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Pictorial Recipe Chicken Stir-fried with Broccoli (芥蘭抄雞片) This is a reader's request. I was asked to illustrate how to make the chicken stir-fries with broccoli in a brown sauce similar to what they serve in Chinese restaurants. The "brown" sauce is typically made by mixing superior broth (chicken or pork) with some oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and a little bit of sugar. This is a very basic Chinese cooking recipe. I used chicken and Chinese broccoli for this illustration. You may use pork, beef or other types of meat and American broccoli, bok choy, mustard green and other types of vegetables. The cooking steps are just the same. Serving Suggestion: 2 - 3 Preparations: Main ingredients (upper right, clockwise): - 3 boneless chicken breasts, about 1 1/2 lb - Garlic, use 4-5 cloves - Ginger, use 1-inch in length - 1/2 can of bamboo shoots - 1 can of straw mushrooms - 1 small egg for marination - 1 to 1 1/2 lb of Chinese broccoli Notes: - The bamboo shoots and straw mushrooms are for complementary purposes. You may use dried black mushrooms, baby corns, canned water chestnuts, carrots, green peas or other vegetables. Or you may skip them. - You may use "dark meat" (chicken thigh or drumsticks), bone-in or bonless, to make this dish. You may also use other meats in making this dish. Take the chicken breasts: trim fat, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices. To marinate the chicken slices: Add chicken meat into a mixing bowl. Add: - 1/2 tsp of salt (or to taste) - 1 tsp of ground white pepper - Break the egg and add the egg white only - 1 to 2 tsp of oyster sauce (since this dish is oyster sauce based) - 1 to 2 tsp of corn starch or potato starch Mix well. Set aside for about 30 minutes before cooking. Peel, trim end and mince 4 to 5 cloves of garlic. Peel and grate 1-inch of ginger. Wash and drain the broccoli well. Cut diagonally along the stem. If the bamboo shoots are of whole pieces, cut them into slices. Drain all the water from the can. Cooking Instructions: Use a pan/wok, set stove at high. Add 3 tblsp of cooking oil. Wait until oil gets hot. Add the marinated chicken. Cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Stir well. If you have a second pan, you can cook the vegetables simultaneously to save some time. Or else you need to cook them sequentially. Add 3 tblsp of cooking oil. Wait until oil gets hot. Add 1/2 tsp of salt. Add the Chinese broccoli. Back on the first pan: Remove the chicken when it is still slightly undercooked. On the second pan: Kill the fire once the broccoli turns soft. It takes about 5 minutes. Don't overcook the broccoli. Drain off any extra liquid from the pan. Back on the first pan: Continue with the stove setting at high. Add 2-3 tblsp of cooking oil. Wait until oil gets smoking hot. Add minced garlic and grated ginger. Add 1/4 tsp of salt (or to taste). Stir well. Sautee for 20 seconds. Then dash in 2-3 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine. If you use garlic alone, it is tasty all right. But the addition of ginger will "kick it up a notch" - to quote Emeril. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth (or more if you want it saucey). Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the bamboo slices and straw mushrooms. Add 2-3 tsp of oyster sauce, 1-2 tsp of sugar, and 1 tsp (or more) of dark soy sauce - depends on how "dark" you want the sauce. If you want the sauce light in color, skip the dark soy sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce to the right consistency. Add the corn starch slurry a little bit at a time. Keep stirring. Stop when the sauce is thicken to your liking. Return the cooked chicken slices to the pan. Stir-well. Continue to cook for just about a minute. Finished. Plating: Use an oversized plate: In the center, lay 4 to 5 chicken slices. Lay 5 to 6 bamboo slices at the bottom, and a few straw mushrooms in between. 2 to 3 pieces of Chinese broccoli along the side. Scoop the sauce into a squeegee bottle (or use oyster sauce) and scribble it onto the rest of the canvas area. Done. Serve this under candle light with a glass of wine. Have a great time! What? Oh, oh... you want Chinese style of plating? Okay... okay... Take a big serving plate: lay on the Chinese broccoli. Try to make it into a circle with a "hollow" area in the center. Then scoop in the chicken slices stir-fried with bamboo shoots and straw mushrooms in the center. Picture of the finished dish.

