annachan
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Posts posted by annachan
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When I buy too many carrots, I often make carrot soup. Just some carrots and onion in chicken broth. When the vegetables are soft, I blend the soup with an immersion blender. Season with salt, cumin, sometimes a little curry and sometimes a little garam marsala. If you like ginger, some fresh or ground would be good. Then I add a little milk/cream (whatever I have on hand) and put it back on the stove for a few minutes. This is something that you can freeze easily.
For a simple side dish, I cut the carrots into thin matchsticks, along with some similar size celery and onion, put into a saucepan with a little chicken stock and a little salt. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender. Toss with some sesame oil and serve.
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All this chat about using the crockpot has got me to use mine today. I made French dip (the meat and broth) in the crockpot for dinner. It's just a roast, beef stock/broth and seasonings (herbs and such) to taste. I did add some sliced onion and crimini mushrooms half way through to add flavor and something extra to put into the sandwiches. It turned out really well, so it'll be added to our regular meal rotation.
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I have to admit that I don't use my crockpot as often as I could. But, it is a must for my onion soup. It cooks my onions perfectly for soup without me having to watch over them.
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TJ does have some awesome snacks. I love those mini chocolate covered peanut butter crackers!!! They were around for a short while but I haven't seen them recently. Those Almond Thins and Waffle Cookies are also great.
Love the Plugra butter, puff pastry and pie crusts. Dried pasta and pasta sauces. Dried strawberries and coconuts. Mixed berries granola. Frozen chicken drumettes and mac n cheese.
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For a friend who has MS, I got him an electric jar opener.
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For vegetables, Chinese chive is always popular. Preserved vegetables are also used. My grandma usually add a little meat in the filling for flavor and texture. There's a filling she used in a large steamed dumpling that may work for baozi as well. She stir fry together cabbage, carrot, garlic, pork and bean thread.
I remember the fillings were always moist, but didn't have juice like XLB. I think the baozi dough may get too wet if there are liquid inside. You can always try out a batch and see how that goes.
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It's puerh with some dried strawberries in the tea. The flavor of the puerh does come through in the tea with the strawberries adding a hint of sweetness and fruitiness. The first time I saw the tea, I had much reservations. But, I've really grown to like it.
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This thread is making me miss my grandma....she used to make them for us as afterschool snacks. I wish she's here to teach me how to make them.
Anyway, baozi was the one thing I rarely got to see her made. I am pretty sure that she did not use yeast in her dough as I would've had to get them for her at the supermarket and I didn't. Baking powder or baking soda is a possibility.
As for fillings, it's usually vegetable and beef or pork.
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I've been drinking puerh since I've been drinking tea. My grandfather drank it all day and night. He also ate the most unhealthy stuff (the fattest parts of all meats, use salad dressing/condiments by the cup, etc.) but never had high cholesterol. We always said that it's the puerh that kept him that way. He not only drank a lot, he also drank it strong. If the color isn't almost black, it's too light for him.
That's probably why I tend to brew mine strong as well. We still get our puerh from Hong Kong. When we went back last month, my mom bought about 10 lbs to bring back. Once in a while, I do pick up puerh from Teavana as well. I like the one with strawberries.
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When we're in the area in August, I really enjoyed Bottega Louie. It's in the Downtown area. I don't think that's too far from Beverly Hills if you're driving. Great pasta and pizza, and it's also a pastry shop.
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Egg whites, cream sauces, white asparagus, white beans, various cheeses.
White risotto: white asparagus and cheese?
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When I die and go to heaven, as I surely will, there will be dim sum carts wheeling up to my bed every morning.
Be careful what you wish for.
I stayed with friends for a while in Hong Kong who ate dim sum for breakfast every day, and though it was great for the first few days, it actually got to be a bit too much (something I had never imagined possible with dim sum up until that moment). I started longing for something plainer, like a nice bowl of rice porridge...Dim sum everyday for breakfast? That's way too much. I have a feeling it's because you're a visitor and your host just wanted to spoil you. My family owned a few dim sum places when we're kids in Hong Kong. Even we didn't have dim sum for breakfast everyday....just every Sunday.
