What do you eat? and how to make it.

[*Jess♥]

oh, I don't know that.

but anyway.. protein is good, it's not protein that would make me feel ill..

it's too rich.

I don't have a sweet tooth at all.

well i might stomach it fine actually..

just, I don't appreciate sweet things, os i would feel like i am eating poison because it is not good for the body.

[durendal]

Ah, then I just have the right alternative for you.

Get the eggs (the yolk including the white) and beat them to consistency. You could add some chopped vegetables or meat (sometimes ground meat and sliced century eggs would be tasty) add some salt and then steam. Now you have steamed egg. Serve with soy sauce or seasoning.

[*Kenji Murakami]

Another thing you might like is scrambled eggs with sliced onions. It's one of my favorite dishes when I'm in the mood for something salty.

[durendal]

Here's something that rather easy and simple to prepare. Get some all purpose flour, mix it with small amounts of water and a pinch of salt that would make it like a dough. Mix and mash and flatten. Put some oil, pepper and some chopped garlic chives. Roll and then deep fry.

[RazorLaser]

Moving on to more of a lunch thing... I love Fish n Chips... There is a street near me which possibly has the best fish n chips in the state (in lots of peoples opinions)... I grab about $3 depending on how hungry I am or who I'm with... and a flake... topped off with chicken salt... bring it home, put chicken seasoning on it... lemon juice on the flake... Flake & Chip sandwich FTW!!!

[durendal]

I try to avoid fish as much as possible. I seem to have this freaky thing with luck that every time I eat fish, I choke on the bone. There's even bone in a fish fillet I eat. I was hospitalized in China when a fish bone got stock on my throat.

[*Jess♥]

you eat a flake and chips?

that sounds ... odd.

I like fish and chips.

it used to be a big thng here in hte UK but recently, the number of chip shops seems to be declining.

I have to walk for about ten minutes before i find a chippy these days.

[*Kenji Murakami]

Another thing I can suggest is beef stew, when you want something warm. It's nice and flavorful, and you can easily make a meal out of it. It's another of my favorite foods, in fact.

[RazorLaser]

you eat a flake and chips?

that sounds ... odd.

I like fish and chips.

it used to be a big thng here in the UK but recently, the number of chip shops seems to be declining.

I have to walk for about ten minutes before i find a chippy these days.

looks nice

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flake_(fish)

[*Kenji Murakami]

I can't help but notice that, in that picture, it looks like a bundle of cinnomon sticks on that package.

[*Jess♥]

hmm, so it's shark??

wow, I'll have to ttry that!

I would expect it to be rubbery for some reason.

but actually, logically I think it would be more similar to tuna.

[*Jess♥]

i wanted to share a recipe i just cobbled together.

i bought 1 medium onion, 5 mushrooms, 1 small tomato, 1 courgette.

i sliced the onion finely, and put in a frying pan with a splash of oil and cooked on a low.medium heat for about 5 minutes. then i crushed about a half teaspoon of cumin seeds and a cardamom and put those in with the onions. i peeled and chopped the courgette into small chunks about 5mm, put those in the frying pan and left for a further 2-4 minutes.

i popped the stalks off the mushrooms and diced the tomato then put the tomato on top of the frying pan mixture without stirring. then i put the mushrooms in some dips in the frying pan mixture. if you put the mushrooms with the depression facing upwards and the cap down, then you can watch them until they fill with liquid. when they fill with liquid,turn them over and possibly stir the whole lot. cook for a further 5 minutes and it should be ready.

edit, i should have also said, towards the end of cooking, sprinkle over about half teaspoon of salt as the courgette may suck in a lot of the flavour so it needs to be drawn back out a little

[durendal]

So, how'd it tastes? Also, what kind of mushrooms did you use? Button or Shiitake? I'm somewhat curious since you used oil to cook vegetables. We rarely use oil to cook vegetable.

[*Jess♥]

i'm not sure how to describe tastes of things... suffice to say it was delicious!

uhm, well it had a nice mix of highs and lows and a smooth texture. i think that sounds right.

i don't think the type of mushrooms is too important. button mushrooms is what i used but most the other mushrooms i have tried would be the same.

how would you normally cook vegetables?

[durendal]

We usually use non-stick pans and uses the water from the vegetable to cook themselves. Sometimes, when cooked with meat, the oil comes from meat itself. Button mushroom does look logical here, since Shiitake mushrooms have different uses and wouldn't really match the other vegetables due to its size and texture. Of course unless you minced the Shiitake into strips.

