udscbt

Hello from Paris, I have found some pieces of the BOC2 documentary which might interest some people: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns1gQQpBxHg (a preview in English) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G_MSrzLREY (episode #1 with English subtitles) http://ninchanese.com/a-bite-of-china-season-2/ (episode #1 with no subtitles) http://www.ovguide.com/tv_season/a-bite-of-china-season-2-259364 (supposed to be episodes #1-4, with #5-7 to come but I am unable to visualize them: maybe someone on this forum can navigate better than I...) Have a good day, G

Hi Liuzhou, Looks like you have been working overtime! All that information is quite impressive and useful. I have looked at the Index for the 1st cookbook of Bite of China (BOC1) and I think I have found some more relevant recipes. There is some overlap between the 1st and 2nd BOC cookbooks though sometimes with somewhat different names. I have compared the indices of both cookbooks and found the following, BOC1 at first : 麻婆豆腐 - Mapo Tofu /014 (BOC2 /512) also see a recipe in Kuo, Irene, The Key to Chinese Cooking, ISBN 0-394-49638-8 (1977) p.405 蒜泥白肉 - Garlic Boiled Pork /016 (BOC2 /561 Mashed Garlic Pork) 夫妻肺片 - Man and Wife Lungs /018 (BOC2 /386) 西湖醋鱼 - West Lake Sour Soup /035 (BOC2 /356 West Lake Vinegar Fish) 钟水饺 - Boiled Dumplings (Jiaozi) /037 (BOC2 /430 "Clock" Boiled Dumplings) 川北凉粉 - North Sichuan Bean Jelly /044 (BOC2 /513) 毛家红烧肉 - Chairman Mao's Family Red-cooked Pork Belly/050 (BOC2 /339&522) 梅菜扣肉 - Pickled Mustard with Steamed Pork Belly/078 (BOC2 /371 Dried Mustard Green Pork Belly) 贵妃鸡 - Highest Ranking Concubine Chicken /095 (BOC2 /588 Highest Ranking Concubine Chicken Wings with an additional character in the name: 贵妃鸡翅) 咸烧白 - Salt Roasted Pork Belly /120 (BOC2 /521 Stewed Salt Pork Belly) 火焙鱼 Baked Fish /138 (BOC2 /513 Hunan Flavour Baked Fish with 2 additional characters in the name: 湘味火焙鱼) 重庆烧鸡公 Chongqing Stewed Chicken /146 (BOC2 /596 Chongqing Chicken Hot Pot with 2 additional characters in the name: 重庆烧鸡公火锅) 东坡肘子 Dongpo Pork Elbow /174 (BOC2 /541 Meizhou East Slope Pork Elbow with 2 additional characters in the name: 眉州东坡肘子) 宫保鸡丁 Gongbao (Kungpo ) Chicken /178 (BOC2 /535 Sichuan Kungpo Chicken with 1 different character in the name: 宫爆鸡丁) 左宗棠鸡 General Tso's Chicken /199 (BOC2 /360) also see a recipe in http://chinesefood.about.com/od/poultryreceo/r/generaltso.htm 湘西土匪鸭 Hunan Bandit Duck /217 (BOC2 /520 West Hunan Bandit's Duck) 四喜丸子 Four Happiness Meatballs/240 (BOC2 /357 Four Happiness Balls) 咕噜肉 Whispering Pork /302 (BOC2 /512 Pork Whispers) 回锅肉 Twice Cooked Pork /304 (BOC2 /380 Twice-Cooked Pork with Pickled Vegetables with 2 additional characters in the name: 泡菜回锅肉) also see recipes in Chiang Jung-feng et Ellen Schreiber, Mrs. Chiang’s Szechwan Cookbook, ISBN 0-06-013803-0 (1976) p.94, Dunlop, Fuchsia, Land of Plenty, ISBN 0-393-05177-3 (2001) p.194 and Kuo p.334 冬笋腊肉 Winter Bamboo Shoots with Cured Meat /334 (BOC2 /370 Winter Bamboo Shoot Cured Pork) 热干面 Hot Dry Noodles /337 (BOC2 /449 Hot Dried Noodles) And here are some new dishes with possible recipes: 佛跳墙 - Buddha Leaps the Wall /026 è Fu Pei Mei, Pei Mei’s Chinese Cook Book, Volume III, ISBN 986-7997-67-0, p.257 and Eileen Yin-Fei Lo(?), http://chinesefood.about.com/library/blrecipe078.htm) 龙井虾仁 - Dragon's Well Shrimp /096 è Rhodes, http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/603865 东坡肉 - Dong Po Pork/102 è http://www.eatingchina.com/recipes/dongpo-pork.htm (uses traditional characters 東坡肉)and http://rasamalaysia.com/braised-pork-belly-dong-po-rou/ 棒棒鸡 - Bang Bang Chicken/117 è Chiang Jung-feng et Ellen Schreiber, Mrs. Chiang’s Szechwan Cookbook, ISBN 0-06-013803-0 (1976) p.163 and Ching-He Huang http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/517217 东安子鸡 Dong'an Chicken/170 è Dunlop/Hunan p.114 (http://leitesculinaria.com/5405/recipes-chinese-chicken-with-chiles-and-rice-vinegar.html) Have a good day, G ps. the BOC1 video was so visually incredible and informative (especially concerning ingredients) that I wonder if you happen to know where I can find the BOC2 video even in Mandarin.

