Dejah

Ben Hong, fellow egulleteer, and one half of a bi-racial partnership, has been meeting others from Toisan and also in bi-racial relationships. Today, he will meet Ken who is an RCMP officer living on an acreage in a perhaps more abundant game bird area. We've been eating real home cooked Chinese food. Last night we had beef and tomatoes over rice. I don't think he's had this with fried eggs before. He thought the "white pieces" were fish! I should have kept my mouth shut as he said it was such a great idea..."seafood in this dish!" Usually, he cooks some ham yiu to accompany this. I am cooking jook with chicken and Chinese cruellers for brunch. Ground beef and pork fat are waiting for me to make into "bouncy dim sum meat balls". Guess I'll have to pull out my joongzi for him too. I mean, they were his reason for visiting me! He has been introduced to 2 new desserts. One is a prairie specialty; saskatoon pie. The other is Canadian cheddar apple crisp, one of our family favourites. Not Chinese, but made by a Chinese. I made dai choi gow (agar agar) for today's dessert.

It''s been chilly here, but great weather for November. I have been making soups more often. One of the best soups I have ever had was in England, mulligatawny. I have been trying for years to dulpicate it from memory, but alas, I've turned out variations but never like the original. I do like curry veg.soup. I just brown coarsely chopped leeks, celery(including the leaves), carrots, garlic and potatoes together. To this, I add veg stock, or chicken stock if I want to add meat to it, curry paste, salt and peppercorns. This is simmered until tender. I put some of the cooked veg. into a blender to make my "slurry". So, the soup is thickened but still chunky. This is great with a slice of lemon on top, lots of cilantro, and baguette to sop up the rest! Your curry puffs look just like mine, even down to the fork marks along the edges! I do brush a bit of beaten egg on top of mine before baking. Ben's had lots of walking but not much game this season, so no game on the menu. He did mention that he's used game for curry dishes. My student has even stopped smoking during Ramadan. I am trying to encourage him to quit all together. He just smiles at me and pretends he doesn't understand English!

Hey Yetti! Great pictures! I don't think my Saudi student is enjoying those kinds of foods for Ramadan. Seeing your curry puffs got me thinking I need to make some for lunch tomorrow. Ben Hong of Chinese cuisine forum is upland bird hunting here in our area. We were talking about you tonight! Were your ears burning?

Ben, an eGullet poster mainly in the Chinese cuisine forum, arrived at our house on the Canadian prairies from New Brunswick searching for joongzi. They arrived on Wed. Since then., I have been trying to "show off" entries from my summer foodblog. Today, we had deluxe wonton soup with shrimp noodles for lunch. For supper, while he reminisced about China with my mom, I poached 2 whole pickerels (great fish) served with julienned ginger and green onions, topped with heated oil and light soya sauce. We also had tofu stick soup with rehydrated oysters and gingko nuts, beef with snow peas, and jasmine rice. Ben is an upland bird hunter. We are waiting for game birds to show in our larder.

See gwa is Chinese okra. It is often 12- 16 inches long, green with high ridges. One end is tapered, the other end rounded. You have to peel it before using.

Let me translate these for fellow non-Chinese speaking eGulleters. see gwa jui yook yuan tong = melon and meat ball soup? Yes. see jup pi gwut = (steamed I assumed) spareribs with black bean sauce. I]Ribs were started on stove top, with seasonings, thickened with a flour and cornstarch slurry, then finished off in the oven. gai chow ma tai = chicken stir-fried with water chestnuts sook mai and cho goo = corn and straw mushrooms (stir-fried I assumed) Yes. ginger garlic bok choy = oh, this one IS in English... We have a lot of the chicken dish left over, so I might change it to kung po tonight as I will be rushed for time because of the evening ESL class. Or, if I get ambitious, I might make quickie paella and everyone can help themselves. The weather is great today, so Ben and Paul may not need warming up when they come in from their hunt.

Ben Hong, a knowledgeable poster in this forum, arrived at our house today. We've spent the last few hours talking and eating. One topic was haum ha. He and I both agreed that the best pork to use is the fat from sui yook! As I wasn't expecting him until later this week, I didn't have any pork fat for haum ha. So, I made see gwa jui yook yuan tong, see jup pi gwut, gai chow ma tai, sook mai and cho goo, and a plate ginger garlic bok choy. I think the food turned out well in spite of my rush. He'll be here for a few days, told me it was for upland bird hunting, but I think he's skulking around for my joongzi. My older borther Ken and a cousin joined us for coffee. Conversation was very interesting and lively. Thanks to eGullet, we have a new friend!

Fat choi is something that I receive everytime someone comes back from a visit to China. When I was in business, I always got Fat Choi as a gift. The name sounds like the expression for "prosperity", good for someone in business. It always made me laugh because CHOI is like my family name. In English is it written as Choi, Choy, Toy, Tsai. But in Chinese characters, they different. I can always blame these gifts for my weight! There are several FAT CHOYS in my family.

Soup looks great! Your good wife has a few tricks up her sleeve that you didn't know about. I made a soup last week, similar but without smoked pork hocks. I used a chicken carcass and added Patak's madras curry paste to it. Just before serving, I topped the soup with a thin slice of lemon. You poke the lemon slice down into the soup, squish out the juice with your spoon for that tang. Great topped with cilantro and crusty bread.

