liuzhou

Finally, I do have some Thai basil. This is the replacement batch they sent me. I know it looks similar to the previous batch, but this new lot has the right smell and taste. The leaves are about half the size of those in the incorrect batch. That's a duck egg for scale.

These had been peeled of their brownish papery skin. The 'eyeball' is a hard, inedible seed and is surrounded by the slightly transparent flesh. I would describe the texture as grape-like. They are related to rambutan and lychees and similar to them too. More like lychee in flavour. But smaller. Should you find any, the seeds are relatively easy to sprout and you can grow your own tree. Here are the unpeeled longan.

True dat! Life changing.

All the time I couldn't cook due to my broken back, there was one dish I craved.I could have had it delivered, but restaurants never get it right (at least to my satisfaction). So, today, I made it myself for the first time in over a year. It is also one of the simplest dishes I know. 车螺芥菜汤 (chē luó jiè cài tāng), clam and leaf mustard soup. This is so easy. I chop two to three cloves of garlic and a fresh 'facing heaven' chilli and throw that into cold water in a pan. Add a couple of Chinese soup spoonfuls of chicken powder. This is China's secret weapon. 100 times better than any other buillion powder or cubes. Michelin starred restaurants in China use it regularly. That, I bring to the boil then simmer for ten minutes before adding the fresh clams. As soon as these open, I fish them out and into my bowl. When all are opened and in the bowl I tear up some mustard leaf and throw that into the still simmering soup. As soon as it wilts, I pour the soup and greenery over the clams and serve. No seasoning required. It's in the chicken powder. Sorry for the imprecision; I've been making this once a week for almost 30 years (apart from last year) and eyeball it. It's forgiving. Don't forget your 长棍 (cháng gùn), baguette for dunking.

I don't recall the term from Britain. But then there's a lot I don't recall and BrE can be very regional. Early references do all seem to refer to breaded and fried chicken, though.

Longan (Chinese 龙眼 - lóng yǎn), literally 'dragon's eyes'. In anticipation of the Year of the Dragon on the 10th of February.

I've spoken to the vendors and they have confirmed that they 打错了 (made a mistake) and sent the wrong thing. They have both refunded the little I paid ($1 USD) and promised to add a correct batch to my next order at no charge. They haven't yet said what they did send. I suspect they don't know. I'm still somewhat disappointed as they were advertising sweet basil. I mentioned that and they admitted to not knowing the two are different. Anyway, if the end result is a reliable supply of real Thai basil, I'll be happy. I'll just grow my own sweet basil as usual. Maybe, I can sell them my excess!

Not always. There are many types perilla too.

First thing I noticed was the almost complete LACK of smell.

I've had that small húng quế in Vietnam too. Forget precisely where, though. Anyway, I'll call the vendor tomorrow and see if they can elucidate. I've used them a lot and they're quite friendly.

What they sent has large leaves and yes, looks like Thai Basil I've eaten often across SE Asia. However the taste is totally different. Some perilla cultivars have similar purple stems and flowers which makes me think the store have misidentified it. It also looks different from the image on their listing. Much duller.

No cooking involved.

It's not Thai Basil. I'm very familiar with that. Also the Chinese names given are those of sweet basil.

Despite claims in ancient topics here, basil is virtually unknown in China. In 28 years the only basil I've eaten is what I've grown myself. Never in restaurant or banquet and I've been to thousands of the former and hundreds of the latter. So, I was surprised this morning to see basil listed on my local food ingredients delivery app. The listing incorporated both names it goes by in Mandarin: 九层塔 (jiǔ céng tǎ) or 罗勒叶 (luó lè yè). I ordered some. What turned up was this. I have no real idea what it is but I know what it certainly isn't - basil. I think it may be a type of perilla. Very disappointing. Can't plant my basil seeds for a couple of months yet.

What do you mean by PNG? That abbreviation is used for several fuels.

This I didn't buy. Trending here in Chinaland. Any ideas.

There is more on Yao diet in this post. https://forums.egullet.org/topic/164469-guangxi-gastronomy/?do=findComment&comment=2366802 This topic is about kitchens.

I'm not surprised. Sesame oil is prized in East Asia for its aroma and flavor, both of which are highly volatile and are rapidly destroyed by heat. It is only used as a condiment, sprinkled on finished dishes immediately before serving. So many recipes want you to cook it. You'd get the same result pouring it down the drain.

I give up. Some cretin has decided not only to make Luosifen sausages, but also turn those into Luosifen sausage rolls with 'juice'. These screen grabs are from Chinese antisocial media. The ad assures me they are chilli hot and smelly! I'll take their word for it. The Luosifen moon cakes were bad enough.

Yes. I was just about to say the same. 99% of my meals are cooked in one pot - a wok - apart from the rice which is done in the rice cooker. Even when the meal is composed of several dishes.Many of my friends and neighbours only have a wok and a rice cooker. Standard Chinese cooking method, but adaptable to other cuisines. ETA. Some meals can be prepared entirely in the rice cooker.

Multiple typos now corrected. Technical difficulties.

When it comes to preparing for the winter, the Yao kitchen gets extended outside. An extended family raises a pig (or two) over the year and then slaughters it in order to prepare it for preserving by various means to see them through the winter. There is no grocery store in the village. People eat what they grow or raise. The pig is slaughtered and butchered in the street outside the house before being air dried, salt cured, pickled, or smoked then hung up inside the kitchen. It is bled first and the blood preserved and all the offal is carefully collected. The carcass is then singed in a straw fire to get rid of as much hair as possible. Any left will be shaved off. They also have fish and frogs from the rice paddies and raise duck and chickens. They grow corn (alas) and various greens. Their diet is heavily vegetable based.

Bizarre. They say they're Cantonese (Luosifen sure isn't Cantonese) then the only non-English language on the website is Japanese! They seem more interested in Instagram than their food. I can't even open the menu (which they don't even hold on their own website)! Doesn't quite inspire confidence!