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A friend of mine has asked me for a recipe to recreate this sauce that he's had in a couple of Chinese restaurants (Indiana &midwest). I have searched but not coming up with anything reasonable. He calls it "ginger sauce", used as a dip. Any suggestions, ideas, experiences?? Maybe it's the nomenclature or translation.

In the same "Spice!" restaurant in San Francisco, I ordered a cold dish named "Ma La Beef Tendon". (麻辣牛筋) This dish I like very much. Soft beef tendons bath in hot chili oil full of heat - the "La" (辣) sensation. And the Sichuan peppercorns would numb your tongue - the "Ma" (麻) sensation. This dish presents the right balance of heat and numbness. I enjoyed it immensely, with sweats dripping and all... After a while, my tongue really went numb and was not reactive. It felt as if I went to see the dentist to pull out my teeth. Have you experienced this numbness sensation from Sichuan food? Do you like it?

I just went to "Spice!" restaurant in San Francisco for dinner last night. It serves "trendy" Sichuan/Taiwanese cuisines. I ordered a dish of "Sichuan Hot Chili Pepper Chicken" (辣子雞). Here is a picture: The taste was pretty good all right. But this was scary for a Cantonese boy like me (Cantonese are typically not fond of hot food). Look at how many dried hot chilies they used? I roughly counted. They must have used between 150 to 200 dried hot chilies to make this dish! I know we discussed this before... It's for the flavor. But does anybody really eat all these chilies? I think I will drop dead in the restaurant half way if I've ever tried. Here is what I really don't understand: Why use so many dried chilies if most of them wouldn't be consumed anyway? They cook with dried hot chilies whole. If it is for the hot flavor, shouldn't cutting up the dried chilies be more effective? What flavor can one derive from 200 dried hot chilies that one couldn't do with 100? Or even just 50? These dried hot chilies are selling at about US$2.50 a bag (maybe 400 by count). They sure spend a lot on the ingredients that seem unnecessary. In a country that "nothing goes to waste", it seems to be very much in contrary to common sense. Anyway, here is what's left on my dish after I had consumed all the chicken pieces: The spices included bits of salt, garlic, ginger, green onion and Sichuan peppercorn (powder). And the way this restaurant made this dish is a bit of rip-off I think. The chicken pieces you see in the picture: they are all from the elbows of the chicken wings. Chopped Elbows of Chicken Wings!!! You can see how much meat they give you. I understand about dark meat is more flavorful than white meat. But chicken wings with bones? Needless to say there won't be a second time. I may give this restaurant one more try but definitely not this dish from them. Here are some pictures on how to cook this dish (pictorial). In Chinese though. 常美味紅油辣子雞(組圖)

BBQ Pork Egg Foo Young (叉燒炒蛋) Egg Foo Young is a common dish offered in American Chinese restaurants. I typically don't like the ones made in these restaurants. Some of them mix flour/water in the beaten egg (a Chiu Chow (Teochew) style fried eggs, typically cooked with small oysters). Some of them put in bean sprouts. The Egg Foo Young, or just "fried eggs", that I like is very simple to make. Here is an illustration. You may use ground beef, shrimp, oyster, ham, turkey slices or other meats of your choice. The cooking procedure is the same. Refer to other published pictorials for the marination of beef, shrimp, etc.. Dedicated to Jason Perlow. Picture of the finished dish: Serving Suggestion: 2 to 3 Preparations: Main ingredients: (From lower-right, clockwise) - Stored-bought BBQ pork, lean, about 1/2 to 3/4 lb - 6 large size chicken eggs - 1 large onion - 3 to 4 stalks of green onions Cut the BBQ pork into very thin slices. Peel and wedge one large onion. Trim ends and finely chop 3 to 4 stalks of green onions. Break and beat 6 large size chicken eggs. Cooking Instructions: Use a pan/wok, set stove at high. Add 2 tblsp of cooking oil. Cook the BBQ pork slices first. If you use other types of meat, also cook the meat first. Remove from pan. Add 2 tblsp of cooking oil to pan. Wait until oil heats up. Add wedged onions. Sprinkle about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp (or to taste) of salt. Stir and sautee the onions for a few minute until slightly brown. Add another 2 tblsp of cooking oil to pan. Add the beaten eggs. Cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Return the BBQ pork slices. Sprinkle the finely chopped green onions on top. Gently fold the egg omlette a couple of times. Cook for a few minutes until the eggs solidify. I like my eggs still moist and not overcooked but this is a personal preference. Transfer mixture to a serving dish. Picture of the finished dish. Pour 2 tsp of light soy sauce on a small dish and serve as a condiment. Or drizzle light soy sauce on top of the Egg Foo Young. Optionally: place 2 prigs of cilantro on top.

