Dejah

From the pictures in Andrea Nguyen's book, I wonder if the ones on the left could be wild betel leaf. From the long-leaf shape in the right package, they could be sorrel OR "hung" a variety of mint.

Thanks for all the enticing photos of your part of the world, and of the food. I dipped my big toe across the border to Maine while travelling around the Maritime provinces years ago, had a taste of the deep fried clam strips, and vowed to make a trip just for Maine one day. You've got me pulling out the road atlas for next summer! I noticed that you like to have certain sauces, condiments on a "red plate" close at hand when cooking. What works well for me is a plastic Lazy Susan. I had one of those 5-separate-dishes serving platters that sat on a Lazy Susan. One of the compartments broke and I wasn't able to use it. While shopping at a second hand store, I saw another set with exactly the same dishes, and missing one. I was delighted now that I not only had a complete set for serving, I also had 2 extras! But, what will I do with the extra "Susan"? It works perfectly to hold my most used spices and sauces by my stove.

Hard to tell - try comparing the leaves with pictures of basil or perilla on Gernot Katzer's web site. ← The centre one is perilla. The one on the right could be basil.

There was until recently, but I wouldn't have dignified the thing they served with the name hamburger. They were truly awful. ← The Wimpy burgers were truly terrible. I remember wanting so badly to try one when we were in England - 1976. The ones we had were made of pork. I wonder if they used old discarded cardboard as in the "bao story in China", 'cos that's exactly what they tasted like! Didn't see any Wimpy restaurants this spring when we visited England. On the Canadian prairies, we had the "nip". That's what they were called in the 50s, 60s. Now they are called burgers with various names, except for Salisbury House restaurants. They are still called Nips, but not as good as they used to be - at least in my memory. Is /Was "nip"a common term in other parts of Canada and USA? Perhaps Pam R would know if Salisbury House is only on the prairies. Burton Cummings of the Guess Who fame has lent his name and finances to one of the newer restaurants in Winnipeg.

I really don't think so if this dish was served in a Chinese restaurant / take away, 'cos cream of mushroom soup would not be cost effective Having had my own Chinese restaurant, I would bet it was the cheaper way of cornstarch slurry and stock and not cream of mushroom soup. BTW, were there mushroom bits in the sauce?

Not a movie title, but how about the line from Bogey: "Here's looking at YOU, Kid"

That's what I was thinking. ← Noooooo....... Anna and Suzi have the right combination. A little soya or oyster sauce would lend more of a cream colour. It's more like an opaque sauce rather than cream coloured, I'd think. You could add egg white but that would give a "thread - like" appearance.

I didn't know you eat the bitter melon leaves, tho' I've eaten lots of bitter melons. U toy / Yu choi is a variety of Chinese greens. They are wonderful quickly stir-fried with chopped garlic and ginger, and drizzled with oyster sauce or sesame oil just before serving. I also like them blanched and eaten with noodle / wonton soup. Green beans that look like crab apples? Were they mis-labelled and are actually Thai eggplant?

I think foil was used because it was cheaper and easier to find than parchment / cellophane paper? At least, that was the case with my own restaurant on the prairies.

Dry ho fun = gon chow ho fun. I'll have to take out my splatter screen and try the crispy ho fun. Have never heard of that but it sounds good! To add to the confusion, I grew up with a soup noodle dish called "Yut gah mein". The noodles came in dried form. Once added to the broth, it softened into chewy noodles. These were white which makes me think they were made without eggs? I am almost certain they were made with wheat flour. Wish I had a box to check but it's one of those items that you tuck away in your memory to be pulled out by threads like this!

Well, of course you did! Where else would you sit? When I was growing up, the place with the pu pu platters was the Moon Palace. I remember breaded shrimp and spring rolls and some beef on a skewer that you had to finish cooking over the flame. I don't remember what else was there - but something about the sizzle and the char was very enjoyable. The Moon Palace looked nothing like your Kowloon. It was a modern space in a strip mall. I imagine it would have been even more enjoyable if they had a Volcano room. ← Pam: Did you ever go to the Beachcomber on Carlton? It was located in the Carlton Hotel. May well be before your time. The interior was Polynisian, not quite as elaborate as Kowloon, with a waterfall in the centre of the dining room. The bar was like a grass hut, with bamboo stools, tropicial flora everywhere. Guests walked across a bridge and stream going into the dining room. I don't remember ordering a pu pu platter there, but most of the menu was Cantonese, and Polynisian if you ordered ones with "pineapple or lichee nuts". They also served steak and lobster, etc. I was most impressed on a date when the waiter brought me a fresh gardenia with our menu. They served drinks with an umbrella. The first time I encountered pu pu platter was in Nashville, in 1975 at a Chinese restaurant called Choy's next to Opryland. The platter looked like Chris's Pennisula Platter. There were four of us eating from it, and we could hardly eat anything else after. I remember BBQ ribs, chicken wings, egg rolls, wontons, and I'm sure a couple of other items. On our menu, we called this the appetizer platter with BBQ pork, BBQ chicken wings, wontons, and egg rolls.

Markemorse, Your incredible blog is right up there with Chufi's! I learned quite a lot from her about Amsterdam before visiting in the spring; unfortunately, I wasn't there long enough to be adventurous food wise. I am learning about a whole different world of food reading through your week here. So fascinating to see the blend of cuisine from the colonies. We hope to be within reach of Amsterdam again next spring. I will be more prepared to venture into the foods you and Chufi have introduced. As for the "fo lam" - you said spit roasted pigglet. I'm wondering if it's the same as siu yook where the skin is blistered and crisp? Typically, the seasoning is nam yeu (fermented tofu), brown bean paste, 5-spice, etc. I can see where that would be perfect in a crispy roll with its layers of fat and lean.

