aprilmei

I agree with you - November is a great time to visit. The weather here is cool-ish (20 degrees Celsius - what's that in Farenheit?) and not too humid. Pollution is fairly low - I can actually see across the harbour! (it was very bad for awhile). And the autumn/winter foods are the best!!! Don't forget to eat plenty of hairy crabs! I don't think you can get them in the States (can you?) and if they're there, they would be extremely expensive. (they're not cheap here, either). Only eat the males - don't let them try to sell you females - the roe is too hard (like hard boiled egg yolk). Male "roe" is creamy (but don't think about it too much). You missed rice bird season (I missed out on eating them too, this year) which is a pity - they're one of the most delectable things on earth (if you like eating extremely small birds, heads and all [only thing you don't eat is the beak]). Oh, and the wind-dried meats are so good at this time of year. Try the yuen cheung at Yung Kee - it's very special there. Be sure to have at least one meal of bo jai fan - cooked over charcoal, if possible. And try mutton casserole with fu jook pei, water chestnuts and fu yu (Yung Kee is good for that). You mentioned wanting to eat beef balls in TST - go to the Haiphong Road Temporary Market (nothing temporary about it). There are lots of vendors and they'll all try to entice you to eat at their stalls but ignore them. Go to the place with orange bowls and yellow spoons. Their beef balls are fabulous, flavoured with dried orange peel and star anise.

The first year I went, I didn't get my acceptance until right before Christmas.

Is this the steamed ginger pudding? I thought it didn't need eggs - the ginger juice and milk together "set up" like a custard. I read somewhere that you need "old ginger" and the secret is it should be UNPEELED! Something in the ginger skin... but i don't know what it is.

Is this the Chiu Chow dish usually made with very tiny oysters?

Are you sure the smokey flavour/aroma wasn't from the broth? If I remember correctly, the dried bonito used in dashi is smoked to help dry it.

Thanks, will try that.

Sorry, I should have been more precise. I'm talking about an easy way to chop candied ginger - it's so sticky! I've tried different ways of chopping it and it gums up the blades of knives, kitchen shears and food processors. I tried mixing it with granulated sugar and it still gets stuck on the food processor blades.

Is there a trick to chopping ginger? I've tried using kitchen shears, a knife and the food processor - but the stuff just sticks to the blades - it doesn't really get chopped. TIA

You can fully bake them before the party then just re-heat them for about five minutes just before serving. It makes them crisp up again (crisp is not exactly the right word but you know what I mean).

Yes, from what I've heard it's the cold waters that make Japanese abalone so good. and there are three main families that dry it have done so for generations and they keep their secrets within the family.

Oh how interesting. You mean they're dried solely for export to China/Hong Kong?

I've always thought of dried abalone as a Chinese ingredient but chefs in Hong Kong import most of it from Japan and consider it far superior to dried abalone from other countries. I've never eaten dried abalone in Japan and I don't remember ever eating it at a Japanese restaurant here, either. How is prepared in Japanese cuisine? Is it braised whole, as it is in Chinese cuisine? (at least it is with the top quality abalone)? Is it considered a special occasion dish? TIA

Why did you salt the vegetables for only 30 minutes when other recipes call for salting/brining for several hours (if not an entire day)? Sufficient salting - for any type of pickle - is important because it draws out excess moisture and helps prevent spoilage. Your mother is a good person to ask - she sounds like a fabulous cook. If I had a Korean mother, I'd ask to help her the next time she makes kimchee. Failing that (because if I remember correctly, you live in different states), I'd find a recipe that sounds like something you would like and stick to it - it's a good idea if you are making something for the first time. After you become more experienced, you can wing it.

I'm not sure if I can be considered an elder - yet - but they keep a long time in the freezer. I used to bring several boxes to my mother (before they were banned) and they'd last at least six months. They were the lotus seed paste type with two yolks - not sure how long the other types last.

