huiray

There is also an old eGullet topic/thread on Peking Duck vs Cantonese Duck. https://forums.egullet.org/topic/9824-peking-duck-vs-cantonese-duck/?page=2

Braised/stewed pork hock. Just a few slices and some broth ladled out from the pot of the stuff. :-) Pork hock slices braised/stewed with double-fermented soy sauce [LKK], dark soy sauce [Yuet Heung Yuen], some oyster sauce [LKK], a decent Shaohsing cooking wine (generous pour), lots of sliced ginger, some crushed garlic, a small handful of whole star anise, a decent-sized cinnamon (cassia) bark stick, "aged" rice vinegar, rock sugar, water; simmer for an hour or so; correct seasoning, add more Shaohsing wine, vinegar simmer some more; total time about 2-and-a-half hours or so. ETA: Oh, the sliced pork hocks were given a fei sui (飛水) treatment first and cleaned under the running tap before they went into the stew/braise proper. Stir-fried Pull Mustard. Hot pan, hot oil, chopped smashed garlic, trimmed still-wet "Pull Mustard", 雪裡紅 (a form of relatively narrow-leafed mustard; intact plants look like this). Eaten w/ white rice, spooning the nice gelatinous pork hock broth over the rice.

Oh, the already-roasted ducks! I thought you meant raw uncooked "Pekin ducks" (no "g")... I suspect you also mean the "Cantonese-style" roast ducks, then, rather than Peking Duck, which is something slightly different? The ducks one sees hanging ubiquitously in shopfronts in Chinese restaurants (at least in Manhattan's Chinatown) are NOT really Peking Ducks, which would have shatteringly crisp skin separated from the body, served in a specific way. The ones "just hanging around" are commonly simply "燒鴨" (Cantonese Yale: siu1 ngaap3); whereas actual Peking Duck "北京烤鴨" (bak1 ging1 haau1 ngaap3) usually needs to be a special order. (Except, of course, in places that specialize in that - such as in certain restaurants in Beijing itself :-) where the ducks would be cranked out in a steady stream) Don't many of the restaurants still make their own? I know at least some of them did some years ago - one could ask nicely? (I had also seen some of them carrying out hot, steaming ducks from the BOH to the front "kiosk" in years past, at times when I happened to be there...the one at the corner of Mott & Bayard, for instance - but that shop is gone, I think, so that is of zero help to you. Sorry.) Hope others will pipe up.

Spicy tofu on white rice. Watercress in chicken broth. Hot rice bran oil, chopped crushed garlic, marinated minced pork, cubed firm tofu, chopped scallions & coriander leaves. Marinated minced pork: Minced fatty pork, Pixian doubanjiang [Juan Cheng brand] (鵑城牌 四川郫縣豆瓣醬) (this one), chili in oil w/peanuts [Laoganma], Shaohsing wine, hon-mirin [Takara], lots of ground white pepper.

Does the rabbit HAVE to be cooked and maintained in large pieces? (such as the "only two of each part" comments, single-intact-leg+thigh dishes, etc) CHOP IT UP into bite-sized pieces and do a dish based on smaller pieces. A stir-fry, perhaps. Or de-bone it and shred or chunk the meat and do another dish with that - a ragoût, another kind of stir-fry, a pie, etc, as some of the latter posts bring up. In all these cases other stuff goes into the dish so it certainly could feed three people and then some.

Lunch at Sakura in Indianapolis today. It's supposed to be the "oldest" Japanese restaurant in town; also run by Japanese. I go here off-and-on. Much of the regular clientele are caucasian-type USAmerican diners, so a lot of the menu is geared towards that demographic – but there is a significant E Asian clientele nevertheless and parts of the menu (and on request) can approximate sort-of traditional Japanese food. The place is dim - so the following pictures are not the best. :-) What I had today: Agedashidofu. Nice. I enjoyed it. Crunchy, appropriate thickness coating, dense cool smooth tofu inside. The white stuff is grated daikon. Yosenabe. With rice, dipping sauce, and tsukemono. I asked for the pickles instead of the "standard salad or soup" that accompanies most items (in the usual Americanized manner) The dipping sauce was a shoyu mixture w/ scallions and katsuobushi in it. The bowl of yosenabe halfway-through eating. Stuff in it included broad bean threads/noodles, hakusai (Napa cabbage), onions, nira (chives), scallions, soft tofu, chicken pieces, shrimp, salmon, a white fish (seemed like yellowtail) and kani-kamaboko. Both of the fish pieces (several) were nicely unctuous in fat content and perfectly cooked. All in a light dashi-type broth. Decent, although not earth-shattering. Plus a mug of green tea. Location on Google maps.