This is a spin-off discussion. Ben Sook's post, (this one), said there are 35 Chinese lexicons describing different ways of Chinese cookings. My Cyber Mom Jo-mel's post, (this one), said she has a book that listed 30 of them. I would really like to all 35 Chinese lexicons, if not at least 30, which describe the different ways of Chinese cookings. Can you list any of these 35?

I am sampling different Chinese restaurants in San Francisco this week. Today's lunch was at "Shanghai Dumpling King" (changed name from "Shanghai Dumpling Shop"). I ordered a dish of "Stir-fried Eel" ("Chow Sin Woo" [Cantonese]). They put about 2 tsp of minced raw garlic in the center of the dish. It tastes pretty good, but a little bit too "garlicky" because the garlic is raw. I haven't had Shanghai food too often. Is this typical of Shanghai style eel? I had this dish in a Shanghai style restaurant in San Diego many times but never had seen it served with raw garlic. Perhaps this is just one restaurant's rendition? I also ordered a bowl of "Spicy Dumpling" (Hung Yao Chow Shao [Half Cantonese half Mandarin :-) ] ). They put sesame paste in this dish. Also a first for me. It tastes good... but with sesame paste, after the 4th dumpling you would feel like you already have enough... (There are 10 in a bowl...) Again, is this typical of Shanghainese' interpretation?

We're meeting some friends of ours on Saturday night who are insisting that we go for a meal in Chinatown (in London that is, as opposed to Manchester or elsewhere). It's been several years since I've done this so I'm slightly out of touch with what is considered good these days. We used to visit Harbour City but I have no idea if they've managed to retain their reputation. My memories of Chinatown are not always that fond so I'm in need of some updated advice.

In another online forum, people are describing a way of cooking rice without any measurement. It said: no matter how much rice you want to cook, just pour the rice in, and pour in enough water to cover the top of the rice and then some. Put your index finger straight down, with the finger tip just touching the rice. The water level should be filled up to the first knuckle of your finger. Your rice would come out nicely, no matter how much rice you cook. I have been thinking of the implication of this instruction, and have always been wondering why it would work. I am a student of science. This method does not seem very scientific for me. For any kind of chemical process: If I use 1 cup of X and mix it with 1 cup of Y to produce Z, then If I use 2 cups of X, I should mix it with 2 cups of Y. The above mentioned method seems to entirely violate the laws of physics/chemistry. It said I can use this method on a 4-person rice cooker or on a 500-person cooker like those in the kitchen onboard an aircraft carrier. Is there a scientific explanation on why it would work? My attempted theory: that water would "fill in the space between rice grains"? So no matter how many rice grains you have, the water would fill in the space between the grains so the ratio is more or less constant?

