aprilmei
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Posts posted by aprilmei
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If she really had been trying to "plug" Robuchon (and I'm not saying that was her intention) then why didn't she mention Robuchon a Galera, his restaurant in Macau?
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Uni does it for me. Really good, fresh uni - and lots of it. I've never been served as much as I wanted to eat.
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You can maker a basic fresh chevre. it'll be more mild than one made with non-UHT milk but still servicable as a spread or a ricotta substitute in lasagna or the like.
Come to think of it, why is it that chevre is pure white but the goat's milk was pale tan? Is it because the milk is UHT?
Jaymes, I made the recipe from Saveur. It seems similar to the Rick Bayless one, but in Saveur the skin that forms on top is skimmed off.
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I ended up making dulce de leche with it. When I poured it from the carton, it had a pale tan colour, it wasn't white like cow's milk. It made the most beautiful, deep brown dulce de leche - really lovely. It didn't turnout very thick although I simmered it for several hours (what a boring job that was!) but the flavour was delicious.
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Okay, I looked in Florence Lin's fabulous book of noodles, dumplings in breads. I haven't tried her recipe for flaky pastry but everything else I've tried turns out wonderfully.
For the flaky pastry, she makes two doughs: a water dough (flour, a small amount of crisco or lard, and warm water) and an oil dough made with flour and chilled crisco or lard.
The water dough is shaped into a circle and the oil dough is enclosed inside. It's then rolled into an oblong piece, folded into thirds, rolled out again and folded again into thirds. So it basically IS puff, only with fewer turns. For the dan tarts, she gives the dough one more turn, cuts circles and fits them into a round tin. After refrigerating the tart shells, they're filled with the custard and then baked.
If anybody is interested in the recipe, I'll try to type it out, making the appropriate changes in wording.
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Yes, it's lard that is traditionally used in Chinese flaky pastry. Some places now substitute shortening but real lard pastry is absolutely wonderful - incredibly light, delicate and flaky.
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He's coming to Hong Kong in about two weeks - I'm very excited about that. From what I've been told, he'll be doing some filming and then he'll be at a private dinner where guests (including me!!) will be served dishes from his cookbook.
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I wager it's so expensive in HK because Vanilla isn't used in asian cooking so the only people who would buy them are rich expats/locals who want to show off.
It's funny, doing a google on Australian grown vanilla and I only get that plantation site. No press release from the farm, no govt news pamphlet. Usually, when trying to souce local ingredients (Australian truffles, Australian Wagyu, Australian cheeses etc.), I can get at least a few clues from google.
I'm not actually trying to "show off", nor am I rich - that's why I didn't buy them at US$24 for two. I'm a trained pastry chef, now working in a different field but still trying to maintain the same standards in my home baking that I've always had.
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I read somewhere that they add MSG to toothpaste. Now why in the world would they do that? It's not like you're going to want to use more toothpaste just because it tastes better (if, in fact, it really does).
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Yeah, it does. It's still good when it's softened a bit, but not when it's too soggy. Just gives you an excuse to eat it faster
.Here in Hong Kong, they usually serve it with three sauces and then sprinkle it with sesame seeds.
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Silly question but for a good zha leung, should the yau zha gwai still be crisp?
Yes yes yes! That's what makes the simple ingredients so good - the contrast between the crisp yau ja gwai and and tender noodle.
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Yes, I went slightly overboard and ordered a lot - it will take me quite a bit of time to use up this amount. But they're so hard to find in Hong Kong and the price is OUTRAGEOUS - the one shop that sells them charges HK$188 (that's more than US$24) for two beans.
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I like chicken necks because of the great skin to meat ratio. The chicken butt and the bony parts next to it are great. I just started eating lobster heads after watching my friend do it at dinner. I didn't know there was anything there worth eating. This could explain why my cholesterol is not so good for someone my age!
