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You guys lunch like this? I need to book my next red-eye flight to YVR! Very nice indeed. {{{shaking head}}} There is no Shanghai style restaurant in Sacramento! I really like the Shanghai chow mein and eel (chow seen wu). Absolutely the best!

#29, Hairy Melon Stir-fried with Mung Bean Threads (蝦米粉絲炒毛瓜)

Hairy Melon Stir-fried with Mung Bean Threads (蝦米粉絲炒毛瓜) This is a very simple recipe: stir-frying hairy melons with dried shrimp and mung bean threads, flavored with oyster sauce. Picture of the finished dish: Serving Suggestion: 2 to 3 Preparations: Main ingredients: (from top left, clockwise) 2 hairy melons (about 1 1/2 lb), 2 bundles of mung bean threads, 3 to 4 cloves of garlic, a handful of dried shrimp, about 10 dry black mushrooms. Hairy melons: peel, trim both ends, cut into roughly 1 inch by 2 inch pieces. Soak the black mushrooms in warm water for about 1 to 2 hours. Trim off stems and cut into thin slices. Soak the mung bean threads in warm water for about 1 hour. Soak dry shrimp in warm water for about 15 minutes. Mince the garlic. Cooking Instructions: Use a pan/wok, set stove at high, add about 2 tblsp of cooking oil, wait until oil starts fuming. Add minced garlic, soaked dry shrimp and sliced mushrooms. Add a pinch of salt (suggest: 1/4 tsp). Stir-fry for 30 seconds and let the fragrance release from the dry shrimp and dry mushrooms. Dash in 1 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine. Stir well. Add the hairy melon. Pour in about 3 tsp of oyster sauce, 1/4 cup of chicken broth and 1/4 cup of water. Stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue to cook with the lid on. About 10 minutes. Stir occassionally. Add more water if the mixture becomes too dry. When the hairy melon is about done, create an opening in the middle of the pan. Add the soaked mung bean thread. Continue to cook for a few minutes until the bean threads turn soft and soak up the liquid in the melon mixture. Note: You may want to use a pair of scissors to cut the mung bean thread after it softens up. This makes serving this dish easier. The finished dish. The quantity of food made in this recipe is about twice the portion shown in this picture.

I wanted to experiment with some of the "drunken chicken" recipes, which call for Hua Diao [Mandarin] wine. I just bought a bottle of Hua Diao wine (picture on the left), which costed me US $22.00, and I compared it side-by-side with my regular ShaoHsing cooking wine (picture on the right), which was sold at US $6.00. I poured a capful of each and tasted them. I could not detect any big difference, except that the ShaoHsing cooking wine had a trace of saltiness. (Left: Hua Diao wine, 紹興花雕酒; Right: ShaoHsing cooking wine, 紹興酒) Questions: Is this what the previous posts were talking about? Adding a little bit of salt and classifying it as cooking wine, they sell it at a much lower price? Are these 2 wines the same other than the salt content? Can I make "drunken chicken" with regular ShaoHsing cooking wine eventhough the recipes call for "Hua Diao" wine? I am just puzzled over the terminology of Hua Diao wine (紹興花雕酒) versus ShaoHsing cooking wine (紹興酒). Are all ShaoHsing wine basically Hua Diao? Side note: I had tried those ShaoHsing wine that are selling at US $1.50 a bottle. Save it, people. Don't go cheap on the cooking wine. Those bottles are selling cheap for a reason. Don't cook with any cooking wine that you would not care to drink.

budrichard: What price are they selling those ShaoXing wine at? Just curious.

Just to put my nerd hat on for a moment: BTU is an energy unit. Watt is a power unit. Power is "Energy per unit time", meaning how fast the energy (heat) is delivered. The power rating should be cited in "BTU/hr" or Watts. The conversion factor is: BTU/hour = Watts x 3.413

Thanks for the clarifications, Shiewie. I think my confusions came from: (1) Ms TP switched subject mid-stream from Rojak to Lobak. I missed the transition mark. (2) How can the term "Lobak" (which I understand as daikon in Cantonese) would mean a meat roll. I was thinking: Huh??? Meat is suddenly called "Lobak"?

