On Fri 09 May 2008 06:04:41p, Jean B. told us...

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
On Fri 09 May 2008 04:15:55p, Jean B. told us...

J.Lef wrote:
Just picked up a new carbon steel joyce chen wok. (I also have
a new
cooktop, with some high output burners)
Looking at the recipe included for fried rice, it says to use a
tsp of
chinese brown gravy syrup(and specifically it says not soy sauce)
Any idea what this could be. Oyster sauce maybee. I thought I was
familiar with most asian ingrediants, but this one stumps me.
Can someone clue me in please.

Much regards


In days of yore, that brown sauce was "bead molasses", as indicated in
the recipe in Joyce Chen's cookbook. In fact, that was a real
breakthrough in my fried rice making. Nowadays, though, one usually
sees white fried rice....


I prefer the "darker" fried rice myself. One local restaurant still
makes it that way.

(whispers) I do too. It's what I had in my formative years, and it was
more flavorful. Perhaps less authentic though. I should look at some
of my other Chinese cookbooks, esp. the recent ones....


g As with any cuisine, American included, authenticity does not dictate
necessarily better taste, IMHO.

--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Friday, 05(V)/09(IX)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Countdown till Memorial Day
2wks 2dys 4hrs 40mins
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Best diet: Eat as much as you want,
but don't swallow it.
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On Fri 09 May 2008 06:57:24p, Gloria P told us...

J.Lef wrote:
Just picked up a new carbon steel joyce chen wok. (I also have a
new
cooktop, with some high output burners)
Looking at the recipe included for fried rice, it says to use a tsp
of
chinese brown gravy syrup(and specifically it says not soy sauce)
Any idea what this could be. Oyster sauce maybee. I thought I was
familiar with most asian ingrediants, but this one stumps me.
Can someone clue me in please.



LaChoy used to sell a small bottle labeled "brown gravy sauce". I
haven't seen it in a very long time. I used a small amount in
chicken and turkey gravy to darken t a bit since it really added no
flavor. It looked very much like bottled caramel coloring but it wasn't
sweet.

gloria p


Kitchen Bouquet is predominantly caramel coloring and I don't recall it
having a sweet taste.

--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Friday, 05(V)/09(IX)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Countdown till Memorial Day
2wks 2dys 4hrs 40mins
-------------------------------------------
Best diet: Eat as much as you want,
but don't swallow it.
-------------------------------------------

On Fri, 09 May 2008 23:49:19 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
wrote:


I prefer the "darker" fried rice myself. One local restaurant still makes
it that way.

I found out a long time ago that a small amount of decent Chinese soy
is what makes it taste like restaurant style fried rice. I don't
order or even make it anymore and don't remember at the moment how I
added the soy to make *all* of the rice turn a nice, rich, brown.
What method do you use?

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On Fri 09 May 2008 07:24:16p, sf told us...

On Fri, 09 May 2008 23:49:19 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
wrote:


I prefer the "darker" fried rice myself. One local restaurant still
makes
it that way.

I found out a long time ago that a small amount of decent Chinese soy
is what makes it taste like restaurant style fried rice. I don't
order or even make it anymore and don't remember at the moment how I
added the soy to make *all* of the rice turn a nice, rich, brown.
What method do you use?


On the rare occasions when I make fried rice, I cook the rice in chicken
broth, adding whatever darkener to that cooking process instead of the stir
fry. Depending on what I have on hand, that might be the thicker type of
soy sauce, Kitchen Bouquet, or Better than Bouillon. If you don't add
while cooking the rice, add it immediately to the hot moist rice as soon as
it's finished cooking and toss well with a pair of forks. Do this before
cooling.

