Chinese Eats at Home (Part 2)

[hzrt8w]

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

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penoy do you first crumble the dried beancurd sheets before cooking? I found that if I don't, the sheets will stay whole and will not break during cooking. May be it depends on the beancurd sheets?

[hzrt8w]

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! 

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It sounds like these "love letters" are made when folding 2 pieces of cast iron plates and heated on top of a charcoal stove? And you have more than a pair of cast iron plates to rotate?

Wish I can see a picture. <<<Kick>>> Photographer... go to work!

[Dejah]

Another dish from Memories of Soo's for supper last night: Ginger Beef.

Asparagus was on for $2.99 a lb, so I steamed and quickly sauteed these. Found a partial bag of tiny scallops in the freezer, so I threw them in.

I made Tepee's herbal rice with black rice. It was good but not pretty, so no picture of that!

edited to add: Next time, I will deep fry the julienned ginger for topping.

Edited January 27, 2007 by Dejah (log)

[Dejah]

EUREEKA!

I think I've got a title for my "to be written when I retire" recipe book!

Memories of Soo's

Do you think The Real Canadian Superstore will sue me for copywrite infringement? They have sauces called "Memories of Bangkok", "Memories of Vietnam", Memories of.........................

[hzrt8w]

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

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Don't feel bad. That's how I feel too and I am a native Chinese!

Caught between two Malayisan-Chinese (Hokkien, Cantonese and some mixed dialects) and four (or more) American/Canadian-Toisanese-Chinese (Toisanese, Cantonese and some mixed dlalects), plus some occasional Mandarin, and my gradually decaying Cantonese, I too need to search through distant memory lanes (and often need to make guesses) to put meanings into some words.

[Ben Hong]

EUREEKA!

I think I've got a title for my "to be written when I retire" recipe book! 

Memories of Soo's

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I would have a tendency to title the book "Dejah's View, All Over Again".

[Dejah]

From Dejah's View, All Over Again:

Buffet Item - Toisan Pork Chops: breaded pork chops with sweet/sour/spicy sauce. The sauce was a mix of Worchestershire sauce, ketsup, and Soo's "secret stock).

A "just to use up stuff" dish: Snow Peas and Squid.

[hzrt8w]

... Soo's "secret stock).

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Venison and bones!

[Pan]

[...]A "just to use up stuff" dish: Snow Peas and Squid.

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Just to use up stuff, eh? Nice!

Edited January 29, 2007 by Pan (log)

[Gastro888]

Hi everyone, I've got a question for you about fu-gwuah (bitter melon). I love bitter melon with beef in black bean sauce. However, I cannot grow my own so I'm left to the mercy of the markets. I thought bitter melon is only available during the summer time until I saw some in the NYC markets this month. Now they're not the dark green, fat, wide ridged ones that you see during the summer (ok, I only see those at my mom's but you know what I mean) but they're thinner, pale green with skinny ridges. Now are these inferior? Any special way to prep them besides the normal way?

My mom says they are but dang it I want me some dow see ngaw yook fu gwah that I can make myself so I don't have to pay $4 for a skimmpy portion.

[peony]

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.

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this may be just the custom in Singapore n Malaysia..

what other cny cookies that is special over your side ?

penoy do you first crumble the dried beancurd sheets before cooking?  I found that if I don't, the sheets will stay whole and will not break during cooking.  May be it depends on the beancurd sheets?

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I break just so that it can go into the pot.

there r 2 types of dried beancurd sticks, one for savoury soup, the other for sweet dessert soup. or your side sell only one type ?

[peony]

now my turn to be a foreigner

what is the meaning of Toisanese ?

btw, I only know cantonese and got scolded in HK - Chinese don't know how to speak chinese - when I speak to them in Eng.

In China, the natives there said I'm not chinese cos not born there

[Tepee]

OUCH! and OUCH! from Ah Leung Gaw and Dai Gah Jeah's kicks. I get the message. Yes, I have taken some serial pix of some of stuff I make.

.... The 3 of us can handle 20 irons. we take turn to handle the tongs. 2 handlers n one to fold.

Wow, peony, you are a gou sau (expert of the highest kind)!

It sounds like these "love letters" are made when folding 2 pieces of cast iron plates and heated on top of a charcoal stove?  And you have more than a pair of cast iron plates to rotate?

Wish I can see a picture.  <<<Kick>>> Photographer... go to work! 

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Peony? Can you provide the pix? We aren't making it this year. Ah Leung Gaw, you are correct. I'm too lazy to look at the link I provided earlier but here's what we do.