Definitely messy, juicy, chewy, lip-smackin' goodness. Well done!

For me, I'd leave the meat on the bone, then get all sticky and messy gnawing and chawing. That's half of the flavour!

Braising Chinese style with soya sauce, star anise, ginger, palm sugar, etc Or, I would even attempt beef rendang if you don't want a stew or soup - just finger licking spicy sticky goodness. Both of these methods require 3-4 hours of slow simmering that would allow for "slurping from the bone"

Very cool to see you outside the Chinese cuisine forum, Kent! I used to cook oxtails and collard greens for acouple of southern basketball players attending our university. Not quite like their mama's but close enough to fill the void.

Oh, that looks so delicious! Do you think they would survive in the mail? ← It would survive FedEx, but it won't pass Homeland Security!

Not sure where to post these as joongzi season is over, and this is what we've been eating the last couple of days. I finally made my annual supply of joongzi this past weekend. To my traditional Toisanese fillings, I made some according to Tepee's Malaysian style with beef rendang. Didn't take any pictures of the tradtional ones with salty pork belly, lap cheung, dong goo, onion, peanuts, and salty duck egg yolk. But it was more work this time as the only eggs available were cooked duck eggs! The flavour was excellent, but it was a pain having to cut them open just so, then scoop out the yolk with a small spoon. I had A LOTof egg whites, so I distributed them to all my Chinese students. Here is a picture of the pork belly after curing for 3 days in coarse salt. This is one with beef rendang: Soooooo Good!

Robin, Why are you afraid of frying? Is it the splatters? If yes, then cut the sleeves off an old long sleeve shirt, sew a channel at the top, thread an elastic thru' it, and wear them over your arms when frying. It protects your arm from splatters as well as sleeves of good clothes. I made beef rendang this weekend again, but this time, I was using it as filling for joong (sticky rice in bamboo leaves). The aroma was most enjoyable throughout the 4 hours of slow simmering, and the flavour was just as good as last time. eGulleteer Tepee's recipe had black beans. I didn't have any, so I used stir-fried peanuts and Spanish onion. Mr. Oseland suggested shredded lime leaves in the finished dish, so I added some on top of the meat. The joong were wrapped in bamboo leaves - the Toisanese style. These were boiled for 2.5 hours outside on a turkey fryer. Here are some pictures: This is the chuck roast I cut up and mixed with all the spice paste. My lemongrass knots looked better this time, but still "rustic" as Pan says. I doubled the recipe. The rendang after one hour of simmering. I changed it over to my non-stick pot as my Crueset is getting too worn out at the bottom. I was afraid of food sticking and scorching. Wish I had taken a better picture of the finished product. You can refer to my post about my first attempt on this recipe. I also added springs of cilantro thinking I'd need some colour. It basically disappeared from the boiling! The white stuff is a mixture of jasmine and sweet rice, washed, drained well, and seasoned with salt and MSG. The peanuts were stir-fried but still have their skin on. The black blotch is the bamboo leaves, We had some for supper, along with summer rolls stuffed with rice noodles, carrot, green onion, beansprouts and fresh mint leaves. Here's a blurry close-up: We loved this new variety of joong!

Wonderful travelogue, Sheena. I was looking at the Korean watercress. Does it grow in soil or water? It "almost" looks like Chinese celery, but the stalk is not big enough to be. This is the first time I have ever seen sesame leaves. Is it possible to describe the taste or aroma? It is eaten raw - like lettuce?

Hubby had Peking Duck pizza in Tarzana, Calif. It was several years ago so he can't remember the sauce - whether it was tomato or plum base. I have made pizza with Chinese sausage (lap cheong) with just a light smear of tomato sauce.

Beautiful looking dungies! Were they as big as they looked in the picture? The ones in Sobeys are $7.99/lb, and smallish. Nice plating of the flank steak.

The Javanese curry looks so good. I can just imagine the rice soaking up some of that sauce. Jean-genie mentioned that the sauce is thinner in SE Asian "stews" so the rice soaks up the flavour. I can enjoy that as much as "coating" the rice with a smooth, thicker sauce. I need to hold back the slurry cup! Besides, less cornstarch, less WW points. I think I had too much curry paste in my pan to allow the chicken to brown. Remember Tepee? She mentioned making joong with beef rendang. I'll be making that this weekend along with the traditional Chinese joong.

I'm Chinese. My parents did, and I was taught to silken/velvet meats. I always do it at home as well as when I owned a restaurant. It really gives meat a nicer texture. Now, different people do it differently. I, as well as Ah Leung, Ben Hong, and maybe others, silken by mixing cornstarch and oil with the meat. Others pass the meat quickly through oil or boiling water. I've never done the latter, and have never seen my parents or other Chinese people do it. Which method are you referring to, Prawncrackers?

Was this the final product, or did you continue to cook the stew to reduce the liquid? Is it traditional in these parts of SE Asia for the liquid portion of a dish to remain fluid - other than rendang where it reduced to a glaze? Must be the NA influence on my preference because I like to use cornstarch slurry to thicken sauces just enough for it to slide lazily down a spoon. Lovely looking stew regardless!