Hmm. Russian olives are now classified as an invasive species in the US.... http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/russolive.shtml

[Host's note: To avoid an excessive load on our servers this topic has been split. The discussion continues from here] A sort of Oyster Pad Woon Sen. :-) In sequence: hot rice bran oil, chopped smashed garlic, finely sliced green cabbage, some of a mixture of [fish sauce, double-fermented soy sauce, good Shaohsing wine, generous ground white pepper], a well made in the center then pre-beaten eggs poured in & scrambled, about a half pound shucked large oysters followed and was scrambled in with the eggs and other stuff, pre-soaked glass noodles (bundles cut in two w/ kitchen shears) immediately added, then sliced de-seeded hot long green chillies plus the rest of the fish sauce mixture plus the reserved oyster liquor, everything stirred/tossed around, trimmed green scallions went in and a final toss done. Served.

Well, I don't know if I can be of much help, but here are some examples of phở that Ive made and posted about here on eG: HERE and HERE for example. The commentary might be of use, perhaps. I don't roast my bones, but I do parboil them ("fei sui" treatment, in Cantonese; SEE HERE too for some comments) and I do make sure my onion and ginger are charred. I also use more star anise and spices than many other people use (do you add black cardamom into your stock?) (DO NOT use green cardamom, the two are NOT INTERCHANGEABLE) At least in my hands, one needs to ADD ENOUGH fish sauce (quite a bit), and don't skip on the rock sugar. I use Red Boat fish sauce nowadays, but used Three Crabs, & etc years ago. I believe in Australia Megachef is supposed to be a highy-praised brand put out by David Thompson. Have you tried Andrea Nguyen's method for phở bò ? (As I mentioned above I use far more spices and seasonings than she does but that may not suit many people) [Host's note: To avoid an excessive load on our servers this topic has been split. The discussion continues here]

Haha. :-D Lots more quackquack drives out there too. :-)

Are you asking about Peking Ducks or just "ducks"?

There is also the pork belly topic.

Sartoric, why not add this to the pork belly cook-off?

Hmm, that appears to be a call for Season 13. what we are watching right now. (The dates of the sites for the casting calls are also all earlier in this year (2015))

Yet Angelina made rubbery shrimp. In any other season and any other episode of TC that would have been immediate grounds for dismissal. Ruining the protein, and especially shrimp. Maybe it's just me, but I can't see what the big hoo-ha is about corn - whether less-tasty or too-cooked or whatever, compared with ruining the protein, by TC's past track record. Grayson wasn't entirely off-base when she complained about it being corn - CORN - that sent her home.

Pan-fried red snapper fillet. With carrots & capellini. Fish fillet dressed w/ a mustard vinaigrette-like sauce** before frying. Sliced shallots fried in the pan after the fish, with a bit more EVOO added, the rest of the mustard sauce put in, plus some water, ground black pepper, fresh thyme sprigs, squeeze of lemon juice, simmered on low, thyme sprigs scraped down w/ spatula and removed, (some of the sauce & shallots put on the fish) then just-cooked wet capellini added and tossed around. The carrots were tossed in medium-hot oil then chicken stock added and simmered down. ** Dijon mustard, Arbosana EV olive oil, aged rice wine vinegar, turbinado sugar, shaken thoroughly. (Mustard is already salty)