Hi Liuzhou, Yes, I realize that "By the way, some of the recipes you refer to are only "similar" to what is in the book." In particular, there are these differences In the names 红烧狮子头 Red-Cooked Lion's Head Meatballs/344, the first character is different in Kuo: 沙锅狮子头first (braised è casserole?) 西湖草鱼 West Lake Grass Carp /354, the 3rd character is replaced by two characters in Pei Mei 西湖醋鲤鱼 (grass è vinegar?) And perhaps others … ps. I don't appreciate Hom either but why "Sugar Man"?

Hello liuzhou et al. I have not been looking at this forum for a while (…) but I luckily came upon this thread. I relished (no pun intended) the first "Bite of China", especially the English version, and I hope that I will be able to look at the 2nd Bite. Is an English version available on the web? As to the associated cookbooks, they certainly cover a great ground! I have been able to locate a few recipes which perhaps might interest someone. 干煸牛肉丝 Dry Fried Beef /328 è Chiang, p.139 Chiang Jung-feng et Ellen Schreiber, Mrs. Chiang’s Szechwan Cookbook, ISBN 0-06-013803-0, 1976 毛式红烧肉 Chairman Mao's Red-Cooked Pork Belly/339 è Dunlop/Hunan, p.78 Dunlop, Fuchsia, Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, ISBN 0-393-06222-8, 2006 干煸四季豆 Dry Fried (Jinsha) Green Beans /341è Chiang, p.259 红烧狮子头 Red-Cooked Lion's Head Meatballs/344 è Kuo p.331; Yan-Kit p.236; http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lionheadmeatballs_89292 ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GunoFefV3Wk; http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/603878; http://chinesefood.about.com/od/pork/r/lionsheadpork.htm Kuo, Irene, The Key to Chinese Cooking, ISBN 0-394-49638-8, 1977 So, Yan-Kit, Yan-Kit’s Classic Chinese Cookbook, ISBN 0-7566-2351-0, 2006 西湖草鱼 West Lake Grass Carp /354 è Pei Mei I, p.42 Fu Pei Mei, Pei Mei’s Chinese Cook Book, Volume I, ISBN 986-7997-33-6 左宗棠鸡 General Tso's Chicken /360 è Dunlop/Hunan p.120 八宝饭 Eight Treasures Rice /433 è Yan-Kit p.238 担担面 Dan Dan Noodles (Sichuan Spicy Noodles) /446 è Tropp p.360; Chiang p.299 Tropp, Barbara, The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking, ISBN 0-688-14611-2, 1982 麻婆豆腐 Mapo Tofu /512 è Chiang, p.220 宫爆鸡丁 Sichuan Kungpo Chicken /535 è Chiang p.171; Hom p.116 Hom, Ken, Chinese Cookery, ISBN 0-563-21053-2, 1984 水晶虾仁 Crystal Shrimp /565 è www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/238276 ; Kuo p.206; Wong p.177 Wong, S.T.Ting et Sylvia Schulman, More Long-Life Chinese Cooking, ISBN 0-8092-5766-1, 1982 On a more general point, Liuzhou writes “Another problem is that many Chinese recipes are vague in the extreme.” Is that true of most cookbooks in Chinese? I have been trying to learn to read Chinese so as to be able to find some good recipes. Is this hopeless? Have a good day

