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C. sapidus

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Everything posted by C. sapidus

  1. You made "summer" roll in -50C weather? ← Ah Leung: I'm sitting in front of my computer, flipping through a thesaurus for the proper superlatives to describe Dejah's amazing display of food, while you give her a hard time. I hope this means that I get invited over for dinner before you do.
  2. C. sapidus

    Dinner! 2007

    Chef Bradley: That's some good looking chile with all the fixings and then some. Ann_T: I was trying to pick which picture to copy and couldn’t – both look absolutely fantastic. We had Sichuan dry-fried chicken (gan ban ji); boiled salted cabbage with ginger-lime dipping sauce; cukes; and basmati rice. More on Chinese eats at home (click).
  3. Man, I'd be fighting the dog for that. Tonight we made Sichuan dry-fried chicken (gan ban ji); boiled salted cabbage with ginger-lime dipping sauce; cukes; and basmati rice. Younger son had a friend visiting, so we also made frozen pizza. Younger son and his friend topped the pizza with Sichuan chicken. The friend ate dried chilies without complaint, so he is welcome back any time.
  4. C. sapidus

    Dinner! 2007

    Christian: Ooh yes, I would eat a lot of your shrimp. I like the idea of working in bean sprouts with the shrimp for some crunch (and as a stealth veggie). We had an impromptu dinner party for a couple that is new to the area, so we served our usual Friday dinner fare (fried rice). We had a pork loin that needed to be used, so I stir-fried thin slices after briefly marinating in soy sauce, oil, white pepper, sugar, and cornstarch. We added the pork loin to the fried rice at the end. The pork was quite tender, so I’ll probably make it this way again. We also made two batches of wok-seared shrimp (tom rang toi ot): one with bird chilies and one without. The couple preferred the chile-laden shrimp, so we look forward to having them over again. No pictures, but I did get a better sear on the shrimp this time.
  5. C. sapidus

    Dinner! 2007

    Marlene: Wow, I’m honored! Hubby did a fine job on the stir-fry. Do I get a sample or anything? Pressed for time this evening, we made a simple Vietnamese rice soup with chicken (chao ga). More here (click).
  6. Does your “cow town” include an Asian market? A lot of Asian ingredients can be stocked up, mail ordered, or grown (soy sauce, fish sauce, frozen galangal, spices, chiles, etc.), but it is nice to have access to fresh herbs and veggies, especially in the winter. Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet and Into the Vietnamese Kitchen are excellent recommendations. I will add two specialized suggestions: Land of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop for Sichuan; and Cradle of Flavor by James Oseland for Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. Happy book shopping!
  7. Rice soup with chicken from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. For a dinner squeezed in between basketball practice and middle school orientation, this was pretty good. I made the rice soup base a few days ago. Tonight I re-heated the soup, marinated chicken in fish sauce, sauteed an onion and the chicken, mixed everything together, and garnished with cilantro and scallions. Wham bam dinner, with cucumbers on the side. Next time I'll probably add something with a little texture, like stir-fried or parboiled long beans. Rice soup with chicken (chao ga)
  8. Thank you! Yes, time is a precious resource. I hope you get some time to cook, because I would love to see what you make and compare notes.
  9. Steamed salmon with garlic and ginger (ca hap toi gung), cabbage and egg stir-fry (bap cai xao trung), and fried potatoes with bacon. The first two were from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. Mrs. C improvised with leftover baked potatoes, and the results were delicious. My part of dinner was less than a complete success. Between catching up on Mrs. C’s day, helping elder son with his science fair project, and trying two new recipes, I goofed up the sauce. I was supposed to saute the garlic and ginger, add the liquid ingredients (soy sauce, oyster sauce, black pepper, and sugar), bring everything to a boil, and spoon the sauce over the salmon before steaming. Instead I, um, struck a bold new path. It turns out that the sauce pretty goof-proof, but we picked off the ginger because it tasted pretty raw. The salmon was good, though. The cabbage was super-simple: garlic, cabbage, fish sauce, one egg, and black pepper. The boys like cabbage, so we have been making a lot of it lately. Edited to add one egg.
  10. C. sapidus

    Dinner! 2007

    Kim: Great to see you back in the kitchen! Mrs. C skipped the ice cream, and had a very moderate amount of the pineapple.
  11. C. sapidus

    Dinner! 2007

    Ann_T: Thank you! If you put it that way, I guess I am a fan of Ann. I hope you enjoy Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. I certainly don’t blame Moe for requesting chicken souvlaki again – it looks absolutely scrumptious, all crisped and spice-flecked (and the perfectly browned, hole-y sourdough too, of course).
  12. C. sapidus

    Dinner! 2007

    Thank you Marlene, but you are way too kind (and way too modest).
  13. C. sapidus

