Chinese Eats at Home (Part 1)

[C. sapidus]

C. sapidus, that looks delicious! Do you cook the sauce first and then braise the chicken in it?

rarerollingobject: Thank you! No, the sauce was added last. I heated the dry chiles in the oil; browned and removed the chicken; stir-fried the aromatics, returned the chicken to the wok; and then added the sauce and cooked until chicken was done - maybe 5 minutes total. The wok was so hot that the sauce reduced to a near-glaze on no time.

Yes, they ARE overly-crowded in the steamer but that's because I'm both impatient and greedy..

I’ve never had xiao long bao, but yours look beautiful – impatience and greediness seem totally appropriate under the circumstances.

[Dejah]

All I can say is: "This thread is getting wayyyyy out of hand!" Hubby thought I was going senile, sitting here drooling,that is, until he saw the food posted, and he too started to drool.

I've only had xiao long bao once, and have been in search of them ever since. There is one place in Winnipeg, Manitoba that makes them, my former favourite haunt. But, I haven't been there for quite some time because I abandoned them for dim sum restaurants. Now, I find out they've started serving several dim sum items.

I DO have a recipe for home-made and have bought pork shanks for the jelly. If possible, could you post your recipe and directions, RRO? It will be one of many projects over the holidays.

[hzrt8w]

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Agree that this is completely a double "WOW"!

At first glance, I really thought you went to a restaurant to have XLB. Very nicely done! And I have just been to Din Tai Fung in Arcadia - quote "The number one Xialongbao shop in North America".

Please join this XLB cook-off thread:

Cook-Off XXVI: Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao)

to give a hand to these folks. They seemed to have some difficulties making the dough and the soup. I have never made XLB before. Yours look fantastic!

I also didn't know frozen XLB are available. I need to look for them now!

:-b... This is my official drooling smiley now because it is not available with Invision.

[sheetz]

And we have a winner!!

Rarerolling, please share with us your method for preparing these. (A pictorial would be fabulous.) This would definitely be something I'd like to try during the upcoming winter.

[Pan]

For the shrimp and creamy sauce:

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/shrimpreci...honeyprawns.htm

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Got to love the mayo.[...]

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Actually, I dislike mayo. I didn't see the picture right and didn't realize there was creamy mayo-based sauce on the shrimps. But I know these dishes are popular. So more for everyone else!

As others have said, that pork shoulder looks amazing!

[sheetz]

The recipe for this dish is in Martin Yan's Chinatown Cooking and is from Chen Foo Ji Chinese Fried Rice Restaurant in Singapore. It supposedly took first place in a fried rice competition some years ago. Not bad, actually.

Gold Medal Crab Fried Rice

[rarerollingobject]

And we have a winner!!

Rarerolling, please share with us your method for preparing these. (A pictorial would be fabulous.) This would definitely be something I'd like to try during the upcoming winter.

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Thanks for your kind words, all!

Have posted my rambling steps in the Cook-off thread.

Next time, I will pictorial all the way through!

[hzrt8w]

Gold Medal Crab Fried Rice

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Is this shrimp and crab? I see the big round shrimp but not sure if I catch the crab meat.

:-b...

[sheetz]

Is this shrimp and crab?  I see the big round shrimp but not sure if I catch the crab meat.

:-b...

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Yes, the recipe uses both shrimp and crab. I used pre-flaked crab in a plastic container from the supermarket. Had I extracted the meat from whole legs it would have been in bigger chunks.

[hzrt8w]

Some simple, home-made vegetable stir-fries:

American broccoli - not very Chinese, just some local vegetable... sauteed with garlic and salt. Simple. Quick.

After a week on the road with grueling training schedules, though I stuffed myself with best Chinese food that I like, being home and back to simplicity is a treat!

[XiaoLing]

Hello All,

I made a special recipe from my region of Wuhan today. Every family in Wuhan has their own recipe for Steamed Pork Bacon and ribs. This is my family's version with potatoes underneath to soak up all the juices. The meat and fat is so tender that it literally melts in your mouth. You don't even need to CHEW!

[eje]

This red cooked pork shoulder was prepared overnight in my slow cooker.

[...]

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Man that looks good!

I'm salivating!

Did you broil it in the oven at the end to get such nice browning?

[sheetz]

This red cooked pork shoulder was prepared overnight in my slow cooker.

[...]

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Man that looks good!

I'm salivating!

Did you broil it in the oven at the end to get such nice browning?

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Nope, it's all from the dark soy sauce and sugar.

[aznsailorboi]

Hi guys! ooooh!!!! I bought my christmas gift for myself last night, and I can't wait till X'mas to open it so I finally busted out my new sony cybershot 8.1 mp nice nice nice and took pics of tonight's dinner.

I finally got my bittermelon craving out of the way hehehe I made stir-fry beef with black beans and bittermelon. I sliced the beef while still frozen so I can get paper thin slices, marinated for about half an hour in superior soy sauce, oyster sauce, crushed salted black beans, hsiao xing wine, sesame oil, white pepper, a little garlic, sugar and tapioca starch (or cornstarch). saute some more garlic till fragrant then add the marinated beef, stir-fry till the beef is almost done then add the onion slices and bittermelon slices. add a little water or stock cover for 3 minutes till bittermelon is done. I like mine a little undercooked with a little bit of crunch and lots of bitterness still. If the gravy is a little too watery add a little bit of tapioca or cornstarch slurry to thicken.

[prasantrin]

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How do you say "WOW"???

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And how do you say, "Please please please tell us how you did it!"

I actually have a slow cooker I can use!! I can't get a bone-in pork shoulder, but I can get pork shoulder (without skin--does that matter?). I want to make this as soon as I get back from my trip!

Edited December 10, 2006 by prasantrin (log)

[Sarah!]