--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Friday, 05(V)/09(IX)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Countdown till Memorial Day
2wks 2dys 4hrs 35mins
-------------------------------------------
'All that we are is the result of what
we have thought'
-------------------------------------------

On Sat, 10 May 2008 02:32:36 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
wrote:

On the rare occasions when I make fried rice, I cook the rice in chicken
broth, adding whatever darkener to that cooking process instead of the stir
fry. Depending on what I have on hand, that might be the thicker type of
soy sauce, Kitchen Bouquet, or Better than Bouillon. If you don't add
while cooking the rice, add it immediately to the hot moist rice as soon as
it's finished cooking and toss well with a pair of forks. Do this before
cooling.


Ah ok, your way is *way* different from mine! I just used cold,
leftover plain rice.

I couldn't remember if I stirred it into the rice, into the egg or
what. I'm thinking I stirred it into 1 egg and coated all the rice
with that. While cooking the rice, I "scrambled" another egg so I
could get those egg chunks in it.

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Gloria P wrote:

J.Lef wrote:
Just picked up a new carbon steel joyce chen wok. (I also have a new
cooktop, with some high output burners)
Looking at the recipe included for fried rice, it says to use a tsp of
chinese brown gravy syrup(and specifically it says not soy sauce)
Any idea what this could be. Oyster sauce maybee. I thought I was
familiar with most asian ingrediants, but this one stumps me.
Can someone clue me in please.



LaChoy used to sell a small bottle labeled "brown gravy sauce". I
haven't seen it in a very long time. I used a small amount in
chicken and turkey gravy to darken t a bit since it really added no
flavor. It looked very much like bottled caramel coloring but it wasn't
sweet.

Looks like it might be history. It's not on La Choy's "sauces" page.

http://www.lachoy.com/products/sauces.jsp


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In article , sf . wrote:

I found out a long time ago that a small amount of decent Chinese soy
is what makes it taste like restaurant style fried rice. I don't
order or even make it anymore and don't remember at the moment how I
added the soy to make *all* of the rice turn a nice, rich, brown.
What method do you use?

My fried rice
3 cups of long grained rice cooked until it makes a whole lot more.
4 eggs hard scrambled and chopped to small bits
1 bunch of scallions chopped into small circles (all of it)
1/2 pound or more Ham of your choice, diced into less than a quarter
inch and fried as ham bits till they're nicely colored and quit spitting
water (I buy cheap ham or Canadian Bacon)
Kikkoman Soy sauce to taste, or another soy sauce of your preference
Peanut oil

Fry the previously cooked rice in a five quart pot using a tablespoon at
least of peanut oil (I'd suggest two) while stirring and digging once a
minute. This gives some color to some rice bits. Mostly, the rice will
still be white.
After that happens and the rice is hot, I dump in soy sauce until the
whole hot rice mixture becomes golden brown while stirring. I'd do a
half cup at a time of soy sauce. Taste for saltiness and your
preference. When you hit your preference, dump in the ham, eggs and
onions and take the dish off the fire. Then stir again and cover for
um... ten minutes

It isn't traditional. It isn't Chinese other than the soy. But it's
tasty. Even the potato skin hater loves it.

leo

"J.Lef" wrote in
news:Kb%Uj.65$6D1.58@trndny02:

Just picked up a new carbon steel joyce chen wok. (I
also have a new
cooktop, with some high output burners)
Looking at the recipe included for fried rice, it says to
use a tsp of
chinese brown gravy syrup(and specifically it says not soy
sauce)
Any idea what this could be. Oyster sauce maybee. I
thought I was
familiar with most asian ingrediants, but this one stumps me.
Can someone clue me in please.

Much regards

From the old (orig. pub 1936) "The Chinese Cook Book" published by
the Culinary Arts Press states:

"Chinese Brown Gravy
Use two tablespoonfuls of Chinese Sauce, one teaspoonful brown
molasses and one teaspoonful cornstarch or flour. Mix until smooth
and stir into boiling juice of roast or one-half coup of soup
stock.
A rich, brown, and highly palatable gravy is the result, especially
desirable with chop suey dishes."

"CHINESE SAUCE or SOYU, used instead of salt, adds zest and
delicacy."

