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The other style that I always wondered about is the "XO Sauce" stir-fries (shrimp, scallop, squid, seafood combo, etc.). What makes it "XO Sauce"? Is it the addition of XO chili sauce? XO class brandy? (I doudt that very much) Or the use of dried scallop? There seems to be many different interpretations. And the accompanying vegetables can be all different too. Snap peas? bamboo shoots? Water chestnut slices? Carrot slices? Straw mushrooms? Snow peas? What have your experiences been? Have your ordered XXXX Stir-Fried in XO Sauce?

I was wondering about the difference between Typhoon Shelter style and the plain old Salt and Pepper style too. The other night I ordered the Typhoon Shelter style shrimp from my neighbor New Hong Kong Wok. Besides plenty of minced garlic, which was fried to crispy under quick and intense heat, they also put in finely-diced laap yuk (preserved pork belly) and whole fermented black beans, along with green onion chops and fresh chili slices. I think that's what makes it "Typhoon Shelter" style.

How good was their aim? The water being poured was boiling hot, right? Wouldn't the water spill over the rim under high pressure? The floor show looks like a dinner show on Yunnan's folk dances? Also... was the Yunnan ham slices steamed? Would you characterize the taste? (My first thought was that they seemed a little dry but hopefully the taste was just right?)

Me too. I did not cook Sichuan style too often so I didn't pay enough attention. I learned from this board that the potency of the Sichuan peppercorn has only a very short life-span. Recently I tasted a few Sichuan style dishes from different restaurants and I compared them to the ones I made at home using my "stock" peppercorn, I can clearly tell the difference (the "numbing" effect). I am going to ditch what remains in my cupboard and buy another pack from the grocery market. The Sichuan peppercorns shown in one of the pictures in the link in my earlier post seem really fresh because they still have the bright red color. I will aim to buy something similar. Hopefully I can find them.

Ha ha ha ha... LOL! It happens faster than David Blaine does a sleight of hand magic trick! I should have posted a warning about the smell... BTW, did I say that the fishy-shrimpy smell will remain on your cloths for days??? Using fermented bean curds is safer.

Used to be... not anymore. Is CA different from the rest of the USA regarding lifting the ban? From this web page: http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Szechuan_pepper

Really? Tell us the story anyway! My wife and I joined a packaged tour visiting Guilin. We did the Li River cruise like everybody else. But the meals were pre-packaged. Just common stuff... stir-fries... little bit of meat, lots of vegetable kind of dishes. It is typical of those tour packages run by Hong Kong companies. I am trying to have one of those tours in the future where we can take advantage of the low transportation and hotel rates (collective bargaining), but we will get our meals on our own. I wonder if that would be possible...

My neighborhood favorite restaurant "New Hong Kong Wok" offers their version of Sichuan Hot Chili Pepper Chicken. I sampled it last night and I was hooked. The taste of dried chili pepper and Sichuan peppercorn was just wonderful. I did some more searching on the web, and found this page (in Chinese but there are 2 pictures): http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.x...ent_1722809.htm 正宗重慶辣子雞（圖解） According to this write up: (Translation) The key to making this dish: 1. You may use more or less dried chili pepper and Sichuan peppercorn as you like. The best is have all the hot chilis covering the chicken, and not just a few chilis mixed with the chicken pieces. 2. You should use salt to marinate the chicken meat before deep-frying. If you only add salt while stir-frying the chicken later, the outside of the chicken meat is already dry from the deep-frying so the salty taste will not infiltrate into the meat. 3. The oil you use to deep-fry the chcken meat must be very hot, so that the meat is crispy on the outside while still tender on the inside. If the oil is not hot enough, you end up having to deep-fry the chicken for too long and the meat becomes hard. I followed these advices and reproduced this dish at home tonight and they are very good. (No picture though... sorry... may be next time.) I got hooked on this dish now. The numbing taste of the Sichuan peppercorn is irresistable! No wonder that they said Cantonese food is bland. Ha Ha... Ha ha...

