Dejah

I think a lot of aspiring cooks should clean out their kitchen drawers and jettison a lot of the toys therein, and really start to learn techniques. Like you said Ah Leung, is there really a need for egg beaters, garlic presses, 5 different tongs, mandolines, 20 different knives, etc., ad nauseam? A pair of chopsticks, a sharp medium Chinese cleaver (or a heavy 8" chef's knife) will meet 95% of my needs. I absolutely hate wasting time looking for, setting up,and washing the "toys". Garlic press indeed ← Well! I, for one, love kitchen gadgets.hrumph! I may only use them once in a blue moon - or is it on a full moon?, but I love getting them as gifts. My drawers are getting full, so I try to keep all these "useless gadgets" in one place. They are fun to use when China and I are trying new recipes. My knives are in a wood block, and I like different knives for different purposes. It really depends on my mood (so full moon may well explain my eccentricity!) On the topic of knife blocks, has anyone ever found a block that has an opening for a real Chinese cleaver? I am tempted to "saw" one in my block myself.

Dry turkey? There's no such thing! I agree with Ben, leave Thanksgiving turkey and fixings non-Asian. I used to cringe everytime a customer says, "Where's the turkey chop suey? lemon, turkey, etc." This is not Chinese cooking, but a hint given by a local chef said to roast the bird breast down. This way, the fat will drip to the breast and keep it moist.

Lovely looking liu rjwong. I'm glad to see someone else think in the same mode as I. There's no point in taking the time for all the prep. with more rice than liu! With what rjwong has in his pictorial, you can eat it as is, served in bowls with a light soup on the side, or wrapped in lotus leaf. If you make lots of lotus leaf nor mai gai/fan, you can freeze them and just steam from the frozen state for 20 minutes. My s-i-l steams the whole mixture rather than cooking the rice and ingredients separately.

I'll have the mussels, escargot, and seafood and pasta. You are spoiled! Tepee!

Plates lifters are still being sold here in Manitoba, but I never bother with them. I guess old skin is tougher.

Not at all; think wintermelon. My version is more like Azian's, with the melon in juliennes, and perhaps with BBQ pork along with the dried shrimp. I use a light soya only because my kids like it that way. You have to make sure there is liquid in the "wok" before you add the mung bean thread; otherwise, they will turn into a big clump.

The ham yu is about the same price then, depending on the weight. I noticed that the fermented variety was a little more expensive than the firm texture ones. Really! They charge more for the "rotten stuff!" Shouldn't they charge less for "old stuff gone bad?" I can't believe $2.50 for a soya chicken! Can't buy a fresh one for that! Are you sure it is not infected with avain flu ?

This looks very much like what I served as chicken lo mein.

Same as what I used on the other pictorial (steamed pork). It's mackerel (but this one is not immersed in oil). ← I've been meaning to ask: Does this frozen salted mackerel qualify as ham yu? Is it frozen salted fresh fish, like salted cod? Ham yu is salted and wind dried...

It's only because you are a haam sap lo! Laksa. Food porn, again. ..

I do have Wei-Chuan's Chinese Snacks book. The picture looks like what we had in Winnipeg. I guess the restaurant just made them to look prettier with the tail as a handle. Thanks Gus_tatory and Betty for both recipes!

I just use tobanjan for mapo and kung pao dishes..and no hoisin. I too think that the sugar will smooth out the heat too much. I brown the chilis in oil and garlic just before I add the pork. I find this lets the heat into the bits of meat.

This "shrimp football" was definitely not coated with bread crumbs then deepfried. The surface was more like the deep fried taro puffs. Must look up taro puffs then maybe go from there. I can see the insides being what you described, hzrt.

Thanks, Suzy. If you see a recipe or have directions, please post!

Ben will attest to this: one of the best dim sum items At Kum Koon Restaurant in Winnipeg is their Phoenix Shrimp sui mai. We thought we were full when the cart with these delectable shrimp came along. The batter(cornstarch based?) is lace-like, melt in your mouth, with the shrimp tail curving up for a handle. Inside is a juicy pork/chives? filling, covered I think, with taro paste. Any recipes? Ideas?

If you brown the potstickers first, then add water, the skin (wrapper) will get soggy/soft at the end. Let the water do the boiling/steaming first, then when the water all evaporates away (and the oil remains) you will have some nice, crispy brown skins. Most efficient. ← But -- but ---- but----- Mine ARE crispy when they are done! They are browned, watered, steamed, uncovered, and when the water has completely boiled off the pan becomes dry-- except for the remaining oil. ← Yup, you're right, Jo-Ann. Your way works just as well. Once the water boils off, the war-teep will crisp up in the oil that remains. Remember, hrzt, oil doesn't boil away like water. I have done them this way as well.

Huh? I thought I posted my response to jo-mel's query. My thoughts exactly, hrzt. Whether it's Toisanese or Shanghainese, I couldn't say...but that was how my Toisanese cook made war-teep - broth added, cover, boiled away, then browned.

I use that same method making buns...good old fashion yeast buns...not baos.

For sure, I think you'd need fresh ground pepper, salt, and maybe grated ginger?

So it's the same process as making Peking duck or Chinese BBQ duck...except for the nam yu in place of meen see.

The boiled dumplings are in fact called jiaozi. I'm not sure about the steamed ones, I actually doubt it, since I've haven't even heard of a phrase used to described steamed dumplings in general. ← I agree with AzianBrewer about jiaozi being boiled. Learned to make these when we had a visiting professor and his wife leading +20 of my Mandarin classmates for Chinese New Year in 2003. Wor-Teep is when you put the dumplings into a fry-pan or sautee pan, add some broth and cover to steam until the small amount of broth is gone. The dumplings will then brown and form a crispy skin. So, War-teeps are steamed(boiled) then pan fried.

I don't know. It may not be easy. I have never tried it. It would be a challenge. Need to research on the recipe... ← The texture of the skin makes me wonder if it is was finished by ladling hot oil over the chicken until it reaches that blistered look and the right colour? It looks so moist and succulent!

We need to all converge on Ah Leung's house to taste these delicious pictorials first hand!

Well, order them both and take photos. ← Good idea, Jason. And, could you include the recipes?

No, it was lemongrass. As Chris said, you don't use the hard stuff near the bulb; you use the softer grassy part. And yes, fresh lemongrass is very edible after being boiled in soup, and not necessarily for 4 hours. I know, because lemongrass grew as a weed in the side yard of the house I used to live in in Malaysia. To be fair, it was not so tall as to get a fibrous base, but I've also eaten good lemongrass in soup, etc., in American Thai restaurants repeatedly. ← Well, looks like I will have to make the Thai soup this weekend with the lemongrass I have on hand. Then, there's that chicken thawing in the fridge...Tie the lemongrass into a knot and stuff it? Good thing I've got a 4 day weekend and hungry mouths to feed!