Pictorial Recipe Chinese Chives Stir-Fried with Eggs (韭菜炒蛋) This is a very simple dish. So simple, in fact, that I have thought long and hard about whether to include it in my pictorial recipe series. But it is good to introduce the readers one way to cook this uniquely Chinese vegetable: Chinese chive. A vegetable that is closely tied to the leek family. Chinese chives have a strong garlicky/leeky smell and taste. No need to add garlic (as it would be redundant). Simply stir-fry them with a little bit of salt. This recipe is quite well known in families in Hong Kong. Serving Suggestion: 2 - 3 Preparations: Main ingredients (left to right): - 3/4 to 1 lb of Chinese chive - 7 to 8 chicken eggs (or less, e.g. 4 to 5) Cooking: - 5 tblsp of cooking oil - 1/2 tsp of salt (or to taste) This is the main feature: Chinese chive. Chop the Chinese chive into 2 to 3 inches in length. Beat all the eggs in a bowl. Cooking Instructions: Use a wok/pan, set stove to high. Add 2 tblsp of cooking oil and 1/4 tsp of salt. Add the chopped Chinese chive. Cook for about 2 minutes. Chinese chive cooks rather quickly. Remove from pan. Drain off the excess water. On the same wok/pan, keep stove setting at high. Add 3 tblsp of cooking oil. Wait until the oil starts smoking. Add the beaten eggs. Sprinkle 1/4 of salt on top. Use the spatula to keep folding the eggs as they solidify. Before the eggs are fully solidified, return the drained Chinese chive. Use a pair of chopsticks or a fork to help spreading the Chinese chive evenly among the eggs. Cook for 30 more seconds. Finished. Transfer to a serving plate. Picture of the finished dish.

[...Sometimes, late at night, getting hungry, I would try to look for something to munch on in the kitchen. But I have no cracker, Cheetos, potato chips or anything like that in the house. I resolve to looking in the pantry...] Do you munch on these (normally Chinese cooking ingredients) items as snacks? Small dried shrimp Dried oyster - only when just brought them from the market where the dried oysters are still soft and moist. Cut them into 1/4 inch strips. 1/4 of a small cube of fu yu (fermented bean curd) - just to get the rich taste. Can't eat too much as it is quite salty. 1 tsp of the Sa Cha sauce (dry, skip the oil) - it is full of minced dried shrimp. Open a can of Pearl River Bridge brand "Fried Dace with Fermented Black Beans" and consume half a fish. Salty? A little bit. Oily? A little bit. Hell... quite tasty! What else may you snack on that might be considered "wierd"? I might try some...

The Dinner! thread in the cooking forum is always an inspiration for meals, whether for a party or at home. I wonder if there would be interest in such a thread with Chinese food? I know Ah Leung's pictorials are a great source, but it would fun to see what others are cooking(Is anyone else as nosy as I?) Somtimes we get really excited about what we cooked for supper and need a place to express that. If we have such a thread, then we won't have to look through every thread (besides hzrt8w's) to get inspiration. How about it, folks? Shall we have a go at this?

Pictorial Recipe Eel steamed with ginger and scallions This is a very simple, pure preparation for eel. If you have not had eel before, the taste and texture is very similar to freshwater fish -- a bit like snake, too, but I doubt you've had snake if you've never had eel. Further warning for Westerners: each piece of eel has some bone that you'll have to work around; shouldn't be too much trouble for the dexterous. Serving Suggestion: 3 - 4 Ingredients: - 1 lb eel - Chinese cooking wine - salt - ginger - scallions Start with 1 lb of eel. Slice into inch-long pieces. You'll be cutting through bone so use a proper knife. Add 1 cup cooking wine, 1 tbsp salt, a bunch of ginger. Mix well and marinate for 1 hour or overnight. Add scallions, add water to submerge. Place bowl in steamer (this was a tight fit and not the best setup) and steam for 30 minutes. Done!

