sourgirl's Profile
Vegetarianism in China...
thanks for this post. I will have access to a kitchen, so i'm planning on cooking a lot of vegetables and improvised ramen and some other stuff. I know i can count on getting a meat-free breakfast and will start scouting out veg friendly places when I get there on sunday. going out to eat with friends seems like it might pose a problem, but I'm sure i'll figure something out. I'll definitely check out the shanghai expat website when I have a minute. it's too bad that my dietary preferences will limit what i'm able to eat - my favorite chinese dishes are mapo tofu, yu hsiang qie zi, dumplings of all kind, and cong zhua bing. all those dishes have meat in them in their original versions but at home i cook them without meat or order them in a restaurant, where they're often featured on the vegetarian menu.
I have heard of a number of fair-weather vegetarians who just abandon it in china because it gets too hard, but for me, it's non-negotiable. i suppose it might be for the best, though, because when I spent a year in taiwan 3 years ago I gained about 6 kilos!
at home in the US, when I go out to eat, I don't have a problem eating something that was prepared in a pot that at one point cooked meat. It's just that often when a pan or whatever was used to cook meat and then it's not washed I can taste the meat, which renders the meal inedible. I feel quite certain that when I eat in restaurants and I order a pasta dish or some kind of vegetable thing that are marked as vegetarian they probably haven't been cooked in a "contaminated" vessel.
Vegetarianism in China...
alas, it seems it will be as I feared. for me, any food that's cooked in pork fat or any animal fat or that contains stock or little bits of meat or fish is off limits. I guess i'll be mostly restricted to vegetarian restaurants, and if that's not possible, then just say "wo chi su" and point to the jade buddha on my necklace and hope they respect that.
what about street food, though? surely there are some xiao chi that are vegetarian?
and can anyone comment on why vegetarianism is quite common in taiwan but not china?
Vegetarianism in China...
Specifically in Shanghai. I will be spending the next four months studying at East China Normal University, and I've heard mixed things about maintaining strict vegetarianism in China. I know there are vegetarian restaurants in Shanghai, but if I go out to eat at a "normal" restaurant, will they understand and respect it? That means using different utensils and pots to prepare my food, and certainly not sneaking any meat stock or slivers into any of it. Is there a lot of vegetarian-friendly street food? I have spent time in Taiwan and had no problem at all being veg. there, and people were very open to it, so i'm also wondering why China might be less understanding about a strict vegetarian diet.
I would appreciate any recommendations about specific places to eat that serve reliably good veg. Chinese (or really any cuisine) food, and any tips about navigating the whole situation.
HASH BROWNS.
I know this topic has been covered before, but I'm wondering if anyone has updated information about where to get legit hash browns in new york. Joseph Leonard's are delicious, but not exactly what I had in mind. any thoughts?
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Joseph Leonard
170 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10014
searching for 3 very different cookbooks
and need recommendations.
one- a comprehensive and easy to follow bread cookbook. I have a really old-school one from the 70's that's really confusing and I've been too intimidated to ever make anything from it.
two - a turkish cookbook that's either completely vegetarian or else heavily emphasizes veg. food.
third - vietnamese, thai, lao, cambodian or any south east asian (or all in one), vegetarian or mostly vegetarian cookbook. If someone could recommend a book that sampled recipes from all SE Asia, that'd be great, or else I would welcome a solid book for any of those countries.
thanks
Vegan/Vegetarians: What to eat when feeling under the weather???
for colds, coughs, hangovers, and just about everything except severe stomach upsets, I like either plain old homemade vegetable broth, or vegetarian pho, canh chua, or tom yum. soup is a cure-all!
Otto or Frankies 570
We went to Frankies 17 on friday night, quite late, and it was busy right til midnight. I got the ricotta crostini and sweet potato ravioli - both were absolutely delicious. I was still hungry, though, and it didn't quite fill me up, so I ordered a side of broccoli rabe. That was the only disappointing part of the meal; it's served cold, which was kind of unexpected, and it was just...blah. My friend got the cavatelli and thought it was excellent. Definitely would go back.