Hi Liuzhou, After a year I am back with some proposed additions to your list which I admit is already quite complete. As usual, I only use simplified characters: 1. add 2 varieties of "cabbage": a. pickled mustard greens ( 咸 菜 or 咸 酸 菜 ) b. red-in-snow cabbage (雪 里 红 ) 2. add dried chili (干 辣 椒 ) 3. add 2nd definition for chili oil ( 红油 or 辣 椒 油 ) 4. add Fenjiu or Fen Chieu liquor ( 汾 酒 ) 5. add ginseng a. american ginseng (花 旗 参 ) b. white ginseng (白 蔘 ) c. red ginseng ( 红 蔘 ) 6. add to hoisin sauce a. sweet flour sauce/paste (甜 面 酱 ) 7. add egg noodles (鸡 蛋 面 ) 8. add 2nd definition to radish (萝卜 or 白 萝 卜) 9. add green seaweed powder (绿 色 紫 菜 粉 ) 10. add 2nd definition to sesame oil (麻 油 or 香 油 ) 11. add shrimp crackers (虾 饼 干 ) 12. add 2nd definition to Sichuan preserved vegetable (mustard tuber) (榨菜 or 四 川 榨 菜 ) 13. add 2nd definition to snow peas (荷 兰 豆 or 雪 豆) 14. add 2nd definition to star anise (八 角 or 大 料 ) 15. starch a. add 2nd definition: to corn flour/corn starch (玉米粉 or 太 白 粉 ) 16. add red rice vinegar ( 红 米 醋 ) 17. add winter melon (冬 瓜 ) Do you agree/disagree with any or all of the above? Have a good day, udscbt

Hi Liuzhou, Many thanks for all the hard work. For curiosity, I have analysed the list with the following results: 1. 114 ingredients of which 59% have the same characters in traditional as in simplified form. 2. 288 total characters (with some duplicates) of which 82% have the same characters in traditional as in simplified form. Interesting. Have a good day, Georges

Thanks Liuzhou, Even though I have never had the problem you mention, I think that you are right. In the next edition of the glossary, I will put the traditional characters, where appropriate, in addition to the simplified ones I have used. In fact, I am curious to find out what percentage of the ingredients are written differently, as in your example of Shaoxing wine. BTW, what important ingredients are left out all together? Best regards

Hello, In the same spirit to the list in English, you can check out the French names of Chinese ingredients on the web site associated with my book at www.cuisines-chinoises-regionales.comwith its detailed descriptions and images of the recipes and ingredients, and with its recipe of the month! The Chinese names are given for the recipes and their ingredients so that you can easily order the dish in a restaurant or find the ingredient in a specialty food market. Try it out! Best regards, udscbt

Hello, I believe that this is something like the recipe for "Sweet and Tangy Cucumber Pickles" in Barbara Tropp's book "the Modern Art of Chinese cooking", page 110 Have a good day

