aznsailorboi

i have no clue as to what kinda of ginseng i got but i got a pretty good amount for 15 bucks, so im assuming its the Panax(chinese) kind, the Korean are usually twice or three times the price since they are the more "heat-y" type.

yep apparently thats what it does, but im not very adept with the tao of food so i'd leave that to the expert uncle and aunties here. and if it is cooling and energizing, then what indications and ailments do u use yin tonics for?

I got brave the yesterday and asked the store owner how to cook the turtle, and lo and behold I got the answer, she said that the turtle is usually cooked for soup ( i kinda figured) then I asked how to exactly prepare it she brought me around the store to the herb packets area and pulled an assorted herbs packet ( I will post the pic of the herb packet tonight ) she said put the rinsed turtle pieces an equal amount ( in weight ) of meaty pork soup bones that have been pre boiled to get the scum out, in a clay pot or a slow cooker, add the "assorted herbs mix" and boil for at least 2 hours. She also mentioned, to make it into a very potent YIN tonic add 2 medium ginseng roots, sliced. ( thats the reason why i have bought the fresh ginseng from that store, now im just looking for other recipes that call for ginseng so it wouldnt go to waste.) so all i need is people who would be go to try the turtle soup with me, coz i dont think id be able to finish that all by myself. anybody care for turtle soup here in chicago?

i will take photos, when i put it all together in the slow cooker. and also the end product 10 hrs after

I am not sure without seeing how big your fresh ginseng is. I would say one piece of whole, fresh ginseng is definitely enough to make a pot of soup with a whole chicken. PS: Your no-name fish looks pretty good! ← Thanks, I guess I will just use one whole ginseng, the pack came with like 7-8 whole fresh ginseng roots, I wonder what else I can use it for? Well I dont wanna OD on ginseng either. haha. The NO-NAME FISH will remain nameless, lol its a family recipe passed down so its a family table classic that will remain nameless......i guess i'll call it "steamed fish Tan-clan style" hehe. the name is kinda too long though, the fish will be long gone before u can say the name of the dish. LOL

Ah leung I'm making your recipe for cornish hens with ginseng and white fungus soup tonight. i got fresh ginseng from the store yesterday, i wonder if i should use less or more, since you used dried ones in your recipe?

its definitely not tilapia, coz the tilapia was in the other tank hehe. its a freshwater fish as well, since it was with a big grass carp. and of course i had to go for the fish thats unknown to me....but thats me.

Welcome to E-gullet china forum!!!!! NICE outdoor setup .....like everyone I am jealous of that setup and there's a vermont grill *sob teary eyed* , OH AND THE POOL....if it was my place, WHO'S READY TO PAHHHTAYYYYY!!!!! i've had that dish before but i cant remember where..... it looks good though and those cherries look fabulous, they're still in season? which part of the country are you Majra? oh i finally cooked for dinner, just bought a freshly killed fish at the local chinese grocer, i dunno what fish i got but its damn good, nice firm flesh, very sweet. The seasoning i added to it are just aromatics(garlic, ginger, scallions) salt, sugar, shao hsing wine, sesame oil and splash of soy sauce in the end. can somebody please ID the fish for me if you can. here's the fish and heres the steamed version

I got the zodiac info from Rocky Siu Kwong Sung's 2007 almanac, but repharased the words to avoid plagiarism. The whole book is very informative if you are into chinese horoscope and feng shui. it includes predictions for all the elements of the 12 zodiacs, how to "cure" and dissolve the bad luck. very good read, even includes a day to day basis of what's best to do and what not to do. good read even just for entertainment purposes.

It's roughly 1 month left before Chinese Lunar New Year, the date falls on Feb 18, 2007. The zodiac animal that rules this coming year will be the Fire Boar>>not roasted pig . People born on the years of the boar generally speaking will have a good year this year because of the astrological allignments in the heavens which doesnt happen all the time to each animal who rules the year, and the sign that should be cautious would be the snake, the prensence of the snake has angered the God of the Year Tai Sui, or Grand Duke Jupiter. People born in the year of the snake should always be cautious of accidents concerning falling or slipping, financial ventures are very risky this year. If dealing with big ventures or big amounts of money, May and October are the months to do it and avoid travelling to the NorthEast directions if possible, if not carry with you a charm called Pi Yao, it will appease Tai Sui and lift his anger upon the snake. The first day of the new year is the 18th, this day most chinese families eat the most bountiful to represent the beginning of the year to be bountiful and would end the same. Popular foods to be served during this time of the year are whole fish, sticky rice, Lo Bak Goh, Nien Kao, Whole chicken from head to feet (of course feathers plucked lol), 12 round fruits representing each month of the year, candied fruits which also symbolizes good luck and fortune such as lotus seeds, lotus roots, wintermelon, watermelon seeds, pineapples, taro, etc. Observers of this holiday knows that like most holidays, lunar new year events revolve around family and food, the one thing you cant separate in most cultures. *The yearly update on top about the horoscope is for trivia purposes only, if you choose to follow the advise do so, but in no way obligated to. thank you" aznsailorboi

bwahahahahaha ROFLMAO for the year of the rat, monkey and dog i think i will make it a point to use a wet sponge for wetting the stamp.

the soapstone that you saw in the Home Expo hasnt been treated with mineral oil, untreated soapstone looks very rough, sometimes white speckled, veined or dull gray almost, and it still wont be treated until its been installed on your counter, even then the installers wont even do it for you, they'd leave a bottle of mineral oil on the counter expecting you to do it yourself. lol but soapstone is a great kitchen counter material. and over time a natural patina forms on the counter due to your constant application of oil so when that happens you can lessen the amount of application you would do every month.

