The Great Chinese Recipe Thread! (1 Viewer)

[Ted Lee]

peter - i know *exactly* what you're talking about, but am not sure what it's called either. that stuff is truly yummy too. i can probably knock down at least two plates myself.

i'll email my aunt - she'll probably know...

 

[Denward]

We called it 'cheung foon'. I think it's soy sauce and sesame oil. I love the texture of the noodle. Very smooth.

 

[Peter Kim]

Thanks Ted, that dish ranks up there as one of my all-time favorites. I'd like to appear a little less than ignorant the next time I ask for this dish.

Since writing about this, I cannot stop thinking about it.

Thanks Denward! Is this the Cantonese or Mandarin name? And yes, the smooth and firm quality of the flat rice noodle is just as tasty memorable as the sauce.

 

[Denward]

Probably closer to Cantonese. My family speaks 'Toi San' which I've always described as a hillbilly Cantonese.

 

[Ted Lee]

both my aunts know EXACTLY what it is, but they don't know what it's called in english - one thinks it may be called "rice noodles" but she's not sure. plus i don't think they know what phonetically (sp?) means.

"cheung foon" sounds about right. but i thought it was more of "???-fun" ...

 

[Peter Kim]

'foon' or 'fun'...it sounds familiar. I've always been under the impression that 'fun' was Cantonese for noodle. As in beef chow fun, yet another one of my favorite dishes.

Actually, are 'foon' and 'fun' one and the same phonetically? Just a different spelling, as in the Korean 'Pak' and 'Park'?

I googled dim sum and came up with www.dimsum.com/ds1.html . There, I see 3 dishes, Beef Rice Noodles, B.B.Q. Pork Rice Noodles, and Shrimp Rice Noodles, that look like what I'm talking about. The names of each dish in chinese characters is also included.

 

[Denward]

Yeah, 'foon' and 'fun' are the same thing. That's just my hillbilly accent showing. The stuff on the dim sum dish is the same stuff that's in chow fun dishes. I think fun means rice noodle. 'Mein' is wheat noodle.

'cheung fun' would be the generic name for all three varieties. I think when you ordered a specific one, you would precede it with the meat you wanted (i.e. ha cheung fun for shrimp).

 

[Denward]

I found the Rosetta Stone!
http://www.hkvpradio.com/rhythm/dini...msumindex.html

 

[Peter Kim]

Denward, from an expat Korean raised in hillbilly Wisconsin, Thank You!. You're damn right...it's the rosetta stone of dim sum!

Chinese restaurants need to market dim sum the same way their Japanese counterparts did with sushi and those colorful, pictorial menus at each table.

I've got this already locked and loaded on my Palm pda. I can't wait to fool people into thinking I'm from Kowloon.

 

[Ted Lee]

rosetta stone my arse...that link is the holy grail!

yeah, my aunt came back with "chong fun" - so that's definitely it!

dangit i'm totally craving it now....

 

[Dome Vongvises]

You know what else rules? Shark Fin soup. I've never seen it offered in America yet.

BTW, any good recipes for Motu Tofu?

 

[Ted Lee]

wow, i was reading that list and they mentioned "juk". boy...that takes me back big-time. i can recall my mom making boat-loads of that stuff. put a little meat (i always preferred ham), some salt and pepper and i'm good to go.

while we're on the subject, any fans of "jungs"? i call them chinese tamales. some sticky rice, meat, and possibly veggies, all wrapped up in a big leaf? my grandmother is the queen of making those things!

boy...did we hijack this thread or what...

 

[Peter Kim]

while we're on the subject, any fans of "jungs"? i call them chinese tamales. some sticky rice, meat, and possibly veggies, all wrapped up in a big leaf? my grandmother is the queen of making those things!

I did think they were tamales, hijacked from the Chevy's next door! Really, like tamales, I always wondered what's up with the leaf? My girlfriend at that time from Macau loved 'em and would always try and persuade me to eat them (along with the chicken's feet).

 

[Ted Lee]

jungs = yes
chicken feet = yikes!