I was having dinner the other night with some Chinese friends and a "lo fan" joined us. We were eating chicken wings and I mentioned that I love the wings because "they have the best skin to meat ratio". The guy said, no they don't! I asked him what has a better skin to meat ratio and he said, "the chicken breast!" I looked at him in astonishment, then realised we were talking from opposite sides - to him, it's better if it has less skin, to me, it's better if it has more skin.
Does anybody remember Chinese fried chicken? The old-style Chinese delis in the States used to make versions of this, but the best we ever ate was during our village association lunches (Kow Kong village, in "old Chinatown" in Los Angeles). We had these gatherings several times a year; lunch was at the village association "hall", dinner was at a restaurant in Chinatown. The lunch menu was always the same: this sweet pink punch (made with 7-up or a cheaper equivalent), Hawaiian punch (or a cheaper equivalent) and a big brick of cheap vanilla ice cream; chow mein (which my father was always in charge of making) and fried chicken, which one of the "uncles" (they were all called uncle, even if they weren't) would make. He was very secretive of the batter and the recipe died with him. I can reproduce the taste of the marinade (the usual: soy sauce, rice wine, ginger and garlic) but I can't get the batter right. It was crispy, oily and delicious... If anybody has any ideas of how to make it, I would be so grateful. My family still talks about this fried chicken, even though it's been about 20 years since we ate it.
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Update: placed an order last week with www.vanillaplantations.com. They had a choice of beans grown in Madagascar (US$135.95/500 grams) or Australian-grown bourbon vanilla or Tahitian beans (both at $119.95/500 grams). I ordered the ones grown in Madagascar because that is what I am familiar with, but also asked for a single-bean sample of the Australian bourbon vanilla. Received the order today - the price includes free DHL shipping to anywhere in the world.
The beans are very fragrant - I could smell them through three layers of packaging. They're thinner and shorter (about 6 inches) than other types I've seen (like the Tahitian types) but have a wonderful smell - very intense. Instead of sending the single-bean sample of Australian bourbon-vanilla, they sent at least a dozen, which was generous.
I'm going to split this order of beans with a friend who also bakes a lot and we'll do comparisons of both types of bourbon vanilla beans.
This is a good service with reasonable prices. They also sell vanilla orchid cuttings which would be pretty cool if you have a green thumb and live in an area where orchids grow well.
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MSG is a fascinating subject which I am presently researching. The more I learn about it, the more confused I am. I've spoken to doctors and nutritionists and even though some (not all) of them are against it, they say that there's no definitive, scientific proof that it's bad for you.
Anyway, one reason that you didn't find any discernable difference in adding it to your tomato sauce is that tomatoes have a high level of natural glutamates. It's also found in kombu (which is the ingredient that led to the development of artificial glutatmates) and such disparate foods as parmesan cheese, human breast milk, peas, fish and soy sauces, and meats.
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This is a fascinating and informative thread - thanks so much for posting these recipes. I intend to try them soon - the Vietnamese restaurants here in Hong Kong are not very good, although one advantage of living here is that it's just a 2 1/2 hour flight to Vietnam.
Would you have a recipe for Vietnamese head cheese? I'm sorry, but I don't know the Vietnamese name for this. A friend back in San Francisco gave me a recipe which I made several times. I unfortunately lost the recipe. As I remember, it was made with pig's feet, pig's ears, fish sauce and lots of sliced garlic. The meat was cooked and pulled off the bones, then the cooking liquid, sliced meat and all the other ingredients were put in a terrine mould and steamed. The gelatine from the bones made it solidify when cool. It was excellent. I can't find a recipe for this in cookbooks, although I have seen recipes for a meat "terrine" that calls for the meats to be ground and then mixed with egg and steamed.
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My neice was visiting and she was reminiscing about street vendor treats in HK when she was there about 10 years ago.
She asked if I knew how to make yao t'ieu ( Chinese long donuts, yao ja quay, the ones you dunk in your congee) stuffed with "pork silk" then wrapped with sticky rice. The pork silk is the cooked dry shredded stuff sold in plastic containers. Often, I sprinkle this on top of my congee.
