Dejah

Johnnyd's super blog and this thread are both wonderful reads as well as full force torture for someone living on the prairies! But don't stop......

Welcome, mflo, to the Chinese forum! Looking forward to your professional input.

That is very true. I try and try but without my restaurant kitchen, not successful. But, Ben told me how to get "wok hei" again by using my turkey fryer outside! Haven't tried yet tho'. Haven't had anyone to impress. I have an electric stove in my home. If I am patient, and cook in small batches, I CAN get my wok really hot and stay hot. The results can be quite good.

The special delivery of moon cakes from USA via Vancouver arrived Thursday. One tin of mooncakes was from wesza and his wife...the ones with abalone, oysters, and various seeds, as well as some durian mooncakes, durian candy bars, Haw flakes, and 3 different kinds of teas from China Then my sister tucked in 2 tins of double yolk lotus paste mooncakes! I will share these with my students once term starts. We tried one of the special cakes last night. What! You thought I could wait until Sept 18! The inside of the cake had a lovely red plum colour. I could see all the various seeds inside. Not sure what the "binding" agent is, but it sure looks purty. The yolk was big 'cos when I cut the cake into 6 wedges, there was plenty of yolk in each. The nuts gave the cake a really nice texture. It wasn't chewy, but it was? It wasn't overly sweet like the lotus paste is. On first bite, I could almost taste, or sense the seafood. But I was enjoying the taste and texture so much I didn't pay any more attention to determine if there was actual seafood taste. I am wondering why the abalone and oysters were used...perhaps adding to the chewy texture? There seemed to be some dried fruit (coconut thread, diced melon?) but they were not in the ingredients list. Whatever, the mooncake was delicious! We drank jasmine tea, a gift from a Vietnames friend. Before we eat anymore, I will wait for the full moon and also will take pictures. Later at night, Bill tried the chrysanthamum/honey tea, and I had the ginger/honey tea. They both delightful if a bit on the sweet side. I added more water to my cup, but the aroma and flavour were still very upfront with the sweetness toned down. What a treat! Thanks so much, wesza, dai gaw!

How about rose water? I find the adzuki beans are smaller and took longer to cook, even after soaking. I made red bean soup once with adzuki and it's just not the same.

Store made, main concern is cost factor. Simple=cheaper. Home made=extra and quality liu. As Po-Po says" "Jee gai sic la mah, gung hai jing ho dee la!" "aka: It's for ourselves. Of course make it better!" Once or twice a year, all day effort = special, liu loaded joong. I wish I could send you all joong. Wasn't even able to squeeze a couple out of my sister's batch for Irwin because they shared with their friends and made piggies of themselves! I was born to feed the masses!

The DOG is out of sync! Must be his tail thumping... It's 2 am...Done! Ready for bed. Will have to see how the har gows turn out tomorrow. Hope the guests aren't dim sum gourmands.

Why wait? Just go and cut one up right now! Leave 1 for your family, you have the rest that's in the box. Teepee is the mooncake wizard. Dejah is the apprentice wizard. hz is just a waterbody. ← I think hzrt has got that right! Teepee is the mooncake wizard. I can't even be the apprentice as I ain't gonna make any. Can't indulge in mooncake right now. I made peach/apricot/pineapple conserve today, and I just had to have a bowl with toast this evening!

It's past "midnight at the oasis", and I am making siu mai and har gow! Got some new acquaintences passing thru' the city tomorrow, so having dim sum for lunch. Got 3 doz siu mai made...cooling off in the freezer now. Dough for the har gow is too hot to handle at the moment. So...gotta come on here and gripe a bit. I have always made har gow with just whole shrimps. Tonight, or, rather, this morning, I have chopped up some waterchectnuts and the tiniest slivers of ginger. Going to give more crunch and bite. Have gnow yook yuen in the freezer, will make congee with chicken necks, pick up cruellers at Superstore, and make salmon and veg. summer rolls in the morning. Where is the cheering section when I need ya?

