aznsailorboi

I agree with you jo-mel that part by the backbone is the hardest part coz the ducks barely got meat on their backs so its a thin layer of meat then skin. I have only deboned 1 duck before.....and never again. Too many sharp bones, and I ended up with scratches on my hand..(it looked like I wrestled the duck first LOL), that but then again I dont use any knives or shears when deboning. So the second time I used duck I just left the bones in, and let my family suffer, figured it was good enough to eat....I should add a level of difficulty in eating it. bwahahahaha I've used turkey as well for the 8 treasures recipe....ahh, well of course it was my asian rendition of turkey for thanksgiving. obviously its easier to debone, the only downside is making sure the turkey is well done without overcooking the rice. my solution to the problem, don't soak the rice, then i just sauteed what needs to be sauteed, like the shallots, shrimps(optional), sausage, mushrooms, star anise, and then once the flavors all melded, turn off heat, set aside to cool. when cool enough stir in the rice, chestnuts, and lotus seeds, pour in the soy sauce/wine mixture and all the other seasonings and then ready to stuff the turkey. the only method that seem to work while keeping the turkey very moist is through the crock pot method overnight. This is soo good, first time I ate turkey thats melt in your mouth, super duper moist, and full of flavor, y'all should try this sometime.

Nuh-uh. Sorry. Ti Kuan Yin is an oolong, and can be used in kung fu tea, but doesn't have to be. It's an oolong in that it is partially oxidized (in between black and green). It is a specialty of Anxi (Fújiàn province). Oolong just describes that in between state of oxidation, and there are many, many different kinds, not just one or even four (think Si Da Ming Cong). The lightest ones that are the least oxidized get called pouchongs, and they're mostly grown in Taiwan these days. Just for you, I found some characters to go along with what I'm saying, but since I can't read, I hope they're actually correct! Kung fu tea, the Fujian tea ceramony, is usually done with oolongs (any kind) and a Yixing teapot set (宜兴) , although at our house, if we're having bat kut teh, it has to be done with bo-lay/pu-erh (普洱茶) and our set is probably a fake, it was cheap. Fengyi, I see dried chestnuts on the same shelf with the dried lotus seeds and various dates. Maybe you'll see them there? regards, trillium ← thanks Trillium, I'm not very particular about tea, but thats what my mom called it, and its exactly how we drink it, in small concentrated doses. I like it only with mooncake or any dessert with sweet bean paste or lotus paste inside, coz the bitterness counters the excessive sweetness of the dessert. I like strong jasmine tea with sweet desserts as well.

WoW, all these responses got me reading earlier today hehehe, I've been so busy this weekend I haven't visited my favorite site at all. As for deboning the chix.....the only bone parts need to be removed is the remaining neck, ribcage, the spine area, and those thing that connect the hip bones to the spine, plus the only part you need to be careful with is the outside surface of the chicken, the inside part will be damaged no matter what, when you debone it. There's really no easy way of doing this, if you want the chicken deboned, getting icky is kinda required. and for the faint of heart....yes, there will be some bones that need to be snapped. I apologize coz I dont have an illustration on how to do this....hmm maybe I will whenever I make the chicken for CNY. The easiest way to do this is to locate the backbone. Find the middle of the vertebrae, place your thumb on the skin side and position 2 fingers inside through the neck end cavity, then snap the backbone inward, a swift forceful motion gives you a cleaner break. Start pulling the backbones, once these are out turn the chicken over breast side up, then find the wishbone by the neck cavity. when you get to it, break it inward again, and pull it out from the inside. With the breast side still up, use your palm to push down on the breast area to split the sternum ( thats the front bone/cartilage that connects the left and right hemisphere of the ribcage ), once thats broken, its gonna be very easy pulling the bones out from this point, because all the connective bones have been severed. pull the ribcage out carefully, actually a few ribs at a time works since you have more control of what gets torn inside. See, inside damage is ok, but less damage is better. once the ribcage is out, the chicken will look deflated except for the lower half. With both hands grip the chicken by both thighs, "fold" the chicken like closing a book to snap the hip plate in half, dislodge the thigh bone from the "ball and socket" of the hip plate, then you can completely take them out......end scene.. hehe Now you have a deboned chicken, just rinse it out in warm water to drain more blood that comes out and pat it dry with tons of paper towel....WARM WATER?!? you guys probably think I'm crazy, bacteria will want to bloom in it!?!? ......only if you let it sit in room temp. after you wash it. But remember you will have to soak it in the soy sauce and alcohol mixture, and let it chill in the fridge later, so dont worry. everything will be just fine. The dried shrimp can definitely be left out, it imparts flavor, but only to a point of guessing whats missing if you do leave it out. You can add salty chinese ham instead of the shrimp as well if your being considerate for those allergic to seafood, they both have that salty and musty flavor, so if you decide to use salty chinese ham, just use the same amount as you would with the dried shrimp and make sure to rinse it as well to wash off some of the excess saltiness and mustiness, not alot are accustomed to that smell and flavor, its almost an acquired taste. Here in the US, I found a very very close substitute for this type of ham, its called Virginia ham, you can purchase it online from http://www.smithfieldhams.com/smithfieldham/ its under the product name "Smithfield Country Ham, uncooked"....dunno if I'm allowed to do that just trying to help. This is a salt cured ham, so like I said you have to wash it some before cooking it. It comes with a little recipe book with instructions on how to prepare the ham, if you're using it for "holiday" purposes. We usually don't, and most of the time, we just hack it up in to smaller portions for easier storage... as my mom adds it to most stuff for its salt content and flavor, like hot and sour soup, or she puts a few slices on top of the rice and cooks the rice, the water boils and disperses the salt and flavor, and when the rice cooks, the steam softens the meat, same concept when cooking lap cheung or lap ngap on top of the rice.