Pictorial Recipe Sichuan Chili Pepper Chicken (辣子雞丁) I don't cook Sichuan style dishes too often. Recently I have been to a Sichuan restaurant and had the Chili Pepper Chicken dish: http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11413761..._2014_29757.jpg The wonderful flavor of chili combined with the numbing taste of Sichuan peppercorns is addictive! I tried to reproduce this dish following some recipes found in different websites. It took me 3 trials to come up with the best result that I like, which I am presenting here. The real Sichuan style would have used 150 - 200 dried red chilis. I have used only about 50. Feel free to add more dried red chili if you like. Picture of the finished dish: Serving Suggestion: 4 Preparations: Main ingredients (upper right, clockwise): - Chicken meat (with skin and bones), about 2 lb - Dried red chili peppers, use at least 50 (up to 200 or so) - Sichuan peppercorns, about 3-4 tsp (or you may use more) - 2-3 shallots - Ginger, about 1 to 2 inch in length - Garlic, use 5-6 cloves - 4 stalks of green onions - A few prigs of cilantro for garnishing Chop the chicken meat into cubes (with skin and bones), about 1 x 2 inches. Dark meat has more flavors. I used some chicken thighs and chicken wings. To marinate: very simply... add 2-3 tsp of light soy sauce, 2 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine, 1 tsp of salt (or to taste). Mix the ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside for 30 minutes before cooking. [Not shown in the pictures: Peel and cut the shallots into small wedges. Peel and mince 5-6 cloves of garlic. Trim end and cut 4 stalks of green onions into 1 to 2 inch in length. Peel and cut 1-2 inch of ginger into small slices.] To make the dried red chili peppers not as easy to burn, soak them in water for 20 minutes or so. Drain the water well before use. Cooking Instructions: Use a wok. Set stove to high. Heat up about 3 to 4 cups of frying oil. The oil must be very hot before deep-frying the chicken meat. This may take up to 10 minutes or more to heat up on a regular stove. Observe the oil. Wait until it start swirling before use. Add the marinated chicken. Note that the chicken pieces will start sizzling right away (it they don't, the oil is not hot enough). Deep-fry for a few minutes until the chicken pieces turn golden brown and crispy on the outside. You may need to divide the deep-frying into a couple of batches. Use a colander to drain off the excess oil. Drain all frying oil. Clean the wok. Set stove on high again. Heat the wok until fuming hot. Add 2-3 tblsp of cooking oil. Wait until oil starts fuming. First add all dried red chili peppers and Sichuan pepper corn. Stir. Fry for 15-20 seconds. Add minced garlic, chopped shallots, chopped green onions (white portion only) and sliced ginger. Add 1/2 tsp of salt, 1-2 tsp of chili bean sauce, 1 tsp of brown bean sauce. Stir-well. (Be careful of the choking smell from the Sichuan peppercorns. Dash in 2 tsp ShaoHsing cooking wine. Stir the ingredients well. Cook for 1 minute or so. Return the chicken pieces and add the chopped green onions (green portion). Dash in 1-2 tsp of dark soy sauce. Stir and fry for a couple of minutes until all ingredients are well-mixed. Finished. Transfer to a serving plate. Serve immediately. Picture of the finished dish. Add some cilantro for garnishing if desired. Serve with more hot chili oil or chili sauce as condiments if desired. Keys to cooking this dish 1. (Per one website's comment): You may use more or less dried chili pepper and Sichuan peppercorn as you like. The best is have all the hot chilis covering the chicken, and not just a few chilis mixed with the chicken pieces. 2. You should use salt to marinate the chicken meat before deep-frying. If you only add salt while stir-frying the chicken later, the outside of the chicken meat is already dry from the deep-frying so the salty taste will not infiltrate into the meat. 3. The oil you use to deep-fry the chcken meat must be very hot, so that the meat is crispy on the outside while still tender on the inside. If the oil is not hot enough, you end up having to deep-fry the chicken for too long and the meat becomes hard.

I just came back from Italy and had some really delicious Wenzhou cuisine while in Florence and Rome. Has anyone had similar experiences? Has anyone eaten a meal in a Chinese home in Italy, too? Have you noticed any interesting combinations of cuisines?

