TurtleMeng

The stuff, known to me as 糯米飯團, is very common in Taiwan. I ("authentic Taiwanese")never found it in Shanghai, but now my husband ("authentic Shanghainese") tells me they sell them there also. Fine. So I don't know where it originated. The rice is plain, not flavored. Another use for Yiu Tieu is to put leftover pieces in soup. Delicious.

I agree peanut butter sounds a little "unauthentic", but since it goes very well with the crushed peanuts, which is an authentic part of this dish (some recipes would probably say "peanut powder", which also can be bought), and so easily found (i.e. in your fridge), and...if you use the crunchy kind you don't even have to add peanuts, like Ben stated... Sesame paste is availalbe at any Chinese market. I must be spoiled living in LA. Please come visit us and I'll give anyone a jar. I have no idea why but I think Szechwan peppercorn is "illegal" in US. Confession: I have brought little bags in my deep suitcase pocket. I do not think it harms anyone that I am getting the nice "ma" flavor (as in Ma Po Tofu) and only consuming this among family members. They sell the powder, but to get real rich flavor you need to "dry-fry" the peppercorns and then crush them. Just as an aside. Dan-dan noodle is really kind of like a P & J sandwich...we try to make it really simple. Oh, I forgot to say last time, a little crushed garlic can be nice too, but you will stink, so it's optional. Sesame oil is nice too. I think I usually add a few drops. edited for typo

I can tell you how I make it. Normally I would not measure any of these things, but I know that doesn't help, so I'll try to put some measurements to ingredients. 2 tsp soy sauce a dash of sugar 2 tsp peanut butter, mixed with a little hot water you used for boiling the noodle/pasta (just to thin it) 1/2 tsp of white vinegar 1/2 tsp of chili oil (optional) Hua-jiao powder (szechwan peppercorn powder) 1 TSP crushed peanuts 1 TSP chopped scallion mix everything, and dumped boiled/drained noodle/pasta (if you can't get Chinese noodle, spaghetti or vermicelli) into bowl with sauce and toss. It's so easy and good.

I am diggin this up because I made a lemon tart yesterday. It is too runny. I was reading all the recipes and comparing. I used a blind baked tart shell and just poured the curd in. Is this what most people do, or like Neil said, bake briefly in the shell? Wendy mentioned the metallic taste, which was DEFINITELY there. All people eating the tart was like "good good", I was like "UGH". I could not find the other thread...so this is not from a reactive pan? I was about to go buy a stainless steel pan to see if that would help. If that's not the problem, what should I do? Thanks for helping. I have so little time to bake now as it's flu season...not like I can actually DO anything for these patients...

OK, let me try to translate this. All metric, hopefully not a problem crust-- 125 g cake flour 125 g butter 70 g confectioner's sugar 1 egg yolk 15 g almond flour "almond cream" 65 g butter 40 g fine sugar 1 egg 55 g almond flour 10 g flour 10 g lemon juice 3 bananas banana liqueur 10 g 300 g whipping cream 15 g sugar cocoa powder Preheat to 170 C. Use a 18 cm tart pan. For crust--cream butter and sugar, add yolk, and almond flour, cake flour, use a spatula to mix into rectangular-shaped dough, wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hr. rolle out crust and fit into mold, refrigerate 15 min. "almond cream"--cream butter, add sugar, add egg in additions, add almond powder and cake flour, mix until "pale", cream like, add lemon juice Pipe the cream into the crust (from here you can see the little photos in the page I scanned--if they are readable). place banana slices concentrically in the tart, tightly overlapping.("11") bake about 1hr. after it's done you can brush the banana liqueur on. remove from pan. put the tart bottome on top and sift some confectioner's sugar onto the rim (shown in "13") beat the cream with sugar to soft peake, pipe with a round tip as shown in "14" sift cocoa powder on

Hi Patrick I have some recipes, a banana tart (it has sliced banana with a custard cream together and baked, and topped with whipped cream), a chocolate sponge cake with banana chunks and raspberry in it, and a banana chiffon cake with mashed banana. They are all from a Japanese book so I will have to translate if you wanna see any. edited for typo

Yours was not mixed well enough. It happened to me at least 3 times. The key is actually NOT to whip the whites more. It is harder to fold it in that way. Only soft peaks. My experience.

Slightly off the topic, but it's amazing how Asian women (mostly) prize and chase white skin. I have very fair skin, almost Caucasian, guess what I've been hearing since childhood: "Oh your one beauty (fairness) covers(i.e. = makes up for) 3 uglinesses" (a rough, literal translation) Thanks a lot. My mom, upon hearing that, would actually proudly tell people it was all the apples and milk she took while pregnant.

Oh Anne, it will probably be you. I am still spending a lot of time putting 3 different eye drops in every 4 hrs. I would love to hear the result. Yes, the science intrigues me. My biochem degree is completely useless apparently.

All these skin color things remind me.... my aunt used to eat lots of rice with soy sauce. Everyone in our family FIRMLY believes that's what made her so dark.

Oh, please let me know if that works. I don't think we have figured out what's the deal with baking soda here. I will refrain from experimenting for a while as everyone in the family thinks I am nuts.

