liuzhou

I find most LKK products unusable. 😎 I have started a new topic on Chinese chicken powders in order to not let the subject get lost among all the fine dinners here.

A side discussion on the Dinner 2024 topic promoted this. Chinese cooks, from the most elevated chefs to the home cook and all the way down to this crazy foreigner in their midst, swear by 鸡粉 (jī fěn), chicken powder. It is used to enhance or even make stocks or braising liquids; it is sprinkled on stir fries and other dishes like any other seasoning; it is added to drinks. I've even seen it added to cocktails. Anywhere umami is wanted. Knorr and other western brands can be found in China but are not particularly popular. Lee Kum Kee was mentioned but I've never seen that particular LKK product in China. KKK products, which I have never rated, are more popular abroad. So, I thought it may be useful to mention the most popular brands here, some of which are likely to be available in Asian markets. Before doing so, I will say that most Chinese brands unashamedly contain MSG. I have no intention of resurrecting that horse which is not only dead but has been utterly cremated, mourned, disinterred and reburied several times before. Nothing wrong with MSG. So, some brands. 厨邦 (chú bāng) means 'kitchen nation'. It is medium level brand with less of a pronounced flavour as some of the others below. Certainly not first choice. 大桥 (dà qiáo) means 'great bridge' and while their powder is fine I wouldn't extend that to 'great' among the following. 太太乐 (tài tai lè) Mrs Le. Mrs Happy is a popular brand which I happily put in second place. Umami rich with a good chicken flavor. 百家鲜 (bǎi jiā xiǎn) literally means '100 households' choice', but 百 also just means 'all kinds of'. All kinds of households' choice. It is certainly the biggest seller. It smells and tastes like roast chicken straight from the oven. I'd bet of the 96 apartments in my block, 90% have a pack in the kitchen. I buy it in 1kg tubs and am never without it. Restaurants buy it by the sack load.

Only one species of snails is used,Viviparaidae. These are gathered wild from the local river, the 柳江 or Liujiang, literally, Willow River. It's a major river in southern China and the snails breed prolifically. I've never heard of any concerns about harvesting them. I'm not aware of any snail farming. Some of the prepackaged varieties don't even use snails, instead opting for beef and/or artificial flavours. A pox on them, as Mercutio doesn't say. The prepackaged ones are a pale imitation of the real thing though. Luosifen

Yet another addition to the bok choy confusion. This is a Sichuan cultivar known as 四川儿菜 (sì chuān ér cài), literally Sichuan young vegetable. These are about 10 cm / 4 inches in height and taste mild but indentifiably cruciferous. Usually halved lengthwise and stir fried with garlic and soy. It isn't a Sichuan treatment but I like this one with a dribble of oyster sauce.

In the never-ending attempt by the local authorities to turn the city into a luosifen theme park, more and more luosifen shops continue to open. Some even stay open more than a few weeks. However, standing out from the crowd isn't easy. Increasingly bizarre gimmicks are the order of the day. One of the recent openings is this place near my new home. The name of the place is 乾跃螺蛳粉, the first two characters of which are essentially meaningless. The next three are luosifen. For some inexplicable reason, they have themed their restaurant on shop signs. Random shop signs. The one to the left of the door even says 'shop signs'. Inside, the walls are littered with irrelevant signs. They are promoting the place with videos on China's version of TikTok showing signs and the food. I haven't been but I'm told the luosifen is good. I hope that's a good sign.

The stems are tender but laksa is available here as 叻沙 (lè shā), a phonetic transcription of the Malay. I can't see them using 香柳 when there is a well known established name, so I'm thinking it's something different.

Many herbs which we take for granted in western kitchens are unknown in China. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme are just strange words in a song to the average cook here. Coriander/cilantro is the only common exception. Despite being near the border with Vietnam, very few SE Asian herbs make it through either. In the last year or so, the highly developed food delivery service, both for cooked meals and for ingredients has allowed some retailers to be more adventurous with their offerings and a few surprises are starting to show up. 迷迭香 (mí dié xiāng) or rosemary arrived for the first time yesterday. I have grown it myself in the past and will be attempting to get some of these stalks to root, but in the meantime will be cooking with one of my favourite herbs! Still looking out for the rest of the quartet.

Although I have four top end DSLRs and multiple lenses and other toys, 95% of my food pictures are done with my cell phone. Quicker, easier and, importantly, unobtrusive in restaurants etc.

香柳 (xiāng liǔ), sweet sallow is something I've never come across before and there is little information on it other than that it is a member of the Salix family of plants which includes the willows after which Liuzhou (柳州) is named. It seems to be added to soups and hotpot or can be briefly stir-fried like any other green. The taste is initially sweet but turns peppery on the palate. Reminds me a bit of watercress. It is also, of course, used in TCM.

Ah! That is very traditional Tujia dish of braised pork ribs with wild mountain vegetables and herbs. Winter warmer food. With chillies, of course.

Yes pigs ear. Red sauce? Do you mean in the pig ear dish? Chilli,chilli and chilli. Soy sauce, scallions, ginger, garlic, and a bit more chilli, I think.

Hunan Tujia ethnic minority dinner with old Hunan friend. She cooked.

I found this herb this morning in a local supermarket. In Chinese, it is 香柳 (xiāng liǔ), which can be translated as 'sweet sallow'. I vaguely remember hearing the name and know it's related to willow*. But that's it. I'm not getting much on the internet despite searching in both Chinese and English. Does anyone know anything about this herb? Or has anyone used it? I have tasted it, of course. An initial sweetness is soon followed by a pleasant pepperiness. The leaves are about 5 - 7 cm / 2 - 2.75 inches long. * The second character in the herb's name (柳) is the same as the first in Liuzhou (柳州), where I live. The city's name means Willow Prefecture.

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.