Pictorial Recipe Fried Bass with Tofu Sheets (beancurd sticks) (枝竹炆鱸魚) This is my family's hand-down recipe. Picture of the finished dish: Serving Suggestion: 2 Preparations: Main ingredients: - 1 fresh farm-raised bass, about 1 1/4 lb. - 4 stalks of green onions - Garlic, about 4-5 cloves - Ginger, use about 1-inch in length - (See next picture) Tofu sheets (beancurd sticks), use about 3 sticks - (See next picture) About 12 dried black mushrooms This is the featured ingredient: Beancurd sticks. There about about 8 sticks in this package. Use about 3 sticks for this recipe. Use 3 of the beancurd sticks and about 12 dried black mushrooms. The beancurd sticks are very brittle. Break them apart at about 2 inches in length. Use a mixing bowl to soak the beancurd sticks until soft, about 1 hour. Soak the dried black mushrooms in warm water for about 2 hours until soft. Trim and discard the stems off the black mushrooms. Slice each mushroom in half. Trim the ends of 4 stalks of green onions. Cut the white portion into about 1 inch in length. Finely chop the rest (for garnishing). Cut the ginger (1 inch in length) into fine slices. Peel and mince 4-5 cloves of garlic. Rinse the bass thoroughly. Pat dry. Gently rub about 1/4 tsp of salt on the body (both sides). Cooking Instructions: Start by pre-heating a wok with high stove burner setting. Add about 4-5 tblsp of cooking oil. Wait until oil is hot. Gently lower the bass onto the wok. To ensure the fish doesn't stick to the wok, try to hold the fish for a few seconds once its skin touches the hot oil. Let the skin brown slightly before letting go the fish. Turn down the heat to low/medium. Fry the fish for about 3-4 minute. Take full advantage of the shape of a wok. Don't move the fish. Instead, tilt the wok at different angles to fry near the tail. Tilt the wok the other way to fry near the head. Use 2 spatulas to gently lift the fish and turn it over to fry the other side. Try not to break off the skin. The second side takes less time. Remove the bass from the wok. Set the stove at high again. Wait until wok is hot and oil starts fuming. Add minced garlic, sliced ginger and chopped green onions (white portion only). Add 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of chili bean sauce and 1 tsp of ground bean sauce. Stir well. Stir-fry for 20 seconds. Add reconstituted black mushrooms. Add about 1/4 cup of chicken broth and 1/2 cup of water. Add 1-2 tsp of sugar, 2 tsp of oyster sauce and 1 tsp of dark soy sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil. Drain the soaked beancurd sticks well. Add the beancurd sticks to the wok. Continue to cook for 5 minutes. Stir well. Return the fried bass to the wok. I wanted to keep the fish whole for presentation. I left the fish on top of the bed of beancurd sticks. You may braise the fish among the ingredients if you like. Cook with the lid on for another 5-10 minutes. Let the heat from the steam to finish cooking the fish. This is how it looked after 10 minutes of braising. Transfer the fish to a serving plate. Scoop the beancurd sticks and lay them around the fish (but not on top of it) for presentation. Line up the black mushrooms along the edge of the fish. Use corn starch slurry (suggest: 2 tsp of corn starch and 2 tsp of water) to thicken the remaining braising liquid to make the sauce. Pour the sauce on top of the fish. Picture of the finished dish. Sprinkle some finely chopped green onions on top for garnishing. Serve immediately.

Hey all- Cha shao bao (叉烧包) are one of my favorite dim sum items, so naturally, I tried to make them at home a few times. Each time around, the filling was great, but the dough was FAR off what I am served in restaurants. Mine are not nearly as fluffy, duller beige in color, and not as spongey. How do I get that great white, fluffy, airy quaility of restaurant bao? I've tried adding baking powder to the dough, but that doesnt help that much. It still comes out too similar to western-style bread that is steamed instead of baked. Thank you! -Robert Kim

