jo-mel

LOLOL! Tell me about it! But once they realize what I'm saying, it is not a problem, and you should see the faces if I pull out my dictionary or write the character out in front of them! That last bit is so true. When they have a cart, they have a job to do and they probably don't know the state of the food -- especially near the end of their round. The best thing is to sit near the kitchen where you will get dim sum as it comes out fresh. A few words: Fresh? 新的馬﹖ (XIN DE MA?) Hot? 熱的馬﹖ (RE DE MA?) Spicy hot? 辣的馬﹖(LA DE MA?) Crispy? 脆的馬﹖ (CUI DE MA?) Someone correct me if I have them wrong.

So------ however you make it or call it , what is THE most favorite topping. The one you just HAVE to have.

I have 3 round bottomed plain two-handled stainless steel woks(or some shiny metal) that I use for steaming. They hang by my stove and I use them for mixing all sorts of things --- meat loaf, salads, --- anything where I need good space for mixing. A little one gets the same amount of attention for smaller things. But they are perfect steamer holders -- sparing my seasoned woks. Dejah -- I laughed out loud when you said --"just what I need -- another wok!" Before I could afford a wok, when we first married, I used a heavy iron pan and it was perfect -- except I couldn't lift it with one hand!

Thanks for the characters! I keep looking for wolfberries in the Chinese supermarket, and now I have something to follow.

No expert here, but it seems as tho every major city had a Chinatown from way back when, and the clientele was Western. I'm probably the oldster here, and I can remember Boston's Chinatown from the 30s. When the chop suey palaces came along, they didn't seem to be in heavily Asian populated areas. Westerners just wanted "Chinese" food. And I read that the first canned bean sprouts were marked in 1922, under the brand name La Choy. We all know there has been that brand -- plus Chun King for a long while. There must be a marketing reason for it.

I like my sweet/sour sauce to be 1/2 sweet and 1/2 sour. When someone tastes the sauce they marvel at it and ask why it is so good. Basically it is: SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE SAUCE: 4 Tbs. sugar 4 Tbs. vinegar 1/4 cup water 1 Tbs. dark soy sauce 1 tsp. sesame oil 2 tsp. cornstarch Mix all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat the sauce, stirring, until clear and thickened

When clementines come into season, I make a new batch of dried peels ----- to go with the peels of years past. Most of the clementines have a nice thin skin with very very little pith -- if any -- on them. I dry them on a radiator and in a few hours they are ready. I give them away to people in my classes, too.

Would Year of the Snake stamps taste just like chicken?

Look for Jian Bing carts on the street. One of my favorite snack foods in Beijing! http://www.plateoftheday.com/17/

I FINALLY got to the new Whole Foods in WO. I knew it was going to be a great place from all the comments here ----- but I really wasn't prepared on HOW good! Was I ever impressed! With all the things they have packed into the store, I was amazed at how spacious it is. I've been back a secone time, but both visits were rushed as it was last minute food for Christmas, but I fully intend to bo back soon and just browse, to take it all in. (And to buy, too!)

This is one that I had at "Shanghai Dumpling King" in San Francisco. Each meatball is about the size of a tennis ball. ← Mmmmmm! I want a bowl full of that gravy!

And then there is Yunnan Steampot Chicken -- really a soup, but very light and refreshing. Do you have a recipe?

I'm with the others on "Watercress Soup". With or without shredded chicken, it is a nice, nice soup. Another favorite with me is the refreshing: SICHUAN PORK AND PRESERVED VEGETABLE SOUPIngredients: 2 Tbsp. oil A minced slice of ginger 1 scallion, peeled and thinly sliced ¼ cup Sichuan preserved vegetable ½ cup bamboo shoots - canned, but fresh is better 2 tsp. light soy sauce 4 to 6 cups chicken stock/broth - canned is fine Preparation: Shred the pork into matchstick pieces about 1 to ½ inches long. / Wash the Sichuan vegetable to remove excess brine and slice into shreds. / Shred the bamboo shoots. / Heat broth/stock. / Have the ginger, scallion, soy and oil at hand. Cooking: Heat the oil and when hot, add the ginger and scallions. Stir/fry until fragrant. Add the pork and continue to cook, separating pieces, until they start to brown. Add the vegetables and soy sauce. Mix. Add the heated broth, bring to a simmer, and cook a few minutes on low heat. Notes: You can marinate the pork first, to tenderize the meat and add more flavor to the soup. 2 tsp. light soy sauce pinch sugar 2 tsp. sherry 1/8 tsp. pepper 1 tsp. ¼ tsp. sesame oil. You can stir/fry the marinated pork, or add directly to the simmering broth – separating pieces. This soup can be made ahead and reheated.

I separate the two sweets as 'white sweets' and 'yellow sweets' -- the yellow ones being labeled 'yams' in the supermarkets.

