Dejah

I blanch whole green beans in water with a sprinkle of baking soda to maintain the lovely green colour. They are then cooled under cold running water and drained. Stir-fry some ground pork or chicken with Chinese chili paste (toban jiang), add the green beans at the last minute, and serve over rice. To cut off the stalk end, I take a handful of beans, even out the ends, then trim with kitchen scissors.

In our restaurant, we always used them in stir-fries along with the florets, and I still do at home. The easiest way to peel the stem is with a potato peeler. This takes off just the tough outer layer. I've used the stems for slaw, along with red cabbage, julienne carrots, dried cranberry, and roasted pumpkin seeds.

I add a chunk of lap yuk, a pair of duck liver sausages, and maybe a lap gnap drumstick on top of the rice and start cooking all together. The oil and flavours will drip down throughout the rice - heavenly aroma. The lap yuk should be cut into thin slices while it is hot; otherwise it will firm up and make slicing difficult. The fat will be transluscent and melt-in-your-mouth. My favourite part is actually the skin - a lovely chew while it is still warm. This lap mei fan doesn't need anything else - a one-pot meal. The best is last: gently toast the rice that is stuck to the bottom of the pot (not electric rice cooker), add hot water, scrape, and enjoy "fan jiew". To take it over the top, mash cooked sweet potato into the toasted rice before adding hot water - savory and sweet.

Ah...welcome back to Manitoba, Rona! Sounds like a good start to your eating out. I was in Wpg with my students in June. Many of them went to Kum Koon and ejnoyed the dim sum. 2 of the teachers wanted to go some place with a buffet, so the staff and some students went to Golden Terrace. The buffet at KK was bad last summer when we were there. 4 of us had dim sum - ordered off the menu. They only had carts after 2 pm. I wasn't as happy with the food. KK is better, especially the char siu cheong fun. The meat was diced and tasted old. Must have been leftovers from the previous day. It was quite different with the staff all speaking Cantonese. I could understand them! Funny how they all speak Mandarin at Kum Koon. Might even get to like Smiling Johnny. Won't be able to get into the city again for a while. But, might be having a dim sum "workshop" at my place in the near future with a bunch of friends who are missing the dim sum my restaurant used to offer.

Could it have been beef rendang recipe made with oxtails? I have made it with beef short ribs with success. Oxtails would be a fine alternate in this recipe. The dish is indeed dark, spiced, and spicy. The rendang doesn't have a liquidy sauce when it is done cooking. I usually take some of the liquid off during the braise to make a separate sauce to serve along side.

Hubby's ONE culinary skill: making toast then scooping up a dish of molasses - to be applied to the toast with a spoon - one bite at a time. His nanny used to make a great soft molasses cookie. I need to make those!

I am in the same category, but somehow, it still happens. Must be Safeway fresh, pillowy butter pan buns with smooth peanut butter. I could polish off 3 at a time!

Been catching up on your travelogue. After the March 23 – Mountain Octopus entry, all I can say isSHOCK 'N' AWE!

Somehow, feeding boiled egg to a hen with a broken ankle just doesn't sound right.

Joong, Joongzi, anyone? Today's the day and I didn't have time to make any. However, s-i-l came over last night at 10pm with a dozen, and I promptly sat down and ate one warm, googy sticky rice filled with lapcheong, duck egg, saltd pork, mushroom, and peanuts. Having more for supper tonight with hot'n'sour soup.

Really sorry to hear about your father and mother, Gastro. They'll be happy to have you looking after them with the traditional tonics. I'll see if I can find out more information about the tonic when I visit my mom tonight.

Hi Diana, The purpose is the same as "velveting" meat before stir-frying. The small amount of cornstarch gives the slices of fish a velvet texture as it is quickly cooked in the congee. It really makes a difference. I usually add more than "a pinch."

