Gotten any fun stuff lately?

[Vapre]

On 9/9/2021 at 11:08 AM, CentralMA said:

Stopped into an Indian market yesterday, these were $1.99US. All of their pricing on other items is good, I'm expecting this is one of the better pricing around.

 

On 9/9/2021 at 10:59 AM, liuzhou said:

 

What price? Those cost me the equivalent of $1.50 USD per can. They are often sold as loss leaders in the UK and you can pick them up for next to nothing.

 

Those are both good prices. For me, it's $2.50-ish on a good day.

[liuzhou]

41 minutes ago, Vapre said:

 

Those are both good prices. For me, it's $2.50-ish on a good day.

 

In the UK, they are less than the equivalent of $0.90 USD. Tesco UK is advertising them at 87 cents a standard 415g can today.

Edited September 16, 2021 by liuzhou
correction. my mathematicssucks. (log)

[chromedome]

Since this discussion piqued my curiosity, I looked at my local supermarket (Sobeys) a couple of days ago. Regular price here is $1.50 a can (CDN), and Sobeys is seldom a price leader so they're likely cheaper elsewhere. IIRC they go on sale periodically for .99 or a bit less.

[Vapre]

13 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

In the UK, they are less than the equivalent of $0.90 USD. Tesco UK is advertising them at 87 cents a standard 415g can today.

 

4 hours ago, chromedome said:

Since this discussion piqued my curiosity, I looked at my local supermarket (Sobeys) a couple of days ago. Regular price here is $1.50 a can (CDN), and Sobeys is seldom a price leader so they're likely cheaper elsewhere. IIRC they go on sale periodically for .99 or a bit less.

Y’all are killing me with these prices.

 

anybody tried to make them from scratch at home?

[chromedome]

5 minutes ago, Vapre said:

 

Y’all are killing me with these prices.

 

anybody tried to make them from scratch at home?

LOL That's why I had to look up the price of store-bought.

[CentralMA]

8 hours ago, chromedome said:

LOL That's why I had to look up the price of store-bought.

Best part of opening up a can of Heinz Beans is I know exactly what I'm going to get.

 

My own cooking the beans, not so much.

[liuzhou]

8 hours ago, Vapre said:

 

Y’all are killing me with these prices.

 

anybody tried to make them from scratch at home?

 

Sure. But they don't come out like Heinz Beanz doez!

 

Home-Baked Beans

 

 

 

[liuzhou]

You might not consider this fun stuff, but I've been looking for these for a long time and I'm going to have fun using them.

 

 

Yes, I had similar implements back in London, but just found them here in China. All I need now is some crustaceans to torture.

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by liuzhou
typo (log)

[Duvel]

4 hours ago, liuzhou said:

You might not consider this fun stuff, but I've been looking for these for a long time and I'm going to have fun using them.

 

 

Yes, I had similar implements back in London, but just found them here in China. All I need now is some crustaceans to torture.

 

And I thought for a second thats the famous Chinese equipment set for removing earwax …

[liuzhou]

5 minutes ago, Duvel said:

And I thought for a second thats the famous Chinese equipment set for removing earwax …

 

it's multi-functiomal.

[liuzhou]

I decided to buy these "Double-layer thick canvas gloves lined with 24-wire protection". I really only wanted one glove, but the minimum order was for three pairs. But they were cheap, so I bit.

 

 

I only ever use these types of glove when shucking oysters. And I only need one to hold the oyster while using my oyster knife in my ungloved right hand. I really enjoy shucking!

 

Somehow I convinced myself that I had ordered three gloves rather than pairs, so when the delivery came yesterday I was momentarily surprised to find six!

 

Duh!

 

Brain fart!

 

I usually buy these wild oysters in boxes of 20 - 25 depending on size. They cost me between ¥3.2 and ¥4 per oyster; that's $0.50 to $0.62 USD per oyster.

 

 

 

 

If anyone needs some of said gloves, just drop in next time you are passing and pick one up. Or even a pair!

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[KennethT]

54 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

I decided to buy these "Double-layer thick canvas gloves lined with 24-wire protection". I really only wanted one glove, but the minimum order was for three pairs. But they were cheap, so I bit.

 

 

I only ever use these types of glove when shucking oysters. And I only need one to hold the oyster while using my oyster knife in my ungloved right hand. I really enjoy shucking!

 

Somehow I convinced myself that I had ordered three gloves rather than pairs, so when the delivery came yesterday I was momentarily surprised to find six!

 

Duh!

 

Brain fart!

 

I usually buy these wild oysters in boxes of 20 - 25 depending on size. They cost me between ¥3.2 and ¥4 per oyster; that's $0.50 to $0.62 USD per oyster.

 

 

 

 

If anyone needs some of said gloves, just drop in next time you are passing and pick one up. Or even a pair!

 

Those look like fantastic oysters. What do the Chinese usually serve them with? The French have mignonette, the US (and UK?) have cocktail sauce, the Thai have nam jim seafood.... I have no idea what the Chinee3 do.

[liuzhou]

20 hours ago, KennethT said:

What do the Chinese usually serve them with?

 

Well, for a start, they never serve them raw. I have attempted several times to get oyster stalls in the street and in restaurants to bring me some and they point blank refuse to sell me them. They are convinced I will drop dead immediately if I eat one and that they'll get blamed. Only one has ever obliged me and he was very hesitant. This guy.

