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Cha xiu bao

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  1. 烤麩 is something quintessentially Shanghaiese. If you got 2 men and you want to tell who's a Shanghaiese, you'd place a wheat dough in front of them and ask them what it is. The Shanghaiese will always tell you this is 烤麩 kaufu whereas the non-Shanghaiese will tell you this is just a lump of wheat dough, mien gei. If it happens both tell you it's kaufu, ask them what's made of. The real McCoy will tell you this is made of beans (though it absolutely wrong) and the fake one will tell it's of dough! Shanghaiese always thinks that kaufu is made of bean because during the mealticket era, about probably 40-50 years ago, the ticket for kaufu is categorised the same as bean products, like tofu and soya milk; and locals always need to line up in front of factory of bean products for this. On top of that, Shanghaiese writes kaufu as 烤夫 instead of 烤麩, without the suggestive "flour" side for the 2nd character. Shanghaiese cuisine can be further divided into "Ocean Gang" 海派 and "Original Band" 本幫, though most people can't tell the subtlety between the two (the way they name the same dish differently, the minor twist of ingredients, etc). The original school would call a kaufu dish as "Shanghai kaufu" versus the ocean school would call their kaufu as "Kaufu of Four Happiness". Chinese cuisine is symbolic as much as it's poetic -- the four happiness in here is referring to Chinese shiitake, black wood fugi, fresh bamboo shoots and day lily (yet at the same time implying the four happinesses in life -- I wonder how many readers here know what they are) Tell you how my mum makes this: tear the wheat dough into threads, brine them for about one hour, rinse and then blanch it with boiling water briefly. Next, fry it in hot oil for a while, after it's drained. Then hot the oil in another wok, place the all ingredients into the wok together with the kaufu, toss it around, place chicken stock and braise it for about 20 mins with lid covered. Add sugar and soy sauce (matured one) towards the end and, viola!
  2. Ah Leung, you're forgetting something.
  3. I thought they were so-called because the color of their belly is more yellow than others. ← That's mantis prawns, mostly from Vietnam or south of China; at times you may come across some giant ones containing in plastic bottle, those are from south of Malaysia. There's a good resto in Nathan Road called 'Hing Kee' selling the same styled typhoon shelter crabs, cheaper and roomier so it's worth a try. I can't believe they wronged Josh for John in the blurb; that's even worst than grannies in-laws mistaking Josh for George. The stunt team behind the pole flying and Matrix hack is the same one for Jackie Chan; Lou the ringleader, formerly a cook in Sydney (his specialty was roast duck), is quite famous in Japan for his stunt work (the Japanese are crazy for all thing Jackie Chan). I still have no idea at all how could I land these guys for the producer, given the fact that my job has nothing to do with showbiz at all... The Lin Heung Teahouse part was shot during peak lunch hours on sunday. It is always super-crowded over there but sunday lunch is utterly different: during weekdays it's mostly white collars from Central so they still carry themselves with a certain level of civilization, in their ties and heels and all; whereas on sundays it's by and large family and friend gathering -- this is when and where No Reservations for your food really shines -- it's very physical and no-hold bar. The newspaper reads 2007 but all the thing from the setting to the waiters to the fight for your food to, of coz', the dim sum -- pork liver siu mai! are all very 80 years ago! And what a shame they didn't include PingKee Wonton Noodles in the blurb. Of all the eateries it listed, PingKee is the best. I break my heart every time I talk to Mr. Choi about his noods, who kneads 3 hours for his noodles with bare hand (and pole, as in his case) 7 days a week for the past 40 years -- I just keep asking myself the same question: where does he get his drive? Can I ever be as passionate for my food as he does?
  4. I don't know there is any good market tour in Shanghai, esp. one in English. There're some shots in this link taken from a local fresh market in Wujiang Lu of Shanghai: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaxiubao/sets/349444/ Here's a whole album for a fresh market in Hangzhou: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaxiubao/set...57600084299933/ Here's one for a wholesale market in Beijing: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaxiubao/set...57594469341175/ There're lots of these fresh markets residing in all the cities of China, whether it's the big coastal cities such as Shanghai, or Beijing or more remote areas. China is extremely populated and all have to eat so there must be a fresh market around the corners; only problem is it's not very often featured in travel guidebooks for a visitor to find it out by himself.
  5. The golden rule in choosing oil, as every great chefs and every cookery classics of Chinese cuisine would have say, is to use veggie oil for meat and meat oil for veggie. Try it and feel the greatness!
