It's not a real stir fry though I used a bottled stir fry sauce, but it is
easy and good.

I had some leg quarters I wanted to use, so I skinned them and marinated
them overnight in soy, fresh crushed ginger and garlic, molasses, cracked
pepper, and enough water to cover. Oven-broiled them at 400 for 40 minutes,
and made some Jasmine Rice on top of the stove and "Seasoned Asian
Vegetables" (Pictsweet bagged and frozen) in the microwave.

I took the meat off the bone in largish pieces, tossed it in a big bowl with
the vegetables and bottles stir fry, and served over rice. It has a nice,
sweet, tangy, smoky flavor. The sauce I like is called "House of Tsang." I
have no doubt this is MUCH better actually stir-fried and with homemade
sauce, but I still like it.

cybercat > wrote:

> It's not a real stir fry though I used a bottled stir fry sauce, but it is
> easy and good.

Bottled "stir-fry" sauce? <shiver>.

Just buy some oyster sauce, rice wine (not sake), and some chicken
base (for making chicken stock).

Black bean sauce, sesame oil, Kimlan soy sauce are optional, but
always good to have on hand.

-sw

"Sqwertz" > wrote in message
...
> cybercat > wrote:
>
>> It's not a real stir fry though I used a bottled stir fry sauce, but it
>> is
>> easy and good.
>
> Bottled "stir-fry" sauce? <shiver>.
>
> Just buy some oyster sauce, rice wine (not sake), and some chicken
> base (for making chicken stock).
>

No.

On Aug 3, 12:29*pm, "cybercat" > wrote:
> It's not a real stir fry though I used a bottled stir fry sauce, but it is
> easy and good.
>
> I had some leg quarters I wanted to use, so I skinned them and marinated
> them overnight in soy, fresh crushed ginger and garlic, molasses, cracked
> pepper, and enough water to cover. Oven-broiled them at 400 for 40 minutes,
> and made some Jasmine Rice on top of the stove and "Seasoned Asian
> Vegetables" (Pictsweet bagged and frozen) in the microwave.
>
> I took the meat off the bone in largish pieces, tossed it in a big bowl with
> the vegetables and bottles stir fry, and served over rice. It has a nice,
> sweet, tangy, smoky flavor. The sauce I like is called "House of Tsang." I
> have no doubt this is MUCH better actually stir-fried and with homemade
> sauce, but I still like it.

The marinade sounds good, though I'd have added some rice wine or
sherry to it. With already seasoned vegetables and chicken with that
long marinade, why did you need to add bottled sauce? -aem

"aem" > wrote:
>The marinade sounds good, though I'd have added some rice wine or
>sherry to it. With already seasoned vegetables and chicken with that
>long marinade, why did you need to add bottled sauce?

Because I like it. I did not add much, as it turned out it was just
enough to get the rice dirty. It wasn't swimming or anything.

aem wrote:

> The marinade sounds good, though I'd have added some rice wine or
> sherry to it. With already seasoned vegetables and chicken with that
> long marinade, why did you need to add bottled sauce? -aem

Why'd she have to add water?

cybercat > wrote:

> "Sqwertz" > wrote in message
> ...
>> cybercat > wrote:
>>
>>> It's not a real stir fry though I used a bottled stir fry sauce, but it
>>> is
>>> easy and good.
>>
>> Bottled "stir-fry" sauce? <shiver>.
>>
>> Just buy some oyster sauce, rice wine (not sake), and some chicken
>> base (for making chicken stock).
>
> No.

<sigh> You can lead a horse to hay, but you still can't make it
taste good.

-sw

On Sun, 3 Aug 2008 21:25:28 GMT, "l, not -l" > wrote:

>"buy some oyster sauce"???? You don't make your own; I'm shocked?

I bet you make your own molassas, scrape yeast off the grapes for
bread, fresh butter churned from the cow and homemade peanut butter
from the peanut crop about to come in. And instead of using paper
doilies...you crochet your own. You are just TOO Martha! I wish I
had that much ambition.

"l, not -l" > wrote:

> "Sqwertz" > wrote in message
> ...
>> cybercat > wrote:
>>
>>> It's not a real stir fry though I used a bottled stir fry sauce, but it
>>>
>>> is
>>> easy and good.
>>
>> Bottled "stir-fry" sauce? <shiver>.
>>
>> Just buy some oyster sauce, rice wine (not sake), and some chicken
>> base (for making chicken stock).
>>
> "buy some oyster sauce"???? You don't make your own; I'm shocked?

Why bother? It's like making your own ketchup - it never tastes as
good as the premium oyster sauces in the bottles. Even the article
where you plagiarized this recipe says that.

And they cost less, too.

> Will keep up to one week in the refrigerator.

And last much longer.