 

[Denward]

That link almost brought a tear to my eye. It's good to see others with same appreciation for such fine things.
I always figured that these recipes are hundreds of years old. Since you didn't have wax paper or aluminum foil, you used a leaf.

 

[Ted Lee]

denward - you mom and my grandmother should have a jung cook-off. that way, we could eat all the "experiments" that they'd be sure to do.

ps - i'll give you 10 bucks to dry-ice ship a couple of those jungs in your freezer.

i think the leaf (tea?) also adds it's own flavor...plus it's good for steaming. let's moisture in, while holding together the jung.

 

[Jay H]

Yuummmmmm, I love the sticky rice in the leaf... Gotta buy that for August Moon of course... my Grandfather knew how to make them and wrap them up in the proper way but my parents never learned it from him. I have never liked the egg yolks though and always would pick them out.

I know the "fun" that you're talking about, I would recognize the name when I heard it but I don't recall what the name is.

Oh and I remember the name of the Chinese Turnip dish I posted many replies ago: Sounds something like "Lau Bok Go" and there is a brown sugar version which is more brown than white called "Mei Tai Go".. Very yummy if you get it fresh.

I've always been a big fan of the custard buns or "Gei Ying Bow"

but it's not as big in Dim Sum as the Roast Pork ones...

I like Beef Chow Fun too!

Jay

 

[Danny Tse]

"Mei Tai Go"

That's Water Chestnut Cake. The best ones are just slightly sweet and freshly grilled.

When I was growing up in HK, there was this "tea house" that have these enormous "lotus seed paste buns". When I mean enormous, I mean one per bamboo container. It's practically a meal in itself. Sort of look like a giant breast implant though.

 

[Paul_Sjordal]

Random thoughts on Chinese food

• American stoves really don't generate enough heat for proper wok cooking. You are therefore better off using a large cast iron skillet for stir frying. Just remember to really pre-heat the pan thoroughly before putting anything in it. Also, don't try to cook too much food at once or the temperature will fall too much and you'll get improper textures.
• Always use fresh garlic and ginger. It's only a little extra effort but the difference in results is huge.
• Remember the old Chinese joke: "Don't cook the vegetables, just threaten them!" There is no greater crime than mooshy, over-cooked vegetables in a stir fry. (Note: do not use your local Chinese buffet as a study of what the textures should be like. Find an upscale sit-down restaurant instead.)
• With Chinese cooking, you want as wide a range of flavors and textures as possible. Crunchy with mooshy. Spicy with sweet. That sort of thing.
• When cooking with tofu, try to use stronger flavors and give the tofu both heat and time to pick up flavors. Tofu will soak up flavor like crazy and you don't want to subject anyone to unflavored tofu.
• Bean sprouts and tofu are "fillers." Use them for economy to "stretch out" a dish. You feed more people with less money that way. Bean sprouts should be stupidly, amazingly fresh or don't use them at all.

Here's a really simple recipe to get you started:

• Ground meat (any kind you like)
• Green onions, chopped diagonally into 1/4 inch slices.
• Fresh garlic and ginger
• Soy sauce
• Rice wine (optional. Any kind will do.)
• 1 tsp corn starch thoroughly stirred with a couple teaspoons of cold water

Heat the snot out of a cast iron skillet.

Once it's good and hot add an oil with a high smoke point (peanut, canola, etc.), swoosh it around the pan, then quickly add the garlic and ginger.

Wait a few seconds, then add your ground meat. Stir frequently until browned.

Once the meat is browned add soy sauce and if desired, rice wine.

Add green onions. Keep stirring until the green onions are slightly softened. Add corn starch and water mixture and stir. The corn starch and water mixture should make the stir fry look "shiny." If you used a lot of sauce, the sauce should be slightly thickened.

Serve with white rice.

Variations:
Add thin strips of carrot (a shredder works good) with the green onions.

Add sliced shiitake mushrooms or tofu before the green onions.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

I'm not a big fan of those "moon" cakes.