Dejah

Looks like Nova Scotia, so it must be Shaya.

Chufi, Your third blog is a feast for my eyes. I am sorry we didn't get to meet when I was there so briefly in April, but I love seeing all the places I missed! We only had four days in your beautiful city but we loved every minute of it. Blog on and make me salivate!

So much catching up to do! Back from holidays, back to teaching, then my computer got infected when my housesitter's gf opened a "postcard". The tech said +3000 viruses! They had to wipe my hard drive clean. Anyhow, did someone say "Joong"?! How about these? http://www.hillmans.soupbo.com/soos/joongzi.html or http://www.hillmans.soupbo.com/soos/joong2.html It's getting to that time of the year again! I bought some fresh bamboo leaves while I was in Winnipeg. At least I won't have to soak them before using. Mom tells me I should still boil them in vinegar and water beofre using.

Hey Folks! Here I am in Amsterdam - actually at the seaside resort of Scheveningen. It was 29 C yesterday! We are here as guests of Disney International for the Eueopena opening night of Tarzan the Musical. Haven't tried any Chinese food here - but we did go to the New King in Amsterdam's Chinatown on Chufi's recommendation. The food was very good but man! the prices are something else! Back to topic: XiaoLing: Try using the fatty pieces with ham ha. Lay some pieces of the pork on the bottom of a dish, smear some ham ha on top, add slivers of ginger, steam. YUM! The fatter pieces are the best.

Here we are in Amsterdam, actually, we WERE in Amsterdam. We are now in Scheveningen? I still can't pronouce it! When we were in Amsterdam, we did eat at New King. I am amazed at the small size of the restaurants, but this one had 3 floors. It was easier for me to order as the staff spoke Cantonese - my first language. Didn't try the oysters, but the black pepper chicken, the assorted roasted meats, and the choy sum and tofu was very good. The hot and sour soup was a little different, and the duck roll was a first for me. Now I will have to try and make it. Tomorrow night, we'll tery one of the theatre menus. Thanks for a great country! and the recommendations! Dejah

Peter: Thank you so much for this gastro-blog. If I keep reading posts and seeing pictures from people like you, it just might push me over the edge and book a visit to my native land! Carry on! Dejah

It's called fish fragrant because that particular sauce/aroma is generally used for fish dishes, Dejah-Mui. ← Really? I wouldn't have thought that - with the Sichuan chili bean paste, vinegar, etc? ← Chili bean paste, black vinegar, soy and sugar (optional) is a very common way to cook fish in Wuhan, Sichuan, and Hunan. Sometimes we would leave out the chili bean paste and replace it with dried chilis but the vinegar will always be there (aka red braised.) In every household in those provences you will always find them making Dou Ban Yu (Chili Bean Fish) or Hong Shao Yu (Red Braised Fish.) ← I was right! It's so obvious I should be embarassed. I have to stop thinking that Chinese cooking means onlyToisanese style. I liked Bruce's explanation better though.

It's called fish fragrant because that particular sauce/aroma is generally used for fish dishes, Dejah-Mui. ← Really? I wouldn't have thought that - with the Sichuan chili bean paste, vinegar, etc?

I've been so busy lately that usually supper gets cooked, eaten, cleaned off without pictures. Students will write their final exam tomorrow, so no prep. to do this weekend. I'm also getting ready to go to Amsterdam and England for 2 1/2 weeks come April 9th, so will get my fill of posting before I leave! Supper tonight was lily bulb soup with pork tenderloin and pork breast bones, and spareribs steamed with meen see and plums in brine. Didn't get a pic of the soup though. I made fish-fragrant eggplant a la Land of Plenty with the addition of velvetized pork tenderloin slices served atop of panfried tofu: I was leery of the "fish-fragrant" part of the title, but it was very good. Can someone tell me WHY it's called fish fragrant? Bruce? Probably so obvious that I should be embarrassed in asking.

XiaoLing: Rachellindsay may be talking about a different liquid - poaching as opposed to your braising liquid? I know "lo siu" is used again and again - the more times, the better the flavour. I use my braising liquid, then save it in containers in the freezer, freshen with more flavouring ingredients, then freeze again. The fat should be kept on top as a sealant. I suppose you could stir-fry vegetables with the fat. This was the sixth use of this batch: braised pork butt with lobak and see goo:

Most interesting writing and photos. Thank you, peter! Could you maybe identify some of the names and faces I've encountered in your travelogue? Serena? Scud? Yoonhi? Who are the vermin? This is like a foodblog. Enquiring minds want to know and see all!