-sw

Sqwertz wrote:
>
> "l, not -l" > wrote:
>
> > "buy some oyster sauce"???? You don't make your own; I'm shocked?
>
> Why bother? It's like making your own ketchup - it never tastes as
> good as the premium oyster sauces in the bottles. Even the article
> where you plagiarized this recipe says that.

It's called sarcasm.

On Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:28:28 -0700, Mark Thorson >
wrote:


>It's called sarcasm.

Didn't sound to like that to me either.

"Sqwertz" > wrote in message
...
> cybercat > wrote:
>
>> "Sqwertz" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> cybercat > wrote:
>>>
>>>> It's not a real stir fry though I used a bottled stir fry sauce, but it
>>>> is
>>>> easy and good.
>>>
>>> Bottled "stir-fry" sauce? <shiver>.
>>>
>>> Just buy some oyster sauce, rice wine (not sake), and some chicken
>>> base (for making chicken stock).
>>
>> No.
>
> <sigh> You can lead a horse to hay, but you still can't make it
> taste good.
>
Word is I taste fabulous.

"Goomba" > wrote in message
...
> aem wrote:
>
>> The marinade sounds good, though I'd have added some rice wine or
>> sherry to it. With already seasoned vegetables and chicken with that
>> long marinade, why did you need to add bottled sauce? -aem
>
> Why'd she have to add water?


Because this was six chicken legs and six chicken thighs in a deep pyrex
baking dish and there's no reason to use *all* of my soy sauce for a
marinade. Discovered early after I did so a few times.

"l, not -l" wrote:
>
> On 3-Aug-2008, Billy <Hereiam@hotmaildotcom> wrote:
>
> > >It's called sarcasm.
> >
> > Didn't sound to like that to me either.
>
> I'll try to do better next time, so you can catch on.

No! No! Don't do that! It dilutes the sarcasm.

Sarcasm is best when it takes in a sucker or two.

"l, not -l" > wrote in message
...
>
> On 3-Aug-2008, Billy <Hereiam@hotmaildotcom> wrote:
>
>> >It's called sarcasm.
>>
>> Didn't sound to like that to me either.
>
> I'll try to do better next time, so you can catch on.
> --

*thnicker*

On Sun, 3 Aug 2008 14:49:38 -0500, Sqwertz wrote:

> cybercat > wrote:
>
>> It's not a real stir fry though I used a bottled stir fry sauce, but it is
>> easy and good.
>
> Bottled "stir-fry" sauce? <shiver>.
>
> Just buy some oyster sauce, rice wine (not sake), and some chicken
> base (for making chicken stock).
>
> Black bean sauce, sesame oil, Kimlan soy sauce are optional, but
> always good to have on hand.
>
> -sw

i just bought a bottle of kimlan soy sauce (they were out of pearl river
bridge), and was a little surprised to see sugar as the last item on the
ingredient list. isn't this rather unusual? (i haven't tasted it yet.)

your pal,
blake
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

On Sun, 3 Aug 2008 16:04:35 -0400, cybercat wrote:

> "aem" > wrote:
>>The marinade sounds good, though I'd have added some rice wine or
>>sherry to it. With already seasoned vegetables and chicken with that
>>long marinade, why did you need to add bottled sauce?
>
> Because I like it. I did not add much, as it turned out it was just
> enough to get the rice dirty. It wasn't swimming or anything.

you go ahead and do it if it tastes good, honey. we deal in results.

your pal,
blake
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

blake murphy wrote:

> i just bought a bottle of kimlan soy sauce (they were out of pearl river
> bridge), and was a little surprised to see sugar as the last item on the
> ingredient list. isn't this rather unusual? (i haven't tasted it yet.)

Kimlan has at least 6-8 soy sauces. Whcih one is is - Pon Lai?

-sw

blake murphy wrote:

> you go ahead and do it if it tastes good, honey. we deal in results.

She could be open to suggestions, rather than just poo-poo'ing them off.
Then again, from what she posts, I think her tastes are rather limited
and she's easy to please.

But why not eat better? <shrug>

-sw

Sqwertz wrote:
> blake murphy wrote:
>
>> i just bought a bottle of kimlan soy sauce (they were out of pearl river
>> bridge), and was a little surprised to see sugar as the last item on the
>> ingredient list. isn't this rather unusual? (i haven't tasted it yet.)
>
> Kimlan has at least 6-8 soy sauces. Whcih one is is - Pon Lai?
>
> -sw
How does Kimlan soy sauce(s) compare to Pearl River Bridge?
I have never seen it in the Asian markets I frequent in the
NYC/NJ/Philly area.

