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Chinese condiments

sequim

By sequim
in China: Cooking & Baking

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jo-mel

jo-mel

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The nearby Thunder Valley Casion offers seafood buffet for $24.99 in weekends.  All-you-can-eat king crab legs!  This single item alone would worth the ticket price.  The king crab legs are served hot - steamed - with the customary melted butter.  The butter tastes good but I got stuffed quickly.

Next time, I am thinking of bringing some Chinese sauces or condiments to the buffet.  What I have been thinking are:

- A jar of Yank Sing Hot Sauce or XO Sauce

- A mix of sesame oil and Chinese red vinegar

Can you think of any other Chinese ready-made sauces/condiments that would go well with steamed king crab legs?  Maybe soy sauce?  :blink:  :unsure:

Hi -- Xiao Leung!

I always think of whole crab and Shanghai. Which means vinegar seasoned with ginger. Red? Sweetened black?

2 of my Shanghai cookbooks have recipes for crab with bean paste sauce.

One calls for:

2 T sweet bean paste, 1 T rice wine, 1 T soy sauce 1/2 tsp. sugar

The other (WeiChuan) has 1 T each sweet soybean paste, ketchup, sesame oil and 3T each scallion and ginger

But I like the idea of vinegar. I grew up in New England and on lobsters. Aside from the usual melted butter, there was always vinegar -- which I love to this day. But not a too tart vinegar. The Chinese vinegars are perfect.

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hzrt8w

hzrt8w

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Thank you for all your responses everyone!

Jo-mel Ma Ma! Long time no see! How are you?

It is just my preference to have the king crab legs "Chinese style". :smile: Looks like Sheetz's idea is a winner! I've never thought of that! I will make some ginger/scallion oil and bring it to the casino next time. The king crab legs taste very good and fresh, albeit a little blend by themselves. With these condiments I think they will taste fabulous!

I also am thinking of cooking some Cantonese "black bean sauce" - with a bit of garlic, smashed fermented black beans, fresh chilies, ginger shreds... something like that. It would be similar to the Cantonese "clams with black bean sauce".

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
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Prawncrackers

Prawncrackers

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I think the ginger/scallion will work fine as you can have that cold as you would with chicken. BTW, is it only my family that also adds coriander stems to the mix?

Not sure about the black bean sauce though unless you've got a way to heat it up at the restaurant. Cold black bean sauce on hot crab legs doesn't sound right to me.

How about just soy mixed with a few hot little red chillis?

I admit it looks like a burst colostomy bag but omigod does it taste good...
thefoodist.co.uk

eG Foodblog: Cooking with Panda

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jo-mel

jo-mel

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Thank you for all your responses everyone! 

Jo-mel Ma Ma!  Long time no see!  How are you?

It is just my preference to have the king crab legs "Chinese style".  :smile:  Looks like Sheetz's idea is a winner!  I've never thought of that!  I will make some ginger/scallion oil and bring it to the casino next time.  The king crab legs taste very good and fresh, albeit a little blend by themselves.  With these condiments I think they will taste fabulous!

I also am thinking of cooking some Cantonese "black bean sauce" - with a bit of garlic, smashed fermented black beans, fresh chilies, ginger shreds... something like that.  It would be similar to the Cantonese "clams with black bean sauce".

Xiao Hzrt -- I'm hanging in there! Nice to 'see' you!

All excited about a Sichuan restaurant in this area that has made NJ Gulleteers very happy. This place has the real stuff and a menu to die for. So I'm on a Sichuan kick now!

I think that if "Thunder Valley Casion" sees your crab dip, they may get a hint and offer something beyond butter??

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hzrt8w

hzrt8w

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...Not sure about the black bean sauce though unless you've got a way to heat it up at the restaurant.  Cold black bean sauce on hot crab legs doesn't sound right to me.

How about just soy mixed with a few hot little red chillis?

I can put the black bean sauce in a Chinese "wide neck" thermus to keep it warm. So at the casino it would be luke-warm. The king crab legs are steaming hot so I think it would be all right. :biggrin:

The casino provides soy sauce with red chillis (for the potstickers)... I can get some over there.

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
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hzrt8w

hzrt8w

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I think that if "Thunder Valley Casion" sees your crab dip, they may get a hint and offer something beyond butter??

May be not. They don't have enough Asian patronship in this casino. Melted butter is probably their best choice. Besides, they can really stuff us up with the butter. :raz:

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
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  • 2 months later...
hzrt8w

hzrt8w

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We made our way back to the Thunder Valley Casino dinner buffet again. This time we came prepared. :smile:

gallery_19795_163_25363.jpg

On the left, it's my favorite Yank Sing Hot Chili Sauce. On the right, some home-made Ginger and Green Onion Oil.

gallery_19795_163_23649.jpg

I also brought some sesame oil with Chinese red vinegar. Unfortunately during transportation from home to the casino (stored in a jar), the oil and vinegar got mixed in. I would have preferred to see 2 layers. Maybe next time I will bring them in separate jars.

gallery_19795_163_7361.jpg

Thanks sheetz! Your suggestion of Ginger and Green Onion Oil for king crab legs is a winner! The taste is fantastic! I ended up not eating any melted butter for my king crab legs at all.

I also got some light soy sauce with fresh chili slices from the buffet counter (Chinese food section). They all worked very well with the king crab legs.

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
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Dejah

Dejah

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:laugh: Ah Leung, I can't believe you actually took your own condiments to the buffet. Did you take your own bowls too? What was the reaction of the owners/servers?

That scallion and ginger look amazing. It would be good with many different dishes. I would love it with chicken - bak jam gai. :wub:

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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hzrt8w

hzrt8w

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:laugh: Ah Leung, I can't believe you actually took your own condiments to the buffet. Did you take your own bowls too? What was the reaction of the owners/servers?

No... all the utensils and tablewares are the casino's. Empty bowls were taken from the soup counter. The waitstaff had much more important things to do than to pay attention to small crooks like me. :laugh:

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
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canucklehead

canucklehead

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:laugh: Ah Leung, I can't believe you actually took your own condiments to the buffet. Did you take your own bowls too? What was the reaction of the owners/servers?

That scallion and ginger look amazing. It would be good with many different dishes. I would love it with chicken - bak jam gai. :wub:

Let me tell you - scallion and ginger sauce should be the new pesto. It is good with EVERYTHING - fish, chicken, seafood, etc... I used to just mix into my hot white rice and then wolf it down. Heaven!!!!

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