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Weird Chinese snacks?

hzrt8w

By hzrt8w
in China: Cooking & Baking

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hzrt8w

hzrt8w

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
So far, there's been a lot of salty snacks. Do you drink beer or tea with these snacks at 3 am? Ah Leung? :wink:

What about rock sugar? Bars of brown sugar? Chunks of palm sugar? We are out of peanuts and other snacks at the moment, and I see this morning, my box of rock sugar is...empty!  :huh:

No beer in the house. Prohibited. Usually a glass of red wine and water. Or maybe 2. Or maybe... :wink:

Yeah! Chew on rock sugar and peen tong (brown sugar bar). I like doing that occassionally. Can't take too much at a time.

Big dried shrimp! I saw those in the markets but never thought of buying them for cooking. I prefer the smaller ones, which seem to me more flavorful. Maybe I will buy some just for snacking!

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

hzrt8w

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
Xioa hzrt -- Since you are into the salty stuff, how about a few slices of Sichuan pickle or pickled mustard cabbage? Or one of the forms of dried turnip?

I do like the Sichuan preserved vegetable (Zha Choy). Not on the pickled mustard cabbage as I cannot take sour taste or pungent smell too well. Nor can I take sweet.

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

Dejah

Posted
Posted
Holy sheeit, you guys have weird cravings!! :rolleyes: But I do like your tastes. I used to be an inveterate snacker of dried shrimp, that is until got a terrible case of of the sheets from a bad batch. Now to satisfy my salt cravings, I go to kalamata olives, smoked herring, pickled herring snacks, smoked oysters, kielbasa, pepperoni,  cretons, all kinds of cheeses, the stronger the better. I am almost addicted to Danish Blue Cheese. :wub:

TRAITOR! :angry::laugh:

But really, dry shitake?

Pork floss is good. Must look for fish floss next trip.

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

jo-mel

jo-mel

Posted
Posted
Xioa hzrt -- Since you are into the salty stuff, how about a few slices of Sichuan pickle or pickled mustard cabbage? Or one of the forms of dried turnip?

I do like the Sichuan preserved vegetable (Zha Choy). Not on the pickled mustard cabbage as I cannot take sour taste or pungent smell too well. Nor can I take sweet.

Funny story about Sichuan Pickle (榨菜)

I use to have a series of classes (10) with the same people. One day one person couldn't come. We were making shredded pork with pickled vegetable soup that day. The woman's neighbor was there, so I gave her the recipes from the class to pass on -- along with a Sichuan vegetable tuber, which I put into a little plastic bag. The woman wasn't home, so the neighbor put the little bag in the mail box. The husband came home and checked the mailbox. Can you imagine what he must have thought? LOL!

SheenaGreena

SheenaGreena

Posted
Posted

what's pork floss? I'm imagining all these egulleters flossing their teeth with pork...sounds delicious if you ask me (:

I like those tiny little shrimps as well. Cuttlefish is great and so is dried squid dipped into kewpie mayo. Dried octopus is good as well, but that is more expensive. Minature crabs seasoned with sugar and soy are delicious, you can get those at the japanese store. There is something about seasoned or dried seafood that drives all of us asians (and some non asians) crazy.

I like those wei-chuan pickles in soy sauce. I eat those with rice mixed with hot tea all the time or just pick them out of the can and munch on them. Seaweed is also good.

BEARS, BEETS, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
hzrt8w

hzrt8w

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
what's pork floss?  I'm imagining all these egulleters flossing their teeth with pork...sounds delicious if you ask me (:

They call it that. It's dry shredded pork. (Yuk Shung in Cantonese).

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

Renka

Posted
Posted (edited)
When I was little, I definitely loved dried shrimp. I also munched on dried scallops.

I suppose dried shrimp can be eaten, but they are generally pretty tough until they are soaked. But dried scallops are hard as a rock!

