liuzhou

Baby octopus with garlic, ginger, red chilli, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce over stir fried kohlrabi and carrot slivers with green chilli and vinegar. Served with rice.

I agree.The important thing is the taste. But I was asked about the alcohol content, so I answered.

Well, it took until late afternoon, but... The most popular brand for cooking is labelled as having ≧15% ABV. The one I normally go for is slightly higher at ≧16% ABV. This equates to the lower end of the scale for sake. Premium drinking quality Shaoxing may be slightly higher.

I like it raw in salads, too, but that is not a Chinese treatment. They don't generally do raw.

This one will need further investigation. They were labelled 青泡椒 (Mand: qīng pào jiāo; Cant: cing1 pauu1 ziu1), which literally means 'green bubble pepper'. However, 泡椒 (Mand: pào jiāo; Cant: pauu1 ziu1) means 'pickled pepper'. This specimen clearly wasn't pickled. It was fresh. Do they name it because of its bubble shape, or does it mean something like 'pickling pepper'? Of course, before inflicting this predicament on you, I have asked around my more knowledgeable friends and she said "I don't know". Well actually, she said "不知道" (Mand: bù zhī dào) which is the same thing. On account of her being Chinese. They were small; around 2 inches/5cm at most in any direction. And HOT.

Another couple of chilli peppers. Although these look a bit similar to the 'beautiful people chillies' in this post, they are longer and identifiable by their crooked, knobbly nature. They are 牛角椒 (Mand: niú jiǎo jiāo; Cant: ngau4 gok3 ziu1) or 'Bullhorn peppers' Taste and heat much the same as the 'beautiful people'.

China is also the top producer of Brassica oleracea Botrytis, the cauliflower. The most common Chinese name is 菜花 (Mand: cài huā; Cant: coi3 faa1), meaning 'vegetable flower', but as this name is also used to mean the rape plant mentioned a few pages back, to be specific, cauliflower is sometimes called 椰菜花 (Mand: yé cài huā; Cant: je4 coi3 faa1), meaning 'coconut vegetable flower', presumably a reference to the white head. Like broccoli above , this is usually stir fried, especially with Chinese smoked ham or sausage.

I'd agree on that. When I do make it, I usually purée it, stalks and florets.

Brassica oleracea var. italica Western Broccoli. 西兰花/西蘭花 (Mand: xī lán huā; Cant: sai1 laan4 faa1) Although not a "Chinese" vegetable, it is available in China. In fact, China is the world's largest producer. However, it is nowhere as popular as may be suggested by its use in western Chinese restaurants. That old favourite, beef and broccoli is rare here. A few years back a Dutch plumber decided to open a bar/restaurant in town. The only vegetable he ever served was over-cooked western broccoli. He didn't last long. Usually stir-fried. Not my favourite vegetable.

Some more familiar items. First: Brassica oleracea (Gongylodes Group) Kholrabi. 芥兰头/芥蘭頭 (Mand: jiè lán tóu; Cant: gaai3 laan4*2 tau4) or 苤蓝/苤藍 (Mand: pǐ lán) This is mainly sliced thinly and used in hot pots, where it is valued for retaining its crisp texture. It is also cut into batons and stir fried. And it's pickled.

...as I mentioned.

I'll check the Shaoxing ABV tomorrow morning (technically this morning; it's about 10 minutes after midnight into Tuesday here). While I do have Shaoxing it has been decanted into a different container and I don't have the original bottle to check the label.

So do I. It was dirt cheap, picked up from a convenience store. I have an orange one too, but purple is the ruler!

I've never noticed any caffeine kick. If it is present, it is probably mitigated more by the amount of alcohol consumed at banquets where the dishes are served. But even when I've cooked with it at home, alcohol free, I haven't noticed any signs. It may be the cooking's effect, but I don't know the science involved. Sorry. Pretty unhelpful answer.

To my ravished taste buds, Shaoxing and sake are very different, but I am no sake expert.

I must admit I'm staggered by the idea of finding a years-old bottle of Shaoxing in the fridge. I get through a bottle every 4 to 6 weeks and never refrigerate it. It sits on my kitchen counter summer or winter.

Personally, I'd still go for the Shaoxing and add less salt approach. But then, I can't get sherry here! Dry sherry is certainly suggested as a sub by many writers.

No. Only in America. I understand it is something to do with alcohol licensing regulations to make it undrinkable so allowing it to be sold be stores without an alcohol license. It is never salted in China. Disgusting idea. In its natural state, the better "drinking quality" examples taste something like a good sherry, but even the cooking grade is reasonably pleasant to drink, with a complex flavour and a smoky background. Coincidentally, I have spent the last week translating speeches made at an international conference in Shaoxing this weekend about this very subject.

