eatingwitheddie

Today I rarely use a thermometer to check oil temperature, though when I first started 'velveting' I did. Over time one can learn how to discern the temperature of the oil by looking at it: heat waves appear in the oil when it approaches cooking temperature. Keep in mind that you want to COOK the food at 280-300 degrees F. When you put cold food in hot oil, the oil loses heat. The temperature of the food and the volume of oil and the strength of the heat source (this promotes rapid temperature recovery) all effect the process. Very often I start my velveting when the oil is at a slightly higher temperature, say 325 F, knowing that the oil will decrease in temperature as soon as I put my protein in. If the oil is too hot, all the egg white marinated pieces will stick together in a lump and the process won't work well. By the way if your oil is too hot have some room temperature oil at your side and quickly mix some in. This lowers the temperature immediately. With regard to oil in your finished product, it's my experience that the protein absorbs much less oil than you might think. Oil does cling to the food. After removing the protein from the oil bath let it drain well for about 30 seconds making sure to shake the colander a few times to facilitate removal. Your wok should be coated with a film of oil, but much less than you would have in it if you were stir-frying the protein. Your wok should then be ready to sauce the blanched food. I consistently have very little oil in my finished dishes when I velvet. In fact I sometimes have to add some oil to the finished dish to give it a little extra sheen and smoothness. For example this week I was in California and came across some unusually delicious fresh Hawaiian shrimp which I made with with fresh chanterelles and broccoli: at the end of the saute I tossed in a 1/2t of sesame oil and 2t of chicken fat. BIG YUM.

What do you want in a wonton? Served in soup, in a spicy sauce, fried crisp? What do you want to have it filled with? What shape fold do you prefer? There are a number of 'styles'. Where can you find great ones? New-style wontons? Where? Which ones are good? Wonton stories?

Had dinner here last night and it was terrific. We were not known to the house but had very good service. The chef du cuisine stopped at our table and spoke with us in detail. Server was professional, accomodating and helpful. The chef even sent us some freebies. We tried the assorted salumi - especially good - differents types of house cured salamis and mortadella - the bread that was on the table was terrific - first rate. Crostone (a large crostini) of house cured salt cod was especially good - made with tomato, raisins and capers (kind of like the Sicilian pasta con la sarde). Braised and mashed pigs feet that were breaded and fried. Yum! Excellent Pigeon w turnips, excellent skate with chanterelles. Terrific fig and black walnut salad with sherry vinegar. Restaurants don't have such good food without having an enormous amount of talent around. If you had a bad experience here it's too bad because the good stuff here would be exceptional anywhere (including the best of Italy).

SOME MORE CHOPSTICK ETIQUETTE 1) When serving a particularly fine morsel to a neighboring diner you might want to pick it up using the OTHER end of your chopsticks. 2) When sitting at the table and dining family style if there is a communal dish in the center visually divide that dish into fractions, based on the number of people sharing it. For instance if there are 4 persons divide the plate into quarters. Then take food only from 'your' section. It's rude to select food from the far side of the dish.

Eastern Bakery is my favorite source for mooncakes. Located at 720 Grant Avenue in San Francisco, it is said to be the oldest mooncake-bakery in the U.S. When I lived for three months near (30 minutes' drive from) San Francisco two years ago, I was in heaven going to Chinatown every weekend for dim sum followed by a visit to a bakery. I tried mooncakes at various bakeries and settled on Eastern Bakery's as the best. They bake their own, so the mooncakes are as fresh as can be. They are a bit old-fashioned in that they have no web-site, but I think they would ship -- not sure, though. Their phone number is 415-433-7973, in case anyone feels like inquiring. I haven't tried mail-ordering mooncakes because I fear gaining back the fifteen pounds I gained during my time in San Francisco and lost as soon as I returned home. Back then, I had mooncakes every weekend; usual dosage was two mooncakes at one sitting. I have been mooncake-free since, as I don't know of a good source here in the Washington D.C. area where I live and don't even think any bakery here could some close to Eastern Bakery. What varieties do they make? Which do youn like? I'll be in town shortly and am interested in checking them out. Any other SF Chinese food thoughts?

