CHINESE DINNER
So my friends and I often get together and cook large meals that we gather nice ingredients for. I brought up the topic of a Chinese dinner for the next meal and as lover of Asian food I know there are many ways to approach this but I would be open to suggestions, anything ya got, single dishes but also full menus would be helpful! Has anyone done this before? Just for some guidance, I think we want spare ribs, but I also really loved the look of a recipe for lion's head meatballs I think that was featured as a recipe on here months ago....
Whattya think??
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7 Comments:
I'm not familiar with authentic Chinese food, but you're looking to create a meal that is similar to what you would find in a Chinese restaurant in the US, I can recommend David Rosengarten's "It's All American Food: the best recipes for more than 400 new American classics" It's been scanned on google books here. Rosengarten offers a wealth of cultural and historical information, and I've always had good results from his recipes.
yayfood at 10:47AM on 10/19/09
Check out Kylie Kwongs cookbooks and recipes.
Also Jaden's Steamy Kitchen blog.
You should be able to find lots of ideas and recipes there.
CJ McD at 12:18PM on 10/19/09
I just read an article in F&W with some Asian options that sounded great. Mind you, this was not chinese specific. It can be found here:
http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/best-fast-asian-favorites
Also: there is a recipe from meat lite for dumplings that I use often that's easy and much butter if you have help wrapping!
mookie at 3:56PM on 10/19/09
sorry - dumplings weren't on meat lite, they were from eat for $8
mookie at 3:57PM on 10/19/09
If you're looking for authentic (and delicious) Chinese food go find Fuschia Dunlop's cookbooks, especially Land of Plenty. She was the first foreign student to enroll at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine. That book is worth its weight in gold. I might be biased, Sichuan cuisine is my favorite, but if you like spicy and flavorful Chinese food this is the way to go.
The best dish by far in the book is "gong bao ji ding" aka kung pao chicken, but trust me you've never had it like this. The sauce is so rich and flavorful! Do you best to get your hands on the Sichuan peppercorns it requires, it's essential to the dish. If you absolutely cannot find them I'd use Tellicherry peppercorns or another peppercorn with a robust, fruity and spicy flavor.
As far as the peppers go in the dish, dried "facing heaven" chilis are nearly impossible to find in my area, but if you can find them, use them! If not use standard dried chilies you find in the Hispanic section of your grocery store. Whatever you do, DO NOT use dried Thai chilies. They're far too hot for this dish!
For side dishes don't skip past the stir fried garlic zucchini.
I have a fantastic recipe for hot and sour soup. The one in the book is nearly as good. Let me know if you want it and I'll send it to you.
If you'd like a full menu based off that book I can sit down and write one up for you.
Zhong Li Qiu at 4:04PM on 10/19/09
@zhong li qiu: that sounds amazing, i would love a little sampler menu of some kind if it's not too much trouble - i would like to avoid anything TOO complicated (i.e deep fried, etc) but i would like a chicken dish, a veggie dish, and a few appetizers, spareribs included! i live in NYC so asian groceries are quite easy to procure, so any specialty stuff won't be a problem. thanks so much!
heavymetalpizzaparty at 9:09PM on 10/21/09
@heavymetalpizzaparty: Not a problem. I'm going to be gone this weekend. It's my parents anniversary and yada yada yada, but when I get back on Monday I can send you a sample menu w/ info on where to get the recipes. Email me at wmcveigh@gmail.com (that goes for anyone else interested) and I'll send you everything I have.
Zhong Li Qiu at 12:09AM on 10/23/09