Kent Wang

Would this be a good way to improve fondue?

Will a regular metal fine mesh strainer do, or do we need cheesecloth or a Superbag?

Do you do most of your shopping at a variety of individual stores, or supermarkets like in the US?

Do chefs only get one day off? Are there some that would take Monday and Tuesday, which would make Wednesday best. But yeah, I'm with you, slower days are best, and I usually go earlier like 7 pm.

I've been thinking about getting a centrifugal or masticating juicer, like the ones they use at juice shops like Jamba Juice. The resulting juice I could drink or make into a syrup (by freeze reduction), but would it be possible to use the leftover pulp to make an infusion? It seems ideal as the surface area is very high; maybe you could even do an infusion in just a day or two. Most of the liquid has been squeezed out so it won't decrease your ABV. Of course this would be best with fruits in which the pulp is completely edible/desirable like pineapple or strawberry, as opposed to something like pomegranate.

Thanks for all the tips. Long live tiki.

Wow, this looks like it was a multi-table banquet affair. If they have the ability to serve a meal like this, they should open a restaurant.

I think most middle class Chinese and up go to a restaurant. I would imagine that all the large restaurants (i.e. not hole in the wall) in most major cities stay open. In general, Chinese do not entertain much at home as Chinese homes are generally smaller, and dining out is very common. Fun blog, Erin. Thanks for putting in the work.

Is there a source for good tiki mugs? I know eBay has vintage ones but if I want to buy like 50 of the same ones, I don't think that'll be possible. I'm primarily interested in ceramic, not plastic. Tiki bowls for punches would be neat too. We can also discuss the other trappings of tiki culture in this topic. I bought some pufferfish lamps a few years ago—can't remember where now. They're pretty neat to hang around the bar.

Why the simmering water? What's a penobscot cocktail? The Native American tribe?

Yes, a bit of a gimmick, but still a good beer. Not that I know of. I'm not even sure if Chinese ever eat runny yolks; my parents always made it well done. I do exactly what you do. I'll usually make up a big batch of fried rice and whenever I reheat some I'll fry up an egg (or two if I'm filling decadent) to put on top. In Mandarin, it's luó​ bo ​gāo (萝卜糕, literally "turnip cake"). It's probably in the top five most essential dim sum dishes. I share your sentiment though, it's not crunchy, and just seems like a big block of starch, which feels you up and prevents you from eating other dim sums. Sometimes it's mixed with some finely diced ham, which makes it a bit better, but I still don't order it often.

I suppose it depends how fatty the cut is; but at Katz's I believe you can (and should) ask for the fatty cut? Either way, I think pastrami is similar to beef jerky, which is also fairly low in calories.

That would be my guess, but mung bean noodle are usually clear. Maybe these have some rice in the mix, too. You guys are my Belgian beer buddies. It's not often I meet people that like the stuff—even though it's so obviously awesome! We had Gouden Carolus Classic, Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Kaizer 2010, St. Bernadus 12, and Pauwel Kwak. Yeah, I'm thinking about it. I would have pretty different stuff from your blog.

Sure there is...delegate the job to someone else. I don't peel or even scrub carrots, just rinse and rub them a bit. I don't notice any problems with the remaining dirt. Here in China, and much of the developing world, those on even a middle-class income can afford a maid who can do such things. The most labor-intensive thing I've had her do is peel a kilo of shrimp.

Awww. My girlfriend's back in the States right now. I miss her so much. I really should have gone with her. Anyway, your husband and I went to dinner at a Malaysian restaurant in Shanghai and then went to a Belgian beer bar. I understand that both of these of types of establishments are not to be found in Suzhou. For those of you wondering, Erin and I have met on a few occasions, once when we she came up to Shanghai and another when we went to Suzhou. The train ride from Suzhou to Shanghai is only 30 minutes on the high-speed train, and an hour on the slower one. You know, growing up, my family only ever cooked with dried shitakes, never fresh. I love both, as the dried ones have a more concentrated flavor, but the fresh ones have such a great texture. Certainly at the supermarket and wet market they seem to sell a lot of fresh shitakes, but I rarely see Chinese actually cook with them. I haven't seen winter melon in a while. A wet market vendor told me the season has already passed, odd since it is still winter. Oh, you can find it year-round, at many restaurants. Whereas in America rabbit is a bit of a rare dish, it is quite common here. I've even been to a restaurant that had live rabbits in cages that you can pick out (along with live chickens and seafood). Those tomatoes look good. Which brand of anchovies do you get? I haven't seen them in stores at all; guess it's off to Taobao.