Chinese cooking uses very little oil (little in a sense that is compared to deep frying that is). If we do use oil, it's usually vegetable oil, and we start off by frying off garlic, peppers and some herbs, before adding the main ingredients. Oil is most often used when cooking fast meals. But for cuisine type meals, steaming is usually the most preferred method of cooking, or a mixture of multiple cooking meathods. For example, boiling meat to soften it, then fry to give it a crispy texture, then pouring sauteed sauce to give additional flavor.

[*Jess♥]

i don't like to spend a lot of time cooking.

not unless i know that the result will last for a good few meals.

that's why i like cooking soup.

anyway, when i say splash of oil, it's usually about 1 or 2 teaspoons.

[durendal]

I see. I on the other hand, don't see cooking as a means to prepare what I eat, rather as an art that needs to combine aesthetics and flavor on the finished product. Nowadays, I seldom spend time in the Kitchen, but when I do, I usually take my time to make sure that everything is prepared accordingly down to the last ingredient. I'm quite meticulous when it comes to cooking ingredients. Dumplings are actually my specialty. And I am proud to say that it tastes better than the ones that I've tasted from other restaurants. (We live in chinatown, so you have to imagine how many chinese restaurants there are in the area.) So far, I have only been to 1 establishment that is able to compete with my Dumplings.

[*Jess♥]

wow, very impressive!

if you're willing to share, I'd like to take a crack at it.

[durendal]

Hmm... okay, but I'm not sure if the ingredients would match as to what you call them, but here goes. Also, the ingredients I use will usually make 100 pcs of dumplings. So it's up to you to divide it down to how much you want. Also, the amount of the ingredient is approximate since I don't use any measuring instruments when I do this. Just use how much you feel is right.

Here's what you need.

For the wrapping

800g all purpose flour

A pinch of salt

half cup of water

For the fillings

1kg ground pork

1/2 kg chinese leek

4 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoon chicken powder

1 teaspoon black pepper powder

First you need to make the wrapper. Add water and salt to the flour to make the dough. You'll probably need only 3/4 of the 800 grams since you will need the rest of the flour when you put the fillings on. Mix the dough until you get the right consistency. It should be a little sticky but firm. When small portions stick to your hand, it means you have too much water, thus you add more flour. After done mixing thoroughly, it should be one big lump of dough. When your done, set aside and cover with a moist tower (not wet, as it will ruin the consistency. Just a little moist so it won't dry off).

Then for the fillings, dice the chinese leek into very small pieces and mix it in with the ground pork. Also put in the chicken power and black pepper. Make sure that they are evenly mixed. Set aside and heat the 4 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a pan. When heated, pour the hot vegetable oil into the ground pork and mix it again. This will semi-cook the fillings, turning the red color into a light grayish color.

Now this would be the difficult part. Slice off a small portion (roughly around 2 inches in diameter) of the dough and make a wrap out of it. What I usually do is roll the small part until it becomes a long stick with around half inch in girth. Slice off around a half inch thus making a dough roughly half inch in diameter. remember the unused flour I mentioned earlier, you're going to need it here. Sprinkle the flour to the dough to prevent it from sticking in the table. Use a rolling pin to flatten the small dough until you find the right thickness for the wrapper. Ideally, that small lump will turn into a flat circular dough roughly 3 inches in diameter. Then put a teaspoon of filling into it and wrap. Take note that this part of the process needs a little skill. It's very difficult to explain in writting but much more easier to demonstrate. I've taught it to some people and they have difficulty putting it together. But since we're not looking into aesthetics here, you could just wrap it how you wish.

As an alternative to the preparation of the wrappings, when you cut off a small portion from the main dough you can simply flattem it with a rolling pin to the right thickness and use the mouth of a cup to cut out the wrapper, like how you do in baking. This takes lesser time but uses up more dough. You can recycle the unused dough back into the main dough but it is not recommended.

Repeat the third process until you use up all the dough or fillings. You can boil this or fry it, but don't steam. Boiling this is fairly easy, but for frying, just put a small amount of oil, cover and occasionally whisk some water on top to cook the top part. If you've seen how a gyoza is cooked, it is similar.

Depending on the amount of dough and fillings you use, you will usually end up with excess fillings or excess dough. For the excess dough, simply flatten it and mix with a little chinese leek, add some butter and and then fry. it makes a good substitute for pancakes. For excess fillings, simply mix it with an egg, and turn it to something like a omelette.

