XiaoLing

Based on the pics, that's definitely not fuzzy melon or see gwa. Sounds like an Asian vegetable that hasn't made it's way to America yet.

Oooo...that's a new vegetable... Never saw this one in the US markets. Wonder if they will have it in NYC? I know I have never seen it in Boston. Wonder if it taste like a fuzzy melon?

Dejah's post reminded me of how my friend cooks this melon. My Philipino friend loves to stir fry this melon with ground chicken or pork and mung bean noodles with some soy sauce and fish sauce.

Okay, I started to get confused and looked it up. Here's what I found: "Chinese Okra Squash A long, cylindrical variety of squash, native to Asia, that is generally harvested when it is between 1 to 2 feet in length, but can be grown as long as 8 to 10 feet. It has a dark green outer skin with longitudinal ridges covering a somewhat spongy and fiberous pulp, somewhat similar to a cucumber. If picked when it is young, about 6 to 10 inches in length, the meat is tender and similar to a zucchini in flavor. When allowed to grow longer in length, the squash becomes bitter tasting and less flavorful. It is a good squash to add to salads or stir-fried foods. Since the meat of this squash is very absorbant, it takes on the flavors of other ingredients as it cooks. As a very small and young squash, it is sliced into round pieces and used as an ingredient for soups, stews and rice dishes. Larger sized squash are most often served as a vegetable dish or cut into smaller pieces for stir-fried dishes. After harvesting, Chinese okra should be kept refrigerated in a paper bag for 5 to 8 days. As an Asian squash, this variety has many different names. It is known as dishrag or dishcloth gourd, luffa, loofah, ridged loofah, ridged gourd, silk gourd, silk squash, see gua, sin qua, sing qua, smooth squash, sponge gourd, as well as cabatiti, ghosala, hechima, kwa, muop khia, patola, patolang, see kwa, shui, sing gwa, sinqua, sko ah, sze gwa, ta toorai, and tooria, and tsu kua. The dishcloth or dishrag name refers to the fiberous webbing that forms inside the older and larger squash, as they mature, that can be removed and is actually used for washing in some countries." Young Okra Mature Okra Source: http://www.recipetips.com/glossary-term/t-...hinese-okra.asp Additional sources: http://www.cheneybrothers.com/sinqua.shtm http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extensi...ialty/okra.html

Yup...if you flash stir fry it, you will get a much firmer crunchier texture. Try the smooth variety next time and see if that's the veggie you're talking about. Stir fry it with lots of garlic and some salt and pepper to taste. I sometimes throw in a few dried shrimps to give it a more luxurious flavor.

Actually see gua is okra. That's what non-chinese people call them. I found that out recently too. Apparently they're from the same family. Only the American version is a LOT smaller than the Chinese version.

Oh and you can buy this melon in Boston Chinese markets. I always see them in the market behind East Ocean City in Chinatown. Or you can try any of the Super 88. Ming's Market has them too.

I have never heard of a Jade melon but based off of your description, I can rule out the Chinese Okra because after you cook it, it's not as firm. However, the vegetable you might be inquiring about is the Chinese Fuzzy Melon (it comes in a smooth skin variety as well.) It's actually very firm when you cook it and a pale green skin with white on the inside. Here's a picture:

Oops...sorry...I was so over comed with grief that I forgot my manners... We had: Starting from the Fish Head Sand Pot Soup in the front and going clockwise. Homestyle tofu with mushrooms (not sure why we got that one) Lion's Head Meatball (very tender and tasty) Black peppered filet migon Fish filets and black wood ears Sauteed chinese Okra Ginger and scallion lobster and in the middle was salt and pepper Pork Chops Ah Leung, you got most of them right!! We had more dishes but I forgot to take more photos. My hunger consumed me....hehehe....

You know....I was tossed between going to Taiwan or China this year and I was almost ready to toss in the towel on China. However, your posts made me reopen this match and think things over again. So many good eats and so little time...sigh....

No worries. Just cook it the way you would like to eat it. Cooking is all about creativity and fun with a tasty (sometimes) result. Let us know what you did and post a pic of the results. I bet it will taste great and pretty soon maybe we'll all start marinating our braised meats.

