liuzhou

Velveting This came up elsewhere, but I think belongs here, too. I read things like this Hmmm. Not quite. Velveting is a Cantonese cooking technique. Although a large, but shrinking, proportion of Chinese emigrants and their descendents in the west are of Cantonese origin, in China they only comprise around 4.6% of the population. And not even all of those 4.6% use velveting in their cooking. Additionally, I see statements like this Maybe in America where both these quotes originated; certainly not in China. To repeat, it’s Cantonese. Also, few home cooks employ it anywhere. It’s mainly a restaurant thing. Then we have the terminology. There is no name in Chinese that translates as velveting. A number of American writers tell us that it is 走油 (Cantonese: zau2 jau4*2; Mandarin: zǒu yóu) The first character, 走 literally translate as ‘to walk’, ‘to go’, ‘to run’, ‘to move (of a vehicle)’, ‘to visit’, ‘to leave’, ‘to go away’, ‘to die (as a euphemism), ‘from’ or ‘through’. Take your pick. The second, 油 means ‘oil’. So they put the two together and come up with ‘passing through oil’'. One problem. In Cantonese (and Mandarin), the two together means either ‘to lose lustre (of varnished furniture)’; or specifies "no oil" when cooking – almost exactly the opposite. And no velvet in sight. Some writers suggest that velveting in water rather than oil may be better for home cooks and/or that the results are almost indistinguishable. This they have dubbed 走水 (Cantonese: zau2 seoi2; Mandarin: zǒu shuǐ). Again a problem. This means ‘to flow’, ‘to leak’ or ‘to put out a fire’! No culinary association. Neither of these two terms appear in any of my Chinese dictionaries (Cantonese or Mandarin) in any culinary sense other than the ‘no oil’ mentioned. Even my dictionary of food and drink doesn't mention it. A related term, which unlike the above, which I have seen on Cantonese restaurant menus, is 滑 (Cantonese: waat6; Mandarin: huá) which means ‘to slip’, ‘to slide’, ‘smooth’, ‘slippery’ or ’cunning’. Presumably, this is meant to to describe the resulting texture achieved by using either the oil or water methods. A number of food writers, including the esteemed (in America) Grace Young use the technique when making non-Cantonese dishes, such as her ‘Kung-po Chicken', another term unknown in China. The good people of Sichuan rarely, if ever, do. My two favourite Chinese cuisines, Hunan and Xi’an don’t use it. Like I said, it’s Cantonese. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with velveting; just that it isn’t as common in Chinese cooking as people make out. I put it into a similar category to the other American obsessions, wok hei and high butane burners as I mentioned in a previous post. Note: Cantonese pronunciation here is using the Simplified: 粤拼 Trad. 粵拼 (Mandarin: yuè pīn Cantonese: jyut6 ping3) Jyutping transliteration system.

Roujiamo night! 孜然牛肉夹馍 (zī rán niú ròu jiá mó) - Cumin beef roujiamo. The first of more to come. Still cooking.

Potatoes are almost always eaten wuith rice in Chinese cuisine. They are seen as just another vegetable to be stir fried or added to hotpots. The most common treatment is to sliver them along with carrot and often chilli, stir fry them and finish with white rice vinegar. In fact, most supermarket sell the potato and carrot pre-slivered.

Deboned a couple of chicken legs and diced the meat. Marinated that for 24 hours* in the fridge with garlic, ginger, fermented black beans and Shaoxing wine. Today, stir fried the meat, added some sliced black boletes, then the marinade and a splash of soy sauce. Finished with thinly sliced scallions. Ate with rice. The marination time was meant to be less but an unexpected lunch invitation pushed it back - no loss!

Indeed, but then velveting is not so common in Chinese cuisine as people seem to think, either. It is a Cantonese technique. In my experience, few people here have even heard of it. Not surprising. After all, only around 4.6% of the population are Cantonese and not all of them are cooks. I'd say it's more American than Chinese. The term 'velveting' is certainly American.

After decades of search. I believe I have finally identified the Latin name of the species of snail used in Luosifen - Margarya melanioides. This appears to answer what I have often asked and been asked. They are endemic to freshwater lakes and rivers in the Yunnan-Gui plain, 'gui' being an abbreviation for Guangxi, derived from Guilin, the capital of the province in the Qing dynast and off and on again until 1949 when the capital was moved to Nanning. Most English websites list these as endangered, but those studies are only looking at the snails in two lakes in Yunnan to our east: 滇池 (diān chí), Dianchi Lake near Kunming, Yunnan’s capital and 洱海 (ěr hǎi), Erhai Lake near Dali city to the east. Some studies indicate these are threatened due to chemical fertiliser seepage from the tea plantations in both areas. Liuzhou snails come from the local river and are not mentioned in any endangered list I can find. I shall continue to investigate further. Image - zhiimg.cn

Prawns (not shrimp) stirred fried with garlic. chilli, Sichuan doubanjiang, Chinese chives, coriander/cilantro and culantro. Rice.

I found this article on the science of pyrophilous fungi, including morels to be interesting. The Vital Near-Magic of Fire-Eating Fungi

Marinara is Italian for mariners, aka sailors,

Here it was always cheese. The locals didn't want it and there weren't enough long-term foreigners to justify importing it. In recent years, with many more foreigners working in the larger cities and with online shopping, cheese has become much more available. Still a limited choice of varieties but much more than when I arrived when it was limited to 'zero'. I don't recell ever seeing North American cheeses here though - mostly European and New Zealand. Plastic American cheese is made here now. I call it 'fake fake cheese'.