Leftover day today, so I have the honor of having "twice cooked" of everything LOL I have "twice cooked" braised porkbelly, "twice cooked" kimchi chigae, and "twice cooked" rice. bwahahahaha. I will most likely gonna cook this weekend not sure what just yet, but Ah Leung, I'm browsing your pictorial so it will most likely be inspired by one of them. lol

that ginger scallion oil is good even on just plain steamed chicken.

Honestly ladies and gentlemen, I too felt uncomfortable about being riduculed of what we chinese people eat, specially me coz I'm the one who brough up the subject about exotic ingredients available in my local asian market. Be it a moral issue or an ecological issue, we get the point. But we all have free will right? so you can't dictate with your opinion what one should or shouldn't buy specially when its available in the grocery aisle for purchase. Please understand that our cultures are different, and aside from that each and every individual has his or her own opinion on things, so you've said your piece, lets drop the subject and move on. And besides this is a food forum, what we talk about is food and not for other purposes of the animals being said. I think the participants in this thread have heard enough of this and we would like to move on to what the original intent of this thread which is Chinese eats at home. If you want to put more comments you can place it on the appropriate thread for it. Thank you. Very respectfully, Tim

WOW...Would you be interested in posting the recipe and how to make the pork belly? ← Hi cchow006, I really don't have exact measurements for the ingredients, I just "eyeballed" it per se. but here is what I used. -8x6 piece of skin on porkbelly, boneless portion. -half a cup or a tad bit more superior mushroom soy sauce. -5 to 8 star anise -2 cinnamon sticks -10 whole cloves -2 tsp whole szechuan peppercorns slightly toasted -1 Tbsp whole coriander seeds slightly toasted -5 cloves of garlic sliced in half -2 inch knob ginger, sliced thick then bruised -6 medium sized dried mushrooms -a handfull of dried lilly flowers(bitter notes) or dried banana flowers(sweeter) -1 and a half bar Pein Tong -about a cup of Shao hsing wine -enough water to cover the pork - soak dried mushrooms, and lilly or banana flowers separately in warm water for at least 20 minutes, less for the flowers, maybe more for the mushrooms give or take. Then trim the mushroom stems and you can leave the mushrooms whole, slice them in half or in quarters depends on how big you want it, then put it back in the liquid till ready to be added to rest of the ingredients. -rinse pork under cold water, then pat dry with paper towels. -place the meat skin side up in a heavy pot and pour the soy sauce over it so the color sticks to most of the skin area let it sit for a good 20 minutes( same concept as Xiaoling was explaining, so the skin can soak the dark color of the soy sauce). -add enough water to make sure the pork is submerged an inch below water level. add in the spices, mushrooms, pein tong, and shao hsing wine. -let simmer in med to low heat for about 3 hours, turning the pork over carefully with a pair of tongs every hour. by the end of the cooking period the liquid should have concentrated to about half or less than half of the orig volume. take the pork out carefully making sure not to damage the skin coz this will be very soft. let meat rest for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing it. -while waiting for the meat to cool off some add the reconstituted dried blossoms in the braising liquid, it should be cooked just in time when you are done slicing the pork. *notes - during the cooking period, when the skin side is at the bottom, turn the heat down a tad bit to prevent it from burning and sticking at the bottom of the pot. - while slicing the pork let it cool off for 15-20 min so the fat solidifies some, and you would want to oil your very sharp knife to prevent the skin from sticking to it while you slice. a sharp knife is crucial so you dont mush the pork while slicing.

hi peony! do you mind posting the recipe for the peanut cookies, those look quite decadent.

That must be some cheap perfume. ← thats actually what he meant by making that remark......cheap perfume, so if I used Armani he may like it Bwahahhahaa. how ironic though people think some spices smell like cheap perfume, but back in ancient times these spices in minute amounts can be payment for land, animals, trade, properties,etc.

Gastro Jieh, haha *blush* thank you thank you Its called passion for cooking, and of course training from my Mom since I was young helped alot.

30 BUCKS???!!!!! omg thats really expensive! is it laced with gold? how come pork belly is more expensive there?

PORK BELLY.....that's what's for dinner. braised pork belly with dried mushrooms and dried lilly flowers. *pics also posted on the braised pork belly with daikon thread* wow page 17 already!!!!

here's how mine turned out this evening... in the pot i had the pork belly, garlic, star anise, ginger, coriander, cloves, cinnamon sticks, shiitake mushrooms, mushroom soysauce, 1 and 1/2 bar pein tong, and enough water to cover the pork. I had it simmering for 3 hours. this pic is kinda nekkid , without the braising sauce and here's with the sauce mushrooms and dried lilly flowers

you should try it, it is a really good recipe. and its very simple and delish. just make sure the pork belly that you get is skin on. i've tried this recipe a number of times and its always good, and i've transmitted this recipe to my mom as well and she makes it for my family and they love it. although she cuts back on the five spice powder since my dad doesnt care much for it. he says it smells like perfume.

here's Ben Sook's instructions. Thanks for posting such a great recipe. :

You are tempted to make roast pork and wanted to air dry it in the backyard? You plan to hang to whole pig? I don't think roasting one piece of pork would work. ← no no no not the whole pig i've done it before with just a big piece of boneless pork belly, actually i got the recipe from one of the threads in here. If I remember correctly it was Been-sook's recipe, and it goes like this... blanch pork belly in boiling water for half a minute, pat dry then season with salt and five spice powder, air dry for a few hours, i did mine in 8 hrs so the skin would be dry enough to produce that crackling blister bubbled skin when broiled. now the temp starts off high like 425 for 15 min, then 375 for 30 min then 425 again for 15 more minutes to amplify the blistered effect on the skin a little bit more. oh and you must poke holes on the meat for even cooking and this should be cooked on a rack with a pan below to catch grease and drippings.