Chinese Eats at Home (Part 2)

[peony]

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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

[peony]

that's another easy way to make floss..

you know those soup that you boil n boil with chicken or pork till there is no more taste in the meat ? well, use these tasteless meat to make floss, no effort at shredding and dont waste good meat by throwing away

that's how my mom used to make chk / pork floss.

[hzrt8w]

... well, use these tasteless meat to make floss, no effort at shredding and dont waste good meat by throwing away

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Why are we eating tasteless meat?

[Gastro888]

Because we're Toisanese and we don't like to waste food!

(Only teasing!)

Edited January 26, 2007 by Gastro888 (log)

[Dejah]

... well, use these tasteless meat to make floss, no effort at shredding and dont waste good meat by throwing away

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Why are we eating tasteless meat?

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As Gastro Mui said, "We're Toisanese = frugal gourmets"...

So. this tasteless meat would work well as floss. It is stir-fried with sugar, etc, so it will be tasty. Using this would just make the shredding easier, and not waste food. Think of the poor hungry children in Africa!

[peony]

Ah Leung Gaw, the process is very simple...it's just time-consuming.

Get some meaty part with a bit of fats. Boil it. Cut into big chunks. Shred with fingers. You want to pull nice and long shreds, so the floss looks nicer. Fine-shred it further to almost thread-thinness. Dry fry with sugar, pepper and 5-spice powder (edit: forgot salt). That simple. 

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aiyo , ah leung... u forgot how to cook ah ? must add seasoning to your tasteless meat lah...

tepee gave the steps, I just add another method on cooking the pork..

instead of boiling a fresh piece of pork, use the meat that you made soup with or you eat the meat ah ? so no remainder ?

[Gastro888]

Wait, so this is the yook sung that's sold in tubs? That's pork floss? That's the stuff my friend buy that you could make yourself? Wow! So what's the shelf life on homemade floss?

[Dejah]

Dai Gah Jeh, no need to give special treatment to the black rice. We get ours from Kuching (in East Msia)...very fragrant, smells like black glutinous rice but without the stickiness. Wash and steam/cook the 2 rice together (with the knot of pandan leaves). Fluff up the rice, then add herbs. Use any you like. A shame you don't have ginger buds...but lemon grass is a decent substitute. Slice everything very finely.

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Tepee: I picked up the black rice today, but it is black glutinous rice.

I want this so much that I'm going to try the herbal rice anyway with the glutinous variety. Any suggestions on different handling?

[peony]

yes, that's the floss u buy, but of cos homemade with no preservative can't keep too long. We used to make bak kwa ( hokkien) or long yuk (cantonese) too. Guess on your side, you called this meat jerky.

you wanna tried making this ? need hot, sunny weather tho, to dry the meat before grilling.

bak kwa (or long yuk )

[hzrt8w]

you wanna tried making this ? need hot, sunny weather tho, to dry the meat before grilling.

bak kwa (or long yuk )

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Did you make this peony? This is most excellent!!! That's exactly what I would like to practice how to do. We have no hot, sunny weather here... that is a problem.

"long yuk" like - dragon meat? Or "long" as in burnt? I cannot figure out which word it is in Cantonese.

P.S. You know how to make EVERYTHING!!! From home cook meals to bakery stuff to snacks. This is amazing! Have you considered taking an apprentice? (Me!!!) Or writing a book? (I can help!)

Edited January 26, 2007 by hzrt8w (log)

[hzrt8w]

I am not very clear: Is this savory soup or sweet dessert?

Dessert to counter the heat is winter melon with boxthorn berries, longan and honey dates - sweetened with honey rock sugar.

You say leh?

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Well. My confusion was contributed by 2 factors:

1) I only knew of winter melon used in making savory soup, not "tong sui" (sweet dessert soup). So using it to make a dessert is an eye-opening experience for me.

2) When I hear the word "soup" used repeatedly, I automatically associated that with the savory soup.

This is taking me to the next level in Chinese culinary art. (And how many dan (段) are there?)

