Cooking a western meal for Chinese grandmother

[I_call_the_duck]

As long as we're talking clams, how about linguine with (white) clam sauce? It's simple, but has all the right elements--noodles, clams, garlic, a bit o' wine...

Thinking of dessert, what's more American than apple pie? My dad's favorite western-style dessert, especially the crust. But you can also tone down the sweetness by instead making an apple tart.

[bleudauvergne]

You might try some soups, split pea? I might also do corn bread made on the griddle if you don't have an oven.

[Kent Wang]

My mom said that they don't have an oven so that rules out all baking. What desserts can be made without an oven or other complex equipment?

[MissAmy]

My mom said that they don't have an oven so that rules out all baking. What desserts can be made without an oven or other complex equipment?

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Parfait? Pudding?

[sheetz]

Any kind of pudding--rice, banana, tapioca, or even lemon curd. If you're ambitious you could try a chocolate mousse, although that could be a chore if you don't have an electric mixer.

My parents love rice crispy treats, which would be easy to make if you had access to the ingredients. They're almost like an American version of Sai Keh Mah (Cantonese pronunciation), the Chinese snacks made of deep fried dough strips mixed with syrup and pressed into blocks.

Edited March 24, 2006 by sheetz (log)

[Shalmanese]

It seems to me that chinese love mushrooms of all kinds so maybe you could bring in some dried american mushrooms and make a wild mushroom risotto or something. Not too alien but an interesting enough flavour to be something memorable.

I would go with a creme caramel or something similar for dessert. Egg based desserts are already familiar in Chinese cooking. I think many of you are underestimating how culinarily unadventerous a person who has eated chinese food all thier lives can be. I wouldn't go too far out there.

[Kent Wang]

It seems to me that chinese love mushrooms of all kinds so maybe you could bring in some dried american mushrooms and make a wild mushroom risotto or something. Not too alien but an interesting enough flavour to be something memorable.

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Great idea.

I've now found out that I will be cooking for about 15 people though many of them are over 50 and do not eat very much. I think I will serve it family style with all dishes out at the same time with the exception of dessert. Individual courses would be too labor intensive and would require that I interrupt my own eating to finish cooking and serving each course.

My menu so far:

Soup: Miso soup with mushrooms (maybe the straw variety), soft tofu and some thinly-diced scallions. Well, it's not Western but it is non-Chinese. Western soups are usually very thick -- the ones I like anyway, e.g. gumbo, chowder -- and may be unsuitable to the Chinese palate. Is it possible to get miso paste in Shanghai?

Salad: Salad with black fig vinaigrette. The black fig vinegar I will bring with me. I usually add cheese to my salads but I'll have to exclude that. Other than the greens what else should I add? Maybe some cherry tomatoes? Do they have those in Shanghai?

Appetizer/small entree: Crab cakes. I developed a recipe for a Japanese take on it, the primary difference being the use of wakame seaweed. Depending on ingredient availability I will probably make a more Western version. I do plan on using some kind of seaweed though.

Entree: Wild mushroom risotto. No cheese, low oil, Chinese rice, and a large packet of dried mushrooms that I will bring with me.

Entree: Undecided.

Dessert: Pudding. Maybe a bread pudding, but definitely not a rice rudding as it will be too similar to the risotto.

Six dishes for 15 people I think is below what is usually expected. I hope I can decide on some other dishes, especially ones that I can prep earlier in the day or the day before. If I can't then I'll just increase portion sizes. My mom has offered to help and we can practice together once or twice before we leave for China. Once we arrive, I'm sure we can ask our many relatives for assistance in the kitchen. I've cooked smaller meals for my parents before and I've given a few dinner parties for no more than six people but this will be a much greater challenge than I have ever attempted before. Add to that the limitations on ingredients, the stresses of travel and the pressure to impress my family, this will be a daunting challenge! But I think I can handle it.

[Kouign Aman]

Someone upthread suggested fried chicken - would that work for you?

[Kent Wang]

Someone upthread suggested fried chicken - would that work for you?

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Maybe. It may be too greasy and I don't really think I can do a better job than KFC, which the Chinese eat plenty of.

I know there have been a lot of suggestions that I have not responded to. I'm not ignoring them, I just haven't decided yet. We're leaving for China on April 3 so I need to have practiced as much as possible before then. Some of these dishes, like the pudding, I have never made before. We'll be in China for all of April so I'm not sure when I'll actually I'll cook the meal, presumably early in the month though. I promise to take photos.

[sheetz]

Wow, that's a very ambitious project you'rve assigned yourself. Make sure to find out how many burners you will have available to use. You will be greatly limited if you only have one burner. To be safe you should probably choose dishes that can be served either cold or at room temperature.

I say shoot for eight courses, eight being an auspicious number for Chinese.

