Qing

To Chinese as well, we consider cats are wild animals and put the cat dishes under “Game” section, such as 龙虎斗(The Fighting Dragon & Tiger). They are often served in Cantonese cuisine restaurants, and they bring lots of business for the owners. I heard many Americans say, “Cantonese foods are my favorite!” I guess they don’t know what the Cantonese cuisine is totally about. Korean took off dog meat while the World Cup, but I don’t think Chinese have to copy them for the Olympic Games. In my opinion, the government forbids people to eat something during a special event has nothing to do with animal protection or even the country's public image, what so ever. For example, people in China can eat cat as same as gay couples can get married leagally in Canada. Canadians feel proud for their country’s democratization, whether they agree their marriage law or not; and Chinese all feel proud for our culinary cultures, whether we eat cat or not. I have never eaten cat, and I don’t want try either. In fact, more Chinese don’t eat beef than the people order cat at the restaurants. China is a historical agricultural country. Farmers always consider an Ox or a cow is an important part of the family’s assets, or even the part of the family membership. Many kids’ nick names are 牛牛(Ox or Cow), for the parents wish their kids strong and diligent like the Ox(or Cow). We pay much more respect to Ox (or Cow) than the cat. It could have many reasons, but I believe as most Chinese believe: Cats are lack of loyalty. I don’t think cat is one of the top 12 Chinese favorite animals, for I don’t find it among all 12 Chinese horoscopes. Anyway, to me, what is the big deal for some of Chinese who eat cats? That is nothing related for animal protection.

Dry sauteed String Bean in Sichuan restaurants are usually NOT spicy. I copied from the Sichuan folks to deep fried them first, then sauteed with the Sui Mi Ya Cai(Check out at: www.suimiyacai.com) and some scallions. For minced pork, I rather have not.

My personal recipe for Szechuan Camphor-smoked duck, if anyone wants to try it: The Hirshon Szechuan Camphor-smoked Duck 4 slices fresh ginger, pureed in a food processor 3 ts Salt 1 ts Szechuan peppercorns, ground to a powder 1 Star anise, ground to a powder 1 ts Saltpeter (available at pharmacies) 2 tbs sesame oil (preferred) or peanut oil 1 4 to 5 lb. duckling 4 tbs oak sawdust (or use chips, if unavailable) 2 tbs lapsang souchong tea leaves 2 tbs Jasmine tea leaves 1 lg. crystal of edible camphor (finely ground to make 1/2 teaspoon) 3 tbs sugar 8 c Peanut oil for frying 24 2" sections green onion Dipping Sauce: 4 ts Peanut Oil 2 ts Sweet bean paste (tan min chun) 2 ts Sugar 2 ts Water So great!!

Long time no see, I have to focus on school's projects...Ha.. I should ask, if the dish contains Jiu Cai(Chives)? And how was the skin of the fried pastry? I guess it seems more like the "Jiu Cai He Zi" at China46 NJ, which always served during their Sunday brunches.

I came back to China46 with two of my friends on Thursday, Feb 02. We had Xiao Long Bao, Beijing Duck and the House Sauteed dry beancurd and chive with 4 sesame buns. All of them are great!! That was my joy for Chinese new year, and how about yours.. Guys? Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

Happy new year! Everyone. I am working at Wuliangye part-time, but for both 39th street and 86th street. For sure I will be 39th street every Saturday and Sunday.

No wonder people always say the best foods are all gathered in Guangzhou. Look those pictures, today’s Sichuan foods are more attractive than ever. Some of the customer in Wuliangye are just back from Sichuan, and they joke about our foods are too “Classic.” The steamed pork belly with rice powder and the Kou Shui Ji口水鸡(Cold marinated chicken) are till looks as same as my father’s recipe. The 麻辣蘑芋“MMoyu” and 干扁麻花牛仔骨 (Beef rib and twist bread) are using Sichuan method to cook other cuisine’s common ingredients, and the 水煮鱼柳 (Fish filets in hot oil) has a totally new face. I also see the Cellophane noodle with minced pork 蚂蚁上树 at the left side of the table, and 呛炒青菜 Quick stir-fried green vegetables in the middle. I am very curious about the fish dish, and have some questions: 1. What kind of fish they use? 2. Did they lightly fry the fish filets first? (From the pics, I guess NOT) 3. Did the chef still put celery and Napa cabbage? I only see the bean sprout. Thank you, jokhm, your pictures are so great!