This is pretty neat. I can't imagine that the mosquitoes are for Modernist Cuisine, must be for some other Intellectual Ventures project.

The Jolly Rancher cocktails I had were all very simple ones like daiquiri with lemon instead of lime (limes are not as easy to get in China) and Havana Club white rum, and Tom Collins. So they both have lemon juice and simple syrup in common, and a clear spirit.

Do they make this in house? Is it pink or dark red? All the pomegranates I can find here have pink juice, instead of like, for example, Pom brand which is as dark as red wine. The pink stuff just doesn't have as rich of a taste. I made some into a grenadine but it was not nearly as good as the stuff I made back in America.

Sorry if this is a bit off-topic, but it addresses the issue of sweet perception, which is central to this. I have had and made several cocktails that were fairly sweet, not extremely, but had an unpleasant taste and mouthfeel to them that I would liken to Jolly Rancher candy. First, the taste has a bit of the artificial element of Jolly Rancher, but perhaps even more tellingly it leaves what feels like a sticky film on the back of my molars, just like Jolly Ranchers do. All of these cocktails have been made with no artificial ingredients, and my experience seems to isolate the cases as only happening with simple syrup and fresh lemon juice. I believe all the cases were simple syrup made with plain white sugar. Is there something about these two ingredients that could cause this?

Oh, did you forget to take a picture of the fresh noodle maker? I'm not sure. The legs must be fairly dry, cured, and salty so that they're shelf-stable, like jamon serrano, so that would preclude a lot of options such as baking them. My family (from Shanghai) primarily uses it by cutting up a few slices and putting it into soups, braises, or on steamed fish. But you use up very little at a time. Maybe you would use an entire leg in a year, but it seems inconvenient to have a store a leg for that long, and would be worrisome during the summer months. Some cuisines, like Yunnan, which is renowned for producing these hams, will slice them very thin and steam them, or toss it into a stir-fry. That would use it up at a faster rate. I personally buy the 1 kg (or so) vacuum-sealed packs of the ham from the supermarket. That usually lasts me a month or two. It's great for making a fast and easy stock. Of course there's a ton of other dried Chinese goods for that purpose like dried shrimp, mussels, fish, duck.

Pickled mustard greens, I believe. Perhaps the most consumed (in terms of quantity) of the pickles in China. You'll often just chop it up and toss it into various stir-fries. I took a cooking class in Oaxaca on how to make moles. So once you get that Vita-Mix (or Blendtec, that may be cheaper and/or better) I'll come over and tell you if it tasted right. The big variant of course is which chilies you get. I think you could even do fairly well if you just use dried Chinese chilies.

Oooh, what kind of palm sugar is it? Is it dark? Where did you get it? I used to think all Chinese sausage was the same but recently I got some from Carrefour that reminded me of good dry Spanish chorizo, a little spicy, not sweet at all like most Chinese sausages. It comes in a large diameter log (about double the usual) and looks a little red from the spice. I'm thinking about getting a meat slicer and eating it raw like chorizo—though I've also cooked with it and it's delicious. The ham here would be good for that too, as it's similar to jamon serrano. Ah, charcuterie, I miss that even more than the cheese. Maybe a few hundred. I know at least a handful of Mexican families, including one whose daughter goes to the school that my girlfriend teaches at. They had an international day where all the students brought food from their native countries and they brought tamales and tacos, all very good and they were from Veracruz. Boy was I (pleasantly) surprised.

Where do you get the duck sausage? Is it with all the other sausages? I've always thought they were all pork.

I bought these once and asked my ayi (maid) how to cook them—that's my usual strategy with strange Chinese vegetables. She wasn't sure but believed it was more of a medicinal thing and you brew them like tea. I tried it; didn't taste great, a little bitter, like a lot of traditional Chinese medicine. I love these (Wikipedia article). They're called wosun in Chinese. They're a bit of a pain to cook because you have to peel the outsides of the stem (the leaves are discarded). I usually get my ayi to do it, or when I buy it from the wet market they'll do it for you. But it's a fresh crispy green vegetable, usually just stir-fry it. They're really nothing like either celery or lettuce.

Try the sacha sauce base. Or just a plain pork, chicken, etc. stock base.