[Ben Hong]

This is taking me to the next level in Chinese culinary art.  (And how many dan (段) are there?)

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Grasshopper, by comparison to the many experts in homecooking here you and I have only begun. Peony, Tepee, Dejah inter alia are showing me what I should have learned from my mother. Since she is gone and I don't have any sisters, I'll humbly watch and learn how to make all these gah hing dishes of from all of you ladies.

Thanks girls.

Edited January 27, 2007 by Ben Hong (log)

[peony]

ah leung you r really v funny

most ladies ( ard my age ) wld have to learn cooking from female members in the family, not by choice, or we don't get to eat.

so thanks for your compliments, I'm not the only one who can cook, and I don't know everything. I can't read n write Chinese which is an embarrassment.

gee, I, too, don't know whether 'long' meant dragon or whatever. those dried meat were from a shop, cny is ard, remember. It is one of the important titbits to let visitors munch on.

and yes, I do make them( it is very,very expensive to buy ard cny ), but weather now is always raining, so will wait for sunny days altho, I can dried them in the oven set on low.

[Pan]

What does gah hing mean? I really feel like a foreigner in this thread.

I guess I am, though.

[eje]

it takes one country folk to know another,  tepee

ya, so busy with cny goodies..., so can only pop in n out quickly nowadays

just a glimpse to what I'm baking for my folks and loyal customers (they order every year)

love letters - kuih kapit

crispy beehives - kuih bunga ros

[...]

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Huh, these are both very similar to Norwegian bakery items I grew up with, Krumkake and Rosettes.

I guess it is that Norwegian/Chinese pastry connection?

[hzrt8w]

What does gah hing mean? I really feel like a foreigner in this thread.

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I believe Ben was saying "the village" (gah hing) dishes - dishes that are popular in the rural areas in China. His would be Toisanese/Cantonese village style dishes.

[Tepee]

Aaack..don't know how to use the multiquotes...let's see if I remember it all.

Dai Gah Jeah - if you have no choice but to use the glutinous rice, I think you shouldn't use more than 30%...too sticky. But that's my 2 sen.

Peony - We use very low oven heat all the time. It's more hygienic. If we use the sunning method, we must take care in covering it...them pesky flies.

Michael - Forgive us if some of us lapse into colloquial. Indeed, you can see 3 dialects in this thread. Please ask, anytime.

Ah Leung Gaw - Long yuk = bakgwa = yuk gawn. 'Long' sounds like wolf in cantonese. But it's just colloquial speech...no chinese character. Some companies do use loong as in dragon, but it's usually yuk gawn. LOL, although I can read and write some chinese, I just don't know how to use a chinese online editor.

Ben-Sook - you gotta be kidding! There's much more I need to learn from you than the other way around.

[Ben Hong]

What does gah hing mean? I really feel like a foreigner in this thread.

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I believe Ben was saying "the village" (gah hing) dishes - dishes that are popular in the rural areas in China. His would be Toisanese/Cantonese village style dishes.

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Ah Leung is right and more specifically it means the household or home. Ergo: "homecookin'"

[Dejah]

crispy beehives - kuih bunga ros

[...]

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Huh, these are both very similar to Norwegian bakery items I grew up with, Krumkake and Rosettes.

I guess it is that Norwegian/Chinese pastry connection?

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eje: I think you are right. One of my son's ex-gf was of Norwegian descent, and her grandma makes these delicate lacy rosettes with special irons. She used to bring us tins of these, sprinkles with icing sugar.

Pan: You're not the only one who feels like a foreigner in here. I do too sometimes, and I'm Chinese! I'm almost standing on my head trying to decipher the dialects used. Gah hing literally means family/household - so gah hing tan means everday food that you cook for your family.

Even tho' many of us are Toisanese, we all have "accents" from our village/area. Fluent speakers wouldn't have any problems, but having English as my main language, I have to really listen carefully sometimes. At least, with Ben, he can always explain again in English!