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Frankies 17 Spuntino
17 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002
Otto or Frankies 570
In need of some good pasta, of the two, which would you recommend? or another downtown italian recommendation of similar price range
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Otto
1 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003
Frankies 570 Spuntino
570 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014
葱抓饼 cong zhua bing recipe not 葱油饼
I am looking for a cong zhua bing recipe, the kind they make in taiwan...distinctly different from scallion pancake or cong you bing. see picture for examples, or this video of a vendor in taipei (i actually ate at this stall many times, his was by far the best) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsUb5r0ZVJg
so anyway, I would be very grateful to anyone who could give me good recipe/technique.
cheese!
wow, thank you so much for all of those wonderful recommendations! I'm in vermont, so it shouldn't be hard for me to track down the Consider Bardwell and Von Trapp. Red Hawk sounds amazing, as does Hooligan. Actually, they all sound delicious, and I can't wait to cross them off my list! Next time I'm in the city I'm headed to Murray's and Artisanal to look for some of the imported ones.
cheese!
Since posting over a year ago, I have become obsessed with washed rind cheese, thanks to Jasper Hill's Winnimere. I love all of Jasper Hill's cheeses (new favorite is harbison), but Winnimere takes the cake. After trying it on a whim, it lead me to vacherin, tallegio, epoisses, and "barick obama," among others. Any stand-out washed rind suggestions? I especially love vacherin and winnimere because of the bark on the rind, so any other wood-wrapped cheese would be especially appreciated.
green tomato pickles/relish/mincemeat
I've got a huge surplus of green tomatoes and I'd like to make a pickle or relish etc.. I've looked online and in retro cookbooks, but there's such a huge variety of recipes I don't know where to start. One thing I'm incredibly put off by is the huge amount of sugar that's called for in almost all the recipes I've seen. Why do these recipes require so much sugar? I'm looking for one with little or no sugar; the more sour and savory the better. Thanks in advance.
REALLY GOOD PIZZA
Tomorrow night some friends and I are planning on meeting for a pizza meal, preferably in bk though willing to venture into lower manhattan. we'd like a place with a nice enough atmosphere but of course mostly importantly REALLY GOOD PIZZA. Preferably more in the new york style/di fara vein rather than neopolitan. My first thought was Lucali, but they're not open on tuesday night. Any suggestions, please?
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Lucali
575 Henry St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
vegetarian pho - pho chay
I had the vegetarian pho at An Choi, and it was really delicious. I definitely recommend it, but their banh mi wasn't good. However, what I described in my post I later found out is actually Canh Chua Chay, which is kind of like vietnamese tom yum soup, but in my opinion much better. I did a menu pages search and they have it at Pho Pasteur, which if it is related to the Boston one serves the best bowl of soup i've ever had. Nha Trang also has it, and veg. pho on the menu. i'm going to give both of them a try sometime soon. Good luck
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Nha Trang
148 Centre St, New York, NY 10013
An Choi
85 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002
Vegetarian Christmas
homemade squash or pumpkin ravioli with sage brown butter is, in my opinion, the most delicious food in the world. since it's quite luxurious, I think it would be an appropriate holiday main dish. If you're really splurging, why not shave some truffle on top, or drizzle with truffle oil ?
food for christmas party
wow, that artichoke bread looks amazing - definitely making that. and I will trust you, katecm, on the gougeres! no fish, because we are a vegetarian household and only make the gravlax in deference to family tradition. otherwise we like to keep the flesh to a minimum. thanks for the advice ~!
Bahn Mi New Additions - Any Feedback?
I ate at An Choi about a month ago with a friend. We both ordered the half pho/banh mi, and I got the pho chay, which was absolutely delicious, and the lemongrass tofu banh mi. We ate there pretty late, which might've explained for the extremely soggy, disappointing baguette. The description of the sandwich said the baguette had aioli on it, but there was none, only homemade chili sauce. It didn't actually taste too bad, but the filling was bursting out of the bottom of the baguette, it was so soggy. And in the last bite, I consumed possibly the most spicy mouthful of food i've ever tasted. I don't know if there was a conglomeration of jalapenos and chili sauce hiding or what it was, but my mouth went numb and my throat was prickling and I was honestly afraid I was going to have an anaphylactic reaction. can anyone recommend good banh mi chay?
