liuzhou

Last night, I decided on Roujiamo but in a moment of pure laziness chose not to make them myself, as I do 99.99% of the time. Instead I ordered them from a newish restaurant about a kilometre from my home. They arrived promptly and were still hot. Unlike the cumin beef ones I make, these were pork. Number 1 Interior Terrible. Although, there was a generous amount of meat it was totally unseasoned and had zero cumin flavour despite it being listed on the menu description. It sat heavily in my stomach. An hour later, I decided to eat the second one which was slightly different. Number 2 Interior This one had some green chilli pepper - the mildest possible. Bell pepper close. Otherwise, indistinguishable from the first. I didn't even finish it. Who are they trying to appeal too? Certainly not me or anyone else who has eaten them in Xi'an. Laziness sucks.

Quite a few years ago, I regularly saw Velveeta here in China. I guess imported from Hong Kong. It was only ever in one store then disappeared. The store and the "cheese"! I never bought it. I prefer cheese! As to Mt. Rushmore, I would need a different mountain almost every day. Today, I'd go with: Brillat-Savarin Affiné Manchego Crottin de Pays Morbier

Damn! I'm so predictable. It looks more like Malabar spinach in the H-Mart image but the greens are often so similar visually. When searching for real spinach in the markets, I look for the purplish tinge to the roots. I buy that more often. Thanks!

Another question. What's the difference between 'regular spinach' and 'Chinese spinach'? I often buy spinach in China. Call me Popeye. But it's no different from spinach in Europe. Wikipedia offers some clues but I wonder what it is you are actually eating. Malabar spinach?

I'm so excited! After a thirty year search I have found it! 羊肝 (yáng gān)! Yes! Lamb's liver! Lamb leg meat has hitherto been the only ovine meat available. Generally, southern Chinese tends to avoid lamb / mutton, whereas northern and western China can't get enough. In fact, China has the largest number of domestic sheep in the world. This southern aversion has been changing as street-side spicy grilled lamb skewers have spread across China. Yet, until now, no offal. One supplier is carrying limited stock and urging customers to be quick as it is only available for a short time in the morning. So I got up early! I have to buy the whole liver. No hardship! 800g for $8.50 USD.

Talking of crabs reminds me of this. 蟹黄 (xiè huáng), literally ‘crab yellow’ is that yellow stuff you find in crabs that most people clean away. It is edible and even prized here. It is the roe, ovary, oviducts and digestive glands of Mrs. Crab. Similar to lobster tomalley in nature. It is relatively rich in nutrients such as nutrients and phospholids. Probably, the best known use of ‘crab yellow’ is in Shanghai’s famous 蟹黄汤包 (xiè huáng tāng bāo), ‘crab yellow’ soup dumplings. It also appears in a number of Cantonese dim sum dishes. I’ve seen crab yellow congee as well as ‘crab yellow’ fried rice or fried noodles. I’ve eaten ‘crab yellow’ baozi buns, where it is mixed with minced pork in the filling. 🍜 It is sold in jars of varying sizes as well as in larger cans for the restaurant trade. Once opened, it needs refrigeration for storage so I buy it in these small 100g jars which cost me around $1.50 USD. The type of crab is unspecified.

The legs are shelled, yes.

Chilled coconuts like this are often sold on the streets by itinerant vendors in summer for people to drink the coconut water they contain. This type isn't particularly meaty. The vendor will drill a hole in the shell and supply a paper or plastic straw. Very refreshing in the tropical heat. Today, I picked up this from the supermarket. They (or some supplier) have not only drilled a hole but fitted a tap so you can carry it home without fear of spillage. They have also supplied a straw which the tap is cunningly designed to hold. Then they have wrapped it nicely in a life-affirming wrapper. The large writing reads 加油 (jiā yóu), which literally means 'add oil', but is used as encouragement at sports events and the like to urge on your favourites. They claim it's Thai, but I'm not sure I believe them. Maybe. However, there is no Thai on the packaging other than Young Ham Nom Coconut, Nam Hom being the transliteration of the incorrect Thai name* of the type of coconut, but they also grow in Hainan, China. Apart from that there is only Chinese and English. * The Thai name is หนุ่มมะพร้าวหอม which transliterates as 'Nom maphrao hom'.