Here are some interesting links:
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/cat/420/0.shtml
http://chinesefood.about.com/od/sauc...soning_Recipes.
htm

"Sqwertz" wrote in message
...
"J.Lef" wrote:

Just picked up a new carbon steel joyce chen wok. (I also have a
new
cooktop, with some high output burners)
Looking at the recipe included for fried rice, it says to use a tsp of
chinese brown gravy syrup(and specifically it says not soy sauce)
Any idea what this could be. Oyster sauce maybee. I thought I was
familiar with most asian ingrediants, but this one stumps me.
Can someone clue me in please.

It's referring to liquid Maggi Seasoning. AKA Hydrolyzed soy
protein. AKA Really cheap soy sauce. La Choy and Chun King also
make it, calling it Soy Sauce (which it isn't).

-sw

Maggi started out in Europe as a food/flavor stretcher for the new
industrial class families, (bouillon cubes sound familiar?), a wheat based
version of soy sauce if you will, giving it a umami like flavoring. Now
days it's ingredients depends on it intended market. All regions have
somewhat different flavorings, Asian has soy in it, the German as I recall
was the better, certainly different than the American or the Mexican.

On Sat, 10 May 2008 02:23:20 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
wrote:

Kitchen Bouquet is predominantly caramel coloring and I don't recall it
having a sweet taste.

I used to use that a lot (no sweetness detected here either, but I
only used it by the drop)... it was back in the days when we wanted
our chicken gravy to be brown.

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"Wayne Boatwright" wrote

If I were making it, I think I would use Better Than Bouillon. Nice beef
flavor, concentrated, and should integrate well into the dish.

Ohh, can I eat at your house? Pretty please? ;-)

There was a product I used to get in Hawaii, many years ago. It was a sort
of beef bullion paste you mixed with hot water to whatever consistancy you
wanted. I loved that stuff!

On Fri, 09 May 2008 20:44:32 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
wrote:

I think I would use Better Than Bouillon. Nice beef
flavor, concentrated, and should integrate well into the dish.

I need to look for that brand.

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On Sat 10 May 2008 09:56:56a, cshenk told us...

"Wayne Boatwright" wrote

If I were making it, I think I would use Better Than Bouillon. Nice
beef flavor, concentrated, and should integrate well into the dish.

Ohh, can I eat at your house? Pretty please? ;-)

Of course you can...

There was a product I used to get in Hawaii, many years ago. It was a
sort of beef bullion paste you mixed with hot water to whatever
consistancy you wanted. I loved that stuff!

Probably a very similar product. Better Than Bouillon is a sort of paste,
rather sticky, a true reduction of beef product. If you can't find it
locally, you can order it here...

http://www.superiortouch.com/btb.htm



--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Saturday, 05(V)/10(X)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Countdown till Memorial Day
2wks 1dys 13hrs 15mins
-------------------------------------------
Useless Invention: Papier mache step
ladder.
-------------------------------------------

On Sat 10 May 2008 10:07:24a, sf told us...

On Fri, 09 May 2008 20:44:32 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
wrote:

I think I would use Better Than Bouillon. Nice beef flavor,
concentrated, and should integrate well into the dish.

I need to look for that brand.


http://www.superiortouch.com/btb.htm

--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Saturday, 05(V)/10(X)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Countdown till Memorial Day
2wks 1dys 13hrs 15mins
-------------------------------------------
Useless Invention: Papier mache step
ladder.
-------------------------------------------

On Sat, 10 May 2008 17:49:46 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
wrote:

On Sat 10 May 2008 10:07:24a, sf told us...

On Fri, 09 May 2008 20:44:32 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
wrote:

I think I would use Better Than Bouillon. Nice beef flavor,
concentrated, and should integrate well into the dish.

I need to look for that brand.


http://www.superiortouch.com/btb.htm

Oooooh! Mushroom base! I want it!

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