huiray

Kenneth, just to round *this* up - did you check in the stand-up coolers with doors or chilled cabinets with doors in the groceries in Chinatown? They may have been there, prepackaged, and not on the "open benches" in the front of the shop or wherever?

Am I reading it right that you haven't seen this in stores in Manhattan Chinatown? If so I confess I am surprised. Ah well, if you don't find it in Queens or Brooklyn - or in clearly Vietnamese groceries --- across the Hudson from you, a nice drive one day, maybe, is a place which has a staggering variety of herbs and spices and whatnot. I used to go there every spring and summer at least once sometimes several times more in one season when I lived in NJ in the greater NY metro area. It was a pleasant drive, and I would come home with a large selection of thymes and basils, especially, but lots of other things too - and was the first place i got into 'Logee Blue' rosemary. It was also the only place around the Tri-State area (if not the North East) where one could get sweet bay (Laurus nobilis) STANDARDS (limited supply) that they grew themselves, years ago of course, they no longer have them. There was also a period when I went mad for all sorts of scented gerianiums (Pelargonium) and had the most difficult time deciding which ones to bring back with me! But over the years (the last 10-15 years, say...) my interest in actively gardening and growing things has tapered off... Oh - yes, one could (and can) get Vietnamese coriander from them, of course, but they list it in their catalog under the synonym Polygonum odoratum. :-) OK, back to Saigon...

You have never seen rau răm in NYC? (Persicaria odorata). I can't imagine it would not be available in Chinatown and other areas with a decent SE Asian population - but, yes, I suppose one would need to go to the groceries in these places. It is available in every Chinese/Vietnamese grocery and the International (Saraga) market in my area, and even sometimes in Indian groceries. If you do look more closely for them and assuming you do find some one day, it is one of the easiest plants to root and grow. Just leave some of the leaves on, including the top growing end, if you like, and plonk the stems (the thicker, slightly woodier ones are best) into a jar of water - or simply stick them into damp sandy soil - and they will grow roots in short order. (Or, one can buy the plants from a nursery center or get the seeds and grow them, of course) Warning: they are white fly magnets.

Choy Kon Tong. ("Dehydrated Cole" soup; a.k.a. dried bok choy** a.k.a. "pak choy kon" soup) The pak choy kon is trimmed§§ and the bottoms of the stems snapped off, then soaked in water for a short while.¶¶ Pot of water, short-cut pork spare ribs, a "country style" (meaty) pork rib, the soaked pak choy kon, some rice bran oil, dried Chinese jujubes (Shanxi type) broken apart, small dried "tea flower mushrooms" (茶花菇), dried wolfberries (goji berries), couple of dried lightly salted whole cuttlefish,## sea salt, generous crushed garlic cloves; bring to simmer, skim lightly, cover and simmer till sufficiently done (about 3-4 hours) when the pak choy kon is soft enough.†† ** Bok choy when dried and processed the way it is to make "pak choy kon" (白菜幹) is very different from fresh bok choy if it were simply dehydrated - say, in a western-style desiccator or freeze-dry machine. "Pak choy kon" is a brownish or darker-colored brittle foodstuff which has acquired a different taste profile with its own tangy and savory flavor. Fresh bok choy is NOT a "better ingredient" to use in place of this dried ingredient, certainly not for a soup like this.) §§ I prefer to do this rather than soften it first; much easier to snap the pieces apart so long as one does it with care - i.e. without reducing it to a thousand tiny pieces. ¶¶ Some folks soak it for hours, even overnight. I prefer to retain as much of the particular tangy flavor of the dried vegetable as I can, so I limit the soaking to "enough to make it pliable" and to enable grit/sand (if any) to be "swishable out from" the folds of the vegetable. I also add quite a bit of the soaking water (sans the detritus) to the developing soup. ## The taste of dried cuttlefish is, again, very different from fresh cuttlefish, and now is a source of a form of umami and a sort of savory taste that goes well with soups like this. †† Simmering it for longer - and leaving it overnight then resimmering - furthers the softness of the vegetable and also mellows out the soup more, of course. One variation of an old-fashioned Cantonese style of chicken steamed with ham, 金華玉樹雞, "Jinhua Yushu Chicken". Deboned chicken thighs (Bell & Evans chicken), cut into thickish slices then marinated w/ good Shaohsing wine, corn starch, ground white pepper, some sesame oil, some rice bran oil, a bit of sea salt. Steamed w/ ham slices (I used both Jamón Serrano (retrieved from the freezer) and a US-produced (Brooklyn, NYC) "Jinhua-type" ham). Plated w/ kai-lan (mainly stems, leafy tops cut off) blanched in oiled simmering water. Dressed w/ a sauce formed from a slurry of Shaohsing wine, corn starch, sufficient water, crushed rock sugar, chicken stock, bit of sea salt, and white pepper brought to a boil briefly and swirling around. On the way there – chicken & ham before steaming.