I think there is an "Angelina Curse". Needless to say, she herself survived yet again. (Why???) Enjoyable episode 4. Even Grayson Schmitz's constant kvetching was entertaining in a "wait for it...here it comes..." way. Yes, I now am resigned to seeing her in this light this season. Still, she's still one of the few who dares to give attitude right back at Tom Colicchio, whether or not it is wise or totally justified. Giselle Wellman pouring cold liquid (water?) into the HOT glass tube of her solar oven - really, Giselle? Wesley True may be around for a while. Man-bun may be an awesome chef IRL but he still makes my eyebrows furrow with his antics and straight-from-the-outdoors shenanigans (remember the probably-dog-pooped-on dried grass he used?) ("Hay", he called it) Good win, Jeremy Ford. And...in LCK, Grayson just barely edges out Garret Fleming. Good showing, Garret. Some recaps from elsewhere: http://www.eater.com/2015/12/18/10500572/top-chef-season-13-episode-4-recap-california http://www.grubstreet.com/2015/12/top-chef-season-13-episode-4-recap.html http://www.ew.com/recap/top-chef-season-13-episode-4

"Double-steamed" herbal duck soup. The herbs and stuff used for this batch: Top, L-R: Sliced dried angular Solomon's Seal rhizomes (玉竹), dried Chinese wolfberry fruits (枸杞子), dried "Black Dates" (黑棗); Middle, L-R: Sliced dried Chinese yam (淮山), dried "Poor Man's Ginseng" roots (黨參); Bottom, L-R: (the Chinese yam), sliced dried Szechuan Lovage root (川芎片), sliced dried "Female Ginseng" (當歸), dried longan flesh (龍眼肉). A couple of fresh duck legs, cut-up, briefly blanched in hot water ("fei sui"; 飛水), in a heavy glazed ceramic bowl w/ heavy lid. The above herbs & stuff scattered/layered on top; then some good Shaohsing wine, a bit of hon-mirin [Takara], sea salt, and water to cover plus a bit added. Covered w/ the lid, and the assembly steamed in a large-enough pot for about 8 hours, replenishing steaming water as needed of course. Finished bowl of soup, retrieved and un-lidded for the first time since assembly before steaming: A bowl of the soup w/ a couple of duck pieces & some of the (edible) stuff, ladled out from the main bowl: Plus some of a batch of thick-capped flower-patterned Chinese mushrooms (茶花菇) slow-braised (stove top) w/ lightly crushed garlic lightly browned/sautéed in rice bran oil, chicken stock (nicely gelatinous), half a chicken stock cube, water, some hon-mirin (later on). Braised/stewed for about 3 hr, with wong nga pak (黃芽白) (Napa cabbage) heart leaves put in towards the end. Everything eaten together w/ white rice.

Soup. Firm tofu chunks & unpeeled straw mushrooms (canned) in chicken stock/broth. Chopped scallions. Short-cut pork spare ribs & chopped de-seeded hot long green chillies marinated w/ Teochew fermented soybeans (潮州豆醬; see below) [Dragonfly], crushed rock sugar, rice wine (I used ryori-shu), rice bran oil, then simply steamed till done. dressed w/ sliced scallions. Clean, clear taste; "ching mei tou", 清味道. Eaten with white rice. The Teochew fermented soybeans:

Use them as one would raw peanuts in various savory E/SE/S Asian recipes – I would imagine they would be a nice twist to them. (ps lateral thinking is a good thing)

Ah, OK. Then what about this? They should still be usable in the recipes with raw peanuts.

Chicken cooked with a Tamilian/generalized Malaysian-Indian influence. Basmati rice (Z Reserve). Finely chopped small yellow onions, chopped smashed garlic, peanut oil, soften/brown lightly; fresh Murraya koenigii leaves (trimmed, washed); ground coriander seed, ground cumin seed, ground turmeric, ground "extra hot" chili powder (unknown variety), whole (semi-dried) green cardamom pods, dried bay leaves, stir around on medium-low heat, extra oil added; some water added, stirred/let sit/etc; chicken thighs, chopped into pieces, sea salt, some jaggery (வெல்லம்), stirred around/let sit on medium-low heat; water added to just cover, bring to boil, reduce to simmer, cook for a while; halved skinned potatoes (Klondike Rose) added in, followed a little while on by de-seeded fresh hot long green chillies; seasoning adjusted, simmer along till the oil "breaks" (separates at the top) plus a while more. Let rest for a while before serving on rice. Plus simply-sautéed finely shredded green cabbage (no pic).