 

 

His sign 湛江生蚝 (zhàn jiāng shēng háo) translates as "Zhanjiang Oysters", Zhanjiang being a city/prefecture in the south-west of Guangdong Province and on the Tonkin Gulf. I was with three young students I know from the university behind him. One of them bravely agreed to try one after she saw me eat a few and remain alive. She was clearly very nervous, though. Her friends weren't going there, at all!

 

What the guy sells is grilled oysters. This is the most common preparation. The oysters are grilled over charcoal and drenched in a sauce of minced garlic and served. They are also served this way in more formal restaurants. I can eat those, but much prefer them au naturel.

 

 

In recent years, I've also seen these monstrosities below in a couple of places. Restaurants rather then street stalls.

 

 

They are again grilled but finished off with a Chinese version of American cheese melted over them! Disgusting. The particular example above was in a restaurant in Guangzhou, but I've seen them here  in Liuzhou, too.

So, I very seldom eat oysters other than at home. Always raw and usually just with some lemon juice. Soy sauce with citrus (ponzu) works well, too, I find.

Edited September 28, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Grilled with garlic sounds pretty good to me.

 

[liuzhou]

22 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Grilled with garlic sounds pretty good to me.

 

 

Yeah. They aren't bad; just not my preference.

[Kim Shook]

Gorgeous oysters.  I've tried again and again to eat them raw.  Growing up on the Maryland/Virginia eastern shore I was shamed into it multiple times.  When I was a teenager my parents bought a vacation home on Chincoteague Island, famous for their salty oysters.  I tried them over and over.  I finally gave up and accepted that I just couldn't take the texture.  I adore them steamed, fried, grilled, roasted, etc., though!  

[liuzhou]

These arrived this morning, Great fun for freaking people out! Millipedes!

 

 

Except, they aren't millipedes at all! They are a type of small fish in the anchovy family and similar in usage. Great unami.

 

Edited October 8, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[kayb]

On 9/16/2021 at 9:32 AM, Vapre said:

 

Y’all are killing me with these prices.

 

anybody tried to make them from scratch at home?

 

Cook navy beans. Drain. Make a sauce of ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, molasses and Worcestershire sauce; I throw in a little garlic and onion powder. Stir beans into sauce (or sauce into beans, as you prefer. Top with diced raw bacon. Bake.

 

Sorry I don't have a more specific recipe. I'd guess for a half-pound of beans, it would be a half-cup of ketchup, 2 tbsp mustard (the prepared kind, not powder), 3 tbsp each of brown sugar and molasses, maybe a tbsp of Worcestershire. Several healthy shakes of both garlic and onion powder. Maybe four slices of bacon.

[blue_dolphin]

On 9/16/2021 at 7:32 AM, Vapre said:

Y’all are killing me with these prices.

 

anybody tried to make them from scratch at home?

 

I've made this copycat recipe using dried beans to use in a recipe that called for Heinz beans.  They seem fine to me but I'm not an authority. 

[lindag]

2 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

I've made this copycat recipe using dried beans to use in a recipe that called for Heinz beans.  They seem fine to me but I'm not an authority. 

Thanks!  I need to try this.

[Vapre]

On 10/8/2021 at 2:53 PM, blue_dolphin said:

 

I've made this copycat recipe using dried beans to use in a recipe that called for Heinz beans.  They seem fine to me but I'm not an authority. 

This worked pretty well, definitely got me in the ballpark. Thanks! I upped the vinegar a bit and the tomato products as well.

Edited November 5, 2021 by Vapre (log)

[Porthos]

A while back I bought an off-brand vacuum sealer that I was very happy with - until I ran out of the roll of bag material. I had plenty of FoodSaver bags and rolls and so I grabbed one of them. The sealer wouldn't seal them. FoodSaver has thicker sides.  So ...

 

Santa came a bit early this year and I purchased this:

 

 

I'm happy with it. Tonight's pork chops are in a sous vide bath.  I've put some boneless beef short ribs in another back. When the pork is done I'll bring the temperature down in on my circulator and let them go for at least 16 hours.

[liuzhou]

Today is 11 - 11, the anniversary of the end of WW1, celebrated in many coutries as Remembance Day,  but in China it is something very different. Two things very different. First it is "Singles Day", a recently invented celebration of being single (i.e 1 1 1 1 1), a sort of rIposte to Valentine's Day and the Chinese equivalent, both of which most Chinese couples observe. Even more recently, it has become on-line shopping day. Prices are slashed and hundreds of millions of deliveries are made today and the few days either side.

 

My haul was nearly all food related.

 

Pride of place goes to my new granite mortar and pestle. I have eight already, but this set took my fancy.

 

 

The others included some caviar, a refill of Manchego cheese, and some Siberian goose liver sausages from Heilongjiang, China's northernmost province. The sausages are a new thing to me, but remain untested yet. Probably for breakfast tomorow. (See update).

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[Smithy]

On 11/11/2021 at 4:03 AM, liuzhou said:

Pride of place goes to my new granite mortar and pestle. I have eight already, but this set took my fancy.

 

 

I can see why! That set is beautiful. How large are they?

[liuzhou]

41 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

I can see why! That set is beautiful. How large are they?

 

The mortar is about 6 inches wide at the rim and stands about 4½  inches tall, so not huge. It weighs 5½ lbs.