huiray

Lunches the past two days: 2013-0422 Lunch • Broiled turmeric chicken wings (黃薑雞翼).§ • Chinese long beans stir-fried w/ garlic in peanut oil. • Steamed white rice (Basmati). § Chicken wings & drumettes (sans the tips) were marinated w/ grated fresh turmeric root (like these) plus powdered turmeric, some “gula melaka”, a few splashes of light soy sauce [Pearl River Superior], sea salt, veggie oil + peanut oil, some water, and very generous fresh ground black pepper. Broiled under high flame/heat to lightly caramelize & cook relatively fast, juiciness well maintained. Marinated wings & drumettes laid out for broiling: 2013-0423 Lunch • Beef short ribs, daikon, flower-pattern shiitake mushrooms & garlic soup.¶ • Preserved plums (陳皮梅) for dessert. ¶About 2 heads of garlic, cloves peeled & smashed, sautéed in veggie oil then taken out & reserved; short ribs (cut into individual riblets, bone-in) browned in the garlicky oil, sea salt added, the garlic added back in & tossed w/ the ribs a bit then water added to cover and the mix brought back to a boil, pre-soaked thick-cap flower-patterned shiitake mushrooms (“Far Koo”; 花菇) added in and the mix then simmered for about 1 hr. Skinned sliced daikon was then added in and simmering continued for > ½ hr to ¾ hr. Seasoning was adjusted and the soup left to meld overnight. Reheated for lunch the next day, i.e. today.

Looks interesting and tasty. I confess that I don't eat much avocado or avocado-based stuff and never have had particular hankerings for such stuff, though.

Tina, do you go to NYC Manhattan "Old Chinatown" (around Canal Street) or to the "Second Chinatown" in Flushing when you go to NYC? NYC's Chinese food is generally held by many people to be surpassed in general by the Chinese food to be found in the SGV (San Gabriel Valley) in LA (Los Angeles) and even by that found in the San Francisco Bay Area, in terms of the USA. Within North America it is thought by many that Vancouver (Richmond) and the GTA (Greater Toronto Area - e.g. in Markham) have the best Chinese food, above that of the SGV and SFBA. But perhaps you know this.

Dim sum Sunday lunch today, plus other stuff, at "Lucky Lou" Seafood Restaurant. This was previously "On Time" Chinese Restaurant, now under new ownership & management. I had: • Beef tripe (with slivered ginger) (牛拍葉) • Pan-fried shrimp roll (pan-fried then poached/simmered w/ sauce) (腐皮卷) • “Phoenix Claws” a.k.a. Chicken feet (鳳爪) • Shrimp dumplings a.k.a. “Har Gow” (蝦餃) plus • Cantonese-style beef pan-fried with wide rice noodles (“Hor Fun”; 河粉 ), scallions & ginger. • Kai-Lan/Gai-Lan (芥蘭) with oyster sauce plus • "Kuk-Po" tea (chrysanthemum flowers (菊花) + Po-lei (普洱) tea) Decent/edible overall, but not at the standard of good Chinese restaurants in larger cities with larger Chinese populations. A more extensive post is on the "Heartland" subforum here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/83044-indianapolis-restaurant-reviews-recommendations/page-2#entry1916297

An update on a Chinese restaurant which has undergone various changes over the years but had usually been considered one of the better places to get Chinese food in Indy, plus notes on what I had there for Sunday lunch today. Lunch – Dim Sum & etc at Lucky Lou (幸運樓) Seafood Restaurant. (This used to be “On Time Chinese Restaurant” until January 2013 when it was taken over by new owners & management. The chefs are new; the main chef is Cantonese although they offer a lot of Szechuanese and Hunanese dishes in the mold of the old “On Time”; perhaps to maintain “familiarity for the previous clientele”?) See also this post for the previous history of the place. Today I had a sampling of dim sum dishes: • Beef tripe (with slivered ginger) (牛拍葉) • Pan-fried shrimp roll (pan-fried then poached/simmered w/ sauce) (腐皮卷) • “Phoenix Claws” a.k.a. Chicken feet (usual deep-fried then stewed stuff; with a slightly different sauce than I usually find with this dish elsewhere or previously) (鳳爪) • Shrimp dumplings a.k.a. “Har Gow” (蝦餃) The Har Gow were decent. (10-12 folds in the wrapper! Pity said wrapper was a little on the thick side). The tripe was tasty but needed to be softer for my taste. Not sure if I like this sauce for the chicken feet. The shrimp roll was OK. Overall, better-than-nothing dim-sum, not on the level of bigger and better cities with better Chinese restaurants. I think I marginally preferred the stuff put out by the former On-Time. I also had: • Cantonese-style beef pan-fried with wide rice noodles (“Hor Fun”; 河粉 ), scallions & ginger. The chef here put in lots of bean sprouts – which turned out fine, because the commercial wok & powerful burner presumaly used zapped it without water being released. Good flavor, tender beef, nice hor fun, decent “wok-hei”. • Kai-Lan/Gai-Lan (芥蘭) with oyster sauce. This apparently saw a hot wok briefly (good). Pretty decent but nothing that exceptional.