Miso soup. Water, hon-dashi, bunapi-shimeji & enoki mushrooms, cut wakame, mutenka shiro miso, scallions, negi. Atsuage, kind-of. With grated daikon & chopped scallions; grated ginger w/ Higeta Honzen koikuchi-shoyu; and a glass of chilled Rihaku Nigori Sake 'Dreamy Clouds'. Firm tofu blocks drained for a while then simply deep-fried in rice bran oil. Zaru soba. • I used banshu no ito jyukusei soba (this one). Thoroughly rinsed w/ cold water and drained well. Dressed w/ katsuo soft kezuri.** • Dipping sauce put together by mixing Assi soba tsuyu, Takara hon-mirin & Hokkaido kelp flavour naturally fermented soy sauce, water, zapping briefly, then chilling to a little below room temp. • Chopped scallions & sliced negi. Kameya hon-wasabi (Izu oroshi-wasabi) The last three are swirled into the shoyu as desired and the soba picked up and dipped into the mixture. • Swirly-textured-grain wood chopsticks, antique carved soapstone chopstick rest. ** The kezuri-bushi sticks quite well to the soba - it will not fall off unless one shakes the soba strands with a little vigor. When dipping intothe shoyu they also tend to "stick with" the soba even as they soften and absorb some of the shoyu.

No, I have not seen mangosteens in places like Patel Brothers and don't expect to. I would be surprised If I came upon them in one. I might see some one day (not that I remember doing so yet) in a Southern Indian grocery, though (in the USA); and would have (IIRC) back in SE Asia – but that would be more a function of the ready local availability of the fruit when in season. Yes, "Gujarati" refers to folks from Gujarat and their language. "Patel" is a prominent family name of Gujarat, with a large entrepreneur diaspora throughout the Western world. Of course, "Indian" shops would carry a mixture of stuff from all over the Indian subcontinent nowadays, but in places like Patel Bros. one might expect to find more northern-Indian type stuff, things from Andhra, Maharashtra, Gujarat(of course) and other northern states more than strictly Tamilian or Keralan stuff, for example, but that is only an expectation and not necessarily true in practice everywhere.

Miso, tofu, soba.

I seem to recall you have lived in the Philippines and Hong Kong - one part of SE Asia and one part of E Asia. I was unaware you had lived in Turkmenistan or Iran or Tamil Nadu and other such places in Asia, but perhaps you will fill us in on that. I suspect you mean E/SE Asian immigrants and E/SE Asian markets? I doubt you were thinking of markets like Patel Brothers (for example, which would be Gujarati) in terms of finding mangosteens... And if an average British person were reading this he/she would be thinking of someone from the Indian subcontinent anyway, when he/she read "Asian immigrants" or "Asian markets"...

https://www.yahoo.com/food/foods-around-world-194029352/photo-grapes-1451418328930.html Or try this - Traditionally for the Chinese Lunar New Year but there is no reason why it can't be served for the Gregorian New Year too. :-) (Cross-fertilization and all that) In recent times it is served from the first day of the New Year onwards, not just for the 7th day. :-D I have, before. ;-) https://forums.egullet.org/topic/152037-salad-2015/?do=findComment&comment=1905141 https://forums.egullet.org/topic/143989-lunch-whatd-ya-have-2012–2014/?do=findComment&comment=1909399

Babi Assam (Tamarind Pork) with white rice. Green cabbage stir-fried w/ garlic. Details HERE in the pork belly cook-off topic.