As a kid, I remember we actually had bread quite a lot for breakfast. Toast or some sort of filled buns (i.e. hot dog buns) or sandwich (egg was a popular filling). It was convenient as we rush off to school, along with a box of Vitasoy.
When we go back to Hong Kong now, we actually have the time to enjoy breakfast. I'm partial to congee and macaroni in soup. Fried dough, rice roll and soy sauce fried noodles are great as well. Pineapple bun with butter and various toasts are also popular items, though I like them more for snacks.
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It's a great time for me to discover this topic as I've become a lady who lunch since I stop working. Actually, I joined a lunch group before I stopped working and used to take one day off a month just for lunch. I had to take time off as many of our lunches ended up lasting 2-3 hours. I continue to enjoy them very much. I look forward to reading more posts from fellow ladies who lunch. I'll try to remember to take some pictures on my next lunch.
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We lived in Oakland for a few months and Chinatown was definitely the place for cheap eats. Chinese bakeries always have all type of buns for cheap. There are savory ones filled with BBQ pork, ham & egg, hot dog, etc. Sweet ones has custard, cream, coconut, etc. I also remember picking up Vietnamese sandwiches at a shop several times. Again, it's usually about $3 and definitely substantial enough for a meal. If Saint Anna (Hong Kong style cafe) is still around, I remember cheap meals there.
Over in Berkeley, there are cheap eats by both North Gate and South Gate. Those were always filled with inexpensive restaurants to attract students when I went there. Cheeseboard (Berkeley)/Arizmendi Bakery (Oakland) and great places to get breads and pastries. Very great products (love the cheese rolls!) for really good prices.
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I'm lucky to be able to get hummus at the farmers markets by the Hummus Guy. There are lots of flavors to choose from. Garlic is always good as is the artichoke. There is also a spicy one with harissa that is really good. But the thing I love the most is the Pure Baba, which is just puree eggplant. It has a really nice smokey flavor to it. They all go very well with the lemon pita chips.
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We just came back from HK a few weeks ago. We had lunch at Lung King Heen and it did not disappoint. The food was really good and it really wasn't that expensive, especially for that many Michelin stars.
Hu Tong and Yung Kee were on my list, but we just didn't make it there. Didn't help that I had way more restaurants picked out than we had time for, especially when there were a few unexpected family/friends meals.
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OMG, this is just hilarious! I remember when Pizza Hut first opened in HK. I was a kid then. There was also the one bowl policy. Of course, being "good" Chinese, we try to cramp as much in the bowl as we could. There were some good size bowls but they were shameful compare to these ones in China.
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At home, we usually cook fava beans with preserved vegetables, pork (ground or thing strips) and marinated tofu. You can add some chili if you want some spice.
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As a kid, my grandmother used to make a dish with potatoes and beef. The potatoes were sliced and beef cut into small pieces. She generally marinate the beef in soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch and oil. She cooked most things in the wok so I assume she stirred fry this dish. The potatoes were cooked through with the outside being mushy, creating kind of like a thick sauce for the dish.
This sounds gorgeous, and not unlike the Japanese dish, nikkujyaga. Do you think she fried it a bit, then simmered it down with the sauce added after getting a sear on things? Was there a sauce binding the beef and potatoes together, or were they dry?
I don't think my grandmother used a sauce. I think the "sauce" was created by the mushy outer layer of the potatoes, the juices from the beef and the seasonings.
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We tried roo when we were in Australia several years ago. It was really good. Now that we are planning to move there, I have been looking forward to learn to cook it. I really want to know how roo tail compares to oxtail.
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I have a crock pot that I don't use much. Still, it has its uses and I like having it around when needed.
For quick meals, I always have the followings on hand: pasta (dried and fresh), pasta sauces, chicken & beef stock, curry sauces, miso/miso dressing, rice, couscous and eggs. I also usually have chicken thighs, chicken wings, ground meats (turkey, lamb, etc.), corn and peas in the freezer. I have been stocking up on diced pancetta as well now that Costco has the multi-packs.
