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Question: if only regular rice is used and no glutinous rice, wouldn't the ZongZi break apart easily when taking off the bamboo leaves? How do they hold together? I boil my ZongZi for about 2 hours and no longer. It still retains a little texture where I can tell the difference between glutinous rice and mung bean and peanut.

What I remember from childhood memory is the vendor scoop dofu hua with paper-thin round scoop made of brass. Dejah: I think the "almond flavoured silken dofu fa available in stores, especially some have mango or peach flavors" are not dofu fa. They are almond jello, made from gelatin. To add some thoughts: some people (such as me) like to eat dofu hua in as big a piece as possible (because it breaks up very easily). While some people, such as my in-laws, like to break up the dofu hua into tiny little fragments with a spoon before eating it.

Yes Cantonese, or should I say Hong Kongers to be safe, eat dofu hua sweet -- usually in a sweet syrup or sprinkle some white sugar on top. It could be dessert or just a snack. Many people consume a bowl of dofu hua on the street while they want to take a break from shopping for example. It is served both warm or cold. I like mine hot off the kitchen in winter days, and chilled in summer days. I do realize, from my travels in mainland China, that people eat dofu hua differently "up north" (okay, just north of GuangDong). For example, I ate a bowl of dofu hua in TiWu (near HangZhou) warm with soy sauce added. This is the first time I heard Shanghainese like to add chili oil to this dish. Interesting. Sure would make it taste different.

Great links Gary, thanks. From the picture, I only found 2/3 items which are related to my original topic. #1 Tofu film and tofu skin, they are either Seen Jook [Cantonese] or Foo Jook [Cantonese]. The difference between them is Foo Jook is brittle and needs to be soaked in water before use. Seen Jook is very soft. Couldn't tell from the picture which one it is. #9 Fried tofu steaks = "Gee Jook"

At dim sum, I ordered some 鲜竹卷 Seen Jook Guen [Cantonese] (steamed ground pork in soya-bean wraps). One of my extended family members (American born) asked me what "Seen Jook" 鲜竹 is. Well... here is a quick 101 about "Jook". The Chinese name for these things uses the word "Jook" 竹 as in Bamboo. But the product really has nothing to do with bamboos. Instead, the word "Jook" 粥 as in congee should have been used because that's how they are made. Have you ever had a bowl of congee (or Jook [Cantonese]) 粥 and it's steaming hot, so you decided to wait a few minutes before eating it? After a few minutes, the congee surface cools down and a thin membrane has formed. Well, this thin membrane is basically what "Seen Jook" 鲜竹 and "Foo Jook" 腐竹 are. The main difference is that the grain used to make Seen Jook and Foo Jook is soya bean, not rice. Soya beans are grounded with water to create a puree, then it's boiled in a big pot so it becames congee. When the pot cools, the surface membrane starts to form. Workers would pick up the membrane with a stick and hang it up to dry. And the process repeats... The first few layers of membrane are the best ones. Because they are very soft and don't become brittle. They are called "Seen Jook" 鲜竹, which is used mostly as wrappers in dim sum dishes such as "Seen Jook Guen" 鲜竹卷. The next few layers of membrane are of a lesser grade. They harden and become very brittle when they dry. They are called "Foo Jook" 腐竹, which is used in many recipes such as in soups, congees, sweet concoction and such. Foo Jook tastes a little plain by itself but it adds a trace of the soya bean taste and some sheet-like texture to a dish. Then comes the next few layers of membrane. They get thicker and sweeter. These are called "Gee Jook" 枝竹 probably because they form like twigs when dried. Gee Jook is a little bit chewy and must be soaked in water until soft (a few hours) before using for cooking. It is used mostly in stew recipes such as lamb stew, and some Chinese vegetarian dishes (e.g. Budda's feast). The bottom layers are very thick and sweet. These are called "Teem Jook" 甜竹. ("Teem" in Cantonese means sweet.) It is very sweet, very chewy (almost rubber like). It is the least expensive grade, and is used in vegetarian dishes. You can find all 4 types of soya bean sheets in Asian grocery markets. "Seen Jook" are kept in refrigerators. The other three are packaged in plastic bags in the dried food section.

Oh, yeah. "rubberband" is another name for jelly fish. It has perfectly the same color and (almost) texture too. I love eating Chinese rubberbands.