Egg custard tarts would be so wonderful...but as you said "labour intensive". Has anyone made those tiny ones often seen on buffets? They are about 1/2 the size of regular tarts. I thought almond cookies might be manageable. Of course, there's always the fortune cookie!

I will have to try the curry with that bit of vinegar. That's about the only thing I miss in my "recipe". The peas and carrots would again cut down on the amount of meat used. I have, in the past, used ground chicken with Patak's madras or vindaloo paste. They have vinegar in the paste. Never thought to use egg roll wrappers. Again, cheaper than puff pastry. I'll have time to experiment. Wonder if they would freeze well? I made hot chili oil today: chopped fresh Thai peppers, one habanero pepper, chopped garlic, slivered ginger, sechuan peppercorns, thin slices of shallot, kosher salt, sesame oil and corn oil. I should saute my ingredients with this! That would put zip in the fashion show. What great minds on this forum!

DAMN !!! Those close-ups are killing me! I have to be content with soya sauce chicken when all I want now are some of those ribs! Not sure I could be civil to trick or treaters at this moment. . .

Enjoying your blog very much... However , I think your "title" is a misnomer...adventures in the ordinary? I hardly think so from the looks of the images!

We are familiar with the multi-course meals at weddings. What about for birthdays, baby's "full month shaving head" celebrations, or any other special occaisions? Does your family observe any special rules for the food served? My Mom always required: "sam sang". . . chicken, pork, seafood, plus rice, some kind of "tsee" (Chinese pastry), and fruit. There must be 6, 9 or 12 dishes. For the baby's special day, did your family have a banquet? Were there pink eggs, new mother's soup? Was this banquet oly for baby boys, as was the old tradition?

re-hzrt 's recipe for haum ha...I've never heard of sesame oil with this. Asked my mom tonight and it was new to her. Is that HK style? I will try it next time! Mom used to take pork fat, deep fry it until crisp THEN steam it with haum ha. That was "pre- cholestral" days.

Ok, that's it! Can I come and work in your office? Just send me applications for whatever position is open! Everything looks great. Thanks for sharing!

I really don't have much info' on cockroaches, other than what I have "heard" from one of my former cooks. They mentioned adding these pests into a soup with herbs. I have never seen the large roaches other than in display cases. That's enough to scare me!

Yeah. Yim Gok Dan (salt-baked egg). Yim Gok Gai (salt-baked chicken). Steamed or baked? Well... the name of the food (in Chinese) said "baked". But it's really steamed. I would imagine you can bake it in the oven (eggs or chicken in a pan of salt). Just use very low heat (e.g. 300F) and bake them for an hour. Nowadays, many restaurant "cheated". The salt-baked chicken is actually boiled (low heat) in a pot of brine with five spices. Taste pretty good too. ← [/quote I am trying to visualize steaming eggs or chicken pieces laying in a bed of rock salt. I have an "egg -cooker" that steams eggs, soft or hard "boiled"., so it would be like that. The egg would taste salty all the way through, where as with an ordinary boiled egg, you would have to salt each bite? But you mentioned adding 5-spice and salt when you eat these? Have you tried this at home? hzrt? Take a picture for me. My Chinese students, in the past, have always made tea eggs as part of their international food fair. I'll have to ask for their "recipe". That could be their next writing assignment" Explanatory composition"!

Re: The pictures from the Mongolian adventure. The "birds"...are these the ones that are a favourite with Vietnamese people? They are usually still in their shells? Does one have to pluck the feathers before devouring? or do you eat the whole mess? I have 2 students from Inner Mongolia this term. I should send them the url and ask if they know anything about these delicacies.

Steamed? or baked? yim gok dan? yim gok gai?

I remember eating those "giant" water beetles 46 years ago, in HK. I am not sure I can handle them now. In memory, they were crispy, and eaten like popcorn at the movies. Cockcroaches are supposed to be good medicine for people with asthma.

jo-mel, With all the new technology, which I am sure my techie hubby and kids will know all about, blogging will be easier and perhaps more graphic when I DO travel! You know, one doesn't have to go to China to experience great food in less than great places. When I was a teenager, I worked in my uncle's large Chinese restaurant in Winnipeg. They served good food, but when we were not working, my cousins and I would head to a dingy little Chinese diner. Now that was good tradtional cooking! Cantonese, of course. I don't think any other regional styles had spread to the prairies at that time. Jo-mel, do you use your notes in any way in your cooking classes? It would be interesting to hear about the dishes as you introduce the recipe.

A reminder to those who have checked into Astrid's blog to read her updates. http://www.wrappedindough.com/ Her latest posts are about the Sichuan Food Festival in Chengdu http://www.chengdu.gov.cn/itd/chengdue/New...t.jsp?ID=200099 and Chinese candy.

hzrt, I haven't been back since 1958 when I left HK. Had lived a pretty sheltered life in so far as travelling and any regional Chinese cuisine.I don't remember eating out in restaurants except for the many celebratory banquets. They were great, of course. I do remember hawker food, especially around North Point where we once lived. I've probably experienced more variety in the last 20 years travelling around Canada and the US. This forum has been wonderful in allowing me to travel and eat vicariously! I thank you all for this delicious education!

OoooooooYetti! You are a trouble maker! Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I don't feel I can do justice to the job at this time. But, Gary would certainly be a good choice.