Edited March 24, 2006 by sheetz (log)

[ludja]

Is mayonnaise part of the palate (now) in China?

Would stuffed eggs be a potential winner or would this be just too weird.? (It would be another small "course" and is easy to do ahead of time. There may be ways to make it more "chinese" in flavor by adding other ingredients to the egg yolk mix and by maybe strewing green onions over the top)

[Kouign Aman]

Perhaps mix a few traditional chinese dishes into the mix, so that there is something for those who just cant face something new (like my (english) grannie)?

Or some kind of pork dish, with greens?

[Shalmanese]

Soup: Miso soup with mushrooms (maybe the straw variety), soft tofu and some thinly-diced scallions. Well, it's not Western but it is non-Chinese. Western soups are usually very thick -- the ones I like anyway, e.g. gumbo, chowder -- and may be unsuitable to the Chinese palate. Is it possible to get miso paste in Shanghai?

The Chinese have thier own version of fermented soybean paste called "dajiang" paste IIRC.

Salad: Salad with black fig vinaigrette. The black fig vinegar I will bring with me. I usually add cheese to my salads but I'll have to exclude that. Other than the greens what else should I add? Maybe some cherry tomatoes? Do they have those in Shanghai?

Many asians have a strong aversion to raw vegtables. I would be very careful about doing this one.

Appetizer/small entree: Crab cakes. I developed a recipe for a Japanese take on it, the primary difference being the use of wakame seaweed. Depending on ingredient availability I will probably make a more Western version. I do plan on using some kind of seaweed though.

Sounds good.

Entree: Wild mushroom risotto. No cheese, low oil, Chinese rice, and a large packet of dried mushrooms that I will bring with me.

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Chinese rice will not make a risotto. You need a high starch, short grain rice like arborio. Better to bring your own.

[sheetz]

Just a thought. Do they sell cooked lump crab meat in Shanghai? If not, I wonder how many Shanghai crabs you'll have to kill to make crab cakes for 15.

[hzrt8w]

If not, I wonder how many Shanghai crabs you'll have to kill to make crab cakes for 15.

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Very good point.

Conversion table:

1 Dungeness crab = 12 Shanghai hairy crabs

LOL! No, don't use Shanghai hairy crabs for crab cakes. It would not do these crabs justice. Besides, the cost would be $$$$$.

I just have a comment, take it for what it's worth:

The menu:

Soup: Miso soup with mushrooms

Salad: Salad with black fig vinaigrette

Appetizer/small entree: Crab cakes

Entree: Wild mushroom risotto

Entree: Undecided

Dessert: Pudding

Chinese banquets are different from Western ones. In Chinese banquets (Shanghainese or Cantonese), you would see many varieties of meats, poultries and seafood. You would find very few vegetables. No, don't get this wrong. Chinese love meats with stir-fries. But when it comes to banquets (the "face" factor again), you want to serve with the best you can afford (or even you can't afford for some). And the general mentality is "meat is worthier than vegetables". And Shanghai people are typically very generous in entertaining friends and relatives.

Don't let you guests pound on the table and ask "where is the beef (meat)?"

And I agree with Shalmanese that raw vegetable salad may be less palatable. Maybe the Italian antipasta (grilled green pepper, eggplants, etc. with olive oil, salt and garlic) is safer.

Edited March 25, 2006 by hzrt8w (log)

[sheetz]

Chinese banquets are different from Western ones.  In Chinese banquets (Shanghainese or Cantonese), you would see many varieties of meats, poultries and seafood.  You would find very few vegetables.  No, don't get this wrong.  Chinese love meats with stir-fries.  But when it comes to banquets (the "face" factor again), you want to serve with the best you can afford (or even you can't afford for some).  And the general mentality is "meat is worthier than vegetables".  And Shanghai people are typically very generous in entertaining friends and relatives. 

Somewhere along the way, this meal seems to have morphed from "Making hamburgers for Grandma" to preparing an elaborate multicourse banquet for 15.

I would tend to agree that if your goal is to impress a bunch of jaded Chinese relatives, you're not going to do so by serviing miso soup. raw vegatables, and rice. I should add, however, that although many banquet dishes are noted for using costly ingredients, other special occasion dishes are prized due to the large amount of labor involved in their preparations. So for instance in this case I'm sure the relatives would be quite impressed if they knew several dozen crabs had to be killed and their meat extracted by hand in order to make the crab cakes.

Whatever you decide, Kent, I'll truly enjoy cooking vicariously through you.

Edited March 25, 2006 by sheetz (log)

[Pan]

I just thought of this, but Chinese people in my experience like omelettes, so how about some kind of frittata? Heck, you can make that a fusion dish by using some of the great sausages available in Shanghai. What do you think?

