Dejah

Teepe: Everything look luscious! That's the only word I can think of at the moment to describe the fresh, moist, flavourful, looking dishes you were served. They still can't touch your cooking tho. OZ? Did I see that you are going to OZ? Another cooking/baking class related trip? Remember to take pictures. I want to ask about the osmanthus: What is the Chinese name for it? The pictures I googled look like our honeysuckle flowers. Peony: I, too, am interested in your osmanthus waterchestnut jelly. My s-i-l makes waterchestnut goh, but this would be a nice change. That fish shaped nian goh is amazing! You young'uns are leaving this Old Fart way behind in your ingenuity! Wonderful cooking; beautiful presentations; incredible torture!

What a question to ask your elders!

Hungarian mushroom soup.

Our eGulleteer Tepee posted a link to an article about fatt choi - hairy moss seaweed. It seems the Here's the link: My Webpage The article said but the bag I have had for at least 20 years is black. Did they have artificial black moss back in the 80s?Anyway, I love it, but don't eat excessive amounts. And, I'm still alive and kickin'!

Oh Boy! Do we have snow! We've cleared off the front steps many times, and it just keeps filling right back up. We had 28 cms, and I think it's all on my walkway. It was a warm melting day tho' - sunshine and all- once the snow stopped falling this morning. Ribs were on sale at Sobey's, so I cooked up some with hoisin sauce, a little bit of sherry, 5-spice powder, and a sprinkle of sugar. A close up: We had watercress soup and sauteed mushrooms instead of rice with these. Right now, I have some pork butt strips marinating in the same mixture for char siu. We'll be taking that to the Chinese students' party tomorrow night.

And I wasn't invited!! Absolutely gorgeous looking spread. ← Mmmmmm....gee mah woo. Haven't had that since my daughter was born.

Don't listen to Ben Sook. He speaks Toisanese with an accent! Gow (same as dog) is Cantonese, ghee is Toisanese with an accent. In true Toisanese: it's gi (hard G, long I) gai dee! The pronunciation really depends on the district your village is located in.

Maybe I have misunderstood something. Are we talking about the fermented bean curds? They are heavily salted. And you need to add salt to improves its flavor? ← Yeap. Trust me, it was soooooooooooooooo bland. It was like eating a "phay" as my mom says. ("Ho chee sec a phay". Oh so unladylike of her but it's funny as hell.) To a very small 2oz jar, I had to add like a tablespoon of salt. The next day, it was soooo good. ← Maybe being sick has affected your tastebuds? Different parts of your tongue senses different tastes. I can't imagine adding salt to fuyu! Remember, Gastro: fermentation - and it ain't going to smell like wine!

Ben is correct. Nam yu has red rice added, thus the red colour. The flavour is different and I believe it is usually cooked with food. Fu Yu can be cooked with food also, but you can eat it without cooking - as a condiment on rice, jook, any bland food for that kick. My Mom uses nam yu to braise daikon, pork belly, but I'm not a big fan. Give me that jar of fuyu instead!

Those are the basic flavours of fu yu, right?

Ack! Not you too! Is what Gastro Mui got infectious?! (Dejah Jeah gets out the surn fung cha!)

Oddly, enough, my girl friend swears by this as well (minus the sake.) Whenever she feels a cold or fever coming on, she goes to the best hot and sour soup making restaurant and buys a huge helping. ← I too agree this is a wonderful remedy for colds, flu, even hangovers Some former customers still phone me for "a favour" when they are sick. However, I am concerned about the spiciness on gastro's sore throat. Mind you, if she has strep throat, it'll kill and clean out any bacteria as it passes through!

Pan: This is a technique of putting liquid and ingredients such as ginseng in a special ceramic container, which in turn, is set in a large pot filled 3/4 ways with boiling water. The ceramic contain of food is set to low boil for sometimes 4 hours to condense all the nurtrients. We were discussing this in another thread" Chinese cooking techniques?

WINO!