Pictorial Recipe Roasted Peanuts with Nam Yu (南乳肉花生) I grew up eating this style of roasted peanuts using Nam Yu (Fermented Red Beancurds). It is slightly sweet, slight salty and full of flavor. Occassionally I would find them in Asian grocery stores. To make this great snack at home is quite easy. Picture of the finished dish: Serving Suggestion: 20 Preparations: Main ingredients: - 5 packs of raw peanuts with skin, 12 oz each (total about 3.5 lb) - Nam Yu (Fermented red beancurds) It's important to use the raw peanuts with skin. Take 3 small cubes of nam yu. Place in a small bowl. Add 1/8 cup of water, 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt, 2 tsp of sugar. Smash the nam yu and mix with the salt/sugar/water well. Cooking Instructions: Start by pre-heating a wok with high stove burner setting. Add the raw peanuts. (No oil is needed. This is simply dry roasting.) Keep stirring and not let the peanuts get burnt. Pour the nam yu mixture onto the peanuts. Keep stirring and mix the nam yu flavoring in the peanuts. Dry roast using the wok for a few more minutes. Need to repeat this process. Add at least one more round of nam yu/salt/sugar mixture and roast for a few more minutes. If you have an adequate heat source, you may continue the roasting on the wok to finish. My stove burner is not strong enough. I transferred the peanuts to a baking pan and finished the roasting in the oven. Set the oven at 400'F. Roast the peanut for about 40 minutes. Every 10-15 minutes, stir the peanuts around so that the ones on the top will not get burnt. This is how they looked after 40 minutes of roasting. The snack is ready.

There is a great vegetarian Chinese restaurant in LA's San Gabriel Valley called Happy Family. I am looking for the New York equivalent. The menu should be completely vegetarian, not just a Chinese joint with veg options. Any suggestions?

Bar Shu, a recently opened Sichuan restaurant in London, is getting ecstatic reviews. Seems Fuschia Dunlop is a consultant. Anyone been? Observer Review Telegraph Review Time Out Review

Pictorial Recipe Salt and Pepper Shrimp (椒鹽蝦) The famous Cantonese "Salt and Pepper Shrimp" is actually quite easy to make. But to make it like the restaurant style requires a high-power wok burner. The home version may not be as crispy, but tasty just the same. Picture of the finished dish: Serving Suggestion: 2 to 3 Preparations: Main ingredients (from upper-right, clockwise): - 1 1/4 lb fresh shrimp with head and shell - 1 chili pepper (e.g. jalapeno pepper) - 5-6 cloves of garlic - 2 stalks of green onions - a few cilantro (for garnishing) Use a pair of kitchen sears, trim off the sharp horn and fillers from the shrimp. They are annoying to deal with at the dinner table. Rinse to clean the bodies of the shrimp well under running water. Place on a strainer to drain off the excess water well (perhaps leave for 30 minutes before cooking). (Not shown): Trim, peel and mince 5-6 clove of garlic. Trim and cut the jalapeno pepper into thin slices. Trim and finely chop 2 stalks of green onions. Cooking Instructions: Use a wok, set stove at high temperature. Add about 4 cups of frying oil and preheat for about 10 minutes or so (if you have a high-power burner it may not take as long) until the oil is hot enough for frying. You can tell by the slight smoke from the oil and that the oil start whirling. Add the shrimp and deep-fry for a minute. The idea is to use intense heat to cook the seafood very quickly. If you have a high-power wok burner, the shrimp shell should turn very crispy. After a minute, the shrimp looks bright orange and the legs look crispy. Scoop up the shrimp and drain the hot oil using a colander. Drain the frying oil from the wok. Continue with high heat setting on the stove. Add 2-3 tblsp of cooking oil. Wait until oil start fuming. Add minced garlic, sliced chili pepper and chopped green onions. Add 1 tsp of salt (or to taste). [Note: typically more salt is added in cooking this dish.] Stir-fry for about a minute. If you have a high-power burner, the minced garlic would turn crispy like the restaurant version. Returned the shrimp. Stir and toss for another minute until the ingredients are evenly coated on the shrimp. Finished. Transfer shrimp to a serving plate. Voila! Serve immediately. Many Chinese eat the heads and shells with this Salt and Pepper Shrimp. The only question is: would you too?

Could anyone point me in the direction of a good recipe for La Bai Cai? What I've got in mind is the kind of thing I've eaten in restaurants in Shanghai as a common appetizer or side dish. I've never tried making it or even seen a recipe for it, or eaten it outside Shanghai, but I always imagined it would be simple to prepare.

This is a great little Korean Chinese place in the same shopping center as Han Ah Reum in Ridgefield. The food is great, and inexpensive. Dumplings are incredible. Storefront Complimentary Radish Kimchi Appetizer Some other kind of pickle. Awesome fried dumplings Pork, scallion and other stuff inside. Chicken in Pepper Sauce, similar to Kung Pao Chicken but Koreanized. Special Peking Noodle, ZaZangMeyon, Prior to saucing. ZaZangMeyon Sauce Noodles and Sauce, mixed. Fried Pork with Sweet and Sour Sauce. A different approach than the Chinese-American favorite.