[rjwong]

Kent, here are some suggestions for your Western dinner in Shanghai:

How about Chicken Fried Steak? I know it's a lot of frying. Mind you, just keep it to 4-6 oz. portions. For 15 people, you'll need about 8 pounds of beef. Or a beef stew, tomato-based with carrots, celery, onions, and root vegetables? Wouldn't your relatives expect you to cook some "Texan" beef dish or some "cowboy food"?

Since you'll be in Shanghai, take advantage of the available seafood, cooked Western-style. Shrimp with linguine. Bouillabaise. Cioppino.

I second Pan's suggestion about the omelette/fritatta. Spinach fritatta with ham or bacon, served whole on a large round platter for presentation, but cut into serving portions.

As for a salad, you might want to consider chilled blanched vegetables, or even a chilled seafood salad. Potato salad?

Are you going to bring your own seasonings? Will you find what you need over in Shanghai?

Enjoy your time over in China!!

[Dejah]

In reference to making crab cakes - It would be great to show a complete contrast to the way crab is served in China. I have bought 1 lb cans of dungenese crab meat - excellent quality, in one of our supermarkets. This is what I used for crab cakes. If they are available in your area, you might consider the option. I am assuming that canned goods would be allowed through customs into China?

Using bacon to wrap seafood such as shrimp would be an elegant appetizer or main course. Are scallops readily available?

Frittata made with colourful ingredients and cut into different shapes would make a nice presentation.

Too bad you don't have an oven. It would be so easy to do a Thanksgiving turkey (extra large chicken?) with traditional stuffing...or even individual Cornish hens with stuffing.

What about deep fried Cornish hens, then brushed with a marmalade glaze, and stuffing on the side?

Damn! I'm getting hungry! We DEMAND PHOTO DIARY EVERY STEP OF THE BANQUET!

[lexy]

We DEMAND PHOTO DIARY EVERY STEP OF THE BANQUET!

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Ditto - I'm interested in seeing what a Chinese kitchen set-up looks like.

Fast food-type dishes have been mentioned, but does China have somewhat bastardised versions of Western dishes that are popular? (In the same way that you'll find such classically authentic Chinese dishes as chop suey and lipstick-red sweet and sour chicken in the West ) If your family is already familiar with some Western dishes, preparing slightly more authentic versions might ease the shock of the new a little.

[miladyinsanity]

And I agree with Shalmanese that raw vegetable salad may be less palatable.  Maybe the Italian antipasta (grilled green pepper, eggplants, etc. with olive oil, salt and garlic) is safer.

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Yeah. I still remember my grandma asking why her greens were not cooked.

There should be a "whole" animal dish. As in, a dish where the fish/poultry is served whole, like Dejah's suggestion of deep-fried Cornish hens. Perhaps spring chickens would be easier to find?

[herbacidal]

So for instance in this case I'm sure the relatives would be quite impressed  if they knew several dozen crabs had to be killed and their meat extracted by hand in order to make the crab cakes.

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Totally on point.

[hzrt8w]

I think one thing that you should keep in mind is not so much what to cook but where you would cook.

About ten years ago, I offered my brother to cook some live seafood dishes for dinner at his apartment during one of my visits to Hong Kong. When I finally got to his flat and saw how small the kitchen was - it barely allowed one person to work inside with very tight space to turn around - I had to withdraw my offer. Most residents in Hong Kong live in very small flats in high rises. That's one of the reasons why people like to eat out often. (The other reason is, of course, the low prices of eating out.)

The situation in Shanghai may be better than in Hong Kong. Still, cooking for 15 people is no easy task especially if the kitchen is small. I hope this doesn't hit you as a last minute surprise. I know that for those of us who are used to living in the US, seeing the tight space in densely populated cities in China takes some getting used to.

[herbacidal]

I think one thing that you should keep in mind is not so much what to cook but where you would cook.

About ten years ago, I offered my brother to cook some live seafood dishes for dinner at his apartment during one of my visits to Hong Kong.  When I finally got to his flat and saw how small the kitchen was - it barely allowed one person to work inside with very tight space to turn around - I had to withdraw my offer.  Most residents in Hong Kong live in very small flats in high rises.  That's one of the reasons why people like to eat out often.  (The other reason is, of course, the low prices of eating out.)

The situation in Shanghai may be better than in Hong Kong.  Still, cooking for 15 people is no easy task especially if the kitchen is small.  I hope this doesn't hit you as a last minute surprise.  I know that for those of us who are used to living in the US, seeing the tight space in densely populated cities in China takes some getting used to.

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Let me elaborate on that.

The kitchen in our 2br apartment in Hong Kong (regular-sized, not luxurious) was roughly the square footage of 2 American bathtubs.

The kitchen in our house in semi-rural Guangdong was roughly the same size, although the house itself had far more square footage than the HK apartment.

[Ben Hong]

Ditto - I'm interested in seeing what a Chinese kitchen set-up looks like.

No you don't.