No, I didn't get a chance to try it yet. But my mom said we will try them the next time I come home. The so-called "big bowl" is my favorite fish head soup. It used to be twice as tall and you can see the fish head poking out of there. I was very disappointed. As you can see from the pic, it's not that big anymore and you can't even see anything in the soup. The flavors are still there but the quantity is no where near. Very disappointed.

Tung Shing House on Queens BLVD. I have to say they have one of the best Peking Ducks in NYC. It use to be one of my favs but now I have to pick another place. Possibly across the street.

WOW you go away for two weeks and you come back to hundreds of delicious posts! I went to one of my favorite resturants in NYC recently and was very displeased. The food has gone down hill and the portions have disappear. I heard that the chefs have left and went to the restaruant across the street. Well, that's where I will be headed when I go back to NYC in Feb. Either way, here are some pics of the meal. Like I said, it's less than stellar. The only saving grace was their peking duck.

Generally speaking, in my experience, when you are going to make a braised dish, you shouldn't marinate the meat. This is because you are going to slow braise the meat and that process will allow the sauce to permeate the meat and all the veggies. Since you already marinated the meat, why not just brown the meat (add a little bit of cooking wine and ginger) and then mix the diakon. saute until sauce coats diakon and then add water and additional sauces for braising. And braise away!

I was just in Barnes and Noble yesterday and they were selling her Hunan book already!!! I would have picked one up but I already pre-ordered one from Amazon and I have to wait until February to get mine. This book is great! I browsed through it and there are TONS of pics this time. And the recipes looks to die for!!

My Grandmother told me this past weekend that if you salt the oil or/and fry a piece of ginger in the oil, it will make frying fish a lot easier (i.e. not stick to the wok.) *Having serious language issues since being home for two weeks.

Depending on the size of your squid I would space them apart about 1/8 of an inch to 1/4 of an inch. When you slice through the squid your knife should always be at a 45 degree or more angle. Hope this helps!

Thanks Ah Leung! I learned to cut the squid like that from my dad when I was 14. We use to buy dried squid and reconstitute them. But I prefer fresh ones. The key to get the squid to curl is to make sure to cut the pattern in the inside of the squid. And the cuts have to be not too deep but not too shallow but somewhere in between. The squid I used this time is actually bigger than I regularly purchase. They are about 7-8 inches long and about 0.25 inch thick. Here's a close up of the squid so you can see the cut: I would definitely post a pictorial the next time I cook squid. It's pretty tedious but I think it's worth every minute of my time.

Thank you so much Dejah for sharing that recipe. It sounds and looks delicious! I will definitely attempt it soon, hopefully mine will come out looking half as good as yours!

I made one last proper dinner before my x-mas feast in NYC begins this friday. I usually make 4-5 dishes for dinner. Here I made stir fried fresh squid and braised ribs with quail eggs. As for veggies I made hot and sour cabbage and garlic potatoes. Hot dogs tonight with the traditional NYC style onion sauce since I am lazy and I need to prepare for my trip back to NYC tomorrow. I'll be ready for the real food in NYC!!

In the summer time, I still cook the same way but instead of eatin hot steamed rice or hot congee. I make plain congee during lunch time or the night before and chill it in the fridge. The chilled congee is very refreshing and light when eatend with hot dishes.

This is an unwritten rule in most of the coast line cities and especially Taiwan. However, cities futher in-land are not aware of this custom. I was born in Wuhan and for the first 5 years of my life, we always flipped the fish over to eat the meat on the other side of the fish (being soaked with sauce, it was my favorite part.) When I was 6 years old, I met my relatives from Taiwan for the first time and while we were eating someone flipped the fish. I thought my relatives were going to have a heart attack. From that day on....sigh....we never flipped a fish.

I just re-read the original post. My father's family is originally from Shan Dong and that region is famous for their dumplings and steamed bread. A recipe that I have for traditional shan dong dumplings is as follows: (*note: I don't measure so please add to your desire) Simple Wrapping: All Purpose flour Water (let rise) Filling: Napa Cabbage Shitake Mushrooms Scallions minced pork Ginger Soy sauce Pepper Salt Sesame Oil

I went back to whole foods today to buy some more but they're all sold out! But they told me that they'll get a new shipment Tuesday. I'll be there with bells on.