Pictorial Recipe Ah Leung Hot Garlic Chili Sauce (蒜蓉辣椒醬) I like all kinds of Asian hot chili sauces. But most of the commercially available hot sauces are either too vinegary or are lack of flavors. I have been experimenting with creating different chili hot sauce recipes. Here is one that I have recently tried. This kind of chili sauce can be commonly found in Chinese restaurants as condiments (especially wonton noodle shops). You may alter the ingredients to your own liking. Picture of my hot garlic chili sauce. Serving Suggestion: (will last for a few months) Preparations: Main ingredients (left, clockwise): - 1 bag of dried red pepper flakes, about 1 lb - 3 bags of (15 whole) garlic - 1 small bag of fresh Thai chili peppers (Heaven Pointing Chili) - 5 tblsp of preserved "sweet radish" - 1 bag of small dried shrimp (Not shown): - 6 to 7 tblsp of fermented black beans ("dou see") - 5 to 7 tsp of sugar - 5 tsp of brown bean sauce - 5 tsp of sweet bean sauce (or hoisin sauce) - 10 tsp of Sa Cha sauce (Optional): - 1/3 cup of brandy or whisky, or ShaoHsing wine - 3 tsp of MSG Here is the close up of 1 bag of dried red pepper flakes. About 1 lb. Just to turn up the heat, I like to use 1 small bag of fresh Thai chili peppers (Heaven Pointing Chili). These chilies are very potent. Skip it if you want a mild chili sauce. Also, use only 1/2 bag of dried red pepper flake for this recipe if you want a mild chili sauce. Proceed to cutting the Thai chili peppers to very thin slices. Soak the bag of small dried shrimp in a small pot of warm water for about 1 to 2 hours before cooking. Drain water before use. Use may also use dried scallops (conpoy) instead. Chinese call the addition of dried scallops "XO" sauce. Dried scallops take longer to soak: overnight minimum. You may reuse the soaking liquid to flavor other dishes. Drain well before using. Peel and press all the garlic. Divide into 2 equal portions. Use a food processor, grind the soaked dried shrimp into fine shreds. Like such. To add a little bit of texture in the chili sauce, I like to use some preserved "sweet radish". They are basically preserved daikons and they have a distinct smell and flavor. Use only about 5 tblsp or so. This is what the preserved sweet radish looks like out of the bag. Use a food processor to chop them into fine shreds. Like such. Use about 6 to 7 tblsp of fermented black beans ("dou see"). Slightly rinse the fermented black beans with some water. Use a big spoon to hand-smash the beans. Drain well. Cooking Instructions: Use a wok, set stove at high. Add 7 to 8 cups of cooking oil. Heat the oil to just below smoking point. It may take 7 to 10 minutes. First, add half the portion of the pressed garlic. Fry the garlic for about a minute. Add 10 tsp of salt (or to taste) You may add some brandy or whisky, or ShaoHsing wine if you like, to the mix to enhance the flavor. Add the minced dried shrimp. Fry for a couple of minutes. Stir well. Add 1 bag (16 oz) of dried red pepper flakes. Stir well. Add the second portion of pressed garlic, shredded sweet radish, and smashed fermented black beans. Continue to stir and fry. Just one last touch in flavoring: Add: - 5 to 7 tsp of sugar - 5 tsp of brown bean sauce - 5 tsp of sweet bean sauce (or hoisin sauce) - 10 tsp of Sa Cha sauce If you like MSG, you may add a 3 tsp of MSG in the mix. Continue to stir and fry for a few more minutes. Turn off the stove and let the chili sauce cool down. Once cool down, the ingredients absorb the chili oil. Store the chili sauce in glass jars in the refrigerator. It will last a few months. Picture of the finished chili sauce. Use it as a condiment for Asian dishes or in Asian cooking. Available for mail order for a modest US$10.00 for a 6-oz jar. Hey... that's how Yank Sing got started!

