Dejah

hzrt8w: Inexcusable! 3 days of food porn=overdose! Hurry up!

OH YES! They should be the large pear-shaped Chinese pomelo because the rind is thicker. They should be available soon with Chinese new Year coming up.

and moon cakes!

Chaozhouhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teochew http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiuchow_cuisine ← Our own Tepee would be the authority on all things Teochew.

Dejah, thanks for suggesting water spinach substitutes. Bak choi tips - would that be just the green part? Beef rendang is pretty ultimate. Have you tried the potato or chicken rendangs? ← Bruce: Bok choi tips really should have been choi sum tips. Sorry about that! These are the top 4 - 5 inches of the plant. I think they must pinch these off growing plants forcing them to branch out and produce more tips. They are tender but would hold up better than water spinach in storage and cooking. I have made the chicken rendang. We loved it too! Been staying away from starches, so potato rendang will have to wait a bit. I cooked up 4 lbs of the beef in rendang . Slept with the aroma and salivated all night! The recipe calls for 2 cups of coconut milk/2 lbs of beef. I used one can regular coconut milk and one can of "lite". I wonder if the flavour will suffer? Won't know until I get home from the workshop.

The tofu sticks, like tofu, does not have strong taste. It takes in the flavour of more dominant ingredients like Chinese mushrooms, sauces. The texture is a soft chew, if that makes sense.

I think choi sum, pea shoots, bak choi tips would work in place of the water spinach. We seldom get it on the prairies, and when we do, they are often past their prime. The slight bitterness of gai lan may clash with the flavours in the sauce. I agree with you on the basil. I prefer it raw, but I suppose one could add some to flavour the sauce and add the larger portion just before eating. I'm heading to an ESL workshop weekend. Hubby requested a big pot of beef rendang to satisfy his hunger while I'm away, so I have 2 chuck roasts cut up and ready to go. Think I might even try tepee's idea of beef rendang sushi! Dang! I've got to move beyond this one recipe, but then, I thought, WHY? djyee: Great looking fish curry. The lime and basil can sway me onto any recipe. I'll have to try and find some thick pieces of fish.

Curry octopus! Still looking for a recipe for these. Anyone? What a great place to enjoy time with your family. Please don't feel obligated to eat turkey tho'.

I've been wanting to make that tofu but I don't like deep frying. I'm not afraid, I just hate wasting all that oil. ← I don't throw away the oil after deep frying, at least, not until I've used it several times. I strain it after it cools down, store it in a large sealer jar, and keep it in the fridge. If there is food odor, just deep fry some slices of potato in it before you use it next time.

Ah Leung: I love those peanut and coconut candies! Pack some in your suitcase for your Dai gah Jeah. You mentioned two HK locations I remember from my childhood: North Point where I lived for a couple of years, and Nathan Road where I had a penpal. I don't remember food there tho' I was wayyyy too young to remember. Keep posting delicious pictures.

I think venison would work well in the recipe for beef rendang, or any recipe using lamb.

by Rick Bayless (eGullet-friendly Amazon link). Mr. Bayless does an excellent job of using shortcuts without compromising taste. This makes a lot more Mexican food (one of my first loves) possible on weeknights.Probably cheaper than Tracey's stove, too. ← Thanks, Bruce!

The newer version is 15,000 BTU which is what en Sook recommends. So, looks like I'll have to buy one of them! It'll be great for hot pot too! Thanks Jo-mel.

Tracy! That is some beautiful stove! What make is it? I need to go buy me some lottery tickets. Bruce: Mexican Everyday by___________? You cook alot from that book, so now I must have it. I want to add it to my Xmas wish-list - along with Tracy's stove!

Jo-mel, I have been looking at the butane stoves in my Asian market. These are Korean and really quite inexpensive - around $30.00 Canadian. Are they similar to what you are using?

Amazing duck! Way beyond my patience, I think. I remember my parents making it years ago for my Dad's bday dinner. That is pot barley. Love that stuff in soup, etc.

Yet another way to enjoy rendang!

Whose next in line to try it? ← I'm itching to try, but can't get good belly until I get into the city again - probably during December sometime. The prices at local supermarkets are way out of range for the amount and quality I'd want. All the preceeding slabs look incredible!

Tepee was the one who first showed me beef rendang in her joongzi. Perhaps she can give us more details on what it is suppose to taste like, and how to get that rich coffee brown colour. I'm happy with the colour I got, but always open to ideas for improvement.

Ahem! I expect you'll gain more than 21 pounds inspite of the 2 or 3 hiking trips - 'cos you must eat one portion for yourself, one portion for Dai Gah Jeah Dejah, and finish what your good wife cannot! Looking forward to your teasers and final report, Silow.

Chestnuts are fine in joong - just different texture from the peanuts. Please post a picture when they are done. Rona: I couldn't handle the idea of foil wrapping either! My teeth were hurting. With joong, they are boiled as raw rice is used, so I don't think parchment would survive. With nor mai fan, the parchment could work as the steaming time would be relatively short. I can't think of any other wrapper to use. My s-i-l makes nor mai fan without wrapping in her steamer - more like lap mai fan, I guess. Dried bamboo leaves are quite compact. Could "Mom" not tuck a package in her suitcase? They could be used again if you're careful in opening them. Lotus leaves are quite fragile, so they would be difficult to transport. ETA: I have a container of chicken/mushroom/lap cheung bao filling leftover. It's juicy, but I'm going to try to use it in leen yeep jong today. Daughter is in study mode for finals, so she needs good old Chinese food for sustenance.

Pictures? I have a ton of pictures of food porn, I just have problems uploading. I am a cook, what do I know about computers? I will try again, maybe it is a jpeg sizing issue? ← Git thee to the techie page and post pictures! If I can do it, anyone can!

No need to be embarrassed, Rona. I do stuff like that all the time. My daughter has been to VS several times now and really likes the freshness of the dim sum items. I think she's like you - prefer fresh rather than from the cart. I need her to try Kam Ho now and compare.

Fugu, I don't understand Do you mean each ingredient is a separate "pancake" on its own, for example, shrimp in one, fresh baby corn in another, and chives in yet another? Can you provide a picture next time you make this?