before use. You can also steam them, then place them on a cookie sheet, and freeze. When frozen, place in a freezer bag. Resteam them, on lettuce, for 20 to 25 minutes. Serving sauce: Equal parts of soy sauce and vinegar. Add sesame oil to taste. (opt.) Add hot oil to give a kick (opt.) Sprinkle with chopped scallion (opt.)

In those days, women simple didn't dine alone. In a restaurant, that is. In places like Lock-Obers (do you know of it?) you were always escorted PAST the downstairs bar and up the stairs to the elegant dining room where the service was haute and you ate off pweter, or some sort of polished metal. I ate alone only at diners or places where you sat for lunch. Formal dining meant an escort. I remember the first times I did eat alone. I brought a book and kept my eyes glued to it!! The time did come when it wasn't unusual for women to eat alone. I remember reading that when business women who were on business trips HAD to eat alone and were tired of ordering room service ---- so they took themselves to the dining room and paved the way. The time soon came when it didn't bother me one bit to eat alone and not hide behind a book. There was a time when the 'entree; was what you had BEFORE the main dinner course. I don't know when 'entree' changed position to be the steak/lamb/chicken, but I think I will do little research to see if there is any explanation. Also, salads accompanied your main dish. Again ---- somewhere along the line, it became a separate course. I never met a date 'under the clock at the Biltmore', but I did meet some friends there ----- just to say I did it. I think the clock is long gone. I wasn't of the gloves and hat era, but my mother was, and she would NEVER go to a good restaurant without them. In my corner of the world, eating out was an event, and you dressed for it. The first Howard Johnson's (1925 -- [before my time])was in the Wollaston part of Quincy, Mass. I'd never been there but passed it many times. The last time I saw it, it was scheduled to be torn down. To bad they couldn't have moved it to a place where it could have lived on. Howard Johnson was the first place of its kind that had standards for cooking. Whereever you went, you could be sure the food would taste like any other Howard Johnson in the country. Their fried clams (the strips) were looked down on by true New Englanders. The only true fried clam had bellies. When I married NJ, I looked for fried clams, but alas, there weren't any!! I even tried at the shore at seafood places. Nada! I asked for them at one place, and they said they would make them for me. I was so excited!!! UNTIL they came. They had opened cherrystones, and deep fried them. NOT THE SAME!!!! But over the years, fried clams have found their way to the Jersey Shore, and they are as good as the ones of my youth ----almost. BTW - my dates always held my chair for me, and stood when I left or came back to the table. I'll have to travel back a little more to see if I can come up with what you are looking for----- like the times when the waiter didn't introduce himself by saying "Hi! I'm Kevin and I will be your waiter for the night!" (bleechhhh!), or when the word was 'waiter' or 'waitress' and not the PC 'waitperson'. (another bleeech!)

Do you mean things like a 'men only' area as in places like Lock-Obers in Boston? Or when women NEVER dined alone? (I'm not trying to pick out women's issues as I'm NOT a feminist, but those two things just came to mind. Let me think on it a while, and I will check with my DH ---he's older than I am and may be able to add something. Interesting idea for a book.

The directions, in that book from the Wei Chuan series, are not very clear. (I can't see any word for 'cover' in the Chinese direction.) It just says that after you transfer the pork to a pot and add the soy, sugar and wine, ---- you simmer until the sauce is down to 5 Tbsp. I would guess that you would leave the pot uncovered. Since there is very little liquid to begin with -- 10 Tbsp of soy and wine, and 3 of the rock sugar, it wouldn't take long to reduce. Did you have the Ruby Pork at China46? I wonder if Cecil would part with his recipe, (probably 'no', because few Chinese chefs give out their recipes) or at least tell what the cooking forms are.

Susruta -- have you tried it as Double Cooked Pork? That dish uses black beans a a flavoring.