eG Foodblog: Dejah - Dejah of the Canadian Prairies

[Transparent]

Wow, I didn't know that Yin-Yin was Toisanese. I've been calling my grandmother yin-yin all of my life, and I'm Cantonese.

[herbacidal]

Yin, or (childishly) yinyin  is the title of your paternal grandma. You would not normally use yinyin to address anyone except your own grandmother. Her husband would be "yehyeh" or just "yeh", if you ever feel grown up around him.  

Really?

I just call my maternal grandma "ah maaa".

Hmm.

In my family, Yin Yin is Toisanese and Ah maaaa is Cantonese for paternal grandmother. Po-Po is for maternal grandmother.

My grandson calls me Grammy. He wasn't going to have any of Joshua's cake until he was told that his Grammy baked it!

Sorry, that was typed wrong.

I call my paternal grandma "ah maaa".

[Jensen]

Hi,

I have a question about "silkened" chicken. You've mentioned it a couple of times. Do you mean coating the chicken pieces in a cornstarch solution just prior to cooking????

Thanks!

I believe simply cornstarch is used instead of a cornstarch solution.

Whenever I silken meat, of any kind, I first season, then add acouple tablespoons of cornstarch and vegetable oil. This is "worked" together and allowed to rest until needed.

I always season first, because once the oil and cornstarch is added, the seasoning won't penetrate the meat.

Hope that helps.

Thank you!

I've used plain old cornstarch on its own before (as per Laska) but my friend, Jin (who was visiting from Vancouver and with whom I was perusing your pictures), said that she uses a cornstarch solution.

Neither of us had heard the technique called "silkened" before though.

[Dejah]

FOOD BLOG: DAY 7 ~ Wednesday

Woke up to another chilly, windy and wet morning.

I packed China-Li a double lunch of chicken, (Again? Hey! it's her favourite!) and shredded vegetables in sun-dried tomato tortilla wrap, fresh vegetable chunks, chocolate cupcake, cantaloupe and cheese strings. After she finishes work at the hospital, she will head to a small town called Onanole as a St. John Ambulance volunteer. Not sure if you non-Canadian readers are familiar with the R.C.M.P. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) ceremonies. They are performing their precision musical ride (all on horseback) at the country fair this evening. BTW, I am also a member of the R.C.M.P. WAIT! I am not an officer, but I am an advisor on the Commissioner's Cultural Diversity Committee.

Because of the weather, we will be eating comfort food today. Breakfast for the two of us was a bowl of hot Red River cereal. This is an unadulterated mixture of three whole grains -- wheat, rye and flax, which originated in Manitoba's Red River Valley. It is a great "cleanser" after food binges. I ate mine with brown sugar and milk. Bill must have his pushed into a mound, and the milk forming a moat around his porridge.

Some days, I feel like I am back in time; back in the restaurant! I barely got through my cereal before the phone started ringing. One of our old customers called up for my "bad cold fixes." I used to dispense this foul herbal tea to my customers if they have a cold, the flu, or just a hang over.

They also asked for some of my kick-ass hot 'n' sour soup. It comes with a guarantee to clear up sinuses! So, out came my soup pot, Chinese mushrooms, wood ear, bamboo shoots, chili paste, vinegar, ginger and chicken stock.

While that was simmering, our grandson Soulin called and asked for his favourite lunch stuff: mini-pizza swirls. He's at mini-university (a day camp for kids at our alma mater and place of employment, Brandon University). At least my kitchen got warm and cozy.

I took a snack break with papaya while the pizza dough was rising. Only half of the fruit was ripe, so I saved the green parts for soup this evening.

Soulin likes pepperoni, green peppers and cheese on his pizza. These were easy to make up, baked for 20 minutes in a moderate oven, and I put some in the freezer for China's lunches.

For lunch, Bill and I had savory tang yuen. As I was getting the ingredients together, the phone rang again. It was CyraCom International, an interpreter service out of Tucson, Arizona. Even when I don't log on, the calls come through automatically as I am their only Toisanese interpreter on the roster. Most of the calls are from hospitals and immigration at ports-of-entry. By the end, I was pretty distracted. This always creates problems.

Turning back to make lunch, I reached blindly into the pantry for the glutinous rice flour to make the dumplings. The daikon was julienned and boiled. What a foul smell, but oh so essential and delicious in this soup. After removing the daikon, I dropped in the dumplings.

Half an hour later, they still hadn't floated to the top. I took one out, cut into it, solid! I threw those out, thinking I didn't add enough water in making the dough. The same thing happened with the second batch. Then I got the bright idea to check the date on the flour package. Guess what . . . I had grabbed the ordinary rice flour and not the GLUTINOUS rice flour. Even if I boiled them for another hour, they would still not be light and chewy.

I made the new batch with the proper rice flour. This time, the dumplings floated in just a few minutes. I added the lap cheung, dried shrimp meat, silkened lean pork and the cooked daikon. The tang was worth waiting for. It's one that will stick to your ribs. Bill was able to tackle about six dumplings . . . with help from Atticus.

For an added crunch, I opened my last package of "instant jelly fish." I don't know why I love this stuff . . . rubber bands with chili/sesame oil. Bill doesn't like them, and even Atticus turned up his nose!

I finished the hot 'n' sour soup with silkened sliced chicken, BBQ pork, shrimp and tofu. The cornstarch rubbed into the chicken was enough to thicken the soup. It was picked up shortly after.

I have some chicken pieces in the fridge, tofu, ground pork, leftover wood ear, mushrooms, and the green papaya. I think I see supper forming up . . .

