I’ll have to remember before I eat them all!
I Will admit i have this cookbook and have had it since the 1970s. I will check it out to see if it has anything about ribs. It has zero illustrations or pictures.
I will have to look into VANNS as you mentioned. But I can tell you that NOH Chinese Barbeque CHAR SIU gives a close color, but the flavor is OFF. I bought a whole case of that a while ago. Still have most of them. It gets you into the ballpark, but it is not quite right. I think there is five spice in it that does not belong. Five spice powder is NOT Chinese. That is an American assumption only. I dislike five spice.
Speaking of a kitchen torch LOL. I have used a regular propane torch to char my pork shoulders in the past. It works. Propane is propane. So you can use any torch with that gas. In fact a kitchen torch may use butane instead. And I believe propane is an approved fuel for cooking. Just like an outdoor grill.
Here is that powder that is not perfect:
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Oh and I just remembered another great seasoning that is GONE. It was one of Ron Popeil’s rubs. It was called either HICKORY SMOKED PINEAPPLE rub or SMOKED PINEAPPLE rub. Fantastic on a rotisserie chicken. Again my favorite of all his rubs. Everything I love disappears.
Ok, I am willing to be that guy. I have only spent 3 weeks in China on one trip and a little over 2 weeks on the next trip so I am no Sinophile or experienced Chinese food sort. But I have spent more than a month there and ate with the locals from Xishuangbanna to Kunming to Yangshuou, to Guilin, to Beijing, to Pingyao and then back to Beijing again.
And most of the time I liked American Chinese food better than the food that was recommended by the locals in China. And I was totally dumbstruck by this because I KNOW Chinese food is a collection of some of the best regional cuisines in the world.
And most of the time it was ok at best. I remember sitting at a table with 3 of my travel friends at a place that was known to the Chinese people we talked to as the Sick Duck, because it was the Peking Duck place closest to a big hospital. And we all were kind of surprised at how pedestrian the meal was. We later went to the Old Duck which was the restaurant that had been serving Peking Duck the longest. Spent way too much money and it was little better.
The worst part of it is, I had better meals in Beijing shopping mall food courts than I had in most cafes I went to in China. Maybe it was because I was not able to get good recommendations via HO, or ChowHound at the time. Or even by Google Maps because this was back in 2002 and 2004. But I ate a lot of mediocre Chinese food on those trips. I had better Chinese food in Bangkok than I did in Chinese cafes.
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My father pined for a Showtime rotisserie. Never hot one, though. I didn’t know there were Ronco spices. I will tell you the Vanns rub doesn’t taste heavily oh Chinese five spice powder. A hint, maybe but it’s got garlic in it.
Don’t see your rub there, though.
Five spice powder is Chinese.
Also:
And:
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Hmmm imagine that. Well I worked with many Chinese electronic technicians over the years and can only go by what they told me. I was told by all of them that if you want excellent Chinese Food in America anyway… you NEED to go to a place that has verified HONG KONG trained cooks ! Those are the chefs that cook the best food. So, now I am only speculating here. Maybe just maybe you should have visited Hong Kong in China and ate there. The Chinese technicians told me that these chefs are trained for YEARS before they come to America and make food. This is not something you learn online or in months. And it goes without saying, that they must be Chinese. Not whites, but Chinese. Not sure if Hong Kong teachers would even train anyone other than Chinese. makes perfect sense and I agree with them. That is my two cents. And if you see anyone other than Chinese making your food in a Chinese restaurant - LEAVE ! Same thing goes for any food. P.S. THAI food is also wonderful. But again it depends on the chef. I had Thai here in Smithtown NY called the Thai House. Well to do part of town. Expensive too. And the food was only good for dogs. NO TASTE whatsoever. Bland as a cotton ball. So it was one and done for that place ! But I hear good things about Thai Green Leaf restaurant in Northport.
That flavor was discontinued. I used to have the label but the wife threw out the jar since it was almost empty. I have the Ronco Showtime from 2007. Digital timer. It is wonderful.
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This is hilarious. China has 5 major cuisines, with many local variations. To claim that “only Hongkong Chinese” cook proper food is an insult to the rest of the country, but likely just hubris and arrogance from the people you spoke with.
Try to get some proper Sichuan sometime. It’ll be a revelation.
And the idea that only Chinese or Thai or >insert nationality< are capable of producing perfectly authentic and good food is downright ludicrous.
Most fancy French meals in the bigger cities are cooked by Mexican immigrants.
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So only Black folks can make bbq and only Hispanic folks can make tacos?
Is that the path we’re on?
Because your assertion is blind to the modern world.
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I am telling you my experience of life and what I see in reality. If you want the best food of any cuisine, you get it made by that same culture. That is the way it is. I never said that others can’t make renditions of different foods. There are exceptions to everything. I went to a pizza place for example that had zero Italians there. And the pizza was awful. Until I see an Asian making the same quality and tasty home cooked Italian food as my Italian mother, I will not change my opinion. I am entitled to my views. I don’t live by what others tell me to believe to be programmed into a false reality. I tell the truth. If I want Greek food, I go to a Greek owned establishment. Simple as that. This is completely different than Toxic Hell food. fast food is another animal all together. I love BBQ too. And the best BBQ is made by Black people. They know how to cook.
Chan Yan-tak
Chan Yan-tak is a Hong Kong/Chinese chef, who is best known for being the first Chinese chef to earn three Michelin stars. The Michelin stars are considered a hallmark of fine dining by many of the world’s top chefs.May 2, 2022
There are 28 Michelin-starred restaurants classified as specializing in Chinese cuisine. https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/restaurants/3-stars-michelin/2-stars-michelin/1-star-michelin/chinese
I didn’t take the time to look at them, but I highly doubt they are all led by Hong Kong-trained chefs.
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I’m not sure Michelin is a good guide upon which to judge whether a Chinese restaurant is good, authentic, or both, or somewhere in between.
Michelin, for better or worse, is trying to judge all cuisines through a rather eurocentric fine-dining lense, which can lead to both underinclusive and overinclusive results.
That said, a Honk Kong trained chef will undoubtedly put out very fine cuisine, but that does not mean a non Hong Kong trained chef cannot. In fact some of the best Chinese restaurants in Shanghai are manned by neither Hong Kong trained chefs, nor have any Michelin stars, and they’re completely fine with that.
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I agree. My point is only that I know for certain that any Hong Kong chef will be good. So I don’t need to guess. It’s like Snap-on tools. I buy the best and never question myself or worry. Same with R-12 refrigerant. I keep my cars operating with that. Rather than switch to the new stuff that is questionable. I always take the sure thing.
That’s a pretty broad assumption.
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