"On Time" Chinese Restaurant is now "Lucky Lou" Seafood Restaurant, same location. @bloomingmom, see my following post also.

Some recent meals: Lunch • “Harm Choy Tong” – with pickled sour mustard (See this post and this post for more info), chicken thighs, sliced ginger, sliced tomatoes, sea salt, rice vinegar, soft tofu slices. The soup was made the night before and left at RT which also gave a nice “melded” flavor. Reheated for lunch, of course. Dinner Part 1: • Fresh steamed pork buns, Tianjin baozi (天津包子; Baidu article; Google translation) from a local Chinese stall, like these. Part 2: • Pork, scallop & shrimp “shui kow” dumplings [Wei Chuan] (these) in chicken stock w/ watercress & skinny wonton noodles. • Winter melon filling baked cakes (“Lou Por Pang”; Sweetheart cakes”; 老婆餅; Yale Cantonese: lou5 po4 beng2) from that same local Chinese stall. The ones I had were like these. Lunch • More of the “Harm Choy Tong” previously made. • Stir-fried pork tenderloin slices§ w/ chopped Chinese celery (see also Liuzhou’s post earlier in this thread) & zucchini sliced into sticks, with garlic in peanut oil. • Steamed white rice (Thai Hom Mali). § Pre-marinated w/ Shaohsing wine, peanut oil, fish sauce [Red Boat], fresh ground white pepper, “aged soy sauce” [Kimlan], tapioca starch. • Mung Bean Cake (綠豆餅; like these) (Baidu article; Google translation), from that same local Chinese stall (see above). Lunch • Shrimp in spicy broth with vegetables.¶ • Steamed white rice (Basmati, Zebra brand). ¶De-headed, de-shelled & de-veined shrimp were soaked in a mild alkali “Kan Shui” solution ( 雪鹼水; Yale Cantonese: syut3 gaan2 seui2; potassium carbonate + sodium bicarbonate solution) [Koon Chun; this one] diluted w/ some water, for a while; then drained and washed briefly then set on the side. Sliced fresh de-skinned galangal & finely chopped fresh lemongrass were sautéed w/ hot & sour paste (a.k.a. Tom Yum paste; gia vị nấu canh chua; 酸辣香醬料, Yale Cantonese: syun1 lat6 heung1 jeung3 liu2) [Por Kwan], Sambal Terasi [Cap Ibu], Tamarind concentrate [Dragonfly] in veggie oil, quenched w/ water and the mix simmered for a while, then filtered and the stock reserved. Halved shallots & chopped smashed garlic were sautéed in veggie oil, the reserved stock added, and to the simmering mix baby Lady’s Fingers (a.k.a. baby okra), Thai eggplants & hot long green chillies were added, followed at the end by the reserved shrimp which were just cooked through before serving.

Interesting - one of my favorite quick meals is bean sprout pork. Thai rather than Chinese, but a stir-fry nonetheless. It's the water they generate whilst being stir-fried. I like a dish of bean sprouts, ginger and scallions - sort-of stir-fried - but the water generated in that particular case is part of the dish.

Keep in mind that your experiences may not match that of others.

I'm curious why you would feel that the plating is so important, whether you are drunk or not, over how the food tastes.

Kim, your food looks very nice - but I must say that bean sprouts are amongst the least favorite things I would include in a so-called "stir-fry". They always tend to mess up any stir-fry and tend to "endow' a dish with not-necessarily-correct "Chinese" bona fides.

...and yet it has been said (by yourself, no less) that "cassoulet" need not ALWAYS contain duck confit. If you share the DEFINITE and UNALTERABLE expectation that duck confit is to be included in "CASSOULET", as some other posters here have declared, then just simply don't call it CASSOULET. Done. End of story.

