Dejah

As a previous poster said, these blogs continue to be stupendous! Having read your posts, I am so glad to see you blogging. I have had many students from Korea, and our Korean community is growing monthly, it seems. They have introduced me to many Korean dishes and given me Korean cookbooks. So, this is exciting for me to have a glimpse of their country. The Philippines have always fascinated me, but I have never eaten any cuisine from that part of the world. Now, I will have to look for a cookbook. I am so looking forward to learning from you! Your little guys are cute, and I liked the contrast in their names - Jai -for you, and Billy for DH and the USA? My older son's name is Ja-On - for moi, but both sons carry the William for DH.

Your idea of using oats reminds me of the oatmeal porridge my mom used to make in HK for my breakfast. Dad had sent a big container of regular oatmeal from Canada. Not being used to eating NA style porridge, Mom used to make a savory version, much like what you described!

OMG ROFL ← I hope you read all the posts that led up to Ben's comment. ← Whoa!! I do sound like a dirty old man, don't I?? The Devil made me do it!! What thread was that from? ← Check back up on page one of this thread, Ben!

There is nothing better than that plate of gai lan! Do you blanch, steam or quick stir-fry the gai lan? Did anyone make the dry version of jai? I mean the one with the soybeans, dow see lam, fun see, etc? That's the kind where you'd put a spoonful on a lettuce leaf, wrap it and stuff into your mouth. I have the ingredients, just haven't gotten around to making it. I took a big chafer of fun see topped with char siu to our students' CNY party. They didn't bring it out until after I went thru' the food line. I accused them of saving it for themselves. There were several dishes of stir-fried woodear. That's supposed to be traditional - auspicious for CNY. Maybe it is in other parts of China, but I don't remember my mom ever cooking just woodear. I was surprised to see two dishes containing jee toe ( pig stomach). It's one of my favourite organ meats, especially in fu jook tong. Sheetz: Glad you and Bruce liked the ribs. They were indeed finger-lickin'-good!

Seriously, do you REALLYwant it that badly, and I do mean badly?! If you've eaten slow-simmered, well-made, authentic congee, you will forever have that taste and feeling of contentment in memory. I think you will be sorely disappointed with this quick fix. But then, try it and prove us wrong.

OMG ROFL ← I hope you read all the posts that led up to Ben's comment.

I've seen those 1 pc steel ones but they look like they're covered or coated in some type of shiny coating. I'm afraid of that flaking off and getting into the food or melting in high heat. ← Are you talking about the coating that you have to wash/burn off before seasoning a new wok?

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!