Chinese Eats at Home (Part 3)

[Ce'nedra]

This is from awhile ago but I figured I had nothing else to post at this point. It's on to discovering my roots with our family friend bringing over freshly made Teochew dumplings, also known as Koo Chye Kueh.

They arrived steamed but me liking all things a little crisp and golden, I pan fried my dumplings.

Here are the bottoms flipped up

Plated -the dumplings are fairly large and plump

Served with sauce (combo of soy, sesame oil, palm vinegar and a little sugar)

The filling of pork & prawn with chives spilling out

[NancyH]

First, we made a "turkey bacon" by crisping our Thanksgiving turkey skin in the oven:

Next, I used the turkey bacon instead of the handful of pork usually used to make Sichuan Green Beans:

.

It was delicious!

[sheetz]

Finally got around to making Baked Char Siu Bao. Baked slightly too long and a bit too dark on the bottom, but otherwise decent.

[hzrt8w]

Excellent sheetz!

I had attempted this only once. I found that my baos turned out to be quite hard (not fluffy). Any tips of how to make these fluffy bread?

[sheetz]

Excellent sheetz!

I had attempted this only once.  I found that my baos turned out to be quite hard (not fluffy).  Any tips of how to make these fluffy bread?

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Thanks. The trick to soft, fluffy buns is a moist, rich dough. I used this recipe:

http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showpost....867&postcount=4

Edited December 16, 2008 by sheetz (log)

[NancyH]

Bob and I recently came into pieces/parts from two locally raised, fresh killed ducks. Unfortunately, the farmer had waited too long to process them, and couldn't get the feathers off without also taking the skin. That's why the ducks were eviscerated. It forced us to be creative!

We made two amazing Chinese dinners from these parts so far.

First, Duck Soup, prepared as suggested by the late, great Barbara Tropp in her fabulous China Moon Cookbook.

We started by making stock from the heads and feet:

It took many hours to get the feet to give up all of their gelatin, but it was worth the wait!

Per the Tropp recipe, the breast meat was seared but still very rare. Bob removed the breast to rest, and added stock to the soup pot.

The only other ingredients to go into the soup pot were the breast drippings (after the meat was sliced and added to the soupbowls) and Sichuan Pepper-Salt, a condiment made by whirling Kosher Salt and Sichuan Peppercorn in the spice grinder together.

Into the soupbowl went raw peas, carrots, nappa cabbage, basil and scallions. I love my Chinese soupbowls!

Having rested, the seared breast meat was thinly sliced, and placed atop the vegetables.

Warm noodles go in next. Normally, I would have stopped at an Asian grocery and bought proper soup noodles for Chinese Noodle Soup - but since we had a large quantity of cooked noodle leftovers from catering the week before, we decided to use those. The steaming broth is then ladled over the entire bowl:

As the recipe predicted, the addition of boiling stock to the bowl finished cooking the duck pieces as well as the vegetables. The duck breast meat was exquisitely tender, tasting just a little gamey - but caressed in the amazing stock and vegetables, and seasoned liberally with finishing salt and fresh-ground pepper - it was one of the best meals I've ever eaten in my life.

[NancyH]

After using up our duck breasts in the China Moon Duck Soup, we moved on to the legs. We confited two of them, which left two for eating right away. We settled on this amazing recipe from The Chinese Gourmet by William Mark: Chuen Mai Ngarp (Braised Duck Leg Sichuan-Style).

I should mention that this is a beautiful cookbook (which I believe is now out of print, but available on the internet), filled with intricate and sometimes impractical recipes. One frustrating thing that happened this time is that the photo of the finished dish reflects different preparation than the recipe describes. But it is still a great Chinese cookbook.

In this case, the duck meat was clearly still on the bone in the photo of the finished dish. Nevertheless, Bob followed the printed directions in the recipe and cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. The meat was then marinated in light and dark soy sauce, sugar, Xiao Shing wine, and cornstarch.

