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hzrt8w

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Posts posted by hzrt8w

  1. I have been using the current clay pot for about 6 to 7 years... can't remember exactly. The very same one that shows up in my pictorial recipes, like in this picture:

    gallery_19795_2839_8994.jpg

    I have not done any seasoning or even any special care. I have been abusing it for years: high heat, sudden heat, dashing cold liquid into it (usually ShaoHsing wine), turning the stove setting rapidly from high to low and vice versa. It took all my abuse very well - unlike my last "sand pot" which cracked after just a couple of years. May be they have developed a durable kind of ceramic material. I highly recommend picking up something similar. No wire is needed.

  2. I watched another episode of Kylie's show last night:

    Simply Magic: Episode 7: Wok School - Hong Kong's Chef Academy

    (The schedule on Discovery Home channel is on Saturday 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm PDT.)

    This episode featured 3 recipes:

    Noodle and Vegetable Soup

    Prawn Wontons

    Stir-fried Chicken Filets

    (I think they had a mix-up here. Prawn Wontons was actually shown in a different episode.)

    (Recipes can be found here)

    My thoughts:

    This is a very funny episode. Kylie visited a cooking training school in Hong Kong. Seeing so many young people who are "big wok" wannabe.

    The hand-pulled noodle segment is very impressive - from kneading the dough to slapping the dough on the table to twisting the dough and pulling it into progressively thinner threads. Chinese don't need no pasta making machines! :raz:

    There is also a small segment on how the students wrap steamed dumpling.

    They also showed how to wrap a spring roll. They used some round (not square) spring roll wrappers. The wrappers look like tortilla but much thinner. They are translucent: if you place your hand behind the wrapper, you can see the outline of your hand. One tip for making spring rolls: the filling must be dry. Or else the rolls will not be crispy when deep-fried.

    The first recipe in making vegetable soup: I think making stocks strictly from vegetable may not be as flavorful.

    I really like the second recipe "Stir-fried Chicken Filets". Chicken dark meat pieces are marinated overnight and stir-fried with hot dried peppers. It's very similar to the Sichuan Hot Pepper Chicken.

  3.   racheld said:
    Here!!!  Here!!! I volunteer to be one of the two folks!!!!  :laugh:

    You are Daughter's Kitchen Idol.

    Ha ha ha... LOL! :laugh::laugh: That's very funny. I didn't do a very good job with the forks, nor did I do well with my spelling. Thanks for that. They do a much better job in shredding the conpoys at the restaurants.

    What a nice compliment that was. Let me know what's your daughter's favorite and perhaps we can make a dish specially for her! :smile:

  4. Pictorial Recipe

    Pea Shoots Stir-fried with Egg White and Conpoy (瑤柱蛋白炒豆苗)

    Pea Shoot is my most favorite Chinese vegetable. The Cantonese pronounciation is Dou Miu. There are usually 2 varieties found in Asian markets. This variety is the sprout of snow pea. The most basic recipe is to stir-fry with salt and garlic. I want to "kick it up a notch" by making a sauce with egg white and garlic, and spread some conpoy shreds on top.

    gallery_19795_3876_44705.jpg

    Serving Suggestion: 2 - 3

    Preparations:

    gallery_19795_3876_14715.jpg

    Main ingredients (left, clockwise):

    - 1 to 1 1/2 lb of pea shoots

    - 4 chicken eggs

    - Garlic, use 4-5 cloves

    - 4 to 5 Conpoy (dried scallop)

    gallery_19795_3876_30852.jpg

    This is the featured vegetable: pea shoot (Dou Miu in Cantonese). Nice and fresh.

    gallery_19795_3876_8666.jpg

    This is what it looks like, close up.

    gallery_19795_3876_1495.jpg

    Make about 2 cuts on each stem to make it bite-size.

    gallery_19795_3876_16176.jpg

    Conpoy (dried scallop) takes a long time to soften up. Soak the conpoy overnight in a small bowl of water.

    gallery_19795_3876_1239.jpg

    Break 4 chicken eggs. Use the egg white only. Discard the yolk (or use it for other purposes).

    gallery_19795_3876_15691.jpg

    Peel and cut 4 to 5 cloves of garlic into thin slices.