here's the recipe for the 8 treasure stuffed chicken 1 medium chicken, deboned (be careful not to damage the skin), set bones aside 1 c. sticky rice, soaked for at least 4 hours 6 chinese dried mushroom, wash and soak 6 dried chestnuts, wash and soak 6 chinese sausage(lap cheung), sliced 1/4 in thick diagonally 12 lotus seeds, wash and soak half a handful of small dried shrimps, rinse and rehydrate in 4T. water 5 medium shallots, chopped 4 pieces star anise 1/4 c. mushroom soy sauce 1/2 c. Xiaoshing wine 2 c. water pepper 4 T. oil prepare stock from bones: bones from chicken 1/4 c. Xiaoshing wine 6 c. water 2 T. Kikkoman light soy sauce (this brand is a must for this specific stock) 1 inch ginger, smashed 5 whole green onions 1.5 T salt 1 T. sugar 1 T. MSG *optional (hehe I know its bad, but it makes food taste better so I put it anyway.) Slowly boil stock until 2/3 of original content is left. keep in a slow simmer, you will need this while cooking the rice part of this recipe. Wash chicken thoroughly, then pat dry. Pour mushroom soy sauce over chicken and rub it well, making sure that the chicken is painted with the soy sauce good. add the Xiaoshing wine and pepper, marinate for 2 hrs, but no longer than 6 hrs, the alcohol seems to toughen the chix, you don't want that while stuffing it, will easily tear the skin and some meat. Soak mushrooms at least 2 hrs and the lotus and chestnuts for at least 4, to make sure they absorb as much liquid as they can. Trim and discard the mushroom stems slice in half or quarters put back in soaking liquid, check the lotus seeds for the green part in the middle(embryo), pinch them off coz they are bitter. and remove the remaining skins on the groves of the chestnuts. Heat oil in a big wok or pan, saute shallots till almost transluscent and fragrant. add 2 star anise fry for another minute to release the flavor, add in the rehydrated dried shrimps, brown it a little, then the sausage, mushrooms, chestnuts and lotus seeds, tossing the mixture untill all the ingredients are covered with the oil. making sure the stove is on high heat, finally add the soy sauce/xiaoshing mixture from the chicken. let it boil once then add sticky rice, then turn heat on low to medium. At this point you want to toss the rice as often as possible so the bottom doesnt get cooked. your main goal is to semi-cook the rice to shorten the cooking time while its inside the chicken. once all the soy sauce and wine mixture gets absorbed slowly add water 1 cup at a time till all the water is absorbed. let mixture cool. Set the chicken up for stuffing. sew the head/neck cavity by locating the flap of skin usually from the neck and sew it close to the breast, if there's enough loose skin, just sew the skin close and tuck it in the cavit. proceed in stuffing the chicken, dont fill the chicken all the way to the top, coz the rice will still expand causing ur seams or parts of the chicken to burst open while cooking. stuff to about 3/4 full of the cavity. Sew the other end of the chicken close. there are two ways of cooking this, one is through the oven and another is by using those big oval crockpots that arent very deep. oven method: In a big enough pan, arrange some cut up leeks as a bed for the chicken, place the chicken on the bed breast up. add more veggies more leeks, mushrooms, rehydrated chinese mushrooms and cloud ears. a slice or two of ginger around the chicken. then ladle some stock on the chicken about 1.5 cups. cover with aluminum foil then bake in a 375 deg preheated oven. with a pan of water at the lower rack, replenishing with hot water every so often. bake for 45 minutes then check. the chicken should look steamed, and plump coz the rice is pressing on the sides of the chicken and you will be able to tell that its almost ready when you see beads of sticky liquid on the chicken skin, this is from the liquids from the sticky rice pushing its way out. remove the chicken from the oven but leave the oven on, collect the liquids from the bottom of the pan including the loose veggies, then return chicken back in the oven with foil. Boil 2 cups of prepared stock, add the pan drippings, add 3 T. oyster sauce, 1.5 T. sugar, more soy sauce as needed, and use the light kind, so the sauce doesnt darken further, let boil for 5 minutes then add the veggies back, you can add some more veggies at this point like snow peas and whole young corn cut in half, fresh button mushrooms etc. *no celery, this kinda alters the flavors pretty significantly. then add a slurry of 1T. cornstarch and 4 T.water to thicken the sauce. stir constantly untill slightly thickened add a teaspoon of sesame oil. pour over chicken in the oven and cook for another 45 min. again cover with aluminum foil. at this point the chicken is so tender it will melt in your mouth and the rice is completely cooked have absorbed some of the sauce. serve. crock pot method: make a bed of cut leeks for the chicken, add chicken, veggies and 2 cups of stock. cover then set on high to boil, once it boils set it onto slow cook for the next 4 hrs. Collect the liquid and do the same precedure to make the sauce with the oven method. but this time you will not have to add more than 1 c of stock. once you have the sauce ready pour over the chicken then cook further for another 2 hrs. serve. This is a very time consuming dish, but totally worth it.

