pcbilly

The name for the rich, creamy stock resulting from hours of boiling of pork bones is referring to as “milk soup” (奶湯) in Northern Chinese cuisine. In other region, the term Baitan (白湯) is also used instead of "milk soup”(奶湯). In classic Shandong cuisine, two different types of soup stocks are used. The “Clear Soup”(清湯) is made by simmering stock bones on low heat and the “milk soup”(奶湯) is made by boiling bones in higher heat to extract the rich creamy flavor from the bones. The Southern Chinese prefer their stock clear for lighter, subtler taste. In the North, maybe because the cold weather, people like to use the richer, bolder soup stock for their noodle.

Another great pictorial, the visual narrative is so clear that I think I can cook this dish just by following the pictures.

No. Different. There are a few threads that talked about the origin of Hakka. ← True, but then what is the influence of Hakka food in Toysan/Taishan or Cantonese cuisine ? Hakka cuisine uses a lot of salted and preserved food in their cooking. Ingredients such as salted fish and preserved mustard green shows up in quite a few of the Cantonese dishes. For example, one of hzrt8w’s dish Secret Salt Baked Chicken (秘制鹽焗雞) is a re-interpretation of the Hakka dish Salt baked chicken (東江鹽焗雞 ) and another dish Fried Fish Cake with Puff Tofu (煎酿豆腐浦) is similar to the idea of Yong tao foo/ stuffed tofu (酿豆腐). I will think if one wants to market Toyson cuisine to people didn’t grow up on it, one will need to put it within the context of “Cantonese Food” for the general public. So, how does Toysan food fit into the whole “Cantonese” cuisine? And for that matter, what is Cantonese Food anyway? Are we talking about the food from the city of Canton, or are we talking about food from the province of Guangdong? Also, how do Chiuchow/Chaozhou/Teochew and Hakka influence the cuisine of Guangdong in addition to Canton and Toyson? Hzrt8w, maybe another thread?

To shorten the preparation, why not keep the shrimp in one piece and maybe prolong the cooking time a bit. Will this work?

Good looking dish, love the garlic. Does shrimp with head always mean that it is fresh and not frozen ?

Irwin: Are these the menus you were referring to? http://www.clubqing.com/food4.shtml http://www.clubqing.com/food2.shtml http://www.clubqing.com/food.shtml I don't recognize most of these dishes, are these “private recipes" ?

For people who are curious about what HK$1000(about $130) will get you in some higher end restaurant in Honk Kong (although not the most expensive): The famous Jumbo Floating Restaurant (the one that in the shape of a boat): http://www.jumbo.com.hk/eng/menu.php Under Dragon Court Menu Jumbo Special Set Menu in HK$980.00 per person (Minimum 2 persons) Braised Superior Shark's Fin w/ Brown Sauce Braised Abalone Sauteed Scallop & Prawn Ball w/ Vegetable in Black Bean Sauce Steamed Fresh Red Spotted Garoupa Scalded Seasonal Vegetable w/ Bamboo Fungus & Chinese Ham in Stock Deep Fried Crispy Chicken Braised E-Fu Noodle w/ Diced Seafood Double Boiled Harsma w/ Almond & Coconut Cream Chinese Pastries Fresh Fruit Platter Under their Shark Fin menu in HK dollars per person: "Jumbo" Supreme Shark's Fin $1,000.00 Braised Superior Shark's Fin Soup $630.00 Braised Shark's Fin Soup w/ Crab's Cream $420.00 Braised Shark's Fin Soup w/ Crab Meat $285.00 Braised Shark's Fin Soup w/ Shredded Chicken $240.00 Braised Shark's Fin Soup w/ Albumen & Bird's Nest $280.00 Double Boiled Shark's Fin w/ Cabbage, Bamboo Fungus & Chinese Ham $360.00 OR a “private/underground” restaurant: http://www.clubqing.com/english.html

For all of us with Mother-in-Laws, can I request a detail pictorial with precise instructions as how to achieve this?

Thank you for sharing your secret ingredients with us. Another clean, precise pictorial that clarifies the cooking steps for the rest of us who didn’t grew up on Cantonese cooking. It is a lot easier to see the steps in photo than to try to follow it from a cookbook. Is there a name for the condiment? It seems to be a standard dipping sauce for many Cantonese Chicken dishes. Also, waht is the difference between Cantonese Salt Roast Chicken vs. Hakka style Dongjiang (East River) Salt Rosted Chicken?