Well, I do hope you understand my explanations. It's much easier to show it to you than to explain it. Feel free to ask if there is anything you don't understand.

[*Jess♥]

i think i understand.

it wounds like when you wrap it, you lift up the sides and twist the top?

well anyway, this recipe sounds similar to a mix between sausages and pie.

i think this would be fun to try.

by the way, chinese leek, how would that be different from welsh leek?

welsh leek is of course very easy for me to get. welsh leek is pretty much like a mix of garlic and onion but milder.

I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow, i'll get the necessary ingredients for this and try it.

oh yes, chicken powder... would that be dried chicken stock?

[durendal]

Yes, you wrap them like how you would wrap a taco, then twist the edges to seal all the openings.

I've done some research and I found out that Chinese Leeks are also called Garlic Chives. I may have made a mistake in calling them leeks, but what we really use are garlic chives. We usually call it "Kuchay" so I sometimes get confused on what its equivalent name in english is. The chives gives it the distinct aroma when you eat it.

And yes, chicken powder is dried chicken stock. We ordinarily use the commercialized one than make it the traditional way, which is very time consuming and inefficient.

[*Jess♥]

i think i could get chinese leek from our local thai shop. i think they would be more expensive though.

have you had welsh leek before?

I'm under the impression that they are quite similar so for today i will try this recipe with welsh leek. just to ease the burden on my budget.

[durendal]

I'm not familiar with the taste of Welsh Leek, I would think that this is almost similar to regular leek? If it's milder than garlic and onion, you might not be able to get its full taste. It's actually the chives that gives the dumplings its aroma. But if you can substitute it with another, I'm not sure what the result would be. I guess if it has a herbal property (in terms of taste that is), then I guess it wouldn't be much of an issue. Just don't expect it to taste the same.

Anyway, aside from the fillings, the wrapper has its own unique taste, especially when you fry it. I would recommend you use soy sauce mixed with diced garlic and black pepper powder as a dip to enhance the flavor.

I'm surprised that Chives are expensive there. It's actually dead cheap here. I think its around 50 cents a kilo. But then again, if it's not a native vegetable, it means you'd have to import it.

[*Jess♥]

I don't know if it is expensive. it may turn out to be cheap as you said.

but i was thinking, I would expect it to be more expensive because it is a specialty thing rather than a common thing.

I need to respect your recipe though.

I did already buy a leek yesterday so what I cook today will absolutely not be a reflection of your recipe, I will buy chinese leek next week and do this properly. let's say this is a practice run.

welsh leek, Is regular leek. i think. i specify welsh leek as it is the national emblem of wales. it is a native plant. i am unsure if it grows the same in other places.

I'm unsure about frying this. our frying pans are flat. i'm not sure if yours are, I think yours are curved? like what we would call a wok.

but then perhaps you have the same type as us, do you have sausages, bacon eggs and that kind of thing?

i'm sure i can work something out.

edit:

I checked the price today.

......

there are no words to even describe.....

a packet of garlic chives... £1.10

that is 100g. that's 1/10 of what you get for 50 cents.

let's convert this.

to get 1 kilo,

it would cost me £11. thats $17 USD.

[*Jess♥]

ok i'm back and ... wow, it's over 3 hours later.

I'm covered in flour and water and tired.

so here's how it went.

chopped the leek up after eating some raw and almost dying and drinking a gallon of water. it's not as mild as i remember.

mixed it in with the meat. heated the oil like you said and put it in the meat. the meat didn't go grey so i decided to cook it for a little bit in the pan.

made the dough, never done that before but it seemed ok.

now i wanted to put the meat into the dough? well i rolled it out on the table, put the meat in, tried to pinch it together or twist it... but the oil in the meat stopped it from sticking. so it kept opening up.

i coated it in a bit of dark soy sauce and put it in the frying pan.

it cooked for about 10 minutes i rolled it over and over, till it was dark brown.

now when it was ready, i left it to cool on a plate, and then when i ate it...

i laughed. I laughed because it tasted so amazing! i never tasted anything before that filled me with such delight that i laughed! of course after a time i got used to the flavour and no more laughing, but wow, that was a nice experience.

oh but... there was a ton of meat, and not enough dough to go around. i think i would actually need twice as much dough. I'm not sure where i went wrong. maybe i was rolling it too thick, or maybe i was making the dumplings too small.