Dejah

Maybe it's more Toisanese, but I've always used ground pork. I haven't used Fushia's recipe. I've always gone blithly on from what I remember and what I liked - most likely unorthodox. I also do not add fermented black beans or sugar , but I do add a splash of vinegar...

Saw these at Stokes and just couldn't resist! Supper tonight: Hot 'n' Sour soup with shrimp, ground chicken, char siu, bamboo shoots, shitaki mushrooms, wood ear, day lily, silken tofu. Pan fried tofu with char siu, oyster sauce on wilted iceberg lettuce.

Fresh out of the oven this afternoon: char siu - Chinese BBQ pork. So hard to keep my hands (and hubby's) off! Will be making char siu baos and bits for hot 'n' sour soup. I've been making the soup with char siu for so many years, I just can't make it without!

I love bitter melon in any way, shape, form. One of my Mom's favourites was bitter melon soup with pork and rehydrated oysters. SO good! With bitter melon, I usually stuff with pork then a fermented black bean garlic sauce. Watched an episode of Spice Goddess this morning, and she made a stuffed bitter melon dish. These melons have a different look (sometimes labelled as karela?), and the skin was peeled. The stuffing was chopped onion, tomato, garlic, ginger, tumeric, garam masala, curry leaves. The melon halves were pan fried then finished in a 425F oven. Didn't get to see the rest of the show... Have you ever used these bitter melons?

dcarch! That crackling is ridiculous! WHat "dough" did you use for the Aebleskiver? Those look so cool. I would love to make them for Easter weekend when the kids are home. rarerollingobject: Recipe / method for your five-spice duck?

Steamed hairy squash (mu qua) with ground chicken, shrimp, waterchestnut in oyster sauce - for supper tonight. The squash was sweet and tender. The chicken was velvety smooth with the seasme oil aroma. Memories of my Mom's cooking.

Love those bagels, Shelby! Looks like they are "everything bagels"...garlic, poppy seed, etc? My Favourite! Juicy Lucy will be on the "honey-do" list the next couple of weeks. I'm on a break from teaching! Yay!

robirdstx: Must copy those explicit instructions!

MiFi: Your Zaatar chicken has me thinking I need to get my zaatar and sumac out! Rarerollingobject - beautiful fish and photography! robirdstx Amazing colour on those lamb chops! Tonight, hubby requested spaghetti. I remember when we used to go to Spaghetti Factory in Winnipeg, and always ordered spaghetti with 3 sauces: burnt butter, clam, and meat sauce. Tonight, we just had clam and herbs in cream and white wine, steamed clams with proscuitto and white wine(Almejas Con Jamon from CDKitchen), and canned (shameful!)tomato basil sauce augmented with ground chuck, fresh basil, and fresh green peppercorns. The broth from the steamed clams was too salty (Fratelli Bereta prosacuitto). I used some of the proscuitto for asparagus as well.

dcarch: You seem to like mustard greens a lot. Are you close to an Asian store? What did you do with the rest of the leaves? I haven't made siu yook since I made it with my mom. Haven't been able to find any good thick pieces of pork belly, so I just pick it up at Chinese BBQ shops. Just as well that I don't have easy access as I've just been out on cholesterol meds by the cardiologist as a precautionary measure.:-(

dcarch: Did you steam the eggplant and cooked the turkey separately? I have ground turkey in the freezer and would like to find some other uses for it. Tonight, I finally got around to making Jo-mel's Vinegar Spashed Pork Balls. I need to make more sauce. These were very good - fine texture and we loved the lemon zest flavour that came thru' the sweetness. Served with stir-fried pea shoots (dou miu): And a medley of canned shitaki, oyster, and straw mushrooms in oyster sauce.

The only way I've ever cooked mustard greens other than in soup is after CNY. My Mom always made chang dae - the sweet glutineous rice dumplings. These would be cooked with mustard greens after the NY period - as a snack for afternoon tea.

