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gingerpale
Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 1324
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Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 12:06 am Post subject: Chinese New Year |
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Happy Year of the Rat!
I have 2 cookbooks for Chinese food that I like very much-- "The Key to Chinese Cooking" by Irene Kuo, and the "Land of Plenty" by Fuchsia Dunlop. (Written about 25 years apart!)
Both have recipes for sweet-sour sauce --not the gloppy red stuff, good stuff! These are recipes for the SAUCE ONLY,
I've used the sauce over pork, chicken, sweet potatoes, onion, many vegetables, and rice, wontons, etc.
Here are both: except for the black Chinese vinegar, I've made both as written. Partial (but just barely) to the 2nd one. Both tasty!
One Pork Two Tastes (the Kuo book)
Sweet and sour sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 heaping tablespoon finely chopped fresh coriander
1 tablespoon dry sherry
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
5 tablespoons chicken or meat stock
4 tablespoons sugar
Cook the coriander about 10 seconds in hot sesame oil, add the rest and bring to a boil. Use over whatever you like under.
*****
Sweet and Sour Pork -- the sauce (the Dunlop book)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons Chinkiang or black Chinese vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
2 1/2 teaspoons potato flour OR 3 3/4 teaspoons cornstarch
3 scallions (the green part) slice fine
3 tablespoons peanut oil (I used canola oil)
2 teaspoons fine chopped garlic
2 teaspoons fine chopped fresh ginger
3/4 cup chicken stock/bullion/broth
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Mix the salt, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, flour/cornstarch in a little bowl. Set aside.
Fry the ginger and garlic in the peanut oil for about 20-30 seconds (don't burn the garlic it's awful if it's burned--I don't even let it get brown, just soft.)
Then, mix in the ingredients from the little bowl, add the stock, bring to boil and let thicken, add scallions and sesame oil, pour over whatever you like under. |
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Judy

Joined: 29 Sep 2004 Posts: 1196 Location: buried under a pile of books somewhere in Adelaide, South Australia
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Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 4:49 am Post subject: |
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Kung Hei Fat Choi and San nin faai lok, gingerpale and all C&Zers!
(Congratulations and Be Prosperous & Happy New Year)
In my search for those sayings, I discovered that buying books during Chinese New Year is bad luck because the word for "book" is a homonym to the word "lose". And buying a pair of shoes is considered bad luck amongst some Chinese. The word "shoes" is a homophone for the word for "rough" in Cantonese, or "evil" in Mandarin. _________________ Doing what you like is freedom
Liking what you do is happiness
www.cupcakerecipebook.com.au |
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Griffin

Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 932 Location: England
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Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:53 am Post subject: |
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Gulp! That's two of my addictions I can't touch...Please tell me that I can at least buy chocs!! Or is 'chocolate' a homonym for Angry Bank Manager!?!?!
Incidentally... I do like that word homonym. ... and presumably there would also be feminyms too. Of course any reader of Gulliver knows that there are houhynyms (sp. ?) too.
I used to wish I'd been born in the year of the Dragon or the Tiger instead of the Rabbit/Cat... but at least I'm not a Rat or a Monkey!! I prefer the Cat to the Rabbit... unless I get to be Bugs Bunny of course!
Anyone else know what their Chinese sign is? Year of the Foodie? Year of the Chef? Year of the Chocolate Fiend? _________________ Confusion comes fitted as standard. |
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David
Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 1855 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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Don't worry Griffin! I truly believe the Chinese character for chocolate is exactly the same as the one for bliss!  _________________ Vivant Linguae Mortuae!! |
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Griffin

Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 932 Location: England
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Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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Phew!... and pass the chocs!! _________________ Confusion comes fitted as standard. |
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Knifethrower

Joined: 29 Oct 2006 Posts: 218 Location: Heaven, actually.
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Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 3:53 am Post subject: |
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Happy New Year from a chocolate eating Monkey!  _________________ There is only one way to die- With a full stomach and a good tan. |
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Debbie

Joined: 21 Feb 2005 Posts: 861 Location: Paris
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Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:07 am Post subject: |
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Not sure what year I am.... should look it up.
Interesting to hear about the shoes and books. Thanks for that Judy!
Well, unfortunately I am not going to pass the chocs as they are gorgeous ones that Rainey made and sent me via Donna..... going to be really greedy and eat them all myself... ok, maybe one or two for Wayne or he will complain really really loudly. _________________ If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen. |
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gingerpale
Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 1324
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Griffin

Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 932 Location: England
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Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:26 pm Post subject: |
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Well as a Rabbit/Cat some of it makes sense, but it doesn't entirely match my Scorpio profile. I can be very Scorpionic (shameless, naughty, tendency to misbehaviour... ahem) As for being sweet... bah! Humbug! I have always aspired to scandalous behaviour (so as to have interesting memoirs when I retire) and I am a Public DISGRACE!!! Well I try anyway.
I do like fashion, art and design tho'. As for 'Generally noted for their physical beauty'... I'm saying nothing! Tall, skinny and funny looking possibly but other than that... I'm definitely saying nothing.  _________________ Confusion comes fitted as standard. |
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georgia

Joined: 16 May 2006 Posts: 456 Location: california
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Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:39 pm Post subject: |
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Hmmm...I don't recognize myself at all in the Rat description. Perhaps in another life? And while I'm not much into astrology in general, I must admit that, more often than not, the Taurus descriptions are much closer to the mark.
And all of this means...what?? |
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simona

Joined: 11 Mar 2005 Posts: 696 Location: israel
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Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:23 pm Post subject: |
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Gingerpale, as an Ox /Virgo myself ( sounds very bad combination indeed) I completely agree with you ... ( no, not the 1919 Ox year... neither the 1961..alas)
No more war, so what if I'm an Ox?? |
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Nicki
Joined: 26 Jul 2006 Posts: 106 Location: England
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Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:59 pm Post subject: |
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I'm afraid that my sweet, calm & romantic rabbit persona doesn't really suit me either! Although I can TOTALLY relate to other rabbits, such as Whitney Houston & Angelina Jolie...!
I too am a Virgo, and I think I probably am self-critical, pernickity to the point of OCD. Oh well, you can't fight astrology! |
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gingerpale
Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 1324
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Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 1:17 am Post subject: |
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Georgia-- "And all of this means...what??"
Haha--it means that Clotilde is extremely generous to allow these discussions in the Recipe Box thread!
It is interesting to think that so many people thought (at great length! with great detail!) about both astrology and the Chinese lunar calendar. Why should the date of a person's birth translate into either personality traits or a representative animal? Think how ridiculously hard it must have been way back then to track the planets! Are there other date-related groups that exist?
Griffin I know for a concrete granite marble fact that you are sweet/sympatico/. No error, no argument. Nicki if you are a Virgo sweetness doesn't matter you're great without it.
Simona--another ox Virgo! You're right, it is an odd combination--but one of the best mixes I'm sure! |
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David
Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 1855 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:45 pm Post subject: |
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Well i'm a bunny too! But a lousy one--no clothes sense, ignorant of the arts, not the least bit ambitious, far from beautiful---but I have a clever smile lol _________________ Vivant Linguae Mortuae!! |
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Griffin

Joined: 09 Jun 2006 Posts: 932 Location: England
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Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:17 pm Post subject: |
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David,
It only says that you like art, not that you know anything about it!! Same with clothes. I suppose you could be ambitious to make a dish you haven't made yet!
I am ambitious to make the Lemon Sables from Clotilde's book... and to eventually make something savoury from it too!! I may even try to make everything in the book at least once. That's an ambition for you too David! _________________ Confusion comes fitted as standard. |
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