  6. I simply can't trust the research staff of these travel programs anymore. Next thing you know, they'll say Lhasa is the food capital of China because this is where the Tibetan and Chinese meet when the host is climbing the Potala Palace; or annoited the same crown to Gansu because there the host finds a lot of leftovers from the Tang dynasty in the relic of the Silk Road. Whatever! The point is, I wouldn't say Beijing is the food capital of China at gunpoint. Food capital is not something decided by a food network host. It's a consensus reached by all the ppl of the country over the years. Take Lyon of France for example. All French will point to the same direction whenever they're asked the same question. I can assure you that if you gather 100 Chinese and ask this question, Beijing will rank very low. True, there's court cuisine in Beijing -- and frankly I am very much interested to try them out -- but court cuisine itself is not a regional food but a compliation of cuisines from all regions of China (besides, it's out of reach for most until quite recently, but lots of the recipes were lost and the authenticity of the so-called imperial cuisine is very much in doubt). Beijing food by itself is not in the Grand 4 Schools, nor even in the Big 8 Schools of Chinese cuisine. Truth be told, I can show you lots of document proof that, until the late Ching dynasty, the most popular cuisine enjoyed among the commons of Beijing was the Shantong cuisine. If by food capital the host means the width of choices, the diversity; everyone can tell Shanghai and HK will knock out BJ fair and square in this regard. The only way BJ can claim the title is by money spent per head, given there's lots of government officials and well-off expatriates living over. But this is something quite beyond the taste of food, isn't it?
  7. Not sure if anyone has answered this yet but the green stems are very common in India -- they're commonly called drumsticks and the scientific name is Moringa oleifera. More here. ← The particular green you're questioning is called "amaranth greens" in English. in Chinese it's called "莧菜“.Leaf is disgarded and only the stems are save in fermentation. When done, it becomes "stinky amaranth stems" 臭莧管. This, with stinky winter melon and stinky flowering cabbage are together knowned as "The Three Stenches from Ningbo." Ningbo is a seaport city nearby Shanghai.
  8. Hi Cha xiu bao, "steamed rice with lard and soy sauce" sounds interesting. Does the dish have any ingredient besides rice, lard and soy sauce? Or is that something you order instead of plain steamed rice? ← The three is the only ingredients. You sort of toss them together in your clay bowl. A very old-fashion comfort food that you don't see often even in HK. I do have a thread about this dish in my blog so go and take a glance. I would call them the Trinity of Steamed Rice... haha! Other than that, you may try their sweets like steamed sponge cake with custard, starchy steamed buns with custard and etc. For the mains you may try five-flavored braised chicken, steamed grey carp (from fish farms in Yuen Long), stir-fried vermiceli in village style, and so forth. Almost all the dishes are above standard. Look at the local crowds and you know you can't be wrong.
  9. Hi NYC Foodie Why come to HK for Indian Food?? Try Tai Wing Wah Teahouse in Yuen Long. The queue for dinner there is freakingly long. So go there at 5:30 pm to join the starving line. Try the 'steamed rice with lard and soy sauce.' Try also the Lin Heung Teahouse in Central, which is easier to access for you as a traveler than Yuen Long. Near the end of Willington Street. Go there early for a dim sum lunch. Sit with the locals. No more City Hall Maxim Teahouse as told by the guidebooks... Don't forget, of coz', the chachannteng. Like a bistro or cafe in Paris, this is what you ought to try when you're in HK.
  10. There used to be the "Si Dai Jing Gong," or the "Four Martial Kings of Heaven" when we talk about Shanghaiese food in China. They are, namely, soy bean milk, fried dough sticks, baked sesame cakes and sticky rice wrappers. But now the four kings are dethroned, even though they're still worth a try if you haven't tried them before. The "fab-4" nowadays are the xiaolongbao (steamed dumplings), and sunjinbao (pan-fried dumplings), stewed noodles (most noodles in Chinese are cooked briefly but the Shanghaiese tends to stew rather long for their noodles), and the spicy baby lobsters. Apart from these, there're some more for you to try. 1) All kinds of bean curd product. Shanghaiese are quite crazy about tofu and seems couldn't live without it for even just one meal. There are many a version. Dried, fresh, marinated, sheets and skins of it, and of course, the most infamous one: stinky tofu. Imagine your sister's eating a tile from the toilet (strongly advise against bringing it back to your place)... 2) All kinds of freshwater fish. Shanghaiese are not good at making seafood like Cantonese do. But freshwater fish, on the other, is their forte. And just like Yuki says, fetch for parlours that have people snaking outside. Quite a few goodies are rested nearby the East Nanjing Road and Middle Sizhuen Road. The one in Yiyuan is no doubt the most famous one for the xiaolongbao but it certainly isn't the best one accordling to Shanghai locals. The best one, so one poll on food goes, is one called "Kaika Tong Bao" in Dungziando Pier neighborhood. I tried them once recently and their soupy dumplings are -- beyond this world! BTW, you can check out my flickr set on shanghai food here to get an idea how they look like. http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaxiubao/sets/349444/
  11. Gastro888, I am guilty being the chaxiubao you referred to. I happen to have a photo of bread with kaya, too bad I don't know how to post a picture in this forum...
  12. A tael equals 37.8g and one catty equals 600g. As far as Martin Yan concerns, we Chinese never watch his show. Too much adaptations. Wife cake with candied papaya and pineapple (??) is never a wife cake. Glad you enjoy our wife cakes, will fetch the recipe for the little chicken cookies later. Go buy some lard first, coz' that is the essence of this cookie. Quite a meaty cookie, isn't it?
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