TotallyNutz

I've heard vague stories when I was young about that time. My mom was already living in Hong Kong for several years during that period but I remember my mom saying that she sent money and food supplies to my grandmother and uncle in Guangzhou to keep them from starving. She said the years leading up to the Cultural Revolution were pretty grim. All they had to eat was sweet potatoes and a little rice. I also remember my mother cringing when one of my aunts made sweet potatoes and rice. Made her remember when she had to eat it or she would have starved.

My mom makes it with either the regular green cabbage or the siu choi. It's usually whatever's on hand. I used to beg her to make extra so I can have the leftovers next day for breakfast. The egg custard with haum har was the dish she served when money was running a little low and the groceries even lower. I always loved it and even asked for it when she did have food in the house .

For me it's pork with haum har, ngao yuk piang, steamed egg custard with haum har, green cabbage with dried shrimps, yao fan and eggplant with foo yee. My biggest guilty pleasure is white rice with the lap cheung cooked in the same pot. Omg, the delicious greasy pleasure of lap cheung and rice together *shudder*.

Tony and crew - please stay safe and be careful.

I was wondering the same thing when I went to tivo the episode and the South Florida one came up. I scheduled it just in case but I'll be really disappointed if the Ferran Adria episode isn't shown.

I love beef and tomato!! I ate so much of it growing up. Not sure the type of beef that mom used for the dish. I also loved the fact my mom added two beaten eggs to thicken the sauce. So yummy !!

Monica I'm loving your blog. I always wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your writings. I can almost taste the dishes you write about and I could never read about it on an empty stomach because it would drive me crazy! I'm wondering if you can recommend some titles on Indian food essays. I remember reading some posts on the India board about these writings but I'm not really too sure if they've been translated into English or even sold in the US. Thanks in advance. Amy

My hubby and I LOVE sriracha on everything! This stuff is way better than Tabasco and I used to be a big Tabasco fan. My favorite guilty pleasure with sriracha is fried spam slices and mac and cheese with a big squirt of the stuff on top of it.

First generation ABC of Toisanese parents and proud of it! When I was a teenager in high school I was embarrased to speak Toisan because most kids spoke Cantonese, even the ones from Toisan households. But people usually figured out that Cantonese wasn't my main dialect because I spoke it with a slight accent and of course being a dumb "jook sing" I spoke mainly English. Now that I'm older, I'm more comfortable with who I am. I never learned how to cook any of the homestyle dishes my mom made when I was growing up. I really miss those dishes now that I no longer live with her. I try to observe as much as possible when I visit her. I do miss joong, woo tau goh, hahm har jee yook, and hahm yee. Unfortunately, my Puerto Rican husband has not developed a liking for those things . In terms of what village my parents were from, I've been told a thousand times when I was a kid. And I still don't remember .

I've had one or two bad meals before but this was the worse considering that my mil is an excellent cook. This was a couple of years ago on Christmas day. My husband and I spent a couple of days with her for the holiday so she wouldn't be so lonely. Since she wasn't expecting anyone to come over other than her mother and us, we decided that dinner would be a casual affair of leftovers from the Christmas Eve dinner. Well, this all went to hell when mil's brother calls her to say that he was bringing the family over and his mil for dinner. Instead of telling him that she had no intentions of cooking, she told him it wasn't a problem. She's in a frenzy making rice and beans and frying up chicken since it was the only available thing on hand until she went grocery shopping. For such a simple meal, it was the worst thing I've ever eaten. The rice was half cooked, tasted hard and chalky, beans were bland and watery and you can forget about the chicken. The stuff was fried into a salty, yucky mess, overcooked in some parts and burned in the others. My husband was amazed that she could serve such a crappy meal. Considering how outspoken my hubby's grandmother is, even she kept her mouth shut in front of everyone. She didn't want to make a scene in front of her son's mil who is notoriously a bad cook and whom my mil had made comments of her cooking before. The only redeeming part of the meal was dessert. I loaded up on the black forest cake and endless helpings of ice cream to forget the worst meal of my life.

I usually read more than I post. EGullet is the best. And it's nice to know there are others out there who share my obsession with Pretz and Pocky.

I have to bring up again about that crappy show with Sandra Lee. Watching that show is like looking at a train wreck, you can't turn away. It was the last straw when she proceeded to make a panfried dumpling filling with that overprocessed fake Chinese canned LaChoy vegetables. That is totally disgusting !!!!! No self respecting Chinese person or Chinese food lover would even go that route . I swear FN programming is getting worse by the minute. It's all flash and no substance nowadays.

Hi Randi Where is Heritage Bakery located? I live in Aberdeen and I wouldn't mind going there to check out the Boston Creams.

Thanks hzrt8w for the recipe. I really appreciate it!

Spam sandwiches with American cheese and pickled jalapeno peppers. Excellent with a big cup of coffee for breakfast. Forgot to add, I like Slim Jims and pork rinds too. Not that I'd admit that to any of my friends for fear they run off in horror .

Hi Kris I'm totally loving this blog and I'm glad you're blogging again. I loved, loved, loved the New Year's blog. I actually felt I was in Japan. Keep it coming!

Thanks for the warm welcome, everybody. So Soba are you going to elaborate on the chicken feet? I'm waiting.... Dejah, regarding haum ha with fatty pork. That is my all-time favorite dish in the world. It's my secret love that I NEVER get anymore because my mom no longer makes it because she doesn't want to offend my sil's sensibilities. I guess I'll have to learn to make it myself when dh is working night shift. Since I never paid attention to my mom when she made this dish, what cut of pork should I use?

Wow, great topic. I'm ABC and hubby is Puerto Rican. His idea of Chinese food before he met me was typical Chinese takeout. I immediately set out to correct all of this. I took him to real Chinese restaurants in NYC Chinatown. Totally loved everything that I introduced him to with the exception of the more exotic stuff (chicken feet). He loved the authentic stuff so much that we had a traditional Chinese banquet instead of the usual wedding reception when we were married eight years ago. Now, his family wasn't too crazy about the stuff, especially since our menu was seafood heavy to boot. They were also of the "takeout" mold. Only three or four people in his family truly enjoyed everything that was served. Even his own grandfather made the truly embarrasing comment of "where's the pork fried rice and spareribs" but thankfully in Spanish. Hubby does enjoy my mom's home cooking with the exception of haum yee, fooyee, haum ha and bitter melon (which happens to still be my favorite comfort food items). He does cook but I'm somewhat hopeless in the cooking department when it comes to Chinese food. I'm decent when it comes to Puerto Rican food. Don't know why I can master that but not Chinese food, I guess if I need a comfort food fix I just go home to my mom .

Mmmmm.... I love grass jelly. I haven't had the stuff since I was a kid. I used to look foward to summer so I could beg my mom or dad to open up a can for a snack. Last time that I had anything that came close to grass jelly was the grass jelly drink with its tiny cubes that were totally impossible to suck up with a straw and not choke yourself with it. I think I'm going to go pick up a can.

Hi Tina and Brian and Rosie Thanks for the recs. I will try them out also. Thanks for the walm welcome, Rosie. Amy

Hi Jay-bob I have seen Great Szechuan when I go to the Stop and Shop. I had discounted the place because it looked kind of shabby. I'll try it out on your glowing recommendations. Thanks. Amy

Hello everyone Hubby and I will be finally moving to Aberdeen this weekend and we were wondering if anyone has been West Lake Chinese Restaurant in Aberdeen on Route 34. We both fiending for some good dim sum and it's so hard to get to Chinatown early enough for the stuff. Any comments and recs would be appreciated. Amy