liuzhou

They are well packed by the manufacturer. Never had a problem with them. Anyway, they are never stored for long. No matter how many I buy, I seem to get through them far too quickly.

Today's loot. Not exactly ingredients as such but definitely edibles. First I found my favourite seaweed crackers in a different supermarket after doing without for weeks I know I have some in my place in the countryside, but getting there and back involves a 36km round trip (and I will need them there later). Picked up 4 packs. Would have taken more, but I already had a load of other stuff to carry. The small yellow boxes contain ginger chews which, despite having no sweet tooth, I rather like. They are sugar-free. I haven't seen those for about a year, so I picked up 8. I'll get more of both later in the week.

According to reports, China has banned the import of certain European soft cheeses because they "have too much bacteria"! Whiff of discontent as China bans imports of soft European cheese. I want to get hold of the brainless idiot who came up with this and point out his body probably contains more bacteria than any cheese. And the cheese definitely has more brains and knows more about science! Bacteria does not mean bad! China loves fermented foods They are everywhere. A bit difficult to ferment anything without bacteria. Lactobacillis bacteria is in most of the foods they eat, just like it is in cheese! Grrrr! (The tragic thing is that I was eating the last of my imported brie when I read the report.)

Did me a slow-cooked chicken and eggplant (but I call them aubergines) curry with coconut milk for tonight. I had intended also doing a dahl, but in the end it didn't happen. You can't really see the eggplant well as it half melted into the sauce.

三鲜馄饨 (sān xiān hún tún) - "three delicacy wontons". The delicacies are pork, dried shrimp and cabbage. With a hot chilli dipping sauce made from my favourite 'facing heaven' chillies.

When I moved to China from England over twenty years ago, I quickly learned that if I see something I like, I should buy as much of it as possible (obviously not perishables). Chinese food stores and supermarkets have this insane habit of stocking something, having it sell out within days or minutes, then never restocking. I have a pet theory that they just think it messes up their shelving arrangements. "People just come in here and empty that shelf I spent 10 minutes filling up. Why can't they just let it be? Don't get that stuff again!" So I have ridiculous quantities of canned anchovies*, dried cêpes and other 'exotic' mushrooms, various dried pastas*, sea salt, refined salt with added calcium*, high gluten flour, my favourite seaweed crackers*, canned tuna, bottled olives*, my favourite bottled Thai ginger sauce* etc. The freezer is loaded up with enough yoghurt starter* to ferment an entire dairy farm's output for the next year. (I know I could just use some of the last batch of yoghurt but it never works the same.) *Starred items are those I know are completely out of stock everywhere. Some have been so, for months if not years.

Last night. Pork with Chinese Olive Paste. Served with rice and baby bok choy.

I get dried okra here, too. If it stops raining, I'll go restock today. Good stuff.

The sausages I mentioned in my first post have all disappeared overnight. Not, I'm sure, because someone suddenly bought them. Instead, they are trying to shift these. Same sausages but in a bun. No one appears to be buying these either. I actually feel sorry for the two people who man the stall (well, one of them womans it). I visit almost every day and I have never seen anyone buy anything and their stock doesn't seem to go down. They still have the frozen, overpriced steaks they had last month but I know they sold one bag of foie gras - because I bought it. When I did so, they had to phone someone to find out how their till and card reader worked. If they are still there at the end of the month I will be very surprised.

That is cha sui (叉烧) ! It isn't dyed here!

Roast pork I see and buy here in China is never dyed that bright red color which seems to more of an American thing. Here's the most popular roast pork stall in my local market. No dye involved.

Spiced up pig's liver and onions with okra and mashed potatoes.

@DiggingDogFarm I'm back home and did, as expected, meet some Vietnamese people on my short trip down to the China-Vietnam border area. I remained on the Chinese side this time. Unfortunately, and I should have thought of this earlier, the people I met were all from North Vietnam, particularly Hanoi. I'm taking a wild guess that your friend Bill wasn't stationed in North Vietnam! Anyway, I asked and, after a few blank looks, they concluded that 'red chicken' is probably some kind of variation on Chinese red-cooking (红烧 hóng shāo) as I mentioned, but they weren't 100% sure. As you suggested it may be a different, regional dish which they don't know. Do you know where he was stationed? In the meantime. I'm sorry I haven't been able to help much, but I will keep accosting passing Vietnamese and demand a sensible explanation!

My son decided one day that parsnips were definitely inedible if not actually poisonous, so for years after that I only ever served him "Chinese white carrots", which he loved. They were, of course, the same parsnips. In a similar vein, one of my younger brothers decided as a pre-teenager that he hated onions. One day, we were eating dinner as a family and said brother exclaimed "What is this soup! It is wonderful. Can I have more, please?" The rest of the family, me included, fell about laughing, to his utter confusion. Yes, it was onion soup. He is now head chef of a large New York restaurant (I won't say which but there can't be too many with British head chefs) and hates anyone telling that story. Sorry, bruv!

Unfortunately the Vietnamese for 'red chicken', gà đỏ means the breed of chicken, Rhode Island Red. I'll ask wiser people!

Could it be related to Chinese red-cooked (红烧 hóng shāo) dishes? They are braised in soy sauce, often with sugar. I'm off on one of my trips tomorrow and will always certainly meet some Vietnamese people who live here. I'll ask if they know it and can describe it.

This amused me.

I very seldom bake but my scales live on the kitchen counter and get used a lot. For an explanation as to why, see The Kitchen Scale Manifesto.

Coincidentally, British newspaper The Independent had this article on Saturday. Why Dipping Pizza Crusts in Sauce is Sacrilege

Lunch today was a couple of bowls of home made carrot and coriander soup with home made bread to dunk. Followed by a couple of cheese (Irish Cheddar), ham and lettuce sandwiches using the same bread.

The OED has examples from the 16th century through to the 19th. It is still certainly used that way in at least parts of the UK today. So, again, I'm sticking with my knives.

Tonight: Salmon, rice and asparagus. Simple but hit the spot.

According to the OED, one definition of 'appliance' is so I'm sticking with my knives.

My knives.

Unfortunately, yes. Only one. The classic bacon one. I did manage to persuade them that I really, really didn't want corn on it. I should have asked for no pizza on it, too. It was horrible. They cook them one at a time on one of those stupid, small conveyer belt ovens which are nowhere near hot enough. THe base is more like sponge cake than like pizza crust. The "cheese' was processed gloop and the topping wasn't any form of bacon I've ever seen before or since. Years ago, we had an excellent pizza place in town. Best pizzas I've eaten outside of Italy. No one went but me! So, of course, they didn't last long. Weeks after it closed, Pizza Huit opened its first store and the locals were lining up along the street, waiting up to two hours to get in for their foul imaginings of Italian food. I wanted to weep. In the last couple of years, there has been an explosion in pizza places, but I'm sure no one who works in them has ever seen or eaten a real pizza. They've just seen pictures and decided that what the pictures lack is some CORN!