Porcupine? Did the waitstaff leave the candied taro with you to separate? When I served this dish (candied apple) while working as a waiter in San Diego, I always had to pull the candie apple pieces apart and dipped them in iced water for the customers. If we just left them with the whole dish, they usually didn't know what to do. After 3 minutes, the melted sugar cooled down and all the pieces glued together and they would have one big piece of candy (then they really didn't know what to do with it).

#59, Stir-Fried Chicken and Asparagus with Black Bean Sauce (豉汁蘆筍炒鸡片)

Pictorial Recipe Stir-Fried Chicken and Asparagus with Black Bean Sauce (豉汁蘆筍炒鸡片) Asparagus is not a vegetable used in traditional Chinese cooking, but it is a wonderful adaptation to traditional Chinese recipes such as stir-frying with chicken and black bean sauce. Picture of the finished dish: Serving Suggestion: 2 to 3 Preparations: Main ingredients (from right, clockwise): - 3 chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 lb - Asparagus, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb - Garlic, use 4-5 cloves - (Not shown) Ginger, about 2-inch in length - (Not shown) Fermented black beans, about 4-5 tsp Trim fat off the chicken breasts. Cut into thick slices, about 1/4 inch thick. Trim the tough ends off the asparagus and discard. Cut into roughly 2 inches in length diagonally. Peel and mince about 4-5 cloves of garlic. Grate the ginger (use about 2-inch in length). Slightly rinse about 4-5 tsp of fermented black beans in a small bowl. Use the back of a metal spoon to smash the fermented black beans into a paste. Add the minced garlic and grated ginger. Press and stir the mixture into a paste. Place the chicken slices in a mixing bowl. To marinate the chicken, add 1 tsp of ground white pepper, 2 tsp of light soy sauce, 1 tsp of corn starch, 1-2 tsp of oyster sauce, 1-2 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine, 1 tsp of sesame oil. Mix well. Set aside for about 30 minutes before cooking. Cooking Instructions: Use a wok/pan, set stove at high temperature. Add 3-4 tblsp of frying oil, wait until oil gets hot. Velvet the chicken slices in oil. Remove the chicken when there is "no more pink color". Continue cooking with the wok/pan. Add 2-3 tblsp of cooking oil. Heat for 30 seconds or so. Add the black bean, garlic, ginger paste. Add 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste). Stir well. Fry the black bean paste for 20-30 seconds until the fragrance is released. Dash in 2 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine. Add the asparagus. If you like this dish dry, add only 2 tblsp of chicken broth. If you want a saucy dish, add 1/4 cup of chicken broth. (Near the end add some corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce.) Bring the mixture to a boil. Asparagus cooks rather fast. It takes only 2 to 3 minutes. Don't overcook. Return the velveted chicken slices. Stir well and cook for another minute or two. Dash in 1 to 2 tsp of dark soy sauce. Thicken the sauce with corn starch slurry if necessary. Finished. Transfer to a serving plate. Picture of the finished dish. (Note: The quantity of food made in this recipe is about twice the portion shown in this picture.)

They are? If they are deep-fried, they are pretty much a staple in dim sum restaurants here. I love these. ← I think wrapping the tofu skin around with a seaweed ribbon is original. A bit following Japanese food decorations.

Yeah, they have HK$10 in coins (more in coins than in bills now). So if you follow the "rule" to leave "coins" in the change tray, you might have "overtipped" (HK$25 tip for a HK$75 (10% already included) meal if you pay with a HK$100 bill for example) There is a HK$0.05 coin. Remember the term "Dou Ning"? Yes HK$0.01 does exist - yes I have seen it long time ago - but it is in paper bills. Very small ones. Very different from HK$20/$100/$500 bills. To refresh our memories, here is a picture of the Hong Kong currencies in coins and bills: (Click on the Google search page)

Cut open the shell, squeez out the protein, then make omlette???? I am only guessing. How does one eat sea urchin?

I am not sure about modern days. In ancient times, as you can see the depictions in movies or novels, the buyers of wine would bring their own instruments to carry the wine. For travellers, it could be a water jug made of the dried shell of "woo lo" (a melon that shapes like a figure of 8). For domestic villagers, it could be a ceramic container of some sort. The shopkeeper will ladle the amount you order for you.

