CHINESE - Cuisine of the Quarter, Winter 2021 (Jan-Mar)

I LOVE your creation! Next time… Many thanks for the nudge.

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I’m a big fan of steamed egg, especially with pork. I first had it in Bangkok. I tried making it at home but not very successfully. I was a bit dubious about the amount of liquid to egg in the recipe I tried. It seemed too much and it didn’t turn out very well. This looks a better recipe.

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It’s a LOT of liquid per egg - twice by volume.

But that’s what yields a delicate custard.

@naf I think that’s the quiche difference too - most of them use a much lower (“safer” to set) proportion of liquid to eggs. But my favorite quiche is also a high liquid version, from Thomas Keller - 2/3c liquid per egg. Very delicate custard, like this one. The other peeve I have with quiche is “too much stuff” - I like more custard, less stuff, and many of them are mostly stuff with just enough custard to bind. And cheese. Too much cheese.

This actually reminded me to make the TK quiche recipe again, so I’m baking it as we speak. But crustless and without the right pan, because… I don’t have it here.

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What resources do folks rely on for Chinese recipes?

I often refer to the Woks of Life and China Sichuan food websites.

Then there are the Fuchsia Dunlop books, but I don’t always have all the ingredients - or the patience - for them.

i fondly remember Yan Can Cook - think one of the books is somewhere around here. And Ken Hom too from the UK.

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Mom.

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Tonight I made Chinese-American takeout style pepper steak over quick brown rice. I started with a recipe @gcaggiano recommend and tweaked it heavily:

-subbed skirt steak sliced thinly on the bias, against the grain, for the flank steak
-velveted the meat: marinated it with Chinese rice wine, soy sauce, corn starch, minced white onions, and black pepper and cooked separately until just barely pink
-added minced scallion and feathered white onion
-subbed yellow pepper for green
-reduced the sugar
-flashed the pan with Chinese rice wine after stir-frying the aromatics
-added dark soy sauce, chicken broth, a pinch of gochugaru, and a little veggie BTB to the sauce mixture. Plus a drop of liquid smoke to mimic wok hey.

It was actually really good! Like takeout, but better.

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Looks awesome! May make this tonight!

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I made a stirfry tonight, using crabstick /fake crab instead of real crab, and the sauce from this recipe

Also put some sauce on a roasted eggplant. I didn’t follow a Chinese method, but the flavours were there.

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For quick weeknight recipes, I’ve used Rasa Malaysia a lot the last 10 months.

I also look at a lot of recipes in Omnivore’s Cookbook

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That stirfry looks delicious. I wish I could get DH to eat surimi!

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I’m with @Phoenikia. I have several Chinese and other Asian country cookbooks but Rasa Malaysia is my go to source. I’ve never tried the American recipes but the Asian ones usually are quick, easy and delicious.

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I just started cooking with it last March. I was decidedly anti-surimi in my 20s (I love genuine fresh crab- it’s one of my favourite foods), after liking surimi as a kid, then I started liking surimi again around 40, accepting it for what it is, rather than comparing it to fresh crab. I can’t get good fresh crab where I live, so I save it for when I travel to places that serve good crab.

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Thanks @Phoenikia - I’ve used Rasa Malaysia and Omnivore - agree on easy and quick.

I forgot to mention (though I have before) an odd book I once borrowed from the library and ended up buying - The Cultural Revolution Cookbook. Simple if austere, but can be amped up. The little stories are interesting too.

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“Fish fragrant” eggplant - yuxiang qiezi, with a bowl of rice for dinner. I cooked the eggplant pieces in the oven rather than deep frying them this time.

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Also added a good shot of oyster sauce, oops.

One of my favorites, and I do the same with the eggplant. Or steam it in the microwave.

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I have (had) many Chinese cookery books and have also given away a bunch of them. Never cook from books, only read them like novels.

Also have a Nintendo DS game! The Chinese recipes are adapted to Western kitchen. “Dan dan mian” is a soup in this thing. I think Japanese version of Dan dan mian is like that. It’s fun to browse through the recipes, though.

34 second trailer

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My attempt

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Used some leftover rice noodles, shiitake , and canned baby corn to make a version of Singapore Noodles (heavy on the baby corn!).

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I rarely make specific Chinese dishes but once in a while I do make an effort. (Also, I am not a recipe follower.)

Pork neck char siu


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I made this once and never wanted to again. I refuse to cook my oysters.

Twice cooked pork belly. It was for the partner. I don’t like Chinese chives, leeks, or anything that tastes or smells like them.

Poached chickens are easy and delicious.


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