liuzhou

I'm going to have to get hold of Rambutan by Cynthia Shanmugalingam - a new Sri Lankan cookbook. Possibly the best food I ever ate was in Sri Lanka in the the 1970s. More peaceful times. A couple of recipes and more information here.

I have found that using yoghurt as a starter can be hit and miss. I don't pretend to know the science behind it, but sometimes it seems to get tired. I always use a starter culture like this. Clearly, that's a Chinese brand but I'm sure similar products are available almost everywhere. Works every time. (P.S. I do use a dedicated yoghurt maker - cost next to nothing.) Are you able to more precisely explain your problem? "Not sour enough" is a very subjective statement to the point it really says nothing. I know it's not easy. Do you strain your yoghurt once made? You don't mention that stage.

I get nervous when my bank of these Portuguese beauties gets depleted. I order them online in batches of 18* cans at a time and re-order when I'm down to five. I'm down to seven at the moment. Better start saving up - they ain't cheap - four times the price of the supermarket staples, but ten times better! Then these are exactly what you are after. Usually three fat beautiful specimens - sometimes four. I loathe canned sad sardines that come in that cheap, nasty tomato sauce. If I want sardines in tomato sauce (I seldom do) I'll make a sauce myself, thank you! *For some reason they only ship in multiples of three.

When you have breakfast at 2 pm, is it still breakfast? Goose liver sausage, fried tomato and mushroom. There was toast off-stage.

Maybe I've just never had a good French Onion Soup. I like everything involved, but not together. I'd rather have the bread and cheese on the side as a sandwich, thanks.

There are many examples of staff scheduling software available - maybe not all restaurant specific, but is restaurant staff scheduling so different? I think not. A simple Google search for "staff rota software restaurants" turns up many!

I never thought you didn't know!

They are delicious! Especially in soups.

I am unable to see anything on your images other than the plastic wrap. However, here is an image of a black chicken (silkie). I think you can see it is unblemished. From your description, it seems yours has been badly handled and possibly bruised (?). If it's only bruised it shouldn't have any impact on the flavour. (P.S. It is much better to upload any images here rather than forcing people to open third party sites.)

I know the brand Luobawang butnever tried them. I'm worried by the last bag - Luosifen never has tomato in it!

Last night, I remotely walked a Chinese friend through making her first loaf - a soda bread. She has just come out of a two-month lockdown in Shanghai and finally got hold of what she needed - except high gluten flour. She did pretty well, I think for a first effort, although she said it tastes a bit floury. She has high gluten flour on order and has sworn not to give up. The image shows where she tore it open to test the interior.

Beer duck is one of my favourites. Never been served it with konjac, though. I know it is served that way, but not everywhere.

That is remarkably common. I've come across it many places.

I realise many might not regard this as fun, but it's fun to me. After years of being deprived of Indian foodstuffs, I have finally found one purveyor. The choice is limited, but it is all imported from India. Today I took delivery of these two babies.

Sriracha is virtually unknown in China. None of my friends know what it is and, as I said, only one store stocks it - irregularly. 100,000 bottles a month? Sounds to me like marketing BS, but even if true it doesn't amount to anything among 1,400,000,000 people. 0.007%

With regard to Thai Sriracha, it is important to note that most Thai sauce exported to the west is actually made in Bangkok factories and is a copy of the Viet-American recipe; not the original Si Racha recipe. I'm not sure how much real Si Racha sauce is exported to the west, if any. It isn't easy to find here either; I only know one store which has it regularly. They seem to have direct Thai links. I need to restock, then I'll take a picture.

If I remember correctly the citizens of Si Racha's response to tasting the Vietnamese-American version was "อึนี้คืออะไร?"

You'd better be quick. I'm sure you're not the only one to think of that. Get the real thing!

As if things weren't bad enough, I learn that Sriracha lovers burned as maker halts production due to pepper shortage. Whatever next? Not wishing to be smug*, I can report I don't use that brand, anyway. I get the real stuff from Sriracha! *Well, not too smug!

never met it, but happy to be believe you

I don't think there's a lot of mahi mahi in Sichuan, but well done! 🤣

I find mine essential!

北京烤鸭 (běi jīng kǎo yā) - Beijing Roast Duck

Here, for your voyeurism, is the atrocity undressed. Say goodbye. It will be vacating my home in minutes!

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