Dinner prep began with more of that fabulous duck stock:

While the rice cooker hummed, we drained the marinade from the duck and seared the meat in a pan. The meat was then set aside so ginger, garlic, and shallot could be sauteed. Then, hot bean paste, sugar, and ground Sichuan Peppercorn were added. When all was hot, the duck was returned to the pan, and covered with some of Bob's amazing duck stock. A bit of cider vinegar also went in, and the dish simmered for a half hour. After adding the final touches - a bit more Xiao Shing Wine, and chopped cilantro - we enjoyed a meal that actually surpassed the Duck Soup we'd enjoyed a couple of night previously in flavor and complexity.

[Dejah]

Nancy,

Both duck dishes look great, as does your Chinese soup bowl.

We have 2 ducks in the freezer (neither with skin worthy of Cantonese duck)waiting for inspiration. Your pictures are just what we needed.

Thanks!

[Prawncrackers]

Gosh, it's been a while since I lasted posted a meal on the thread. September in fact, which is strange because last time I checked I'm still cooking Chinese food!!

Everyone's stuff looks deelish but in particular I want to shout out to Ce'ndra and hers puffs and buns!

I cooked this meal a couple of weeks ago but didn't the chance to post it as my PC has been down (yes PC's pc). Salt & Pepper Prawns, Sichuan-style Aubergines, Spicy Chicken & Cashew Stir-Fry, and 2 leftover dishes of Lamb Rendang and Stuffed Three Treasures (Bitter Melon, Pepper & Aubergines courtesy of my mum). My wife was out and I was cooking for my two buddies so the heatscale was notched up, I have to say that this meal hit the spot:

[Gastro888]

Hope everyone's having a wonderful holiday season!

My father cooked twice this holiday - everything he cooks is great but there were two dishes in particular that were lovely. One was ketchup shrimp and the other was salt and pepper fried butter lobster. The ketchup shrimp were jumbo shrimp stir fried with garlic with a ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Is this a typical HK dish?

The lobster ("jew yem nyai yao loong ha") was great! He dusted the chopped up lobster with cornstarch, deep fried them for a few minutes and then stir-fried them with scallions, garlic, salt and butter. It was so tasty, we were gnawing on the shells.

OK, it was just me.

[hzrt8w]

... The ketchup shrimp were jumbo shrimp stir fried with garlic with a ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.  Is this a typical HK dish? 

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Not HK dish. It is called "gan xiao" [Mandarin] - meaning "dry cooked". I learned of it as a "Mandarin" style - not sure if it is Sichuan or Beijing or some other style. Just not Cantonese.

Good to see you back Gastro mui mui!

[hzrt8w]

Gosh, it's been a while since I lasted posted a meal on the thread.  September in fact, which is strange because last time I checked I'm still cooking Chinese food!! 

Everyone's stuff looks deelish but in particular I want to shout out to Ce'ndra and hers puffs and buns!

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Prawncrackers: did you have any prawncrackers (ha peen?) while you were in Hong Kong? LOL!

*cough* *cough*... puffs were Ce'ndra's. Buns were sheetz's...

I am just an armchair Chinese food critics these days.

I can't make them out too well... what are the small shreds on top of your salt-and-pepper prawns?

[Prawncrackers]

Prawncrackers:  did you have any prawncrackers (ha peen?) while you were in Hong Kong?  LOL! 

*cough* *cough*... puffs were Ce'ndra's.  Buns were sheetz's... 

I am just an armchair Chinese food critics these days.

I can't make them out too well... what are the small shreds on top of your salt-and-pepper prawns?

Whoops!! You're right the pork buns were sheetz's, glad you're here to sort us out Ah Leung Gor.

For the prawns I had some leftover shallots so just deep fried those till they were crispy along with the usual garlic & chilli.

[bloosquirrel]

Sichuan dry-fried chicken (gan bian ji).

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Beautiful! Do you have a recipe?

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I would REALLY like the recipe as well it looks so good!

ty

Edited January 4, 2009 by bloosquirrel (log)

[liuzhou]

There is a recipe for 'gan bian ji' in Fuschsia Dunlop's "Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking" (US title). "Sichuan Cookery " (UK title).

Given that she sometimes posts here and as I have a strong sense of civic duty, I am prevented from posting her recipe and breaking her copyright, unlike this unscrupulous person.