I think the sauces are slightly different. From my tastebuds, I think they use a mix of oyster sauce and dark soy sauce (and probably some sugar) in making Yi Fu Mein. It seems to be a bit sweeter. Chow Mein with soy sauce is strictly dark soy sauce (or a mix of light and dark soy sauce).

OnigiriFB: Welcome to eGullet! You will find many Chinese food pictures in this China forum.

chris: Since you have a high-heat burner, no need to bother with re-heating the rice in the microwave. Just add them on the wok and fry. (May add a bit of water to rehydrate the rice though). Microwaving is for those of us poor souls using only regular gas range to speed up the process a little bit. Another thing I want to mention, since you are using a wok: You can skip the separate step of cooking the eggs. Pour the rice and lettuce to stir-fry first. When the rice is about ready, use the spatula to shuffle the rice on the side to form a "hole" in the center of the wok. Add 1 tblsp of cooking oil. Add the eggs right in center and scramble it. (Note: Do not add eggs onto the rice directly because that would make the rice soggy.) When the eggs are cooked, push the rice back in and mix with the eggs. This trick is more efficient and has less waste. As for "wok hay", I think we can semi-achieve it with a pan on regular gas stove when we heat the pan very hot before starting, and add the sauce/aromatics in the proper sequence, and especially the step of dashing in the cooking wine or vinegar - and hopefully induce a quick fire on the pan.

The Chinese ingredients jumped out at me in your last picture, Abra. The wood ears, dry lily buds, yellow bean sauce, shrimp sauce, red beans... What a collection! Yes wood ears need to be soaked first. About a hour would do. Lily buds too if you use them. These two, along with some dried black mushrooms (shittake mushrooms) can be mixed with chopped chicken (or diced chicken breast), plus seasoning, and made into a delicious steamed chicken dish, Chinese style. You can add a little yellow bean sauce and soy sauce as marinade. (Plus a few other things.) Wood ears become very soft once soaked. Yes they maintain the ribbony shape.

You can say that again... fresh off the oven. Pineapple bun and dan tart, and cocktail bun too. And a cup of real milk tea! 4:00 pm everyday! Never got used to their coffee/tea mix though...

It may surprise you. I have mentioned it before, but I know you are new to this forum. I don't currently own a wok. When I see someone who got really interested in Chinese cooking, you know what is the first thing they do before even buying a cookbook? They go out and buy a wok! LOL! A wok is indeed very nice for making Chinese stir-fried dishes. But I don't think it is an absolute prerequisite. I have been cooking Chinese food on flat frying pans (over 90% of my home made meals) for the past 26 years since moving to the USA. I think what's important is the understanding of the techniques, ingredients and the processes. Cooking with a wok is not an automatic ticket to gourmet Chinese stir-fried dishes if it is not used properly. Without a wok, you can adjust and compensate. If you have a wok and a good burner, use them. Absolutely. But don't let lacking a wok stand in the way of making decent Chinese food. So far I have been living in places equipped with regular gas stoves. Therefore I don't bother with getting a wok. But the turkey fryers (burners) that became popular in recent years may open up a possibility for me to cook with something much stronger than a regular household stove. As for a burner on steroid, check out this topic from infernooo: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...81&hl=infernooo Now, THAT is a burner!

champipple: Welcome to eGullet! "Haam yu" with fried rice may not be that recent. I have known it for over 15 years.

I always wonder about the difference between Portuguese style egg tart and the regular "Hong Kong" style egg tart. Is it the once difference where in the Portuguese style, they torch the top of the egg filling? Otherwise the same? Chinese name: 葡國蛋撻

That's great, Lee! The more participations the merrier! I see who's been eating very well! The Chinese name is 東坡肉. They use one of those 5-nipple cut the Ben Hong was talking about...

