China Food Deliveries

[liuzhou]

Evening meal

 

兰州拉面 （lán zhōu lā miàn).

 

Lanzhou is the capital of Gansu Province in NW China and la mian is hand pulled noodles (and the forerunner of Japanese ramen). La mian is now available all over China, but Lanzhou is still considered the best. 

I ordered this from a small restaurant I know well, owned and staffed by a Lanzhou family. The noodles are hand pulled to order, providing a bit of theatre with your meal. Of course, I didn't get that this time.

The Gansu population has a high percentage Muslim population, so pork is not on the menu.

Ingredients are the noodles, beef, chilli flakes, chilli oil, chopped coriander leaf/cilantro, ginger, garlic. The dry ingredients were delivered in the eating dish and the beef broth came separately in an insulated bag to be applied at home.

And jolly good it was  - as always.

 

 

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

The dry ingredients were delivered in the eating dish and the beef broth came separately in an insulated bag to be applied at home.

I do wish they would adopt the insulated bag here for liquid ingredients. Getting soupy things home when picking up premade meals is quite challenging at times. They are put in deli containers often with iffy lids. A few potholes later……

[KennethT]

I've never seen that type of insulated bag - that is fantastic! We have the same as @Anna N describes - and even worse than potholes are delivery guys on bikes weaving in and out of traffic!

 

@liuzhou for the hand pulled noodles, do they arrive cold or hot?  Places that do that here typically cook them, then chill them to put in the containers so the noodles don't turn to mush while in transit?  They also tend to stick together into a single mass, so usually I have to add a bit of soup and then jostle them around to loosen, then add teh rest of the soup.  Since the noodles are room temp, I also wind up having to reheat the soup before adding since it will cool once it hits the cold noodles.

[liuzhou]

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I've never seen that type of insulated bag - that is fantastic! We have the same as @Anna N describes - and even worse than potholes are delivery guys on bikes weaving in and out of traffic!

 

@liuzhou for the hand pulled noodles, do they arrive cold or hot?  Places that do that here typically cook them, then chill them to put in the containers so the noodles don't turn to mush while in transit?  They also tend to stick together into a single mass, so usually I have to add a bit of soup and then jostle them around to loosen, then add teh rest of the soup.  Since the noodles are room temp, I also wind up having to reheat the soup before adding since it will cool once it hits the cold noodles.

 

The dry ingredients were still rather warm and not mush, but they got from the restaurant to me in 9 minutes. The soup was still piping hot.

 

I did have to loosen things up a bit after mixing the two, but not over much.

 

[weinoo]

5 hours ago, Anna N said:

A few potholes later……

 

You think you have potholes..but add that to:

 

5 hours ago, KennethT said:

and even worse than potholes are delivery guys on bikes weaving in and out of traffic!

 

[liuzhou]

 

Thai-style mixed seafood fried rice. On the sea food front, it contained shrimp. squid, mussels and something nautical and familiar I couldn't pin down. I jazzed it up with some Thai Sriracha.

Edited October 5, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

10 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 I jazzed it up with some Thai Sriracha.

Could you send us a photo of your sriracha bottle?    We are limited in brands here, but I'm always on the lookout.   

[liuzhou]

17 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Could you send us a photo of your sriracha bottle?    We are limited in brands here, but I'm always on the lookout.   

 See new topic. Siracha in Thailand

 

 

[liuzhou]

My local bakery (a place I normally avoid) is under the delusion that these are croissants.

 

 

So, wy did I buy them?

I was intrigued by the description given in the listing which translates as "sea salt French morning bread".

 

I'm always on the lookout for anything not intolerably sweet from Chinese bakers, so I had to check them out.

 

They were nicely salty as advertised but nothing like crossants. Salty over spongy bread rolls, more like.

 

Edited October 15, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

清蒸海鲈 (qīng zhēng hǎi lú), Steamed Sea Bass
酸辣炒空心采梗 (suān là chǎo kōng xīn cǎi gěng) Spicy Pickle Fried Water Spinach Stems
高压锅软米饭 (gāo yā guō ruǎn mǐ fàn) Pressure Cooker Soft Rice

 

Steamed Sea Bass

 

Water Spinach Stems

 

This was the first real disappointment. The fish was underdone and underseasoned and was resting on a ton of tofu which wasn't advertised. I don't know who put the overall combination of the meal together, but the fish is very much Cantonese style whereas the water spinach was prepared in a very Sichuanese style. They clashed.

I'm not sure why they mention how the rice was cooked unless it's code for overdone.

 

Looking forward to getting back to cooking.

Edited October 6, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[Anna N]

26 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Looking forward to getting back to cooking.

I know at the moment this is just aspirational but I am pulling for it to happen!

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

清蒸海鲈 (qīng zhēng hǎi lú), Steamed Sea Bass
酸辣炒空心采梗 (suān là chǎo kōng xīn cǎi gěng) Spicy Pickle Fried Water Spinach Stems
高压锅软米饭 (gāo yā guō ruǎn mǐ fàn) Pressure Cooker Soft Rice

 

Steamed Sea Bass

 

Water Spinach Stems

 

This was the first real disappointment. The fish was underdone and underseasoned and was resting on a ton of tofu which wasn't advertised. I don't know who put the combination of themeal together, but the fish is very much Cantonese style whereas the water spinach was prepared in a very Sichuanese style. They clashed.

