Fun With Chow Fun

Chow fun is a transliteration from the Cantonese, which means “stir-fried rice noodles;” the Mandarin transliteration would be “chao fen.” It does not have anything to do with the English slang word, “chow,’ meaning “food” and “fun”, meaning “fun.” No, it does not mean “food that is fun,” though I do think it is fun […]

The Not-So-Secret Secret Ingredient To Roast Pork Noodle Soup

Zak and I were sitting with Kat, all of us with a bowl of roast pork noodle soup in front of us (well, Kat had noodles with minced up bok choy, finely minced roast pork and a bare dribble of soup in her bowl) and we were eating happily.
Zak looked up thoughtfully from his […]

Making Basic Chinese Chicken and Pork Stock

Normal people have cookouts on Labor Day weekend. They gather around the grill with their buddies for a day of beer, beach volleyball, and burgers.
At least, that is what most folks did when I was growing up.
I have long since given up on pretending to be normal; everyone who knows me terms me what […]

Hunan Rice Noodles With Chicken and Salted Chilies

I found this recipe originally in Fuchsia Dunlop’s amazing Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, which is the simply best book on the subject of Hunan cookery published in English. It uses salted chilies, a condiment which is ubiquitous to Hunan, but which is not available in stores here int he US; instead, Dunlop gives a simple recipe […]

Dried Rice Noodles 101

Dried rice noodles, also known as rice sticks in English and pai mi fen in Mandarin, are available in nearly any Asian market, and in many American grocery stores in either the international foods sections or the health food aisle. Widely used in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia, dried rice noodles come in a […]