Snow was melting, then we got 10 cm with +40kmh winds! Couldn't go anywhere, so took time to make stuffed peppers and eggplant with ground pork, shrimp, Chinese celery, cilantro, and green onion. The pieces were browned then steamed with oyster sauce /chicken stock. The sauce was delicious for the baby bok choi and rice.

Kim Sook, dcarch: Thanks for noticing the sear on the scallops. This was my first...virgin crust?! I actually followed instructions and did not lift and flip the scallops until the required hint of crust showing on the edges. I also used clarified butter to sear them...no burnt bits left in the pan. dcarch: What is the spice sprinkled on the mustard greens? It made me think of sumac - a spice I've been "hoarding" and have only used a couple of times. Kim: Hope your notes on your coucous with hazlenuts and currants are in your recipe book. I need to try my hand at coucous. Bruce: Maybe your treatment of the salmon will get past the fishness I've been finding in all the ways I've tried with salmon steaks. I have 2 more in the freezer to use up. David: Loved the lamb. Good thing I didn't see this before shopping - wouldn't have broken my promise to NOT buy any more meat until I've used up what I've got! Patience will have its reward.

Darienne: How can you be so right on?! I think I fit in all catagories - and both the "need to" and virtuous group... I need to get all the AAA prime rib roast sales in case they never have as good a sale again, in case I have unexpected company, etc... I needed to bring back 6 containers of Hungarian Hot paprika because I might never find it in our part of the country - and eneded up giving away 4 containers with recipes to friends - virtuous? I feel I NEED to spend as much as I used to when the kids were all home even tho' we are empty nesters...gotta support the local economy - definitely virtuous! I WILL eventually use up everything, even made a promise to my family that I will NOT buy any more meat until the freezer is cleaned out. It's been 2 weeks - doubly definitely virtuous!

Thank goodness admiring the food porn here doesn't add weight...or does it!? My scales say...maybe... Weekend, more time for cooking and eating. Tonight, pan-seared scallops with 2 sauces: one home-made with hoisin and lime juice (similar to the one I used for duck breasts sans the garlic. The other is bottled mango chutney. Does wild rice get stale? I've had this bag for over a year. Not all the grains "split" so some were chewy. It was a pilaf with carrots, celery, onion, walnut, cranberries. The final result was chewier than I expected. The walnuts and cranberries went well with the scallops.

I've never heard of velveting by sliding the protein in oil or water, to partially cook or complete cook before I read about it on egullet. From what my parents taught me, velveting meant first marinating the protein in seasonings, cornstarch and oil. Let the protein rest while you cook the vegetables. Clean the wok out, heat it up, just enough oil to coat the surface completely, with a small pool of a couple tbsp at the bottom. (depending on how much protein to be cooked). Add the meat, stir after one side starts to brown a bit, continue until 3/4 done, add the veg and liquid accumulated, mix well, and the meat is like velvet - from the cornstarch / oil marinade. "Sliding" thru' oil or water bath just seems like an extra step? The only time I've ever done it was when we had the restaurant. On crazy busy days like Mother's Day, New Years, etc, we'd do the "velveting bath" only to have a large amount of beef, pork, or chicken pre-cooked to quickly add to the veg as per order. Have never done the shrimp that way. Here's the shrimp I made for CNY - velveting the way I described above. It stays juicy, velvety, and crispy...

Heidi: Yes, lots of rice, especially good with the moistened burnt rice on the bottom of the pot. I sometimes use sliced beef, or I might use sliced pork with mui choi. Beef always seem to go better with ja choi. Ground meat was better for the kids when they were small - broken up and mixed with the rice and juice. It's comfort food: salty, spicy, minty, meaty...