I know markets have a better selection than they did 20 and 30 years ago. But there is still plenty of produce out there that is difficult to find locally unless it's home grown. Anyone have gardens for this purpose? Any pics to share? Even if you don't, what would be in your dream garden?

I am really disappointed at the salty eggs sold in the local Asian grocery markets. Even 99 Ranch, the salty eggs they sell are bad. I haven't had any good experience in the past few years. For example, I just bought 3 packages of salty eggs from one of these markets a week ago (6 eggs in each package) to make joong. 18 eggs in all. After I opened each egg, there were less than 50% of them containing a good yolk. Only about 20% of them have perfect yolks - big, round, bright orange, perfectly formed. The rest? Either deformed (half an egg yolk good, half "dissolved"), or the yolk was entirely "dissolved" in the egg white. "Dissolved" mean you can no longer distinguish between the yolk and the white. 1 turned out to be stinky! Just how hard is it to make salty eggs? This is not rocket science. Is it really that difficult to make good salty eggs? These eggs had all gone through the same process and preserved for the same period of time. Why were the results so different from one egg to another? What makes a salty egg go bad? Is it the source duck egg? Is it the timing that is crucial (remove them from brine)? How can a package of 6 salty eggs have 2 good ones, 1 so-so one and 3 bad ones? I am tired of this non-sense. I need to learn how to make my own.

There is this Chinese dish that I'd like to find a recipe for. I don't know exactly what it is... the best phoenetic translation I can make out is kow fu. As far as I can tell, it's like a glutenous sponge - not unlike tofu, but spongy. It's usually cooked with Chinese black mushrooms and wood-ear mushrooms in a soy-based, but slightly sweet sauce. I've also had versions that included peanuts and lily stalks. I'm sure someone has posted about this before - but I have no idea how to even go about search for this. u.e.