    Cooking Instructions:

    gallery_19795_3876_1201.jpg

    First cook the conpoy. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain the soaking water. Use a small pot, add 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Add the conpoy.

    gallery_19795_3876_22951.jpg

    Set the stove at high. Bring the broth to a boil. Then reduce it to simmer. Simmer the conpoy for about 20 to 25 minutes.

    gallery_19795_3876_19909.jpg

    After the conpoys turn soft, tear them into small shreds with a pair of chopsticks or 2 forks, like such.

    gallery_19795_3876_26140.jpg

    Use a strainer to strain off the broth. Use it for cooking the sauce.

    gallery_19795_3876_21362.jpg

    Use a pan/wok, set stove at high. Add 1 to 2 cups of water. Bring it to a boil. Add 1 tsp of salt.

    gallery_19795_3876_28164.jpg

    Add the pea shoots. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes.

    gallery_19795_3876_25107.jpg

    They look like this. Pea shoots cook very quickly. Do not overcook.

    gallery_19795_3876_3753.jpg

    Drain the excess water. Transfer the pea shoots to a serving plate.

    gallery_19795_3876_30406.jpg

    To prepare for the presentation, spread the pea shoots to form a circle with a hollow area at the center.

    gallery_19795_3876_14317.jpg

    To make the sauce: use a wok/pan. Set stove at high. Add 2 tblsp of cooking oil. Wait until oil is hot. Add the sliced garlic. Add 1/2 of salt (or to taste).

    gallery_19795_3876_27689.jpg

    Very quickly, dash in 2-3 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine. Add the cooking liquid from the conpoy. Add 1/4 cup of water. If you like the dish saucey, add another 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil.

    gallery_19795_3876_7849.jpg

    With the mixture boiling, gently fold in the egg white. Keep stirring with the spatula while folding the egg white.

    gallery_19795_3876_954.jpg

    Use the spatula to keep stirring gently for 20 more seconds after all egg white has been added.

    gallery_19795_3876_600.jpg

    Pour the sauce on top of the pea shoots on the serving plate.

    gallery_19795_3876_44705.jpg

    Lay on the conpoy shreds on top of the dish. Finished.

    Picture of the finished dish.

  5. Supplemental:

    This classical recipe is really wonderful. There is some magic about the combination. I don't know if it is the chili bean sauce, or if it is the onion/garlic, or if it is the Sichuan preserved vegetable, or if it is from the bits of browned meat. The combination of these produces a wonder taste.

    I made the Sichuan string beans again. This time I used minced chicken, and onion instead of shallot. Otherwise it is the same basic recipe.

    gallery_19795_2805_52653.jpg

    Here is a whole pan-ful.

    gallery_19795_2805_9454.jpg

    More "meat to string bean" ratio this time.

  6.   liv4fud said:
    One quick question: the brocolli that was cooked will stand out and would not *absorb* the flavor of the dish...

    I guess I am spoilt by having indian food where an entire dish tastes the same (or similar).  In this one -- brocolli - seems more of a garnish.

    Indian vegetable cooking is very different from Chinese vegetable cooking. Most of the Indian vegetable dishes that I have tried, vegetables are cooked until very soft and the dominating spices are mixed in. Vegetables, spices, sauces all mixed as one.

    In Chinese stir-fry cooking, we cook the meat end vegetables separately and in the end combine the two along with the sauce. Vegetables just turned "cooked", which is the point where they loose their "grassy" taste. But usually not soft. Except vegetables like egg plants and melons.

  7. Man! I gotta be careful when ordering fried "spring rolls" in Vietnamese restaurants. I meant to have "Cha Gio" - the deep-fried spring rolls like those shown in this recipe. But whenever they hear the word "spring rolls", they associate it with "Goi Cuon" - the un-fried cold wrap with shrimp and peppermint leaves filling. And some Vietnamese restaurants call the fried version "egg rolls" and the unfried version "spring rolls". Very confusing!

