Dejah

Liuzhou: You mentioned up-post about sand pots - that restaurants deliver food in them and that they are quite disposable... Do you pay extra for them? Do you get to keep the clay pots? I just wondered about the cost... With our -40 windchill temps of late, we've been enjoying Hot 'n' Sour soup. I made a big pot of the basic stock / ingredients last weekend. When we want some, I put some into a smaller pot, add meats and tofu, and thicken slightly. Havin g kept it int he fridge for a few days, the spiciness and tang has intensified! Man! It was great! Did a stir-fry of julienne vegetables and beef served over shirataki noodles. Cannot comnpare the noodles to the usual chow mein noodles as these do NOT crisp up, but they are 0 carbs.

C. sapidus aka Bruce: What! You "messed up" the eternal cucumber?!!! Thighs look great. Think I'll salt some this weekend for Chinese salty chicken and make a bunch for lunches next week. Might even feed my students. This term, I have 3 students from Brazil, so will be looking for some Brazilian dishes to cook up. Picked up black beans today. Is that a good start? dcarch: I'm definitely going to try that embossed tofu!

Liuzhou: The ducks look different from the ones I buy at the Chinese supermarket here in Canada. So, these are smoked as opposed to cured with seasoning, wine, etc then wind-dried as with lap cheong? When we first arrived in a rural Manitoba village (1958), we couldn't buy lap cheong and lap gnap unless they were shipped from Vancouver. So, my Mom made these for our family. I can still see the meats hanging in our screened porch.

Looks like Kerry Beal has got us all running for Zuni Cafe chicken. Happy to have chimed in with my effort! Even happier to have eaten it. The flavour reminds me a lot of the Chinese yeem gok gai - salted roast chicken. The difference is the addition of 5-spice powder to the salt. The drying process will definitely be used to achieve that crispy skin on my next yeem gok gai! AND, Soba, I love beet greens. Will have to make use of your crostini next time I have greens on hand.

Here's one that I make quite often in the fall and winter. The contents have been taken out of my sandpot: Bone-in chicken, rehydrated Chinese mushrooms, deep fried tofu, lap cheong, baby bok choy (Chinese cabbage or savoy would be just as good), and fun see or rice noodles. The noodles are usually on the bottom and absolutely delicious soaked with the sauce! Waterchestnuts, bamboo shoots would also be a good addition to this. If I know huiray after seeing all his posts, he would put ALL of the ABOVE in. AND, it wouold be delicious. I start this dish on the stove then finish in the oven. When I do salted fish rice or lap mai fan in the claypot, I can hardly wait until we get the fan jiu at the bottom!

After reading Kerry Beal's report on the chicken at Zuni Cafe, and seeing other posts on same, I decided it must be done! I followed the recipe recommended by Ranz in this thread. I prepped the chicken Saturday with sage and thyme under the skin then salted and peppered the skin liberally. The chicken was nice and dry when I brought it out of the fridge Monday supper time. The oven was set at 475F and I cooked it according to the times recommended. OMG! It was a success! The skin was golden, crispy, especially the wing tips, which have always been my favourite part of the chicken. There were only about 2 tbsps. of fat in the bottom of my pan, but there was lots of "scrapings". This with a bit of chicken stock and what little juice came out of the chicken as it rested was all the "sauce" needed. The chicken was full of "roast chicken" flavour. The meat was tender and juicy. For a 3.5 lb chicken, it took just under an hour with 10 minute rest. We didn't have the bread salad as we ar5e cutting down on carbs, but the chicken was well accompanied by a medly of stir-fried vegetables. It was REALLY hard to NOT eat the crispy skin!.

White Chicken Chili from America Test Kitchen. Cutting down on carbs, so I picked out the cannellini beans - actually white kidney beans as I couldn't find cannellini). To help "thicken", I added steamed grated cauliflower. I did add a spoonful of 0% Greek yogurt. The Poblano, Anaheim, and Jalapeno peppers added a nice bit of heat that lingered. It was really good and I'd make it again.

