liuzhou

I don't find peanut oil 'flavorless' at all. I can always detect it. Not always a problem, but sometimes. I loathe eggs fried in peanut oil, for example. Rice bran oil is truly 'flavorless' and has a higher smoke point. It's my go to.

I think that is dependent on location. I've often had it served with rice. Ground/ minced meat seldom. Chopped meat gives more of a bite rather than baby food.

Black bolete duck eggs omelette. Black Bolete Ragged Omelette (Cut end to show contents)

30 years ago, there was a Nepalese restaurant in London that I used to frequent. Kathmandu native owners. Wonderful food. I wonder if it's still there? Can't see it on Google, but then it was always hard to find. Stuck down in a basement with a tiny sign at street level. 8 years ago, I fulfilled a dream and visited Nepal. Not disappointed, but yes, the cuisine was much more diverse than I expected from such a relatively barren area of the world. Lovely people, too.

Beef and coconut curry with tomato, garlic, onion, chilli, coriander/cilantro, lime pickle and tamarind chutney. Rice.

I realised they were made in the USA, but assumed by a Chinese owned organisation. The name is Chinese, after all, but with a non-standard transliteration. 美全 means something like 'delicious everything', but in Mandarin is 'měi quán' and in Cantonese, 'mei cyun'. I spotted they carry goods from all over east Asia and SE Asia. Lucky you!

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of commercially prepared hot sauces in China. I guess most people know 老干妈 (lǎo gān mā) but there are many more which are worth exploring. Many people and many restaurants also make their own. My own favourite is this. It may not technically qualify as a sauce (I'm not sure what criteria are being applied) but I certainly use it like a sauce - almost every day. Known as 剁辣椒 (duò là jiāo), literally "chopped hot peppers", the ingredients are chilli peppers, water, salt, garlic, MSG and some preservatives - much like a sauce. It is from Changsha, capital of Hunan province, one of China's spiciest provinces and 坛坛香 (tán tán xiāng) is the largest chilli processing company in the province and has several products. The company name refers to 'earthern jar fragrance' as chilli sauce was traditionally made in earthern jars as can be seen in their logo. Now it's made in traditional factories. I don't know for sure that it's exported, but it would surprise me if not .

A delivery service lunch out of laziness rather than necessity Beef with Perilla Green Beans with Pork Shanghai Greens Rice Very nice.

I presume you mean jiaozi dumplings. 饺子 or 餃子 depending on which script the manufacturers use. If so, simple. Bring a pot of water to the boil and add frozen dumplings. The water will immedaitely come off the boil. Take a cup or rice bowl of cold water and add to the pan. Bring back to the boil. Repeat twice. The ddumplings should be floating and ready to eat. Drain and serve with a soy and vinegar dip or dip of your preference. Alternatively, they can be served in soup or fried as potstickers.

I'm not a big Christmas celebrator, but I'm ready. It's amazing what you find in China!

Just noticed this. Celery (of any kind) is unusual in jiaozi. I don't think I've ever seen it before, but why not indeed? I love that the cooking instructions stick to the three cup technique, although here it's three rice bowls of cold water. Points have to be deducted, though for their use of the Japanese term 'gyoza' for their products. What's wrong with 'jiaozi'? Frozen dumplings are all most people have in the freezer here - they only really make from scratch at festivals. There are some very good frozen examples.

That is a well-known translation problem. The third and fourth characters make up pairs with the second and fifth repectively. 水泼 (water splash) and 辣鸡 (spicy chicken) should be translated seperately as, unfortunately the combination 泼辣 does mean "rude and unreasonable". The correct translation should be something like "Sichuan oil-splashed spicy chicken". Now you are free to wonder how water became oil!

I notice that recipes for the hearts are bizarre when it comes to cooking times. One online recipe suggests frying them for up to 25 mintutes! Mine had about three! Those in the recipe would be inedible. They toughen up once they get beyond medium rare, something the recipe acknowledges far too late.

Next time, I'll take a picture of how the hearts arrive. Cased in fat and blood and membranes and often, laced with ventricles and veins. They definitely, in my book, need removing. Apart from the aesthetics and health implications, they can make the hearts bitter. I'm guessing that those who think no prep is necessary are buying hearts that have been at least partially prepped by the vendors. Mine come simply torn from the chest. These below from a while ago are a lot more prepped than mine were this time, but I still trimmed a lot of that fat off.

Fried me some chicken hearts with chilli and ground cumin. I do love chicken hearts, but prep is a pain, so don't make as often as I should.

I'd just make bouillabaisse and get it all over in one swell soup.

I've seen them advertised online, but never in a store. I don't know anyone who owns one. They would, I suppose, have some applications in Chinese cuisine, but not many. The thing to have currently is an Instant Pot clone, but then they've long been into pressure cookers. I don't have an IP or pressure cooker, either. Just a wok, a rice cooker and a slow cooker. I'm happy.

I tend to differentiate. We get pea sprouts and we get pea shoots The sprouts need wilting at most. The shoots need a minute or two in the wok. The only difference really, is age. If it's any comfort the Chinese names are equally confusable.

At its most basic, when (s)he is the only chef in a restaurant.

There is certainly a post-Covid effect (in those countries which are in a 'post' stage. Many still aren't.) During lockdowns and other restrictions, restaurants are among the first to go. It's a very precarious industry. Thousands of restaurants never re-open. Also, during lockdowns and isolation, many hospitality workers have been asking themselves if it is worth the stress and long unsociable hours for, in most caases, little reward. They are seeking alternatives. It is everywhere.

I should, in a spirit of full disclosure, state a non-interest in the subject. I do not own an air frier; nor have I any desire to do so.

It's from the Black Forest of Qingdao, Shandong Province, north-eastern China. Supposedly, German style. Shandong was under German control pre-revolution and Qingdao has a load of German architecture. It also has Tsingtao* Beer made in the brewery built by Germany. * The old transliteration for Qingdao.

It’s official – air fryers can save you money. But there are even cheaper ways to cook

I've gone a bit European tonight. "Black Forest Ham" salad in wraps. Served with a lovely Georgian red.