http://soupnoodles.com The Glory of Chinese Food Tue, 04 Sep 2007 03:09:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It has taken me a long time to understand tofu. For a long time, I thought of tofu as a sort of health food, eaten by those whose healthy eating obsession loomed larger in their lives than their ignored, despised, insensate palates. That didn’t interest me, so I didn’t ... http://soupnoodles.com/2006/08/08/eeew-tofu-part-1-coming-to-terms-with-tofu/ It does tend to freak out the Westerners, at least those who haven’t dipped their toe very far into the pool of Chinese cuisine. There it is, a whole fish, sitting on a plate, its eye glaring up at you, and you’re supposed to eat it. Why should you? Well, how’s ... http://soupnoodles.com/2006/04/23/steamed-whole-fish-with-black-bean/ I confess that I don’t put much thought into presentation, but I think this is a pretty attractive dish: Still, I wouldn’t make it if it weren’t delicious, and I’ve made it over and over, because I love it, and it’s one of my wife’s favorites. Moist, resilient, oily chunks of ... http://soupnoodles.com/2006/04/06/chicken-with-red-pepper-shreds/ I’m willing to go to great lengths to try to cook awesome Chinese food. Sometimes you have to, to make wonderful things like Peking Duck. I don’t really have much of an interest in recipes that have been streamlined, to make things easy on the cook, at the cost ... http://soupnoodles.com/2006/04/02/cauliflower-with-smoky-bacon/ I’m really making an exception here. It’s the wonderful, authentic Chinese food I go for, and that I’ve studied earnestly for years. And yet, this recipe, which its author, Joyce Chen, points out as completely inauthentic, is so delicious, despite its dubious-sounding ingredients, that I just have to share it. ... http://soupnoodles.com/2006/03/24/spring-rolls-part-3-joyce-chens-chinese-american-spring-rolls/ This recipe comes from Yan Kit’s Classic Chinese Cookbook, and is called “Special Spring Rolls.” That’s a clue that these rolls are absolutely loaded with the good stuff. There are two separate components, stir-fried separately. The Veggies 1 pound carrots 6 oz bean thread noodles 8 oz sugar peas (I think she means ... http://soupnoodles.com/2006/03/22/spring-rolls-part-2-authentic-spring-rolls/ As I’ve gotten more and more into real Chinese food, I’ve lost track of spring rolls. Before I discovered good Chinese food, I knew all about bad Chinese food. Ordered from a local takeout, it featured things like butterfly shrimp, Bok choy in a thick, bland sauce containing way too ... http://soupnoodles.com/2006/03/21/spring-rolls-part-1-about-spring-rolls/ Maybe you could tell I was leading up to something special in this series of chicken wing posts. Well, I was. To my taste, Chinese food is the most amazing cuisine in the world. And among the Chinese regional cuisines, Cantonese reigns supreme, something I have to admit despite a ... http://soupnoodles.com/2006/02/23/chicken-wings-part-3-cantonese-chicken-wings-in-oyster-sauce/ There is a wonderful Shanghai cooking technique that is traditionally applied to pork shank. The shank is stewed in a mixture of dark and light soys, with other aromatic ingredients, and timed so that at the point when the shank is done, the liquid has reduced to a thick glaze ... http://soupnoodles.com/2006/02/15/chicken-wings-part-2-shanghai-friedstewed-wings/ I love chicken wings. They’re the best part of the chicken. Yes, even better than those wonderful soft tenderloinish “oysters” that are imbedded in the chicken’s back. Yes, even better than the luscious liver, firm gizzards and resilient heart. Those bits can be made into something delicious, no question ... http://soupnoodles.com/2006/02/11/chicken-wings-part-1-about-chicken-wings-buffalo-chicken-wings/