Babi Assam. Based on recipe P39 of irene's peranakan recipes (Epigram Books). Some of the ingredients: sliced pork belly (skin on)**, taucheo (as whole beans), hot long green chillies. ** DEFINITELY skin-on. One of the glories of dishes like this with pork belly is the smooth, unctuous, gelatinous and meltingly tender thick-ish skin (which would have swollen up a bit in thickness) that is obtained at the end of the cooking process. Chopped shallots (bawang merah), candlenuts (buah keras; Aleurites moluccanus), toasted belacan (fermented shrimp paste, dry compressed) (see here too) ground up w/ mortar & pestle. Tamarind paste [Dragonfly], cut from a block, slurried in hot water, squishing with the spoon to aid the process. This is filtered through a metal sieve, pressing the solids against the sieve. Not shown: Sufficient fermented soy beans (taucheo) (scooped out; minus most of the soaking liquid, which is very salty) was ground up/smashed into a paste with the mortar & pestle after scooping out the shallot-belacan-candlenut ground-up mixture. Cooking: Medium-hot peanut oil in pot, shallot-belacan-candlenut ground mixture, fry till fragrant and beginning to deepen in color. Add the taucheo paste. Stir around and fry for a bit. Add pork belly slices, toss around, fry. Splash some water in as needed. Add sieved tamarind slurry, rock sugar, sea salt, stir around; add water to cover plus an inch or so more, bring to simmer, cover and cook till the pork belly is soft and the liquid is reduced somewhat. Add in sliced only-partly-deseeded hot chillies and simmer (covered) till the sauce is thickened a bit more and coats the stuff nicely. Serve over white rice.

http://www.eater.com/2015/12/30/10689958/top-chef-boston-teamsters-emails-abor-dispute https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/12/29/mails-show-effort-boston-union-and-officials-quell-labor-flap/tEmJvR9vpFS7NS3irBs2NJ/story.html http://boston.eater.com/2015/10/1/9431955/teamsters-indicted-alleged-top-chef-extortion As noted before...lots of bullies in Boston, and folks who think their way is the only way...and that may not apply just to Teamsters. (For starters, the Lowells talked only to the Cabots and the Cabots talked only to God...and more common folks carried on that mind set to the present day)

Are you getting Peking Ducks or Cantonese Ducks?

BKEats, Just wondering if you have been able to find your desired mass-produced ready-to-eat supplier of PEKING DUCKS in NYC yet...

I've never seen really fresh (and good) mangosteens here in the US, although I have seen and bought sort-of-fresh ones at Chinese/Vietnamese/"Asian" (I hate that word)/International markets/groceries.** Whether some of them were brought in frozen then thawed out for sale I'm not sure. But they all have been uniformly bad, in line with what KennethT reports, especially as I certainly remember eating the fresh ones all through the time I grew up in SE Asia. (And getting my hands and clothes stained occasionally from squeezing-and-breaking the shell.) ** And they are some of the MOST EXPENSIVE things you can buy in these places...and for what, bad fruit...

Earlier... Kai-lan blanched in oiled water, drizzled w/ a mixture of oyster sauce, Bulldog sauce & ponzu sauce. Dressed w/ white pepper. Later... Linguine w/ tuna & capers. Medium-hot pan, white tuna in olive oil [Ortiz] (El Velero Bonito del Norte en Aceite de Oliva), sliced garlic, stir gently till garlic is picking up some color, gently breaking up tuna into large clumps. Add capers (Salina salted capers) [Il Mongetto] (rinsed, soaked, drained; soaking water reserved) & hot red chilli flakes, toss briefly. Add just-cooked linguine [Rustichella d'Abruzzo] (with most of the caper soaking water added to the salted cooking water), straight from the pot, dripping wet; fold/stir in, adding the rest of the caper soaking water plus some of the pasta cooking water. Fold gently till the sauce thickens and is largely absorbed, add in chopped Italian parsley, grated zest of half a ripening large lime, a squeeze of the lime, a pour of Arbequina EV olive oil [California Olive Ranch], toss/fold everything together. Serve w/ fresh parsley garnish. Darn, forgot a grind or two of back pepper, But I didn't miss it. :-) Nearly demolished. And, for munchies before and after...Ghirardelli Squares: Twilight Delight Intense Dark, Dark & Raspberry, Dark & Sea Salt Caramel, Dark & Mint. :-) ETA: If you do not have good quality canned tuna or good quality salted capers on hand, it would be better NOT to attempt this dish.

I hope there are a decent number of recipes that do not need an oven, and which are done simply on the stove top! (I'm one person who rarely uses the oven, and can't really remember the last time I did any baking of any sort – probably a pie/tart shell for a chocolate ganache tart maybe a few years ago)

Couple of simple meals. Vegetarian buns (bao) from the Chinese food stall (Tianjin) inside Saraga International Grocery 1 (Indianapolis). Lotus leaf wrapped glutinous rice w/ pork & shiitake mushroom filling, from Asia Mart (Indianapolis). Fried rice – Blazing hot oil, chopped de-stringed celery, chopped Chinese chives, 3 eggs scrambled in situ, 2-day-old rice, sea salt. Eaten w/ leftover takeout Cajun dry rub chicken wings (see here).

