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Tang Yuen on top of noodles? My wife would say: starch, starch and more starch.

Interesting! The mung bean noodles you chose seems quite a bit thicker than the ones we use in Cantonese cooking.

Looks good! What kind of rice noodle did you use? Fresh ones or dried ones?

Your persimmon seems a different variety than the ones we typically see in Northern California. So red, big, tall and pointy. Ours is smaller, light orange and a bit flat. Hope your shopping bill is not out of control every time Dai Ga Jeah goes into town!

But you used green chili not red ones!

Peel them and stir-fried them with eggs.

I am really trying to assess the relative pricing of the Curry Fish Head dish to other dishes. In NY, a US$15.00 seems to be within the norm that I would expect. The place that I have been to, charging US$25.00, seems to be a bit out of place. Some of my associates told me that in Penang, you can have a bowl of laksa or a plate of lasi lemak for lunch for RM 5 to 10, or US$2 to 3. In that rate, a dish of Curry Fish Head that costs US$25 would be an equivalent of 10 bowls/plates of laksa/lasi-lemak. I am trying to understand if and why there is such a big difference. (These places typically charge US$6 to $7 for a bowl of laksa by the way.)

In my area, different brands of Shao Hsing wines are crowding the market. I generally see them in 2 groups: 1. Really "cheap" ones. US$2.00 a bottle (750 ml). 2. "Norm" price: US$5.00 to $6.00 a bottle. The ultimate test is really your own taste bud. So I figure... what the heck. I bought both: A "cheap" one and one in the "norm". I drank them side by side. The cheap one really tasted inferior (and it went to the waste basket). The choice is clear for me. My motto: I will not cook with any wine that I will not drink myself. On the other hand, I passed by 99 Ranch about a year ago and saw a really nice bottle of Shao Hsing wine. Cost: US$22.00. Those are meant to be drinking wine and not cooking. I bought a bottle just to try it out. Again, I placed them side by side: One small cup from the $6.00 bottle. One from the $22.00 a bottle. Tasted them. Result: No noticeable difference: except the saltiness from the $6.00 bottle. My conclusion: The US$6.00 a bottle is good enough for my cooking. Since I don't notice any perceivable difference. I can taste the difference between a Remy Martin XO and a Remy Martin VS, or VSOP. So I would pay US$100 for a bottle of XO compared to $20 for VS. But if I cannot appreciate the difference between a "norm" Shao Hsing wine and a "premium" Shao Hsing wine, any additional dollars I spent would be a waste.

I found myself having tonic soups (e.g. winter melon, watercrest, bok choy, etc.) plus a few spoonful of steamed rice the best at times like those. Or simply make congee.

The term "Gan Ma" in Chinese actually means something equivalent to "Godmother" in the western world. Not just an old woman. May be "Old Godmother" sauce is more appropriate.

Hmmmm.... :-b..... What is the flavoring for this dish?

How's Curry Fish Head measured against other dishes? Is it one that typically carries a higher price tag? For example, in the western world a lobster dish is typically much higher than other entrees. Is Curry Fish Head comparable to that?

I stopped by a Malaysian restaurant in Southern California last week. On their menu, they offered "Curry Fish Head" at US$24.95. Which is the most expensive item out of the whole menu. More so than crab (and even lobster in some other restaurants). I had this delicacy in a Malaysian restaurant in Hong Kong a few times. Memory serves me... this is not a particular expensive entree on the menu. I am wondering how much would one expect to pay for the "Curry Fish Head" dish say in KL or Penang, Malaysia. It seems to me that the ingredients used (primarily the head of a big fish) is not particularly hard to find or expensive. Why would such a dish call for what seems to me to be an out of range price. For comparison, a plate of satay (beef/chicken) appetizer is offered at US$5-6, and a chicken entree about US$9-10 in the same restaurant.

Lao Gan Ma chili sauce has a lot of ingredients inside and not much oil. I don't think it would be a good substitute for chili oil (not enough oil to go around). It is one of my favorite too. I would say #2 because my #1 most favorite is still Yank Sing chili sauce. I use it mostly as a condiment. In cooking, sometimes. In red braise, hot pot kind of dishes and not vegetable dishes. But then again, I am only a Cantonese not Sichuanese.

Nu lan [Mandarin] is beef brisket. A cow's belly is the direct translation.

I am sorry. I happen to think that the Crab Cooker is overrated. I have tried that restaurant once, and it was quite a while back. Having passed by the restaurant many times and seeing long lines, we thought it must be a "good deal". The waiting was long, the atmosphere was casual at best (plastic cups for soda and paper napkin). The service was casual-friendly. The price was relatively high and the food was only mediocre. Really, how hard is it to boil a crab and melt some butter? And no view. I think that for the money (actually paying 50% less), I would rather go to Ruby's on Balboa Pier. At least I can have an unobstructed view of the Pacific Ocean.

I think (not sure) it is the Hokkien pronounciation of 肉骨茶 (ròu gu chá [Mandarin]). I hope you drink the soup, aznsailorboi.

I tasted some of these beef jerkies that I bought. The Taiwanese made is heavy in curry and cumin. The Vietnamese-Chinese made is heavy in lemongrass and chili. Fantastic! I will try to make some in the next few months.

It sounds like preparing the sago balls takes more time and care than the dessert itself.

Thanks for the recipe, peony. Any tips on how to cook the sago? They come as dry balls, right?

I found another series of pictures on making Chinese beef jerky. This style is closer to what I was looking for. Looks like they boil the beef first, then slice it and bake the slices. http://www.wretch.cc/blog/mitong&article_id=3189694

Thanks mudbug. My big puzzle is: Does the meat need to be cooked first? If we dehydrate from raw meat, wouldn't we need to worry about parasites, etc.?

It must be that lotus roots contain a lot of iron. Like potato?

Has anybody tried making Chinese beef jerky at home? I just bought a few pounds of various beef jerkies with different flavors (some are Taiwanese made, some are Vietnamese-Chinese made). I am facinated by the wonderful taste of these beef jerkies. There are different types of seasonings. Some are curry flavored, some are chili-hot flavored, some are plain soy-flavored. I began to research on Google and see if others might have posted some recipes. I found this page: http://www.tynews.com.cn/big5/site1/cuisin...ent_1841076.htm There are 7 pages of step-by-step in making Cantonese style beef jerky (the text is in Chinese only). According to this page, the rough process is: - Marinate your beef slices with seasoning and soda powder - Bake at 60C (140F) for 1 1/2 hour, with last 3 minutes at 200C (392F) - Need to clip on to the beef slices with 2 grills so that the meat doesn't curl up when being cooked - Set in a dehydrator, at 50C (120F) ** (for how long? not sure) - At last, brush on some oil or honey, then bake at 200C (400F) for 2 to 3 minutes Does it sound about right? Has anybody tried making beef jerky?

Indeed. I think the "official" street name for those in Hong Kong is bei see. No no, no translation will be provided.