Oh boy, have I heard that one before. My husband is short and stout, but no pimples. My grandpa gave this unbelievably weird one: If you stretch after your meal, your arms will be frozen in the air. He vividly told the story of a relative whose arms were stuck in that position.

I was eating a pork bun and a piece of rice cake this morning, the rice cake being the Chinese New Year thingy with red bean paste and sweet. Suddenly I heard my mom's voice, from distant childhood EATING SAVORY AND SWEET FOODS TOGETHER GIVES YOU HEAD LICE I almost felt the itch in my scalp. Anyone else has one to share?

I've blanched almonds to peel them, but never used baking soda. What does the soda do, exactly? Do you need it for hazelnuts but not almonds? ← I have no idea. Does anyone know? I was following instructions from the book (chocolate dessert by Pierre Hermes). I guess I should have tried blanching them without the baking soda....but I threw away all those nuts... So when you blanch almonds how long does it take? Does the skin come off easily? This is getting more like Chem 130 A (which, btw, is physical chemistry, which I did very poorly in)

my last report before retiring to rest my eyes It turned out my hazelnuts were too old. I toasted some more and they still tasted terrible. Sigh. Will buy more. But has anyones noticed that the blanched ones taste any different? Also, would halzenut meal (TJ has them) taste similar? I have not opened my bag yet. It probably would need to be toasted, and perhaps not finely ground enough. I am still dreaming of making my dacquoise. But I will persevere and grind some not-rancid-hazelnuts myself.

I just want to add something.... It's pouring out there, so I decided to try the blanching with baking soda technique. The book calls for 6 Tsp in 1 quart water, which is a lot of baking soda. I used about 2/3 of the water and 4 Tsp. The book says boil for 4-5 minutes. I swear it was not even close to that long. I picked up one and the skin was able to slip off. Good. I rinsed them, rubbed the skin off, very neat. Happy. Then I toasted them, about the same length. At first I took some out thinking now skinless they needed shorter toasting time. I bit into the samle. HOOOORIBLE. So I said, undertoasted. Toasted more until they looked about the same color as my previous batch (straight toasted and skin rubbed off). BAD taste. (it's also not crunchy like the other ones. kind of chewy) It's either the baking soda, or overcooked. If it's just the baking soda, this technique is useless. I am toasting some more straight now to see the difference....the scientist in me....

I live near Pasadena....thanks for the tips...I am reading very little today on the computer to preserve my eyes! The Lasik went really well and I am happy.

Oh, last time I had an appointment somewhere near there I tried to go, but didn't make it. It's like a 40 min drive so next time I go to the airport I'll drop by. Is it well stocked? I also wanted to get their Valrhona cocoa powder. You are kidding. I have Cost Plus down the street and Walmart a little further down. OK. But what can I do post Lasik today?

I think the satay sauce is an adaption, since most hot pot places have them. But most Chinese that go there to eat do not even use any sauce. Xiao Fei Yang (little lamb) starts, then the imitators: Xiao Mian Yang (still little lamb), Mongolian Fei Yang...sigh. Ha ha. LA has its cold days, like now. I think mainly the reason is for the HUGE Chinese population here. Most of the time when I see something starting in China, I would see it come to LA in less than half a year.

Oh, I forgot to ask. If you blanch them, and the skin shed off like a dream (I'm looking forward to that), do you have to toast them afterwards then? (for the flavor?) edited for typo. oops.

I just put in the Google search and did not find a thread on peeling these suckers. Maybe I missed it? So I said "I will make a dacquoise" I toasted 1 cup of nuts. Dutifull rub them in the kitchen towel. Yeah right, "it's ok to have patches of skin left on". These were not patches. Some did not have any skin come off at all. Some were nicely rubbed off like naked babies. I tasted the ones with skin on, really quite unpleasant. So I sat there and rubbed (with fingers) and rubbed and rubbed. This is crazy. Did toast them in the toaster oven. Did they just get unevenly zapped? I even took the stubborn ones and tried to toast on stove top. Nothing. I know there's an alternative method of blanching them and the skin supposedly come off. Is it much better than this? It's a bad day. Rainy, getting Lasik today so probably can't look @ computer for a while, no dacquoise yet, and actually the egg whites that were gonna be used for it are gone, likely into some more scramble eggs.

Along the similar line "Dessert?" "Yes, something warm." (puzzled waiter, because it sounds more like "worm" with his accent)

This brings up another thing about my husband: Anything that is suspicious can be boiled long enough to kill all the bacteria, and then consumed.

Let me add some (1) Going to a Shanghainese restaurant and ordering a Cantonese dish (of course, it's edible and even possibly good if it's on the menu. but still it's riskier, and a little missing the point of choosing that restaurant) (2) asking about foie gras and escargots @ every "western" restaurant (3) when (2) fails, promptly then ask if they have fried calamari Looks like all restaurant stuff. I guess at home he eats every thing. Oh, at home: when asked how a dish tastes, always responding with "normal". BTW, that is my son, 100 %. Amazing.

It just occured to me it's hard enough to be committed to an individual, and food conflicts makes that even harder. What am I talking about? Quick example My husband will NEVER order a fish dish from a "western" restaurant (that, in our family, roughly stands for French, Italian, American). "They don't know how to cook fish". Sir, in my opinion, you are missing out a lot of good dishes. But we just came back from a free dinner and he said the same thing again. I think there are others...