I am quite surprised that kohlrabi is not common in your area of China. My Mom grew it from seeds we brought with us - from Toisan via Hong Kong. Perhaps it is more of a Toisan veg:-) My Mom used to sliced it, salted and dried it for the winter - here in Canada before we had access to a Chinese grocery store. Sliced or diced, kohlrabi makes a lovely simple soup, a nice change from the various gwa (melons, squashes, etc). It can retain some crunch... or softer - depending on how long it is cooked. It is also delicious stir-fried with meat, or in a mixed vegetable dish.

Snadra: Did not mean to ignore your post! As for my beef and tomato, I've been making this for so long, I really don't have a recipe. I just do what my Mom always did. I beat up several eggs and fry it up as and dice. Set aside. Slice up beef and marinate with salt, MSG (optional), vegetable oil, and cornstarch (my method of velveting). Set aside. Cut up ripe but firm tomatoes, chunks of Spanish onion, green onion and stir-fry together just until the tomato starts to give up some of its juice. Stir in a mix of stock, vinegar, sugar (sushi seasoning works well!), and a dash of... ketsup! Remove from the wok. Stir-fry the beef until nearly done. Add the tomato mixture in with the beef. Taste for balance , bring to a gently boil, and thicken with cornstarch slurry. Our new small Chinese grocery store has been bringing in fresh lily bulbs (bak hap), so it's into the pot for one of my favourite soups: bak hop with chicken and slivers of ginger: Followed by Gong Po Gai Ding

huiray:I love stir-frying with Thai basil - usually chicken...but...Holy Cow! You eat mega lunches! Do you eat your big meal at noon? What do you eat for supper / dinner?

On the topic of soaking glutineous rice overnight before steaming, my Mom always did this. The amount of water used was about an inch above the rice. In the morning, all the water will have been absorbed. She'd steam it along with diced cured meats on a cloth inside the steamer, and it would be done in 30 minutes. Each grain of rice maintained it's shape with a bit of stickiness - lap yuk nor mai fan...YUM! I have only seen non-Chinese recipes that called for salting the water before cooking rice. My Canadian-born nieces "salt" their rice with butter. AS for risotto, I can't get past the "wetness' - I've GOT to try and enjoy it one of these days. Maybe if I can make a decent version at home?

It's different but works the same. Tapioca starch will also do the job. Corn starch is much cheaper, that's all.

Mustard green = guy choi. I don't use white pepper in my hot 'n' sour soup. You can see my version in the China cooking thread. Mustard greens and clams is a new one for me.

SobaAddict70: I am stealing your fried olives and the jiaozi filling, except for the brussel sprouts. I have napa, so will go with that. And, I may also pan-fry them instead for wardeep. That'll fill out my Boxing Day brunch nicely. Both great ideas! I'm looking forward to your Asian explorations in 2013. Even tho' I am Chinese and cook a lot of Chinese, I am stuck in my own family traditional dishes. Patrickamoray: That congee looks great! There are still evidence of "grains" of rice, and some days, I want my congee in that consistency. It'd be like eating "bow jai fan" Scotty, dcarch, Bruce, et all...I always look forward to your presentations. I don't cook fancy but your food and presentation always inspire me, to at least plate my food better.

Have a look back at some of the dishes member Prawcracker has cooked for family and friends...They are fancy enough to be considered "banquet fare"! I don't think Johnny Walker whiskey is consumed for quality...It's a show of "prosperity and the best" served for guests.

Been hankering for dishes from our Canadian Chinese food menu from Soo's Restaurant: #17 - deep fried pork spareribs - egg wash, coated with cracker meal, deep fried. Yummy chew! I have seen restaurants list these as Bon Bons in their appetizer section. Simmered with our special sweet 'n' sour sauce, #17 became #13: One of our daughter's favourite comfort foods: Beef and tomato with egg. Gotta have LOTS of steamed rice with this... Simple lotus root soup - not quite as rich as the one posted by another eguletteer in the dinner thread.

Never took that long to cook jook before, and don't really understand the logic to it. I put the rice, stock, pork bones or duck or chicken carcasses and slivered ginger into the crock pot on High in the morning - 9 am...and it's ready for lunch. On the side, we have diced century eggs, spicy preserved radish, dry shredded pork, cilantro, fuyu, deep fried Chinese donuts, and whatever else anyone can dig up in the fridge. Last weekend, I got my Chinese grocer to pick up a BBQ duck for me. Because I bought SO much, he gave me a quart of duck sauce (the stuff from the BBQ duck cavities. My Caucasian s-i-l was in heaven...drizzled a few tbsp onto his jook... But I would be interested if someone can do a comparison with 3 hour congee to 24 hour congee...Is it worth the wait?

