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Chinese Eats at Home (Part 1)


Dejah

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sheetz that braised pork seriously looks like its falling of the bone. ohhhh and I can just imagine the texture after slow cooking for 8 to 10 hrs. I bet the fat and skin just melts in your mouth!!! :wub:

kent your bittermelon dish looks good, what else did you put in it aside from sugar and sriracha? oh and your bittermelon looks so fresh, the ones we get here in chicago are pale...yours looks so green and crisp!

Sara welcome!!!! your dishes look fantastic...although I'm definitely in full attention to the prawn and scallop dumplings. :rolleyes: whats the leafy greens in the broth?

XiaoLing your dish looks like it could be an asian permutation of corned beef and hash. but I will probably like your version better than the original way. I can already taste the flavors and textures sweet and savory, and fragrant from the five spice, then crunchy rice crumb topping, then the tender potatoes and pork bacon. what a combo!

and here's dinner... jook with pei tan, and yau tieu. and an adlibed(sp?) vegetarian dish.

gallery_41019_4000_87078.jpg

I had the jook coz I had to "season" a new clay pot. Then the vegetarian dish was an attempt to recreate something I had at the Buddhist Temple for lunch earlier today....I wasn't gonna recreate it if there was enough when I tried to go for round two at the buffet line. It was so good I just had to have some more, so as soon as the Temple service was done I was off to chinatown and got some lotus root, wooden ear, young corn, and tofu skin knots. the flavor of my finished product was different, but it was still pretty good. I used Fu Yu in mine, so I have a more heavier and stronger flavor, the one from the Temple is lighter, cleaner, and less pungent, and I like that better. but oh well, oh one thing I don't get is how did my lotus root get stained with like a purplish color, dunno where it came from....see here, check it out. look at the lotus root around the center, the edges are purplish.

gallery_41019_4000_110498.jpg:wacko:

...a little bit of this, and a little bit of that....*slurp......^_^.....ehh I think more fish sauce.

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and here's dinner... jook with pei tan, and yau tieu. and an adlibed(sp?) vegetarian dish.

Fantastic! did you make your own "yau tieu" or buy it from a store? I envy you guys making your own at home.

Lotus roots do turn a little darker, purple-ish when cooked from my experience. But not "stained" like you showed in the picture.

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
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Great cooking, folks! My line was down for 2 days...but I've been terribly busy and will be so for the next 2 weeks. Won't have time to post; so this will be my last till Dec 22...I'll make an effort for that. Last night's food from the pasar malam (night market).

Claypot rice, to be eaten with sliced red chillies in thin soy sauce.

claypotrice.jpg

Popiah. Rolls filled with long-stewed daikon and loads of stuff...there's a thread on it. This one is delicious as they put a base of fried eggs which are threadlike thin.

popiapasarmlm.jpg

Also the Kill Ride Horse in the other thread? I found this in my mother's house. Just found out the first word Saat is not Kill. :wink: Love this. I can eat huge chunks at one go.

killridehorse.jpg

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

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173630053O398149835.jpg

Mango and Sago Sweet Dessert

make this sweet dessert ( tang sui - in cantonese ) .

this is quite popular in Hong Kong too. but I think in HK, it is Mango & Pomelo dessert.

It is not easy to get pomelo now, so use sago pearls.

peony

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kent your bittermelon dish looks good, what else did you put in it aside from sugar and sriracha? oh and your bittermelon looks so fresh, the ones we get here in chicago are pale...yours looks so green and crisp!

I marinate the pork in soy sauce, cooking wine, baking soda and starch. The sriracha and sugar are added while cooking and sesame oil is added at the very end.

Yes, we just had a new Asian supermarket open in Austin and the bitter melon is some of the freshest I've seen.

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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.

[...]

FWIW, the last time I made red cooked pork, I added a half a pound of seeded fresh Jujubes (Red Dates) during the last hour or so. When they were soft, I pulled them out and pureed them with enough of the cooking liquid to make a sauce. I thought it was particularly tasty.

Of course it didn't look anywhere near as good as sheetz' pork...

---

Erik Ellestad

If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck...

Bernal Heights, SF, CA

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XiaoLing your dish looks like it could be an asian permutation of corned beef and hash. but I will probably like your version better than the original way. I can already taste the flavors and textures sweet and savory, and fragrant from the five spice, then crunchy rice crumb topping, then the tender potatoes and pork bacon. what a combo!

one thing I don't get is how did my lotus root get stained with like a purplish color, dunno where it came from....see here, check it out. look at the lotus root around the center, the edges are purplish.

gallery_41019_4000_110498.jpg:wacko:

Thank you aznsailorboi!

