liuzhou

Well, we don't post them all, but as for me 99% of mine just turn up in my Facebook or Twitter accounts. Why, I don't know. Maybe just odd friends!

Beef with fermented black beans and mushrooms. Beef, button mushrooms, fermented black beans, garlic, coriander leaf, scallions, chilli, Sichuan peppercorns, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine.

Sure. I'd guess most home cooks here don't use tallow, not so much for health reasons, but because it just isn't that easy to find. They probably use home rendered pig fat (lard) when they want animal fat. Or they just use vegetable oil. Round here that is nearly always peanut oil. I, too, use rice bran oil when I want vegetable oil for Asian cooking.

I'm waiting for the "What's the best 'what's the best cookbook list topic'⁈"

Just as you would cook brown rice.

Yes. ข้าวไรซ์เบอร์รี in Thai, it is from northern Thailand and is a cross-breed of Hom Mali (Jasmine Rice) and Purple Rice. It was developed by scientists in the early 2000s. Similar to brown rice in texture and flavour.

Most recipes, including Dunlop's use beef tallow, but nowhere near 30%.

Later yesterday, I visited the supermarket and decided to have a look at the prepacked bases. There were about 20 different brands, none of which are based in Sichuan or Chongqing. The people there don't need them! This one, from way up north in Hebei province beside Beijing, seems to be the most popular. The main ingredient is beef tallow at a huge 28.7%. They also contain a load of preservatives etc. They do describe it as for Sichuan style hot pot. Here is a short video of a factory making the stuff. It is in Chinese, but the beef fat is the first ingredient you see . If that doesn't put you off, little ever will!

Well, I did so and I'm not really surprised that only one gives a recipe for a hotpot base, but it's not a good one! As, I said, most hot pot are left to the restaurant's devices. My Chinese language Sichuan cook book (家常川菜 - jiā cháng chuān cài or Family Style Sichuan Food) doesn't even mention hot pot. I guess the Sichuanese are born with the recipe hard-wired into their DNA! I think probably your best bet is the recipe in Fuchsia Dunlop's The Food of Sichuan (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). It's on page 407 of my edition. She does tone it down a bit, but it's easy to tone back up! Unusually, I do rather like this video on YouTube, too.

Most hot pots are actually eaten in restaurants as a communal celebration. However, when made at home, typically at Spring Festival, most people I know make their own bases. That said, all the supermarkets carry pre-made mixes, so some people must be using them. The few pre-made bases I've tried have been rather over greasy (they are sold more as pastes than just spice mixes) and unpleasant tasting. I'll dig out some of my Chinese language cookbooks and give the basics later. Watch this space!

Snacking on these Gelao sausages. Tiny, spicy and salami-like. More info here.

These are fun. Most (around 440,000) of the Gelao ethnic minority (仡佬族 - gē lǎo zú) live in Guizhou Province to the north-west of here. There are also approximately 3,000 in Vietnam. They do have their own language, unrelated to Chinese, but very few (<1,000) still speak it today. They eat some of the spiciest food in China, including these tiny sausages. 7cm / 3¾" long, they come pre-cooked, so ready-to-eat. Ferociously spicy yet still almost salami-like in flavour. These are a favourite beer food!

Yes, but we've always had barn eggs so it is a kind of demotion. They are no longer free range either in in law or fact. That's the point. They will taste different. Still better than here where is no relevant legislation, though. 'Free range' isn't even a term here. 'Organic' has no legal definition. That said, the eggs here are generally much better than in the UK!

Free-range eggs will no longer be available in the UK from Monday (21st March 2022). This is because, under current legislation in response to avian flu, all laying birds must be kept indoors and are therefore not legally free-range. The eggs can still be sold, but must be described as "barn eggs" which is used to describe eggs from birds permanently confined indoors. Full Story

鲜猪肉香菇包子 (xiān zhū ròu xiāng gū bāo zi). Home made fresh pork and shiitake steamed buns.

via Twitter Amused me.

Almost forgot to take the picture, hence the slice already cut off. Pork tenderloin steak with asparagus couscous and tamarind sauce.

So, pretty much all cooking.

Pork and Shiitake Wontons with Sriracha Sauce (from Sriracha)

Me too.

That site is dysfunctional on both my PCs and phone.

Linguine with chicken livers, snap peas, garlic, capers, chilli, shallots, EVOO, butter, white wine.

You like your chicken well done?