Either way, I love dried seafood. When I was little, I used to take all the dried scallops that were broken, and munch on those. :smile: Have you tried the individually packaged dried scallop "candy"? It's the best, especially the ones from Japan. When I get my hands on them, I finish so many little packets at a time. If only they weren't so expensive. I hit jackpot one year in HK when there was a buy one get one free promotion, and I bought 2 giant packs of scallop "candies" (more like preserved scallops, still mosit and oh so tasty). :wub:

I won't go into detail about all the other snacks I bought (dried dance fish sheets sandwiching sesame seeds, egg roll cookies with pork floss and sesame seeds, bags of beef jerky "candies", etc). In Shanghai, I was so happy to buy many packages of preserved duck gizzards and duck tongues! YUM! :biggrin:

I am notorious for snacking the solids found in the bottom of Yank Sing's XO sauce - salty, hot goodness, :)

I do that too! Taking a fork and eating a jar of XO sauce (minus the oil). I also would take a jar of the pickled spicy radish and do the same. Crunchy, munchy and spicy. No rice or anything needed. Straight from fork to mouth! :laugh:

Geeze, with all the things that have been listed here, I must sound very strange, as everything above is "normal" for me to snack on. :blush:

Just some examples of my extreme snacking... I must shamefully confess that I'm notorious for being the snacking queen to all of those around me(loaves of bread or half dozen bagels, box of cereal in one sitting sort of craziness). But what really makes me happy are Asian snacks, i.e. hot five spice beef jerky nuggets, satay pork jerky shreds, containers of crispy beef floss with sesame seeds and seaweed (eating a whole can of fish floss is a little too powdery and salty vs a whole plastic container of the pork/beef floss), preserved prunes, lemongrass preserved licorice apricots, dried preserved papaya shreds or lemon peels, thai spiced cuttlefish or Hokkaido style grilled shredded squid, wasabi flavoured seaweed, etc.

Just a few examples for those wondering what I'm talking about:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sifu_renka/282858419/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sifu_renka/153391600/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sifu_renka/310848179/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sifu_renka/310848183/

BTW, pork/beef floss is also great between slices of soft white bread. Talk about bad nutrition, sodium overload on top of nutrient deprived processed grains. But oh so tasty!

(edited to add links)

Edited by Renka (log)

My Flickr Account

Chicago Dining "Tour" 2006

Tepee

Tepee

Posted
Posted (edited)
BTW, pork/beef floss is also great between slices of soft white bread.  Talk about bad nutrition, sodium overload on top of nutrient deprived processed grains.  But oh so tasty!

We have stalls selling a decadent version. First they ermm...margarine (wish it was butter) a hot-dog bun, face it down and toast it a bit, layer it with floss, then a freshly grilled yuk gon, top with coleslaw and chilli/tomato sauce. :smile:

Edited by Tepee (log)

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

Dejah

Dejah

Posted
Posted
BTW, pork/beef floss is also great between slices of soft white bread.  Talk about bad nutrition, sodium overload on top of nutrient deprived processed grains.   But oh so tasty!

We have stalls selling a decadent version. First they ermm...margarine (wish it was butter) a hot-dog bun, face it down and toast it a bit, layer it with floss, then a freshly grilled yuk gon, top with coleslaw and chilli/tomato sauce. :smile:

After all the REALLY weird snacks, it was refreshing to see something that actually sounded good and normal! :laugh:

I think I'd like what you described, Tepee.

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

hzrt8w

hzrt8w

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
After all the REALLY weird snacks, it was refreshing to see something that actually sounded good and normal! :laugh:

But, but, but... the title of this topic is "weird snacks". Some of these are too normal: pork sung, dried seaweed, beef jerky. Normal ones are "off topic"! :wink:

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

Dejah

Posted
Posted
After all the REALLY weird snacks, it was refreshing to see something that actually sounded good and normal! :laugh:

But, but, but... the title of this topic is "weird snacks". Some of these are too normal: pork sung, dried seaweed, beef jerky. Normal ones are "off topic"! :wink:

What can be more weird than for Asians

1. to toast

2. to eat a hot dog bun

3. margarine (butter better) slathered on a hot dog bun

4. and topping it with cole slaw!

