yuanzhoulv's Profile
Gula melaka?
thanks!! i thought about this, though the one indian store near where i live had only some which was made out of unrefined cane sugar rather than palm sugar :-/
Gula melaka?
Southeast Asian trying to make Chinese New Year desserts here. Is there any place to get gula melaka (palm sugar) in Boston area?
The Chinese stores don't seem to have it. Is palm sugar something that Mexicans or some other tropical culture would use that I might be able to find?
Egg-free frozen yogurt advice
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions!!
So, I did a little research about this, looked up all the ingredients in various commercial brands and then tried to roll out my own new version with what I could get easily. Here's my new recipe:
1 L full-fat yogurt
250mL Greek yogurt
250mL half-and-half
1 tsp Xanthan gum (stabiliser)
1 tbsp food-grade Glycerin (freezing point depressor)
1/4 cup Xylitol (freezing point depressor and sweetener)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp lime juice (adds some tartness)
This worked almost to my liking -- I now get a nicely scoopable frozen yogurt, but it still has some ice crystal texture and is flaky rather than creamy when scooped. Perhaps I need to add more gum or add more fat (maybe full cream instead of half-and-half, or put back the condensed milk into the recipe?) or emulsify it with something, perhaps add a very tiny amount of starch water and thicken? (pinkberry uses starch of some sort, actually ... not sure what kind)... otherwise, seems like it's making some progress :) Hopefully next round I should get this right.
Egg-free frozen yogurt advice
Well, I only just let the corn starch and a little bit of it thicken up, and then once it starts to thicken, quickly mix it with the rest (most) of the yogurt so it (1) doesn't curdle and (2) keeps the cultures alive for health.
As a vegetarian I must avoid gelatin; alcohol is an option but I don't usually have strong alcohols like rum and vodka lying around :-/ Sugar alcohols are another option but I do want to try to be able to control what sweeteners I use if possible -- some recipes call for honey and no sugar, for example.
What about food-grade glycerine and/or xanthan gum (used in some commerical ice creams, I think) and I might be able to obtain these locally. Would they suit frozen yogurt? Also, would arrowroot or wheat starch work better than corn starch? There are plenty of Chinese stores here where I can get these starches.
Egg-free frozen yogurt advice
I believe the Patricia Wells version requires egg, which I'm trying to avoid. The idea is usually to reduce the formation of ice crystals. Most ice cream recipes use either egg or corn starch or alcohol to prevent the formation of crystals, so I was trying to do the same with frozen yogurt.
Egg-free frozen yogurt advice
Hmm thanks. I'm using corn starch for the same reason ice cream needs an emulsifier (like egg or corn starch).
I tried once without too, but once put back it in the freezer, it turns very hard and forms ice crystals all over inside, ruining the texture. It never comes out creamy like you get in those frozen yogurt stores. If I add starch it comes out creamy (no crystals, and scoops well after freezing) but then I get the nasty after-texture in the mouth... Any thoughts? I'm just trying to figure out what it is that those commercial people are doing makes it creamy and store well in the freezer.
Egg-free frozen yogurt advice
Hi all,
I've been trying to use corn starch to make egg-free frozen yogurt.
My usual procedure is:
1 L full-fat yogurt
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half-and-half
2 tbsp corn starch and 2 tbsp water mixed well
Heat up 1 cup of the yogurt + half-and-half + condensed milk, add corn starch solution, stir until boiling and thickened, mix with the rest of the yogurt, let cool in fridge, then pour into electric ice cream maker.
I find though that my results still
(1) freeze like a rock after putting in the freezer -- I have to take them out and let thaw several minutes before it's possible to scoop, unlike all the egg-free commercial frozen yogurts out there.
(2) I have this slight unpleasant powdery texture in the mouth after eating, presumably from the corn starch.
What's the secret to all the egg-free store-bought ice creams? and is there anything other than corn starch I can use without resorting to eggs, to avoid that powdery texture? If I add any less corn starch, I get a mess of ice crystal texture.
Thanks!!!
Humane eggs?
Does anyone know of a farmer's market or other place in the Boston area to purchase eggs that are 100% cruelty-free?
By this I don't mean the "cage-free" nonsense you get in Star Market -- rather, a farm that raises their roosters (rather than gassing all the males to death) and lets all their chickens live till natural age.
I'm aware that this would make the eggs $8+ a dozen, but it's indeed possible and that's what I'm looking for. If there's a mom-and-pop farm somewhere that sells this kind of thing at a farmer's market, that's exactly what I'm looking for.
Thanks!
