KennethT
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A pictorial guide to Chinese cooking ingredients
KennethT replied to a topic in China: Cooking & Baking
Interesting. I've never heard of chicken breeds varying by location in SE Asia. Usually, they just discuss "kampung" or village chicken - meaning one that just roams around and eats whatever it wants versus a standard chicken. The kampung chicken is notably tougher and scrawnier but prized for its flavor. On a side note, I was buying feet in Chinatown a few weeks ago to make stock and I noticed that some of the feet were a bluish black - looked just like the photo above but didn't realize that they came from a specific breed. I've never seen the whole chicken with the blue feet here, other than the unbelievably expensive poulet de Bresse, imported from France. Next time I'm in that meat market, I've got to do a more in depth look at their whole chickens. -
A pictorial guide to Chinese cooking ingredients
KennethT replied to a topic in China: Cooking & Baking
I can get both older stewing chicken and silkies at my usual meat market in Chinatown, but elsewhere, forget it! -
Thanks so much! I've only seen an octopus once - on our last trip, there was one hiding at the bottom of a giant barrel sponge. If you're ever cooking a meal while on vacation, you can use an unripe papaya to make papaya salad. It's also pretty good snack with a dip made from salt/chilli/a little sugar. Not like a green mango, but pretty good.
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Thanks for sharing!!! I always love your trips. Do you think you could post some of your underwater photos? Also I think the tree next to your deck was a papaya tree, not a mango tree. Mangoes come from the branches of the tree, not off the trunk like a papaya does.
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When you take underwater photos, do you use lighting of any kind? I had wanted to get a light for when we go diving - the last time, a bunch of divers with us had lights and it really makes a big difference. You might not need it though since you're on the surface snorkeling. I'm surprised the resort doesn't do something about the flies. We eat outside at all of teh resorts in SE Asia and haven't had an issue with flies. I imagine that the resorts spray for them when there's no one around and they also have these bug coils that make a smell the bugs don't like - although I find it very pleasant. The bug coil is lit and sits in a pretty container, and tucked underneath the table.
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Certainly no shortage of beta carotene tonight!
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How well does the A/C work? It looks like one of the portable types in the corner. I'm also happy to see that they kept the mosquito netting closed during the day. It always amuses me when hotels keep the netting open during the day, and then close it during turndown - then again, in most hotels, the netting is mostly decorative.
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Do you have access to fresh fenugreek leaves or are they dried? I never keep garam masala in the house anymore as I've made my own curry powder for meat - see my Singapore chicken curry recipe. I make a big batch, then portion and keep in the freezer. When I make that curry, I always have a few tablespoons leftover, which I keep in the freezer so I have it whenever I want. I used some today in the samosa filling.
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Recipe testing the filling for a Malaysian samosa of sorts (made with ground bison). Looks like dog food, tastes amazing!
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A pictorial guide to Chinese cooking ingredients
KennethT replied to a topic in China: Cooking & Baking
To be fair, not all Americans have to suffer with the salted Shaoxing - it depends on the state. New York State does not allow sales of alcohol in grocery stores other than beer. It's not the type of alcohol prohibited but the ABV. So anything with a higher ABV needs to be made in a way that it's undrinkable - hence the salting. We can, however, purchase unsalted Shaoxing in a wine/liquor shop - it's just not as convenient as picking it up in the grocery store like all other ingredients. Other states, like Louisiana, have no such restrictions - you can (and often do) buy hard alcohol in the pharmacy or grocery store or anywhere else for that matter. -
I just checked out teh Lovango tree houses... now that's my kind of camping!!!
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Fascinating - I'm wondering what I'd use it for and trying to think of what I've had in Vietnam that would work well with it. I'd be a bit worried that it would be amazing on first taste, but eating a whole meal or dish made with it would get to be too much.
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Interesting. None of the Aunties or Uncles I've seen make it use either a fish sauce or shrimp paste - but one thing I didn't realize is that they all used kencur - fresh sand ginger - which is nice to know that there's another application for what I brought home from Indonesia and what I'm growing.
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I haven't come across any Indonesian dish that uses fish sauce (from anywhere) yet - certainly not in the regional cooking of a few areas that I've been studying. Maybe that's why they don't care about it?
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Thanks - it won't be for about 2 years - we're already booked for our vacation this coming winter. Prior to our trip, I was planning to contact the companies I wanted to visit - I didn't want to just show up, especially at that time of year.
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Was that butter on top of the steak? If so, when melted, it must have caused a flood!
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I don't know about the cookbooks, but Phu Quoc is on our short list of winter travel destinations. Visiting a few fish sauce producers is a priority for that trip!
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A pictorial guide to Chinese cooking ingredients
KennethT replied to a topic in China: Cooking & Baking
Do my eyes deceive me? Peanut Butter for Malay/Indo/Sing satay? Oh no.... just use real peanuts. Peanut butter has no business being anywhere near there. -
A pictorial guide to Chinese cooking ingredients
KennethT replied to a topic in China: Cooking & Baking
Are fresh bay leaves used at all or just dried? -
Any style you're looking for? Different places specialize in different stuff - the standard NY slice, Grandma style, neo-Neapolitan, etc. Also, what neighborhoods do you think you'll be in?
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Ha! I feel you. Yesterday I used mine to toast some shrimp paste (350F on convection bake for 15 or so minutes). I left the oven door open all day and night later. This morning, my wife made an English muffin (from the freezer) and it (as well as the kitchen) was infused with the shrimp paste smell. Good thing she likes shrimp paste!
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A pictorial guide to Chinese cooking ingredients
KennethT replied to a topic in China: Cooking & Baking
What's the response to this? "I'm doing fine" or "yes/no, I've eaten"? I understand it's not taken literally, but I was curious if the response was not literal as well. -
Virgin coconut oil is good for low temperature frying - like sweating onions and such - if you're making a South Indian curry that doesn't use coconut milk. The oil imparts a nice subtle coconut flavor if you like that kind of thing.
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Do homes in this area not have heat because it's usually so warm that it's not usually needed?
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Huh, I always thought that the glutinous rice balls filled with sesame (or even better, black sesame) were kind of like dessert... Also, is this dinner outside? They're all wearing their winter coats.