The tongs are first lightly oiled (they have to be well-seasoned), the batter is ladled on it, at an angle, so that the excess flows out. Clamp the 2 irons shut. Put them over the fire. When you see the batter, which has leaked out a bit, is getting cooked, scrape them off with a knife. Return irons to stove. Turn over for even cooking. Skill is needed to gauge the timing of when the biscuit is nicely golden. You can open the irons to check midway, but this has to be done carefully, so that the still-soft biscuit doesn't run off and the imprint is marred. When the biscuit is ready, the tongs-handler, flips it over to the folder or roller. If the tongs are well-seasoned, the biscuit will come out without sticking. Stuck pieces will have to be cleaned off before making the next piece. When I was little, I used to plaster a finger or two so my fingers won't get burned. We use the tin cover to press and fold. To fold, place cover leaving around a centimeter...do not press all the way to the edge or you get a very flat piece...not pretty. You want it to slope a bit. You have around 10 seconds (or less) to fold before the biscuit cools and crisps.

Do they have this in Hong Kong?

Woohoooo! Tks. Now I know how to use multiquotes.

Peony. Be careful of this bunch. They are mostly Toisanese. If you watch some of the older chinese films, you can hear some the dialect spoken. Boy = chai (cantonese) = doi (toisanese). Eat = sik (cantonese) = hack (toisanese). So, if we don't watch what we say about 'them', we'll get hacked to death!

[Habeas Brulee]

Hey, I know this is off-topic for this thread, but I really want to get the opinion of the 'regulars' here - I'm a lawyer and a foodie living in NYC. I was thinking of taking a class to learn Chinese, both to help with my shopping and restaurant ordering in Chinatown, and to communicate with Chinese immigrants who don't speak much English when doing pro bono legal work.

My very vague understanding is that Mandarin is the most common dialect in China, but Cantonese is more common in Chinatowns in the U.S.

Which should I study, and why?

(I'm sorry, I'm sorry for going off-topic! Never again, I promise! But there was some discussion about language upthread...)

[peony]

wah, tepee. I can handle the tongs but to take pic at the same time ? you r asking the impossible lah...

anyway, here's kuih kapit work stn

pic not of me hor, I google this

[peony]

here's another link but pic slower to upload

making of love letters

[Ben Hong]

I was thinking of taking a class to learn Chinese, both to help with my shopping and restaurant ordering in Chinatown.....

Not off-topic to me.

Will let your fellow countrymen answer your question.

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Habeas, what you are contemplating is commendable as we all know the benefits accruing to learning another language, especially when ordering food. In my experience dealing with foreigners of all stripes, I have found that due to the nuances and non verbal communications that sometimes arise, leave any formal (legal in your profession) communications to the expert translators. It is nice though, to know enough of a language to "cross reference" the translation.

Peony: The Toysanese come from Toysan or Taishan (Mandarin), a coastal region of GuangDong province, that is located about 60 miles west of Macau as the crow flies. The Toysanese started coming to North America during the California gold rush of 1849 (hence the name "Gam Shan" or Golden Mountain for that continent). The building of the transcontinental railroads in both Canada and the USA during the latter part of the 19th century brought another huge influx of my people. Most were voluntary, but a lot were semi-slaves, brought here via kidnappings, press gangs and as indentured labour.

Up until the 1970s, 95% (maybe more) of the Chinese in North America were Toysanese, so their dialect was the lingua franca of all the Chinese in North America, regardless whether they came from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing...People who did not speak Toysan hua were considered to be almost "NON Chinese" As has been noted before, my dialect is still spoken widely in the Chinatowns all over the continent. Seriously the Toysanese of North America constituted a very homogeneous group because of the small region of China where we originated, the "six degrees of separation" was in perception, and in fact, only 2 degrees. Everyone knew everyone else.

If you read the old threads in this forum, you will see that our foods are slightly different (humble?), especially those made in the traditional ways by the popo's of the family. Sadly we were also the people who gave the world chop suey, sweet and sour chicken balls, egg drop soup , moogoo guy pan, etc., ad nauseam.

[peony]

thanks alot , Ben Hong for this explanation..

I always thought that those people who went to 'gold mountain' are the cantonese, like in the movie wong fei hong...heehee

now I learn something new...thanks again

[Dejah]

Up until the 1970s, 95% (maybe more) of the Chinese in North America were Toysanese, so their dialect was the lingua franca of all the Chinese in North America, regardless whether they came from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing...People who did not speak Toysan hua were considered to be almost "NON Chinese"  As has been noted before, my dialect is still spoken widely in the Chinatowns all over the continent. Seriously the Toysanese of North America constituted a very homogeneous group because of the small region of China where we originated, the "six degrees of separation" was in perception, and in fact, only 2 degrees. Everyone knew everyone else.

I can attest to what Ben said. I work for an interpretor service out of Tuscon, Arizona. Many of my calls for Toisanese are from hospitals in New York, Brooklyn, Conneticut, Boston, Sacramento, Denver, you name it. This was such a surprise to me.