Fu yu would be delicious in jook, especially when your tastebuds may be affected by the flu/cold. Childhood memories always taste better! Maybe ask your mom what brand she used to buy. I don't think you'd want fermenting tofu in your apt.

Hot jook will make you sweat, so it will help reduce temperature. H'n'S soup: You have a sore throat, so I would stay away from too much spice. A cool shower, or even a cool wet towel on your head, in particular, on top of your head will reduce fever. That's where you lose heat from your body the quickest. We always tell newcomers to NA to cover the head in cold winter weather, otherwise, they will lose a lot of body heat.

No, I wish I had them! Maybe someone more knowledgeable can chime in and tell me what it's really called, so I can buy some to keep on-hand. ← Try "hap jie cha" "surn fong cha", or "wong low gut cha" with added slices of fresh ginger. I couldn't copy and paste the picture of the box, but it's shown here: My Webpage post #80. YEA! I just discovered how to link to a URL! Coke is boiled with fresh ginger slices. I don't know if the Coke actually does anything. It was probably concocted by some devious mother to get her kid to drink ginger tea. Salt water solution is good for gargling - disinfectant for the throat. If you gargle, you'll feel the relief right away, but it doesn't last long. You have to keep doing it, several times a day.

Interesting! I remember trying to convince my childhood friends that the purple-coloured Smarties tasted very different from the others, (with the other colours still tasting different, but not as much so.) My friends were convinced I was crazy and kept trying to "test" me by feeding me Smarties blindfolded, but I could always pick out the purple ones. It made for a good game at recess... ← And more M&Ms for you!

How many dishes are you planning to serve? Is this for a party or a simple family meal? Some suggestions: a simple soup such as wintermelon (with Chinese mushroom, little bits of ham, in flavourful stock), stir-fried mixed vegetable, or single vegetable like baby bak choi, Shanghai bak choi, pea tips, with beef or chicken slices, and fried rice or noodle dish (chow mein, mung bean thread, rice noodles). For sweet tong yuen, in addition to Gastro's suggestion, you can add fresh or rehydrated bak hap (lily bulb), leen jee (lotus seeds), hung yun (Chinese almond or whatever else they were called in another post! )

Is there a recipe for the broth? ← Maybe just beef bones or shank with some ginger slices? It really depends on how you want to use the broth. For Vietnamese pho, that's a whole different story. Ask c. sapidus!

Is crocodile meat readily available in Singapore? My mom used to "oon'd" a specific kind of dried lizard/salamander with yeuk toy (herbs) for my grandfather who was asthmatic. These lizards are dressed, stretched out and dried, and I have seen them still in Chinese herbal shops.

I know what you mean. This is especially a problem when I test new recipes because I hate to throw away my failures. It's just so un-Toisanese! A professional? Oh, that's a good one! I'm just a self taught amateur who loves to cook. I've never even worked in a McDonalds. ← I love that term: un-Toisanese. Well, sheetz, you're a good teacher!

Does using Coca Cola add a distinctive flavour to the chicken? Would diet Coke work the same? ← Dejah -- I would think that Diet Coke would not work because it contains aspartame, which breaks down in cooking. ← Thanks SuzySushi. Didn't think about that. But then, I don't think "diet" with ingredients when I cook. I'm supposed to cook chicken for Po-Po's supper tonight. Still trying to decide whether I want to braise with mushrooms, chestnuts, wood ear and lily buds, or Coca Cola chicken and the rest in stir-fry with lotus root. Maybe it's time for something different - like Coca Cola chicken! Sheetz: When I made the baos, I made the dough quite thin, to cut down on "WW points". Usually, they are bigger/fluffier dough-wise. I was glad they were ear-marked for others or we'd eat them everyday, all day long! With all the beautiful food you've produced, are you a professional in business? or a professional home-cook?

Only if I can come to your "open house"! I really think we need to have a cookboree/jamboree. Can you imagine the food we'd have? Irving Berling:

Ah Leung, Silow, A job well done! You've done the China and Chinese Cuisine forum proud. Now, git back in that kitchen and cook up more pictorials!