Your story surprised me. The only kind of oysters in can that I had was cooked, ready to serve small oysters. I bet you that he meant it's from a jar (not a can). They do sell oysters in glass jars with a tin cap on top (filled with water, chilled). This is very different from oyster in cans. Black Pepper sauce goes exceptionally well with onions, green bell peppers and a few slices of chili pepper (or jarapeno). So first use oil (high heat) to sautee the onions, garlic and chili pepper first, add fermented black beans, then dash in wine or vinegar, then add green bell peppers, then add ground black pepper, tomato paste, chicken broth and the rest of it. Bring to a boil. Use corn starch slurry to thicken sauce if needed. It always makes me hungry writing recipes...

Ben: I think you can still go to Causeway Bay to eat in a gently rocking sampan in the middle of Victoria Harbor in the 2000's. Though I am not sure if you can find the same Dang Ga Nui.

I apologize. I may have incorrectly thought that they had changed their name. But outside Hong Kong (perhaps just in USA), they are simply regarded as "Hong Kong Bank" more than HSBC. Hong Kong Bank

Kangarool: I have 2 suggestions for you on your quest to make better tasting and smoother congee. 1) Instead of using chicken stock or other stock to enhance the flavor, try making your congee with bones (e.g. chicken bones, beef bones, pork bones, turkey bones). Sometimes when I make barbequed chicken for dinner, after all the meats are carved and served, I save the chicken carcass (mostly bones but still with some meats on, still carrying some smokey flavor) in the freezer until the weekend to make some congee with it. Similar congee making process as said by earlier posters. Rice to water ratio about 1:7 (you need to adjust but start with that). Bring to a boil first then simmer overnight in a crockpot. 2) To get the "creamy texture", try using some UNSWEETENED soya milk in place of water (e.g. 3 to 4 cups of it for one pot of congee) in making your congee.

I agree that Shanghai people made many contributions to Hong Kong's success from the 50's to the 70's. Many of them were in banking, clothing, food businesses. Hong Kong Bank, originally called "Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank", was moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong because of the revolution.

Jo-Mel: Your black pepper sauce is close. I would add onion, garlic, a few mashed black beans (fermented), and some tomato sauce/paste. As for the process, I would: - First heat up the pan with oil. Add onion and garlic and ginger and scallion to saute for a minute. - Then dash in the sherry or vinegar - Then add black beans, black pepper and everything else except cornstarch, cook to boil - Finally add cornstarch to thicken the sauce - Combine with meat/vege.

In Hong Kong in the 60's and 70's, you would only find the "traditional" dim sum entries in restaurants. Examples are: Har Gow, Siu Mei, Char Siu Bao, Cheung Fun, Beef balls, Lo Bak Gau, etc.. In the 80's, we saw more and more what's once considered street food being offered in dim sum restaurants. They now became a de facto dim sum entries. For example: Tofu with fish paste, green bell pepper with fish paste, eggplant with fish paste Beef stomach Plain chow mein with soy sauce All these were once only sold on the street because restaurant operators considered them too "low class" to be served inside a tea house. Not only that, they graduately incorporated other good eats and sold them as "dim sum": for example: barbequed pork, chicken, geese... and they got bakery items: egg tarts, baked BBQ pork baos, shrimp toasts, etc... and they started selling jook... and threw in desserts such as almond jello and tapioca to the mix... What you see in dim sum restaurants today has gone through many years of business evolutions. The new generation would think whatever they see in dim sum restaurants are part of the "dim sum" family. Well... Just whatever sells...

Alaskan King crabs are the best in terms of the size. Just one leg alone can weigh up to ½ lb. They are expensive though, can cost up to US $15-$20 a pound. Dungeness crabs are more affordable and go well with Chinese cooking styles. Ginger and scallion, or salt and pepper, or black bean sauce. All good. They are selling live Dungeness crabs at $3.99 a pound here. Blue crabs are too “meatless” for my taste. A lot of work to peel the shells, not much meat inside. Snow crabs are used in a lot of Japanese buffet restaurants in California as cold appetizers. I love them. I can eat 3 plates of snow crab legs just as a starter. By itself well worth the price for the buffet.

By all means try it out and see if you like culinary arts. You never know... you may fall in love with it like I did many years ago. The only way to learn is to try it yourself and learn from your mistakes. My wife, when she was just a teenager, used to try to look over her mom's shoulder in the kitchen. But her mom always pushed her away saying she's wouldn't know how to do it. (sad) Nowadays her mom kept saying my wife doesn't know how to cook, which brings her a lot of resentment. Nobody is born with cooking skills. How can you be in the knows without even given a chance to try?