Pictorial Recipe Spring rolls There is some confusion with the name of this item. In Chinese they are called cun juan, literally spring roll; we don't call it an egg roll. In the West, both the terms egg roll and spring roll are used, sometimes interchangeably sometimes meaning different things. I have heard some define spring rolls as unfried and egg rolls as fried, or that spring rolls are the Southeast Asian rolls and egg rolls just the Chinese type. There is no such dichotomy in Chinese and so I will use the name spring roll as it is a direct translation of the Chinese term. Chinese spring rolls also differ from American restaurant egg rolls as the skin is not as thick. They are thin, crispy, much less substantial. I believe American egg rolls might also be battered before frying. Serving Suggestion: 3 - 4 Ingredients: - 1 lb pork loin - Napa cabbage - shitake mushrooms - spring roll skins (see below) - soy sauce - Chinese cooking wine - starch - baking soda - salt - black pepper 1 lb pork loin. Slice into strips. When the fat cap is not too thick as is the case with this cut, I just leave it on. You may want to trim it, but I like having a bit of fat to add textural interest and flavor. Each strip should be about the same width as a chopstick. Make sure to slice against the grain (zoom in to see the grain). Add soy sauce, cooking wine, starch, baking soda. Mix well and marinate overnight. Remove stems from shitake, slice into strips, approximately the same shape and size as the pork strips. Slice Napa cabbage into strips. You may want to discard the leafy parts completely as all they do is just release a bunch of water. It's the stem part that you want. Prepare starch slurry. This is just starch added to water and mixed well. I'm using tapioca starch and duck stock here. Heat oil in wok. Add pork. Cook until half done. Add Napa cabbage, shitake and some black pepper. Reduce heat, cook for 5 minutes, or when shitakes and pork are both done. This is the spring roll skin that I like to use; Wei-Chuan is another brand. There are lots of skins on the market but you want the kind that are quite stretchy and elastic, unsalted, and not the translucent, rice-based ones. Place filling in skin. Flip up the bottom corner. Fold in the sides. Roll it up. I've been told that this rolling method is the same as rolling up a burrito but as I know very little about Mexican food I can't vouch for that. At this point, you can eat the spring rolls without frying. See Unfried spring rolls. You can deep-fry or just pan-fry. I pan-fried these for about 1 minute on each side. Done!

I wasn't sure if this topic belonged in this subforum or the kitchen tools but are there any particular brands you'd recommend for Chinese equipment such as woks and cleavesr for Chinese cooking? Is there a Chinese All-Clad version, or a Chinese brand that's considered the best value? The only brand I've heard of is Joyce Chen's, but I live in SoCal so I have access to ethnic stores and shops. And, has anybody seen America's Test Kitchen recommendations, and do you agree with them? I was thinking of buying their Chinese book just for their recommendations, but I think they were probably limited to what was available to them.

Pictorial Recipe Stir-fried Mustard Greens (Gai Choy) with Fish Cake (鱼雲抄芥菜) Mustard green is a popular Chinese vegetable readily available in California. It has a slightly bitter taste. It is not suitable to eat raw as salad, but it tastes very good when stir-fried with some meat slices. I like to cook it with fish cake, which is ground fish meat, deep-fried. They make fish cake in the shape of a rectangular slab or a ball or a round disc. You can find them in many Asian markets. Serving Suggestion: 2 - 3 Preparations: Main ingredients (left to right, clockwise): - 1 1/2 lb of Chinese mustard green - Fermented bean curds (use 2 to 3 cubes) - 1/2 to 1 lb fish cake (the one in plastic bag) - Garlic - use 3 to 4 cloves - Ginger - use 1 inch in length - Dried shrimp - use about 2 tblsp Cooking: - 5 tblsp of cooking oil - 1/4 tsp of salt (or to taste) This is the main feature: Chinese mustard green. Wash and cut into 2 to 3 inch in length. This is also the main feature: Fried fish cake. The one shown in the picture is 14 oz, vacuum sealed and shrink-wrapped in a plastic bag. Remove the plastic bag and cut the fish cake into 1/8 inch slices. Prepare the fermented bean curds, use about 2 to 3 small cubes (or more - adjust to your taste). Also, prepare 2 to 3 tblsp of dried shrimp. No need to soak them in water. Just cook as-is. Peel and mince 3-4 cloves of garlic. Grate about 1 inch in length of ginger. Cooking Instructions: Use a wok/pan, set stove to high. Add 2 tblsp of cooking oil. Add the fish cake slices. Try to spread the fish cake slices around evenly on the wok surface so they are browned evenly. Remove the fish cake once they are slightly browned. Add 2-3 tblsp of cooking oil in the wok. Add the dried shrimp and fry for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the minced garlic and grated ginger, and 1/4 tsp of salt (or to taste). Add the fermented bean curds. Use the spatula to smash the bean curds and stir well with the garlic/ginger and dried shrimp. Fry for about 30 seconds to a minute. Add the Chinese mustard greens. Stir well. Cook with the lid on for about 3 to 5 minutes until the vegetables turn soft. Stir occassionally. Return the fish cake slices. Stir-fry for another minute or so. Finished. Transfer to the serving plate. Picture of the finished dish.