I'm not sure why they mention how the rice was cooked unless it's code for overdone.

 

Looking forward to getting back to cooking.

Unless I'm desperate, I usually avoid ordering water spinach for delivery.  It invariably ends up overcooked and mushy/slimy and generally less than pleasant.  I'll still eat it as it vaguely resembles when it's good, but my wife will categorically refuse.

[liuzhou]

8 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Unless I'm desperate, I usually avoid ordering water spinach for delivery.  It invariably ends up overcooked and mushy/slimy and generally less than pleasant.  I'll still eat it as it vaguely resembles when it's good, but my wife will categorically refuse.

I agree but the baby stems are very different and arrive with plenty of bite.

[liuzhou]

Tonight was redemption for local delivery food.

 

 

You may recognise the rice and vergetable dish (right) from yesterday's meal.  Yes. leftovers.

 

But the protein was new.  手撕鸡 (shǒu sī jī), Hand Torn Chicken, one of the few Chinese dishes served at room temperature. It is chicken braised in a spicy sauce, then, yes torn by hand into bite size pieces or smaller. Served with peanuts.

Seldom made at home, this is available in every market. Not that it would be diffcult to make.

This was GOOD. I was really sorry when I reached the bottom of the containers! And two-thirds of the meal was leftovers!

 

Hand Torn Chicken

 

Jo Buying Hand Torn  Chicken in the Market, 2008

 

 

 

[Anna N]

It is good to know that there is not much wrong with your appetite!

[liuzhou]

25 minutes ago, Anna N said:

It is good to know that there is not much wrong with your appetite!

 

It comes and goes, but when it's gone, I force myself.

[liuzhou]

I've been asked by friends to recommend a recipe for the hand torn chicken above. Nearly all I found on the internet were terrible. "Boneless chicken breasts". I don't think so!

 

The only one I have any confidence in recommending is this.

Slow Cooker Crispy Chinese Shredded Chicken

 

The cooking technique is somewhat unorthodox, but the flavours would seem to be spot-on.

[liuzhou]

While in hospital, I had heard that a new Thai restaurant had opened in the shopping mall near my home. While serching the delivery app last night, I came across it! So lunch was from there.

 

Pineapple Crab Fried Rice, Thai Garlic Flavour Ribs, Fried Cabbage, Tom Yum Soup

 

 

 

All very good and arrived piping hot - the restaurant is only about 7 minutes walk away. No time by motorcycle.

 

Edited October 8, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[Alex]

11 hours ago, liuzhou said:

I've been asked by friends to recommend a recipe for the hand torn chicken above. Nearly all I found on the internet were terrible. "Boneless chicken breasts". I don't think so!

 

The only one I have any confidence in recommending is this.

Slow Cooker Crispy Chinese Shredded Chicken

 

The cooking technique is somewhat unorthodox, but the flavours would seem to be spot-on.

 

This looks delicious and ridiculously easy. I imagine it would work with cut-up chicken, too. I do have all the ingredients, including two breasts and a bunch of legs in the freezer that need to be used soon. Next weekend, here we come.

[liuzhou]

Dry Hot pot jumping bullfrog with onion and green and red  chillies. Rice.

 

 

 

Sorry for the dark image; it was a dark dish! But a good one!

Edited October 9, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

Dry Hot pot jumping bullfrog with onion and green and red  chillies. Rice.

Sounds like a contradiction in terms. I gather it is the same ingredients you would use in a hot pot at the table but that it is prepared in the kitchen? 

[liuzhou]

17 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Sounds like a contradiction in terms. I gather it is the same ingredients you would use in a hot pot at the table but that it is prepared in the kitchen? 

 

Basically,  yes.

[liuzhou]

Another day, another breakfast.

 

肉包 (ròu bāo), literally 'meat buns' = Pork Buns.

 

 

 

Served with 剁椒 (duò jiāo), chopped chilli (jarred, from my pantry; not delivery).

 

 

Duo Jiao

 

 

Edited October 10, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

Dinner:

 

冬瓜汤 (dōng guā tāng - Wax Gourd Soup)

啤酒鸭 (pí jiǔ yā - Beer duck (with ginger)

南瓜 (nán guā - Pumpkin)

五花肉花菜 (wǔ huā ròu huā cài - Cauliflower stir fried with Pork Belly )

米饭 (mǐ fàn - Rice)

 

 

 

[Katie Meadow]

11 hours ago, liuzhou said:

Dinner:

 

冬瓜汤 (dōng guā tāng - Wax Gourd Soup)

啤酒鸭 (pí jiǔ yā - Beer duck (with ginger)

南瓜 (nán guā - Pumpkin)

五花肉花菜 (wǔ huā ròu huā cài - Cauliflower stir fried with Pork Belly )

米饭 (mǐ fàn - Rice)

 

 

 

Hope you are doing better by the day. I would kill to have the variety of good Chinese delivery that you've been enjoying. Or, for that matter, even to have a handful of good Chinese restaurants. You would think that in my part of the East Bay / SF area that the options would be great, but that isn't the case. I know of a couple of good ones in SF proper, but the drive is far too long for just a meal. I'm envious!