This translates to: Peking Roast Duck

The rice solids that remain are often used as a sauce ingredient, particularly in some Sichuan dishes. I'm thinking of 'Kan Sau' Sauce, most often encountered as Prawns with Chile Sauce, a Hunan-Style Whole Crispy Sea Bass and in Sliced Fish Filet w. Wine Sauce. To make Prawns with Chile Sauce: Marinate 1 lb. of shrimp in 1 egg white, salt, sherry and cornstarch. Then velvet them in oil for a minute before braising them in the following sauce: 1) In a clean wok briefly saute in 2 t vegetable oil: 1 T minced ginger 1 t minced garlic 1 T chile paste w. garlic (more or less to taste) 2) then add: 1 1/2 T fermented rice 3 T catsup 1 T shaoshing wine or dry sherry 1 t soy sauce 4 t sugar 1 t white vinegar 1/2 t MSG (opt) 1/4 cup chicken stock 3) bring the sauce to a boil and then add the shrimp and cook for 30 seconds 4) thicken with cornstarch slurry (about 1- 1 1/2 T) 5) add: 2 T finely chopped scallion tops at the last moment add: 1/2 t sesame oil

Where can you get a delicious mooncake in the states? Anyone? Haven't had one yet!

The chef, Scott Conant, and I worked together on a project a few years ago. He cooks excellent food, especially starters/pastas. If available you might try: Polenta with Mushroom Ragout Gnocci (you will understand the reason they're supposed to be delicious - but rarely are) Pasta with Octopus (double yum)

I agree. Look for really goood ones in NYC -- I have found them every year without fail. We get a small amount of fresh rambutan as well, usually a little later in the season

These are the usual claims: smaller seeds and sweeter. In any event I've had good ones from Florida, Hawaii, South Africa and other places that I don't recall at the moment. And yes we want our litchi to be meaty (the result of small seeds) and bursting with juice so sweet it gets your fingers sticky When purchasing litchi select ones that are large and well formed and most importantly bright red/pink (not brown) in color.

One of my favorite fruits, delicious and exotic, fresh litchi's US availability has increased in recent years. Quality can range from terrific to just fair, though I manage to find excellent ones most seasons. You just have to pay for them. In years past $6/lb seemed to be the price, and a generously sized bunch would set you back the better part of a twenty. Not now --Chinatown prices have been as low as $2/lb. though don't be surprised to pay more for the really good stuff. This year there seems to be a bumper Floridia crop and prices are quite moderate--and the quality I've had so far has been pretty good. SOME IDEAS FOR LITCHI 1. Add them to sweet & sour pork or chickcen -- in fact it's a good excuse to make this maligned but delicious dish. Don't cook them, just peel, seed and toss a few into the dish just as you're saucing it after everything else is cooked. 2. Fresh litchi sorbet -- At this price it really makes sense -- still expensive but not outrageous -- just lotsa work and really special. But if you take this advice please don't forget to PM and invite me over for a taste! Good thing to do with litchi that need a flavor boost. 3. Fruit salad -- What a treat to find fresh litchi mixed in. Todays breakfast is a fruit salad which has: strawberries, litchi, white donut peach, watermelon, fresh cherries, homemade stewed sour cherries banana, and a prune or two as a garnish.

It's finally summer (in the Northern Hemisphere) and this may be the year where tapioca drinks get really big and go mainstream. What do you like? Almond milk, flavored teas, or watermelon juice. Do you prefer black balls (sago) or traditional tapioca? Any favorite venues?

Jaymes Great vivid memories, great post!

Chinese banquet cooking is a specialty all to its self. Elaborately decorated platters, luxurious foods, special attention from the kitchen staff are what it's about. Head chefs can strut their stuff, especially when they're cooking for a table of 10. Any interesting experiences you can remember and share? Any other thoughts?

What Chinese cookbooks are your favorites? Most helpful? Least helpful? Why?

PLEASE Scroll up higher in the thread to my previous post. It gives very clear directions. Basically put a little oil in the pan, get it smoking hot, wash it out with water (no soap) using a copper or SS pad to scrub the interior surface clean. Put the wok over heat to dry it and wipe it clean with a towel. Repeat 4 or 5 times when new, then continue to clean the wok in this fashion after cooking in it.

I feel strongly that all through the Chinese repetoire there are classical ways of preparing and flavoring dishes and they work just like French or Italian food would. Kung Pao Chicken or Carp braised in Hot Bean Sauce are good examples of Szechuan dishes where one would expect certain basic elements, no matter what. e.g. Kung Pao contains diced chicken in a spicy brown sauce, probably, though not necessarily with scortched dried chiles and/or peanuts. A Cantonese chef may prepare it from his point of view, the same with a Shanghai trained chef, but when you ask for 'kung pao gee ding', everybody KNOWS what you're talking about, just the as if you were talking French food and mentioned coq au vin. Individual cooks may have their own versions, but we all understand what the basics mean. I have always found it useful to think about the Chinese food in this manner and like to point it out to others who may be less familiar with it.