I make pasta at least once a week. The quickest is to add some ground meat to a jar of sauce and mix with cooked pasta. That gets boring quite quickly, so I switch it up whenever I can. I'm fortunate to be able to get this fantastic lemon fettuccine from my farmers market. Because the pasta is so well flavored, all it needs is a little cheese. For more substance, I add things like pancetta, mushroom, garlic/onion/shallot or greens. Fried eggs and toasted breadcrumbs make delicious toppings. If you have a cream sauce on hand, peas, onion/shallot and pancetta/prosciutto/bacon is great. Works well with gnocchi as well.
With stock, I make a lot of quick soups. Diced butternut squash (I get the family size from Costco) is perfect. I heat up the stock, add some onion (or dehydrated onion if I don't have fresh on hand), add the squash, cover the pot and let that cook. The squash should be soft in about 15-20 minutes. I use an immersion blender to blend the soup when the squash is cooked. Season to taste with salt and pepper. A little milk/cream if you want it creamy. I sometimes like it with some cumin and/or curry powder. For more a one pot meal, I often start with stock, throw in whatever vegetables I have on hand and add some short cut pasta. If I have ground meat defrosted, I season it to taste, add an egg and put that in the soup as meatballs. No need to shape the meatballs, I just use a disher to scoop the meat from the bowl and dump into the soup.
Curries are also great for quick meals. Veggies, meats and curry sauce. For Thai style curry, add coconut milk.
Baked chicken thighs may take more than 30 minutes, but you don't have to pay much attention to them when they're baking so it frees you up for other tasks. I bake them @ 425. 15-20 minutes on the lower 3rd rack, another 15-20 minutes on the upper 3rd rack, time depends on the size of chicken and your oven. What I like about the thighs are that they are forgiving. They stay moist even if you over cook them a little. Seasonings range from salt and pepper, garam marsala/cumin, homemade teriyaki, soy/lemon, miso, etc. Baked fish fillets that even less time. Since the oven is already on, season some vegetable, throw them on a sheet pan and roast along with the protein.
I don't often buy cooked meat, but the carnitas from Trader Joe's is quite good. I start with some onion, garlic and bell peppers. Add shredded carnitas. I like to add some cumin. Once the meat is warmed through, it's done. Serve with rice or tortillas. Guac, salsa, cheese, sour cream are all optional.
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This has prompted me to think about tofu. Many years ago, my dad discovered a dish in China made with tofu. He said to put regular tofu in the freezer. Once frozen and defrosted, cut into cubes and put into a vege/meat type stew. By freezing the tofu, the texture changed from being creamy and silky to somewhat spongy. I'm sure there's a science to it, maybe to do with the water molecules. But no doubt it was most likely discovered accidentally.
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I have a recipe that use equal amounts of butter and margarine. I have notice that some brands do give me that oily problem. Since I use both oils, I'm not sure which one is the issue.
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Cooking itself is a science, a series of chemical reactions. We've just been cooking a lot longer than we've known about science behind it. As we understand science more, we're able to produce results without as much trials and errors. We've been manipulating sugar for a long time to make a multitude of sweets. All the different textures that sugar can turn into by using different methods are amazing.
Those apples! I was first introduced to them during a trip to Chinese as a kid. Just enjoyed them last week when we're in Hong Kong. It used to be such a "mystery". Now that I'm a lot more familiar with sugar through candy making, all I have to do is figure out what temp to get the sugar to and it won't be hard to make this dish at home.
Online kitchen supply sources
in Australia & New Zealand: Cooking & Baking
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I'm looking for some online kitchen supply sources in Australia so I can get a sense of what kitchen supplies cost over there. We'll be moving from the US to Australia soon and I want to see what I should bring with us and what I should purchase once we get there. I found some websites but I have no idea if the pricing is typical of what you find at the stores.
Here are a few of the sites I found:
http://www.hospitalitywholesale.com.au/
http://www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au/
Advice on this matter is very much appreciated.