Thank you for the education. The ones I had in San Diego did not have the fancy knife works. And from the pictures it's kind of hard to tell because the sauce is all over the fish. How about it, jo-mel? You make this dish and show us how to do it?

Back in the 60's and 70's, tipping in Hong Kong restaurants was not a common practice from what I observed. Perhaps wesza can educate us more. I first observed 10% service charge in "western" restaurants in Hong Kong (those that serve steaks and spaghetti, coffee/tea, etc.). But nowadays 10% service charge is a common place in traditional Chinese restaurants as well. It depends on the restaurant types. The neighborhood, mom-and-pop restaurants probably won't charge 10%. But anywhere that offers "decent" service would pretty much stipulate a 10% charge. As for customers, they usually leave a dollar or two (note: local currency) after the 10% and that's about it. Rarely would you find someone leaving 15% or 20% (total) tips.

I just had a dim-sum version of this shrimp tofu-skin roll. They mixed in ground shrimp with chopped cilantro and pan-fry the rolls. Tasted excellent!

That's what exactly a local Chinese restaurant offers here: Fried Siu Mai! I can taste it that the Siu Mai's were frozen ones. But slightly fry them at the bottom makes them taste better that what they would have been.

11- 蒸 Zheng - A form of steaming Steaming is a very common way to prepare day-to-day dinner entrees. From my collection of pictorial recipes: Steamed Ground Pork with Salted Fish (鹹魚蒸肉餅) Steamed Pork Spareribs with Plum Sauce (梅子蒸排骨) Steamed Shrimp with Garlic (粉絲蒜蓉蒸蝦) Steamed Egg Custard with Conpoy (瑤柱蒸金銀蛋) More pictures: 蒜蓉蒸扇贝, Steamed Scallops with Shells Click through the Google image search page to view the picture: (Sample 1: 蒜蓉蒸扇贝, Steamed Scallops with Shells) 蒸鱼, Steamed Fish Click through the Google image search page to view the picture: (Sample 2: 蒸鱼, Steamed Fish) 金针云耳蒸牛肉, Steamed Beef with Cloud Ear Fungi and Lily Bud Click through the Google image search page to view the picture: (Sample 3: 金针云耳蒸牛肉, Steamed Beef with Cloud Ear Fungi and Lily Bud) 荷香蒸排骨, Steamed Sparerib in Lotus Leave Click through the Google image search page to view the picture: (Sample 4: 荷香蒸排骨, Steamed Sparerib in Lotus Leave)

Maybe this is a mix. I remember eating "woo gok" [Cantonese] (deep-fried taro crochette) since I was small. That would be about forty years ago. But the traditional filling has always been minced pork. I think using the whole shrimp with smashed taro as a wrapping and deep-frying it is a recent creation. Maybe 10-20 years? Dim sum is forever evolving too. Yes we have the ultra traditional like Har Gaw and Siu Mai. Then there are variations such as "Dai Zhi Gaw" (using scallop instead of shrimp). And I heard some even use king crab? With Siu Mai, they have different add-ons and present them as new items. I think the most successful restaurants are the ones who can keep the traditional items, make them really well, and constantly create just a few new items to entice the patrons.

It reminded me that it's time for me to "renew" my master sauce in the freezer! LOL...

Unlike Sichuan peppercorn spice, I don't think shrimp paste loses flavor over time. I had used a jar of shrimp paste that's over 2 years old since opened. Tasted the same.

Not sure. I do know Ong Choy / shrimp sauce is popular in Southeast Asia. Hong Kong Chinese might have stolen the technique from there... don't know. I have seen video footage of one street stall in Singapore(?? or is it Malaysia?) selling "flying Ong Choy". The cook stir-fries Ong Choy in a wok. When ready, he just tosses the wok and let the Ong Choy fly across the street, and a skillful waiter, with an empty plate on his hand, will catch the flying Ong Choy and serve it to the customer. Quite a scene! Tourist attraction. Pike's Market has competition!

I agree with muichoi, less corn starch, more oil, and quick on the spatula to stir the beef/meat around. I think the best is to sear the meat with quick intense heat instead of using a medium heat. I like to have a bit of caramelized surface instead of a watery one.