liuzhou

Lobster balls in a fish stock with lettuce.

Throughout most of Asia it is considered extremely disrespectful or even sacriligious to wear shoes indoors. Not to mention unhygienic. Most homes here in China have a rack of slippers for guests to change into. This is always positioned at the front door - as is mine!

Here, more or less, is how I do the rabbit in mustard sauce I mentioned, although I was making it long before this was published. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/31/mustard-recipes-hugh-fearnley-whittingstall

Almost everyone, I know!

Chicken, morels, garlic, ginger, chilli, white pepper, soy sauce, oyster sauce, red vinegar, green onion. Served with orzo.

Near Liuzhou, where I live, is the county of Lipu, which is known for the quality of its wild hares. Several years back, my sister in law had a visit from an old classmate who brought her such a beast. Now, S-I-L was quite simply the best cook I have ever met. Totally self taught but sublime. She brought the magic out of anything she cared to prepare. Anyway, that hare was probably the best dish I've ever eaten. It tasted Sichuanese, but with Indian curry notes alongside Vietnamese freshness. But British gaminess shone through, too. I could have sworn there was some Dijon mustard in there, but know there wasn't. My descriptive powers fail me. Sadly, just short of her 40th birthday, after cooking lunch for herself and mother, she went for her usual siesta and never woke up - complications from untreated diabetes. I saw her the day before in the market and had no idea she was even ill. Even now, three years later, I look out for her in the market then remember. Of course, I never got her recipe, and she would never have given it to me anyway. She was one of those "get out of my kitchen" cooks and would never explain anything. She did, however, once do me the great honour of asking me to cook one dish because I "do it better". I haven't made it since she departed. Two great losses! A wonderful S-I-L and a hare recipe! She wouldn't find that pairing at all disrespectful. She'd be more concerned about the hare! Miss her hugely.

Flicking through Fuchsia Dunlop's Sichuan Cookery (UK) / Land of Plenty (North America), looking for something unrelated, I came across these, which I have made in the past, but had forgotten. Sorry, no pictures. 花仁拌兔丁 （huā rén bàn tù dīng) - Rabbit with peanuts in hot sauce. Basically cubed rabbit meat with black fermented beans and doubanjiang (Sichuan broadbean chili sauce). Served as a snack or appetiser. 冰糖兔子 芦 (bīng táng tù zi) - Rabbit with rock sugar. Despite having no trace of a sweet tooth, I quite like this appetizer.

Rabbit was a regular thing for me growing up. It turned up around once a week, although I'm not sure whether it was bought from a butcher or by back door avenues. Probably the latter. It was certainly inexpensive. Much later, I got wild rabbit from Norman, my butcher. Today, I buy it easily in the markets. It is reasonably priced. Here are a couple of favourite treatments. Sichuan Lazi Rabbit This is basically Fuchsia Dunlop's recipe for lazi chicken (辣子鸡 － làzi jī) but using rabbit (兔子 － tùzi). Braised rabbit with leeks and cèpes. Rabbit in a creamy mustard sauce. and finally my mother's rabbit with champ which graced the dinner table many a night.

Sad news indeed.

Love rabbit. Great with a creamy whole grain Dijon mustard sauce. Also some great Sichuan dishes including the popular street food - mala rabbit head! Also, I often make lazi rabbit instead of lazi chicken. My local supermarket sells whole roast rabbit, too. I can get behind this cook-off, but it's 1:30am. I'll be back!

Is there actually a shortage of kangaroos or is it just lockdown preventing hunting/culling? Or processing? I like me some kangaroo meat. And I'm not a cat with digestive issues!

I'm not sure. I think they must be stray bits of tomato or uncooked beef. They were quite rare. I can't check. I ate them. But definitely not spices. I would remember putting any spices in the mix.

No. Pure beef. The only spicing is black pepper. I'll plead guilty to juicy, though!

No. It's a regular burger, but in the type of bun used for RouJiamo. RouJiamo would never have raw vegetables.

Burgers! Spot the difference (apart from tidiness).

“Have a break! Have a Qiqiao!“ I could buy KitKats (奇巧 - qí qiăo - literally “exquisite“) in China 20 years ago, then they disappeared. Looks like they are relaunching them. I am amused that they come with instructions! Inside that box are three of the smallest KitKats you ever saw!

Proper breakfast! Sausage, fried tomatoes, fried egg on toast. Granola? Hmmmph!

Talking of 酸菜鱼 － fish (usually grass carp) in pickled cabbage soup - the best I ever had was made with fresh (undried) green Sichuan peppercorns, but they are difficult to source, even here. They grow in southern Sichuan near the Yunnan border, but seldom travel far.

Wow! They saw you coming! A jin (500 grams) is a ludicrous amount to sell to anyone. I buy my peppercorns in 30 gram packs! BTW, Mala Market states on their website that their peppercorns are not heat treated. That said, I also think their turnover might make for a better product. 酸菜鱼 (suān cài yú) is correct.

What I thought all along.

I have a real problem persuading my Chinese friends that Brussel sprouts even exist. I even went out of my way to take a picture of one when I was in the UK in 2019. They all think I Photoshopped it and it's really a full size cabbage. Anyway, when I'm in places which have them (i.e. not China), my favourite treatment is to simply half them and stir fry them with garlic and ginger, a splash of Shaoxing wine and a drop of Zhengjiang black vinegar.

The biggest problem with Sichuan peppercorns outside south-western China is freshness. They quickly lose potency. I have surprised a number of European and North American visitors by serving them mala dishes using fresher peppercorns. Even avowed Sichuan foodlovers have been astonished at the difference. They realise they've never really eaten them at their best. Only buy in small quantities from a vendor with a high turnover. If they have been heat-treated, then game over - they are already dead. As to ground Sichuan pepper, it isn't used that much, but when it is, it is ground 'to order'. That is, the home cook only grinds what they are going to use in the dish they are currently making. I've never seen anyone making a batch and storing it for later use. Commercially ground peppercorns are worthless. Avoid.

Home made chicken liver pâté with 白吉饼 (bái jí bǐng), a pitta-like Chinese bread.

They're definitely not offal-shy round here. I fact, I actually made two offal dishes tonight. Dinner as above and a bowl of chicken liver pâté, which is in the fridge to set.