I really love lotus roots and will definitely try the combo in your pics as soon as I get my hands on some fresh lotus roots.

As for your stained purplish color on your lotus roots, this happens when the lotus roots are exposed to oxygen for a while. It's based off the starchiness of the vegetable. To avoid the discoloration or the extra starchiness from the lotus roots, I tend to let the sliced lotus roots soak in cold water and then quickly blanche them in hot water. This will provide a much cleaner taste and color. Hope this helps.

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hzrt8w the yau tieu is store bought, I buy them fresh then as soon as I get home I store them in a big ziplock then stick it in the freezer right away, then to reheat it, just stick in a 375* oven frozen for 10 min. and its just as good as new once it comes out. let it rest for a few minutes to let the crust crisp up a little bit. the inside will still be soft.

oh and the Lotus root, it could've turned purple by itself, I looked at the rest of the leftovers in the fridge this morning and the rest of the roots turned purplish too.

auntie teepee In your absence we will continue posting, but we'll be looking forward to when you get back! :smile: the claypot rice sounds good. sounds so homey and comforting, and the red chilis in thin soy sauce sounds kinda good right now for chilly midwest winters. Anybody got a recipe for it?

Peony that tang sui looks good, I think I will keep it tapioca pearls than pomelo sacs. did you make it? can you share the recipe? I can usually skip dinner in exchange for dessert :wub::laugh:

RRO I saw your attachment to hot chilis or CHILI-fied( my own word :laugh: ) food items, thats amazing, actually my chili tolerance has gone way up ever since I started hanging out with my Lao, Viet and Thai friends who are all food lovers as well and love hot and spicy things. they introduced me into dipping thai chili peppers in shrimp paste (kao piak), papaya salad with about 20 chili peppers pounded into it, and my pho is usually red from sriracha lol :blink: but its all good. I also make my own chili oil, which I put on everything even just rice, I can make a pictorial of it when i make it next time.

I'm at work right now bored. .... I got long beans sitting at home, so thats probably the main ingredient.

...a little bit of this, and a little bit of that....*slurp......^_^.....ehh I think more fish sauce.

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This is classic Semi-Homemade Cooking, Chinese-style using the leftover egg whites and crab meat from the Gold Medal Crab Fried Rice from earlier.

In a pot boil 1 can of creamed corn, 3 cups chicken stock, 1 tsp minced ginger, 2 Tbl Shao Hsing wine, 1 tsp sesame oil, and a little salt & pepper. Stir in 3 Tbl cornstarch mixed with 3 Tbl water and bring back to boil. Fold in 1/2 cup cooked crab meat and 2 beaten egg whites. Garnish with chopped scallions and cilantro.

Corn Soup with Crab Meat

gallery_26439_3934_202084.jpg

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Wow. With all the terrific food that's been posted--especially that gorgeous red-cooked pork, sheetz!-- I feel a little intimidated about posting my newbie-ish efforts. But here I go anyway ... :smile:

My latest practice run with red cooked pork:

gallery_27785_2788_48393.jpg

This time I wanted to do a bigger batch, so I did it on the stovetop in a heavy cast-aluminum pot with a good heavy lid. I used about a pound of boneless pork, skinless but with a nice fat layer (no longer remember what cut it is--it's been waiting in the freezer for a few weeks). Didn't sear the meat first--was in a bit of a rush. I had the yellow rock candy to use for the first time, along with all the usual seasonings. Also included some chunks of daikon and onion. Very simple--but so satisfying on a cool evening when I'm feeling a little out of sorts physically.

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Wow. With all the terrific food that's been posted--especially that gorgeous red-cooked pork, sheetz!-- I feel a little intimidated about posting my newbie-ish efforts. But here I go anyway ... :smile:

My latest practice run with red cooked pork:

Mizducky, here's a few tips on improving what looks already like a tasty looking dish:

Use pork shoulder with lots of fatty marbling.

If at all possible, keep the meat in one piece.

Best if the meat comes with skin.

Browning really is an option, not a necessity.

Cook the meat lo o o o n g and s l o w. Till it's almost falling off the bone.

The meat in this dish should be unctuously velvety and melt in your mouth.

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I made a Spicy Beef (nu-lan) Stew Hunan style, courtesy of my Hunanese uncle. It’s so tasty and good during this time of the year with some veggies (I made sautéed spinach but will not post because it’s just plain spinach sautéed with garlic) and some white rice.