Ruth: I remember reading a story by you years ago in the Times on Chinese haute cuisine. Considering that Michelin Guide didn’t give any star to the Chinese restaurant in the city and there is only a handful of one star Chinese restaurant in France, what do you think will take for Chinese food to be taken seriously? French/Michlin bias aside, what is it that prevent people from wanting that high-end dining experience that the Chinese cuisine, I think, is capable of providing. Thanks William

This is a new one for me, is this a regional thing? How long do you cook the chives for and how do you eat it? Also, how does this make the soup taste?

trillium: What did you end up doing with the pig head? Did you make headcheese? Chinese or American? William

Fengyi is correct. The ancient form of the word for La festival is 臘; the simplified modern version is 腊 . The two words are interchangeable now but with people from mainland seem to use the simplified version more. In fact, the definition in Wikipedia for December uses the character 腊月. But the point of this Geeky discussion is not really about the Chinese characters themselves but rather about the cultural aspect of the food. Chinese bacon didn’t get its name because it was “spicy” nor it was “wax like” but rather because it was the meat ancient Chinese used to offer to the Gods/ancestors during the end of the lunar year. Why is this matter? Because food is a crucial part of Chinese identity for many people in this forum and some (OK, maybe just the really geeky one like me ) may like the fact that the Chinese bacon has a bit more story to tell than the Oscar Myer kind. .......“Oh I wish I were an Os-car Mayer Wie - ner That is what I'd tru-ly like to be 'cause if I were an Os-car May-er Wie - ner Ev-ery one would be in love with me”.... Darn it, now that song is going to be in my head for the rest of the day. It is hard to be a Chinese eater in the land of Hot Dog.

Just to keep the record straight, the "la" in la rou does not mean "spicy" or "waxified" as some translation suggested. "la" is 腊 in 腊月, it is the month of December in the Chinese Lunar calender. The literal tranlation of la rou should be "December Meat". People in China used to make la rou in in December in preparation for the Chinese New Year.

← Dejah is right. Unfortunately, sometime the ability to read Chinese Characters on product names can actually mislead you more about what it is. I also had the hardest time in trying to figuring out why Ya Cai , a fermented tender leaves of mustard green, is called spout vegetable in Chinese. This is another case of poetic Chinese name that has nothing to do with content of the dish; other examples such as Fish-Fragrant Pork, Lion’s Head and Lychee Pork come to mind. I guess this is why we have so many different topics to talk about on this forum.

Pan: I think Qing used the term "germ" to mean spout, seed, as in germination. 發芽 is germinate in Chinese 芽菜/Ya Cai literally mean sprout vegetable in Chinese The name might have come from the idea that Ya Cai is as tender as young sprout. "碎米 Sui Mi" is indeed part of the brand name for Ya Cai, google returns close to 800 search resaults for this brand; I guess it is the crème de la crème of Ya Cai. Qing, please correct me if this were wrong, I am here to learn. William

Qing: Once again, thank you for the information. Guizhou food is not well known, in fact, I can only think of one dish - Sour fish Soup (hotpot). Maybe you or someone from the region can give us an introduction. William

Qing: Thank you for the information. I will look for it next time I go to my local Chinese market. Also, what else can you do with Ya Cai beside in DanDan Mein and why is it "碎米" Ya cai ? (You have notice that I like to ask questions ).

This is pretty much what I have heard about cooking with sand pot. Another thing that I have read is to make sure the base is dry before putting it on the stove top to prevent cracking. Does anyone know why the base need to be dry?

hzrt8w: I was surprice to see that you pre-heat the clay pot at high flame for 5 minutes. Any risk that this will crack the pot? Can you make some comments about how one should use clay pot vs. sand pot in this type of cooking. Thanks

The recipe from Guizhou as listed in New York Times has no Sichuan Peppercorn: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=Po...29&qpid=1065984 The Sichuan version obviously does use it. ← Link to recipe of the Guizhou version should be: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/23/dining/2...agewanted=print

I prefer the dark meat too. Can you list the Chinese name for Zi Ba pepper and how is it different from the Sichuan peppers ?

hzrt8w: Thank you for anoter great pictorial. With all the pictures and clear explaination, I can even do this one. Time for me to get that sand pot out.

Since nobody is taking the bait, I guess I will. Yes, yes, yes, the more sand pot dishes the better !!!

There is a northern dish that stir-fries lop yook/la rou with flowering chives. Does anyone have a good version of it? Thanks