Chicken wings (takeout) from Keystone Sports Review late last night (Sunday). :-) I previously reported on this place in this post. 10 pcs BBQ wings, 10 pcs Cajun Dry Rub wings. House-made bleu cheese dip, w/ the standard celery & carrots. Quick dash home. Yum. Half of each batch on a plate: Juicy wings, nice dressings. I liked the Cajun dry rub better. The dip was not bad at all. Not at all. This place has one of the later-night-closing kitchens in the area, with really quite decent bar-type and diner-type food. Location on Google maps.

Nice interview. I like John Tesar. Always thought he got the shaft in a way on his season of TC and thought Colicchio & Co.'s condescension towards him and the sneering by young whipper-snapper chefs to be unjust. "A lot of the artsy fartsy food is beautiful in pictures and some of it is beautiful in its presentation, but it’s soulless in the eating of it. Because it’s composition, it’s not cooking." (from the interview) --- True, IMO.

Most of the soups since the last post. Congees and stews excluded. ---------------------------- Soups. · Choy Kon Tong. (菜乾湯) (link) · Itek Tim – several permutations and variations. (link) (link; scroll down) (link) (link) (link; scroll down) (link) (link) (link) · Chicken soup w/ carrots & celery. (link) (link) (link) (link) · Pork, shrimp & XO sauce Hong Kong style wontons [Prime Food]; plus pork, shrimp & snow pea sprout shui kow dumplings [Wei Chuan]. With baby bok choy, fresh maitake mushrooms & chopped scallions in chicken stock/soup. (link) · Winter melon soup. With sautéed smashed garlic, pork spare ribs, Chinese mushrooms. (link) · Harm Choy Tong (Pickled mustard soup): 1) w/ beef slices¶ & preserved plums (link); 2) w/ pork spare ribs (link; scroll down); 3) w/ chicken & tofu (link) (link; scroll down) · Chicken stock, some water, red-orange carrot, yellow carrot, fresh maitake mushrooms, parsley. (link) · Lotus root soup: 1) w/ Pork spare ribs (link) (link) (link); 2) w/ beef short ribs (link) · Herbal duck soup, double-steamed. (link) (link) (link) · Herbal duck soup, simmered (non-steamed). (link) · Taiwanese cabbage in chicken stock. (link) · Pork, shrimp & snow pea sprout dumplings (shui kow) [Wei Chuan], mushroom caps and blanched baby kale in chicken stock (flavored further w/ dried Chinese mushrooms & stems, and “stock fish” (small dried anchovies). Mushroom caps added to the soup.) (link; scroll down) · Big-leaf tong ho & straw mushrooms in gingery chicken & mushroom stock w/ garlic, ground white pepper, jozo mirin, fish sauce. (link; scroll down) · Chicken stock w/ water, Hon-Dashi flakes, fresh wood-ear fungus, fish balls, soft tofu chunks, trimmed Thai basil, chopped scallions. (link) · Beef balls w/ big-leaf tong ho, fresh wood-ear fungus, snow fungus, garlic, chicken stock. (link; scroll down) · Short-cut pork spare ribs, some chicken stock (oil, garlic too), snow fungus, angled loofah, cellophane noodles. (link) · Bak Kut Teh, Canto-Hoklo herbal style. (link) (link) · Bak Kut Teh, Teochew style. (link) · Savoy + green cabbage, chicken legs, garlic, ginger, galangal, chicken stock. (link) · Chicken stock, garlic, oil, fish balls (2 types) & soft tofu, trimmed rau húng quế ("Thai basil"). (link) · Enoki & bunapi-shimeji myshrooms, sliced wong nga pak (Napa cabbage), chopped scallions & coriander leaves - in chicken broth. (link; scroll down) · Pollock fish balls (commercial) in chicken stock w/ trimmed Thai basil & scallions. (link) · Miso soup. Water, hon-dashi granules, bunapi-shimeji, scallions, finely sliced negi (white part only), wakame, cubed soft tofu, Yamabuki miso. (link) · Smashed garlic & oil, pork spare ribs, salt, water, (simmer), red-streaked edible amaranth (yin choy; 苋菜; jin6 coi3). (link) · Oil, smashed garlic, fresh "far koo" Chinese mushrooms, semi-firm tofu, snow peas, chicken stock. (link) · Pork wontons & asparagus in chicken stock (simmered w/ Chinese mushrooms & stock fish). (link) · Pork spare ribs sautéed w/ smashed garlic & peanut oil, salted, water added, simmered; rehydrated snow fungus added, simmered; angled loofah added in. (link) · Asparagus & maitake mushroom in chicken stock. (link) · Miso soup. With katsuobushi stock augmented w/ hon-dashi granules; wakame, firm tofu, enoki mushrooms, negi (w/ flowers), scallions; mutenka shiro miso. Green parts of scallions. (link; scroll down) · Red & red-streaked amaranth ("seng choy") in chicken stock simmered w/ sautéed