Stiggs:

nice. I like burritos.

daxigua:

big burrito party needed urgent!

diverdude1:

huh?  u don't even mention avocado....

1 whole garlic clove? or 1 bulb?

tomato stewed in vinegar / chili / garlic is old news,,,, good,,, but old news...

now,, that 'Pig's Heart' was some freaky sh*t!   I'll pass,,,, haha

icnif77:

@Dude: You should try 'stuffed duck's head' ... in 2010, I was in joint in Tangshan, where they served only stuffed duck's heads ... 

daxigua:

yes, zero avocado 'concoction' dammed delicious none the less

daxigua:

one whole garlic!

Stiggs:

Next time you have your girlfriend over for dinner, I recommend (her) liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti....

Can you hear the lambs screaming icniff? 

daxigua:

add some honey!

icnif77:

'It rubs the lotion on its skin ... or it gets the hose again!'

icnif77:

I was invited to the restaurant by the Chinese tattoo artist with whom we communicated over the laptop translator.

He understood my call: 'Follow me! You are in China!', when I got annoyed with waiting for the green light to cross the road ...

Cook splits duck head on two equal parts (L and R side of the head with equally split beak) and stuff it with something.

It wasn't really feast. More of the 'interesting errand in China' and great time with my buddy and his friends.

I was leaving Tangshan for Huachuan, Heilongjiang, and that was the 'good-bye' party.

icnif77:

With chicken feet munchers, I usually start my 'enjoy-your-meal' with Q:

'Do you know which three things chicken does in its entire life?'

My chicken-feet-delicious-host: 'Which three things?'

me: 'Chicken doesn't do anything else, but eat and poop ...'

Host: 'BuTT ... these are only two ...'

me: '.... the third thing chicken does is standing buried in its own poop . .'.

icnif77:

You got to go to the chicken farm once .... 

Stiggs:

That's exactly what I tell Chinese people when they ask me why I don't want to eat chicken feet. Well that and there isn't actually any meat on them, gnawing the skin off a foot isn't a meal IMO.

I also wonder how they get the foot so white and looking nothing like a natural chicken foot. I suspect a long soak in some powerful bleach, another reason I want nothing to do with chicken feet.

daxigua:

chook foots, once bleached are all good to munch on!

icnif77:

I would bet, many people in the West had never seen (dead) chicken with head and feet still on. You can't buy chicken with feet and head still attached in the West.

I think, butchers use chicken heads and feet to make hot-dog sausages  ... called (phon.) 'sardelka' in Ruski, he he

daxigua:

indeed, that cooking smell that permeates the whole house really makes an appetite to behold!

icnif77:

We are all such an eaters on this Board ... 

Stiggs:

Nice, the classic spag bol. That's the dish everyone can make, and everyone has their own 'you ain't tried spag bol till you've tried mine' recipe.

I like to make my own sauce, then add the beef after first browning it in a pan and draining off the fat.

The sauce.... 

2 or 3 tomatoes cut chunky

tomato paste (not ketchup)

a chopped up head of garlic

a big onion

salt and black pepper

beef stock

Masterfoods Italian herbs

worcester sauce. I really like this, feel it gives it something.

Sometimes I'll add a squirt of BBQ sauce.

Combine all of these in quantities depending on personal taste and let it slowly simmer until it cooks down to a thick sauce.

Red wine is good to simmer it all in and to drink while listening to some good hard rock as you cook but not mandatory.

You need to taste it every 10 minutes or so to determine if you need to add more salt or Italian herbs or whatever.

When you feel the sauce is the right consistency add the beef and whatever vegatables / mushrooms you like in there and let it all simmer for another 10 minutes or so, then pour the sauce over some spag noodles, sprinkle some parmesan cheese on and enjoy with whatever is left of the red wine.

daxigua:

Indeed Stiggs, everyone has 'their own best' version of spagbowl.

Thanks for your inputs, will try the Worcester sauce next time

daxigua:

Just a counter top, but it is a large and good one. 2x 1200 watt elements.

daxigua:

try a slow cooker for the poor quality steak

my slow cooker cost under 100 rmb.

need ~3 hours cooking time though.

steak cut into big lumps.

a whole onion only for the flavour ( I chuck it when done)

potato, sweet potato, whole musrooms all go well.

salt, pepper, some dried chillies, a piece of cinamon bark

good luck!

daxigua:

ah, the cheese, well I try to avoid that because it is salty saturated animal fat, expensive, and at my local small market it simply does not exist!

I think all that I have posted here has been procured by a short walk away, thus even in a third tier dump, one could likely follow anything here. All good!

diverdude1:

yeah, I remember my mom used what she called a 'slow-cooker', but I can't really remember what they are or what they look like. Best I remember it was same thing she called an electric Crock-pot,,, but I'm not sure.  Seems to me it's not much different than boiling though?  and boiled steak doesn't appeal to me.  Pan-fried is decent, just not great.  I'll do some research on it though, because I don't want to buy a counter-top oven.  Very limited choice of cheese here too, and hella expensive.

diverdude1:

daxigua:

I got one similar to this which on taobao is under 30 yuan

daxigua:

it is more like very slow simmered (AKA in English 'stewed'), the taste can still be quite good and very tender.

better to use beef that has more fat.

Yes, the expense and difficulty to get cheese prompted me to invent the 'no cheese pizza' recipe. far healthier and far cheaper and just as delicious. all good!

diverdude1:

yeah, 1250 is crazy, I seen plenty on taobao for much, much less.  I agree, the stewed meal would be very tasty, I remember my mom's cooking....  I think I'm going to try it myself.  I like the 'one-pot' simplicity too.

No problem getting fatty beefsteak here, haha.

daxigua:

Indeed, this way of cooking is perfect for dealing with fatty beef.

Just got to give up on fried steak unless one wants to 'pay up'

I have been able to get rabbit a few times and the slow cooker is great for making 'bunny stew' also works great for 'goat ribs'

Stiggs:

Next time you're in a market look out for the haoyue (think that was the name at least) beef guy. They always have a sign saying Haoyue Beef.

I don't know if they're all over in China but I've seen them in a few different places I lived and they sell pretty decent steak beef.

When cooking heat the pan so it's really hot, just enough oil so it doesn't stick and throw the steak in. Cook it fast on that side and watch the side of the steak, when the cooked colour is about a third of the way up the steak turn it over and repeat.

When you take it out it should be medium rare.

icnif77:

You missed Napolitan's recipe for 'marinated ...', I mean 'fried egglant' ...

daxigua:

oh, forgot the grilled capsicum again with beer.

daxigua:

I eat quite many things, but eggplant [aka aubergine] is one of the very few things I do not like to eat!

icnif77:

Think, sliced by length, 2 mm thick slices, breaded and fried with olive oil, garlic, peppers powder, black pepper pomace ... bottle of red table wine.

Fried melanzane can be also stuffed with Ricotta cheese and baked shortly in the oven with similar prep as strudel.

Meltdown follows shortly ...

daxigua:

ah, yes, I found that thread about eggplant!

I did a similar recipe recently with long cut zuchinni [aka courgette] carrot and potato in the oven. Pepper on top!

Makes for some variety and fun when cutting unconventionally!

daxigua:

Indeed, one needs to sharpen them knives before doing this!

Stone, running water, then finish off with a knife steel!