liuzhou

It is possibly not well-known that China has some wonderful hams, up there with the best that Spain can offer. This lack of wide knowledge, at least in the USA, is mainly down to regulations forbidding their importation. However, for travellers to China and those in places with less restrictive policies, here are some of the best. This article from the WSJ is a good introduction to one of the best - Xuanwei Ham 宣威火腿 (xuān wēi huǒ tuǐ) from Yunnan province. This Ingredient Makes Everything Better I can usually obtain Xuanwei ham here around the Chinese New Year/Spring Festival, but I also have a good friend who lives in Yunnan who sends me regular supplies. The article compares it very favourably with jamon iberico, a sentiment with which I heartily agree. Xuanwei Ham Xuanwei Ham more coming soon.

How sad! Little known fact: When Chinese people take photographs, instead of saying the equivalent of "Say cheese!" to get their subjects to smile they say "Say aubergine!" In Chinese, of course. In Chinese, the (usually) purple delights are called 茄子 qié zi, which when pronounced correctly produces the same cheesy (or eggplant-y or aubergine-y) grin.

Tonight I made pork with what I call aubergine but I've been told many of you here call "eggplants". Don't you know that eggs aren't plants? The same reliable source also told me that the chick peas that I used are called Garfunkel or Carbuncle beans or something similar by those same strange people. There was also garlic, chilli, various spices and those green things many of you don't realise are herbs and not 'erbs, green onions which are actually spring onions, and lemon juice. I hate to think what you might call lemon juice! Or pork for that matter. Served with 米饭.

Not for the first and probably not for the last time, I don't really know what I cooked and ate for dinner tonight. Fish, sure. Skinny chips, definitely. Tomatoes, no question. But what kind of fish? The labelling in the usually incompetent supermarket labelled them simply as 红鱼, which literally means 'red fish'. It can also mean 'red snapper', but I'm sure these ain't them. About 5" to 6" nose to tail. Kind of half way between white and oily. I like how the lower one looks shocked and offended by being so described, while the other two just look sad.. Anyway, I fried them and served along with aforementioned skinny chips/fries and some nice tomatoes. Some lemon juice did get involved.

Yeah. I've been doing that for decades.

Late afternoon snack. Clams with garlic and chilli steamed in Shaoxing wine. With crusty baquette to soak up juices.

Flow with the go.

Chicken legs braised with garlic (lots), ginger (lots), chilli (lots) and turmeric (enough). With couscous and bacon fat fried okra..

" “The heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit.” James Joyce, Ulysses

No "stainless" steel is truly stainless. It is merely "stain resistant" to varying degrees. I also disagree with those who are blaming aluminum. I blame aluminium! 🤣

Beautiful country indeed. Great people, food, wine and brandy. It's been about 30 years since I was there, but it remains firmly embedded in my memory.

Yes. I know. It is some kind of boletus but a minor one. I just ate them as documented on the Dinner topic.

This is not Chinese fried rice. It was fried in China, but there the comparison endeth. This is liuzhou fried rice, and I don't mean the city. I mean me. Yesterday, as documented on the China Shopping topic, I picked up a couple of "some kind of mushroom*". I'm pretty sure some kind of Boletus, I'm now sure. Not boletus edulis, but a minor relation. Minced some pork and briefly marinated it in Shaoxing wine with garlic, ginger and red chilli. Chopped on mushroom into fine dice and stir fried with the pork and then the rice. Simultaneously sliced half the other mushroom and pan-fried the slices until lightly browned. Finished the fried rice with some scallions and served. *

That was my first thought, but if they are, I'd like to know which type. They aren't all edible.

This morning, I found these in my local supermarket. I have no idea what they are. The supermarket displayed its usual generosity of information by labelling them as 小黄瓜 {xiǎo huáng guā) which means baby cucumbers. Methinks not! Rather idiotically, I accosted the nearest staff member to enquire as to their identity. After she got over her shock at being confronted by some crazy old foreigner daring to address her in her own language, she altruistically mumbled "蘑菇" (mó gū) - i.e. mushrooms. I advised that she was clearly wrong as they were definitely baby cucumbers as indicated on the label. She then informed me that every time they don't know what something is, the use the baby cucumber labels. Anyway, I bought them out of sheer pity for this poor woman. I'll have them for breakfast in the morning. If I survive I'll let you know. P.S. Google image search identified them immediately. As Lincolnshire sausages.

Pork, Tomatoes, Basil, Rice.

Here he is pre-cooking - with tail.

Did ranch dressing take over the world? No. America maybe. I've lived over a large part of the world and have never seen or tried it. I don't even know what it is. Never heard of "American dressing" either.

A twist in the tail. Tonight I steamed a fish (I know what it's called in Chinese, but never found an acceptable translation. It's a white sea fish. That'll do. A bit like red drum, but maybe not.) It was dressed with garlic, ginger, red vinegar, a little sugar, white pepper and scallions. The tail fell off while I was plating it, totally ruining my artistic presentation. With stir fried Shanghai bok choy and Thai jasmine rice.

Seconded

Two of my favourite places I would suggest are must-visits are: Milroy's of Soho for a vast whisky collection and Gerry's Wines and Spirits for a huge selection of bottles from around the world. The two are within walking distance of each other.

Pan fried pork cutlets with buttery scallion mash and asparagus. A blob of Dijon mustard.

Pasta and pesto. Pesto pasta. Linguine with freshly home-made pesto (traditional style).

Yesterday, I sliced some pork and mixed it in the usual Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, black fermented beans, garlic and chilli and bunged it into the fridge to marinate for an hour. No sooner had I shut the fridge door than my phone rang. "We are in Bing Bong Bang Restaurant! Come and join us!" BBB is five minutes from my home, so off I trotted. This morning, I remembered that the pork was still in the fridge and thought "OK. It's been marinating longer than one normally marinates Chinese food, but no worries. I'll have it for lunch." 11:30, my phone rang again. "We have a very urgent translation needs doing. Would you be able to come and we can look at it, then have lunch." Mindful of the need to earn beer coupons, I complied. Unmemorable lunch; unmemorable translation. Finally, a full 24 hours after putting the pork in the fridge, I retrieved and cooked it. It was none the worse for its extended wait. Added scallions. Served with stir fried white cabbage dressed with oyster sauce. And rice.