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My father cooked lotus roots whole, usually in Cantonese soup. But he cut them into slices before serving.

Keep in mind that Chinese vegetarian restaurants typically use pressed tofu (seasoned with soy + 5 spice, etc.), tofu skin, or gluten as fake meat. I think gluten is made from wheat?

Do people "bring their own shark fin" to the restaurant?

Take a look at my old post for some more soya bean product derivative discussions: Seen Jook, Foo Jook, soya bean derivatives, Membranes of soya bean congee

In Chinese: 豆腐浦 I don't think LiangPi 凉皮 is tofu at all. Is it some kind of rice product? I am not sure. There is also "tofu fa" 豆腐花, softer than silken tofu. Eaten sweet or savory as dessert or snack.

Taste just like chicken?

Toast first, then use coffee grinder?

No. The preceding posts were talking about the regular fermented tofu, as described in this page: Fermented Bean Curd, or Preserved Bean Curd The red preserved tofu you described is of a different variety. It tastes different. I hope to have another illustrated page to discuss it in a few days.

It is not too late to recreate it.

From these descriptions, I don't see Chinese "hot pot" and Japanese Shabu Shabu being all that different. We also briefly dip the raw meat into the broth, just long enough to cook it. We dip the meat in the sauce/dip too. There are many dips we can choose from: simply light soy sauce with sliced chilies, or satay sauce, or other mix and match sauces made with hoisin, fermented tofu, etc.. Some people like to add a raw egg to the dip to smooth out the "yang" (the "fire") in eating hot meat right off the pot. Adding more flavor to the broth is a consequence of dipping meat into the broth, not the goal. At the end, like aprilmei said, we put in the soaked mung bean threads or noodles to fill our stomach. So... while in Hong Kong, why not try out the genuine Chinese "hot pot" which are available everywhere, instead of going out of the way to seek for a Hong Kongers' rendition of the Japanese Shabu Shabu?

Yeah, Kris, how did they get in there? For a minute I thought you came to the US of A, home of donut lovers!!!

Interesting. Thank you mizducky. I wonder how long the shrimp holds on to the fertilized eggs before dropping them to the ocean floor. I have eaten some pretty big lumps of shrimp eggs of spot shrimp in Monterey Park. They tasted excellent! Gotta be in season though...

Isn't Shabu Shabu the Japanese' equivalent of the Chinese "hot pot" ("Da Been Lo" in Cantonese)? Or are they very different? With Chinese (Cantonese) hot pot, we put raw meats/seafood (e.g. sliced beef, chicken, lamb, shrimp, crab, squid, oyster, clam, beef/shrimp/octopus/fish-balls) and vegetables (e.g. lettuce, napa cabbage, Chinese broccoli, yau choy, bak choy, or whatever is in season), along with tofu and soaked mung bean thread in the boiling broth. Is this very different from Shabu Shabu? If you like Cantonese hot pot, then they are everywhere in Hong Kong. You can probably find plenty of hot pot restaurants in Kowloon, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay and no need to go to Shatin.

Thank you Irwin. Those shrimp are regularly available in the local Asian grocery markets in Sacramento, selling at about US$3.99 to $4.99/lb depending on the size. I feel really lucky that the seafood available in Sacramento is comparable to those in San Francisco with prices just slightly higher than China Town. I guess they trucked them in from San Francisco Bay, Bodega Bay, Half Moon Bay or wherever... Live Dungeness crabs are selling for US$2.69/lb right now. I don't know enough about the anatomy of shellfish. Are those "roes" inside the shrimp head? They are quite tasty. Once you peel off the head, just suck these fat out of the head. I thought roes (shrimp eggs) are something they carry outside of their bodies in the belly area. With this batch, I did not see any shrimp that carried eggs.

Chestnut: 栗子

#42, White Boiled Shrimp (白灼蝦)

White Boiled Shrimp (白灼蝦) Can it be easier? Nothing can be easier than white boiling some shrimp to make a dish. The key to a delicious "white boiled shrimp" dish is to have fresh shrimp (with heads) and making a dip for the shrimp. Picture of the finished dish: Serving Suggestion: 2 to 3 Preparations: Main ingredients: (From left to right) - 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb of medium to large size shrimp with head - 5 to 6 green onions - 1 to 2 chili pepper (e.g. jarapeno pepper, or red chili) Soak the shrimp in a mixing bowl with water for an hour or so. Rinse the shrimp and drain. Trim and shred the green onions diagonally. Trim and cut the chili peppers into thin slices. Cooking Instructions: Use a medium size pot. Half fill it with water. Boil the water. Use a small bowl. Scoop about 1/2 cup of the boiling water onto this bowl. Add 3 tsp of sugar to dissolve. Use another small bowl. Lay the shredded green onions in the bowl. Lay the chili slices on top. Add the shrimp on to the pot of boiling water. It will take about 3 to 5 minutes for it to boil again. Meanwhile, use a small pot or pan to heat up 3 tblsp of cooking oil to fuming hot. Very quickly, splash the fuming hot oil onto the bowl of shredded green onions/sliced chilies. Add about 8 tsp of light soy sauce. Add on the sugar/water mix. Mix well. This is the dip for the white boiled shrimp. Transfer to small bowls/dishes for serving. The shrimp is cooked when it completely turns orange/red (no more grey). Pour the pot content onto a strainer. Drain off the boiling water and transfer the shrimp to a plate/dish for serving. Finished. Picture of the finished dish and the diping sauce.

