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

Ah Leung - sadly, they are indeed banned for importation into the US as of a few years ago as they are considered an invasive species and have taken over several waterways in CA. However, you can find these being sold (supposedly) in SF or possibly Sacramento from 'off-the-street' vendors and caught from local waters - since I also live in the Bay Area, I DEARLY would love to know if you find any place or market area that does carry them. Do let me/us know if you find such a place! Good luck - JH

All - MANY thanks to everyone, especially Peony for helping to clarify the proportions and ingredients in this recipe. I've created my own version of this, closely based on Peony's, that includes a famous Chinese herbal tonic (especially suitable for women, as this *is* a post-partum stew - plus it adds a good flavour as well) and hard-boiled eggs in the shell, as I seem to recall this is also important for new mothers, to enable the calcium from the shells to leach into the stew. Plus, my use of the 'marbled egg' effect is unique, at least as far as I can determine. Enjoy, JH ________________ The Hirshon Ginger, Sugar & Vinegar Pig Trotter Stew 1 pig's trotter - between 2.5 and 2.75 pounds Between 2.5 and 2.75 pounds old ginger (yes, you read that right), skinned, cut into pieces and smashed lightly (JH note - old ginger is exactly that, the typical stuff you get in the supermarket, do NOT use actual OLD ginger, this is just a Chinese term to differentiate it from 'young' ginger, which is harvested early) 4 tbsp sesame oil (JH note - I like Kadoya) Slightly more than 3 1/3 cups Chinese black vinegar (JH note - do NOT use Sweetened Black Vinegar in this recipe!) 6 1/3 cups bottled water Slightly more than 1 1/4 -1 2/3 cups brown sugar (adjust sweetness to your liking) (JH note - if you can find it, use Chinese black sugar, called 'Hei Tang') hardboiled eggs in shell, to taste Tang Kuei Gin Syrup - 2 tablespoons - One of the great Chinese tonic herb formulas for women - see http://www.qualitychineseherbs.com/herbal_...ts/dang_gui.htm Tang Kuei Gin syrup may be purchased here: http://www.eastearthtrade.com/catalog.php?...820&product=505 - NOTE: This ingredient is NOT in the classic recipe Clean and pluck hair of trotters (if there are any). Cut into big chunks. Blanch trotters, drain. Heat sesame oil and fry ginger till fragrant. Add ginger and oil and put into a clay pot. Add vinegar, water and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 - 30 mins or until ginger is soft. Add pig's trotter pieces and continue to simmer till meat is tender, about 2 hours. Add hardboiled eggs and Tang Kuei Gin half an hour before serving - crack the shells all over lightly but completely to enable the marbled effect when peeled (note - this is a JH affectation, and not in the original recipe). This should be served to the new mother for 1 month - repeat the recipe as needed and add to the leftovers (important - there should always be some leftover added to the new batch of stew) and reheat, as it gets more and more nutritious over the 30 days (as well as delicious). Chinese believe black vinegar purifies the blood old ginger drives out wind from the body brown / black sugar checks the dampness in the body Eggs and shell add needed calcium to the stew, to aid the mother in nursing Tang Kuei Gin is a superb herbal tonic, specifically for women

Peony, this looks like a great recipe, thank you! Do you know the pinyin (and English transliteration) for Chinese Black Sugar, perchance - it seems to be a most unusual ingredient and I would like to try the recipe with it. Also, did you develop the modified recipe with less sesame oil and more sugar? Also, I seem to remember that other recipes I've seen for this post-partum stew called for hard-boiled eggs as well, but in-shell (to allow the calcium to leach from the shells into the stew) - is that your experience here as well? If so, I'd crack the shells lightly all-around to get the marbled effect (similar to tea eggs) on the shelled eggs - seems like a nice visual, as well as adding additional flavour to the egg... Thanks again, eGullet is truly all-knowing.

All - I found this wonderful set of guidelines for making Vinegar Pig trotter - anyone care to clarify the Chinese characters for some of the ingredients (Chinese black sugar, old ginger, etc.) and finalize exact proportions? Knowing the pinyin for the recipe name would be nice too. If I am not mistaken, I believe this is a variant of the classic post-partum dish given to new mothers (minus the eggs)? sze sze, JH <snip> I called my aunt again today...she's been quite busy. But anyway,she said that since you're a chef,you can roughly figure out the quantities... She does not use rock sugar,but rather,chinese black sugar for a stronger flavour. About 250g And you need loads of old ginger...like about 1/2 kg for every pig's trotter. She adds quite a bit of sesame oil too. And you need to heat the sesame oil in a pot,with some cooking oil and fry ginger till browned. Add in sugar,continue frying till slightly caramelised,then add in about 2 cups for every trotter,of Chin Kiang black vinegar. Let it reduce a bit,then add trotters and water. Simmer for about 1 hour till soft, top up water occasionally if need be. You need the vinegar and ginger for that kick, so don't gasp at the quantities... Hope this helps.

Pork fat adds an indefinable succulence to shellfish stirfries, whereas I find chicken fat is to easily identifiable. If I am not mistaken, Fujianese cuisine has been stirfrying shellfish with lard for centuries, which is where I believe I picked up the trick. Try the difference - you'll be amazed. cheers, JH

It depends - I mostly use Peanut Oil for everyday stir-fries (Lion & Globe brand when I can find it). For any vegetable stir fry, chicken fat is my preferred medium and for shellfish stir-fries, it's pork fat all the way. Olive oil in a Chinese stirfry - not happenin'. Hope this helps - JH

This looks spectacular - as always, another wonderful tutorial, sze sze. cheers, JH

Yes, there is a Buddhist taboo on not just onions, but garlic and I believe leeks as well - the classic 'Pure Meal of the Arhats' recipe calls for none of these ingredients. cheers, JH

I'm guessing chinese medicinal herb of some form... cheers, JH

Hope so - these sound DELICIOUS. cheers, JH