Hello everyone. Love this thread and the pictures. Hoping to contribute too, here are some of my humble cooking this week. Most of them are dinner dishes which we of course, had with rice.

Fried vermicelli with chicken curry.

Braised soy sauce chicken and eggs.

Fried sambal okra.

Prawn and scallop dumplings.

Edited December 10, 2006 by Sarah! (log)

[hzrt8w]

Thank you for joining, Sarah!. Your cooking looks so lovely!

1. Do you use coconut milk in your curry?

2. Using whole cinnamon and star anise in braising chicken and egg, fantastic!

3. I always was not sure how Chinese/Asians cook okra. This is a great example. Do you use any meat at all in this dish?

4. What is the small pinch of brown color on top of the wonton? Did you put in choy poh (preserved turnip)?

[sheetz]

And how do you say, "Please please please tell us how you did it!"

I actually have a slow cooker I can use!!  I can't get a bone-in pork shoulder, but I can get pork shoulder (without skin--does that matter?).  I want to make this as soon as I get back from my trip!

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You can make it with skinless, boneless pork shoulder. It just won't have the beautiful skin. The recipe I used is adapted from Eileen YF Lo's recipe for Red Cooked Pork.

1. Take a 4-5 lb pork shoulder, rub it all over with dark soy sauce and deep fry it in oil for several minutes to sear on all sides. Place in slow cooker.

2. In a pot heat up 4 cups water, 3/4 cup dark soy, 1/4 cup thin soy, 1/3 cup shao hsing wine, 1 cup sugar, 3 star anise, 4 scallions, 2 1-inch chunks of ginger, 2 cinnamon sticks until sugar is dissolved. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired.

3. Pour sauce over pork shoulder and cook on low setting for 8-10 hours, until falling off the bone. Turn meat occasionally for even coloring if necessary.

4. Remove pork from slow cooker and transfer remaining liquid to pot. Bring to boil and reduce until the sauce is desired concentration, adjusting seasoning if necessary. Serve sauce with pork.

Notes:

1. If you are using boneless, skinless pork you can skip step 1, or else sear it on all sides in a hot skillet.

2. I think using rock sugar over white sugar is more traditional, but that's what Lo's recipe uses and what I had on hand.

3. Lo also adds powdered red rice for coloring, and I did, in fact, add a few drops of red food coloring to the liquid, but I honestly don't think it made any difference at all.

4. Leftover sauce can be saved and reused with pork, beef, chicken, or duck. Just strain the liquid, bring to boil, and store in the fridge or freezer.

Edited December 10, 2006 by sheetz (log)

[sheetz]

XiaoLing, that looks very delicious. What's that sort of crumb topping you used?

AznSailorBoi, is there anything more comforting than beef and black bean sauce over steamed rice?

Sarah, those pictures are beautiful. Is your okra dish very hot? I have a big jar of sambal in the fridge that's taking forever for me to use up--it's so spicy that I can only use a tiny bit at one time, and I'm not exactly a wimp when it comes to chiles, either.

Edited December 10, 2006 by sheetz (log)

[Kent Wang]

I'll join the bitter melon party too. I like mine with a bit of sugar and sriracha to balance the bitterness. Then I like drizzle a bit of sesame oil.

[Dejah]

Sheetz: That braised pork is beautiful! I'll have to try the reduction and glaze step next time. I was comparing yours to mine posted on page1, and yours is definitely the prettier one. However, mine was very tasty and tender as well.

I used a pork shoulder picnic cut. They were on sale that week, but about 3 times as much this week! I think you need to have that skin and the layer of fat on the pork to really get the flavour and texture. Oh...the skin and fat.... For sugar, I used palm sugar, only because I had a package opened. My students wanted me to add Sechuan peppercorns next time!

3 more days then I can have my bittermelon fix!

[sheetz]

Sheetz: That braised pork is beautiful! I'll have to try the reduction and glaze step next time. I was comparing yours to mine posted on page1,  and yours is definitely the prettier one.

It seems like my recipe uses a bit more dark soy and sugar than most others, which may be why the color is so brilliant. Lo's original recipe used 1 cup dark soy, 3/4 cup sugar and no thin soy, but I like the taste more with the extra sugar and added thin soy.

I like eating the red cooked pork along with canned sweet corn over rice. And you're right, the fat is sinfully good.

Edited December 11, 2006 by sheetz (log)

[XiaoLing]

XiaoLing, that looks very delicious. What's that sort of crumb topping you used?

The crumb topping is actually five-spiced rice powder. You can find it in most chinese grocery stores. However, Wuhan has their own special blend of rice powder made from many other spices. That's the one that I prefer but we have to have relatives bring it over from China whenever they visit. But in a pinch, the regular five-spiced rice powder made in Taiwan will do but it's not as tasty.

[Sarah!]

Thank you, hzrt8w!

1. Yes, I do use coconut milk in my curry but not too much. Maybe only half a cup. I use some water as well.

2. It's really good and the sauce's really thick, so we don't eat much of it. I just freeze it and then use it to cook again the next time. Sort of like a master sauce. It tastes better the second time, in fact.

3. Nope, no meat at all. Don't know about others but okra dishes I'm used to is fried with sambal, in vege curries or, fried with garlic and dried prawns (my mom's).

4. The brown pinch was actually fried garlic. I put a little of that and garlic oil just for the fragrance.

sheetz, thanks! Actually, no it wasn't very hot at all. I used some homemade dried prawn sambal which I already had in my freezer. So it was really convenient. I know what you mean about the jar ones, I've bought it once and it was so hot as well! Never bought them again. With homemade ones, at least I can control the heat.

[Pan]

Sarah, are you Malaysian or Singaporean? Nice stuff from you, and from everybody!