Big Bunny

I have been too busy to find a good recipe to pass on. Off hand, I know that there is one in Nina Simonds' "Classic Chinese Cuisine". BB

I think that they are done essentially the same way as apples. BB

Native American images can be great - Argo starch, Calumet baking powder. BB

"Seasoning" is an ongoing process, more-or-less synonymous with "use." BB

Can double-yolk eggs be fertilized? Can two chicks develop in one shell? BB

Boiled eggs are a great snack with beer. Double-yolk boiled eggs are even better. BB

I have good luck chasing odors by leaving open jars and lids in the sun for a few days. BB

Short sleeves remind you to never throw wet things into hot oil - usually. BB

As I understand it, fish sauce is popular in Fujian. I believe that they even have a style/brands of their own. BB

I am not sure that what Ms Kwong is cooking is "fusion." I admit that I wish she would spend more time collecting recipes, and less showing off, but as much as she "bends" Chinese cuisine, her style does not become become "non-Chinese." Although some of her "touches" are very idiosyncratic (brown sugar comes to mind), they don't "fuse" Chinese cuisine to something else. BB

Some of these books really are bargains. Off hand I can think of the Land-o-Lakes (butter) cookie book(s), and Krinos food's Greek cookbook, written by Diane Kochilas. BB

I got a copy of "My China" last Thursday and did three recipes from the Yangshuo section for Monday supper: cucumber salad (described in the text), stir-fried eggplant and beer-braised whole fish. That with a couple of beers was a nery nice meal. The fish dish is one of the best sweet-and-sour whole fish recipes I know - nice, complex sauce with lots of flavor. This book is a gem. BB

Potato bread is great toasted or fried. BB

I've recently started making stock in a crock pot. The moisture retention makes it easy to produce a rich stock without fussing. BB

It sounds like extreme CYA. BB

Monday and Tuesday I tried the two Fuchsia Dunlop recipes that I linked above: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly...1660789,00.html Both came out well, especially the pasta dish. I had to substitute a Sichuan-style hot paste for the "Turkish chili paste", and replaced leeks and garlic stems with shallots. I used the noodles at hand, angel hair, and had a side of pea shoots sauteed with garlic. Very nice supper. This is neat: I listened to the local classical music station(WBJC) while I fixed supper on Tuesday. Just as I set the table and sat down they played "On the Steppes of Central Asia." Top that! I got the lamb from a nearby Halal butcher. It had good flavor, but I have little experience in selecting and preparing the cuts he carries. The shoulder I got weighed about 2.7 pounds - about half bone - so I ended up with 13 oz. of kebabs and about 10 oz. to make the pasta sauce. The chicken stock I used for the pasta was fairly rich, so the flavor didn't suffer. BB

Any traditional cuisine may be made as healthy or as unhealthy as you like. BB

This thread reminds me of Calvin Lee's book "Chinese cooking for American Kitchens." He tells of being a kid and rejecting jook in favor of American cereals so that he could send the box tops in for secret decoder rings, an the like. BB

The real problem with spices is that you can't buy them in small enough quantities. BB

Fuchsia Dunlop Uighur Recipes: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly...1660789,00.html BB

If you order bad food, that is one mistake. If you then eat it, that is two mistakes. BB

Ditto to the letter, except I got mine at a sidewalk sale. It pairs nicely with the restaurant-style sugar shaker I keep sugar in. BB

This is a wonderful book: a great second book. The recipes are well written, and mostly quite good. It is not a good first book, because, as saluki says, it doesn't have the basics you need to build on. On the other hand, it will quickly give you some great, out-of-the-ordinary company fare. BB

There is only the one book by Kuo. The main work by Pei Mei, out of print (I think) is a trilogy. The first volume - by region, and the second - by ingredient are most useful. The third volume is banquets by region and rather hard to follow. By the way, all recipes are given in Chinese and English, and all are illustrated with a photo. There are zillions of Wei-Chuan books. They are also illustrated and bilingual. One of them, which I don't have, is a general Chinese cookbook. The others cover all sorts of specialities - some by region some by style. They are relatively inexpensive and readily available at book stores and some Chinese groceries. BB

Grilled cheese and tomato. BB