By and large traditional Chinese cuisine is cooked. No raw fish tradtion to speak of, and nary a salad section to be found. Yet because adaptation is the tradition, salads have crept into the repetoire. Have you had one? How was it? What was it? Lobster with Mayo?

I’ve been reading this thread with great interest and think that there are some important points left out. I’d like to make an analogy between the world of Chinese food and a family tree. Because no matter whether you’re talking about a congee breakfast in Fukien, or a take-out order in Chicago, or a formal Chinese banquet in Bangkok, they all still relate to the Chinese culinary sphere of influence, and are part of the same evolutionary process which eventually leads back to Chinese roots at the top of the tree. Overseas Chinese who came to this country in the mid-19th century may have invented Chop Suey, but it is still part of the Chinese culinary Diaspora. Some of the best master chefs of the mid 20thy century left China around 1950 when the Communists took over. They took their craft and traditions to other countries, where they may have continued true to tradition or may have adapted to local tastes. To my mind this kind of adaptation needs to be noted, but it certainly doesn’t make them any worse or their adaptation/tradition less Chinese. Are residents of Peking any less Chinese because they eat at KFC? It is the nature of foodways that science, history, pestilence, bounty, politics and all sorts of factors affect what we eat and how we prepare it. From my point of view there is value in knowing and understanding how these things work, yet what I find important is the perpetuation and recognition of high quality food preparation. Along, of course, with the essential fact that we must eat to live. I find it important and exciting to take note of what culinary life is like in Northern China in 2003, yet to be dismissive of what is happening Chinese food wise in the US, Britain, or on the Italian Riviera and to dismiss it as not authentic is short sighted and provincial. It is the nature of humans to adapt to local conditions in order to feed ourselves. To me it is more meaningful and important to talk about what people are experiencing in a particular time and place and understand it in a larger global Chinese food context. Just the way Chinese cooking has adapted itself and blossomed in the US, so goes it all through China and around the world. In fact THIS may be one of the most significant aspects of the whole discussion: Chinese cooking has spread around the world and adapted more successfully than any other cuisine in modern civilization. These adaptations are part of the evolution of life and civilization. On their own they are neither good or bad. Ultimately it comes down to feeding the world’s people with what is at hand, and on a secondary level making the best of the different elements. Just give me good ingredients that are well prepared. I’m interested in categorizing them, but for me this part of the process is absolutely secondary, to good and nutritious cooking. I’d much rather have a delicious meal cooked by a Westernized chef rather than an authentic one which isn’t as good. To my mind it is this type of adaptation, which is one of the most exciting parts of the Chinese culinary tradition.

There are many types of beanctrd skin and they are both dried and fresh. Beancurd skin knots are sheets of fresh resilient beancurd skin that are tied into a knot and then braised in a rich brown sauce or are sometimes served in a soup.

Do you eat Chinese breakfast? What do you like to eat? Sweet or salty soy bean milk with fried dough? Congee? A cup of coffee and a bun? Bacon & eggs?

Pork belly is one of the trendy foods right now. It's featured by Ducasse, it's made into Italian pancetta, and it's on menus all over the place. Of course in the US we most commonly encounter it after it's salted and smoked and we call it bacon. It's a big part of the Chinese culinary tradition. Szechuan chefs use it for twice-cooked pork. Shanghai chefs braise it and serve it with preserved vegetable or with beancurd skin. Do you enjoy it? Do you cook it? What ways have you seen it prepared? Who makes it best?

Where are you located/talking about?

Microwaves are great for tempering food. Some of my top uses are: 1) Ice cream - from rock hard to perfectly creamy soft 2) Defrosting a frozen stock (or anything). 3) Precision cutting for Chinese food, thin slicing and shredding, is best done from a semi-frozen state. The mic rules for this one alone! 4) Heating or reheating moist foods: heating side dishes such as a puree, or a buttered veggie, creamed spinach or mashed potatoes for example. 5) Great tool to have when your serving a number of hot things at the same time - Thanksgiving for example. 6) Great for cooking mussels and fish. Some vegetables too.