Midlife
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Posts posted by Midlife
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2 hours ago, liuzhou said:
I've always considered the American name 'Chinese broccoli' to be ridiculous. Although both broccoli and what you call gailan (芥兰 - jiè lán in 95% of China) are both members of members of the Brassicaceae family, so are many other vegetables including turnips, kale, mustard, all the cabbages etc. I strongly advise disassociating the two in your mind.
I have no experience of "Americanized Chinese" cuisine. American-Chinese cuisine and Chinese-Chinese cuisine are two very different entities.
Broccoli is certainly used in regional Chinese cooking but not in the way it is used in America. I mentioned broccoli back in this post.
Yes.
I think I’ve got it now. I think the majority (maybe only) of the time I see “broccoli” on a Chinese restaurant menu it’s in Beef w/ Broccoli and at a “Chinese-American” restaurant or a Panda Express, and is definitely western broccoli. I just assumed it was because the restaurants were playing to American preferences. Come to think of it, Gai Lan IS served as a separate dish with a sauce. So my issue is really simply whether or not the place has Gai Lan on the menu, with Broccoli Beef being legitimate.
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2 hours ago, liuzhou said:
locally
Interesting. Would you happen to have a thought as to why it seems that Western broccoli is served almost entirely at ‘Americanized’ Chinese restaurants in the US, and you don’t usually find it at the more regional cuisine-based Chinese places? At least that’s been my experience.
I’ve been known to judge a place’s ‘authenticity’ by the type of broccoli served. Am I wrong?
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13 hours ago, liuzhou said:
No. It is referring to western style broccoli.
Is it grown for export or consumed locally?
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On 12/19/2023 at 10:53 PM, liuzhou said:
Here's another example of myth making coming from an American-Chinese writer on Spruce Eats.
China grows, by far, the most broccoli on the planet. 10,263, 746 tonnes a year! It isn't served as Chicken and Broccoli though!
Is it possible that the post you quote is referring to the ‘western’ type of broccoli we see throughout the US? That’s what is served as ‘broccoli beef’’ in most Americanized Chinese restaurants here. Wondering if the “broccoli” grown in such large quantity in China is Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli).
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8 hours ago, MetsFan5 said:
I’ve used the corn on its husk method via the microwave. Corn isn’t in season here but I have a few dishes that call for it. The corn that is available it mostly husked. Has anyone tried to use the microwave method with mostly husked corn?
I’ve never quite understood why markets offer partially husked corn. Is it so that customers can see that third or so of the kernels to know it’s good looking? Or do they do it to cut down on those who insist on pulling part of the full husk down to check it?
My guess is that wrapping the partially husked ears in paper towel for microwaving would be just fine, but might mean less flavor imparted from the husk. Any first-hand experience with that?
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Are we discussing the movie? My media app says there’s also a series that is newer.
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On 8/22/2023 at 3:18 AM, liuzhou said:
I get it. Thanks. So my next question would be - why don’t those mini pepper packs have any green ones in them? Personally, I don’t like the taste of green ones, but all the markets sell the large ones in all colors.
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Any horticulturalists or gardeners here that can explain why the bags of mini peppers sold in most US supermarkets contain red, yellow and orange peppers, but no green ones? Are the minis a different variety that doesn’t have a green variant?
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8 hours ago, rotuts said:
are those Costco Chickens getting any smaller ?
just curious , not being a Costco member.
No, they’re not.
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On 1/15/2004 at 8:18 AM, denise_jer said:
I went to school in MA, and they called them grinders there. Maybe it is a New England thing?
I went to college in Riverside, California and there was a popular shop there called D’Elia’s Grinders, so it’s not just a New England thing. Just checked and they’re still in business 55 years later, so pretty popular.
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I just watched a really good documentary that will help a lot if you are interested in the ‘how’ of wine. It’s called A Perfect Vintage and is available on the streaming services FreeVee, Roku and Prime Video.
It showcases the 2013 vintage in the Napa Valley but goes deeply into terroir, vineyard management, harvest, winemaking and is extremely well done featuring winery owners and mostly winemakers. Very educational.
Drops of God (the series) is very good too and it goes more into tasting wine.
