Dejah

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...

True about the chives. Same goes for scallions, I guess. For supper tonight: Toisanese style Fun See with shrimp, char siu, and moo gwa (hairy squash). I can eat the whole plateful myself!

Please DO, Bruce and share the recipe!

That cumin beef looks great! Wish we could get the buns here, but maybe I should make some using mantou dough. It would be good even with naan. I actually enjoy cumin lamb more, a drier version. Do you use whole cumin seeds at all? I like crunching down on them. You don't cook the Chinese chives?

One of the joys of eating chicken, duck Chinese style is the way it's "chopped" into pieces WITH bone. Char siu never has bones. Siu yook (crispy pork - suckling pig, whole roasted pig) can have bones but I've never experienced splinters. Whether or not there are splinters, I think depends on the weight of the cleaver, how sharp it is, and how skillful the cook is. Looking at the video, that's exactly how my BBQ shop chops ducks and chickens. What is usually left on the block are fragments of meat. Hassouni: Looks like you're going to be fine "chopping"...

I can't read Chinese, but it looks much like the one I have. If it's light, I wouldn't use it on a drumstick or thigh bone. I had only used it on vegetables until my s-i-l tried to chop through the drumstick and put 2 "bends" in the blade:-(

Had to wait until tonight to enjoy the Beef Rendang made Saturday. Ate this with Jasmine rice, leftover carrots, and some bok choi. Coconut-ty, spicy, tender, moist...worth the effort and wait!

A family favourite for brunch: Grilled cheese French toast. Would have been even better with cumin Gouda, but made do with Kraft Sharp Cheddar Singles...Gooey goodness...Eaten with maple syrup.