samarkand wrote:
>
> "crymad" > wrote in message
> ...

[much snipping again]

> > In simple soups, Chinese style, here at home, in the US. Sometimes I'll
> > add dried shiitake to MaPo Tofu.
> >
> Simple soups? Chinese soups are not simple

Not all, of course. I'm talking homestyle food, much like this:

http://recipes.chef2chef.net/recipe-...7/049247.shtml

....rather than something grand and special like this most famous dish
from Fujian:

http://www.shme.com/dish/dish085.htm


>...is there a difference if you
> add fresh shiitake mushrooms to MaPo Tofu? Waitaminit! I don't think
> mushroom is an ingredient in the original recipe! Does it taste better with
> mushrooms or without?

Using dried mushrooms is just a variation, a quite tasty one. With the
strong flavors in this dish, fresh mushrooms would be simply lost in the
din.

> >
> > Hmm...now I wonder about your cultural roots. What are they exactly?
> > Because any Chinese should be familiar with dried tangerine peel.
>
> Haha, before you verify my cultural roots, you'll have to verify your
> statement about tangerine peel as a staple food in Chinese cuisine.
> Guangdong cuisine uses tangerine peel often in dessert dishes and medicinal
> food preparation, seldom as a common staple. The northern cuisine uses it
> even less. Sichuan cuisine uses it most perhaps, especially in spicy
> dishes. Just as Japan will have its various provincial cuisine, so does
> Chinese. You cannot be generalising it now, can you?

No, of course it's not used everywhere. But a Chinese should be
familiar with its existence. Now, won't you tell us about your cultural
origin?

> >
> > "Tortured to its last spirit" -- I do like this. A very poetic way of
> > putting it.
> >
> Hey, I thought that was your line...no?

No, but I promise to steal it. Appropriate it. Umm...deconstruct it.
Yeah, that's it.

--crymad