How about Mexico? Mexican state owned Ocean Garden Products is a leading seafood importer based in San Diego, California. Founded in 1957, Ocean Garden is a founding member of the Mexican Shrimp Council (www.mexicanshrimp.org), a bi-national coalition consisting of Mexican Shrimp producers, processors, suppliers and marketers. With over 500 members representing more than 50 million pounds of shrimp in Mexico were produced and the US consumed the majority of them. It sounds like a sad story related with the post-Katrina theme, but don’t you believe that situation would come to Brandhurst family later even without Katrina. In my opinion, catching seafood is an industry with high risk and high profit. The external environment has been stable for 30 years. Why don’t they have a plan for the “raining days?” They had enough time —30 years, and enough money —when I am working in a restaurant in NY, and I like the shrimp price keep declining. On the other hand, as a shrimp business man, Brandhurst family should have a new way to think about the world: If buy shrimp from someone is even cheaper than catch them by ourselves, why don't we just by from them and sell to the market to get higher profit. They should update themselves while the outside of the world is changing. Let me give them an example. When the cost of oil and other resources went up, ConEdison shifted itself from a mix of producer and distributor to a totally energy distributor. It buys electricity instead make some of them by itself, for reduce the risk and generate higher revenue. I understand Brandhurst's hard situation, but I don't agree with they waste too much time on fund raising or try to lobby the politicians to get more domestic trade protection. We can not change the direction of the world moving toward, but we can take advantage from it.

I agree, but in New York, the "Golden Sand Prawn" refers 金沙大虾, which is a crispy prawn with golden egg yolk (preserved duck egg). That is another amazing dish...

In Wuliangye, we use the U15 from Ocean Garden. It means for one pound of shrimp the number must fewer than 15. I think that was the largest side from Ocean Garden. Seven pieces in each order serves you about ½ pound shrimp. We used Tiger prawn once to substitute it couple of years ago, for price consideration. After that we got so many complaints, we stopped. In my opinion, for “Desert Storm Shrimp”风沙虾style the type of shrimp doesn’t affect the taste that much, but if you wan to steam the prawn with fresh garlic “蒜茸蒸虾“, better take the one has the best quality. OK, let’s talk about shrimp. Totally 342 species of shrimp worldwide have commercial value and them fallen into three basic groups: warm water shrimp, freshwater shrimp, and coldwater shrimp. I. Warm water shrimp are categorized by the color of their shell (not the meat) when raw: White, brown, pink, and black tiger. 1. White Shrimp Mexico has a large white shrimp fishery on the Pacific coast. This shrimp is famous for its sweet taste and firm texture. White shrimp have grayish-white shells that turn pink when cooked. (The shells of farm-raised white shrimp are lighter grayish-white and from some origins, the shell is not as thick as wild-caught whites.) The thinner shell is the result of feed composition as well as growth in captivity. In general, cooked wild or farmed white shrimp have flesh with pink skin tones. Wild-caught white shrimp have a sweet taste and firm, almost "crunchy" meat. Farm-raised whites may have a slightly milder flavor, and depending upon growing conditions, may have a less firm texture. Shrimp in the wild were feed by crustaceans and seaweed, which enrich their flavor and strengthen their shells. Plus, the "wild" ones are "free swimmers" which firms up their flesh. 2. Brown Shrimps from some areas of the U.S. Gulf coast primarily feed on iodine-rich kelp, which gives them a hearty "iodine-y" flavor; while brown shrimp from areas along the west coast of Mexico do not have the same feeding grounds, and hence, their flavor is milder. This West Coast Mexican brown shrimp is a prized commodity in Japan. Brown shrimp have firm, dense meat. 3. Pink shrimp are wild-caught in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and Central American waters. Their light pink shells have a pearl-like texture and some have a distinguishing pink dot on the head. When cooked, the shells turn a deeper shade of pink and the meat white with pink skin tones. The texture is firm and flavor mild. 4. Black Tiger shrimp were raised primarily in Asian countries and Australia; they are called black tiger shrimp due to their distinctive black-and-gray striped shells when raw. When cooked, the shell of a black tiger turns bright red and the meat white with deep red skin tones. Black tigers have higher moisture content than white, pink, or brown shrimp. As a result, they shrink more when cooked, and the flavor is very mild. Additionally, their texture is considered less dense than their relatives. Some raw tigers are a blue shade with yellow feelers and are referred to as "blue tigers." They are the same species as the black tiger, but their feed does not contain the iron that causes the darker color. II. Freshwater shrimp are the live shrimp we saw in the Chinese supermarket. They are a separate species that may be characterized by bright blue shells or, if they come from Asia, rich yellow with brown striped shells. One of the largest shrimp, they have long claws, can grow over a foot long, and can weigh over a pound. Freshwater shrimp are both wild-caught and farm-raised. When cooked, they have a very mild taste and soft, gray-white flesh and a very soft texture. Whole freshwater shrimp are seen as a specialty item and often sold live for display in restaurant tanks. III. Coldwater shrimp have numerous names: bay shrimp, tiny shrimp, baby shrimp, pink shrimp, cooked & peeled, salad shrimp, coldwater shrimp. The meat is white with skin tones that range in color from pale pink to a rich, reddish-pink. Coldwater shrimp are small in comparison with warm water species; yet take four to five years to reach maturity. Most come to the U.S. market cooked and peeled and range in size from 150 to 500 shrimp per pound. Coldwater shrimp have a sweet taste and soft texture.