Host note: this topic became too large for our servers to handle. For prior posts please click on part 1 HERE no time to cook elaborate dish,so make one pot meal and a soup. claypot chicken rice with salted fish and preserved Chinese sausage. snow fungus ( shuet yi ), red dates and chicken soup

First finally after repeated attempts I finally succeed in posting photo here. I visited a peppercorn farm in my ancestral home in Wenchang, Hainan province(China). I shall post more photo henceforth and thank for your understanding.

Hi everyone, Can someone be kind enough to give me the recipe of Salt & Pepper chicken Wings PLEASE! Thanks

Pictorial Recipe Pea Shoots Stir-fried with Egg White and Conpoy (瑤柱蛋白炒豆苗) Pea Shoot is my most favorite Chinese vegetable. The Cantonese pronounciation is Dou Miu. There are usually 2 varieties found in Asian markets. This variety is the sprout of snow pea. The most basic recipe is to stir-fry with salt and garlic. I want to "kick it up a notch" by making a sauce with egg white and garlic, and spread some conpoy shreds on top. Serving Suggestion: 2 - 3 Preparations: Main ingredients (left, clockwise): - 1 to 1 1/2 lb of pea shoots - 4 chicken eggs - Garlic, use 4-5 cloves - 4 to 5 Conpoy (dried scallop) This is the featured vegetable: pea shoot (Dou Miu in Cantonese). Nice and fresh. This is what it looks like, close up. Make about 2 cuts on each stem to make it bite-size. Conpoy (dried scallop) takes a long time to soften up. Soak the conpoy overnight in a small bowl of water. Break 4 chicken eggs. Use the egg white only. Discard the yolk (or use it for other purposes). Peel and cut 4 to 5 cloves of garlic into thin slices. Cooking Instructions: First cook the conpoy. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain the soaking water. Use a small pot, add 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Add the conpoy. Set the stove at high. Bring the broth to a boil. Then reduce it to simmer. Simmer the conpoy for about 20 to 25 minutes. After the conpoys turn soft, tear them into small shreds with a pair of chopsticks or 2 forks, like such. Use a strainer to strain off the broth. Use it for cooking the sauce. Use a pan/wok, set stove at high. Add 1 to 2 cups of water. Bring it to a boil. Add 1 tsp of salt. Add the pea shoots. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes. They look like this. Pea shoots cook very quickly. Do not overcook. Drain the excess water. Transfer the pea shoots to a serving plate. To prepare for the presentation, spread the pea shoots to form a circle with a hollow area at the center. To make the sauce: use a wok/pan. Set stove at high. Add 2 tblsp of cooking oil. Wait until oil is hot. Add the sliced garlic. Add 1/2 of salt (or to taste). Very quickly, dash in 2-3 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine. Add the cooking liquid from the conpoy. Add 1/4 cup of water. If you like the dish saucey, add another 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil. With the mixture boiling, gently fold in the egg white. Keep stirring with the spatula while folding the egg white. Use the spatula to keep stirring gently for 20 more seconds after all egg white has been added. Pour the sauce on top of the pea shoots on the serving plate. Lay on the conpoy shreds on top of the dish. Finished. Picture of the finished dish.