Pictorial Recipe Joong/Jongzi (Sticky Rice Wrapped in Bamboo Leaves) (鹹肉粽) The fifth day of the fifth month (Lunar Calendar) is Dragon Boat Festival. The traditional treat for this festival is "Joong" [Cantonese], or "Jongzi" [Mandarin]. It is made from sticky rice and other ingredients/seasoning wrapped in a few bamboo leaves and boiled for a couple of hours. When ready to serve, simply heat up the joong and peel off the bamboo leaves. I made 40+ joongs this year. This is a series of illustrations on how to make joong (with salted pork and other ingredients (we call "liu")). The cooking part is easy. Most of the efforts goes into preparations. If you are learning how to make joong, don't need to make that many. Try making 5 or 10 to practice. Reduce the ingredient quantities proportionally. Picture of the finished dish: Serving Suggestion: 40 Preparations: Main ingredients: - Sticky rice (5 lb bag), use 2 1/2 bags (about 12-13 lbs) - Mung beans (12 oz package), use 3 packs - Salted eggs x 18 (3 packs, 6 eggs in each pack) or more - Dried conpoy, about 30 - Dried black mushrooms, about 30 to 40 - Pork butt or pork shoulder, about 2 lb - Raw peanuts (12 oz package), use 2 packs - Chestnuts (ready to eat, 12 oz package), use 3 packs - Dried shrimp (12 oz package), use 2 packs - Laap Cheung (Chinese sausage). Use 10 (1 pack) - 1 bag of dried bamboo leaves, about 150 Qty - 1 roll of small strings to tie the joong This is a bag of sticky rice, 5 lb package. Use 2 1/2 bags. These are mung beans, 12 oz packages. Use 3 packs. These are salted eggs, 6 eggs in each package. Use 3 packs (or more). A close-up view of the salted eggs. Dried conpoy. Use about 30. Dried black mushrooms. Use about 30 to 40. Pork Butt. Use about 2 lb. Raw peanuts. 12 oz in a package. Use 2 packs would be enough. Close-up view of the raw peanut package. Chestnuts, already shelled and cooked, ready to eat. Use 3 packs. Close-up view of the chestnut package. Note: If you use raw chestnuts, you need to precook them and shell them before wrapping. Dried shrimp, 4 oz in a package. Use 2 packs. Laap Cheung (Chinese sausage). There are different flavors. I used the ones made with duck livers. There are 10 sausages in a package. Use 1 pack. Dried bamboo leaves. Depending on how you wrap your joongs, you use 2, 3 or 4 leaves to wrap each one. I used 4 because my joongs are big. You may use 3 if they are smaller. Budget about 10% extra because some leaves do break during wrapping and cannot be used. Left-over, soaked bamboo leaves can be dried and store away for next year. They are very inexpensive anyway. (US$1.50 for a bag of 150 leaves or so). Close-up view of the dried bamboo leave bundle. The preparation of making joong starts the day before because many ingredients need to be soaked in water overnight. Day 1: Soak the sticky rice. Make sure you have enough water to cover the top. Soak the mung beans. Make sure you have enough water to cover the top. They expand quite a bit. Soak the dried conpoy. Soak the black mushrooms. Soak the raw peanuts. Cut the pork butt into big pieces (1 inch by 2 inches). 1 piece of pork per joong. To marinate (for 2 lb of meat): Add 2-3 tsp of light soy sauce, 2-3 tsp of dark soy sauce, 1-2 tsp of salt, 4 tsp of Shao Hsing cooking wine, 1 tsp of ground white pepper, 3-4 tsp of five spice powder. Mix the ingredients well. Store in the refrigerator overnight. Soak the bamboo leaves overnight in a small water bin. Use something such as a soup bowl to weigh down the leaves to make sure they are all immersed in water. Day 2: (1 hour before wrapping) Soak the dried shrimp. It doesn't take long for them to become soft. Drain the water from the soaked black mushrooms. Trim ends and cut mushrooms into thin slices (or dices). Cut the Chinese sausages diagonally into 1/4 slices. Break open all salted eggs. Separate the egg white from egg yolk. (Only use the egg yolks to make joong.) I cut the yolks into halves. You may use whole ones if you like. Open the packages of the ready-to-eat chestnuts. Drain the water from the soaked dried conpoy. (You may save the soaking liquid for cooking other dishes.) Pul the conpoy into shreds by hand. Use a pan/wok. Set stove to high. Wait until pan is hot. Add 3 tblsp of cooking oil. Drain the water from the soaked dried shrimp. Add the shrimp to the pan. Fry for a minute or two. Add the sliced black mushrooms. Mix well and stir-fry for another 2 minutes. Dash in 2-3 Shao Hsing cooking wine and 3 tsp of dark soy sauce. Mix well and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Drain the water from the soaking sticky rice. For each 4lb portion (there are 3 portions total), add 3-4 tsp of dark soy sauce, 1 tblsp of cooking oil and 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt. Mix the dark soy sauce, oil and salt with the stick rice well. Also, drain off the water from all other ingredients (e.g. mung beans, peanuts, etc.). Retreive the marinated pork from the refrigerator. This is how the bamboo leaves look after being soaked overnight. Drain the water from the bin. Boil one pot of water. Pour the pot of boiling water onto the bin. There are 2 reasons for this: 1) Sterilizatoin - killing off the molds that reside on the bamboo leaves. 2) Makes the leaves soft to make wrapping easier. (Note: Many recipes call for boiling the bamboo leaves in a big pot or on a wok. Chef Dejah also suggested adding a little bit of vinegar in the water to make the leaves softer.) Day 2: Wrapping of a joong There are different wrapping methods. I am showing mine which uses 3 to 4 bamboo leaves. There is an excellent web page (produced in Taiwan) that shows a video on how to wrap a joong. The page is written in Chinese. Click on the link at the upper left corner to view the video (about 7 minutes). The video was narrated in both Mandarin and English. They wrap a small joong with only 2 leaves, but form a perfect tetrahedron shape. Perhaps I should do that next year. http://edu.ocac.gov.tw/culture/chinese/cul...ml/vod14_09.htm Take one leave. Make it into a U-shape. Take a second leave. Wrap on the outside of the first leave. This extends the "wall" to surround the joong ingredients. Hold the 2 leaves in one hand. It becomes easier to hold them when you have added the ingredients onto the leaves. First add a few tblsp of sticky rice. Add the mung beans. Add the "highlight" ingredients: salted pork, salted egg yolk (half), 2 pieces of laap cheung. Add shreds of conpoy, 1 or 2 chestnuts. Add the stir-fried dried shrimp, black mushrooms and peanuts. At this stage, add a third bamboo leave to extend the "wall" to hold the ingredients. Add more mung beans. Finish off with adding more sticky rice. You may add a fourth leave to make it easier to close the joong. Just close the side and hold on to it in one hand. Start to tie the string but wrapping it around the bamboo leaves. Wrap it around by 7 to 8 times or so. Close out the bottom of the joong by folding the leave ends back up towards the center. Wrap the string around the leave ends to secure. This is how the joong looks like when the string is tied. Repeat the same process to make more joongs until the ingredients are used up. Cooking Instructions: Cooking is the easy part. Just use a big pot. Lay the joongs inside the pot. Fill the pot up with water. Boil the joongs (with lid on) for about 2 hours. Add more water once about an hour into boiling. Reduce the stove setting to medium from high after the initial boil. Remove the joongs from the pot and serve. You may need to divide the joongs into different batches and boil them one batch at a time, as most of us don't have a pot big enough to hold 40+ joongs. Joongs may be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. They also survive the freezing process rather well. If you make a big batch, you may spread it out the next couple of months to enjoy. Serve each joong individually. Cut the strings and unwrap. Discard the bamboo leaves. Picture of the finished dish. Serve with some slightly sweetened dark soy sauce.