Hello (2nd try: see postscript) As promised, I went searching for dried scallops last Thursday. I went to 4 herbal/medicinal stores (where I find different kinds of ginseng for example): 2 in the 13th district and 2 in the 19th district (Belleville). The answers from three were no, we dont sell dried scallops; the fourth one said that they would have some in two weeks (in 250/500g packages) and call back. So, it seems hard but maybe not impossible to find dried scallops (or dried oysters for that matter) in Paris. Will check back in the middle of August. Maybe I will be able to make the Braised Abalone, Dried Scallops and Black Mushrooms dish after all. While in Belleville, I found very large wintermelons sold by the slices so that is not a problem though, for the aesthetic reasons described in my 19-20 July posts., I may keep to my smaller ones, Have a good day. ps. For the different areas in Paris, you might be interested in the following excerpt (smaller than my previous one which apparently violated the Fair Use Guidelines": sorry about that) from a long article in Flavor and Fortune magazine: "...In Paris, there are three main Chinese enclaves. The oldest but least visible is in the 3rd arrondissement, mostly a working area composed of small factories and wholesalers. The second is in the 13th arrondissement or the Chinatown of Paris. This is more correctly called Asiatown. Around 1975, this area began to be inhabited by the refugees from Southeast Asia. ... The third Parisian area is in the 19th arrondissement. This is perhaps the neighborhood which is the most Chinese. It is a mixture of overflow from the 13th arrondissement and other economic immigrants who came directly from China, in particular from Wenzhou in the Zhejiang Province which is south of Shanghai...."

Ah Leung: Thanks for your question. I was probably not clear. I wish to remove the flesh from the small wintermelons while keeping the half-rinds intact to be used later as the individual containers for the soup. After cutting each wintermelon in half (in zig-zag fashion for later presentation) and de-seeding, I found it difficult to remove the flesh while leaving a rind with a relatively even thickness on the inner side. So I steamed a bit to soften the flesh. This can be done ahead of time. (I didn't try, but maybe I could have just put very hot water inside the de-seeded wintermelon half to soften the flesh without heating the rind.) From here on, the flesh thus removed is used in your recipe. Of course, I could simply peel the rind and use the flesh as you do for your larger wintermelons. All this work to try to retain some esthetics!! Maybe I am too ambitious.. Have a good day.

Thanks a lot for your replies. I also thought about going to a herbal store. I will go on Thursday to my favorite one and respond then. Wish me luck. For the 800g wintermelons which I find, I have done the following: 1. Cut them in half along their "equator" in a zig-zag fashion (for later presentation) 2. De-seed each half 3. Steam both halves until the flesh is a bit soft 4. Carefully remove the flesh without disturbing the rind 5. Proceed as per Ah Leung's recipe, adding the wintermelon later since it is somewhat cooked already 6. Serve the soup in the half wintermelon rind, one per person What do you think? Have a good day.

Ah Leung: Your recipe calls for about 1.5kg of wintermelon (your picture shows one about 5-6kg!). In Paris, I have not been able to find any beyond about 800g... Is it possible to use these smaller ones by removing the rind and cutting into about 20 pieces 3-5cm? I guess that I would need 3-4. Maybe I could also use them as individual soup bowls if I cut them in half in some zig-zag fashion. I have looked everywhere but I am unable to find Dried Scallops (or Dried Oysters) in Paris. What to do? - Can I take fresh scallops and do something to them (e.g. soak in oyster sauce overnight)? - Can I remplace the dried scallops with dried shrimps or something else? - Do I give up on making this dish (what a shame!)? This question concerning dried scallops applies also to your recipe: Braised Abalone, Dried Scallops and Black Mushrooms (紅 燒 瑤 柱 鮑 魚 ) Have a good day!

Hello again, Let me give an example of how I use the glossary. I have just made a dinner with the following four dishes: Chicken in Taro-Root Nest; Orange-Peel Beef ; Smoked fish, Shanghai style; and Assorted Meat Soup in Wintermelon. These dishes require some ingredients which can only be found in specialty shops, for example, taro-root, water-chestnut powder, Shaoxing wine, Chinkiang rice vinegar, wintermelon (瑶 柱) and dried scallops or conpoy (干 贝 ou 瑶 柱 ). In particular, since I have never used the latter two, I used their Chinese equivalents given in the glossary in order to ask the persons working in a few large supermarkets. This usually enables me to find the appropriate items. I was able to find the wintermelon but not its 2.5kg version which I wanted but rather smaller ones, about 800g which I adapted to the recipe. I later found out that the larger version could be found in another part of town. I was unable to find the dried scallops and substituted fresh ones which is not really what I wanted; does anyone have a better substitute? So, sometimes its works and sometimes it doesn’t. If you use the glossary, perhaps you can give your experience as well. Or, if you have some other way to proceed, I would be very interested. Have a good day.