this cake was very popular in my country when I was a young girl... then, we dont have an oven, so steaming is the only way we made cakes.. you can use any fizzy drink and the cake takes on the taste ( and color ) of the drink 2 eggs 130 g fine sugar 1 tsp ovalette ( can be omitted, tho cake may not be as soft ) 1 tsp vanilla extract 150 g flour 120 ml ice-cream soda / 7-up Whisk sugar and eggs till creamy and stiff. Add ovalette and vanilla extract. Continue to beat for another few more minutes. Add into the batter, one third of flour, then half the soda. Repeat and end with flour. Mix well after each addition. Line a bamboo steamer with greased-proof paper. Pour batter into a 6 - 8 inch bamboo steamer ( smaller steamer gives higher cake ). Steam on high heat over boiling water for 20 - 25 mins. Cool the cake before cutting as it crumbles when cut hot. notes : ovalette is a cake stablizer, and may not be available in the US. or western countries the cake can be steamed in any cake container.

Since moving to CA my wife and I have decided to make it our custom to spend Christmas dining on Chinese "splurge" ingredients and catching up on lost years of good Chinese food. Last year's meal was at Koi Palace and this year we decided to try out New Concept in Monterey Park here in SoCal. The restaurant was smaller than I expected being used to the larger banquet style restaurants but tastefully decorated in a manner typical of higher end Chinese restaurants. The room was about 1/2 full when we arrived at 7pm, but I was a little concerned when I saw quite a few tables of non-Asian clientele. We consoled ourselves by the fact that it was Christmas after all and we should not have been surprised. We started off with a 1/2 platter of steamed free range chicken served with the typical ginger and oil dipping sauce. It was served warm which I prefer over many restaurants that serve it slightly chilled and was good but not spectacular. This was followed by frogs legs fried with tea leaves, the leaves left a subtle tea aroma on the lightly battered legs but I wished it was a little more pronounced. Next up was the first of two splurge items for the night, Japanese abalone braised in oyster sauce served with a section of steamed Chinese mustard. The abalone was good sized specimen about 5" in length and quite plump. The meat was braised to a level firmer that I normally prefer but had a good flavor overall. The oyster sauce was not as delicate as the one I had at Koi Palace a year ago and the Chinese mustard was overcooked. Decent abalone but overall execution was not well finished. The next and last splurge item was Birds' Nest steamed in papaya. Surprisingly we were not given any soup spoons to use and had to ask on two separate occasions before finally receiving them. We shocked when a dazed waitress came by with the spoons and instead of placing them on the table she for whatever reason left them on top of a plate of vegetables covered in sauce and rushed off??!?!? At this point after a couple of other previous service missteps we just ended up wiping the sauce off the spoons ourselves. I'll admit it's been quite a few number of years since I last had bird's nest but again I thought the texture was firmer than I was accustomed too but overall the soup was not overly sweet, the flavor of the papaya was very subtle and did not dominate the soup and overall was quite good. Total bill for 2 food and tea came up to $155 + tip. The service was definitely the low point of the evening, the wait staff was not attentive and the incident with soup spoons was just outright incompetence on the part of the waitress. So far my high end Chinese dining experiences in LA have fallen short of my experiences in SF. However this has only been the 2nd seafood style / higher end Chinese restaurant here in LA and there's still a long list of places to try, so I'm confident my future experiences will be more positive. SG’s Chinese Food Ranking (places I’ve tried over a span of a year) SF: Koi Palace, Zen Peninsula, HK Flower Lounge (Milbrae), Asian Pearl (Richmond), Saigon (Richmond), HK East Ocean (Emeryville)