Here is the finish product:

gallery_48325_4009_450960.jpg

And here is a close up:

gallery_48325_4009_12323.jpg

Sometimes I like to put fresh winter bamboos when they become available but my uncle is very traditional and thinks that putting anything else in the stew will rob the beef of it's flavor.

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XiaoLing, what spices differentiates your dish from what is made Cantonese style with star anise, ginger, chun pei, garlic, etc. ?

You are so lucky to be able to get real gnow lam (nu lan) . I love the mouth feel of the white membranes.

What differentiates my dish from the others is that there is only garlic, ginger and dried chilies. Of course then you have all the sauces and the most important thing is the preperation.

I can never be far from a "real" chinatown. It would depress me. I live in Boston now and I am complaining about their Chinatown because it is in no way shape or form even close to the markets and freshness of NYC. Which is why I always drive home to NYC so I can pack my trunk with lots of stuff. :wub:

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XiaoLing yummy is all i can say, and Ben-sook i agree the mouthfeel for the membrane....it has different textures depending on the thickness of the membrane, chewy, velvety, soft, tender,etc. wow. oh and im cooking tonight, bah kut teh is on the menu. pics will come later! see ya guys in a bit!

...a little bit of this, and a little bit of that....*slurp......^_^.....ehh I think more fish sauce.

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Today I made Ma Po Tofu using Ms Dunlop's recipe. I tried to adhere to the recipe as closely as possible, except that I used ground pork instead of beef. (Is beef really more traditional? I always thought pork was more common.) The first thing that occurred to me while making it was, "This sure is a lot of oil!" :laugh: I thought it would also be extremely hot/spicy, but it in reality it wasn't even as hot as my usual recipe. Maybe the ground chilies I used were wimpy. Tasted very good, but I think I will cut back on the oil next time.

gallery_26439_3934_315959.jpg

Edited by sheetz (log)
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(Is beef really more traditional? I always thought pork was more common.)

Great looking ma po tofu!! yumm...makes me want to make some tonight.

You're right Sheetz, pork is more traditional than beef because it is more readily available. When I make this dish, sometimes I would use ground chicken and its a pretty good substitute for pork.

I love Dunlop's book. Haven't really tried any recipes yet but I have my eye on the Fish with Pickled Vegetables (my favorite Sichuan dish.) I will be making that over the holidays and will definitely post my results.

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I think beef is more trad in Sichuan, but when it spread, it went porcine. Some of the Cantonese versions (with hum choy, peas, thickened sauce instead of red oil, etc) barely resemble the original, but I love them all (um, except the Japanese version I had, because it was too sweet for me).

Great thread, just found it after being away and it made me sooo hungry.

regards,

trillium

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I could have sworn that it was pork in the ma po tofu when I had it in Sichuan.

Hmm...I did some wiki research and found this history on Ma Po Tofu, pretty interesting read. The site states that it is usually made of pork.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapo_doufu

Well, there's only one way to find out :hmmm: ...let's all take a trip to Sichuan to find out ourselves! Who's in? :laugh:

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Mizducky, here's a few tips on improving what looks already like a tasty looking dish:

Use pork shoulder with lots of fatty marbling.

If at all possible, keep the meat in one piece.

Best if the meat comes with skin.

Browning really is an option, not a necessity.

Cook the meat lo o o o n g  and  s  l  o  w. Till it's almost falling off the bone.

The meat in this dish should be unctuously velvety and melt in your mouth.

Cool--all very helpful. Especially the part about keeping the meat in one piece--I didn't realize that was the preferred way. The batch above I let cook for only two hours, and the meat came out really tender, but I think that only worked because I'd cut the meat into chunks. Hmmm ... now more than ever I'm feeling the need to get a crockpot so I can leave it going all day long ...

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here's dinner bah kut teh, best eaten with leftover rice topped with fried shallots or rice from the bottom of the pot, the crunchy almost burnt part. the sauce is thick mushroom soy sauce with chopped garlic and chilies.

gallery_41019_4000_20908.jpg

here's whats in the bah kut teh....

gallery_41019_4000_113276.jpg

dried black mushrooms, oyster mushrooms(would've used button, but this is the only one available), tofu pok (fried tofu puff), garlic, dried scallops and wilted iceberg lettuce. the other bowl contains the ribs....y'all know what that looks like lol.

and here's what happened to the leftover the night before, this would be lunch tomorrow that I'd be bringing to work.

gallery_41019_4000_57255.jpg

it became a noodle dish. sooo now I'm completely wiped out of lefovers. :sad: but its all good coz that means I'll have to cook new ones, then I'd have more pics to share. :smile:

...a little bit of this, and a little bit of that....*slurp......^_^.....ehh I think more fish sauce.

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