Dejah

Periwinkles, from what I remember, are as you described, Ben. I loved eating those in black bean garlic sauce, as well as the ones boiled in along the beachs of the North sea in England. Haven't been able to buy them for a very long time. At first, I thought Ah leung's were clam meat, but the shape is different. Just trying to visualize what I saw in the seafood freezer in Wpg. I may have seen packages of "snail meat", but they were bigger pieces. Man! They make a racket when you toss them around in the wok!

Here are three of the many tems that we enjoyed for CNY. The rest of the food was "disturbed" by the hungry horde before I took pictures. I had enough ingredients prepared to make this jai three times: one for my students' party, one for home, and one last night. I used all the foo-juk for the first batch. The 2 following items: Mah-Lai Goh is from Wei-Chuan's Cantonese Snacks book. On the advice of the "Aunties" I replaced 2 porcelain spoonfulls of the AP flour with equal amount of glutineous rice flour. It gave it more of a dim sum chewy (gnun) texture. The rice flour sesame seed balls turned out much nicer than my first attempt at Mom's last year. It was all in the deep-frying/turning/pressing technique. We don't put red bean paste in the centre for these. We used chopped sweetened coconut and sesame seeds. Once deflated, I cooked them with guy choi.

I do have a couple of questions: [*]What is "velveting"? [*]Is it me, or does Chinese cooking not have a middle sort-of heat? I guess I mean this in two ways. First, the dishes seem to be either delicate or screechingly spicy; and you have soprano heat like ginger and chiles, but there doesn't seem to be anything like the baritone of black pepper, which I thought really improved this dish. Am I just uneducated? ← Dave, Velveting is the process of marinating any meat/seafood for stir-frying with a mixture of seasonings, oil and cornstarch. This process gives a velvety "mouth-feel" to the meat after frying. I cook the meat and vegetables separately, then tossed together for a last minute or so before serving. We DO use pepper, usually white, especially with seafood. That's why your addition of pepper to scallops would really improve this dish. I don't use chilis unless I want fire, but I do use ginger and pepper for a little kick and flavour while maintaining "delicate". Snowangel: I am interested to know how the char siu worked out at 250F. I usually cook mine at 375-400 so there is charring on the "ridges".

← I forgot I had this stuff marinating in the fridge. And, I don't have any S hooks that aren't in use. Should I go to the hardware store? Is there a way that requires less equipment (and less chance of the cook impaling herself on someting)? ← I use thin poultry skewers bent into S hooks when I do char siu. While roasting, I place a pan with water under the strips, to catch the dripping goo and to keep the meat moist.

TP: THose vegetarian shrimps look amazing! Can you get more directions from your Mom for those? Next time we have vegetarian friends over, I'd love to try these. Now we know where you got your exemplary culinary skills - from YOUR MOM!

I know what you mean about getting an even browning on the noodles in a wok. That's why my large crepe pan will work better. Not sure about the kind of noodles Ah Leung uses, but I use cheapies - .88/400g pkg. These I have to cook until al dente, drain, then cooled in the fridge, preferrably overnight. If I don't drain or chill them well, they never crisp up! The ones Ah Leung used may be steamed noodles in the refridgerated section of the grocery? Even these, I find I have to dunk them quickly in boiling water, drain then pan-fry. Your noodles really look light and crispy.

I'm thinking this looks like taro root. Just a guess. ← The green spiky vegetables are indeed bitter melon, a slightly different variety than the ones I use. The Chinese bitter melon I buy has bumpy skin, not spiky. These melons can be used in soup with lots of ginger and oysters, or stir-fried either with meat or stuffed with ground meat and black bean garlic sauce. Medicinally, bitter melon is used for "cooling" the system when you have "too much heat"- and I don't mean hot flashes! The long brown tubers are cassava. The brown "striped" tubers on the left are taro. Taro makes a wonderful savory cake or taro puffs often served at dim sum. Enjoying your blog. Enjoying ALL the blogs! Salivating over the pics of the coconut cake.

Jason, The noodles look wonderful. They appear to be completley crispy rather than crispy in spots. Did you deep-fry them, or did you pan-fry them with lots of hot oil on a hot pan? The only way I can get mine to crisp up evenly is when I use my large crepe pan and chilled egg noodles.