Chinese fusion - Sechuan / Guangdong... This was the first traditional Chinese dish I made for my hubby when we got married in 1966, and it's still his favourite. Steamed ground chuck with sechuan preserved turnip (ja choi) on his side. Mine had fermented salted cabbage (mui choi), chili pepper, and fresh mint (more Guangdong except for the mint and chili). The addition of the mint and chili was something I picked up on a trip to Durham, England in 1976, and that's the way I've been making it ever since. Both "originals" were the way my mom made it.

I have a weakness for prime rib roasts when they go on sale at Sobeys: Sterling Silver at $8.99 / lb. AA for 5.99 / lb. My parents always wanted really tender, flavourful roasts, so the grandchildren all grew up with that. It was cheaper when we had the restaurant. Now I just make sure to pick some up whenever there's a sale. Kids can't afford the prime roasts on their budget, so it's a real treat for them when they come out for the weekends. Sweet potato and flax seed bread...looks so healthy and good. Share your recipe, kayb? It would be a great way to eat more of both.

I'll take an order of that, Bruce! I need to try my hand on some Mexican food. I bought one of Rick Bayless books. Just haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe during my break in April...

While searching for the duck for last night's supper, I had to re-organize my freezer. At the bottom, beside the duck, I found a 4-rib AAA prime roast. Kids were home, so there was help to eat up the roast. I still have 3 AAA roasts left! I'm a sucker for meat sales. I roasted the meat at 225F, from noon with the core still a little frozen. I pulled it at 140F but resting took it beyond med-rare. However, it was still juicy and tender. Served it with fresh green peppercon cream sauce (forgot to take a picture of it), pan gravy for the rice, peas, corn, broco-slaw. No Yorkies because of the cholesterol-plus meal with the duck. 6 adults, one slice of meat and 3 bones left... Dessert was mango pudding from Heart Smart Chinese cookbook. I omitted the 3/4 cup sugar as the canned mango pulp was sweetened. Sprinkled some papaya seeds on top just for contrast. They were not tasty! Son brought over a bottle of Tamaya Caremere. It was nice - a bit of bite to cut through the fat and richness of the cream sauce.

I love beef tendons done dim sum style. I don't have a recipe, but I have braised them with these ingredients: - star anise, ginger, soya sauce, garlic, green onion, xioshing wine, rock sugar, salt and orange rind. I blanch the tendons first, clean them then cut into desired lengths. Cover them with water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer for 2 -3 hours - until tender. I usually start them on top of the stove, then put the whole pot into the oven at 300F for a couple of hours. I use my Crueset pot for these. If you have saved braising liquid from braising other meats, lo-sui, then use that. I have a recipe for Sizzling Stir-fried Squid – Bplah Meuk Pad Chah by Kasma Loha-unchit. Haven't made it yet, but you should be able to google it.

patrickamory: I used the peppercorns in Thai curries, soups, anything that called for black pepper, and ate them straight off the stems with anything - in sandwiches, soups, everything! I had some left over from a previous batch, so I put them out on a tray to dry, along with some left over Thai chili peppers. My grandpuppy Lily got a hold of one the chilis and found it was not to her liking! She would definitely like it if cooked in something.

Cooked duck breasts for the first time and loved them! Kids brought 2 packaged breasts, and I cut up a duck I got last year( ) from a Hutterite colony. 2 legs are left for another day. I used the carcass for stock, added a chunk of ginger, 2 stalks of celery, one star anise, and kolrabi for a lovely soup - topped with Thai basil (great combo)- light but ducky. I rendered the fat trimmings and deep-fried the taters: Ryan made a cream and raisin sauce for the baby carrots: Did up some simple stir-fried green beans with garlic: Seared duck breasts with Ming Tsai's Hoisin - lime sauce: incredible! Jason Santo's recipe called for Hoisin, ketsup, sesame oil, oyster sauce, and fermented black beans. I felt it would have been too many flavours and kill the duck, so I opted for one by Ming Tsai - just Hoisin, lime juice, chopped ginger and garlic. It was a good decision.