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Big Bunny

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Posts posted by Big Bunny

  1. Haven't seen My China, but I took a look at the above recipe links (I know, they are not from My China). Chinese food? Nah. Good (australian) fusion recipes? I'd give her the benefit of doubt.

    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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. I use a small shaker designed for parmesan cheese.  I rarely measure salt when I cook but I can grab the box of Kosher salt or unscrew the lid when I do measure out salt.  I think I paid all of $2 for it at Wal-Mart.

    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

  5. An oddball one that I like very much but is not an all round basic one is called

    The People's Republic of China Cookbook by Nobuko Sakamoto.  Some of the dishes are  real keepers.

    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

  6. Any books by Irene Kuo, Wei-Chuan publishing, or Pei-Mei that really stand out in your mind?

    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

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