The shark's fins used in Chinese cuisine are dried. Because yours are fresh, you might want to adjust the cooking times that hrtz8w gave.

Wow, thanks so much for this - very interesting. How do guinea hen eggs taste on their own - as soft boiled or something like that?

Check this out - the first question is hilarious: http://www.funlinked.com/testicle/testiclemail.html

How big are they? I'm asking in all seriousness. I bought turkey testicles and was surprised at how large some of them are - they ranged in size from about 3cm/1" to 9cm/3 1/2" - all in one packet. Someone told me that animal "balls" are not to human scale. The closest taste and texture comparison to other meats - at least for the turkey testicles - was they're similar to brains. I thought they were delicious but my boyfriend wouldn't even consider trying them.

Are the measurements in the book in weights, or only in cups and teaspoons? TIA.

Why can't you get salted duck eggs where you are? Can you get regular duck eggs? If so, you can make them yourself by soaking them in a heavy brine - they're ready when they sink to the bottom of the jar. My mother used to do that.

I flew into LAX. I hate that airport - the customs people are so rude - and they focus on the Chinese passengers. Whenever I'm in the line where they inspect the luggage I look around and almost all of the other people they've forced into that line are also Chinese. Last year was the first time they found something I had to throw away.

Here's some interesting info in case anybody was planning a visit Hong Kong (or China) during mid-autumn, and considered bringing mooncakes back to the States. Last year I went to the US and had two boxes of mooncakes for my mother. I was in the "nothing to declare" line and was singled out and told to go to the line where they inspect your baggage. I was asked, "do you have any mooncakes?" I said yes - and that I brought them in before with no problems. He said, "do they have egg in them?" I replied, "of course they have egg!" The man told me I"d have to throw them out and when I asked why, he said, "because they have egg in them and there's a threat of avian flu!" I thought that any virus that could survive being completely saturated with salt and then baked is a very strong virus indeed - and it's highly unlikely. Of course, I didn't say anything - customs inspection is unpleasant enough without antagonising the agents.

That's odd; I've always thought of Macanese cuisine more as Chinese- and-other-cultures-influenced Portuguese cuisine rather than Portuguese-influenced Chinese cuisine. The Portuguese colonised Macau centuries ago - it was only recently "returned" to China; the Portuguese presence is extremely obvious in the architecture and culture. The food is unique; I don't think you would find the Macanese dishes on a traditional menu in Portugal, and you certainly won't find the dishes on a menu in other parts of China (unless they specialise in Macanese cuisine). Toliver, were the mashed potato things croquettes? Potatoes are eaten in certain parts of China but not as much as rice (in the south) and wheat and other grains in other parts. And while bacalau is not traditionally eaten in China, we do eat many other types of salted fish.

Yes, I realise that. I wasn't criticising you, I was making comments on the blurb. Under Bridge Spicy Crab (the correct name) got its start in the typhoon shelters but those floating food vendors have been closed down. Frank says for the episode, he persuaded the owner to go back to his roots and cook the food in a sampan in the typhoon shelter (says it wasn't difficult to convince him), which is where Tony ate. If you go to Under Bridge Spicy Crab now, you'll eat in a regular restaurant. There are four branches and the newest is quite posh. The first branch is really casual (and it really is under a bridge) and the next two are a little nicer - all four branches are very close to each other. Typhoon shelter crabs are fried with a heap of garlic and chillies (you can order different levels of spice). Be sure to order a bowl of congee (my preference) or rice to eat with all that garlic. I would also recommend clams cooked in a clay pot with lots of pepper and mung bean noodles, the fried beancurd and pissing prawns (so called because they squirt water).

I hope the episode is more accurate than the blurb about it is. The "John" food blogger is none other than Josh, aka chaxiubao. Frank isn't a chef, he's a restaurateur (although they might be portraying him as a chef; not sure since I haven't seen the episode). And Alvin's surname is Leung, not Liung.