In one of the threads, there was talk of yao t'ieu wrapped with rice noodle. Does anyone know of the ones with sticky rice? She said these were warm and wrapped in saran wrap. She couldn't remember if the sticky rice was savory or flavoured with anything.
In Hong Kong, we say that it originated from Shanghai but I am not so sure. It is rolled up like Japanese maki sushi with sticky rice as the base, and preserved crunchy vegetable, pork silk, and long donut as the fillings. I usually get it with a warm glass of soya milk for a really filling breakfast or lunch. The sticky rice I had was not flavored with anything and is just plain steamed sticky rice.
I"m not sure where it's from, either. I've never seen it as actual street food but there are dai pai dongs that make it outside - so it's kind of like "sidewalk food". It's very heavy; I can't eat more than half.
The yau jau gwai wrapped in rice noodle is called jah leung. It's a common noodle shop dish; you can find it at a lot of places. There's a little noodle shop near my flat in Sai Ying Pun that makes it fresh - they fry their yau jau gwai and steam their own rice noodles; it's excellent and only HK$10.
In Taipei I ate another type of yau jau gwai "sandwich" - it was stuffed inside shao beng - those sesame "pockets". We had it with savoury soymilk that had preserved vegetables and tiny dried shrip, and it was one of the best breakfasts I've ever eaten - really wonderfully delicious.
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As far as I know, bamboo pith is like a little mushroom that grows over the tip of the bamboo. It has a sort of net-like appearance (maybe lacey would be a better word). It's hard to describe the shape - I guess something like a cleaned squid, with the innards, tentacles and those little "wings" on the side removed - in other words, like a cleaned squid body. Maybe two inches long and 1/2 inch wide at the base. The colour is pale cream. It's sold dried, in packages (if I remember correctly, it has a white string tied loosely around it), and needs to be soaked before use. It's good because it soaks up the flavours of other ingredients so it's usually cooked into soups and stews, although I have had it in stir-fries.
Forgot to mention the texture, which is very hard to describe... spongy but not soggy, with a little bit of "bite".
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I believe it's called "bamboo pith".
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In the Thai restaurant in Hong Kong, there is a popular dish where raw shrimp is served with a dipping sauce made out of lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, and chili. I am not sure if it is authentic but it is quite good.
I ate something similiar to this in Bangkok several years ago. Extremely tiny live shrimp, less than 1cm long, tossed with the ingredients Yuki mentioned. It was wonderful; I've looked for it every time I go back but I haven't been able to find it. It was a street food dish and the vendor had the shrimp in a pile at least 20cm high.
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Have you ever eaten these with a small saucer of condensed milk? It's surprisingly delish in small quantities (I can't eat more than one). They serve it this way at some restaurants.
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Hmm. . .I thought it was just vinegar and sugar that they were using.
It might be, in Beijing; as I said, I haven't eaten it there. "Sweet and sour" as a concept isn't just restricted just to one area of China. It's made in lots of areas (so I've heard) although they might not always call it sweet and sour. It doesn't have the be the garish, bright red stuff; I have heard of "white" (or rather colourless) sweet and sour, which might be the Beijing version you're describing.
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You've gotta try Sweet and Sour Pork in Beijing
I haven't eaten it in Beijing, but you're right, if it's made properly (with mui, or sour plums) it can be excellent, entirely different to the awful stuff you get in the Sates with ketchup and canned pineapple.
Dragon's Beard Candy
in New York: Cooking & Baking
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I don't know where it's made locally in New York but here in Hong Kong it's available on the street. It's not easy to find, though, especially in this weather (it doesn't last in the humidity - which is about 90 per cent right now). I know that one company is trying to turn it into some kind of upscale, exotic confection - they're selling it in beautiful boxes for about US$20 for 10 pieces, which is outrageous (on the street it's about US$1 for four pieces). They say that the company's "master" is one of the few who knows the "secret" behind making the dragon's beard candy - but when you see the guy making it on the street, he's very casual about it. Theirs is supposed to be long-lasting, though - the street version lasts for about 30 minutes before it turns hard. It's usually filled with sesame seeds, peanuts and sugar.