Hello again re fungi and mushrooms: I am a physicist and not a botanist so I have relied on dictionaries and wikipedia. Here is what I have found, with references, concerning the definitions of these terms, as well as those of Chinese mushrooms/fungi. I/a. FUNGUS 1. reference - the unabridged "Random House Dictionary of the English Language: fungus": Any of numerous thallophytes of the division fungi, comprising mushrooms, molds, mildews, rusts, smuts, etc., characterized chiefly by absence of chlorophyll and by subsisting upon organic matter 2. reference - free dictionary: fungus : Any of numerous eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Fungi, which lack chlorophyll and vascular tissue and range in form from a single cell to a body mass of branched filamentous hyphae that often produce specialized fruiting bodies. The kingdom includes the yeasts, molds, smuts, and mushrooms 3. reference - wikipedia: fungus: A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. I/b. MUSHROOM 1. reference - unabridged "Random House Dictionary of the English Language: mushroom": Any of various fleshy fungi incluiding the toadstools, puffballs, coral fungi, morels, etc. Also: Any of several edible species, esp. of the family agaricaceae as agaricus camestris 2. reference - free dictionary: mushroom : Any of various fleshy fungi of the class Basidiomycota, characteristically having an umbrella-shaped cap borne on a stalk, especially any of the edible kinds, as those of the genus Agaricus. 3. reference - wikipedia: mushroom: A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. Therefore, apparently, mushrooms are fungi of a special kind (for your information, they both have the same name in French: champignons) II. CHINESE MUSHROOMS: reference - wikipedia: chinese mushrooms (same as “Chinese edible fungi” for wikipedia) Among other mushrooms in their list, you will find: · Cloud ear fungus: 云耳, yún ěr, "cloud ear"; or 木耳, mù ěr, "wood ear"/"tree ear" · Shiitake: 香菇, xiānggū "fragrant mushroom"; high grades are 冬菇, dōnggū, "winter mushroom" and 花菇, huāgū, "flower mushroom". Other names include Chinese black mushroom and black forest mushroom. · Snow fungus: 银耳, yín ěr; "silver ear"; or 雪耳, xuě ěr; "snow ear"; or 白木耳, bái mù ěr, "white wood ear" · Wood ear: 木耳, mù ěr, "wood ear" or "tree ear" There is apparently a difference in Chinese between those mushrooms/fungi with the 耳 (ěr) ideogram and those with the 菇, (gū) ideogram. Is that correct? I think that we should not focus on the semantic differences between fungi and mushrooms (one is apparently a subset of the other from a botanical point of view). The important thing for the cook is that, roughly, there are two kinds: those that are used to give flavor (for example: the shiitake in its different forms), and those that are used to give texture (for example: cloud ear fungus, snow fungus, wood ear). Do you agree? Have a good day.

Hello, Thanks for your replies. I will integrate them into my personal Glossary. I do have a problem distinguishing mushrooms and fungi! I haven't been able to connect all day for some reason. I wanted to add that I forgot to mention that I have benefited from exchanges with Sunflower on her blog (sunflower blog) but whatever mistakes in my glossary are my fault. Have a good day.