Thanks, rotuts & Steve Irby.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/04/dining/top-chefs-say-that-sometimes-only-supermarket-brands-will-do.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 :-)

Myojo Chukazanmai (中華三昧) "Noodles served with chili oil and soy sauce" (辣油醬油味辛麵), with some chopped scallions scattered in. Not fiery at all, just a nice gentle slight chili flavor. Not for those expecting to have their mouth and tongue fire-bombed. I think the above brand (with various "tastes"/versions) is one of the best "instant" ramen around.

Tina, thanks for the kind words. p.s. Nice to see you here on eG.

Some recent lunches (& a dinner) Lunch • Small (2½ lb) air-chilled chicken, salted & left for a while; then rinsed, scallions & ginger pieces placed in the cavity, then poached in salted & generously gingered water. Chopped into pieces and served on a bed of chopped Napa cabbage & garnished w/ trimmed coriander. • White rice (Basmati), cooked w/ the poaching liquid plus some of the ginger. • Soup of baby Shanghai bok choy wilted in some of the chicken poaching liquid. • Scallion, grated ginger & peanut+veggie oil “sauce”. Simple dinner after shopping at the local Chinese grocery. • Roast pork (from the store). • Watercress in chicken stock. • White rice (Basmati). Lunch • Cod fillets steamed w/ salted soy beans (“tau see”) [Tiger brand], julienned ginger, finely sliced de-seeded hot long green chillies. • Sautéed fresh mushrooms – white beech & oyster; plus chopped garlic, scallions, and coriander leaves. • Watercress soup – in pork stock w/ sautéed garlic & dried scallops. (not pictured) • White rice (Basmati). Lunch • Pork, Chinese celery & shrimp wontons [Wei Chuan] in chicken stock (simmered w/ dried anchovies (“ikan bilis”), dried shiitake mushrooms & the tougher parts of fresh Chinese celery stems; then decanted) w/ sliced Chinese celery hearts & leaves, skinny wonton noodles, and a generous scattering of chopped scallions. Lunch • Chicken, cabbage & fennel bulb soup; in chicken stock. • Beef & bittergourd, “stir-fried” w/ garlic & a little ginger. The garlic & ginger was sautéed, sliced beef tossed in (plus salt) and stirred around to generate some nice browning fond then the sliced de-seeded bittergourd added in. • White rice (Basmati). Lunch • Wood-ear fungus, snow fungus, baby portobello mushroom, red bell pepper, scallion, cilantro & peanut soup. (no picture) • Pork stir-fried w/ garlic & brussels sprouts (halved & partly peeled open). • White rice (Basmati).

I'm pretty sure the quality varies across the various regions, notwithstanding the supposed "uniformity of standards" in a chain. In my area I just had a BK Fish Sandwich (with their bacon potato fritters) a couple of days ago. The fish sandwich was entirely forgettable, borderline bad. The potato fritters were edible but, really, quite non-descript. ETA: The Filet-O-Fish still rules.

@Plantes Vertes & C. sapidus - You're welcome. Note that those links for Kuih Kodok (and the general one for Pisang Goreng) are for recipes traditionally using ripe bananas. :-)

Dried squid (and dried cuttlefish) are also common ingredients in some forms of Chinese cooking and have been for a long time. (Dried octopus probably not as much, I think...) I've described my use of dried cuttlefish in a couple of soups and my prep of a "fresh" (thawed from frozen) cuttlefish "curry"/spicy dish elsewhere in this forum. (I mentioned earlier the omission of cuttlefish (seppia) from the stated ingredients for this thread but there does not seem to be much interest in it)

That would go well with plain steamed white rice, too, for dinner or lunch or anytime else. (Sans the bread)

Patrick – Two types of plantains? You’ll have to educate me. I just take black-ripe plantains, whatever I can find at the Latino or Asian market, and peel, slice, and pan-fry until browned. Sometimes I'll cube the plantains, fry them up, and then mix in with rice. Mrs. C baked plantains the other night, and they turned out sweet, creamy, and bursting from their skin. A dollop of Mexican crema or creme fraiche makes a nice topping, if one is not counting calories . . . Fried plantains can be made better yet (yes, even better!) by frying twice; slice the plantain somewhat thicker than normal (1 1/2"), fry lightly on both sides, then remove to a chopping board and smash/press with the bottom of a skillet (or some other kitchen implement unlikely to break with smashing) to expose the insides of each slice and re-fry the flattened pieces. Try Kuih Kodok. Some links: http://www.citrusandcandy.com/2011/03/kuih-kodok-with-sangkaya-fried-banana.html http://www.foodily.com/r/CxXzb7fNo-kuih-kodok-malaysian-style-fried-banana-fritters http://rasamalaysia.com/kuih-kodok-recipe-malaysian-fried-banana-fritters/ Or just Pisang Goreng: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisang_goreng