These ingredients / combinations are not traditionally Chinese/Asian; it's more like North American chop suey. :wink:

I said it SOUNDED normal, more so than eating uncooked non-rehydrated dried oysters, but still weird. :raz::laugh::laugh:

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

rarerollingobject

rarerollingobject

Posted
Posted

I suppose it's not really weird, or especially Chinese, but..I love snacking on red chillis:

1. Fresh chilli licked then dipped in salt

2. Fresh chilli licked then dipped in sugar

And in summer:

1. Frozen chilli, straight from freezer. Mmmmmm. Like a hell-popsicle! :biggrin:

Tepee

Tepee

Posted
Posted

It's so unfair that some people can handle so much chilli heat and some of us can't.

I think you have taken snacking weirdness to a new level, RRO.

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

hzrt8w

hzrt8w

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

This week I bought a lot of "normal" Chinese snacks: Taiwanese, as well as Vietnamese-Chinese beef jerkies, dried squid, preserved plums, dried tiny fish, etc..

I may not need to chew on weird snacks for the next 6 months! :laugh:

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

rarerollingobject

Posted
Posted (edited)
It's so unfair that some people can handle so much chilli heat and some of us can't.

I think you have taken snacking weirdness to a new level, RRO.

My chilli/heat obsession also makes its way into dessert snacking:

1. slice of red chilli squashed between two squares of dark chocolate

2. slice of raw ginger dunked in honey and chewed on

3. and the surprisingly good: powdered wasabi smooshed into vanilla ice cream.

Now to get back on topic...

Does anyone know what these HK Chinese snacks are or are called? They're like thin, purplish rounded flakes of something, that come in a roll (like Lifesavers, only very thin and flaky...and no hole).

Sweetish and a little sour, maybe plum? A little bit yucky tasting after too many but you buy them in bulk packs of maybe six short, stubby rolls...anyone, anyone? I haven't seen them in years but am completely nostalgic for them so would love to know what to ask for.

Edited by rarerollingobject (log)
JasonTrue

JasonTrue

Posted
Posted

That sounds like "haw flakes", which are made from (or at least flavored like) a red-fleshed fruit that, when peeled and seeded, looks similar to lychee but is more sour (Chinese Hawthorn berry?); unpeeled, it looks kind of like a crabapple.

Haw Flakes on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haw_flakes

In a hotel buffet in Beijing, seeded hawthorn berries were served like you might find gooseberry or fig compote in England. Apparently it can also be sold candied:

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/crataegus.htm

Does anyone know what these HK Chinese snacks are or are called? They're like thin, purplish rounded flakes of something, that come in a roll (like Lifesavers, only very thin and flaky...and no hole).

Sweetish and a little sour, maybe plum? A little bit yucky tasting after too many but you buy them in bulk packs of maybe six short, stubby rolls...anyone, anyone? I haven't seen them in years but am completely nostalgic for them so would love to know what to ask for.

Jason Truesdell

Blog: Pursuing My Passions

Take me to your ryokan, please

rarerollingobject

rarerollingobject

Posted
Posted (edited)
That sounds like "haw flakes", which are made from (or at least flavored like) a red-fleshed fruit that, when peeled and seeded, looks similar to lychee but is more sour (Chinese Hawthorn berry?); unpeeled, it looks kind of like a crabapple.

Haw Flakes on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haw_flakes

In a hotel buffet in Beijing, seeded hawthorn berries were served like you might find gooseberry or fig compote in England. Apparently it can also be sold candied:

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/crataegus.htm

That is exactly them! Thank you so much!! :biggrin:

Edited by rarerollingobject (log)
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