"dee toy" (Cantonese "gee choy") and "hoi dai" are not the same thing. The former: purple in color, small and curly. The latter: green in color, shaped like the leaves of plants. "gee choy" is more used in savory soups. "hoi dai" is more used in sweet dessert soups (e.g. mung beans). The green shreds that they serve in Japanese sushi restaurants (mixed with sesame oil and sesame seeds) are one kind of "hoi dai" I think. "Gee choy" (or one specie of it) is the kind they used to wrap sushis, I think. ← Hmm, interesting. So the problem, it sounds like, might be that I'm using the wrong kind of seaweed? I've never noticed this purplish seaweed in the stores, but I'll keep an eye out. The dried hai dai that I buy comes in large sheets, not really leaf-shaped. Thanks, everyone!-al ← alwang: If you do a google, for zi cai, hoi dai or kombu, you'll find information on all of these. zi cai is the one you would want for soup.

I'm not sure if it's the same stuff I call dee toy in Toisanese (purple choi - literally). I buy it as a "pancake" of dried purple seaweed. The seaweed is soaked and rinse it well for sand and small snails. When the soup bone / pork ribs have been simmering for sometime to tenderize the meat and flavour the stock, I add the seaweed. Bring this to a boil and let it simmer until the seaweed is just tender... I can't even tell you for how long! As alwang said, it can turn slimy is cooked for too long.

But... but... but... The purpose of using wrappers is to separate the meat from the broth - because meat will cloud up the broth. Chinese (Cantonese anyway) typically like clear broth with wontons. The minute you add the left over meat in it, it will cloudy up the broth. ← It won't if there is no cornstarch used in the filling.

The custard would be easy enough to do in large trays, and made a day ahead. It's the shells that would require YOUR help. If you make the chicken balls with bread crumbs instead of batter, it can be done. Let's see, six meat balls / person x 300 = 1800 - easy!

Because the wrappers are yummy? Besides, she may have a little filling left, but no more wrappers. It's better to throw it into the soup rather than freezing a golf ball size. The keyword is leftover!

Dale: On the stuffed boned chicken - check out sheetz's presentation in this thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=97856&st=30 Can't remember the # of the post, but it's in his picures of his CNY meal. Incredible! The dried lily flowers you got are the right ones for Mu Su Pork. The pork dish you got from the take out was probably char siu - Chinese BBQ pork. Was it listed as appetizer on the menu? The red colour is probably from red food colouring.

From the pictorial, snekes appears to have added the sliced lapcheung as a separate ingredient with leftover wonton filling meatballs. Ah Leung Si Low-ah: Put your glasses on lah. Lapcheung would not work well IN the filling as that would ruin the texture. Slices add great flavour eaten alongside of wontons and all the other goodies in the soup, however.

Looking forward to the pictures!

Alum is found in the spice section in most grocery chains - as sheetz said - McCormick spices. It definitely is not the same as lye water which is used in the non-savory joongzi my mom enjoys. The recipe I have from Pei Mei's books call for alum, baking soda, and powdered ammonia. I remember making it once in the restaurant - and my cook called it "chou (as in ouch) fun" - stinky powder. I can't recall the scientific name for it, but I had to go to a baker for this.

I'm wondering if the difference is the wording: peashoots and peasprouts? Peashoots would be the tips of a legume plant growing in soil, while peasprouts would be like alfalfa, mustard, broccoli, radish, and mung bean sprouts that are sprouted hydroponically. Peasprouts would be very tender in a dish. Peashoots can be tough if too mature when picked. The first time I heard about them was when my cook's wife immigrated to Canada. She talked about the "new vegetable" everyone was eating - the growing tips of the pea plants. We thought she was crazy, spoiled, to mutilate a plant that produces these beautiful snow peas. But, they are delicious in a simple stir-fry.

Pea shoots, like bean sprouts, should be available around the year. They don't need soil to grow. Just water. It should be quite easy to grow at home too. ← WHAT? Peashoots don't need soil? Are they not the tips of growing plants that produce snow peas. Well, at least, the ones I buy are the tips. Maybe there are different types? Edited to add: I just checked through your pictorial, Ah Leung. Yours are definitely a different type than what I know. The kind I buy in Wpg. ARE the tips of the snow pea plant. They are labelled as "dow miu". But I can't see how, if they're grown in water and have such small stems, that they could withstand stir-frying.

Your pictorial is excellent! The version was indeed labour intensive, but I'll bet your last drop of the soup that you were well rewarded. My method of wrapping is similar to yours, except I use egg white. I don't use cornstarch in the filling either as the chopped shrimp provides the "binding". Try adding chopped waterchestnut into the filling mix next time. They add a nice texture. It seems that you have combined three of my favourite soups into one: wonton, yut gah meen, and savory tong yuen. I would call this version not just wonton soup, not war wonton, but Delux Yut Gah wonton soup - enough for the whole family!

Congrats, misducky , on both weight management and new job! Your blogging is very timely as a collegue of mine and his wife are off to San Diego this weekend for spring break. I'll send them eGullet to follow so they will be well prepared.

Are they like little balls with tiny tentacles? They are usually served as dim sum? I'll have to look next time I'm in the city. Thanks, trillium.