liuzhou

They don't go off as such, but they do lose their scent and numbing effect over time. Store in an airtight container in a cool place and they can last about a year, although they will not be as vibrant as younger ones. I always buy the smallest amounts possible, but then they are perhaps easier for me to source.

That is the opposite of my experience. I find the green ones less piney and the numbing factors milder. They also have a stronger citrus scent.

Star anise. I add it to tomato sauces, soups etc. Discard before serving and no one knows it was ever there, but appreciates the umami it leaves behind.

Chicken (Not White Cut!) with Baked Potato and Wild Mushrooms.

Well, the great thing is if you make the noodles you also make the seitan!

Chilli, chili, chile. However you spell it, it lifts many a dish. It doesn't have to be blistering hot, although that can be good. I add it to things and no one notices but they leave happily. Great with chocolate. I'll never forgive them for stopping selling chilli snickers!

I didn't say Chinese restaurants don't have ovens (although most don't). I said ovens are extremely rare in domestic kitchens. The skin on white cut chicken is very soft.

Yes, it is served cold, mainly as a street food, even in the middle of winter.

Liangpi (凉皮, literally 'cold skin') refers to the noodles, which are made from (usually) wheat starch. It also refers to the dish. There are various versions of the dish, but this is the most traditional and besides the noodles contained wheat gluten (seitan), cucumber, bean sprouts, garlic, soy sauce, chilli oil and Chinese black vinegar. The process of making the noodles (and the wheat gluten) is explained well here.

Oh! My neighbours love crisp skin, but not at home and not with white cut chicken.

There is a local family I am close to. They often invite me to festival dinners. I've known the daughter since she was about 7 years old. She speaks great English and is now an absolutely beautiful young woman in her mid twenties about to marry her man. Love her. I'm always sat beside her at family events because no one else speaks English, not that it really matters. We use a mixture of languages when we talk. From I first met her, we have played this sort of game. We use both my and her chopsticks to remove the very uncrisp skin from our portions of the white cut chicken and either surreptiously drop it on the floor for the cat or wait till grandma isn't looking and drop it into her bowl, then get on with eating the delicious meat. We dislike the skin; grandma thinks it the best part. I'm not sure if the cat or grandma are more delighted!

凉皮 (liáng pí)

I agree but millions of my neighbours don't!

and "Hainanese chicken" isn't really Chinese, is it. I love crisp skin, but, for the last time, it isn't part of white cut chicken.

Actually, I did watch them. Most amusing. Clearly, after watching half a dozen YouTube videos, most of which are in languages which you can't understand or even identify, you have learned much more than me despite me speaking Chinese and living and eating in the country for a quarter of a century. So, I'll exit the conversation and leave it to the expert. But by the way, unless I got bored and missed it, not one mentioned Shaoxing wine. It IS called Shaoxing wine where I am. It isn't called shauxing wine, as you said repeatedly. Make up your mind! If you want me to translate my Chinese sources, you will find my rates very reasonable.

That would work, but very few people in China have ovens and anyway aren't looking for crisp skin.

As I've said already, White Cut Chicken is not steamed. That would negate the whole point. And no one uses Shaoxing wine. That would not be White Cut Chicken as it is known. And I've already said that it isn't meant to have crunchy skin - that is not what's wanted. (It's not called shauxing wine. It comes from the city of Shaoxing, hence the name.) You asked for information, but seem determined to ignore it.

Coriander and lemon pork with tomato and basil salad. Rice.

Don't forget we have members all over the world. In some places August is heralding Fall.

I'd also add that, although the actual cooking time may only be ten minutes or so, it takes around a couple of days to make the dish correctly. Can't see many home cooks doing that.

Is it? Not in many Chinese kitchens. Most people don't have the equipment. You can't cook a whole, submerged chicken in a domestic wok, which is all many homes have. A wok and a rice cooker is all most people have. I don't have a pan large enough and I'm not going to buy one just for something I might cook once a year. Especially when I can buy the dish so easily, if I choose. But if I did buy a suitable pan, where would I keep it? Chinese home kitchens tend to be smaller than what you may be used to. Also. it uses a lot of water. Once to cover the chicken to poach, then for the ice bath which also has to cover the bird. Where do I get that much ice? I'm not saying no one makes it, but few do. I don't think any of my friends do.

白切鸡 (Simplified Chinese as used on the mainland) or 白切雞 (Traditional Chinese as used in Hong Kong); Mandarin: bái qiē jī or white cut chicken is always poached. It does not have crunchy skin, nor is it intended to have. Also, it is not usually made with Shaoxing wine, but with 白酒 (bái jiǔ) - Chinese white spirit. I've eaten it a million times; it is served at every banquet, wedding celebration feast, or at family dinners during festivals. However, despite @heidih's comment, I have never cooked it myself. I have just gone through my collection of Chinese language cookbooks. Not one has a recipe; it is not often cooked in domestic kitchens. Even at those family dinners, it is bought in pre-cooked. There are, of course, recipes in Chinese on the interwebs.

It also goes well with eggs of the more fowl type. Scrambled duck eggs with flying fish roe, for example.

Bacon is about the only thing I cook in the microwave, but then, living alone, I seldom cook more than two or three rashers at a time. Simple to do, clean and works well.

In China, it is used more as a vegetable than a herb. Of course, you'd need more than 5 stalks. I buy it bunches like this. It is generally simply stir-fried as a leaf vegetable with garlic and/or ginger and served as a dish to accompany others. More here.