Some recent meals: 2013-0407 Lunch • Broiled Angus T-bone steak, dressed w/ salt & pepper only. • Spiced white rice.¶ • Salad.§ ¶ Smashed garlic, sliced shallots & sliced ginger sautéed in hot oil; whole coriander seeds, cardamom pods, cloves & dried bay leaves tossed in; the mixture stirred briefly; Basmati rice [Zebra] poured in and the mix stirred more, then water & salt added and the rice cooked in the usual way. § Taiwanese long-type Napa cabbage, trimmed into long-ish pieces; white button mushrooms & baby portobello mushrooms, halved; a few fennel bulb bracts, thinly sliced (& some of the fronds); slender asparagus, snapped into two pieces; & cherub tomatoes, whole. Tossed w/ 8-year-aged Modena Balsamic vinegar & Maussane-les-Alpilles olive oil [Moulin Jean-Marie Cornille, Fruité Noir], Himalayan pink salt & fresh ground black pepper. 2013-0408 Lunch • Edible amaranth, red-streaked leaved variety (莧菜; as bought, most probably Amaranthus dubius or a hybrid) (see also here) (Baike article; Google translation) & pork ball [Venus] soup in pork stock. • Thin-type wonton noodles dressed w/ a cooked sauce of finely chopped garlic sautéed in peanut oil and w/ a mixture of (fish sauce [Red Boat], Hoisin sauce [Lee Kum Kee], oyster sauce [Lee Kum Kee], & sesame oil [Dragonfly], diluted w/ a little water) and sliced de-seeded hot long green chillies, trimmed cilantro & sliced scallions. 2013-0408 Late night supper • Leftover spiced rice (see 2013-0407 lunch), reheated; flash-scrambled/marbled eggs; remainder of the edible amaranth fished out from the leftover soup (see 2013-0408 lunch); pickled scallion bulbs.¶ ¶Allium chinense. These were Japanese rakkyo, pickled and jarred [Nishimoto Trading Co. Ltd.] See also this eG post. 2013-0409 Lunch • Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶; Yale Cantonese: yuk6 gwat1 cha4). With pork baby back ribs, cut into individual ribs; flat-type tofu puffs (fried soybean curd) [Korean brand, imported by Rhee Bros. Inc.]; herbs & spices¶; 3 heads of garlic; light soy sauce [Pearl River Superior]; oyster sauce [Lee Kum Kee]; and dried longans [sun Kee]. • Yau Char Kwai (油炸鬼; Yale Cantonese: yau4 ja3 gwai2; Chinese fried crullers) [Chef Hon], re-crisped in the oven; cut into rounds. • Steamed white rice. ¶Shaved "Tong Kwai" (當歸; Yale: dong1 gwai1; "Radix Angelica Sinensis"; Angelica sinensis); "Yook Chook" (玉竹; Yale: yuk6 juk1; Polygonatum odoratum (Mill.) Druce); "Chan Pei" (陳皮; Yale: chan4 pei4; dried tangerine peel); “Tong Sam” (黨參; Yale: dong2 sam1 (Codonopsis pilosula 'Nannf') [package as bought is labeled as “正紋党”]; cinnamon sticks; whole cloves; whole star anise.

Further to Heidi's post - are you asking for the really fresh just-dug-up "fresh stem ginger (A)", ones that look like this, or this, or this...or are you just looking for "fresh stem ginger (B)" that may have been harvested some time back and may look like this? Type (A) would indeed be harder to find but surely type (B) [if satisfactory to you] must be available somewhere near you? I confess I would find it puzzling if type (B) would not be available in Syracuse (in New York State? or another Syracuse elsewhere?) in either the East Asian/Indian groceries or even in Western supermarkets (although more expensive) - say, in the Wegmans in Syracuse. (An online query shows that the Wegmans on James St in Syracuse has type (B) for $4.99/lb) If it is the super-fresh type (A) you are after and you can't find it in your area, then when you are in NYC in June I suppose you might simply go around all the various fresh produce and grocery stores in NYC's Chinatown centered around Canal Street/Bayard/Hester & Mulberry/Mott/Elizabeth - just walk around, they'll be close together. (I am assuming you would be spending most of your time in Manhattan) Perhaps a NYC member here might know specifically which store to go to. Hmm, it might be a bit cold in your area (assuming it is upstate NY) for ginger to be hardy in the ground...but it is easily grown in a pot which you can overwinter indoors - a search on the web will yield much info.

