WYF

Hi Chef Lepine, Is there a website for your restaurant and around what price range will the meals be in?

We had: Turkey breast (dry cured, then cooked sous vide at 145F for about 3 hrs and finished in the oven) Turkey leg dry cured w/ herbs and mustard under the skin Roasted squash, parsnips and carrots Sauteed green beans Steamed brussel sprouts Baked sweet potatoes Roasted beets with aged balsamic Stuffed peppers Vietnamese tofu skin rolls Sticky rice with chestnuts Turkey jus Squash pot de creme Black sesame angel food cake

This is a picture of the pomelo that I used. This is how the pomelo pith looked after a couple hours of braising. I didn't thicken the sauce yet so it might not look quite right. I have a feeling that perhaps I need to try and use a different pomelo all together. And helenjp, yup that's what the pomelos look like in the Canadian grocery stores but I always get mine at the chinese grocery stores.

Yup, I squeezed out the water in the pith every time I changed the water. The flavour of the pith seems to be fine, it's more the texture that seems to be the issue.

I don't think I've ever bought a North American pomelo before. I see them in the grocery store and they look like really big green grapefruits with a pinkish flesh. We get the chinese pomelos. We couldn't always find them unless they were in season so when I was growing up they were a treat when we could get them in Ottawa. However, a couple of years back I just remember eating one or two a week for a good year. I think they were importing them from China and Thailand. There was this one that had a cellophane wrapper that was just fantastic, big juicy flesh with almost no seeds.

I soaked it for about 6 days, changing the water daily. Was that not enough time? Would steaming it have been better? It's probably been about a decade since I've eaten this dish, and it was the only time I've ever had it so I may be remembering the texture incorrectly. However, I do recall it being softer than what it is right now. There's a bit of stringiness that I don't remember from the time that I ate it. Thanks for all your help so far everyone, especially Seitch

So I tried to cook the pomelo pith today. I simmered it in a shrimp stock with dried scallops and shrimp. I'm not sure if I'm doing it right because after a couple of hours of simmering, the pith still isn't soft (like wintermelon). It's still got some spongy texture and it's a bit stringy? Have I not been cooking it long enough? Should I be cooking it another way?

A pomelo shouldn't really be bitter, it should be sweet. I believe that the soaking helps to draw out the bitterness from the pith, much like blanching orange peel before making candied orange peel. As for the taste of the pomelo pith? It's got this light citrus, floral fragrance reminiscent of the pomelo. When I ate it, it was braised in some kind of seafood based broth and the pomelo pith had soaked up all it's delicious flavour. Just an update on my little pomelo adventure, I ended up peeling the skin away and am on day two of the soaking. Two more days to go!

I actually did pass it over a flame, although I didn't char it so it's still has the skin on it. Well, if this one doesn't work, I still have another pomelo waiting to be eaten

The only information I could decipher from searching on the net is that I need to soak it for 3-4 days, changing the water twice daily. I'm not sure if I needed to peel the skin (i.e. zest) leaving just the white pith before soaking. I've got it soaking in water so we'll see how this goes!

I think the one we ate had a seafood based broth...dried scallop or dried shrimp roe. I'm not sure if we bought thick skinned pomelos, but I have one drying a bit so I might as well do something with it

I had braised pomelo pith once in a restaurant during Chinese New Year. My grandparents hadn't had the dish in decades and loved it so much that we ordered a second serving of it. It was soft and fragrant, and had soaked up the flavour of the broth as well. Does anyone have know how to make this dish? From what I understand the process is a bit complicated. The only information I've gotten so far is that the peel needs to be dried out a little bit, then soaked for 3-4 days before it is braised. One of my main questions is how is the peel removed since only the white pith gets consumed? And what ingredients go into the broth? Any help would be greatly appreciated. If I can learn how to make this by Christmas it would make a perfect gift for my grandfather.

I actually spent a summer on a farm just outside of Siena near Rosia and managed to cook an Asian dinner for everyone on the farm. I had a friend bring me sauces and condiments from home (curry pastes, black bean sauce, etc). In Siena there is at least one chinese restaurant where they have a small shop attached. I remember you could get rice, noodles, and coconut milk there amongst other items. To my recollection they don't have any fresh produce. For tofu, soy sauce, shoyu, sesame oil and perhaps some other items, there is a health food store just outside the city centre of Siena. I'm sorry I can't be more specific than that, it's been a couple of years since I have been there. You can find ginger in the larger grocery stores like the COOP. I couldn't find scallions though which was really disappointing (I wanted to make white cut chicken). I also didn't see any chinese greens in any grocery stores, but you can find things like swiss chards, spinach, broccoli, etc. Also, in Siena I couldn't find any fresh seafood, nor did I see raw frozen seafood, except fish fillets. Hope this helps!

I'm glad you liked Brother Wu's peking duck. I actually was at Yang Tze last night for a family dinner and they decided to have peking duck. I thought they did a pretty good job with the skin which was crisp and thin without much meat or fat on it. I also loved how they julienned their green onions. The one disappointing part of the dish however were the "pancakes". Unlike Brother Wu who do the traditional flour pancakes, these ones were just steamed spring roll wrappers. For me, peking duck just isn't the same without the thin, chewy, tortilla-like pancakes. I'm also a little more partial to eating the stirfried duck meat dish at Brother Wu. I like how they've added some type of fried dough into the dish to add a crispy texture element. If you are looking to buy meat in grocery stores, I'll normally venture to Kowloon Market, 168 Market, or Unimart (beside Dubarry in the east end).

The market you are talking about is called 168 Market. It's a great place to get ingredients and also prepared foods. My family likes to get the frozen soups from there when we don't have time to make it ourselves. If you want to try more traditional "low-boil" chinese soups then check out the selection at this market. For fish though, while 168 Market is better than most, the best place is Ha Long. It's a small fish market at 789 Somerset. It's next door to Phuoc Loi Market which is a good place to pick up tropical fruit and SE asian ingredients. Ha Long sells only fish and seafood and supplies a number of the Chinese restaurants on Somerset. The Ottawa chinese food is not the greatest, although many restaurants have a few dishes that are good. For dim sum I really like Tianrun Beijing Restaurant at 1947 Bank St. in the south end of Ottawa. Just another suggestion if you don't feel like cooking one night. There's a great little Vietnamese sub shop that also has dishes you can take out. I don't know it's name, but it's on Somerset across from Ha Long and Phuoc Loi, and next to the Pho Bo Ga LA restaurant. Depending on the day, you can get things like braised tofu, lemongrass chicken, vietnamese omelets, cabbage salad, etc. They also have desserts. Not expensive, I think we used to pay about 3-4 dollars for a small take out dish. Their subs are also quite good as well and you get a choice of soft bread or baguette. They are family owned and operated, I used to see the baby there in the playpen.