I dreamed that I will receive a "Chicken Head" pointed in my direction during the Moon Festival, more scary then for New Years. What can I do ?Irwin ← Be thankful that it's not a black chicken hanging on your front door! Honestly, I am so looking forward to the Moon Festival.

Me thinks Ben has wayyyyy too much time on his hands. Get thee to the kitchen and make some mooncakes! (Grand witch has spoken) wesza, welcome back to the forum! Good trip and good eats... Who could ask for anything more?! (shades of Ethel Merman)

Looking forward to more saliva-inducing pictures!

I can't believe you weren't part of the "project". Go back to page 3 and check out the Steamed dumpling thread. I dare ya!

nudge, nudge PUSH! PUSH! Over you go, hzrt8w!

jackal10: MMMMMM....they look so good I almost licked my monitor. Now THAT would raise hubby's eyebrows.

I too use boiling water, and man! it's hard on the hands! I don't use oil in my dough. It won't stick together when you try to pleat and seal. We need "project" here to tell us how his experiments worked. Remember project and his methodology? I felt like a pretzel after reading his instructions of this corner to that angle to this quardrangle to that point of intersection!

The special mooncakes are in my Vancouver nephew's grubby little hands at this time. Irwin made the drop off this afternoon. They will be shipped out to me on Monday, so, wait and salivate! Did I mention that I had a "first experience" this summer? I ate durian and loved it! So, I will doubly enjoy the durian mooncakes also in the care package. In Brandon, Manitoba, our Superstore gets mooncakes from Vancouver. Be dang if I can remember the name of the company. At least they are always moist and fresh. Last year, I paid $25.00 Canadian for a tin of 4 lotus seed DOUBLE yolk moon cakes. I didn't bother with the single yolk 'cos I want double yolks! More expensive ones in Winnipeg's Chinatown run up to $32.00 for double yolk if I remember correctly...again, from Vancouver. What do you guys do with all those tins!? Anything creative?

Nope, never made them. Cook-off, Sue-On? That wrapper in the pic looked incredible, doesn't it? ← Don't rush me! Ah'm thinking! Ah'm thinking!

Trillium: Are you sure it was just one week for the salted eggs? I make mine whenever double yolk eggs are available. Even with single yolks, it takes 3 weeks in heavy brine before the yolks are firm.

Julian calendar: Sept. 18th.

Any suggestions as to how to get that translucent skin? My wraps are thin, but never that translucent! Would it have anything to do with the flour mixture? Mine is prepackaged wheat starch and a couple tablespoons of potato starch.

Has anyone made the xiaolongbaos ? Tepee? I would like some feedback, then maybe I will attempt them. I have some rich stock, both pork and chicken in the freezer, so, any insight and instructions would be most appreciated.

Yeah!!! Looking forward to the results. If Ben Sook hasn't grab the honours already, I want to be the cyber taster!

I am to receive a tin of "Huy Ky Mixed Nuts Moon Cake" from Seattle. Has anyone heard of this company? This is the list of ingrdients - Ingredients: Abalone, Oyster, Cashew, Sesame Seeds, Almonds, Sunflower Seeds, Sugar, Soybean Oil, Enriched Flour, Egg and coloring. Abalone, oyster? Are they putting me on? or is this common practise? I can hardly wait! I enjoy mooncakes...a wedge at a time. Even tho' I promise not to eat the whole cake at one sitting, I just keeping sneaking back for another bite until it is all gone! The walking back and forth perhaps will cancel a few of the excess calories? My kids don't care for the yolks. It's always left for me.

Jason sounds like my husband. Whenever we go to a restaurant that says "We don't use MSG", he threatens to ask for the MSG shaker! I use it in my cooking, but not as much as some Chinese restaurants do. Excessive use, it seems to me, is to compensate for poor quality ingredients. We used it in the restaurant, but again, sparingly. And, we ALWAYS leave it out whenever a customer requests it.