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Salted Black Beans

mudbug

By mudbug
in China: Cooking & Baking

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Ben Hong

Ben Hong

Posted
Posted

The whole dish is just steamed. So is the family style cooking of this dish. May be in Toisan the meat is browned first in this dish. :smile: You can try both styles and see which one you like.

mudbug

mudbug

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
Normal dimsum and homestyle se jup pai gwut is only steamed, never browned. I think that Dejah and I come from the same "Chinese-Canadian" restaurant kitchen which, after some years of experience, found that our customers actually preferred the browned ribs, but not for me.

At the moment I'm interested in the variations of how different members here do things as you noted. Thanks for the advice. I'll take it into consideration if the time is right.

sheetz

sheetz

Posted
Posted

I don't think I could ever indenture myself out to a restaurant like that. I guess I have to settle for cookbooks.

mudbug

mudbug

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
I don't think I could ever indenture myself out to a restaurant like that. I guess I have to settle for cookbooks.

sheetz,

Now that you mention it, I have no intentions to cook for a living or even on a regular basis for anyone else. So it's highly unlikely I'd find myself volunteering in a restaurant kitchen. :wink:

Ben Hong

Ben Hong

Posted
Posted
I don't think I could ever indenture myself out to a restaurant like that. I guess I have to settle for cookbooks.

sheetz,

Now that you mention it, I have no intentions to cook for a living or even on a regular basis for anyone else. So it's highly unlikely I'd find myself volunteering in a restaurant kitchen. :wink:

I guess I misread your commitment/desire to learn. No problem.

Cookbooks are great, so are books on karate, medical reference books, etc. But I've never heard of anyone becoming a black or any colour of belt without stepping inside a dojo or a doctor starting to practice without doing an internship in a hospital.

annachan

annachan

Posted
Posted
I don't think I could ever indenture myself out to a restaurant like that. I guess I have to settle for cookbooks.

sheetz,

Now that you mention it, I have no intentions to cook for a living or even on a regular basis for anyone else. So it's highly unlikely I'd find myself volunteering in a restaurant kitchen. :wink:

I guess I misread your commitment/desire to learn. No problem.

Cookbooks are great, so are books on karate, medical reference books, etc. But I've never heard of anyone becoming a black or any colour of belt without stepping inside a dojo or a doctor starting to practice without doing an internship in a hospital.

This reminded me of something the local newspaper (San Francisco Chronicle) did a while back. They had a "rent a grandmom" program a while back, and it may still be existance. What the program did was to match up people who want to learn more about food from their culture to a "grandmom" who is well versed in cooking for some lessons. My grandmom was definitely my inspiration for cooking. I learn so many invaluable lessons from cooking with her.

If you can't/don't want to/have time for volunteering at a restaurant, maybe seek out some "grandmoms" in your area who are willing to give some lessons. I'm sure you can learn much more than just cooking from them. :raz:

mudbug

mudbug

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)
I guess I misread your commitment/desire to learn. No problem.

Cookbooks are great, so are books on karate, medical reference books, etc. But I've never heard of anyone becoming a black  or any colour of belt without stepping inside a dojo or a doctor starting to practice without doing an internship in a hospital.

You didn't misread my desire to learn. Otherwise I wouldn't be asking questions here.

There are different levels of learning and motives for learning are unique to each individual. It's easy to make assumptions since it's human nature. Certainly I appreciate your suggestions, however they're further than what I deem necessary for my wants or needs. I thought of mentioning this in my first reply but decided to forego this and politely say "thanks" instead.

I simply desire to learn to make specific dishes for whatever reason at whatever point in time in my life. If it works, it's a learning experience. If it doesn't work, it's still a learning experience and I can direct questions to those who posted the recipes and in order to achieve desired results or I can choose not to try it again and have those who enjoy cooking for me have their go at the dish. When and if I'm in the kitchen - I usually bake instead of "cook". However when I choose to bake, it's to learn. Example: I may want to learn how to and successfully make filo dough from scratch. Or croissants made from scratch (with butter made from scratch) with six turns, chilled between each turn, etc executed to perfection - just to do it. Or bread made from home grown wheat, hand ground with a grain mill and a recipe from one of Bernard Clayton's bread books. I'm pretty sure my methodology and motives are quite unique relative to most individuals.

I don't believe a goal of a restaurant career or even cooking for a family are prerequisites for a desire to learn or execute a dish properly and well.

:wink:

Edited by mudbug (log)
sheetz

sheetz

Posted
Posted

FWIW, I believe one can learn a lot just from reading these boards, asking questions, and constantly practicing. It definitely helps to have a good cookbook, too.

mudbug

mudbug

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
FWIW, I believe one can learn a lot just from reading these boards, asking questions, and constantly practicing.  It definitely helps to have a good cookbook, too.

Don't forget video segments.... :wink:

SuzySushi

SuzySushi

Posted
Posted
This reminded me of something the local newspaper (San Francisco Chronicle) did a while back. They had a "rent a grandmom" program a while back, and it may still be existance. What the program did was to match up people who want to learn more about food from their culture to a "grandmom" who is well versed in cooking for some lessons. My grandmom was definitely my inspiration for cooking. I learn so many invaluable lessons from cooking with her.

If you can't/don't want to/have time for volunteering at a restaurant, maybe seek out some "grandmoms" in your area who are willing to give some lessons. I'm sure you can learn much more than just cooking from them.  :raz:

Very interesting program. First I've heard of it, and I wonder if there's anything like it anywhere else.

Some of my best cooking "lessons" came from my students when I was volunteering to teach English-as-a-Second Language. I became friends with many of them (and am still in touch with some of them 30+ years later!), I invited them into my home, and vice versa. Along the way, they showed me how to cook their favorite (insert the name of an ethnic cuisine here) dishes, and I showed them how to cook all-American fare.

I'm not shy about asking a good cook, "Can you teach me to make X?"

SuzySushi

"She sells shiso by the seashore."

My eGullet Foodblog: A Tropical Christmas in the Suburbs

mudbug

mudbug

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
I'm not shy about asking a good cook, "Can you teach me to make X?"

Exactly - whether it's in person from a family elder, friend, culinary teacher, student, stranger, or via a forum on the internet. :wink:

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