Ah, but she didn't say so. she merely said she didn't find any recipes. Just-barely sprouting peanuts like those she shows should be usable in the recipes in the search results. She was munching on them. That suggests she wants a way to cook them - with recipes in hand. Even the previous poster says she has used "them" in salads and stir-fries, without SPECIFYING that what she used were SPROUTING peanuts.

Odd. I find 55 results with a few keystrokes. https://forums.egullet.org/search/?type=all&q=%22raw+peanuts%22 I often use them in lotus root soups myself.

Several meals over a period of time at Fat Dan's Deli in SoBro in Indy. Italian Beef, hot, wet. At least that was the order. Half order of wings, BBQ sauce. Half order of their touted fries. The fries tasted burnt and dry. Several smaller/thinner pieces were hard enough and sharp-pointed enough to do harm if used to stab the back of my hand, for example. I ate a little and abandoned the rest. The wings were also burnt and the meat dry, dry, dry. Ate a few and also ditched the rest. The "Italian Beef" was tasty in a weird way, kind-of thickly sliced, not very moist, and DROWNED in hot giardiniera, at least the beef was. The bread was NOT "wet" as is understood for a Chicago Italian Beef. I'd call it "Dry". Whatever this was, it wasn't "Italian Beef". Also dumped after several bites. The beer I had (Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout) was the only saving grace of this meal. I talked with the people on either side of me (I was sitting at the bar) and they both agreed with me that my "Italian Beef" was not "Italian Beef". Both were from Chicago/spent time in Chicago. (They both also had heaps of fries left uneaten and untouched in front of them) The bartender asked if I wanted the uneaten stuff "to go". I declined quite firmly. Italian Beef another day. Ordered "sweet, wet". Made sure the waitress heard me say WET, WET. Well, this was much better. The peppers were a tad vinegary rather than "sweet" but the beef was properly thinly-sliced and tasted moist and sort-of correct in taste. Yes, it was "wet". (I asked if they really had a vat of jus which they dipped the thing into and was told "yes") I assumed "The Stance" (but while seated) in eating this. Ate all of it. Still, does not really match what I'd eat at Portillo's or Al's (for example) in Chicago itself. They also need to stop throwing ripple chips over everything. "Fat Dan's Ribs" another day. A half rack. Stated to be "hickory smoked dry rubbed". These were pretty good. Only the thin ribs at the thin end were just so slightly too-burnt. The rest were moist, tasty, good on the inside; some "bark" on the outside. Still had a bit of resistance to them rather than literally-falling-off-the-bone, which was good. Had them with a basket of (commercial/frozen) tater tots. Quite enjoyable. There was a bit of a kerfuffle over this when they brought out fries instead - I sent them back of course, because I ordered tater tots; the bar manager quickly gave me a plate of ripple chips to eat while waiting for the tater tots. "Fat Dan's Brisket". Stated to be "14 hour hickory-smoked-sliced-dry-rubbed". Came out as a sandwich, i.e. meat between buns. (Many of their menu items come out between buns as the default) Plus a half order of fries. Pretty decent and enjoyable. Decently moist and tasty, "smoke ring" present, although I am not enough of a BBQ expert to judge if there was any hanky-panky in achieving this. The fries this time were fairly good. I wouldn't call them the world's best fries (as they blather about it) but at least they weren't burnt. Tasty enough, not all that crispy some semi-limp, but better than the other batch I had, shown at the top of this post. So --- hits and misses at this place, consistency also an issue. Pic of the outside street-side seating from a table just inside the door. Shot of thr inside of the place, from a barstool at the "corner" of the bar. Location on Google Maps, you can see images of the front of the place there too.