Here are a couple of light salads. (hope I can put them down in a legal way) WATERCRESS SALAD WITH WATER CHESTNUTS A couple bunches of watercress, trimmed of tough stems and rinsed in cold water. 12 canned waterchestnuts, drained, rinsed and chopped fairly fine. 1 tsp. salt / 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar / a couple tsp. sugar and 1 Tbsp. sesame oil STEP 1 Bring two quarts of water to a boil. Add watercress and blanch 1 minute. Drain, and rinse in cold water. (Iced water preferred) STEP2 Squeeze cress to get rid of excess water and chop fine. Place in mixing bowl and add rest of ingredients. Mix well and chill at least 1 hour before serving. NOTES: Preparation can be made well ahead -- to the last step. Don’t mix together too far ahead of time, as the brilliant green will fade when mixed with the vinegar. Using fresh waterchestnuts would make it extra special, but the canned will do nicely, with less work. This recipe doesn’t yield very much, but only a little is eaten at a time. It is good to use as a ‘palate freshener’. ---------------------------------------------- MIXED VEGETABLE SALAD Ingredients: 2 stalks celery / 2 carrots / 2 broccoli stalks / 1 to 2 cups snow peas / sesame seeds (black, if possible) Sauce: - 2 Tbsp. light soy sauce 2 tsp. sherry 1 Tbsp. vinegar 1 tsp. sugar 1 tsp. sesame oil few drops chili oil (opt.) Preparation: ---Remove the leaves from the celery and wash. Save any attractive leafy tips. Peel the carrots and broccoli, but leave the irregular countour of the broccoli. String the pea pods. ----Holding the celery, carrots and broccoli on their sides, slice thin diagonal slices about 1/8 inch thick and 2 to 3 inches long. ----Mix the sauce ingredients. -----Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Blanch each of the vegetables, one kind at a time. Celery first followed by the carrots, then the greens. When they are tender crisp, or when the greens turn a brilliant color (only +/- a minute), remove with a slotted spoon and drop into iced water to stop cooking and set the color. Serving: ---Drain the vegetables well, then arrange on a platter in an attractive pattern. ---When ready to serve, drizzle the sauce over the vegetables and place the reserved celery leaves in the center. ---Sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Notes: Don’t add the sauce to the vegetables too long before serving, or the soy will soak into the vegetables. Regular sesame seeds can be used, but the black ones make a dramatic presentation. I usually arrange the vegetables in concentric, overlapping, circles with the points of the vegetables edging the platter, and alternate the colors. .

I do like the Sichuan preserved vegetable (Zha Choy). Not on the pickled mustard cabbage as I cannot take sour taste or pungent smell too well. Nor can I take sweet. ← Funny story about Sichuan Pickle (榨菜) I use to have a series of classes (10) with the same people. One day one person couldn't come. We were making shredded pork with pickled vegetable soup that day. The woman's neighbor was there, so I gave her the recipes from the class to pass on -- along with a Sichuan vegetable tuber, which I put into a little plastic bag. The woman wasn't home, so the neighbor put the little bag in the mail box. The husband came home and checked the mailbox. Can you imagine what he must have thought? LOL!

Thanks for the great ideas about the spoon and the rice. Never thought of dipping it! Makes sense. And-- SusySushi -- I will look for that plastic paddle the next time I'm in an Asian store -- like 3 days from now. I've always picked up the wooden paddles, but the nibbly one is now on my list. Thanks!

LOLOL! I love it! Our no-nonsense Ben at his best! I have a little note I wrote aeons ago, about water to rice ratios. Long grain: 1 cup rice to two cups water 1 cup water for each added cup of rice Medium or short grain: 1 cup rice to 1 1/2 cups water 1 cup water for each added cup of rice As for me, when I do measured it out, (very rarely) it seems to end up with the finger knuckle of water above the rice level. So that is what I usually do. I also follow the 'crater' directions and really don't time it. That's one great thing about rice cookers. You don't have to think about timing. My big question is how to keep the serving spoon from having rice stick to it. Grease it? I usually use medium grain rice and I know it is a stickyish rice , but it sticks to the spoon like glue.

Xioa hzrt -- Since you are into the salty stuff, how about a few slices of Sichuan pickle or pickled mustard cabbage? Or one of the forms of dried turnip?

Any shrimp chips? Deep fry in seconds -- or the already prepared ones? Oh-- but you are looking for something weird! Dip the dried shrimp into hoisin sauce to off set the salt ?

Add some candies ginger to a brownie mix. Really good.

I read somewhere that a French king ate only that oyster, so his chef removed enough from the chickens and threw the rest of the chickens away! Also delectable, in the same way, are the cheeks of a fish. A nice big fish has two great tender ones. I never let anyone know about them.

Nicely done xiao hzrt! Are you going to practice inverting them on a plate next time? That always is fun!!!!

As in New England style fried clams??

I think, traditionally, the balls are the big ones. Usually four. That is what I make when I'm just presenting the dish as part of a meal. But when it is something for a crowd, then I make the little ones so they can be picked up easily.