Dejah

I usually buy lean ground beef at the store, mix with a tbsp. oil and 1 tbsp of cornstarch because the meat is too lean. If I don't add the oil and starch, it does not have that smooth soft texture - rather, it is "rough/sope in Toisanese". I mix it all together vigorously and dump into a dish, but I don't pat it down as it tends to be too "compacted". I may spread it out over the dish with my chopsticks creating ridges and small craters to hold any liquids resulting from the steaming. To top the meat, I sometimes use, as Ben mentioned, Szechuan vegetable or jah choi, mui choi with ginger slivers, chili slivers, and fresh mint leaves, or ham choi (the root veg that Ben calls choong choi?). For pork, I may use the same toppings as above, or with Chinese mushrooms and lap cheong. I'd like to hear what your Mom uses, Toisangirl. Please post the results.

This has got to be the craziest thread for Chinese forum, but as Ben Sook said,"Hey! It's Christmas!" I guess we DO have to deviate once in a while. I am so happy that we are out of the restaurant biz during these times - money was good, but OI! I wish it was more evenly distributed throughout the year rather than crazy-as-all-get-out on Xmas eve, Xmas day, 30th and 31st as well as days like Mother's Day. It used to be so hectic getting home by 8 on the 24th and finish getting supper ready and wrapping gifts. This year, I was so ready I kept thinking I forgot a food item or someone's gift. The kids and families all got in on the 24th - started with late afternoon snacks with hot'n'sour soup, and we sat down to 2 roasted boneless legs of lamb marinaded with raspberry wine vinegar, fresh rosemary, fresh mint, cracked tri-coloured peppercorns and garlic, fresh mint sauce, letteuce wraps with various diced vegetables and shitaki mushrooms, mixed vegetables, pan roasted potatoes, saffron/cumin basmati rice, shrimp stir-fried with citrus pepper, bottles of red wine, and ambrosia delight dessert (not the marshmellow salad!). The rest of the evening was spent nibbling shortbread cookies, skor-bits slice, butter tarts, and other various slices. Xmas Day was the traditional dinner at older brother's with all of his kids and families: I did the turkey and works, and English trifle as is the tradition, augmented with baked ham, brussel sprouts, oven baked vegetable medley, pickled cucumber Chinese style (s-i-l's specialty), curried beef in flaky pastry, scalloped potatoes, rice, mixed vegetables. Dessert was trifle, lau po bang from Vancouver, and all the other dainties. Today - chow ho fun for lunch, and then beef and tomato as part of supper. Will make watercress soup for something a bit lighter! Happy Boxing Day and a Happy and Good Eats in 2008 to everyone!

That "recipe" sounds like what I am planning to use. I'll probably throw in some chili peppers for that ma lah kick. Thanks, Fugu. IN my search for recipes, I read in one blog where you'd have to watch the timing on the tendons. Too little, they remain tough, too long, they become a gelatinous mass. I had some tendon at a dim sum restaurant in Winnipeg recommended by prasantrin (not Kum Koon, Ben), and they were very good - tender and flavourful. I"ll be sampling some this afternoon - the shipment from Vancouver. I'll keep a couple of containers in the freezer for comparison when I make my own.

1. The eggs can just be kept in a dark cool place. 2. Yes, the eggs are raw when you put them in brine. The yolk hardens but the white stays clear but becomes more runny-like. 3. Salted eggs are definitely NOT the same as the "thousand year old eggs"! They are a different thing all together. Salted eggs must be cooked before eating whereas the TYOeggs can be eaten right out of the shell or steamed with salted eggs and fresh eggs, thrown in with congee, etc.

Scored! Elder sister has sent out cooked beef tendons from Vancouver -dim sum style. Elder brother found frozen beef tendons in Winnipeg's Asian market - Sun Wah. Happy Happy Joy Joy! Now, how to duplicate the dim sum style, and try out new recipes. Please help!