Sure, of course the Soviet controlled countries weren't exactly replete with American products. I lived in Soviet Russia in the 80s. Even the Berioshka stores (with armed guards to keep out the rabble), exclusively reserved for foreigners and high ranking Communists and only accepting US dollar payments, had no American goods. In 1988, in Moscow, Air Rianta, the Irish Airport Authority opened Russia's first airport selling foreign goods (mostly Irish), but nothing American at that time. Two years later McDonals arrived. desecrating 'Moscow's Pushkin Square with their crap. (They had to change the Golden Arches logo as it was identical to the Moscow Metro signs.) North Korea probably doesn't have M&Ms today, either. In fact, they don't have food. much.

I'm confused by M&Ms being seen as difficult to obtain outside America. They're everywhere I've ever lived. I don't even need to go to an "American" store or '"foreign section" in a supermarket. Here in China, every Mom 'n Pop store has them and has done so for at least 30 years.I can order some for delivery through my phone app and they'll be here wiith 30 minutes. I first ate them in China. I've seen them in Mongolia,Japan, India, Vietnam, Thailand, as well as all over Europe. I doubt my neighbours even know they are American.

'Tomato sauce' is a term used with abandon around the English speaking world. It is commonly used in Britain and other Commonwealth countries to mean ketchup, for example. It is also used in many places to refer to ANY sauce mainly containing tomatoes. The Chinese for ketchup literally translates as 'tomato sauce'. Marinara literally translates as 'sailor juice'! Closer to the Italian literal meaning.

Pan-fried pork steak, buttery mash laced with 夜香花 (Mand: yè xiāng huā), pakalana vine, a local vegetable, and matsutake. French grain mustard.

I guess 莲藕 (lián ǒu), lotus root is more familiar to people in the west than it was only a few years ago. However it usually comes in this form. or sliced into lotus root coins. It also comes in other forms 莲藕切条 (lián ǒu qiē tiáo), lotus root chips 莲藕尖 (lián ǒu jiān), lotus root spears

It would work, I'm sure. It's just fat but a rich one. It can be used for any purpose any other fat is used.

There is a full explanation of tallow using hot pot base with recipe here. I think she overstates the need to dilute the beef fat with vegetable oil, though.

@KennethT Yes, I knew you knew that. We've discussed it before. My mentioning it was more for @Shel_B's benefit. The video you mentioned of the hotpot base factory is in this post.

I'd just add that extremely few home cooks make their hopt pot base from scratch. It takes a formidable list of ingredients (many of which you'd possibly struggle to find in the US). In 28 years, I've only made it twice and each time it took two full days. Instead people use the industrial hotpot bases @KennethT mentions. These are available in every supermarket, market and street corner stores. The Mala Market in the US carries bases. Asian markets in the US should also have. Most, but not all, are made using tallow, but you can check by looking for 牛油 on the packaging as here. I'll add to this tomorrow and try to list the ingredients used, but it's almost 2 am here. Bed is calling.

The better fish and chips places in the UK, traditionally fry in beef tallow. I use it for roast potatoes sometimes. It's a good use, but I prefer goose or duck for them.

Tallow is the fat of choice in Sichuan hotpots and other dishes. Strictly speaking, tallow is the rendered fat enclosing the kidneys. Unrendered it's suet. Not all beef fat is tallow. Not all tallow is beef. It can come from sheep. too.

I thought that, too.

I have a few of those, but that's not the point. There is no excuse for taking a tested reliable design and making it inoperable for no good reason. They could more sensibly put their idiotic QR code on the body of the can.

A few days ago, I visited the small store downstairs from my apartment to buy a six-pack of beers, as one does. On entering, I headed straight to where my beer of choice is sensibly located in a fridge, and there it wasn't. Where my beer should have been was an imposter! I looked around to see where some incompetent wretch may have deposited it, but to no avail. My gruntle was getting very dissed. I went back to where my beer rightfully belonged to examine the imposter to get the details in order to lodge an offical complaint and discovered that the imposter was my beer after all. For some reason, after twenty-six years the brewery had decided to disguise it by radically redesigning the cans. Old New I bought my needs and went upstairs, where I decided the makeover isn't so bad after all and actually makes it easier to spot. My gruntle was assuaged. Today, I repeated the process and bought another six pack. When I got back upstairs, I disocvered they've already altered the design again and replaced the previous non-coloured ring pulls with hideously bright red ones. But that is not the bad idea (not that it's a good one). These moronic ring pull do every except facilitate ringing or pulling. Whereas previously you could get your finger through the ring to pull, now they have reduced the 'ring' to a 3mm slot which a new born baby could get his or her finger through. This radical idea seems to be so that they can incorporated a tiny QR code on the damn thing for you to scan. Doing so goes to a webpage telling you that they require your personal and financial details in order to proceed. 滚开 (gǔn kāi)* ! as we say here to emphatically reject suggestions we wish to decline. I had to get my tool kit out to open the damn cans. It is impossible by hand. Idiots. * 滚开 (pronounced 'goon ky' - rhyming with sky) literally means 'to boil' but in Mandarin slang is an obscenity meaning 'eff off'. 1998 refers to a special edition of this local beer, made to mark Bill Clinton's visit to Guilin, China in said year. It has since become their biggest seller. Guilin is where the brewery is situated about an hour north of me.

Indeed. All cephalopods I've every cooked, octopus, squid, cuttlefish, are the same. I tend to cook squid for 90 seconds maximum, cuttlefish around the same, but octopus gets the long cook. Just my preference. Cepholopods