smashed garlic & rehydrated dried shrimp ("har mai"). (link) · Baby kale in chicken broth. (link) · Chicken poaching broth: 1) w/ savoy cabbage (link); 2) w/ baby kai-lan (link); 3) w/ watercress (link). · Shrimp wontons, Taiwan choy sum, fresh far koo Chinese mushrooms & fresh baby garlic heads in chicken broth (presimmered w/ oil, stock fish, mushroom stems, smashed garlic). (link; scroll down) · Wolfberry leaves (枸杞菜) & pork spare ribs soup. (link) (link) · Wolfberry leaves with fish balls, soft tofu chunks and sliced fresh garlic in chicken broth, with a beaten egg drizzled in at the end. (link) · Fuzzy squash (skinned) & chicken breast slices in chicken broth plus scallions. (link; scroll down) · Chinese Spinach & Pork wontons in chicken broth w/ blanched kai-lan, chopped scallions & deep-fried shallots. (link; scroll down) · Sorrel soup, in the style of green Ukrainian borscht. (link) · Dragon Tongue mustard greens in chicken broth w/ sour cream. (link; scroll down) · Baby bok choy, baby portobella & shiitake mushrooms in chicken broth. (link) · Finely sliced "small negi"/cebollitas verde & portobello mushrooms in chicken broth. Garnished w/ chopped Western chives & ground black pepper. (link) · Chicken broth, bit of oil, smashed garlic, fish balls, trimmed fresh spinach, coriander leaves. (link) · Savoy cabbage & purple asparagus in chicken broth. (link) · Water, garlic, oil, fresh shiitake mushrooms, fresh wood-ear fungus, dried scallops, chicken stock, sliced de-ridged angled loofah, cellophane noodles. (link) · Just-done chicken stock/broth, w/ purple & green pencil asparagus plus baby zucchini scattered into it and zapped briefly. (link) · Chicken broth, pork meat balls [Venus], bit of extra oil, creminis (sliced up), tree-trunk asparagus (sliced up), angel hair pasta [De Cecco] cooked in the pot with everything else, trimmed spinach wilted in. (link) · Chiffonade of trimmed young kale wilted into and briefly simmered in chicken broth with a little smashed garlic. (link) · Chicken broth w/ with baby zucchini and Napa cabbage. (link) · Chiffonaded young kale & small spinach leaves & heads (many flowering) in chicken broth w/ additional chicken fat. (link; scroll down) · Kale & spinach in chicken broth w/ chicken fat, with vermicelli added in. Dressed w/ sliced red-streaked fresh spring onions. (link) · Water, "black" Chinese jujubes, dried Codonopsis pilosula root pieces (dong2 sam1; 党参), short-cut pork spare ribs, salt, simmer; wolfberries (goji berries), wolfberry leaves at the end. (link) · Pork & shrimp wontons with chiffonaded savoy cabbage leaves & green garlic in chicken broth. (link) · Chicken broth, criminis, baby spinach, parsley. (link) · Beet greens (ribboned), spring onions/baby onions (white parts, trimmed) and green garlic (sliced) in chicken stock; plus crème fraîche on top. (link; scroll down) · Beef & tendon meatballs [Venus], chopped baby kale, sliced green garlic, full-size garlic, baby portobello mushrooms, beef broth. (link) · Garlic, oil, chicken broth, sliced fat-type bamboo shoots, fresh wood-ear fungus, sliced soft tofu, chopped scallions. (link) · A riff on canh đậu hủ hẹ (tofu & chives soup) (link); and augmented w/ stuff (link). · Sliced quartered winter-type bamboo shoot simmered in chicken broth w/ a bit of oil & some smashed garlic; then trimmed hearts of red romaine, green romaine & butter lettuces barely wilted in. (link) · Straw mushrooms, asparagus, enoki mushrooms in chicken broth. Fried shallots & scallions. (link) · Kai Tom Khamin (ไก่ต้มขมิ้น) (Southern Thai Hot & Sour Chicken Turmeric Soup) (link); and with more stuff (link). · Peppermint Swiss chard in chicken stock. (link; scroll down) · Okra, Thai Eggplants & Chicken Wings in Spicy Broth. (link; scroll down) · The poaching liquid/stock for Yong Tau Foo with: 1) Wong Nga Pak (Napa cabbage) (link); 2) with Peppermint Swiss Chard (link; scroll down). · EV olive oil, thinly-sliced shallots & garlic, chopped scallions, sliced young portobello mushrooms, chicken stock + water, zucchini blossoms (stigmas removed), quartered baby zucchini, roasted vermicelli (this one). Dressed w/ more chopped scallions & a couple of baby zucchini. (link) · Tomato soup w/ basil. (link) (link) · Chicken & Peppermint Swiss chard soup. (link) · Hearty soup. Water, chicken thighs, ginger, sea salt, yellow & red-skinned carrots, leafy celery, lumachine [Garofalo] cooked directly in the soup. (link) · Cucumber soup – Parboiled short-cut pork spare ribs, water, dried Shanxi red jujubes, dried cuttlefish, dried Angular Solomon's Seal rhizome, Persian cucumbers sliced into sticks. (link) · Broccoli & scallions in chicken broth; Oriental Spinach in chicken broth. (link) · Pork meatballs (minced fatty pork, fish sauce, generous panko crumbs, chopped scallions, ground white pepper, splashes of this-and-that) in chicken stock w/ kai-lan, very fine min6 sin3 (a bundle softened directly in the hot broth/soup in the pot after turning the fire off), deep-fried shallots. (link) · Sprouting broccoli & unpeeled straw mushrooms in chicken broth. (link) · Simple chicken broth w/ mung bean sprouts, scallions & coriander leaves. (link) · Beef & tendon meatballs, basil, squash, lumachine; in beef broth. (link) · Pork Hocks in Black Vinegar with Ginger, a special kind of “soup”. (link) · Edible amaranth in chicken broth w/ some garlic. (link) · Cabbage & chicken soup. (link) · Pork meatballs in soup: 1) w/ baby long bok choy ; 2) w/ basil, fusilli & deep-fried shallots. (link); · Edible amaranth (Tandaljo Bhaji) w/ fish balls & soft tofu chunks in chicken stock, plus garlic & pre-softened dried shrimp tossed in rice bran oil before quenching w/ the stock. Eaten w/ a bundle of Fookchow (Fuzhou) wheat thread noodles (福州綫麵) (Flour vermicelli) softened directly into the soup in the bowl. The remainder of the soup left in the pot augmented w/ more soft tofu, diluted a bit, and trimmed basil (Italian-type) wilted in and the mixture briefly simmered; bowled w/ some of the (once-dried) shrimp. (link) · Enoki, shimeji & shiitake mushrooms (all fresh) plus striped green zucchini in nicely gelatinous chicken broth. Generous chopped scallions. (link) · Winter melon soup. Oil, garlic (Music), beef short ribs, salt, water, beef stock, pre-soaked dried Chinese mushrooms, winter melon. (link; scroll down) · Turnip greens & straw mushrooms (canned) in chicken stock/broth. (link) · Fuzzy squash (mo qua; chit qua) soup. Rice bran oil, garlic, rehydrated dried shrimp (har mai), water, chicken stock, the soaking water for the har mai, rehydrated wood-ear fungus, simmer; cut-up de-skinned fuzzy squash, salt. (link) · Broccoli florets barely cooked (still slightly crunchy) in high-gelatin-content chicken broth. (link) · Chicken-cabbage soup; 1) w/ broccoli floretd, lumachine & parsley; 2) w/ toasted vermicelli & parsley. (link) · Sautéed short-cut pork spare ribs simmered (water + chicken stock) w/ garlic, salt, thick-cap Chinese "flower pattern" mushrooms, black wood-ear fungus & young daikon. (link) · Tender amaranth (see here) & unpeeled straw mushrooms in chicken broth w/ dried shrimp & garlic. (link) · Simple freh chicken broth w/ scallions. Multiple examples. One example here – link. · Broccoli florets & thinly-sliced negi (Kanto-type) in fresh chicken broth. (link) · Fish balls & wong nga pak (Napa cabbage) in fresh chicken broth. (link; scroll down) · Watercress in chicken broth. (link) (link) · Pork meatballs & daikon in peppery milky pork stock. (link; scroll down) · Chicken broth w/ maitake & bunapi-shimeji mushrooms, plus coriander leaves and scallions. (link; scroll down) · Chicken stock with small yellow & orange carrots, fresh maitake mushrooms, Taiwan bok choy heart leaves & scallions; plus some roasted vermicelli folded in at the end. (link) · Fish osuimono, one version. (link) · Asari Osuimono, one version. (link) · Pork & beef+tendon balls, yellow & orange carrots, Chinese-type spinach, roasted vermicelli in fresh chicken stock/broth. (link) · Hōrensō (spinach) & hakusai (Napa cabbage) in fresh chicken stock/broth. (link; scroll down) · Firm tofu chunks & unpeeled straw mushrooms in chicken stock/broth. Chopped scallions. (link) Noodle Soups. · Oil, garlic, chicken stock, straw mushrooms [Golden Summit], pork meatballs [Venus], celery, sea salt, Tokyo negi, celery leaves. Soba noodles. (link) · "Singapore Laksa La Mian" [Prima Taste] with various additions. (link) (link) (link; scroll down) (link) · "Wonton Soup Flavoured Instant Noodle King" [Sau Tao]; w/ fish ball with roe [Jane Jane], "seafood mushroom" [Xuerong] and chopped scallions. (link) · "Sapporo Ichiban Japanese Style Noodles & Chicken Flavored Soup"; with Tuscan kale, Bauernschinken, and an egg. (link) · Taiwanese cabbage & baby kale in chicken stock, Benton's Kentucky Farmers' Ham slices, min6 sin3 (Fuzhou type skinny wheat noodles) and cellophane noodles; a