I have frozen hundreds of leen yeep joong - the proper name for these. I usually made a large batch, freeze and send them back with the kids when they go back to Wpg. They don't even resteam them before eating - just zap em in the microwave to reheat. The small bucket might have contributed to some of the cracks. One thing my Mom always said, with both bamboo and lotus leaves - DON'T cram or push them down! Use a large container with water to cover. Next time - prasantrin... ETA: As for putting the filling together, I used to do it the same way you did. Then I started mixing the rice and filling together before scooping it onto the leaves for wrapping. I like this way better as the filling and flavours are mixed throughout the rice. I'm so happy that you made all these things with your Mom!

I'm having problems with lotus leaf breakage, though, so I might have to eat some of that rice plain. Poor me! The things I suffer for eGullet! ← Did you Mom take the leaves over for you? Did they crumble in travel? You DID soak the leaves for several hours, or overnight so that they are pliable, or as Ah Leung did in his pictorial, covered with boiling water? Me thinks you're just making the excuse-to-eat-just-filling up.

Braised the tripe tonight after washing it and rubbing it with baking soda. It smelled "fresh" I braised it in diluted dark soy, rock sugar, star anise, cinnamon stick, orange peel, ginger. I should have used light soy as it is very brown, so my mistake there. The tripe was braised on top of the stove for 2 1/2 hours. The house smelled yummy; the tripe was ugly as all get out, but tender and delicious. I think I'll steam them like Ben suggested tomorrow. Having problems with my camera. Hope hubby can get it to work tomorrow so I can take a picture. My sister has sent, via Greyhound bus, frozen cooked beef tendons from her favourite dim sum restaurant in Richmond or Burnaby. I wanted dried ones, but I'll certainly enjoy these as well. My s-i-l has pork tendons. I wonder if they'll work? They are thinner, so may melt away with braising?

Shhhhhh...prasantrin - SHE likes baos, PERIOD! I always make mine with lots of filling and thin doug mainly because my family are carnivors. My students actually "complain" that there isn't enough dough. I think it must be what you grow up with. My Mom always puts lots of "haam" in her baos, so I continue thus.

I've never had braised goo look pei. My mom usually lets the whole peel dry first, then it is rehydrated in water. When it is pliable, she'd squeeze the peel, change the water, soak again. The process is repeated several times to get rid of the bitterness. The loose pithy stuff is taken off, leaving the firmer pith and peel. She then cuts the peel into chunks and soaks them in soy sauce for a couple of months until they are black and infused with the salt and flavour of the soy sauce. Whenever she wants to cook some, she'd take a chunk out, slice it thinly, lay these on top of sliced fatty pork, then steamed. I seem to remember seeing this in cans? sold in Chinese grocery stores. I must check next time. I always save the peel, but never seem to get around to preserving them.

Dear Ben Sook, Have you been using Wikipedia like the young'uns?

Hor fun is considered a "snack"? I thought almond cookie is a snack. Beef jerkie is a snack... ← Well, the book consists of recipes for dim sum, and I think the title was a result of "lost in translation". My grandson would eat chow hor fun as a main course AND as a snack!

Thanks, Ben Sook. I might get the chance to work on this stuff tomorrow. Waiting to hear from a new butcher shop to see if I can get beef tendons. Any guidance on that?

The lobak goh at dim sum places is sometimes greasy because the slices are pan fried prior to serving. The taro cake in the title is similar to radish cake except that it's made with diced cooked taro. The taro puffs you described are quite a different thing, but also delicious!

There's a recipe in Wei-chuan cookbook: Chinese Snacks - revised - by Huang Su-Huei. Rona: I've sent you a PM.

I want to try making tripe dim sum style. I've eaten lots, but have never made it at home. I bought some yesterday, and it had a nice beige/white appearance. I assume these have been prepared for cooking at home. Do I still need to "clean" it in some way before using? One recipe said to braise it like Chinese beef stew: with star anise, hoisin sauce, peppercorns, garlic, etc. Anyone make this at home or have a recipe? I'm STILL looking for curried baby octopus recipe too!

Dejah, I used the recipe from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. Do you have that book? If not, I will be happy to PM it to you. ← Oh! I actually have that book - from your recommendation. I'll look it up. Thanks!

I can't remember who sent me the recipe for hom siu gok - someone here, and the recipe had mashed cooked yam in the dough - 6 oz. of yams to 1 lb of glutinous flour. For sweet version, the recipe called for Chinese brown sugar. Can someone please chime up if you sent me the recipe? Glad you made the baos and hom siu gok, Rona. Joongzi next?