I used to live in Los Angeles and San Francisco, now am living in Sacramento. When I shop at 99 Ranch or similar Asian grocery markets, they always have both "white" and "yellow" wonton wrappers available. I don't think it's a regional American difference. I observed that the yellow wonton skins are used in more Hong Kongish Chinese restaurants, while the white wonton skins are used in more Yankee'ish Chinese restaurants.

Hi Jo-Mel! Yes I have tried poaching salmons with sauce on top. Tried black bean sauce, Chinese curry, Indian curry, sweet & sour, ginger+green-onions+oyster sauce. They just didn't quite taste as good as with other kind of meats. For those who are interested: this is what I had tried tonight. I wanted to stay with Asian style, yet I realized salmons probably tastes better baked than steamed or poached. BAKED SALMON WITH TERIYAKI GLAZE Quantities of spices/sauce used were for 2 pieces of salmon filets. Dry rub: 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp cayenne pepper powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp freshly grinded black pepper. Mix well in a bowl. Have the salmon filets skin-side face down. Rub on the dry-rub mix on top of salmon filets with a dash of sesame oil. Then brush on about 1 tsp of Teriyaki sauce. Cut a few very thin slices of shallots and green-onions (the green portion only). Spread on top of salmon filets. Bake salmon filets in oven at 300F for 15 minutes. Prepare a basting solution: 1/2 tsp sweet dark soy sauce, 1 tsp of honey. Bast the salmon filets with a brush. Switch from baking to broiling for 5-7 minutes. The result was good. We both like it. More creative salmon recipes to follow.

I just picked up Martin Yan's book "Martin Yan's Asian Favorites". On page 30 he has a dish called "Asparagus Beef Rolls". He uses one slice of beef, bacon, enoki mushrooms and julienned bell pepper to roll up on an asparagus spear, uses toolthpick to secure them, then fries it over high heat. It's an interesting presentation. I wish he had included a picture of that dish.

No matter what they are called, their origin and how they are made, white wrappers are made with wheat flour, yellow wrappers are made with wheat flour and eggs added. Trust me on this one.

I don't think your mum was correct on this count. True, Shanghai (and in general northern China) wonton wrappers are white. They don't call it wonton, they call it "JiaoJi". The Cantonese making of these dumplings are called WonTon. Wonton wrappers are yellow because eggs are added in making them. No flour alone will make the wrapper color so yellow.

We didn't like the taste of steamed salmons. Compared to other fish such as cod, trout, bass, the salmon meat seemed too fishy and fatty when steamed. I never thought of cooking with shrimp paste and tofu. Worth experimenting. Grilled salmon tastes good, that's what I ended up doing most of the times. I just wonder if others may have tasted salmon cooked in other Asian styles. Thanks for all your suggestions. Please keep them coming.

Agreed with other posters that "Orange Chicken" seems to be a U.S. adaptation of the Chinese dish ( 陈皮鸡 ) "chun pee ji" (??). Way too sweet and over-battered. The name 陈皮 "chun pee" literally means "old skin", or dried peel. It doesn't say peel of which fruit but it's well known that it's the peel of tangerines, not oranges. It is ironic that this dish is called orange chicken while it should have been called tangerine chicken. It is further ironic that most Chinese takeouts do not put any dried tangerine peel to make this dish. I think some just squeezes in a bit of orange juice or throw in a bit of orange zests and call it Chinese orange chicken.

My wife bought a bunch of salmon filets because they are on sale and she loves them. But it makes me scratching my head: Salmon is not a traditional meat ingredient for Chinese cooking. I tried steaming salmons the Cantonese way: with black bean/ginger, or just steamed plain then pour boiling oil on top with ginger and scallion and light soy sauce, and I tried cooking salmons with sweet and sour sauce ( 糖醋鱼 ). None of my attempts is satisfactory. I know in Japanese cuisine, the grilled eels with soy sauce is very good. I am tempted to try that recipe by substituting eels with salmons. My wife doesn't eat raw fish, so the idea of using salmons for sushi or sashimi is out. Has anyone used salmon in your Asian style cooking? Any suggestions on how to cook these salmons in Asian style?

My kind of zong ingredients too. I see that this is your first post and you just joined today. Welcome aboard Gastro. I am a new comer myself and I love this forum already.

JM: In Cantonese style: stir-fry Asparagus with beef in black bean sauce. Also good is to slice them up and put them in a soup (e.g. chicken broth based) with egg-white. We also do crab-meat with Asparagus: blanch the asparagus first, then cook the crab-meat together with egg white and pour the mixture on top of the asparagus. I am sure with your experience you can fill in the blanks in these recipes.