couple of hard-boiled eggs & chopped scallions. (link) · "Stirfried Kimchi Noodles" [Paldo] augmented w/ more baechu kimchi; with 1) soft tofu chunks, scallions, eggs poached in situ (link; scroll down); with 2) corned beef & scallions (link). · Pork & shrimp wontons and wonton noodles (both commercial) in chicken broth w/ sliced negi. (link; scroll down) · Beef short ribs braised w/ garlic, Korean radishes, shiro miso, fermented bean curd, dried Chinese mushrooms (small far koo type) w/ min6 sin3. (link) · Ngap Tong Meen. (Duck Soup Noodles) (link) · Phở đặc biệt (link) (link) · "Hot & Spicy Flavor Instant Vermicelli" [Guangyou brand] augmented w/ tau pok, kai-lan, scallions, coriander leaves. (link) · Pork, shrimp, pea shoots dumplings [Wei Chuan] w/ shrimp noodles, fresh Chinese mushrooms, gai-lan, chopped scallions, in chicken stock simmered w/ smashed garlic. (link) · Harm Choy Tong with bánh phở tươi. (link) · Fish balls [commercial], Taiwan bok choy, fresh fine rice vermicelli (bánh hỏi tươi) in leftover beef broth. Chopped scallions. (link) · Pork wontons w/ bok choy & wonton noodles in chicken stock (simmered w/ mushroom, stock fish). (link) · Soup w/ fresh Vietnamese rice noodles (bánh phở tươi). Leftover roast pork (commercial) sautéed w/ garlic & oil, water, rehydrated thick-cap "flower mushrooms", pork meatballs, tau pok, maitake mushrooms, baby bok choy & asparagus. (link) · Noodle bowl. Fish tofu, snow pea pods, baby kai-lan, bunapi-shimeji mushrooms, sliced negi and thin egg noodles; in a spicy sesame broth (taken from a Sun Noodles Tan Tan fresh ramen pack). (link) · Ibumie "Penang White Curry Mee" (this one) augmented with tau pok, a poached egg & coriander leaves. (link) · "Sapporo Ichiban Japanese Style Noodles & Chicken flavored-soup" with romaine lettuce, Dragon Tongue mustard greens, Dodge City salame, three farm-fresh eggs. (link; scroll down) · "Sapporo Ichiban Japanese Style Noodles & Chicken Flavored-Soup" augmented with: 1) Andouille sausage, smashed garlic, cremini mushrooms, rainbow swiss chard, farm-fresh eggs poached in situ (link); 2) Leftover "Rosemary & Lemon Chicken (rotisserie-type)", sliced Savoy cabbage, cremini mushrooms, hard-boiled farm-fresh eggs, deep-fried sliced shallots (link). · Hot dogs [Hebrew National all beef], cooked w/ and topped (in the bowl) with instant ramen [sapporo Ichiban Chicken Flavor] (with the seasoning packet added in of course), trimmed leafy celery, sugar snap peas, halved crimini mushrooms, a couple farm-fresh eggs poached in situ. (link) · "Kimchi Flavor Noodle Soup" [Nongshim], with two farm-fresh eggs poached in situ, trimmed spring onions/young onions, lots of extrabaechu kimchi. (link) · Savoy cabbage & duck leg soup w/ smashed garlic in chicken broth w/ a couple good pours of Shaohsing hua tiao chiew. Eaten w/ Fookchow-type min6 sin3 (this one). Dressed w/ chopped scallions. (link; scroll down) · Water, smashed garlic, oil, Hebrew National beef franks, simmer; seasoning packages from "Ho Fan Abalone Chicken Soup Flavored" [sau Tao], trimmed yard-long beans (Vigna unguiculata ssp. sesquipedalis), simmer, the ho fan noodle block, simmer, trimmed broccoli florets, simmer. Bowled. Dressed w/ deep-fried shallots. (link) · "Nong Shim Spicy Kimchi Flavor Bowl Noodle Soup" augmented w/ baechu kimchi, the chillied pickling/marinating liquid, eggs scrambled/marbled w/ chopped scallions sautéed in hot oil; plus some kkakdugi. (link) · "Ibumie Penang Lad Mee 'Perisa Lada Pedas' " with Dietz & Watson beef franks, broccoli, Dragon Tongue beans, scallions, extra white pepper. (link) · Shrimp wontons & noodles in soup (chicken stock simmered w/ ikan bilis (deheaded) & dried Chinese far koo mushrooms). (link) · Winter melon soup, with slippery-smooth (after cooking) slim-width Fawm Xiengkhuang Bánh Phở. (link) · Fresh Tan Tan Ramen [sun Noodles], with char-siu, fish tofu & chopped scallions. (link) · Beef & tendon meatballs, and fish balls in freshly-made chicken broth/stock, with julienned Tuscan kale, small broccoli florets, sliced green zucchini. Eaten w/ thin fresh rice stick noodles (bánh phở tươi). (link) · Pork & shrimp wontons, pork meatballs, skinny wonton noodles, kai-lan blanched in oiled simmering water, fresh chicken broth, scallions, deep-fried shallots. (link; scroll down) · Pork meatballs & daikon in peppery milky pork stock with thin Fuzhou (Fookchow) type wheat noodles. (link) · Pork wonton noodle soup. (link)