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We’re lucky enough to have a Wild Fork retail store just 3 miles from us. At first I was put off that everything is frozen but, if there’s a taste difference, I haven’t found one. The variety of proteins is huge and they now stock a large number of pre-cooked entrees and sides at competitive prices.
One of our regular meals is salmon filets and WF has them in 4-packs where all 4 are similar size and shape. I’ve been frustrated that the filets at Trader Joe’s, while not frozen, are usually a mix of center cuts and end pieces at what is a higher price.
im a WF fan.
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So I made the Chicken/Chili burrito tonight. I cooked it with some salsa and cheese and it was pretty good. It would probably have been better if I’d microwaved it or not cooked it in foil (in the oven). The bottom of the burrito stuck to the foil and I could only eat the parts I could pry loose. I only ate one of the two so I’ll get another chance at it soon. 😜
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5 hours ago, rotuts said:
the chicken enchiladas that I remember and loved :
two in a paper ty red enchilada sauce
haven't been around for a long log time
cumin/red sauce flavor I used to devoir those.
th4y added a bit of GBP to them at one point
I had tonight a xandle
and pass them by
the then disappeared forever
Somehow I stumbled on a TJs blog mention of what I thought was a chicken/green chili enchilada but must have been the chicken/green chili bowl. I’d bought the veggie enchilada and was a little underwhelmed. I’m gonna try the burrito for dinner tomorrow.
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9 hours ago, rotuts said:
Found them today. I was thinking of the chicken enchiladas when I wrote that. Haven’t found those.
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On 7/31/2023 at 7:36 AM, rotuts said:
I recently began working w these :
https://www.traderjoesreviews.com/product/trader-joes-chicken-chile-verde-burritos/
Ive had them before , and forgot about them
chicken ( some dark meat ) in a thick green cilli ' sauce '
flour wrap . I like them I micro ( covered ) and let sit so the steam effects the wrap
then chese , this bing TJ's Jack :
micro'd cheese to melting , then carefully torched.
wanted Tj's PicoDG but they only had mild
so tried
its a chunky cooked salsa :
and Campari tomato's , which added nothing .
this was an OK dish , but the salsa is no Pico del Gallo
thinking about it , this would be interesting on some linguini if you like red sauce , chunky w some heat.
then , the MasterPiece :
same burrito // cheese // torching. but it wanted some sauce :
the two you see I had and enjoy on shrubbery :
refrigerated Ranch and refrigerated creamy cilantro .
the cilantro is muted , its tart and of course creamy.
this rendition is very much a winner for me.
Its what's for dinner tonight , and I may add some minced red onion.
Haven’t found these yet at my sadly smaller TJs. I’ve tried the veggie one and it was OK, but the chicken was what I’d been looking for. Maybe soon.
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Starbucks plain coffee has always had that burnt taste. I suppose some people like it that way but most order it doctored up in ways that mask that flavor. I wonder if there are stats available as to how much plain black coffee they sell as a % of their total sales.
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The surf club beer tasting was kindof bizarre I think, unless it could be chalked up to people who really don’t care at all about taste and just drink to drink. Even then….. water doesn’t taste ANYTHING like beer unless the beer isn’t really ‘beer’. The story really does break my heart.
Not saying this simply to pat myself on the back but at a family thanksgiving a few years ago one of the family set up a blind taste test of 5 beers. I was either just lucky or my years and years close to the wine world really gave me much more of an educated palate than I had imagined. I was able to name the type of all 5 beers without seeing a single beer or label.
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23 hours ago, BeeZee said:
The serving sizes continue to be laughable on the labels, I needed to pick up something for a quick desk lunch and purchased the plastic container "lemon chicken and arugula salad". The label states 2.5 servings - and the only think I can think of was the 5 little pieces of chicken divvied up as 2 per portion🤣. The salad was perfectly acceptable ($5.49), a bit of baby arugula on the bottom, topped with large/pearl couscous, scattering of dried black currents, some other grain (quinoa?), and a sweet/spicy red pepper dressing that was far too sweet.
The portions must vary. I had that same salad last week and it was really enough for 1.5 to 2 servings (though I don’t eat as much as I used to). It also had maybe 10 or so small pieces of chicken in it. The dressing was fine, but that’s a personal taste thing.