[Cusina]

I'm coming in late, but I wanted to echo all those who have said what a wonderful blog this is. I can hardly believe how prolific you are in the kitchen. Your experience and artistry really come through in your writing and pictures. Thanks for sharing it all with us this week.

[jo-mel]

WOW!!

You are going to be a hard act to follow, Dejah!! What love you put into your cooking, your family and your life! It shows in everything you do.

I loved that picture of your 'Pride of lions'! LOL!

[Mayhaw Man]

Let me chime in with a "great work". This has been truly enjoyable.

[jhlurie]

WOW!!

You are going to be a hard act to follow, Dejah!!  What love you put into your cooking, your family and your life! It shows in everything you do.

Ah, but now it's time for the official eGullet Foodblog song! We call it "Every Blog is Special, Every Blog is Good." If you've seen "Monty Python's the Meaning of Life" you know the tune!

Okay, foolishness aside, this was great. Those of you who have enjoyed it, and want to give it a shot yourself, make sure you PM our fantastically devoted Foodblog Czar, SobaAddict70 and let him know you are interested in your own potential time in the spotlight. Also let him know you appreciate the behind the scenes work he does to organize all of this. We've rarely been more pleased with an eGullet feature.

[Dejah]

THE LAST SUPPER

With this cooler weather, and the way I've been using chilis, banana and habanero peppers, one would think I was stoking up my internal stove for winter.

One chicken thigh and a breast were hiding in the fridge. These I browned quickly in a small cast iron casserole. I added a splash of cooking wine and light soya, the leftover wood ear, Chinese mushrooms, gum choy (lily buds), and some chicken stock. The dish went into the oven at 350F, with the lid on. There really wasn't enough for three people, so I decided to save this dish for China-Li as a late night supper. She's not back from her volunteer job yet.

For Bill and myself, I made ma pao tofu with ground pork. Wow! This is the second item we've eaten today that didn't require much chewing, and I still have all my teeth.

I had saved some green papaya from the early afternoon snack. The bone from a piece of pork butte steak was used to make a clear broth. After simmering the bone while the rice cooked, I added a few slices of pork and the papaya. Even though it seemed a shame to cook this beautiful fruit, it did make a nice soup that is beneficial for the lungs and digestion.

With the now boneless pork butte steak, I sliced it into thin strips, added seasoning, cornstarch and oil and put it into a shallow bowl. On top of this, I added chopped preserved mustard greens (mui choy) on my half, and thin slices of preserved turnip (ham choy) and habanero peppers on Bill's half. I steamed this in my wok. I know -- I know. You are not supposed to use your wok for steaming, but I do.

Vegetables are a must for me. Tonight, I had a dish of bok choy, stir-fried with garlic and slivers of ginger.

A dish of chocolate ice-cream was our last dessert!

This has been a hectic week for me, but made very enjoyable by the opportunity to share my cooking with you.

I already have a Web site dedicated to many food-related topics:

http://www.hillmans.soupbo.com/soos/

The experience of doing this blog was so satisfying that I have adapted it to Web page format for display at:

http://www.hillmans.soupbo.com/soos/foodlog.html

I've thoroughly enjoyed the interaction with other eGulleteers that this medium has provided. I look forward to an ongoing interchange with fellow foodies.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Dejah has left the building ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[Jensen]

THE LAST SUPPER

[snip]

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Dejah has left the building ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dejah, thank you for a wonderful peek into your kitchen...

It was a wonderful week to follow (even if it did make me homesick ).

[SobaAddict70]

Man, I'm beginning to get hungry again!!! hehhe.

Thanks, Dejah. It was a pleasure to be with you this week.

The eGullet Foodblog now turns its sights to Washington state.

Stay tuned for a week seen through the eyes of a personal chef....

Soba

[Laksa]

Dejah, thanks for a superb blog! I am interested in your Ma Po dofu recipe if you care to share. It's my favourite tofu dish.

[Dejah]

Thanks to Egullet for the opportunity to share my cooking this past week!

To Soba, Thank you for your guidance, and for all the "behind the scenes" work that you do. You are too

[Dejah]

Dejah,

I'm just catching up on this thread from the weekend and was knocked out by how wonderful the dim sum looked!

One question: your bao's look incredible!  Could you please post your dough recipe?  Mine don't turn out nearly as well...instead of white, light and fluffy, my baos turn out grey and doughy 

Thank you!

My Mom's recipe for bao has been posted in the China and Chinese cuisine thread, in the RESTAURANT, CUISINE AND TRAVEL FORUM.

For ma pao tofu, I cut medium firm tofu into cubes, put them into a colander and let them drain. While waiting for the cubes to drain, I brown ground pork (or any ground meat, or no meat at all), diced onions and any fresh hot peppers I may have on hand. Seasoning is held off until the dish is finished cooking. I brown the tofu cubes in about 1/2 cup of oil, drain off the oil, and add the meat and onions back into the wok. Instead of using mashed black beans, etc, I use LEE KUM KEE chili bean sauce (Toban Djan). This works really well. I usually add about 3 tbsp....adjust according to your tolerance. If you like lots of sauce, add some stock or water and thicken slightly with cornstarch slurry. I may season at this time, if I think it needs salt. Just before plating, I add chopped fresh mint, and some whole leaves on top. Mint and heat seems to go well together, in my opinion. My daughter China-Li thinks I am obsessed with mint, basil, cilantro and rosemary . . .

I also like to put wilted lettuce, iceberg or romaine under the tofu, whether it's ma pao or tofu in oyster sauce.

[saskanuck]

Dejah, I just finished reading your food blog, and it was wonderful!

You don't live very far from me, that's for sure, and my husband almost took a job out where you live a couple of years ago.

Again, thanks for a wonderful blog.