This is the first time I've heard real pineapple inside pineapple bun. Are they dry? Fresh/canned pineapple contains a lot of water. I wonder how they can manage to put them inside the bread without it come out soggy. Like Ling said, a lot of pineapple bun has custard filling (which I don't like ). Plain (really, plain) old pineapple bun works the best for me...

There is a very good Chinese restaurant right next to Universal Studio. I haven't been there for ages. Is it "Fung Lum"? (Or by some other English name). My impression of it is the food is very good. Even has a nice view of the San Fernando Valley.

Must be the language differences. East coast versus West coast.

The fermented variety costs more because it's in demand and tastes better! Takes more work to produce too. They have been selling soya sauce chicken for under $3.00 each for ages... If I live near China Town I would not need to cook. (My wife used to. For about a year. Good for her as she doesn't cook...)

Not all are. There are salted fish (Haam Yu) immersed in oil, made in China. I am not sure if they have been wind-dried first then immersed in oil, or just go right into the oil. Irwin? The package was refrigerated but not frozen.

I am slightly lost in these recent discussions... must have been sidetracked by the "haam sap lo" thing... Is Rojak the same as Lobak? And Rujak (per spaghetttti)? Are they 3 different things? I thought I was seeing some crepes and sweet things... and I suddenly see some tofu and savory items. Does "Lobak" have a Chinese origin? (If so, is it Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka, or???) Or is it uniquely Malaysian? Rojak, Rujak, Lobak... I lost my orientation!

Picture: Chinese name: 豉油王鸡丝抄麺 English name: Soy Sauce Chicken Chow Mein Category: Cantonese Rice/Noodle plates Description: Soft egg noodles stir-fried with chicken, dark soy sauce, bean sprouts, onions and green onions. (Offered at: Happy Garden Restaurant ((916) 456-0581), Sacramento, CA, USA)

jo-mel: I did stop by Bow Hon Restaurant that you mentioned last Saturday. I took a look at their menu. Lots of sandy pot dishes! Excellent! When I came home, I found that Bow Hon is featured in Martin Yan's cookbook "Chinatown"! That restaurant must have a long history. I went in to the restaurant to take a look, and also got a take-out version of their menu. The menu is hugh! Looks more like a folded city map. Let's see... Specialty Rice in Clay Pots... Mushrooms, Chicken & Sausage... (done that, minus the sausage) Salted Fish & Sliced Pork... (done that) Poached Egg & Beef... Preserved Duck & Sausage... I've bought some laap cheung (Chinese sausage) and laap gnap (Preserved duck)... we can certainly do that... almost too easy...

I really like doing dry good shopping at China Town, San Francisco. The most popular shops are along Stockton Street. Grant is just for tourists. Because so many shops essentially carrying the same merchandise, competition is high. Prices are very competitive. Their typical patrons, old immigrants in their 60's and 70's, know! I found the fish maw. A big bag. US $14.00 for about 1/2 lb. Looks very nice too. Much better than what I saw (and only one brand) in Sacramento. I forgot to ask them about dry shrimp roes. Perhaps next time. I also bought some nice, big dry scallops, US $38.00 a pound. (The really good ones can go for US $100 a pound. Big dry oysters, US $15.00 a pound. Even a big salted fish (haam yu), Dejah, for about US $7.00. It is the "three teeth" like you mentioned. But mine is not fermented. There are just endless numbers of salted fish, laap cheung (Chinese sausages), dry sea cucumbers, gin seng to choose from. I saw some small dry shark fins, between US $200 to $300 a pound. Maybe I will get some next time. Along with some dry abalone. While I am at it, of course, I bought some Hong Kong style pastries and BBQ pork and roast pork and soya sauce chicken - US $2.50 a chicken, you wouldn't believe...