Nian gao question
I'm trying to make my own nian gao for the first time. My first attempt using this recipe ( http://fcngoleong.blogspot.com/2009/06/nian-gao.html ) failed miserably. I measured everything quite precisely, and the recipe says it should be done in 2 hours. I steamed it in a 蒸籠 for 9 hours already, must have added water a hundred times, and only the very edges have turned brown. I took a chunk out of the center and it's uncooked inside, tastes like uncooked dough and not even that sweet. My cake pan is filled only 2 cm high with batter. I did substitute sugar with equal weight of 片糖 though.
I see some recipes say to steam for 45 minutes and other different recipes (with different ingredient proportions) say to steam for 5 hours. Both seem to (according to the pictures) yield a brown result and both do not ask for pre-caramelising the sugar.
What accounts for such a vast difference in steaming time between these recipes? What exactly makes the 45 minute recipes get done so quickly?
Defining food experiences in Singapore
Every hawker centre will have different dishes and the quality will vary. Yes, you will find Malay, Nyonya, Chinese, Indian and all kinds of other things, all of which are local. Hawker food is very hit-and-miss, there are a lot of excellent locally-well-known stalls all over the place but nobody bothers to keep a list of them especially since everyones' opinion is different.
I'm vegetarian and I have my preferred places, other vegetarians have their own preferred places too, etc.
Head off to a hawker centre at a busy time (I'd suggest 7-9am, noon-2pm, 6-8pm) and see what people are lining up for :) Don't be afraid to ask the hawkers what their best recommendation is, either -- sometimes a particular hawker is famous for *one* of his dishes and will be proud of it, but if you go and order some of his other obscure menu items you may not be as happy
Malls and office food courts also tend to have very decent food, by the way -- catch what people are getting on their meal breaks from work.
Kaya toast -- again everyone has their own recommendations. Though I usually make my own kaya at home, in a pinch, I like the one from Toast Box (which should be easy for you to find, chain all over Singapore), with a Teh C to go with it. I don't like Ya Kun, but well, as with all Singapore food, everyone has their opinion.
Pineapple tarts -- how long can I keep?
I'm studying in the USA and brought back a bunch of pineapple tarts from various bakeries in M'sia and S'pore to share with friends. I know, I should be making my own, but I'm a busy student, hey, ... at least I know where the good bakeries are ... and the nice thing is they package them in containers that have expiry dates 1-3 months from now
Only question is ... once I open any of these boxes, how long do they last if stored in the refrigerator? Must they be then consumed within a few days or does the original expiry date usually still apply? Anyone have experience?
I fed a vegetarian lard by mistake. Do I tell her?
Relax everyone!
"MISO": soy, water, salt, and preservatives. YES it is vegan.
"DASHI": stock. in its most traditional form, it is typically made of EITHER fish OR shitake mushroom. it MAY or MAY NOT be vegan depending on where in Japan and who you talk to.
"DASHI MISO": dashi + miso mixed together, because they're typically used together, so it's convenient this way.
"MISO SOUP": tyically contains miso, dashi and other ingredients. whether it is vegan or not depends largely on what type of dashi was used.
Super88 Allston Status Update
yup, and i must say, despite all the hype, their vegetable section -- the most important in any supermarket, come on -- continues to be 1/5 of its original size a few years ago. I've moved entirely to shopping at C-Mart and 金门; I don't see hope for the Allston store myself unless they can offer the full selection of vegetables...
Super88 Allston Status Update
No, not the preserved variety, just the salted one.
皮蛋 (pi dan) = century egg / 100 year egg / 1000 year egg / etc., black
what i'm talking about is 咸蛋 (鹹蛋 in traditional characters) which is not preserved, just salted and still white.
you can get this dish at Mulan in Cambridge if you're interested to try it.
Reusable chopsticks
Does anyone know where I can get a set of Chinese-style collapsible travel chopsticks in the USA, or through which website?
I'm looking for something specifically not Japanese, as those are usually too thin, often made of glossy, slippery metal, designed for sushi and soba and inconvenient to use for Chinese food. I really like the ones made in Taiwan (that will actually grip food easily like wooden chopsticks) but I cannot find them around here anywhere or on any website that would deliver to USA ...
Any tips appreciated. Thanks!
Super88 Allston Status Update
yes, i went there yesterday, it is horrible.
on the other hand, CMart seems to be getting a little better. they even carry good 郫县豆瓣 and better brands than before of 花椒 now in their larger store near South Station, which is a good fraction of the reason i was going to Kam Man before. let's hope they start to carry some more stuff ... still running all the way to Kam Man for 凉粉, better brands of bottled chilli oil (i'm lazy to make that), 芽菜, 酸菜 made without sugar, and other regional things ...
