Chinese Food! :) 中國菜 I'm an American with questions.
Mar 25, 2008 at 10:04 PM Post #32 of 160
Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyface /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Anyway, on the subject of Indian food, since Bob brought it up, I can't seem to cook any Indian dish without it tasting the same as any other Indian dish.
frown.gif
The recipes I've got all use basically the same spices, so that my murgh makhani is essentially the same as my tikka masala that is essentially the same as my murgh madras.



Do you use prepackaged curry powder or do you use individual spices. Different Indian dishes can taste very different. If you use the same spice mix for everything, or even the same spices, it will taste a lot alike.
 
Mar 25, 2008 at 10:08 PM Post #33 of 160
Quote:

Originally Posted by scompton /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Do you use prepackaged curry powder or do you use individual spices. Different Indian dishes can taste very different. If you use the same spice mix for everything, or even the same spices, it will taste a lot alike.


Hi! I make the spice mixes myself. They all seem so similar - following the recipes that I have, I end up with basically the same thing every time. Turmeric, cinnamon, coriander, etc...
 
Mar 25, 2008 at 10:18 PM Post #34 of 160
You need a better Indian cookbook too
tongue.gif
Indian food in the US has been almost as Americanized as Chinese. I started cooking it in the 80s when a roommate moved in with 2 cookbooks from the UK. They were wonderful. Most of the American cookbooks I've seen aren't so great. I'll see if hunt up some of what I have.

One cookbook that I have that has a lot of very good recipes is Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking. It's got all types of food, not just Indian.
 
Mar 25, 2008 at 10:43 PM Post #35 of 160
Mar 26, 2008 at 4:46 AM Post #36 of 160
I've had a lot of great asian food in different places.

I used to go to my friend's place to eat 5 times a week or so a few years back, his grandma would cook for us Cambodian food and only maybe the lack of specific ingredients could of held it back from being authentic since she didn't even speak english or french!

Also when I went to china I had some black chicken (black meat) and it was excellent. I tasted various dish but I can't really describe them. I really like duck intestines with young garlic plants which we ate at my ex's place in Guangzhou. Over there I noticed it was often a lot of guts and others with less meat than I'm used to! There was a lot of excellent vegetables, but I'm still able to find most of them in Montreal's Chinatown, but just of lesser quality (oh my god the fruits are so sweet and tasty in southern China!).

Nothing beats the real thing, but if most of the food is deep-fried or super sweet it's probably for your less informed compatriots!

My best bet would be to ask the cook to prepare you a meal he would eat himself or at home with ALL ingredients available to him.
 
Mar 26, 2008 at 12:54 PM Post #37 of 160
crazyface, where do you live? My wife's family is from Green Bay, and most of her relatives are very meat and potatoes types. Sweet and Sour Pork and Egg Drop Soup are adventurous for them. However, there are a lot of Hmong in the area and there for some excellent oriental restaurants. You might ask the people at your local restaurant where they go out to eat.
 
Mar 26, 2008 at 5:40 PM Post #38 of 160
Quote:

Originally Posted by LostOne.TR /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Xiao Long Bao (小笼包) Xiaolongbao - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia is among my favorites when done right.


小笼包 is definitely one of my very favourite Chinese delicacies. Even in Hong Kong, I struggle to find restaurants which do it consistently well. One might have better luck in Beijing.

What to look out for:
Looks plump and full of liquid
Pork is very tender, succulent and melts-in-your-mouth
Plenty of tasty soup, but not so much that it dominates the meat in the dumpling
Very thin, but not fragile pastry to the point where it looks semi translucent (this one really sets the men apart from the boys, so to speak)
Crab roe for that added look, sophisticated aroma and taste (optional, but highly desirable)



Another very common, but unfortunately often poorly made Chinese "dish"/food is barbequed pork. The quality of the meat is the key, just like it is for a steak.

What to look out for:
Dark reddish colour on the outside
Generously, but evenly honey-glazed on the outside
Succulent, juicy pork w/ even fat distribution (半肥瘦)
Melt-in-your-mouth, fluffy (but not mushy) texture aided by an appropriate amount of fat
Sweet on the outside, then salty on the inside


Quote:

Originally Posted by azncookiecutter /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Another great dish that you may want to try is szechwan eggplant (魚香茄子). Awesome dish that goes quite well with rice.


I must agree with you! This is an incredible dish! Any semi-decent restaurant will be able to make it superbly.

It must be generously flavoured with salted fish. I personally prefer to be able to actually taste the individual diced/minced chunks of salted fish, but others prefer to just be able to taste the flavour/smell the aroma. It's a very oily dish as the eggplant and minced pork really need to be fried in a very hot wok with lots of oil to bring out the flavours. I've never had this dish in Sze Chuan, but at least in Hong Kong it's only very mildy spicey.


Sweet and sour pork is one of the most often ordered dishes. However, most Westernised Chinese restaurants cannot do it properly. Actually, I'll go so far as to say that there are many restaurants in Hong Kong which can't cook it properly either. Where most restaurants fail is getting the pork and batter ratio right and at the same time, make the batter sufficiently crispy but not too hard. Again, the quality of the pork is paramount.