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An Choi
85 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002
food for christmas party
My mother hosts an annual Christmas Eve party, with about 150 people dropping in throughout the night. We always serve hummus, spanikopita, gravlax (homemade!), zucchini squares, and some kind of cookie, and all of those are fine, but we do the same spread every year. This year we need to expand our offerings! Ideas, please?! I was thinking of making a big pot of fondue with assorted crudites and bread, or maybe gougeres, but gougeres for 100 + would be too hard. heeelllppp!
ps- must be vegetarian. no fish.
good breakfast place in newton/brookline area
Ah! I guess i'll have to try Deluxe, then!
Artichoke dipping sauce?
mayo mixed with paul newman's balsamic vinaigrette. I won't eat an artichoke without it.
"Different, but not strange" - what's on your breakfast plate?
In Taiwan, I would have "dan bing" for breakfast every morning. It's a kind of scallion pancake, rolled up with chili sauce on top. Each vendor makes a different kind, with some of the pancakes veering towards the crepe side, and others (my personal favorite) more similar to naan. I would frequent the same one on my way to language school every morning, buy two pancakes and some dou jiang (soy milk) all for a little over a dollar. You can't beat that.
In the states, I love to make homemade hash browns topped with a poached egg.
For hangovers, homemade vegetarian vegetable soup, rye toast, and scrambled eggs always cures me. Something about the soup/protein combination makes you feel as good as new.
Poll: Help the Vegetarians!
love this thread.
I'd have to my number one favorite veggie dish is the pho chay at pho pasteur...mmm
followed closely by a regina Margherita
Kashkaval
how is the fondue?! I really wanted to try it, but I was more attracted by the tapas. The beer-cheddar sounds delicious.
good breakfast place in newton/brookline area
the title pretty much says it all...
looking for a place that serves delicious breakfast in the newton area!
cheaper is preferable, but price not really an issue.
please don't tell me to go to zaftig's, though, or that shitty place in newton center.
thanks :)
Kashkaval
Last week I had lunch at Kashkaval with my mother and boyfriend. The space is small but nice, with comfortable wooden tables and brick walls. I ordered the selection of 5 tapas, and had grape leaves, hummus, ajvar, eggplant caponata, and artichoke spread. The grape leaves were delicious, perfectly lemony and minty, and definitely my favorite part of the platter. The artichoke spread was also very good, as was the caponata. My only complaint is about the hummus, it was a little lackluster. It was too bland for my taste but not horrible. The ajvar was good, but not what I was expecting...it had a very pronounced smoky flavor that I don't like, and it wasn't spicy. My mother got the goat cheese salad, which she liked, and a side of brussel sprouts that were amazing. They were very simply prepared with olive oil, garlic, and pepper, but I think they were the best thing we tried. My boy got a caesar salad, which was ok, nothing special. The bellini, at 5 dollars, was fine - more peach juice than champagne, but at that price, i'm not complaining. Service was quick, considering how crowded it was, but the table next to us ordered only 5 or 10 minutes before us and had to wait about half an hour. Interesting menu, especially the tapas. I recommend you check it out.
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Kashkaval
856 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019
vegetarian pho - pho chay
i'm looking for delicious vegetarian pho in manhattan or upper brooklyn. I'm talking spicy, hot and sour, flavorful broth, and a soup packed full of veggies and noodles and tofu. I know pho pasteur has one on the menu (are they related to the boston one), can anyone tell me how it is? any other suggestions? thanks
best under 10 $ - vegetarian version
i've noticed a few threads about the best cheap food in nyc (under 10 $), and I want to make a specifically vegetarian thread! I'll start with some of my favorites...
truffled egg toast at 'ino
pho chay at pho pasteur
eggs shakshouka at mimi's hummus
falafel at taim
grilled gruyere at 'wichcraft
eggplant with spicy garlic sauce at lan sheng
what about you?
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'ino
21 Bedford St, New York, NY 10014
help me choose! - Motorino, Keste, Lucali
I haven't been to Turkish Kitchen in a while and have been wanting to go lately and would like to bring a friend who's never been. So, it's the obvious second. I'll keep Otto in mind for another time, thanks.
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Turkish Kitchen
386 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10016
help me choose! - Motorino, Keste, Lucali
Motorino is sounding good right now. I prefer pizza on the charred side but not tooo crispy. Guess I'll find out soon.
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Motorino
349 E 12th St, New York, NY 10003