This is so rare I forget the common Chinese name and all searching has failed me. So you'll have to make do with the scientific names. I've never knowingly seen it fresh, but do occasionally see it dried. In Latin, Desmodium intortum. In Chinese, 绿叶山蚂蝗 (Mand: lǜ yè shān mǎ huáng). I have never seen it fresh. In fact, I have only eaten it once at a buffet lunch in a local 5-star hotel restaurant. The Chinese government both owns the hotel and runs the star rating system, so take that rating with a pinch of salt. In English, tick-trefoil among other names. The dish I ate was Bullfrog with Tick-trefoil. Someone had scarfed half of it before I could take the picture. But I scarfed the rest. It was good with a capital GOO.

Now for a couple of rarities. The first I have only seen fresh once, far from here, so no picture. But I can get it easily preserved and bottled. It is well-known in China. Brasenia schreberi Water-shield. In Chinese 莼菜/蓴菜 (Mand: chún cài). I have failed to find the Cantonese. What do they know? (Please note: this is a different species than Carolina water-shield.) This aquatic plant grows world wide, but so far as I know only the Chinese and Japanese eat it. I'm probably wrong. It is somewhat mucilaginous which may put some people off. Ask anyone in China about it and they will all reply "西湖莼菜汤 (Mand: xī hú chún cài tāng)". This is West Lake Water-shield Soup", one of China's most famous dishes, originating from Hangzhou in eastern China where one finds the West Lake in which the plant grows. That is where I saw it fresh. The soup is usually made from beef and water-shield. I have never seen any other recipe which uses it. The next is even rarer.

Spicy lemon chicken and mushrooms. Buttery baked potato.

Leaving chillies behind for now, I forgot about this one while discussing alliums. Allium cepa var. aggregatum - Shallots We only get this one variety. In Chinese they are usually 小葱 (Mand: xiǎo cōng; Cant: siu2 cung1) meaning 'small onion'. I've occasionally seen them called 火葱 (Mand: huǒ cōng; Cant: fo2 cung1) meaning 'fire onions'. I always have some on hand, but use mainly in western dishes. The locals use them whole in hot pots etc but more often pickle them.

It is my sad duty to inform you that China also has these monstrous crimes against vegetation which are an insult to food. The bell peppers - 灯笼椒/燈籠椒 (Mand: dēng lóng jiāo; Cant: dang1 lung4 ziu1), literally 'lantern peppers'. Individually, they are commonly known as 红椒/紅肉椒 (Mand: hóng jiāo; Cant: hung4 ziu1) - red peppers, 青肉椒 (Mand: qīng jiāo; Cant: cing1 ziu1) - green peppers and 黄肉椒 (Mand: huáng ròu jiāo; Cant: wong4 juk6 ziu1) - yellow peppers. As these names are also used for other much better varieties of chillies, when it is necessary to be precise, They become 红肉椒/紅肉椒 (Mand: hóng ròu jiāo; Cant: hung4 juk6 ziu1), 青肉椒 (Mand: qīng ròu jiāo; Cant: cing1 juk6 ziu1), and 黄肉椒 (Mand: huáng ròu jiāo; Cant: wong4 juk6 ziu1) with 肉 (Mand: ròu ; Cant: juk6) meaning 'flesh'. In ascending order of vileness: No. 3 No. 2 No. 1 It pains me to inflict this upon you. Very sensibly, I never saw these when I lived in Hunan. They are, however, used more in Cantonese cuisine and there is a Cantonese influence on the cooking to the south and east of here. How they are used, I have no idea or desire to know.

These things on the right are a type of chilli pepper. (The thing on the left is a book.) The peppers are small – about the size of a gooseberry or a large grape and very hot. They also have a citrus flavour Their colour ranges from pale yellow through green to to orange and red or even purple. They are known as 米椒 (Mand: mǐ jiāo; Cant: mai5 ziu1), which literally translates as 'rice pepper', although the rice character 米 is sometimes used to indicate smallness. Other names commonly used are 五彩椒 (Mand: wǔ cǎi jiāo; Cant: ng5 coi2 ziu1) meaning '5 colour peppers' or 七彩椒 (Mand: qī cǎi jiāo; Cant: cat1 coi2 ziu1), meaning 7-colour peppers. They are most often used in braises and stews where they contribute their heat and flavour, but are ultimately discarded. I’ve also seen them pickled and labelled as 泡米椒 (Mand: pào mǐ jiāo; Cant: paau1mai5 ziu1) where the first character means 'pickled'.

Has it been opened? If so, it will be somewhat oxidised. It won't kill you, but the flavour won't be at its best. If it's unopened it should be OK.