that sounds good.....well everything fried is good hehehe. but I would guess it taste just like french fried sweet potato, without the sweetness.

Anybody got a recipe for the dried sweetened lotus root candy. the one they have for CNY? haha I did an experminentation and I ended up with something that's like that sweet potato cooked in thick syrup, same flavor, same texture, pretty good but not expecting to look and taste like that.

Can you discuss salted vegetables? I know there's alot of em...but I only know how to use one of the many, kiam chay(Hokkien/salted mustard). And there are others that are kinda wet, some are dry, some slightly moist with salt crystals forming on it. so in what recipe's do you use these?

uhmm I just caught my mistake from the first recipe ......I used white sugar!!!!! I dunno if that changes the texture of the dough? but oh well, then again if I used brown sugar then the color wouldnt be lighter still.

Here's my results from the test runs I did with the two recipes: from chinesefood dot about dot com... Their dough was very hard to work with, too tough and rubbery. I only managed to put a smear of red bean paste inside since I was making smaller three-bite pieces, and plus the fact that the skin wouldn't stretch, it was hard to pinch it close. Frying was the hard part. the surface browned but the inside is still uncooked, coz of the thick skin...again. so all in all the recipe is not that good ...or I wasn't doing it right..oh well although one thing I like about it is that the dough was almost off white, like the ones in the dim sum places. All in all I didn't like the results except for color. Deja's recipe... The texture of the dough was nice and pliable, so I was actually able to roll a piece of red bean paste, got it inside and not just a smear hehe. The frying part was tricky, the dough browned quickly than I expected, probably because of the brown sugar candy in it. It looked great as soon as you haul it out of the oil, but after maybe 10 min the dough kinda deflates and the longer it sits out at room temp the denser the skin gets. I was picking on it every so often and got observations: *at 10 min.( still crunchy exterior, skin a little dense ) *at30 min.( can still feel a hint of crunch but lost the airiness of the skin and this time the spherical form took on another shape lol) *and 45 min. (not crunchy anymore, all the oil accumulated in the skin, looks like a deflated basketball hehe.) still tastes good, but the greasy feel got to me.... Oh and by the way for the red bean paste, I used Tepee's recipe from the mooncake cook-offs, it was so good, I omitted the rose jam, since I dont have any available, and didn't want to wander off to any flavouring at the moment. I had a lot of red bean paste left over from making the sesame balls.....but it was just too good to be "left over".....so it disappeared after a few hours. Can I use white sugar to make the slurry instead? maybe it will make the dough lighter in color? I was also wondering if anybody here knows why the bakery kind looks like it wasnt fried even though you can taste grease in it, and the skin is not too thin or too thick, has the texture of mochi, and can retain its shape for days on the bakery shelf?