I'd like to learn more about rou song. It's usually added to rice porridge for breakfast though I usually eat it straight out the jar. Are there are other uses for rou song? Rou song can be easily found overseas in Chinese supermarkets, usually in two kinds: red label or blue label. The red label is drier and crispier, easier to chew and has an effervescent mouthfeel. The blue label, by nature of being not as dry, is chewier. Oddly enough, every time I go to my Chinese supermarket the brand of the rou song changes but the container and red and blue labels remain identical. Maybe the rou song industry is in a state of constant flux while a single container and packing company monopolizes the export market. Is rou song favored in certain regions more than others? Are there non-pork versions?

ok ...I had eel at chinatown a few weeks ago, it was delish, tender meat and no funny smells either. it was crispy fried with tons of garlic and chilies. so here i go last week at the asian market...lo and behold they got eels, so i got two small ones had the guy behind the ccounter errr slaughter them for me i would've done it myself but it was almost 5pm, by the time i get home and "clean" the eels it would've been past dinner time...but anyways so i took em home, rinsed it a couple of times, rubbed salt on the skin to remove the slimy stuff, sliced it into segments, seasoned with salt, pepper, lots of garlic and rice wine and let it sat for about half an hour while i set up my wok with oil. I dredged the eel segments in cornstarch and dust off the excess then into the hot oil they go for about 8 to ten minutes till golden brown. they looked fantastic until i bit down on it, it was crunchy on the outside(good) but tough inside(bad) like overcooked octopus .....enough to put me off and toss dinner out. so is there a special way of tenderizing eel meat? or was the eel that i got bad(it cant be it was alive)?

One of the most common misconceptions people have about stir-fries is that you can throw any combination of leftover meat and vegetables together in the wok and stir it around with soy sauce. In a truly great stir-fry, the cook creates an artful combination of one or two vegetables to match the meat and the sauce. That's clear from hzrtw's posts! Here are some of my favorite combinations. What are yours? *Chinese okra, shrimp, onion and cloud ear fungus with an oyster sauce-based sauce (including sugar, salt, cornstarch, a little water). *Ground pork and tofu with hoisin sauce. *Asparagus and dried shiitake mushrooms with oyster sauce. *Beef, broccoli and red bell pepper with oyster sauce. *Chicken, Thai basil, bird chiles, red bell pepper and fish sauce and sugar. *Asian leafy greens with garlic and salt

Simmering the pork... In the oven....had to use a bit of good ole fashioned ingenuity to get the pork hanging just right Letting it cool before the big freeze. And I hate cleaning. I used hzrt8w's recipe posted a while back which called for a myriad of different ingredients, including LKK's Chinese Marinade and pre-made char sui sauce. I used a smidge of it tonight (out of the 4 lbs total) in some fried rice, and it came out wonderfully. [EDIT] By the way, I cheated and used some red food coloring because I like the way the outside of the pork is an almost unnatural blood-like color. No shame here lol :laugh:

I'm not sure what the terminology is but there is an entire category of very finely ground meat balls, so fine that it's impossible to identify each chunk of meat, pressed into balls a bit smaller than a golf ball. They're totally different from Western meat balls, which would be more analagous to the Chinese "lion's head". Gòng wán is my favorite, made of pork and flavored with garlic. Shrimp and fish balls are pretty good but a little bland. My least favorite is beef. What uses are there for these meat balls? The only thing that comes to mind is soup, but it seems like they would be very versatile. I once chopped up gòng wán in place of sausage for a spaghetti sauce. It turned out nicely. The mild flavor seems compatible with many dishes, and not just Chinese cuisine. I think chopped up and placed in a omelette would be good.