I re-appraised the sourdough I bought a couple of days ago. At the time I posted it I had tasted a slice and reported that it didn't have much sourdough flavour. What I did with that slice was toast it and buttered it. Later, I buttered an untoasted slice and the sourdough taste came through no problem. Same loaf; same butter. I don't remember that difference between toasted and untoasted in any sourdough I've had before. Is that normal?

This grabbed my attention a couple of days ago, as I was idly flicking through my local delivery app. It wasn’t the 王螃蟹 (wáng páng xiè) king crab that surprised me – I’ve long known they are available in China. It was the price listed. ¥9,999! I know king crabs don'’t come cheap but the most expensive I’ve previously seen were around ¥2,000 / $275 USD. ¥9,999 is $1,372.86. Then it twigged and I read the description. Nothing to do with king crabs, at all. The delivery app insists on the listings only containing items for sale (a no spam policy) but occasionally some companies get round that by advertising something they don’t stock at a ludicrous price to stop any idiot actually ordering it while getting their real point across in the description. The “description” in this case consists of information on the Chinese weighing conventions, which I think everyone knows anyway. We sensibly use metric, but mixed in with some old Chinese names. So, for example 500 grams can be described as such or as a 斤 (jīn). This used to be a variable weight depending on location but has now been standardised at 500 g throughout Mainland China. 1 kg is a 公斤 (gōng jīn), which confusingly literally means ‘common jin’ which it isn’t; jīn without its gong is the one I see most often! Anyway, back to king crab of whatever weight. These creatures, which aren’t true crabs*, like to hang out in very cold waters. Those in America tend, I’m lead to believe, to be caught mostly in Alaskan waters but some from Argentina. (?) Those here are always from Russian waters except for once when I saw one from Chile. It was the most expensive I've seen. I suppose because of distance. Although I can’t buy them whole locally, I can for delivery from further afield in northern China, suitably nearer to Russia! Those are usually around the $80 - $140 mark, depending on size, However, frozen king crab legs are available in supermarkets. These come from Russia, too. A 500g box can be between $30 and $50, again depending on size. * The only thing carcinologists agree on is that they aren’t true crabs (the Brachyura family). Some believe they are related to hermit crabs; others determinedly disagree. I don’t care.

Me neither. I'd be very surprised if it's ever frozen in SE Asia. Absolutely. Same here even though we're only a stone's throw from Vietnam. I did grow it but haven't done since I moved house. Must restart. The best I've had in China was in an Indonesian style restaurant in Nanning where they used it as skewers for grilled chicken. Really flavoured the bird meat. They grew it and other herbal exotica in the restaurant garden which you were encouraged to visit.

Many of us like a cup of tea with breakfast. Also eggs. Why not combine them. This is not SO unusual round these parts. Scrambled eggs with tea leaves. The young leaf shoots are preferred. Initial cooking Finished

桑叶 (sāng yè) or mulberry leaf is used in TCM for the usual nonsense, but is also used to make a herbal tisane. Despite a total lack of evidence for any medical benefit (indeed overuse can lead to gastric disturbances), it is curiously fashionable. The leaves of morus alba, white mulberry are preferred. In the west, it is usually sold dried or in capsule form for 'medical' use. Here it is fresh. ¥5.50 / 150 g.

From pictures I've seen of his other dishes, the carrot will literally be a small piece of one carrot sitting on an otherwise empty plate 40 times too large for its contents. He does have pictures on his website, but of course doesn't do anything so uncouth as to caption anything. The ₤20 oyster is one oyster covered in flim-flammery. The ₤42 venison portion is smaller than my big toe but not so attractive! ₤1 = $1.29 USD (for the moment).

I'm not sure if this is just stupid or patronising or pretentious but it's certainly crappy. A menu from a restaurant in London - I have removed the name to save them the humiliation. It's not that the writing is "wrong" per se but it is supremely uninformative and unwelcoming. He did manage to get his own name onto the menu, though. His priorities shine through.