Hello, I am not sure that this should be a separate thread but, as a complement to the thread “A pictorial guide to chinese ingredients”, here goes. I live in Paris and am exploring Chinese regional cuisines. To execute the different recipes (mostly in English), I have bought ingredients from specialty shops often by showing the Chinese characters for ingredients I cannot find. I wonder if you have the same problem of needing the Chinese equivalent for an ingredient. If so, perhaps the following list in English and Chinese would be useful. Since I am not Chinese, I probably have made some mistakes; if so, please correct them and I thank you ahead of time. Also, since there are surely many other ingredients which I have not yet used, please add them if you will. Have a good day ! I have made my list in alphabetical order: abalone, canned (鲍 鱼 ) alcohol, Chinese: Fenjiu or Fen Chieu (汾 酒 ) asian eggplants (茄 子) bamboo shoots (竹 笋 ) bean curd, fresh (豆 腐 ) black beans, salted/fermented (豆 豉 ) black bean sauce ( 豆 豉 酱 ) cabbage ….. white Beijing variety (aka Napa) (大 白 菜 ) ….. green Shanghai variety (aka bok choy) (上 海 白 菜 ) celery, Chinese ( 芹 菜 ) chili bean sauce ( 辣 豆 瓣 酱 ) chile bean paste ( 豆 瓣 酱 ) chili (hot peppers), dried ( 干 辣 椒 ) chili oil ( 辣 椒 油 ) chives, Chinese or garlic (韭 菜 ) cinnamon or cassia bark, Chinese ( 桂 皮 ) coriander leaves (aka Chinese parsley/cilantro) ( 芫 荽 or 香 菜 ) five-spice powder, Chinese ( 五 香 粉 ) ginger ..... fresh ginger .…. young ginger ( 子 姜 ) marinated ginger ( 腌 姜 ) ginseng ..... american ginseng ( 花 旗 参 ) ….. white panax ginseng ( 白 蔘 ) ….. red panax ginseng ( 红 蔘 ) ….. young ginseng (dangshen) ( 党 参 ) green algae in powder ( 绿 色 紫 菜 粉 ) hoisin sauce ( 海 鲜 酱 ) ….. sweet flour sauce ( 甜 面 酱 ) lily flowers (aka golden needles), dried ( 金 針 ) lotus leaves, dried ( 荷 叶 ) mushrooms ….. black mushrooms, dried ………. wood ear mushrooms ( 木 耳 ) ………. cloud ear mushrooms ( 云 耳 ) ………. snow ear mushrooms ( 雪 耳 ) ….. fragrant mushrooms (or shiitake) (香 菇 ) noodles ….. bean thread (or cellophane) noodles ( 粉 丝 ) ….. (fresh) egg noodles ( 鲜 蛋 面 ) ….. Shanghai noodles (or udon) ( 上 海 粗 面 ) oyster sauce ( 蚝 油 ) pandan leaves ( 斑 兰 叶 ) pickled mustard leaves ( 咸 菜 or 咸 酸 菜 ) ….. red-in-snow ( 雪 菜 or 雪 里 红 ) plum sauce ( 酸 梅 酱 ) rice ….. "long grain" white rice ….. glutinous rice ( 糯 米 ) ….. red rice ( 红 米 ) rice wine ( 米 酒 or 料 酒 ) rice wine from Shaoxing ( 紹 兴 酒 or 紹 兴 花 雕 酒 ) rice wine vinegar ….. white rice wine vinegar ( 白 米 醋 ) ….. black rice wine vinegar ( 香 醋 ) ….. black rice wine vinegar from Zhenjiang/Chinkiang ( 鎮 江 香 醋 ) sausage, Chinese ( 香 肠 or 腊 肠 ) scallions ( 葱 ) scallops, dried ( 瑶 柱 ) sesame oil ( 香油 or 麻油 ) sesame paste ( 芝 麻 酱 ) sesame seeds ….. white sesame seeds ( 白 芝 麻 ) ….. black sesame seeds ( 黑 芝 麻 ) shrimp chips ( 虾 饼 干 ) shrimp, dried ( 虾 米 ) Sichuan peppercorns ( 花 椒 ) Sichuan preserved vegetable ( 四 川 榨 菜 ) snow peas ( 雪 豆 or 荷 兰 豆 ) soy sauces ….. soy sauce (light or thin) ( 生 抽 ) ….. soy sauce (dark or thick) ( 老 抽 ) star anise (八 角 or 大 料 ) starch/flour ….. corn ( 太 白 粉 ) ….. potato ( 生 粉 ) ….. sweet potato ( 地 瓜 粉 ) sugar ….. brown sugar ….. rock sugar ( 冰 糖 ) taro root ( 芋 头 ) water chestnuts ( 荸 荠 ) ….. water chestnut powder ( 荸 荠 粉 or 马 蹄 粉 ) ….. jicama (fresh water chestnut substitute) (豆 薯 ) white radish, Chinese ( 白 萝 卜 ) wolfberries ( 枸 杞 子 ) yellow bean sauce ( 黄 豆 酱 )

Hello. Thanks for the reference to the Bruce Cost book which I have just ordered from Amazon in the UK even though it apparently uses only English names, eg. doesn't have the names in Chinese. It would be nice if this forum established a list for non-Chinese speakers which they could use in their "Asian" food market. Bringing books or pictures are not very good options. This thread could be used or a separate one set up. Does anyone agree? Is there such a comprehensive list on the web somewhere? Have a good day.