White radish cake (萝卜糕)
no, it used to come in plastic seal in the fridge section, usually a vietnamese brand. i tried making my own last week. it worked, but it's quite troublesome to clean up after, and does take quite some time to steam ...
White radish cake (萝卜糕)
i don't remember, but what i was after is the plain luo bo gao with nothing in it. i'm vegetarian, and that type works great for making singaporean fried carrot cake with...
BOH Tea
Longshot, but does anyone know if there is any distributor in the USA for Malaysia's BOH brand of teas, or better yet, if any stores in the Boston area carry it?
I know it's possible to buy from BOH directly on their website, but you rack up quite some charges to get international shipping.
White radish cake (萝卜糕)
yeah, i saw those ones too, but they have shrimp in them. i'm looking for the vegetarian version, which they all used to carry once upon a time ... but thanks for the tip!
Sichuan cold bean-jelly noodles (liang fen)
you'll probably want
- chli oil
- ground sichuan peppercorn
- pixian doubanjiang (郫县豆瓣酱)
- black mellow vinegar, try Lao Chen Cu or Chinkiang
- small dash of dark soy sauce
- depending on where you are, cilantro, scallions or both
- red pepper flakes in oil
- also depending on the specific region, you may want a **tiny** amount of water or stock
- ginger + garlic stir fry it for 20 secs in 1 tsp of peanut oil and add it
- sugar
- sesame paste... optional, if you use it, use only a tiny amount
that's the basic idea of it... try reasonable amounts of each ingredient and work your way from there.
White radish cake (萝卜糕)
Does anyone know any supermarkets in Boston that carry this?
Super 88 used to, but they of course are awful now at stocking anything. Kamman doesn't carry it, either :(
Asian dessert with gelatin cubes, fruit, syrup ...
from the way you describe it, it might be nata de coco
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nata_de_coco
Beyond the Basics at Penang?
as a former resident of malaysia i can safely say most of Penang's menu actually isn't Malaysian, but some conglomerate of southeast Asian foods. eggplant with basil is kind of taiwanese and tom yam is thai, for instance.
nevertheless, the more malaysian/singaporean things on the menu include roti canai, mee siam, char kueh teow, claypot vegetables (ugh they really should throw the rice into the claypot instead of serving it on the side, so it gets crispy too, that's the traditional way to do it), satay, indian mee goreng, . can't advise too much on seafood or meat specific dishes though -- i like vegetables so much more than meat and seafood that i'm effectively vegetarian because of my tastes.
char kueh teow and mee siam are probably my favourite dishes in penang because they more closely matches the taste i remember in malaysia than their other vegetable dishes...
Chinese or Asian Food recommendations around Harvard Square
side question ... are you from gansu?? any tips on making lanzhou lamian?
especially ... where can i get a flour around boston that will actually work? ^^
none of the american flour seems to work ...
fresh tofu in the boston 'burbs?
GDL = Glucono delta lactone ... the typical coagulant you would use for silken tofu and desserts. It produces smooth tofu and coagulates the tofu in place as the water evaporates. Hence, it takes practise with the right temperature, proportions and time, but you don't have to drain the water and press the curds into a box.
CaSO4 and MgCl2 on the other hand coagulate the bean curds and largely separate them from the water, which is what you want for normal and firm tofu :) You'll have to do the pressing stage (the purpose of which gets rid of a little more water from the curds and simultanously makes all the curds stick together in one coherent block which is the shape of your box), but this procedure is a little more tolerant to messed up proportions/timing/heat than making silken tofu with GDL...
Chinese or Asian Food recommendations around Harvard Square
I kind of liked Pepper Sky near central square.
though I am not Thai, so I'm not able to judge about authenticity, but I just liked that restaurant ...
Chinese or Asian Food recommendations around Harvard Square
you have to appreciate simplicity to like Mulan. that kind of relatively uncomplicated, cook-from-fresh-ingredients type of thing is quite typical of many (though not all) Taiwanese dishes (in comparison to authentic Cantonese food, for example which has complicated procedures for making sauces, or Sichuan food, which uses a ton of preserved products). Mulan balances their flavours well while keeping food simple -- your food isn't drowned in pre-made sauces, and their vegetables are very fresh. some of the dishes at Mulan are closer to home-style food than you'd get elsewhere. if you want Taiwanese food with flair and style, try Jo Jo Taipei...