Not sure what ho see soongis exactly. If it is rehydrated oysters stir-fried with fat choi, then Ben Sook, you'll be happy to hear Rebecca made it for Mom. I still want to make the dry jai to eat with lettuce leaves, but I just don't have time! We went out to a CNY buffet at a local restaurant last night. It was wonderful last year, but this time, the owners were away to LA, so the food didn't measure up. Tonight, we'll enjoy the yummy leftovers from our own supper on Sunday.

Dishwasher is running, I am here enjoying a cuppa tea feeling kinda drowsy from eating too much! Supper tonight with our kids: foo juk/ oyster/pork soup, spring rolls, deep fried wontons, salt'n'pepper shrimp and deep fried shrimp in panko crumbs, BBQ duck, siu yook, steamed salty chicken with head and feet on (grossed out grandson! ), Buddha's Delight, fun see with lapcheong and hairy melon, jasmin rice, red bean/lotus nut/almond dessert soup, Mah-li goh, orange and pineapple slices...Lots of leftovers, so 3/4s went home with the kids. Tomorrow, we are all going out to a local restaurant, Kum Lung for their CNY buffet - pretty much the same as what we had tonight. The owners are close family friends, so they would never let us pay. The lucky money for their 4 kids usually cost us more than the tab! After supper, we will go to my Mom's to "bye neen" and hung baos. Grandson's been practising his greeting and bowing.

Shalmanese, Not only am I envious of the food you enjoyed, I am salivating over the scene from your balcony! 新年快乐 (curtesy of Teepee ) We will go to a large potluck party with our university Chinese students association tonight. On Sunday, we'll have supper with our kids. Haven't got the menu pinned down yet, but there won't be any shark fin soup. At Po-Po's, she will have foo jook soup with dried oysters at the "altar", so that may well appear at our table. If she were younger, there would have been bird's nest or shark fin soup. I have live crabs, lotus root, ginko nuts, snow peas, black moss, siu jook, chicken all sitting in the fridge. It's just a matter of doing, I suppose! Grandson wants his bean thread, so "Ants on the Hill" will be for longevity!

Now Ben Sook, don't you see Gastro's outstretched palm and big smile on her face? Why do you think she's here just in time for CNY!? As my kids will say, " Gung Hai Fat Choi! Lai see DAI LAI!" My Chinese students have organized a CNY party for tomorrow night. Tonight, I'll make some lobak goh to take along. I may also take a dish of fat choi with lotus root, peas, etc. Yesterday, I took in my "toon hap" full of candied carrots, lotus roots, lotus nuts, coconut ribbons, winter melon and melon seeds. It was emptied before the day ended!

First year? According to cantonese custom (that is, if you're cantonese...if not, you're safe..or maybe not), you've to give DOUBLE angbaos. Have fun! ← Yes, first year. It'll be six months on Feb 13th. Yes, I'm Cantonese (half Toysanese, half HK), but Mom never said anything about DOUBLE angbaos. ← I understand "DOUBLE angbaos" to mean one from you, and the second angbao from your husband. At least, that's what I was told when I got married. It must be traditon as I got married SO LONG AGO!!

Is there to be a "potluck meal" at grandma's? Traditionally, you would take some fruit (oranges, apples, peaches, etc), red candies and pastries to your family's home on CNY. That's what I will take to my Mom's on the second day...never on New Year's day because I am a daughter. I will most likely take apples and peaches, some Chinese Lucky candy, and steamed sponge cake with sesame seeds sprinkled on top- cut into large wedges. I must not take a "naked cake" in one piece, thus the sesame seeds and the wedges. I have never taken anything that would be served as part of the meal. We made sesame seed balls on the weekend. They turned out better than last year.

I saw some documentary programs on Discovery that they discovered that workers used rice portridge (congee) as an agent to glue the stones together in building The Great Wall. When dried and harden, congee is really strong. ← Ah Leung!!!Ben and I just finished explaining to miladyinsanity that Cantonese congee is not glue!

We expect pictures, of course!