Hello, I am not sure that this post belongs here since it has no picture and, most importantly, deals with rather down-to-earth ingredients (salt, sugar, pepper and flour/starch) and not more exotic items. I would like to know what people use for these ingredients and whether there are regional differences. For example, I use kosher or sea salt but what does one use in China or elsewhere? In general, I reduce the amount of salt that different recipes call for since I find that the other ingredients, soy sauce of course but even some sauces, already have a strong salt taste. I use brown sugar. I find that white refined sugars are too chemical. I do use rock sugar when appropriate. I have read that only white pepper is used in Chinese cuisine. Is this correct? In all regions? Is black pepper never used? I have also read that tapioca starch is used to thicken sauces in China. Is this right? I use either corn or potato flour/starch. I have read (in Yan-Kit's book) that a quantity of potato flour equals 1.5 times corn flour. Thanks for your help and have a good day. BTW. Has an index of Chinese ingredients been posted? It would be quite useful, especially with the Chinese characters which would help in Asian grocery stores.

Hello, I finally got around to making this recipe, and it is quite delicious. The ginseng and wolfberries give a nice taste and the white fungus a very special texture. I used about 40-50 g of red ginseng chips which gave us some energy as Sunflower said it would. I could not bring myself to throw out the game hens at the end, but rather served them deboned and cold the next day with a salad and vinaigrette. They were tasty enough, retaining some of the ginseng flavor, and their slippery texture was appealing. Next time, I may do 1 or 2 things somewhat differently. This time, I soaked the white fungus and the mushrooms in room temperature tap water, but maybe I should have used warm or boiling water. I think that I should have cut the shiitake mushrooms to about the size of the white fungus, that is about quarters. Does anyone have an opinion on this? Have a good day.

Hello again Fenyi, You are probably frantically making your last minute preparations for the lunar New Year but I thought I would respond on a few points you raise: 1. I am somewhat confused concerning the squirrel fish (for which I have a recipe) since I have read that it is a Jiangsu dish. See songshujueyu. Do you have any comments? 2. I don't have a recipe for baicai chao fensi but I do have one for Dongbei Sour Cabbage Dumplings from Flavor & Fortune magazine, see F&F. Would that be OK? If not, where should I look? 3. I think that you are right about the jiaozi and/or Mantou which I should somehow include in the "typical" menu which I have arbitrarily set to 5 dishes. I think that recipes are easy to find. Perhaps you can answer when things have calmed down. Have a Happy New Year, Cheers ps. please see my 2 previous brief responses

Hello, Here is what I found in a Chinese herbalist in the Paris "chinatown": panax quinquefolium (american ginseng): 9.9€/100g panax meyer (white ginseng): 9.9€/100g dangshen: 4€/100g I bought some dangshen (and wolfberries: 3€/100g) and will use in the Rhodes' recipe. Cheers

Hello again, I forgot to state that I consider the North (or Northeast) to be comprised of Beijing, Dongbei, Shandong. The East (or Southeast) consists of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang and the South of Canton, Guangdong, Fujian. The West/Central regions are Sichuan and Hunan. I understand that these groupings are somewhat arbitrary and no doubt exclude some serious gastronomic regions. I am quite interested if someone has some other grouping in mind. Cheers

Hello Sunflower, Thanks for your rapid response. I am going to the Paris "Chinatown" tomorrow and will try to locate some dangshen for the Rhodes recipe. BTW, your blog is great! Cheers

Hello Fengyi, Thanks a lot for your extensive comments and suggestions which I will certainly include in the "Northern" menu as soon as I have time to "digest" them. Of course, I will have to make the dishes to understand their regional characteristics. I hope that comments on the other regions will be forthcoming as I continue to try to differentiate the different regional cuisines. Many thanks again.