(If you do read this Fuchsia, when is Revolutionary Cooking going to be available in paperback?)

Edited January 4, 2009 by liuzhou (log)

[C. sapidus]

There is a recipe for 'gan bian ji' in Fuschsia Dunlop's "Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking" (US title). "Sichuan Cookery " (UK title).

Given that she sometimes posts here and as I have a strong sense of civic duty, I am prevented from posting her recipe and  breaking her copyright, unlike this unscrupulous person.

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Yup, that's the one, and I admire your finesse.

Thanks for the kind words, bloosquirrel, and I hope the recipe turns out well for you. If you like cooking Sichuan food, I strongly recommend Fuchsia Dunlop's book. Do you have a good source for Sichuan peppercorns?

[bloosquirrel]

Thanks all! I will look for the book-I have her Hunan cookbook (from library) and am halfway through reading it-good stuff-everything looks delicious

I may do kung pao chicken instead of dry fried not sure yet

And I may have a small jar of szechuan peppercorns somewhere-kame maybe

btw is sriracha sauce perhaps ok in a pinch? I have to restock my chiligarlic paste.

Thanks again!

[C. sapidus]

btw is sriracha sauce perhaps ok in a pinch? I have to restock my chiligarlic paste.

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Any port in a storm, but Sriracha has a fair amount of sugar and water so you may need to make some adjustments elsewhere.

[bloosquirrel]

Any port in a storm, but Sriracha has a fair amount of sugar and water so you may need to make some adjustments elsewhere.

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well I made the dish - it came out ok cooked wise but the flavor was a bit bland-I bet the sriracha sauce made the difference

I threw some brown sauce in it and a spoon of blackbean paste with garlic-which helped some.

thanks again

[Gastro888]

... The ketchup shrimp were jumbo shrimp stir fried with garlic with a ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.  Is this a typical HK dish? 

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Not HK dish. It is called "gan xiao" [Mandarin] - meaning "dry cooked". I learned of it as a "Mandarin" style - not sure if it is Sichuan or Beijing or some other style. Just not Cantonese.

Good to see you back Gastro mui mui!

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Ah Leung Dah Goh, happy holidays!

Really, it's a northern style dish? That's interesting. I didn't know. The sauce is so yummy over rice.

I tried making his dish the other night but I forgot one very important thing - SUGAR. ACK! I was wondering why it was so tart and tangy. My dad had a good chuckle on my behalf.

[Prawncrackers]

Where has all the Chinese food gone this year? Here's some fish to tie you folks over!

Exactly 12 minutes in the steamer, the bone is still pink - perfect:

[Tepee]

Delivering chinese (and some m'sian) food... These were taken over the 15 days of CNY; didn't have time to shoot all the food, having pity for some very ravenous folks. And, I didn't shoot any of the restaurant meals at all. Sigh. But, still, I think some of you may get overstuffed from these pix.

A small reunion dinner at my home, most of my hubby's siblings were abroad this year.

Satay...bought/brought by youngest BIL, the rest I made.

Lots of goodies in this braised in solid homemade vegetarian stock.

Osmanthus jelly with waterchestnut. Served with lychee and peaches.

[Tepee]

These were shot at my parent's...we potlucked.

Tomyam meehoon

Sea Cucumber dish made by my sister's husband

Sambal Prawns (me)

Herbal Chicken (2nd brother's wife)

Fish Head Curry (my mother)

Oops, almost forgot the siu yoke.

Edited February 11, 2009 by Tepee (log)

[Tepee]

Another meal.

Yue Sang aka Loh Hei aka Chinese Salad aka my fav dish

In Action

White Cut Chicken

Vinegared Pig's Trotters

Fried Chicken Wings

Stirfried Prawns in Thick Soy Sauce

Abalone Mushroom. (garnished by my niece)

At the end of all that...for the last meal of the celebration period, all we wanted was some comforting beef noodle soup (made by hubby's 2nd sis).

Miss y'all!!

[prasantrin]

Tepee--are the fried chicken wings similar to the Fatty Crab ones? I still think about them, and my mother still talks about them. She's on the look out for a recipe! (hint hint )