    Better use the Vietnamese names to avoid getting the order mixed-up.

  8.   Kent Wang said:
    [...]

    Chinese spring rolls also differ from American restaurant egg rolls as the skin is not as thick. They are thin, crispy, much less substantial. I believe American egg rolls might also be battered before frying.

    Kent: thanks for sharing your recipe! Looks good!

    I don't think the American egg rolls are battered before frying. I think the problem is:

    1) Many restaurants choose the thick wrappers. May be that's the only kind available in their area.

    2) Many restaurants make their rolls too big: I have seen 4 inches, 6 inches or even longer egg rolls. They look more like Chimichanga.

    When the egg rolls are big, they cannot get the skin crispy unless they deep-fry them longer. And if they do, the skin will get burnt. So the result is big and softy egg rolls. :unsure: Good spring roll should be crispy and flaky: the skin breaks off as you bite into it.

  9.   chappie said:
    Ah Leung, have you ever considered putting out some sort of guerilla-style cookbook: you, your camera and your fabulously crusty magic pan?

    At least for us eGulleters. I know I would buy it.

    Thanks for your support, chappie.

    I have put all my pictorial recipes together in a Microsoft Windows help file (sorry unix and Apple users). You can quickly browse through all my pictorial collections. The nice thing that I like is you can do a search through my recipes. For example, if you want to make something with "bok choy" today... enter "bok choy" in the search string and it will return 3 recipes that has such mentioning. You can browse through the content of each recipe. You do this all locally on your PC.

    It is my version of a recipe e-book. My first attemp anyway. Free for download... So far. :smile:

    http://www.freewebs.com/hzrt8w/LeungPictorials.htm

    It will be rebuilt every month or so. The update information can be found in my signature.

    Don't be shy if you feel that you want give me contributions! PM me and I will send you my PayPal account number! :wink::laugh::laugh:

  10. Supplemental:

    Thanks to poster yimay, my pot stickers are improving.

    gallery_19795_3183_25188.jpg

    This time I chose a different wrapper. This wrapper is smaller. They seemed to be produced for making Japanese Gyoza, which typically are smaller than Chinese Pot Stickers. I like the smaller size. The wrappers are thinner too.

    gallery_19795_3183_14852.jpg

    Pleat the wrapper as she described in her webpage:

    http://www.holyshitake.com/archives/2004/0..._dumplings.html

    gallery_19795_3183_5092.jpg

    Nicely arrange the pot stickers around the plate in a circle. It is a little bit more work - spending more time in pleating and wrapper more quantity because each pot sticker is smaller. But the result is worth it.

    gallery_19795_3183_19558.jpg

    Can take more pot stickers in a frying pan for each batch. The timing is about the same, perhaps a bit shorter.

    gallery_19795_3183_5713.jpg

    The result. Can you tell the difference between these and the ones from my first round?

  11. I watched another episode of Kylie's show last night:

    Simply Magic: Episode 6: Hong Kong Island Hideaway

    (The schedule on Discovery Home channel is on Saturday 6:30 pm and 9:30 pm PDT.)

    This episode featured 3 recipes:

    Steamed Snapper Filets

    Fish Soup

    Deep-fried Prawns with Chilli Dipping Sauce

    (Recipes can be found here)

    My thoughts:

    It is interesting the Kylie had visited 2 places (might have been even 3) but the editing made it looked as if it was one place. I believe they showed her picking the live seafood from tanks while she was in Cheung Chau. But she actually ate at Lamma Island. The restaurant looked exactly like the one Kent Wang visited! :laugh:

    She ordered some manis shrimp. My father would never touch it, saying that they are too "fishy" - pointing to the yellow color in the under belly of the shrimp. But you know what "fishy" means! :raz: In Cantonese, Manis Shrimp are called "Lai Liu Ha". But don't ask me to translate it! :laugh::laugh: The best way to cook fresh, succulent shrimp Cantonese style is to White Boil, and dip in diluted light soy sauce with slices of fresh hot chilies. Most restaurants use the second/third grade shrimp to make Salt And Pepper style because the non-freshness taste of the shrimp can be hidden by the strong salt and pepper flavor. Can't do that with white boiled.