What can be better than pork belly for char siu! It will stay moist even after sitting in the fridge for a day or so. Any other cut tends to dry out a little. Rona: Your char siu looks great even blurry. Is your Momma proud? June: Have you posted your dough recipe? It looks white and fluffy, and I'd like to try it. What recipe did you use for the marinade, Bruce?

Every once in a while, I get a craving and have one for a snack with pickled ginger or shallots, but mostly, I like pei dan diced into my jook.

I know I can't rely on the backs of the packs cuz some of the caloric values don't make sense, but based on common sense such a thin layer at 15 or 20 cal/ makes sense. They also expand my mind in terms of wrapping. I now find that wrapping my protein and pickled and fresh veg in a sesame/perilla leaf is as satisfying as the rice paper wrap. I am also wondering how the tofu skin can be used in such a fresh application. So much to explore... ← Re soaking the rice paper: I use a 10 inch pyrex pie plate filled with warm water. One wrapper is immersed until pliable, and as I pull it out to use, I slip a new one into the water. I do the wrapping on a wooden board. If the wrapper is too wet, I blot it with a wrung out wet paper towel. I see people usually use raw vegetables and softened rice noodles in their filling, but I have always prefered to stir-fry my filling (bean sprouts, julienned carrots, green onion, rice noodles, fish sauce) just a little to blend the flavours. Fresh mint is good herb to include as a see-thru' decoration and for accent flavour. Thai basil and cilantro can also be used in place of mint. Heidih: You'd probably enjoy lettuce wraps/cups with stir-fried diced vegetables, waterchestnuts, and Chinese mushrooms with a touch of hoisin sauce.I served those at my son's wedding rehearsal dinner and everyone enjoyed making their own. With tofu skin, you'd have to steam the rolls before eating. I think they also deepfry them as dim sum.

Yeah, yeah...don't believe a word of the above. Like Robin said, gorgeous! I've never seen ferns like in your picture, TP. Are they just more fully grown fiddle heads? I love those but haven't been able to find any in our markets the last couple of years. Dejah aka Sue-On

Thanks for the suggestions. I picked up the bitter melon on a whim, so stir-frying was easy. I could see it adding a nice something to scrambled eggs or a slow-cooked brothy concoction. ← Bitter melon is an acquired taste. The degree of bitterness depends on the melon. Sometimes, a quick blanch will tone it down. For stir-fries I cook the slices with garlic, ginger, femented black beans, and beef. If available, I put this on top of ho fun. We also like it in a slow simmered soup with pork, rehydrated oysters, and lots of ginger. It took a couple of looks to associate your slices with the whole melons. I've always cut them across to form little bumpy arches.

My understanding is that it is a bit like making a clay pot. You are thinning and bringing the dough together to make a "balloon". The trick is how to close it off - I guess you need to have just enough dough at the "neck" to pinch it closed. ← My Mom used to blow air into a completed geen dui, twist and seal the neck then deep fry - in the method described by sheets: She stopped blowing air in as she got older. Funny how she thought that as she got older, she may have some dreadful germs in her breath! It all depends on the flour used. The ones my mom makes for Chinese New Year "bai sun" deflates after a day or two. That may be because the walls are thin. Other ones, maybe called something different, are crispy. The store-bought ones last year were hard as rock! The only one who ate them - without permission - was our dog! Wait...My Mom called them "chung tay": http://www.hillmanweb.com/soos/seedball.html

I'm sitting here watching another snowfall and thinking about "dan fah tong". (and repeating what all's been said before... ) In China, there are soups that have egg swirled in at the last minute - more for presentation and as a thickener than as a star ingredient. So, the "famous" Egg Drop Soup" found here in N.A. just grew out of that. The more exotic ingredients such as shark fin, crab, were not available to many who cooked Chinese food for the masses, so local ingredients such as mushrooms, other vegetables were added(much cheaper). The soup can't be called anything BUT egg drop soup, so the name stuck, and everyone became familiar with it. The simple name is not very threatening to anyone trying out Chinese food. When we try something new, liked it, it stays in our memory - often as comfort food.