A recent "general-summary" article that basically warns against anti-GMO fervor: http://grist.org/food/mind-bomb-its-practically-impossible-to-define-gmos/

Fish, loofah & woodear fungus. Red snapper fillet, cut into slices, marinated w/ good Shaohsing wine, salt, ground white pepper. Drained, tossed w/ corn starch, fresh ground white pepper, a wee bit salt. Fried in hot oil/hot pan on both sides till golden, reserve. Angled luffa (Luffa acutangula; 絲瓜 (si1 gwaa1) a.k.a. 勝瓜 (sing3 gwaa1)) de-ridged and cut into slices, dried wood-ear fungus rehydrated & trimmed. Chopped smashed garlic, sliced ginger, hot oil, hot pan; luffa & fungus added in, stir-fried; a mixture of {double-fermented soy sauce, bit of dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, good Shaohsing wine, some hon-mirin [Takara], corn starch slurried in} added in and stuff stirred around; the reserved fried fish slices added in and everything gently folded in. Served, dressed w/ coriander leaves. On the way there. Harm Choy Tong, relatively simple version. (Pickled mustard soup w/ chicken & stuff) Pickled mustard (the vegetable used is large-leaved "kai choy" in the unpickled form), soaked & trimmed. Water, chopped-up chicken thighs, the trimmed soaked mustard, a few canned skinned whole tomatoes [Red Gold] roughly cut into quarters, sliced ginger, sea salt, rice vinegar, bit of rice bran oil, simmer. Chunked soft tofu added near the end, seasoning adjusted. Total cooking time about 1+ hour. Eaten w/ white rice.

Looks nice. I imagine, though, that you know that Thai fried rice does not need pineapple for it to be "Thai fried rice". What you made is more-or-less khao op sapparot, a fancy version (e.g. with those raisins added in) of Thai Pineapple Fried Rice (khao phat sapparot) which is itself a subset of "Thai Fried Rice". FWIW some purists say that only fish sauce (no soy sauce) is to be used otherwise it becomes more like Chinese fried rice - but one cooks and eats according to one's desires. :-) :-D

Stewed/braised pork hocks (from here) w/ hand-made Fuzhou-type thin wheat noodles (手工麵線) and Choy Sum (Brassica rapa var. parachinensis; 菜心). Chopped scallions (蔥).