Does anybody have a recipe of the tripe that they serve over noodle soup.You know the ones that are served at Wanton/Noodle shop types?

Pictorial Recipe Stir-Fried Chicken and Asparagus with Black Bean Sauce (豉汁蘆筍炒鸡片) Asparagus is not a vegetable used in traditional Chinese cooking, but it is a wonderful adaptation to traditional Chinese recipes such as stir-frying with chicken and black bean sauce. Picture of the finished dish: Serving Suggestion: 2 to 3 Preparations: Main ingredients (from right, clockwise): - 3 chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 lb - Asparagus, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb - Garlic, use 4-5 cloves - (Not shown) Ginger, about 2-inch in length - (Not shown) Fermented black beans, about 4-5 tsp Trim fat off the chicken breasts. Cut into thick slices, about 1/4 inch thick. Trim the tough ends off the asparagus and discard. Cut into roughly 2 inches in length diagonally. Peel and mince about 4-5 cloves of garlic. Grate the ginger (use about 2-inch in length). Slightly rinse about 4-5 tsp of fermented black beans in a small bowl. Use the back of a metal spoon to smash the fermented black beans into a paste. Add the minced garlic and grated ginger. Press and stir the mixture into a paste. Place the chicken slices in a mixing bowl. To marinate the chicken, add 1 tsp of ground white pepper, 2 tsp of light soy sauce, 1 tsp of corn starch, 1-2 tsp of oyster sauce, 1-2 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine, 1 tsp of sesame oil. Mix well. Set aside for about 30 minutes before cooking. Cooking Instructions: Use a wok/pan, set stove at high temperature. Add 3-4 tblsp of frying oil, wait until oil gets hot. Velvet the chicken slices in oil. Remove the chicken when there is "no more pink color". Continue cooking with the wok/pan. Add 2-3 tblsp of cooking oil. Heat for 30 seconds or so. Add the black bean, garlic, ginger paste. Add 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste). Stir well. Fry the black bean paste for 20-30 seconds until the fragrance is released. Dash in 2 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine. Add the asparagus. If you like this dish dry, add only 2 tblsp of chicken broth. If you want a saucy dish, add 1/4 cup of chicken broth. (Near the end add some corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce.) Bring the mixture to a boil. Asparagus cooks rather fast. It takes only 2 to 3 minutes. Don't overcook. Return the velveted chicken slices. Stir well and cook for another minute or two. Dash in 1 to 2 tsp of dark soy sauce. Thicken the sauce with corn starch slurry if necessary. Finished. Transfer to a serving plate. Picture of the finished dish. (Note: The quantity of food made in this recipe is about twice the portion shown in this picture.)

I see that All-Clad makes one. Is there a disadvantage to stainless steel over the traditional cast-iron? The multi-ply construction is substantially heavier but it seems like it will distribute the heat better. Perhaps the biggest difference is that it will not have the non-stick properties of a seasoned wok, but can't this be simply compensated for by using more oil when stir-frying? Stainless steel is also lower maintenance and easier to clean. Most professional Western kitchens have adopted stainless steel over cast-iron, is there a reason why Chinese kitchens should not as well?

How does it differ from Western versions such as Italian prosciutto, Virginia ham, etc.? Is it safe to consume uncooked?

Helen and I just returned last night from the next series of Chinese restaurant documentaries created by Director Cheuk Kwan and Camera man Kwoi Gin at the Pacific Cinematheque. They are on again tonight and Thursday. Last night's show concentrated on Chinese restaurants in Brazil and India. It was facinating to see Chinese restaurants and cuisine fused into the cultures of Calcutta, Darjeelling, and the Amason River Basin city of Manaus. Both the director and camera man were in the audience for a Q&A last night. They mentioned their best Chinese food experience while filming was from a small restaurant in Northern Madagascar and worst in Cuba. If you missed the films, they are now available on a five disk dvd set for $130. I picked up a set so we may have to organise an event paired with food and wine and watch them with some other egullet members Cheers, Stephen