Hainan is a group of tropical islands and China’s southernmost province. The largest island by far is the eponymous Hainan Island. It is a favourite tourist resort, especially the city of Sanya on its southern tip with its white beaches. Seafood is a speciality here, but not its only one: much of the fruit we get here is from the island. Hainan's location in China. The Singaporean / Malaysian favourite, Hainan chicken rice (HCR) isn’t generally found in Hainan. The dish was invented in Singapore by a Hainanese immigrant but using local ingredients. Wenchang chicken from Hainan on the other hand is a much prized breed and may have been used in HCR, but rarely is now. Yesterday, this caught my attention on my delivery app. Most people will know red snapper, but it doesn’t end there. Snappers are members of 笛鲷属 (dí diāo shǔ), Lutjanus, a genus in the Lutjanidae family. There are 73 known species within the Lutjanus genus and innumerable colours. Some are striped; others are spotted. They like to live in mangroves and both tropical and subtropical coral reefs, which Hainan has aplenty. What was being sold to me was a mixed selection from 19 types they list. I don’t get to choose – they do, supposedly at random. However the minimum I can order is 3kg. If I want the larger samples, I have to buy 10kg. Pass. I’m just lil’ ole’ me; not a restaurant. Precise species are not usually identified. In the image they describe two only by colour: ‘white’ (left) and ‘green’ (centre). The red one the right is the only one of the 19 I have managed to track down. It is Lutjanus sanguineus, humphead snapper or scarlet snapper. Prices range wildly, but none are cheap.

It's basically a thin wheat pancake.

Yes. Very different. Although, they do offer a choice of dressings. I'll check tomorrow what they are and let you know. I went with the basic 'special Sichuan style'.

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川香无骨鸡柳卷饼 (chuān xiāng wú gǔ jī liǔ juǎn bǐng), Sichuan boneless chicken salad wrap. Nicely spicy. From the restaurant downstairs. Had two. $1.65 USD each.

Swordfish which aren’t catfish are 剑鱼 (jiàn yú) in Chinese. Xiphias gladius in scientific terms. It is no surprise that we get them here; they are one of the most widespread sea fish being found in all oceans, except in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Swordfish distribution (blue) The pink fleshed variety available in some places is a result of those fish’s diet, but are unavailable here. Image: cshdsj.com.cn.jpg They normally grow to around 3 metres / 10 ft in length unless caught first. Those I see here are much shorter. Despite being found in local waters, it is not a particularly popular fish here. When available, these oily fish are usually sold as steaks which are fried or occasionally grilled. I have once or twice however seen what I take to be babies sold whole in some supermarkets. There are concerns regarding the conservation status. Swordfish sells at around $2.30 / 500g. The USFDA recommends that young children, pregnant women, and women planning to become pregnant not eat swordfish as they can contain high levels of methylmercury,

Probably, but quite typical round here when they haven't a clue what they are making. Or imagining they're making.

Two or three years ago, I had a non-dental eating difficulty while in hospital. The results were similar though. I survived largely by eating congee (rice porridge). My favourite included ground pork and century eggs, but really you can add whatever takes your fancy. While most common are savoury, there are sweet congees, too.

The more I look at and think about this, the less useful I feel it is. What does it really do that's different from a stove top and pan? It cracks the egg and drops it into the pan - nothing else that I can see.. I do have limited mobility. I would still have to get the egg from where I store them, drop it into its position, find my frying medium of choice and put that into the pan, then when the egg is ready get the egg out of the pan and onto the plate. One egg. And not cooked to my preference. On the stove top, I can simultaneously cook more than one egg (to my preference) with the only extra exertion required being the cracking of the eggs - not the most difficult part. Then I'd need to clean the pan just the same whether using this or the stovetop. The stovetop would be easier to clean, too. I'm not saying there isn't a seed of an idea there, but it needs a lot more thought.

I didn't make this. It was bought from a bakery. Described as a 500g "whole wheat sourdough Rubon country bread multi-grain French old bread German sourdough bread" I didn't detect any sourdough flavour but an OK WW loaf. Rather overpriced, though. I won't be rushing back.