Yes, I meant oatmeal porridge. As I said, porridge, to me, is a misnomer for congee which is made with rice. I've made congee for many years and have never soaked the rice before cooking. I just make my stock with a fresh chicken carcass and ginger., add the needed amount of rice (I don't even bother to wash and rinse) and let it simmer for about an hour. Then I'd add silkened chicken, fish , beef or pork - whatever I want. If I want a smoother congee, I can use a whisk to break up some of the rice...or thicken with a slurry made with glutinous rice flour.

Soup is not so different from stew...just more liquid. You can add lots of ingredients, then reduce and thicken with a cornstarch slurry for a stew. If you want to make stew, then try braising with pork belly, or trotters, spareribs, along with some carrot, celery, etc. Just improvise. I think lotus probably works best with pork.

Made the lotus root soup yesterday along with rehydrated octopus, 2 pork hocks, ginger and ham choi. I had double boiled the pork hocks, simmered them with the rehydrated octopus for about three hours before I added the lotus root. I tried the lotus 3 ways, cut lengthwise, one link "smashed", and one link not peeled and left whole. They all turned out the same, stringy and tender. I thought the rounder links were supposed to be more starchy, but this bag proved me wrong! This is going to be the Year of the Dog. Our Atticus was hopeful The lotus root was stringy, the pork hocks and octopus were very tender.

I think "porridge" is a misnomer for congee. Porridge, in a bowl, when tipped to its side, does not reveal any liquid. Congee, on the other hand, is a clearly discernible mix of broth and rice, whether granular, or broken up. Porridge will stick to your spoon - before you add the milk and sugar. Congee will slurp back into the bowl. From the image TP posted about Teochew style congee, it reminds me more of fan chew (bottom of the pot crispy rice soup)...so delicious! I like my congee with a mix of broken down rice along with some whole grains of rice...but NEVER glue-like. Long grain jasmine is what I use for congee. Haven't added fu yu to congee for a long time. See! That's what so great about eGullet - reminds me of food that I love but have forgotten!

After reading jhirshon's method of preparing shark fins, I wonder - what's the point of shark fin soup? There's the prestige of spending big bucks and exotic source, and the texture, but the flavour of this ingredient has been boiled/ steamed/rinsed out. If the delicious flavours are from the stock and other ingredients in the final product, you can use different lengths of bean thread for texture...much less work and expense! That's something my mom used to make - not to fool anyone that it's shark fin soup - just as a nice soup filled with flavour and texture but easy to make. The first time she made this was for my son's Caucasian playmate; they were 10 at the time. Ja and Reagan were trying to out-do each other in the "most outrageous thing" they've ever eaten. Of course, Ja said "shark fin soup". Reagan wouldn't believe Ja, so they asked Po-Po to make some. Po-Po, wanting to make her grandson look good, but lacking time and resources at that moment, came up with this soup. She's been Reagan's hero ever since. The boys are now 27 years old, and Reagan still talks about this...and still hasn't been told the truth!

I cut mine into chunks lengthwise - still manageable with chopsticks and maintaining the "strings". Kids love playing with those. Throw the chunks into a big pot with pieces of leg of pork, (I buy the skin-on/bone-in pieces), acouple big pieces of ginger, rehydrated octopus, some stalks of ham choi. Let it simmer on the stove for hours...

I'm with you, Ben. I do understand the admiration of the diners toward the chef who goes through all that work for a dish, cost-wise and time-wise, but I will pass on making it. ← I believe Ben, jo-mel and I are probably the "should be revered elders" in this group. We want to just sit back and let you young'uns buy and make these delectable dishes for us to enjoy!

Fuzhu - Do you mean the 12 inch or so long dried pieces of dofu skin? Your friends are right in thinking they look like some innards of an animal...all wrinkled etc... I'd be surprised if you can't find that stuff in Montreal. We even have them here (a small prairie city of 44,000 with a very small Asian population ) at the local supermarket. Loads of the stuff on sale at the moment because of the upcoming Chinese New Year. The dried stuff will be hard to get home without being broken into tiny pieces.

Also (sorry another question!), some of the people I have coming over for CNY are allergic to seafood. Is it OK to miss out the dried shrimp? Is there something you would recommend for a substitute? Thanks again! ← In place of dried shrimp, you can use ham choi (salty turnip). Just soak a piece in water for a few minutes, rinse off and dice into small peices. Really, there are so many flavours already, I don't think the shrimp will be missed.