Soy sauce, sesame oil, scallion and vinegar... Great! and beside them I tried to put a very little sugar.

Hundreds years ago, people dig a deep hole to store the ice they made during the winter, and sell the ice in summer. I saw a hundred years "Ice Box" in the Forbbiden City, Beijing, so the ice must cost a lot. Like we can't figure out how did the Egyptian build pyramids, we are not that smart as we believe, sometimes...

I had a dish called "Da-Mo Feng-Sha(Desert Storm) Chicken" in New York. It was a dry chicken dish with lots of garlic. I am not sure that the same style you had. The chef toasted the minced garlic first, and then stir fried chuncky fresh chicken with them and pretty much of salt in a wok which only had a small amount of oil. The dry garlic had amaing taste, and the smell was great too. Second time, the chef gave me the dry ribs in "Desert Storm" style, and I like it better because it has more meat than chicken.

What a common sense! Mr. Chinese Food Specialist, Have you heard anything about the highest achievement of YangZhou Cai 杨州菜(A sub-cuisine of Huai Yang Cuisine淮杨菜) is the Boneless Pig Head猪头酥烂脱骨, but is not the YangChow Fried Rice 杨州炒饭?

I didn't pay attention for 碎米 Sui Mi, but I did some research. I guess it is the brand name of Sichuan Yibin SuiMiYaCai Co. Ltd., and you can check their web site: www.suimiyacai.com In the Qing Dynasty Qian Long years清乾隆年间, in Yibin city there is a poor couple. They eat green vegetables day by day. The wife found out a set of salt preserve systems for the green vegetables. She soaked the tender parts of green vegetables, and assisted by the brown sugar and the many kinds of natural spice. Because it tenderly resembles the germ, her husband names it "Ya Cai 芽菜 ". After her husband went to Beijing to take the civil service exam, she opened one food shop in the city. It is the short story about Ya Cai, and its main raw materials are green vegetables. The ratio betwwen the input and product is every 500 gram end products Ya Cai 芽菜 need green vegetables 2 - 2.5 kilogram. green veges. In Wuliangye restaurants, we use Ya Cai to make 小龙包 Mini Pork Ban, Ya Cai Lobster, and Sauteed String Bean with Ya Cai and mineced Pork. Come to NY, I show you some good Sichuan restaurants.