liuzhou

No They are not the same. Coconut vinegar is made from the flowers of the coconut palm. Coconut aminos is made from the sap of the tree mixed with salt.

Like here?

I didn't buy this one. Can't think why? Any of these would be OK

Here are my house keys.

Bags and other items like these have beeen around for years in China and Japan. Nothing new. Two images I happened to save. Can't remember why but I know it was about two years ago and they weren't new then.

What? I didn't make anything up. I haven't seen a direct reference to Xanthoxylon Clava-Herculis being what the OP is seeking. I merely suspect it could be, as I said. If not directly used, it may bean ingredient in whatever is or was used.

No. The chillies are not eaten at all. It does seem wasteful but, as you say, they are dried and therefore not very palatable. However, they give up a lot of flavour to the chicken and there is a certain pleasure in digging through the chillies to find the meat. It's a fun dish to serve to people, although I ate that one myself.

I rather suspect "Hercules" is Xanthoxylon Clava-Herculis, a relative of Sichuan peppercorn but native to North America, sometimes called hercules-club or the toothache tree, in reference to its mouth numbing effect. I've had Sichuan peppercorns in cocktails in Shanghai's legendary Peace Hotel cocktail bar, so not so unlikely. Don't quote me in court, though.

Too big is my problem. For some reason over the last two years or more, onions sold here have been getting bigger and bigger. They are now the size of bowling balls. I stopped buying them; living alone I never cooked anything that required that much onion and if I cut them up, I usually ended up throwing most away. Now I only use shallots, which I prefer anyway. Next time I decide to make a dopiaza for the entire neighbourhood, I may buy an onion.

Now that this topic has been revived can I just say that I wasn't talking about Chinese cheese. There is very little of that and the little there is doesn't use rennet. i'm told it remains by my sister who makes cheese in England.

For years my breakfast was an industrial strength black coffee and a cigarette. I stopped smoking last century and while I still have a coffee Its less strong than before. After I retired in 2018,I started occasionally eating breakfast more but still don't always. I guess a lot of us still in the workforce are less likely to have time or the appetitie for an early meal other than maybe a slice of toast. Or, if they do have breakfast, it's often a sandwich or something and a coffee picked up from a shop or kiosk near work. I know it's what many, if not most people do in London. Until I was sick last year, I often stayed in hotels and homestays in the countryside where I would eat more - but it would be Chinese breakfasts and not anything I would (or often could) make at home. I'll never turn down a cup of oil tea in a ethnic minority villager's home.

Lunch was soup. Clams in a shrimp shell stock with mustard greens. should have bought spinach and squid then I could have made shrimp shell stock squid spinach soup with clams. Only ever make that at home; you'll never be able to say it to a waiter.

辣子鸡 (là zi jī) Chicken cubes marinated in Shaoxing and soy sauce with some salt. Deep fried then drained. then refried with 50g dried facing heaven chillis (halved and de-seeded, a tablespoon of red Sichuan peppers (whole) and chopped scallions. Sichuan / Chongqing perfection. Served with steamed asparagus and rice.

This breakfast topic has been running for years and has always been the least active of the Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner topic trilogy. My theory is that even the most adventurous eaters tend to be most conservative at breakfast. We all tend to fall back to a handful of favourites which we repeat over and over again, perhaps due to lack of time to be more adventurous or simply a preference for familiar comforts first thing in the morning. Dinner is when I get most adventurous. Breakfasts are said to be the meal travellers and ex-pats struggle with most. I moved from Britain to China 28 years ago and, although 90% of my meals now are Chinese, for breakfast I still tend to fall back to the old favourites – bacon, eggs, toast etc. Although, in the last couple of years, I have added congee to the rotation. I seldom post breakfast because there is seldom anything new or interesting. When in Vietnam, it’s bánh mì. Chinese friends who have moved abroad find the same. A plate of ham ‘n’ eggs or a bowl of cornflakes is alien food which they find challenging for breakfast. They want a bowl of noodles or soy milk and deep fried dough sticks (crullers). So the reason many of us don’t post here so much is that we’ve done so several times before. How many boiled eggs do we want to see?

Same with lotus root.