Peony: I didn't know that "Long yuk = bakgwa = yuk gawn" was necessary for CNY. We always have the "toon hap" - a round container with small sections - filled with sweetened bits, then we'd have tea and maybe wife cake or char siu baos. I always take a filled toon hap to school for the staff and students.

And, I can't read or write Chinese either. I tried to study with a visiting professor, but I just didn't have the time to devote to it. I was hoping to learn by osmosis.

Tepee: I tried out the black rice last night. It didn't turn out mushy at all, but I will reduce the amount of black next time. It was like octopus ink! I didn't put ham yu or ha mai, but I cooked it with pandan, then added chopped tender lemongrass and lime leaves. It was chewy and a bit dry, but I like it. What other recipes can I make with this black rice?

Ben is too modest to admit he's a skilled cook - or he's planning a cookbook and wants us to buy it in order to see his specialties: dong goo mallard, ginseng patridge, etc. Besides, I think he's just buttering us ladies up so we'll feed him when he visits.

[Tepee]

Tepee: I tried out the black rice last night. It didn't turn out mushy at all, but I will reduce the amount of black next time. It was like octopus ink! I didn't put ham yu or ha mai, but I cooked it with pandan, then added chopped tender lemongrass and lime leaves. It was chewy and a bit dry, but I like it. What other recipes can I make with this black rice?

I'm not sure if you do this tong sui (sweet dessert soup) there, but the easiest and most delicious thing you can do with black glutinous rice is simply boil a good handful of rice with say 8 cups of water till the rice opens. Fragrance it with pandan leaves (I'm happy to hear you have a nice ready supply now). Have ready a cup of first-squeezed coconut milk with a pinch of salt thrown in. Add the thick milk according to personal preference. There are various kuihs you can make with it too.

[peony]

after the past few days of baking ( and to continue soon with more baking ), make Barley, Beancurd n Gingko-nuts tang sui.

I buy this particular brand of dried beancurd sheet as it will dissolve completely and turn like beancurd milky drink.

[Tepee]

Ben is too modest to admit he's a skilled cook - or he's planning a cookbook and wants us to buy it in order to see his specialties: dong goo mallard, ginseng patridge, etc. Besides, I think he's just buttering us ladies up so we'll feed him when he visits.

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Well, Ben-Sook, don't sit on your rear like me. I've been toying with the idea of a book too, with pix taken by myself. Need someone to kick me started.

[Tepee]

Where do you get that beancurd sheet, Peony? I don't think I've seen it here. I get mine freshly made from my organic supplier man. I like a mix, though. Love to chew on some bits of sheet. After all those hours working in front of a hot stove making biscuits, you'd better drink more.

When we used to make kuih kapit...it was usually a 2-family 12 hours affair. Newspapers were spread out on the porch floor, which was more spacious and cooler, and there will be 2 special long stoves. Each stove had 3 - 6 tongs, one tong-handler, and one or two folders. All in all, 3 generations would be working at various tasks, which ranged from adding charcoal to the stove, fanning the fire, working the iron tongs, sweeping away the scraps from neatening the edges of the tongs and working it into a pile to feed the dog (!), folding the love-letters, putting into tins, sealing the tins with cellotape, filling and refilling barley drink for all. Fringe benefit...we get to eat all the loveletters we want. Priceless!

Edited January 27, 2007 by Tepee (log)

[peony]

from the supermarket here, but normally NTUC or Cold Storage.

I love fresh beancurd sheet too, but dont know where to buy here, but in Ipoh, my mom wld get from a vendor who make fresh each day.

I love the char er - vegetarian goose make from the fresh beancurd sht. missing this so badly. time for me to 'balek kampong' - go back to my hometown

[peony]

that's exactly what we do in Ipoh when we baked cny cookies...

here, only my neighbour and her daughter to help. The 3 of us can handle 20 irons. we take turn to handle the tongs. 2 handlers n one to fold.

funny that in Singapore, love letters r rolled while in M'ysia, fold into triangles. guess that's how we diff, between the 2 countries kuih, hehee.