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Somehow our son and his family wound up with this amazing digital interface toaster that is ridiculously expensive ($350). While I’d never in a million years spend anywhere near that for a toaster, I have to say that his is without doubt the best one I’ve ever used. It has a digital screen that’s very easy to use, it toasts perfectly, and is incredibly fast. I think it should be for that kind of money, and it is.
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As an alternative……… I recently bought small a can of Mutti baby Roma tomatoes at our local Albertson’s. They were very small, oblong, and were NOT peeled, but there was a lot of purée in the can. I used them in a fish stew and broke them up a bit with a potato masher as I thought leaving them whole would mess with the texture of the dish. Taste was very good.
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We have the Ninja 5 in 1 indoor grill and air fryer combo but use it only as an air fryer. We also have a ‘toaster’ oven with an air fryer setting. My experience is that any air fryer in an oven configuration is going to be a bear to clean. Our Ninja has a basket in a basket design that makes it extremely easy to clean.
Ninja AG301 Foodi 5-in-1 Indoor Grill with Air Fry, Roast, Bake & Dehydrate, Black/Silver
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3 hours ago, rotuts said:
my goal was to retard oxidation by lowering the temp.
indeed , the EVOO in the refrigerator does solidify over time.
I decant a few oz into a plastic squeeze bottle w a secure , and easy to open top
I use the small bottle for EVOO I use , direct from the refrigerator
if its semi solid , I unscrew the top , and squeeze out a glug .
I do have to take out the larger bottle some times from the refrigerator
to liquefy when doing a refill of the smaller bottle.
I can't say this is the best way to keep EVOO
but the results seem fresher to me than keeping the large bottle at room temp , even if in the dark
that large bottle lasts me for many months.
P.S. : ' lose flavor when cold '
im guessing that most of that flavor comes back when it gets to room temp.
I haven't don e any experiments , but i do know was oxidized ( ie rancid )
EVOO tastes like . refrigerated and then back to room temp EVOO
doesn't taste oxidized // nor rancid.
and of course , very important :
its easy to do.
This is one of those ‘if it works for you’ things apparently. Good quality olive oil will normally be at its best for about a year after it’s made. Then it starts to degrade but, like wine, it’s about how it’s stored and whether the user’s palate cares. I’d be curious as to how cooling and warming repeatedly affects it in a taste test.
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On 6/14/2023 at 5:47 AM, rotuts said:
some time ago , when TJ's created my local store
12 minutes away
there was a WholeFoods right across the street.
Id had soe previous experience w WF , in California
however , I used to stop at the WF , across the street
as they had EVOO ti taste , 2 to 3 items , s cut fresh bread.
very interesting to try a few EVOO at the same time
a bit spicy ? a sonderfull fugl mouth feel ?
etc.
and indeed a long time ago , my sister sent me two gallons
of olive oil , from a convent in the east bay area
CA , from the Sisters own trees
I took very good care of those two gallons
as I had a spare refrigerator in the garage.
Ive learned that its more important for me
to take care of any EVOO I get
refrigerating
as , in the past I had two very nice ones
but after I added the to this aa that
I doubt I could say , in the fine dish
which was which .
but , Ive learned to take care of any oil
refrigeration etc
and Im fine w what I can find
these day
just not so much Italian processes Tunisian Crank case oil.
of note : the Kalamata moved from the glass bottle
@TJ's to a metal bottle , that was very difficult to open.
MarketBaket seems to now have a Kalamatan Oil
Ill keep that in mind
I do love Kalamata olives .
and I might go back to a place fairly near me
and get them out of a 5 gallon bin
Very curious about refrigerating olive oil. I worked in a specialty olive oil shop for three years and one of the first rules was that olive oil should NOT be refrigerated. (#s 2 and 3 were keep it in dark glass and away from light.) It tends to thicken and lose flavor when cold. Sounds like your experience is different. Can you please elaborate?
A pictorial guide to Chinese cooking ingredients
in China: Cooking & Baking
Posted
cooking wine, msg, chicken bouillon powder, water, soy sauce, maltose, granulated sugar, salt and potassium sorbate.
What, in that list if ingredients, woujd be “burning hot”?