liuzhou

Quite common round Chateau Liuzhou. Especially tiny dried shrimp - 虾皮 (xiā pí). Available in all Asian stores which stock 虾皮 (xiā pí) !

Lunch with a friend and her daughter in a local "western" restaurant. I'm not sure west of where, though. This I wish to point out was not my choice, but the 9-year-old daughter's. Beef kebabs with fries. Beef was OK, but could have been rarer. Fries were oversalted. Apologies for picture quality. Beef pizza. Edible but not what I call a pizza. The base was crisp, but not in a good way and the sqiggles of brown gunk unnecessary.

I was joking when I said I didn't know what ranch dressing is, but not joking when I said I've never eaten it or even seen it. Not many ranches round the UK or China, I guess. Anyway it sounds horrible! One of the very few things my mother can cook well is Brussel sprouts. I was only ever served foul smelling , boiled sprouts at school, as I recall. Sprouts and water should only meet in the irrigation and washing part of the process of delivery to my gullet..

The one with oil is spicier. The oil is chili oil (红油 hóng yóu). Use it when you want more heat.

Spicy, Garlicky Prawns with Basil and Orzo.

Well, I always find sprouts palatable, if cooked correctly - i.e. not boiled. In fact, I love sprouts and miss them here where they are unknown. In fact, none of my friends beleive me when I describe them, so on my trip back to the UK this summer I bought some just to photograph one. Didn't work. Everyone is convinced I photoshopped a big cabbage onto my hand to make it look small. I have never had ranch dressing, whatever it might be, in my life so cannot comment.

Here's another Pixian brand, I like. Don't know how widely available it is outside China, though.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/tesco-unveil-battered-sprouts-christmas-18941477

Good news or bad?

Real fat and oil is also 'shortening'.

I doubt Chinatown would thank him for it. Lee Kum Kee Is a Cantonese company far from Sichuan. Their doubanjiang has several ingredients that would never be included in Sichuan and looks, tastes and smells all wrong. This is what 'real' douban jiang looks like. I'd bin LKK's version rather than inflict it upon anyone else. In fact, I'd bin most LKK products. Look for Pixian Doubanjiang (郫县豆瓣酱 / 郫縣豆瓣醬) if you want the real deal.

Actually, the name 干妈 means 'godmother', not 'grandmother' or 'honorable mother' as claimed upthread. Literally 老干妈 (lǎo gān mā) translates as 'old dry mother', here meaning 'dry' as in the sense of not offering liquid sustenance to the child. A bit akin to being the opposite of a wet nurse, I suppose. However, unlike 'godmother' it carries no religious significance or responsibilities.

Revisiting an old friend. Good old mince and tatties with that ancient, traditional Scottish side of 小白菜 - Baby Bok Choy.

Revised old book. It's a revised version of "Land of Plenty". These two brands of Pixian Doubanjiang are the most common I see. Both excellent.

er, that's what I said.