Dejah

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.

Oivey! Aiyeah! Dah say nay! Decisions, decisions...

I have been observing my students from mainland China, at various food oriented functions. They act like they haven't eaten for days and heap their plates up without regard to those who follow. Maybe it's because they see homecooked Chinese food they haven't seen for a few months!? But then, they do that with non-Chinese food too. Perhaps they haven't eaten for days because none of them are overweight.

Yes, xiaolongbaos are soup dumplings...containing soup INSIDE rather than dumplings cooked in soup. I want some! Guess I will have to try and make them myself. The soup inside is a piece of jellied broth that liquidfies when the dumpling is steamed. Laksa's list really throws the term dumpling into a quandary...When I think about dumplings, I think of xiaolongbao, har gow, siu mai, anything steamed. But then, steamed and panfried potstickers? I suppose everything else that is not steamed is just classified as "dim sum"?

← YES! YES! I've won over one person at least! For one who likes mooncakes so much, all the more reason why you MUST make them yourself. Let's see....you'll be needing a mooncake mould. I've updated my page on Mooncake Moulds Do you have anyone in chinatowns in the US who can get it for you? If not, I'd be happy to shop for one. Do your grocers carry lotus seeds, melon seeds (I reckon it'll be easier for you to get pumpkin seeds which will do), red beans (preferably from Tianjin), maltose, alkaline water? For starters, you might like to go into http://www.kuali.com and key in mooncakes...there are lots of recipes. Lotus paste Mooncake. ← The pressure is on! You need to start a mooncake cook-off, Tepee. I have received moon cakes from the USA. No problem thru' ordinary air mail delivery. The customs didn't tamper with the package. Maybe it was because of all the layers of packing tape around the box?

Jo-mel, I think the Snacks book is a different "edition". Chinese Dim Sum has a green "bamboo" cover with a steamer basket of siu mai and pearl balls. One of my friends just ordered Snacks from Amazon, but I have never seen that one. I want Florence Lin's book so bad I can almost taste it! But, they are collectibles, and the price on eBay is a tad high...

I find the Wei Chuan Chinese Dim Sum book to be really useful. There are large clear pictures of the finished product as well as smaller pictures on specific techniques. There are 5 sections in the edition that I have, and they cover yeast dough, hot water dough, falky dough, cakes and mochi, and a miscellaneous section.

I'm past the age where I can be "nudged" into making moon cakes out of love. Mooning...err...past that long time ago too! Was talking to Po-Po about mooncakes tonight over supper. She reminded me she used to make moon cakes when they were not readily available. She used the cans that salmon came in - washed well and aired. Salmon flavour was not desirable. I vaguely remember them but don't think I enjoyed them much as a kid. Now, a different story - a different palate.

The cost for homemade may be a little less than store bought, after you have made your initial purchase of moulds, etc. You would certainly use only the best ingredients, a plus! When I was in Chicago, I saw the moulds and wanted to buy some, but I was too lazy to carry them around all day as we were sightseeing. Don't think I would make them myself, but they would make great decorations and conversation piece. I will be spoiled this year as I won't have to buy any..."Di Gaw" wesza is sending me special treats from Seattle! Of course, I am to give full report on their quality.

If the restaurant indicates "No MSG", sugar is often used in larger amounts to "enhance" the flavour of the food. I, myself, prefer MSG, and do use cornstarch as a thickener. Perhaps not as many Chinese people are overweight because food prep. at home is focused more on steaming and quick stir-fries, and not on deep frying.

jo-mel, give me some of that mushroom you're eating. I want to see that elf too. ← Me thinks Jo-Mel is eating a "different kind" of mushroom! I like scrambled eggs with straw mushrooms in them. Kids don't care for them.

Back at my own computer! Got in about supper time from a 2 day drive from Chicago and headed straight for my wok. As for the potato starch, I use 2 tablespoonfuls for ONE 12 oz. BAG of har gow flour.

From what I remember, the starch that is collected from all the squeezing and wash is used to make the cheung fan. It is a labour intensive chore. The lump that was left over was into the garbage. I am not sure if you can use it for anything. I am in need of a cheung fan fix!

I am sitting at the Write Inn Hotel, in Oak Park Village, in Chicago!!! This computer has been tied up with attendees from the Edgar Rice Burroughs convention, of which hubby and I are members. Finally, it was vacant so I can get my eGullet forum fix! Haven't had any free time for Chinese food yet but we may be heading down to Chinatown tonight. Sun Wah, "the little" Three Happiness, or the Phoenix are recommended by the heartlands group, so we will head for one of those. BOT now! As for the ha gow flour, if you haven't already used the flour, why don't you try half and half? Use half the bag as is, then the other half with 1 tbsp. of potato starch? That way, you can tell the difference. Myself, I've always followed my "little old aunties" teachings. They said that the starch will improve the texture and make the dough easier to handle.