    That inspired Kylie to make deep-fried prawns with beer batter (yes, beer). The dip is sweet and sour, mixed in with shredded carrots. It looks like Japanese tempura with western batter making meeting Vietnamese Nam Ngoc. Interesting.

    I really like the recipe on steamed snapper filets. Chinese don't usually bother with fileting the fish for steaming. We steam fish whole. Some actually insists on steaming fish whole as a belief of "whole" being "beautiful". But Kylie's version is more consumer friendly - without scare of the fish bones.

    The third recipe of making fish soup... I like it for the most part. However, adding light soy sauce to the soup, I think, would degrade the clearness of the soup. I would skip it. The saltiness can be derived from salt.

  12. Pictorial Recipe

    Ah Leung Hot Garlic Chili Sauce (蒜蓉辣椒醬)

    I like all kinds of Asian hot chili sauces. But most of the commercially available hot sauces are either too vinegary or are lack of flavors. I have been experimenting with creating different chili hot sauce recipes. Here is one that I have recently tried. This kind of chili sauce can be commonly found in Chinese restaurants as condiments (especially wonton noodle shops). You may alter the ingredients to your own liking.

    gallery_19795_3835_2706.jpg

    Picture of my hot garlic chili sauce.

    Serving Suggestion: (will last for a few months)

    Preparations:

    gallery_19795_3835_5791.jpg

    Main ingredients (left, clockwise):

    - 1 bag of dried red pepper flakes, about 1 lb

    - 3 bags of (15 whole) garlic

    - 1 small bag of fresh Thai chili peppers (Heaven Pointing Chili)

    - 5 tblsp of preserved "sweet radish"

    - 1 bag of small dried shrimp

    (Not shown):

    - 6 to 7 tblsp of fermented black beans ("dou see")

    - 5 to 7 tsp of sugar

    - 5 tsp of brown bean sauce

    - 5 tsp of sweet bean sauce (or hoisin sauce)

    - 10 tsp of Sa Cha sauce

    (Optional):

    - 1/3 cup of brandy or whisky, or ShaoHsing wine

    - 3 tsp of MSG

    gallery_19795_3835_20974.jpg

    Here is the close up of 1 bag of dried red pepper flakes. About 1 lb.

    gallery_19795_3835_12054.jpg

    Just to turn up the heat, I like to use 1 small bag of fresh Thai chili peppers (Heaven Pointing Chili). These chilies are very potent. Skip it if you want a mild chili sauce.

    Also, use only 1/2 bag of dried red pepper flake for this recipe if you want a mild chili sauce.

    gallery_19795_3835_23747.jpg

    Proceed to cutting the Thai chili peppers to very thin slices.

    gallery_19795_3835_2872.jpg

    Soak the bag of small dried shrimp in a small pot of warm water for about 1 to 2 hours before cooking. Drain water before use.

    Use may also use dried scallops (conpoy) instead. Chinese call the addition of dried scallops "XO" sauce. Dried scallops take longer to soak: overnight minimum. You may reuse the soaking liquid to flavor other dishes. Drain well before using.

    gallery_19795_3835_21824.jpg

    Peel and press all the garlic. Divide into 2 equal portions.

    gallery_19795_3835_12268.jpg

    Use a food processor, grind the soaked dried shrimp into fine shreds.

    gallery_19795_3835_31656.jpg

    Like such.

    gallery_19795_3835_17680.jpg

    To add a little bit of texture in the chili sauce, I like to use some preserved "sweet radish". They are basically preserved daikons and they have a distinct smell and flavor. Use only about 5 tblsp or so.

    gallery_19795_3835_20788.jpg

    This is what the preserved sweet radish looks like out of the bag.

    gallery_19795_3835_30448.jpg

    Use a food processor to chop them into fine shreds.

    gallery_19795_3835_9890.jpg

    Like such.

    gallery_19795_3835_9845.jpg

    Use about 6 to 7 tblsp of fermented black beans ("dou see").

    gallery_19795_3835_14917.jpg

    Slightly rinse the fermented black beans with some water. Use a big spoon to hand-smash the beans. Drain well.