Lastly there's steamed fish. Quality of fish is number one priority as the actual cooking of it is relatively easy. In Hong Kong, you typically find steamed fish in oil/soy sauce garnished with spring onions and ginger. Other ingredients may include: preserved vegetables, blackbeans, dried orange peel, chilis, etc


Just thinking about food is making my mouth water
biggrin.gif
redface.gif
 
Mar 26, 2008 at 5:49 PM Post #39 of 160
One dish that I particularly like is Salt & Pepper Shrimp, I'm not sure how to do the romanization, it should be something like Jiao Zian Xia (椒鹽蝦).
 
Mar 26, 2008 at 6:00 PM Post #40 of 160
Quote:

Originally Posted by K2Grey /img/forum/go_quote.gif
One dish that I particularly like is Salt & Pepper Shrimp, I'm not sure how to do the romanization, it should be something like Jiao Zian Xia (椒鹽蝦).


I had that just the other day. Superb stuff...
dsc1122jh0.jpg


Here's one of the sweet and sour pork, one of the best I've ever had:
51112372nr2.jpg


Some shellfish (small cockles/clams, etc) go superbly with a rich black bean sauce:
dsc1113ru2.jpg


Others go well just steamed and flavoured with soy sauce, spring onion and ginger:
dsc1129ob4.jpg


This one is a nice dish too - shredded beef with fresh mango and peppers in a "birds nest" batter:
52069340zv9.jpg


And there's no substitute for a good chilli sauce/oil. It goes well with everything, especially seafood.
54575021kn0.jpg
 
Mar 26, 2008 at 6:18 PM Post #41 of 160
Damn milkpowder, just looking at your pics is making me hungry and it isn't anywhere near lunch time yet here where I live. There many great dishes in Szechuan, Mandarin, and Cantonese cuisine. Finding a restaurant that prepares the dishes correctly is another story. I would also agree that good chili sauce/oil (not Sriracha) is the crap with good Chinese cuisine.
 
Mar 26, 2008 at 6:22 PM Post #42 of 160
Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I had that just the other day. Superb stuff...
snip

Here's one of the sweet and sour pork, one of the best I've ever had:
snip

Some shellfish (small cockles/clams, etc) go superbly with a rich black bean sauce:
snip

Others go well just steamed and flavoured with soy sauce, spring onion and ginger:
snip

This one is a nice dish too - shredded beef with fresh mango and peppers in a "birds nest" batter:
snip

And there's no substitute for a good chilli sauce/oil. It goes well with everything, especially seafood.
snip



Man, the pictures are NOT helping me one bit. I've been dying to eat some authentic Chinese food ever since I got to Halifax, and so far, only found one place that makes okay (to Toronto standards) chinese food.
 
Mar 26, 2008 at 6:27 PM Post #43 of 160
Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I had that just the other day. Superb stuff...
dsc1122jh0.jpg


Here's one of the sweet and sour pork, one of the best I've ever had:
51112372nr2.jpg


Some shellfish (small cockles/clams, etc) go superbly with a rich black bean sauce:
dsc1113ru2.jpg


Others go well just steamed and flavoured with soy sauce, spring onion and ginger:
dsc1129ob4.jpg


This one is a nice dish too - shredded beef with fresh mango and peppers in a "birds nest" batter:
52069340zv9.jpg


And there's no substitute for a good chilli sauce/oil. It goes well with everything, especially seafood.
54575021kn0.jpg



Looks scrumptious!
 
Mar 26, 2008 at 6:57 PM Post #44 of 160
Quote:

Originally Posted by azncookiecutter /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Man, the pictures are NOT helping me one bit. I've been dying to eat some authentic Chinese food ever since I got to Halifax, and so far, only found one place that makes okay (to Toronto standards) chinese food.


Apart from last year, I've pretty much been to Toronto to visit my grandparents every single Christmas. I also have an uncle/auntie who lives in the Richmond Hill area. They've got some very decent Chinese food there
wink.gif


Quote:

Originally Posted by warubozu /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Damn milkpowder, just looking at your pics is making me hungry and it isn't anywhere near lunch time yet here where I live. There many great dishes in Szechuan, Mandarin, and Cantonese cuisine. Finding a restaurant that prepares the dishes correctly is another story. I would also agree that good chili sauce/oil (not Sriracha) is the crap with good Chinese cuisine.


Dammit it's 3am in the morning and I'd like some nice food too!


Two more pictures I've found in my 'archive of food'.

Chicken strips on pumpkin in a black bean, mushroom & soy sauce:
22271343ll4.jpg


Prawns sauteed with sweet bell peppers and cucumber:
13848077ba6.jpg
 
Mar 26, 2008 at 7:10 PM Post #45 of 160
Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Apart from last year, I've pretty much been to Toronto to visit my grandparents every single Christmas. I also have an uncle/auntie who lives in the Richmond Hill area. They've got some very decent Chinese food there
wink.gif



Dammit it's 3am in the morning and I'd like some nice food too!



Hi milkpowder, is that pics taken with your dad's D300 18-200 lens? It looks pretty good.

Btw, if any of you ever go to Seattle, try Sichuanese in Redmond It's near microsoft complex. It's not americanized, the best sichuan dishes I had so far in US and it's quite cheap.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top