Years ago, when we went to a Chinese restaurant anywhere, Toisanese and Cantonese were the main dialects for the wait staff, and Toisanese for the kitchen. They were able to understand eachother as there are similarities. Now, there is a lot more putongqua spoken. That's a whole new "language" to me. I switch to English, and even today, I get "Chinese don't know how to speak chinese". So, Peony, don't feel bad; you're not alone!

[Dejah]

Hi everyone, I've got a question for you about fu-gwuah (bitter melon).  I love bitter melon with beef in black bean sauce.  However, I cannot grow my own so I'm left to the mercy of the markets.  I thought bitter melon is only available during the summer time until I saw some in the NYC markets this month.  Now they're not the dark green, fat, wide ridged ones that you see during the summer (ok, I only see those at my mom's but you know what I mean) but they're thinner, pale green with skinny ridges.  Now are these inferior?  Any special way to prep them besides the normal way?

My mom says they are but dang it I want me some dow see ngaw yook fu gwah that I can make myself so I don't have to pay $4 for a skimmpy portion.

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The paler green ones you see may be grown in a greenhouse. They are the same as the usual ones in the summer.

You can stuff them with ground pork, sauteed then gently braised. Or, make soup with melon chunks, rehydrated oysters, pork and some ginger.

Our local Asian store brought in a case, but most of the melons were bought up by their East Indian customers. I bought my share and had dow see gnow yuk chow fu gwa served on top of ho fun.

[Ben Hong]

I bought my share and had dow see gnow yuk chow fu gwa served on top of ho fun.

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I had bitter melon boats last night...halves of the gourds stuffed with fish/pork paste panfried, steamed, then topped off with a very light black bean/garlic sauce and coriander bits. A few chunks of hum gai, and a quick bowl of watercress soup completed the meal for us.

[hzrt8w]

I break just so that it can go into the pot.

there r 2 types of dried beancurd sticks, one for savoury soup, the other for sweet dessert soup. or your side sell only one type ?

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I have only seen one type of dried beancurd sheets. There are beancurd "sheets" (flat), and there are beancurd "sticks" (curled into long, wrinkled stick shape). Which one did you use for making sweet desserts?

[sheetz]

My very vague understanding is that Mandarin is the most common dialect in China, but Cantonese is more common in Chinatowns in the U.S.

Which should I study, and why?

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Hire a translator for legal work. As far as ordering in restaurants, I'm not sure how much it would help to learn to speak Chinese. I would think learning to read characters on the menu would be far more helpful. Hence, learning standard Chinese (Mandarin) would be more useful, IMO, as Cantonese is primarily only a spoken dialect and you will not be able to find much of anything actually written in Cantonese dialect.

I always thought that those people who went to 'gold mountain' are the cantonese, like in the movie wong fei hong...heehee

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Actually, Toisanese ARE considered Cantonese, but not from the city of Canton (Guangzhou). Toisan and Guangzhou are both located in the Guangdong province and, linguistically and culinarily speaking, fall under the umbrella heading of "Cantonese."

Wikipedia explains it a little better.

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

Edited January 28, 2007 by sheetz (log)

[hzrt8w]

Do they have this in Hong Kong?

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Thanks for the explanations, Tepee. Do we have this in Hong Kong? ... hmmmm... we have some similar ones, but not in the form of "love letters". That's why I have never seen them before. But this kind of "waffle" making small eats are probably very popular in many countries.

In Hong Kong, the ones that we make are using 2 cast iron plates with many ball shape "holes" and the holes are arranged in a honeycomb fashion. One pours the batter on one side, close the 2 plates, then turn them so the batter floats to the other plate. When done, a plateful of about a dozen "balls" - all still interconnected by some batter - would come out. The vendor may sprinkle a little bit of sugar on top. Eating at home, you may add jelly or peanut butter.

In Hong Kong Cantonese, we call it "gai dan tsai" (small chicken eggs).

LOL... yes, I am very careful when I speak to my parents-in-law. They often get frustrated because when they speak Toisanese, I often misunderstand them. I have a hard time telling the difference betwen "one" and "two" ("eeit" and "ee"???). While in Cantonese, those two words are more distinct: "yut" and "yee". I often go to meet them for dim sum at eleven o'clock while they said twelve o'clock.

Edited January 28, 2007 by hzrt8w (log)

[C. sapidus]

If I didn’t come here for the food, it would be worth visiting this thread for the fascinating cultural and linguistic insights.

Tonight we made Tai Bai chicken (Tai Bai ji), from Land of Plenty. This had tingly Sichuan peppercorn ma; plenty of la from the dried chilies, pickled Thai chilies, and chile paste; rich flavor from a cup of chicken stock reduced to its essence; and nutty fragrant Sesame oil. The absolutely delicious flavors lingered pleasantly after the last mouthful, like a guest that can’t bear to leave a good dinner party.

Served with Napa cabbage and shrimp soup (canh cai kin chi nau tom) and jasmine rice.