Pictorial Recipe Steamed Chicken Wrapped in Lotus Leaves (荷香蒸滑雞) Lotus leaves are a common ingredient in Cantonese dim sum dishes and steamed dishes. After steaming, the fragrance of the lotus leaves has transferred to the food and leaves a characteristic taste. Serving Suggestion: 4 - 5 Preparations: This is a picture of the main ingredient: Dried lotus leaves. They are sold in the Asian markets in bundles of 20 to 30 in a plastic bag. Use 5 leaves for this dish (actually it only needs 4, but use 1 more as a spare in case one of the leaves has big holes). Main ingredients (upper-right, clockwise): - 1 1/2 lb (to 2 lb) of bone-in chicken - 3 Laap Cheung (Chinese sausage) - Dried mushrooms - about 20 pieces - Fish maw - use about 2 to 3 pieces (Not shown in picture): - Lily buds - use a handful, about 40 - 50 - Wood-ear fungi - use a handful, about 10 to 15 pieces - Ginger, use 1 to 2 inches in length - 3 stalks of green onions This is another featured ingredient: fish maw. They are sold in dried form. Use about 3 medium-size pieces. Fish maw needs to be soaked in water ahead of time: at least 3 hours or overnight. Place the fish maw pieces in a big mixing bowl and fill it with water. Fish maw is very light and it will float on top. Use a bowl or plate to weigh it down. Soak the dried lily buds and wood-ear fungi in another mixing bowl filled with water for about 1 hour. Soak the dried black mushrooms in another mixing bowl filled with water for about 1 to 2 hours. Chop the bone-in chicken into bite-size pieces, about 1 to 2 inches each piece. To marinate the chicken, use a mixing bowl, add the chicken pieces and: - 1 to 2 tsp of salt (to taste) - 3 to 4 tsp of sesame oil - 2 to 3 tsp of ground white pepper - 3 to 4 tsp of ShaoHsing wine - 2 to 3 tsp of light soy sauce - 2 to 3 tsp of dark soy sauce - 4 to 5 tsp of corn starch (or potato starch) Mix well. Set aside for at least 30 minutes before cooking. Take the soaked fish maw, drain off the water. Cut into 1 inch strips. Drain the water from the soaked black mushrooms. Remove stems and cut into halves. Drain the water from the soaked lily buds and wood-ear fungi. If you like, cut them into halves. Cut the Chinese sausages into thin slices. Cut the ginger into thin slivers and green onions into 1 to 2 inch pieces. Combine all the additional ingredients into the mixing bowl with the marinated chicken. Mix all the ingredients well. The dried lotus leaves need to be pre-boiled to make them soft. Boil a big pot of water. Add 1 tsp of baking soda (this will soften up the leaves). Add the lotus leaves and boil for about 3 minutes. You may leave the lotus leaves in the hot water until cooking time to keep them moist. Cooking Instructions: I steamed the chicken in 2 dishes (all the ingredients are too much to fit in one dish). Use a deep dish, line one lotus leaf at the bottom. Scoop half of the marinated chicken, fish maw and other ingredients and place them on top of the lotus leaf. Place the dish in a steamer. Lay another piece of lotus leaf on top to cover the ingredients. Repeat the same procedure for the second dish. Steam with lid on for 30 minutes. This is what it looks like after 30 minutes of steaming. Remove and discard the top leaf and place the steaming dish on top of a serving plate. Picture of the finished dish. (Sorry, I should have trimmed off the edges of the lotus leaf or tuck them under to make a better presentation.)

Hi there, I continue to enjoy all the great posts here and the tutorials/recipes by Ah Leung. Dinner tonite will be the beef fried rice. I have a question and a suggestion. First, you refer to "Superior Broth" in some of your recipes. Can you give instruction or source for this ingredient? I have a feeling it is a broth or stock that one makes with bones, etc. but would like instruction, if possible. Secondly, at one time I read your thread on Chinese ingredients/condiments. Would it be possible to pin this thread for easy reference? Please continue to do what you are doing, and know that there are many of us who don't have enough expertise to post a lot, but who enjoy all the discussion and tutorials. Thank you very much!

How has chinese cooking influenced Western cuisine? I think you could argue that Japan has had quite a influence on Western cuisine. You see it from japanese style knives in american kitchens to the japanese aesthetic of simplicity and empty space in terms of plating to the increasing use of yuzu. Even Southeastern asian cuisine has started to influence American cuisine, as you see its ingredients being used for non-asian dishes. There's no doubt that Chinese cooking is undeniably popular with Americans. But, right now, I can't think, or more likely, don't know of how Chinese cuisine has influenced Western cooking.