YEAR OF THE OX! WOOT. Recap of teh foods.
Jan. 25th, 2009 09:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amand_rThe final consensus:
COURSE ONE: Dim sum, four ways. Dumplings for the win. The stuffed steamed mushrooms were okay (they really needed that chung choi that I couldn't get). The bacon wrapped water chestnuts were gone so fast I didn't see them go. I also did not get to eat any. Confirms belief that people will eat poop if you wrap it in bacon. I had leftover paper wrapped chicken, but only four packets out of like...twenty or more.
COURSE TWO: Congee. Dude, I thought this BLEW, and I will NEVER MAKE IT AGAIN WITH THIS RECIPE. The texture was there but the flavor profile was bad from the start. People still ate it. I suspect that they were either being nice, or they added lots of porkfu and scallions to it. Preferable alternative to this as soup course—winter melon soup. That rocked. Also, this was probably something that would have been better if I had had chung choi.
COURSE THREE: Garlic soba with wilted greens and fried tofu. I LOVED the tofu (and![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sthayashi, the SACRIFICES I made for you, not dredging it in egg first). Next time, remember to add Parmesan. Also, use seasoned panko instead of breadcrumbs. Just for giggles.
COURSE FOUR: Seoul Rolled Beef with parsnips, carrots and beans. This rules in so many ways. The only change I see is to alter the aesthetics: slice the beef thinner and wider so that the roll is more complete. After cooking, trim the ends to present flat geometric presentation. In other words: shit I will never do because I'm always too much in a hurry.
COURSE FIVE: Char siu. This is really hard to screw up, especially since I used the jarred stuff. Thank god for one sure thing.
COURSE SIX: Slow cooked Asian winter vegetables. I am unsure just how Asian this is, despite its title. It is comprised of all the vegetables I refuse to eat, so I'll have to take the general agreement that this was not only edible, but also good, as true. It was made in coconut ilk and sambal, so I suppose it had that going for it. I just hate sweet potatoes. In the future makes less, but add other veggies in addition. More sambal.
COURSE SEVEN: Fish braised in Chili bean Sauce. Despite people being freaked about the head and tail, this worked for me. Also, way to go Fuscia Dunlop for adding Chinkiang to the ingredients list and then never mentioning in which part to use it. Bah. Glad I only made the one, but I think I'll make the second for myself next week. Spicy! Lucky! We need some luck this year! I should have noted everyone who ate it this time so that next year we can all chart our luck in comparison with those who did not.
COURSE EIGHT: Steamed Asian pears with Chinese dates and honey. There was a comment that the skin was bitter, but that the pear was good. Wonder if I can just steam them skinned next time? Chinese dates had pits. Good to know. In the future, pit first. Next year, I think it's time that we tackled the monstrous beast called 8 Treasure Pudding, complete with pirate jokes.
All in all, a pretty good year. [Insert Tori Amos lyric of your choice here.]
COURSE ONE: Dim sum, four ways. Dumplings for the win. The stuffed steamed mushrooms were okay (they really needed that chung choi that I couldn't get). The bacon wrapped water chestnuts were gone so fast I didn't see them go. I also did not get to eat any. Confirms belief that people will eat poop if you wrap it in bacon. I had leftover paper wrapped chicken, but only four packets out of like...twenty or more.
COURSE TWO: Congee. Dude, I thought this BLEW, and I will NEVER MAKE IT AGAIN WITH THIS RECIPE. The texture was there but the flavor profile was bad from the start. People still ate it. I suspect that they were either being nice, or they added lots of porkfu and scallions to it. Preferable alternative to this as soup course—winter melon soup. That rocked. Also, this was probably something that would have been better if I had had chung choi.
COURSE THREE: Garlic soba with wilted greens and fried tofu. I LOVED the tofu (and
sthayashi, the SACRIFICES I made for you, not dredging it in egg first). Next time, remember to add Parmesan. Also, use seasoned panko instead of breadcrumbs. Just for giggles.COURSE FOUR: Seoul Rolled Beef with parsnips, carrots and beans. This rules in so many ways. The only change I see is to alter the aesthetics: slice the beef thinner and wider so that the roll is more complete. After cooking, trim the ends to present flat geometric presentation. In other words: shit I will never do because I'm always too much in a hurry.
COURSE FIVE: Char siu. This is really hard to screw up, especially since I used the jarred stuff. Thank god for one sure thing.
COURSE SIX: Slow cooked Asian winter vegetables. I am unsure just how Asian this is, despite its title. It is comprised of all the vegetables I refuse to eat, so I'll have to take the general agreement that this was not only edible, but also good, as true. It was made in coconut ilk and sambal, so I suppose it had that going for it. I just hate sweet potatoes. In the future makes less, but add other veggies in addition. More sambal.
COURSE SEVEN: Fish braised in Chili bean Sauce. Despite people being freaked about the head and tail, this worked for me. Also, way to go Fuscia Dunlop for adding Chinkiang to the ingredients list and then never mentioning in which part to use it. Bah. Glad I only made the one, but I think I'll make the second for myself next week. Spicy! Lucky! We need some luck this year! I should have noted everyone who ate it this time so that next year we can all chart our luck in comparison with those who did not.
COURSE EIGHT: Steamed Asian pears with Chinese dates and honey. There was a comment that the skin was bitter, but that the pear was good. Wonder if I can just steam them skinned next time? Chinese dates had pits. Good to know. In the future, pit first. Next year, I think it's time that we tackled the monstrous beast called 8 Treasure Pudding, complete with pirate jokes.
All in all, a pretty good year. [Insert Tori Amos lyric of your choice here.]
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no subject
Date: 2009-01-26 03:14 am (UTC)::omnomnom::
no subject
Date: 2009-01-26 04:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-26 03:57 am (UTC)Also..we ordered Congee at a restaurant and it said it had eggs in it, never occured to me that it would be the 1000 year old eggs...bleah. Actually I was ok with it until Steve figured out what they were, I just though they were mushrooms :P So much for me being adventurous.
Do you have a good recipe for Wintermelon soup? I plan on growing them next year if I can con Steve in to making a melon patch, as I will be the size of a whale around planting time. My Po-Po used to grow them and they were the size of small toddlers :P I stole some seeds from her house after she passed, I just hope I can be as succesfull.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-26 04:23 am (UTC)I used this (http://chinesefood.about.com/od/chinesesouprecipes/r/wintermelonsoup.htm) recie forWinter Melon soup, and pretty much to the letter, except that year I didn't have access to winter melon so I used cucumber. I also, of course, used veggie broth instead of chicken.
I finally got to see a winter melon at the azn store the other day. It was just a section, but JEEZ was it big! I'd have to make gallons of soup if I bought a whole one of those!
The fish was FANTASTIC. Just the right amount of heat.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-27 03:23 am (UTC)I liked the congee actually. I think it could have used more tangerine, but it had a nice flavor.
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Date: 2009-01-27 03:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-26 04:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-26 04:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-26 05:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-26 06:14 am (UTC)