There is plenty of info in this zongzi cook-off thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...l=cook-off&st=0 ← hehe for some reason I kinda felt that Joongzi had already been discussed. thanks guys.

Sue-On nice site, hehe just like you said to jo-mel it draws you in further to your site, it did it to me. gawd!!! I started looking at the food blogs then.......after three hours later......i went through the whole site. you have a very wonderful family. With your version of the sesame ball...do you use the same type of dough to make the ones similarly served in the dim sum places? Ooh and another thing I saw on your food blog was the Joongzi....I've always known them as Ma Chang, and the rice is brown from some coloring(light soy maybe, but you cant really taste soy), but the contents seem to be the same, the mushroom, pork, dried shrimps, chestnuts, etc. can you please post the recipe for this dish if you have a chance...just whenever ur not busy. thanks. Tim

HALLO!!!! hey guys anybody have a recipe for the sesame balls??? they're the dessert kind with bean paste inside and rolled in sesame seeds, not sure if they're baked or fried...... but if you have a recipe for it, i'd love to have it. making it for CNY 2006, and im gonna do a test run, so no boo boos. please share if you do have one.

are the dried scallops usually that expensive??? I was going to get some whenever I went to the dry goods store, but they have all different grades, just like the dried seacucumber that I got (and had problems soaking....), I found a little bag of small dried scallops for US$8.00, which would probably equal to about 6 medium sized dried scallops. can someone tell me the different grades? and what prices seem reasonable for these items.

The ones which make it to the dining tables are not that pretty. I saw a few of them (the ugly ones) when I snorkled at Shek O and a few other beaches in Hong Kong. They were completely dark brown in color, about 6 to 7 inches long, lying on the sand floor at about 10 feet deep. They looked just like a piece of "you know what". I dared not to touch them. ← I actually have two small ones in my fish tank about 2 inches each and they're not the pretty kind either...they're the *ahem* turd looking black things but they clean the glass purty good.

Aw man! All your words are so inspiring! I myself have questioned my career path in the past and everytime I land in a new type of work environment, I still dont think I'm satisfied with what I really wanna do in life. But lately I had a revelation, all my life I've been cooking, been interested in tinkering in the kitchen since I was 5, watching our cook, my mom or my grandmother cook was an event for me. So I did have my inspirations and I was set to go to culinary school, but I guess as time passes by, one's interest kinda changes, so I went to all different types of job retail, pharmaceuticals, medical field and now at 21 yrs of age I joined the military, but everytime I get frustrated, I find myself back in the kitchen at home cooking my frustrations away, it soothes me, gives me that good kind of stress and I have all the patience in the world to stand in front of the stove to stir and observe what I've been cooking, then it occured to me, maybe I really want to be a chef like my original plan was before I got sidetracked. I love to entertain at home, throw parties and such, and so far I havn't made anything that tastes horrid as far as I know, and it satisfies me to see my guest do the yum factor after the first bite. After serious thoughts, and countless talks with my close friends, I've decided I'm going to give this thought a chance. Currently I've been researching about how to get in the culinary scene to get some experience. Then eventually to a culinary school ( as most of the prominent culinary schools require certain number of hours working in food service to get in, found that out in my research ). I'm glad I saw this discussion thread, it made my thoughts clear about some doubts that I had. And Bordelaise, encourage you're daughter to whatever she wants to do, if its her passion let her indulge in it. If ever she becomes very succesful in her trade, all she can say is "my mom backed me up all the way".

