liuzhou

I want to try smoking meat, but I guess I'll have to wait until Rizla invent greaseproof papers.

I remember many years ago in Italy on holiday, my then just pre-teenage daughter being delighted to find what she termed giggly pasta. To her great disappointment we couldn't find it back in London, until one day I discovered that gigli is another name for campanelle, which I could find. The delight on her face that evening's dinnertime is lodged in my memory. When I was staying with her this summer on my much delayed trip to England, she served it to me! With a wistful smile on her lips.

I am delighted to officially announce that as of today, both my freezers are totally empty apart from air. Ditto fridges. I have decided to adopt the Chinese model and only have fridges to show I can afford a fridge - or even two. And adopt the Chinese freezer policy and pretend I don't know what they're for.

Well it might if it were remotely true. Spam in nowhere near 50% fat, as I pointed out at the time. Spam is around 27% fat. Kobe beef is around 18% - 25% fat, depending where it comes from. American "kobe" is at the higher end of the scale.

Whole Foods is Amazon.

This morning these were in the stores again. In Chinese they are called 雪莲果 (xuě lián guǒ), which literally translates as 'snow lotus fruit'. They are Smallanthus sonchifolius or Peruvian ground apples. In Spanish, yacón. The reason they look like root vegetables is because that is what they are! They are just a sweet variety and are eaten like a fruit, despite being the roots of a daisy-like plant. They are OK, but I wouldn't miss them if they never showed up again. The larger one in the centre was around 11 inches in length.

Buttery prawns with basil, garlic, shallots and Chinese chives over orzo. n

Panino Insalata Caprese Or Mozzarella, tomato and basil in a baguette. Olive oil and sea salt. (Actually I hadn't yet drizzled on the OO, or sprinkled the salt, when I took the picture.

Extremely common, especially in Sichuan where it originated. However, traditionally it is made with beef, not pork. Mapo Tofu is the spelling I see most often in English publications, but "tofu" comes from the Japanese pronunciation of tehword they borrowed from Chinese. In Mandarin Chinese, the overwhemingly dominant language, it is "dòu fǔ".

About to watch this.

'yes I said yes I will Yes" James Joyce - Ulysses.

Hope you don't mean Germany!

Duck fried hand-pulled noodles with mixed mushrooms (oyster and enoki), garic, chili, scallion, Shaoxing wine and a little soy sauce.

Don't we all?

There are dozens of pubs in the UK called the Pig and Whistle. Which one is the authentic one to which the others should aspire? None.

The oyster ain't the tail or just above the ass and there are two of them in all fowl still in possession of the standard legs their maker supplies. They aren't triangular either. They are oyster-shaped, hence the descriptor. The pope's nose is roughly triangular and like noses, singular. It is so-named, perhaps because of its resemblance to the nasal appendage of Pope Alexander VI or someone else. It depends who you ask. It is also referred to as the parson's nose or sultan's nose to followers of different faiths.

Sand ginger is a literal translation of the Chinese and an alternative name for lesser galangal - Kaempferia galanga. It is used in Tradional Chinese Medicine, but also in hot pots in winter. It is more peppery and less herbal than either regular ginger or true galangal.

Today, for the first time ever, I found fresh sand ginger! I have added it to the relevant entry, but thought I'd put here too.

Right on cue comes this book published today. I'll be looking out for it. (via Twitter)

I'll bet the most expensive dish on the menu wasn't $3.25, though! I remember the first time I went to a Chinese restaurant. In the UK in 1969. It billed itself as "authentic", but I now know no Chinese person would have recognized much! Perhaps rice. Only perhaps! But I was with my much more sophisticated than me new girlfriend with whom I was completely in lust love, so I didnt and still don't care! Wonder what happened to her.

I'm fairly sure your butcher must have a distant cousin here in China. I see aburdities like this so often.

Me too. Many years ago I bought a book called "Menus". That's all it was - lots of menus. Loved it. No idea what happened to it. Here is one I came across on the interwebs recently. Sweet OR sour? And I'll bet there were no bird's nests in that bird's nest soup. But glad to see another confirmation that wontons and ravioli are essentially the same thing.

Chicken in Holy Basil Sauce. Extra Spicy. I also have a glut of regular basil, so scattered some of that on top, too. There was a side of stir-fried mixed mushrooms which I forgot to photograph. Seconds were had!

We did? Apologies. I'm getting repetitive in my old age! Many recipes for mala tofu do include minced mushrooms, though it's less common here.

I don't read it that way at all. Sure, she had to learn, but don't we all? The mistakes she made were when she was in training. Later, her employers obviously thought well enough of her to promote her. Also, I'd point out that carving and serving Beijing Duck is somewhat more difficult than carrying plates to a table. But I don't think that is the most important part of her story.