While waiting at the doctor's office, I saw a recipe for Carrot Frites. Copied it down and tried my hand at them, along with roast chicken (from Safeway on the way home), roast cauliflower, boiled carrots, brocoslaw. They are definitely do again! The carrot frites: For snacking: Bird Seed Bar with mango-flavoured dried cranberries

Daughter was home for belated birthday supper and TLC from Momma and Pops. Her requests: Chinese fajita? Took lots of short cuts and done in the wok prior to placing on sizzling hot plate. Sides were loads of guac, shredded lettuce, etc I made both chicken - for her, and beef for the guys. Everything was devoured. and DQ ice-cream cake! Finally, we are able to get this cake in the winter. In previous years, once the drive in closed in Oct...she'd whine. Now we have a DQ in the mall. Before she went back to the city, a little comfort food, please, Momma! Beef and Tomato per Popo's style! Eaten with copious amounts of steamed rice and some to take home.

My "bent" cleaver is a number 2, and still quite useable for slicing meat and vegetables. My replacement is a Zhongwei - meant for chopping through bones. Bought a Chinese BBQ duck today and had to chop it up Chinese style to fit in the fridge for tomorrow's supper with guests. I got 3 little pieces of bone, and these were from the back bone - cut up for jook tomorrow morning. The little pieces are on the piece of fat. So, it IS possible to chop without dangerous chards...

Breaded pork chops coated with panko seasoned with Italian herbs, chili pepper flakes, garlic granules. Chops were browned in the pan then finished off in the oven. Made a simple mushroom gravy to go on top. Sides were canned corn, freezer tater wedges, and broccoslaw jazzed up with sunflower seeds, dried mango flavoured cranberries, dried blueberries, and flaked coconut. Dressing was Kraft Mango Chipotle...Satisfying on a cold damp evening with freezing rain falling...

Breakfast! The most important meal of the the day - who could argue that after seeing all the deliciousness posted! We were invited out to a friend's for supper last night. For dessert, she served Apple Bacon Cheddar Cheese Pie. I thought that would make a great idea for brunch. We had it with root beer ice-cream (all she had in the freezer), so that made it dessert, right?

Yesterday, when I took some of the set-aside fun see for my students, it was the first time they've had it Toisanese style. They've all eaten "Ants Climb the Tree" or in soup. One of my students is "true Shanghainese", as she calls herself. She saw my Shanghai noodles and said the REAL Shanghai noodles were chunky, not like the ones I used. Can anyone enlighten me? I would love to be able to make it "authentic"...THAT word can start quite a discussion.

Hassouni: Hope you survived your Thanksgiving Sechuan duck with all fingers intact... Back to the topic of western vs. Chinese style serving of poultry and chopping: When I had my restaurant, which had been in the family for 35 years, we DID dissect chickens ourselves, using a cleaver, for boneless chicken for various items for Canadian customers. We did have chicken wings, drumsticks, jointed, not chopped. However, we served chicken, duck, ribs, chopped thru' the bone with cleavers on dishes ordered by Chinese patrons or Canadians "in the know". Never had any problems. My chefs didn't seem to need to raise their meat cleavers high up off the huge wooden chopping block. Liuzhou: You and I must be very old: "eating them for longer than I wish to think about.". I think Chinese children learn to eat meat on the bone from the time they can distinguish bone from meat. I know my Canadian-born halfers expect bone-in chicken at the table. I was glad to be reminded that the number on a cleaver is important. It's been such a long time since I've had to buy one, but I now remember checking for the higher numbers, and clinking one against another for the "good knife" tone.. I miss the vegetable-specific one I used to have. It was 2-toned. The blade was thinner and sliced thru' bok choi stalks so beautifully...light, sharp...

Manila clams were lively at the supermarket today. So, 2 stalks of lemongrass, sliced onion, fresh ginger, bit of garlic, crushed corriander seeds, zest and juice of one lime and one orange, fresh cilantro, 1 Thai chili, 1/2 cup coconut milk gave us this for our supper with jamine rice and gai lan...