Thanks for the responses. My friend has planned a Saturday trip there with several others as part of a day trip. I'll do reconnaissance then go back early the following week for a longer shopping spree.

Our kids are all home, so we started the Easter weekend with rosemary-dijon mustard glaced racks of lamb on Friday, roast Turkey and all the trimmings last night. Tonight, I have a 5-rib AAA prime rib ready to go along with Yorkies, steamed mixed veg (cauliflower, green beans, broccoli, carrots), garlic mashed potatoes, d-i-l is bringing green bean casserole, broccoli pecan salad, and ambrosia delight for dessert. My 100 year-old Mom is in a transitional facility waiting to go into personal care. She was wishing that she could come home for the family dinner, so we are going to surprise her by taking the whole dinner and crew up to her. We've booked a large family games room and wine is allowed!

We're heading to Dayton, Ohio this summer, and one of the places I've heard about is Jungle Jim's International Market in Fairfiled, Ohio. What is shown on their website is incredible. Anyone been? Is it as exciting as it looks?

Thanks for sharing your adventures, Rona. I particularly enjoyed seeing pics of your Mom - a lady I hope to enjoy food with one of these days. The silk worms remind me of the ones my grandfather used to love. They were called "rice worms" - loosely translated. Apparently they were gathered in the rice paddies in the spring? My memory is vague but I can remember shuddering whenever the plate was brought to the table. These were mixed in with eggs and steamed. I wonder how the spiders are eaten, as street food?

Now I'll be humming "Leaving on a Jet Plane" for the rest if the day! Looking forward to more food!

Dejah, Here’s a shot of the package of starch I’ve been using. Good luck on finding it, and thanks. I’d been meaning to get a picture on file for some of my Chinese friends to see if they can replenish me. (and if anyone out there knows a place in Vancouver with this, I'd love to know!) ← Thanks, Peter! I tried to find a copy of Joannes Riviere - Cambodian Cooking at Barnes and Noble across the border this weekend, but will have to order it through Amazon. However, I did pick up Charmaine Solomon's The Complete Asian Cookbook, and it has a small section on Cambodia & Laos. That'll keep me reading for now.

That looks like a great "send-off" meal for Yoonhi before you left again The Sichuan bean starch - what is it made from? Is it available in North America? If not, I could get my students to find it for me when they go home to China during the term break. If you have a picture, that would be very helpful. So, from where are we to expect the next feast-report?

This is what my family call Nian Gao, and we also fry it up dipped in egg. The ones shown by lilyhotel are what we call gnai lan yuen (in Toisanese) Mom made them into disks, balls, long chunks, steamed, then kept them immersed in water in big urns. The yuen stay hard until they are sliced and fried up with meat and vegetables. I love it when they get a little crispy on the outside but soft inside, and dipped in spicy hot sauce. The ones we can buy are usually elongated flat pieces about 1.5 inches long. I have a package but never cooked them.

Or it could simply be sweet soy sauce?

Groan...looks like I'll have to buy Joannes Riviere - Cambodian Cooking. The last dish with the green peppercorns just did me in. I can almost taste that burst of pepper and basil. This dish has all my favourite ingredients and aromas. I wonder if Rona knows where I can buy green peppercorns in Winnipeg... Keep 'em coming, Peter. It's always great to have your pictorials to go along with the cookbook. I also saw Elephant Walk in Amazon.ca. Whoa! Expensive!

Trying to dunk a huge king crab into a pot of boiling water might be quite a chore, especially if it fights back! If you have a large freezer, put the crab in there while you get that big pot of water boiling. That will "put it to sleep" without freezing the meat, and there'll be no resistence when it goes for a hot bath.

Great looking table, Chufi. The spiced cigars looked very elegant with the salad. I have been using Hungarian paprika for that extra kick. I agree with you on the bread in the musakhan as the best part: all the flavours, juice... How many guests did you have?

I have posted the recipe for Spiced Cigars with a lamb version that can be used on flatbread.