Actually, there is no need to coat the chicken when you cook it whole with skin on. The skin is the most natural coating you can have to protect the meat from overcooking. You want the skin to caramelize and turn brown during deep-frying. As for shopping for a cleaver: choose the one that feels heavy (you need the momentum when swinging a cleaver), and with a straight thin blade.

I have given this some more thoughts. I think alternatively you can deep-fry the chicken to fully-cooked, chop up the chicken with a cleaver, then pour on the reduced lemon sauce. This way the chicken skin will remain crispy. It would be good too.

Picture: English name: Plum Sauce Chinese name: 酸梅醬 Chinese pronounciations: (Click here) Category: Cooking sauce Usage: Marination, cooking, condiment Description: Plum Sauce is commonly used as a condiment in Cantonese barbeques and appetizer such as fried egg rolls and fried wonton. It is also used in some Cantonese steamed and stir-fried dishes. It is made from plums: cooked and mixed with sugar. It tastes a bit like fruit jams, very sweet and fruity. Where to find it: Asian grocery market, sauce section Shopping tips: From my experience, the taste of Plum Sauces from different makes vary quite a bit. You may need to try different brands to find the one that pleases you. My favorite brand is Lee Kum Kee, and second favorite is Koon Chun. In California, a jar (about 12 oz) typically sells for around US$2.00 to $3.00. Storage suggestions: Store in the refrigerator after the jar is opened. For more information: A sample recipe which uses Plum Sauce: Steamed Pork Spareribs with Plum Sauce (梅子蒸排骨)

Picture: English name: Shrimp Sauce Chinese name: 蝦醬 Chinese pronounciations: (Clicke here) Category: Cooking sauce Usage: Cooking, condiment Description: Shrimp Sauce is commonly used in Cantonese-style stir-fried dishes with seafood (e.g. squid), beef, and steamed dishes with pork. It is made with small shrimp, fermented and ground. It tastes very salty and has a strong fishy smell. Where to find it: Asian grocery market, sauce section Shopping tips: Shrimp Sauces are very generic. They taste about the same from different brands. My favorite brand is Koon Chun. In California, a jar (about 12 oz) typically sells for around US$2.00 to $3.00. Storage suggestions: Store at room temperature should be fine. For more information: A sample recipe that uses Shrimp Sauce: Squid Stir-Fried with Shrimp Sauce (蝦醬炒鮮鱿)

Picture: English name: Ground Bean Sauce, Brown Bean Sauce Chinese name: 磨豉醬,原磨豉 Chinese pronounciations: (Click here) Category: Cooking sauce Usage: Marination, Cooking Description: Ground Bean Sauce is an important sauce in Chinese cooking. It is made from soya beans, flour and sugar. It is usually used in conjunction with other sauces (such as soy sauce) and aromatics (such as garlic, onion, ginger, green onion) for many stir-fried dishes. It is also used in meat marination for Cantonese barbeques (such as roast pork, barbequed pork, roast duck, etc.). It tastes a bit salty and full of bean flavor, very similar to Japanese miso soup paste. Where to find it: Asian grocery market, sauce section Shopping tips: Ground Bean Sauces are very generic. They taste about the same from different brands. My favorite brand is Koon Chun. In California, a jar (about 12 oz) sells for around US$2.00. Storage suggestions: Store at room temperature should be fine. Or you may store the jar in the refrigerator after opened.

Sichuan peppercorns are heavily used in Sichuan style cooking. Look at any recipe that has the name "ma la" (Ma La Chicken). The "Ma" refers to the numbing sensation from the sichuan peppercorns, and the "La" refers to the hotness of dried red peppers. I don't cookSichuan dishes too often. Here is my Kung Pao Chicken recipe that uses Sichuan peppercorns. Pictorial: Kung Pao Chicken, Home Cooking Series 35, 宮爆雞丁 You may also use them in red-braise dishes.

With statements like that, the officiers on eGullet need to prepare to give you some "dai lai see bao" (red pockets)!

I have seen a picture of the lemon chicken dish done with a whole chicken. Your question prompted me to think about it a little bit how it can be done at home. I haven't done this before. Here is what I think can be tried: First rub the outside and inside of the whole chicken with some salt and five spice powder (or star anise powder) and a bit of light soy sauce. Leave it for marination for an hour or 2. Then deep-fry the chicken first to half-cooked, just about 5 minutes. If your wok is not big enough to hold the whole chicken for deep-frying, split the chicken in half first then deep-fry. After deep-frying, chop up the chicken. The meat is still pink. Finish cooking it by braising with the lemon sauce during the reduce process.