As always hzrt8w, your cooking looks awesome! oh btw I went to look for those dried scallops, gawd them things are expensive!

Wow. Now I don't feel so bad about my pickled pig feet post upthread! ← its all good Diva... it's all about the pig!!!

boiled pig ear with cubes of fried tofu, seasoned with garlic, onion, soy sauce, vinegar and a little sugar. yummmmmmmehhhhhhh!!!!!

HI GUYSSS I started doing test runs for CNY yesterday, I tried the Buddha's Delight and steamed whole carp yesterday and BOY!!! it was yummy!!! Deja I followed your suggestions of adding more veggies to it like bamboo shoots, straw mushrooms, wood ear and snow peas to it.....although I was missing the nam yu, i just added 3 pieces of fried tofu in it. does the nam yu make a big difference in the flavor? the Steamed Carp, bought a dead one (I'd buy a live one for CNY)...but basically scored the fish three times on each side, had a mixture of salt and sugar, equal parts rub all over the fish, making sure that the scores and the inside get seasoned as well, slice(not smash) garlic thinly, about half a garlic and 2-3 inches of ginger finely julienned( I mean really really thin ). on the plate where the fish is gonna be cooked and served make a thin bed for the fish out of ginger and garlic slices place the fish on top then slip some of the G&G slices inside and on top. splash some xiaoshing wine, then steam for about 20 min or until fish is just done. mean while, heat four tbsp of peanut oil and when smoking hot already add 1tbsp sesame oil. then pour on top of the fish, dash a little bit of light soy sauce for the fish, just for that soy flavor not really for its saltiness. serve with chopped green scallions. I will post pics of it when I make it for CNY.

Hmmmm, would the season create the difference in the matter? coz I've never really looked hard enough during the summer and the fall......its just suddenly I got this craving for seafood...and live bought ones( ...as the roomate looks at me like I'm crazy ....anyways) so now this winter I've been scouring Chicago, and even the suburbs for fresh seafood stores, and sadly to say I've yet to find those Dungeness crabs alive and kicking. As far as the blue crabs, I dont like them, they're small, and and more ammonia smelling even when alive, and they're the most abundant. BTW, Deja do you remember where in Chinatown you saw those live seafood? "How desperate do you want to cook with dry sea cucumber?" eheh sorry dunno how to do that two quotes in one post. Not that desperate, I just dont want those three SC that I bought go to waste, they're pretty good sized too considering they're dried......and lately it has been a learning experience for me....1)how to soak the SC at home when bought dry and 2) NEVER LEAVE THE STORE NOT ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO SOAK EM!!!!!! and last but not the least.....3) my mother doesn't know it all, like I thought she did....sigh

AAAAHHH Toasted you're so evil!!!! that Dorito Salad was scrumptuous!!! I had to add jalapenos though as I like an added kick to it. But OMG it was soo good, I even watched two of my self-professed gourmet friends stuff their faces with it. hahaha , then I just had to tell them the contents after they were done. They said it was a good thing I told them after they've eaten, otherwise they wouldnt have touched it.......as they were scooping their third helping.

We have a Chinatown and a Viet-town in Chicago, neither one has fresh sea cucumbers being sold though, and its always the frozen ones *yuck!!! and the dry ones, the frozen one has a weird texture, almost snot-like sometimes and has that old freezer taste to it, even after its been boiled with ginger. I'm jealous of you guys living in LA and SF, y'all have those live seafood market, where the fishies and other critters are kept in the tank and you choose which one you want and you can either take it home alive or have the store people knock em out for you. I'm sure its the same way in the East coast. It sux living here in the midwest...specially if you love fresh seafood, everything comes dead already. can't even find those dungeness crabs here...all they have are the legs... i want the whole thing....but either ways I wont buy them dead. they gotta be feisty....like me!

YUMMMEHHHHHHHHHH!!! that's the first thing I'm gonna try with my new clay pot that I just bought this weekend, it's big enough to fit all of those. I still have to soak it and cook jook in it to seal the micro-cracks in the pot.

is it coz its bitter(im thinking represents bitter life or something??)...or any other reason for it being in the no-no food list

Ham Ha, ok thanks guys. xian xia in mandarin. hmm i wonder what makes it unlucky? probably coz it smells like a rotting corps sometime hahahah just kidding, but seriously some stink some dont.