Been staying away for a bit to cool down. Meals I've had the past week, mostly lunches: 2013-0401 Late night snack • Eggs scrambled with chopped Chinese chives (韭菜; so-called “Garlic Chives”; the leafy fronds, not the flowers buds which is 韭菜花). 2013-0402 Lunch • Kon Lo Mein – skinny wonton noodles tossed w/ a sauce of sautéed smashed chopped garlic, julienned ginger, minced pork, fish sauce [Red Boat], oyster sauce [Lee Kum Kee], Worcestershire sauce [Lea & Perrin], hoisin sauce [Lee Kum Kee] and chopped scallions; using peanut oil. Garnished w/ additional fresh chopped scallions. • Wonton soup – with shrimp, Chinese celery & pork wontons [Wei Chuan]; and this week’s “young vegetable shoots” (“菜苗”) which were just a variety of young Shanghai bok choy this time. See, e.g.: http://www.tainongseeds.com/ChingChang.html In a soup made from pork stock simmered w/ broken-up dried shiitake mushrooms (“Far Koo” type), ginger, a bit of garlic & a few other odds and ends which I don’t quite recall now. 2013-0402 Dinner • The remainder of the sauce for lunch (see above), on white rice (Basmati) & w/ more chopped scallions. 2013-0403 Lunch • Simple vegetable soup of Taiwanese long-type “Wong Nga Pak” (long-type Napa cabbage) and cauliflower florets in chicken stock. 2013-0403 Dinner • Fried rice – with dried salted fish¶ (Croaker fish, headless; 去頭香或魚; see picture) [鴻昌隆 brand] (…and no, it is not “Salt Cod”), dried shrimp§ (“Har Mai”; 蝦米), short-chopped Chinese long beans (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis), a bit of sea salt, halved shallots, red Thai bird’s eye chillies (de-seeded), and day-old white rice (Basmati). No eggs involved. Additionally salted to taste at table. ¶Soaked in water for a bit to soften, then shredded coarsely. § The common Chinese de-shelled variety, fairly large size grade. Soaked in water to soften, used “whole”. 2013-0404 Lunch • “Yu Choy Sum” blanched in oiled boiling water, dressed w/ ponzu sauce, lime variety [Kikkoman] and freshly ground white pepper. • The rest of the salted dried fish, dried shrimp, Chinese long beans, shallots & Thai chillies fried rice from dinner the night before, re-fried/re-heated w/ fish sauce [Red Boat] added in. 2013-0404 Dinner • “Kai Lan/Gai Lan” (芥蘭; See here, here for images) blanched in oiled boiling water, dressed w/ oyster sauce [Lee Kum Kee] & freshly ground white pepper. • Pork, leek & shrimp “Shui Kow” dumplings (NOT gyoza/potstickers; NOR wontons) [Wei Chuan] & skinny wonton noodles in a pork-based stock,¶ dressed w/ chopped scallions. ¶The “shui kow” stock: Smashed, chopped garlic; sliced ginger – sautéed in peanut oil; sliced pork (tenderloin + ribs) added, tossed, sautéed; handful of dried anchovies and broken-up dried shiitake mushrooms (thick-cap flower-pattern “far koo”) added in; fish sauce [Red Boat] added and the mix tossed around; sufficient water added; salted; rock candy added; simmered for ~ 1 hr. 2013-0405 Lunch • Soup, with opo squash (浦瓜) (See here, here, and here for more pics). Smashed garlic, sliced ginger, short-cut pork spare ribs sautéed in peanut oil, snow fungus, sea salt, water, sliced squash (unpeeled), light soy sauce (“Sang Chow”) [Kimlan], jozo mirin [Morita]. • Fried rice. With scads of sliced scallions & chopped cilantro, sliced Western celery, and Worcestershire sauce [Lea & Perrin]. 2013-0406 Lunch • Pan-fried sockeye salmon fillet, skin-on. Seasoned w/ just salt & pepper. • Boiled white round potatoes, tossed w/ butter. • Halved white button mushrooms & baby portobello mushrooms sautéed w/ skinny fresh asparagus. 2013-0406 Late night supper • Lotus root soup – with a skin-on reasonably fatty chicken thigh [bell & Evans], Chinese red dates (Jujubes; 紅棗; Ziziphus jujuba), plus a small dried cuttlefish. Simmered using just water and seasoned w/ just salt to taste.