pat_00

Not relevant for the OP. But for all you people in the US, I can recommend the Richmond Artifex range. Seriously good knives for super value prices.

Have you tried the sanitarium vegitarian chicken nugget mix? when i was vego I tried it and was creeped out by how close they got the texture and taste. Their sausage roll mix is similar too. You should be able to get these from any safeway, er woolworths. It might be worth a look, even just to see what ingredients they are using then copy them. I might swing past lord of the fries and try these nuggets at some point, you've got me curious.

I love it too, down here in Melbourne there are new regional chinese places opening up all the time. My favourite restaurant here 'dainty sichuan' rivals almost any food I've had traveling around china.

If needed I use coarse steel wool scourer just to remove the very top layer of the skin. I find this is quicker than peeling with a spoon. Then i run it through a grater which separates the pulp from the fibrous stuff.

oops totally forgot pics. There is no real recipe, I just tried to copy what I've had in china. Now I have my own version, but it's basically: silken tofu garlic mushrooms ginger dash of light and dark soy sesame oil spring onions coriander chilli oil a little bit of stock cornflour You cook everything in the logical order and stir in the tofu at the end and warm it through, scrambling it a bit. As far as I know there are a few versions, including sweet ones. Sometimes as a soup too, sometimes drier like I make it. It's called tofu brains because the texture is similar to brains, apparently.

100g of silken tofu has: Total Fat 3.7 g 6% Saturated Fat 0.5 g 3% Cholesterol 0 mg 0% Sodium 8 mg 0% Total Carbohydrates 1.8 g 1% Dietary Fibre 0.2 g 1% Sugars 0.7 g Protein 6.5 g Calcium 111 mg Potassium 120 mg 100g of firm tofu has: Total Fat 4.1 g 6% Saturated Fat 0.8 g 4% Cholesterol 0 mg 0% Sodium 12 mg 1% Total Carbohydrates 1.7 g 1% Dietary Fibre 0.9 g 4% Sugars 0.6 g Protein 8.2 g Calcium 201 mg Potassium 148 mg I do remember reading somewhere that proteins in tofu are more easily absorbed than meat based proteins, but that could have been hippy propaganda. This thread has inspired me to make 豆腐脑 (Tofu Brains) tonight, it's one of my favourite tofu dishes. Will try to post pics.

My recent late night cookings include, jiaozi (even made the dough from scratch, boy was that a mess) and vegetarian lasagna. For some reason I always attempt really complicated food, most people just melt cheese on something

An interesting thing i've witnessed in the last few years is a massive increase in dumpling popularity in Melbourne. Probably driven in part by the international students living in the CBD, but they are gaining popularity with everyone really. I even meet my parents for jiaozi sometimes, and they're about as anglo as you can get.

I wouldn't mind trying some sous vide at home, but I have an issue with the use disposable plastic bags to cook the food in, it seems like unecessary waste to me. Are there any re-usable vacuum bags available? Sorry for the noob question, especially if it has already been answered.

I've been working on my own habanero hot sauce recipe for a little while now, and subsequently I've been consuming lots of it myself. It's got me thinking how different cuisines and styles of preparation effect the spicyness of chillies eg fresh/dried/pickled etc. What I kinda mean is some chillies burn really hot but fade quickly, and some build up and last. Isn't capsaicin just capsaicin? Can someone explain this?

Rattatouille and goats cheese is my fave, with a glass of breton apple cider. Smoked salmon is good too.

Speaking of England, which of the eight regional Chinese cuisines serves everything with baked beans and chips as a side? (my one and only experience of Chinese food in England)

Funny, every single fish and chip shop i've been to here in Australia sells scallops, battered and deep fried with the roe on. If I was served some without I would complain, it's my favourite part.

Hi i read Chinese (not very well, but i'm learning) I'd love some recommendations. As for Sichuan food, check out Fuschia Dunlop's books. I've cooked a few dishes out of them and the results have been pretty close to what i've eaten in Sichuan. It can be hard to get decent quality sichuan pepper though, and that makes a huge difference.

Damn, this thread just reminded me how much i miss those crepes （jianbing guozi）wonder if i can find them here in melbourne?

I had roo last night. It's becoming a real popular pub meal around inner north melbourne. It was prepared very rare, with a balsamic and black pepper marinade, served on a crisp green salad with a horseradish sauce. I also had an awesome kangaroo rendang a while ago, not sure what cut was used.

OK so it's a bit weird, but I need help making some fake animals out of tofu. It's for a vegetarian party, the tricky thing is i need to make it look like the real thing. I have a mold ready to use, but it's not really oven safe. My idea is to use a basic tofu meatloaf recipe, put it in the mold and chill it until it sets, then transfer it to the oven. Anyone have any helpful ideas, or comments?

Here are a couple pics of what I think you're referring to: and These are some baozi I snapped when I had them for breakfast every morning on a trip to Beijing a few years back. I've meant to try to make them at home but have never gotten around to it. Here's a recipe I think might get you close. Finally, if you're ever in Footscray, have a look at 1+1 Dumplings & Noodles. They have them listed on their menu board, but have been out the couple times I've tried to order them. That shop seems very "real" chinese, so would be a good bet to make real baozi. ← They look like the ones, but smaller maybe. The filling looks like the standard pork filing that's really common. I actually go to uni in footscray. I've heard friends rave about 1+1, but haven't been yet. The Da Bao i've had have a similar dough to the cantonese style baozi, shuijianbao are different to what i want as well, but looks like i'll have to try making them too. Thanks for the info everyone, i'll try some of the recipes posted.

Unfortunately i don't have pics. They look similar to char siu bao, only they are not as brilliant white and usually have a twisted pleat on top (similar to xiao leng bao). The texture is definitely different. Char siu bao(at least what i've had locally and in HK) is crumbly and has more of a fluffy texture. The baozi i'm talking about are an off-white colour and are chewy. maybe it's the wheat used for the dough? or baking soda vs yeast? I'll give it a go with a char siu bao dough recipe, and see how close it is

So, after a few months or so travelling around china, my housemates and I have a serious baozi addiction. Problem is, after returning to Melbourne, we cannot find them anywhere. I've asked everyone, even my chinese lecturer, who told me that he hadn't found anywhere locally that does them properly, and i should make my own. Now, the baozi I am talking about are the common street seller ones from shanghai, beijing, etc. The steamed chewy doughy balls with fillings like pork and gravy, green garlicky vegetable, pickled carrot, tofu and spinach. Locally I can find the cantonese and vietnamese style baozi, but these have a sweet dough that is fluffy and crumbly, i suspect the difference is that they use rice flour as opposed the wheat flour. Does anyone have recipes for this chewy delicious type of baozi? PS. I have done a search and came up with nothing.

If you are ever down on philip island, go to 'white salt' best i've ever had. Best calamari rings ever. It's near woolamai.

I second the dainty sichuan call, they're ma po dou fu is as good as any i've had in sichuan.

Try the sichuan recipe, 'dry fried green beans' the fuschia dunlop recipe is pretty close to what i've had over there

"There's a time and a place for everything, it's called college" I think that's an old simpsons quote, not sure.

this sounds similar to a singaporean dish i love, try sauteing the black pepper longer as this will tame it down a lot.