    Cooking Instructions:

    gallery_19795_3835_36845.jpg

    Use a wok, set stove at high. Add 7 to 8 cups of cooking oil. Heat the oil to just below smoking point. It may take 7 to 10 minutes.

    gallery_19795_3835_486.jpg

    First, add half the portion of the pressed garlic. Fry the garlic for about a minute. Add 10 tsp of salt (or to taste)

    You may add some brandy or whisky, or ShaoHsing wine if you like, to the mix to enhance the flavor.

    gallery_19795_3835_19584.jpg

    Add the minced dried shrimp. Fry for a couple of minutes.

    gallery_19795_3835_34472.jpg

    Stir well.

    gallery_19795_3835_34762.jpg

    Add 1 bag (16 oz) of dried red pepper flakes. Stir well.

    gallery_19795_3835_14011.jpg

    Add the second portion of pressed garlic, shredded sweet radish, and smashed fermented black beans. Continue to stir and fry.

    gallery_19795_3835_26597.jpg

    Just one last touch in flavoring: Add:

    - 5 to 7 tsp of sugar

    - 5 tsp of brown bean sauce

    - 5 tsp of sweet bean sauce (or hoisin sauce)

    - 10 tsp of Sa Cha sauce

    If you like MSG, you may add a 3 tsp of MSG in the mix. Continue to stir and fry for a few more minutes.

    gallery_19795_3835_6701.jpg

    Turn off the stove and let the chili sauce cool down.

    gallery_19795_3835_9828.jpg

    Once cool down, the ingredients absorb the chili oil. Store the chili sauce in glass jars in the refrigerator. It will last a few months.

    gallery_19795_3835_2706.jpg

    Picture of the finished chili sauce. Use it as a condiment for Asian dishes or in Asian cooking.

    Available for mail order for a modest US$10.00 for a 6-oz jar. Hey... that's how Yank Sing got started!

  13. Supplemental:

    An update:

    I got around to do a few more batches of Nam Yu Peanuts since this pictorial recipe was published. I had tried using only fermented bean curd (fu yu) once. It did not do it for me. The taste was rather bland. We really need to "kick" from Nam Yu to flavor the peanuts.

    Since then I have been doing a mix: About 2-3 small cubes of Nam Yu and 1 cube of Fu Yu to every pound of peanuts. I use a blender to smash these fermented bean curds and dissolve them in water, along with the addition of sugar and salt, then slowly add the mix to the peanuts while roasting.

  14.   canucklehead said:
    There is certainly alot of room for innovation in Chinese food - incorporate local ingredients, lighten up on the oil or certain seasoning - but what she does is almost an 'illiterate' form of Chinese food.  Alot of style over substance - chili peppers, sugar, vinegar, fish sauce are added to everything.  Short cuts to real cooking and coaxing out of true food flavors.

    [...]

    Ah Leung - have you gotten further along in your video project?  Something that I hope eG makes available.

    Style over substance. That captured exactly what I thought! I have seen half of the collections now and Sichuan peppercorn/salt are used in every one. I love Sichuan peppercorn as used in Sichuan chili chicken and such. For Sichuan peppercorn and salt mix, there are only a few traditional dishes in Cantonese cuisine that provides it: Cantonese Fried Chicken for example.

    It's good to evolve and create new recipes. But the emphasis should be on the taste first. But perhaps Kylie took the old Chinese food wisdom literally. It said "Color, Fragrance, Taste" where Color (the appearance) goes first. Hmmm...

    P.S. I need a studio! :wink:

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