TWEEK IT, JUST TWEEK IT!

Sometimes you take the plunge. Something a little extravagant. Especially when you see a table of tourists dining on predictable foods, and an elderly local couple having something completely different right next to them. With nice beverages.
In a chachanteng, where the selection of Caucasian food is slightly limited.
Broccoli beef. Sweet and sour pork. Cashew chicken. General Tso.
Chow mein, vegetarian stirfry, braised tofu with peppers.
Tell us if you have a peanut allergy.

A claypot special written on the wall underneath 貴妃雞. Which is good there, but my tastebuds wanted more than chilled perfumed poached chicken, baby bokchoi, rice. Something with 'oomph'.


枝竹羊腩煲
"Twiggy bamboo lamb spongy underbelly meat claypot"
No translation was provided. You can understand why.


What that means is a fragrant meat cooked together with thick strips of dried tofu to absorb some of the flavours. A little ginger, some five spice, a bay leaf. Brought to the table bubbling in a hot casserole. Very satisfying to the soul. Twiggy bamboo (枝竹 'ji juk') is what the air-dried tofu skin is called, spongy underbelly meat (腩 'naam') also means "brisket" or "loin", and while the last character (煲 'pou') means "to boil", the more common usage on many menus is "claypot".

Lamb and dried tofu casserole.

Delicious.

I knew that they'd do a good version.

Being a decadent person, and a Dutchman besides, if I had cooked it, the cut of lamb would have been different, and unless someone had an allergy, there would also be peanuts in there, to make use of the rich juices.

Plus hot crusty bread for sopping.



When I cook Chinese food, it isn't really Chinese. I'm sorry, I can't help it.



AFTER WORD

An acquaintance asked me about all the dried fish things in grocery bins along Stockton Street. So I explained that it was very similar to what the Europeans had been doing for centuries also. Plankfisk, stokfisk, lutefisk, steinvegsfisk, halmtakfisk .....
His response: "so THAT'S why you're obstinate and smell bad".
I fail to see the connection, at all, and MUST disagree.
Also, I bathe, and am very pleasant.
Even to idiots.




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