jhirshon

Peanut. Cheers, JH

Here is a recipe for XO sauce - hope this helps. Allez Cuisine - JH __________________________ XO Sauce Ingredients: 150 grams fresh red chilis 250 grams dried scallops (conpoy) 150 grams garlic clove, minced 150 grams onion, finely diced 100 grams tiny dried shrimp (unshelled variety) 50 grams Jinhua ham (you can substitute Smithfield ham or proscuttio) 50 grams salted cured fish 25 grams large dried shrimp (shelled variety) 1/2 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper (mix with ground Szechuan peppercorn if desired) Directions: Wash and remove the seeds and stems from the chilies. Heat wok on low and add oil for stir-frying. When oil is ready, add the chilies. Stir-fry until they are heated through. Remove the chilies from the heat and drain. Dry in the sun until completely dried (about 2 - 3 days). Reconstitute conpoy (dried scallops) by soaking in water for 2-3 hours, then steaming for 3 hours until soft. Reserve the liquid accumulated as a result of steaming. When cooled, finely shred the conpoy by hand. Soak the tiny shrimp in water for 3 hours. Drain the shrimp and mince finely. Finely dice ham into 2mm cubes. Dice fish into 3mm cubes. Heat wok on high heat and add up to 2 - 4 cups* oil for frying. Add garlic, onion, and tiny shrimp and fry until the mixture stops steaming? At that point add the chilies, ham, and fish, and continue to cook until chilies become translucent. Add the conpoy and shelled dried shrimp and ground black pepper and turn the heat down to low. Continue to cook until only a little steam rises from the mixture. Remove from the heat and cool. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. *1 bowl = approximately 1 cup. In this recipe I would recommend starting with a smaller amount of oil and increasing as desired for taste.

The Whampoa Club in Shanghai is a leader in this type of 'Nouvelle Chinois' - the recipes from this restaurant are outstanding reinterpretations of classic Chinese dishes - see here for details: http://www.foodtourist.com/ftguide/Content/I2241.htm Cheers, JH

There is also one in Fuschia Dunlop's Hunan Cookbook... Cheers, JH

I had Hairy Crab 2 Novembers ago in Hong Kong at a restaurant specializing in Shanghai cuisine for my birthday - the restaurant was Wu Kong. The crab, while small, was absolutely the most succulent I've ever eaten and the roe was to die for - expensive, sure. Worth it - every penny, at least to me. Cheers, JH

I'd love to get a REAL recipe for this then, if anyone has one - with proportions, cook times, etc. Xie Xie for the translation - JH

Can anyone translate this? Cheers, JH 1、从超级市场买回新鲜的羊肉（可选购：鱼），竹签（可选种类：铁），调料：孜然粉，辣椒粉，盐，番茄酱等� �可根据自己口味选购） 2.然后就是把肉类切成小块，不要太大，要不然就不容易熟透。切好后拿竹签穿好，调料分好就可以了。 3.就是准备炭和烧烤的器具。（要是有可以用于烤煎炸的器具就省事多了） 4.就是烤的过程了（省略......） 5.吃完后记得把东西收好准备下次再用。（如果在郊外记得把垃圾带走保护环境） 注：如果比较懒得话，可以买商家直接做好调料的成品自己烤着吃，毕竟享受的是过程和结果嘛！

Call me a heretic, but I personally enjoy Nishiki brand medium-grain rice best. cheers, JH

Here is another excellent recipe. http://foodcrazee.blogspot.com/2005/10/chinese-crullers.html Be interesting to get feedback on which recipe is better... cheers, JH

Maine shrimp is unusually sweet, and a rare treat - enjoy! cheers, JH

My experience is that Pagoda brand is the best bottled Shaoxing - Hua diao is the top, in my opinion. I recently tried a Shaoxing in a brown ceramic crock witrh red ribbons (Shaoxing Hsieng Hsueh Chiew) that was unusually dark and fragrant - it is my favourite, use it mostly in cooking and the occasional sip. It was more pricey, but not by much - maybe $15? Hope that helps - JH

There are several Chinese recipes for venison, mostly from Sichuan and Yunnan. There are one or two Laotian recipes that also use venison, from near Chinese border, I believe. hope this helps - JH

I am notorious for snacking the solids found in the bottom of Yank Sing's XO sauce - salty, hot goodness, cheers, JH

This is one recipe for superior broth, there are several others that I know of. cheers, JH http://www.recipezaar.com/69077

Ah Leung - see this: http://www.wsg.washington.edu/outreach/mas...mittencrab.html They are apparently fairly common around our area - we need to catch some, do our part to save the local fish population and EAT THEM ALL. cheers, JH