    Dinner! 2007

    Marlene: That looks incredible! For dinner tonight, Mrs. C roasted pork loin stuffed with dried apricots and coated with a mustard-panko-herb mixture. The pork loin was very tender and flavorful. She also baked potatoes (no picture). I made the side dishes: Napa cabbage soup with dried shrimp, and Sichuan dry-fried green beans. The boys love this soup – six cups of broth and nearly a whole head of Napa cabbage disappeared. The beans were a bit salty, but tasted great in the soup. For dessert, Mrs. C served vanilla ice cream topped with baked pineapples and a brown sugar, rum, vanilla, and pineapple juice syrup. Edited to fix picture.
  14. I loved those gold coins, too! My parents used to pack the coins in our Christmas stockings, along with an orange in the toe, a Mad magazine, a nutcracker, and an assortment of unshelled nuts - usually walnuts, Brazil nuts, almonds, and hazelnuts. They would hang the stocking on our bedroom door after we went to sleep. I think they wanted us to stay occupied as long as possible Christmas morning. Thanks for the pleasant memory!
  15. Ah Leung: I am delighted to see you blogging, and I appreciate that you are exploring the cultural as well as the edible facets of your life. Food can illuminate a culture in remarkably accessible ways. This is one of the reasons that I love learning to cook food from different countries – food reflects history, economics, geography, botany, social customs, trade . . . Your foodblog and the amazing CNY 2007 thread are providing ample incentive to continue exploring Chinese food (or “food”, as you put it ). I have enjoyed everything so far, and eagerly anticipate sharing the rest of your week. Keep up the good work! With your additional clues, I guess that you are 48. Kung Hey Fat Choy!
  16. C. sapidus

    Dinner! 2007

    Thanks! trufflelover: Calvados cream sauce, penne, shrimp, artichokes, spinach, pine nuts - that sounds delicious, thanks for sharing.
  17. C. sapidus

    Dinner! 2007

    Lots of amazing dinners, but a special shout-out for jmolinari – beautiful pictures of beautiful food. We had wok-seared shrimp with garlic and chile (tom rang toi ot) from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. More info here (click). Cukes and a baked potato with melted butter on the side, and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.
  18. Wok-seared shrimp with garlic and chile (tom rang toi ot) from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. This is a Vietnamese version of Chinese salt and pepper shrimp. Tossing the shrimp in cornstarch, white pepper, salt, and sugar before searing in the wok gives them a nice crust. Next time I’ll sear the shrimp a little longer. Cooking the shrimp in their shells would be more authentic, but da boyz don’t like them that way. Cukes and a baked potato with melted butter on the side (also not authentic). Wok-seared shrimp with garlic and chile (tom rang toi ot)
  19. Three-egg omelet with fish sauce and five-spice powder. Filling: thinly-sliced Poblano chile, shallot, garlic, roasted chile paste, and a little of the dipping sauce. Dipping sauce: Hoisin sauce, Sriracha, and fish sauce. Mmmm. The five-spice flavor came through nicely.
  20. This fascinating discussion leaves me more confused than ever. Let me see if I can pick out a few points of general agreement: 1) “Guo yu”, “guo yiu”, “guo yau”, "gau yu" or “zhou yau” (in various Chinese dialects) literally translates to “passing through oil”, and can also be described as “oil blanching.” 2) The material to be, um, processed is usually marinated in a cornstarch mixture before passing through oil. The English term “velveting” seems to be ambiguous, referring to 1) or 2), or perhaps both. Since I don’t speak Chinese, I have no opinion whatsoever. It would make my life easier if the English terminology was consistent. Maybe I’ll just stick to simple stir-fries and avoid the issue altogether. Doesn’t “chow” mean stir-fry in Chinese? (sorry, Dejah) Majra: I have also been delighted with Land of Plenty, so I am very interested in Ms. Dunlop’s Hunan cookbook. Do you have any idea why you are “blocked”? Are the recipes unfamiliar, uninspiring, or too complicated?
  21. Whoa, sorry, I did not mean to cause an argument, but now I am very curious. Is there a word (or words) in English (or Chinese, for that matter) for the following process? Make a marinade by blending egg white, rice wine, salt, and cornstarch. Cut chicken into thin squares and marinate for at least 6 hours. Immerse the chicken for about 20 seconds in 275 F (135 C) oil. If answering the question involves heated argument, I am happy to call it “that thing where you marinate the meat in cornstarch and maybe some other stuff and then deep-fry it briefly in cool oil” (although that description seems a bit unwieldy). Ah Leung: How would you translate "gouyu'ing"?
  22. Bruce, did you velvet in water or oil? ← Susan, I velveted in oil but did not monitor temperature. It seemed to take about the specified 20 seconds for the chicken to turn 90 percent white, so the temperature was probably in the ballpark. Sheetz: Thanks for the tip.
  23. Out of curiosity I checked some of my oldest cookbooks. Dianne Kennedy and Rick Bayless sport faded yet festive stains from the chile spectrum. Julie Sahni proudly wears splotches of turmeric yellow. Most of the cookbooks fall open to favorite recipes, and all have been smudged and madly annotated. The paperback Joy of Cooking is the only one that has completely fallen apart, probably from poor binding rather than overuse. Boiling my cookbooks would yield a meager yet spicy stock.
  24. C. sapidus

    Dinner! 2007

    Pontormo: So, an Italian-Vietnamese-Thai soup then. Sounds delicious to me – thanks for the explanation. Shaya: I’m glad you are feeling well enough for “fun with ravioli.” We made hot and sour Hunan chicken with carrots and zucchini, edamame, and Jasmine rice. More information here (click).
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