"blake murphy" > wrote in message
.. .
> On Sun, 3 Aug 2008 16:04:35 -0400, cybercat wrote:
>
>> "aem" > wrote:
>>>The marinade sounds good, though I'd have added some rice wine or
>>>sherry to it. With already seasoned vegetables and chicken with that
>>>long marinade, why did you need to add bottled sauce?
>>
>> Because I like it. I did not add much, as it turned out it was just
>> enough to get the rice dirty. It wasn't swimming or anything.
>
> you go ahead and do it if it tastes good, honey. we deal in results.
>

*teef*

That's about it. I am absolutely not interested in attempting any kind of
haute cuisine, being a "proper cook" etc. That kind of precision is one
reason I will never be a baker. I do like making my own sauces and
dressings, so that there are not so many weird chemicals in them, but I am
not going to do that with Asian-style dishes because I don't make them that
often. I have a beautiful wok I rarely use. Maybe one day, I will be more
interested in such things, but today there are many things more interesting
to me than fancy cooking.

Besides, that's what you're for. You cook all kinds of fancy Asian stuff
from scratch, dontcha?

Sqwertz wrote:

> blake murphy wrote:
>
> > you go ahead and do it if it tastes good, honey. we deal in results.
>
> She could be open to suggestions, rather than just poo-poo'ing them off.
> Then again, from what she posts, I think her tastes are rather limited
> and she's easy to please.
>
> But why not eat better? <shrug>


Yup, and it's not that much extra effort...stir - fry sauces and such are a
snap to make and are far better than most anything you can buy.

The cyberkitty's "recipe" up there sounds like some crap you'd get at Panda
Express or something...I rate it a big fat "F".


--
Best
Greg



--
Best
Greg

Goomba wrote:

> aem wrote:
>
> > The marinade sounds good, though I'd have added some rice wine or
> > sherry to it. With already seasoned vegetables and chicken with that
> > long marinade, why did you need to add bottled sauce? -aem
>
> Why'd she have to add water?


To make it more booooooooring than it already was...


--
Best
Greg

Sqwertz > wrote:

>Bottled "stir-fry" sauce? <shiver>.

>Just buy some oyster sauce

Okay, by what definition is (store-bought) oyster sauce
not an example of a "bottled stir-fry sauce"??

Steve

cybercat wrote:
> "blake murphy" > wrote in message
> .. .
>> On Sun, 3 Aug 2008 16:04:35 -0400, cybercat wrote:
>>
>>> "aem" > wrote:
>>>> The marinade sounds good, though I'd have added some rice wine or
>>>> sherry to it. With already seasoned vegetables and chicken with that
>>>> long marinade, why did you need to add bottled sauce?
>>> Because I like it. I did not add much, as it turned out it was just
>>> enough to get the rice dirty. It wasn't swimming or anything.
>> you go ahead and do it if it tastes good, honey. we deal in results.
>>
>
> *teef*
>
> That's about it. I am absolutely not interested in attempting any kind of
> haute cuisine, being a "proper cook" etc. That kind of precision is one
> reason I will never be a baker. I do like making my own sauces and
> dressings, so that there are not so many weird chemicals in them, but I am
> not going to do that with Asian-style dishes because I don't make them that
> often. I have a beautiful wok I rarely use. Maybe one day, I will be more
> interested in such things, but today there are many things more interesting
> to me than fancy cooking.
>
> Besides, that's what you're for. You cook all kinds of fancy Asian stuff
> from scratch, dontcha?
>
>
You seem to be making using basic ingredients into way more than it is.
What people are commenting on is that you were 95% of the way there to
great taste before introducing the bottled sauce.

Things like oyster sauce, real soy sauce, ginger, etc are just basic,
inexpensive ingredients that anyone including your average family that
may even be in a shack would have on hand and use. It hardly involves
precision and definitely isn't "haute cuisine".

Using bottled sauce is analogous to using "roast beef mix" instead of
the simple task of say adding some root vegetables and seasoning to a
piece of beef and getting a tasty result.

On Aug 4, 10:43*am, George > wrote:
>
> How does Kimlan soy sauce(s) compare to Pearl River Bridge?
> I have never seen it in the Asian markets I frequent in the
> NYC/NJ/Philly area.

Kimlan is a very large Taiwanese food products company, claiming the
biggest soy sauce sales among Taiwan brands. Pearl River Bridge is a
very large company in Guangdong, which may be the biggest soy sauce
seller from China. Kikkoman has the equivalent position in Japan.
They all make "genuine" stuff, naturally fermented, as few additives
as possible, and they all taste good to a lot of people. You can find
all three in both the asian markets and the supermarkets here in
SoCal. Which you like best is up to your taste. Kikkoman has a lower-
sodium soy sauce that tastes, as far as I can tell, just like the
regular product. I don't know whether the others offer a lower sodium
version. I've been stuck on Pearl River Bridge for quite a while now
but I've used both the others in the past and may again in the
future. -aem

"George" > wrote in message
...
> cybercat wrote:
>> "blake murphy" > wrote in message
>> .. .
>>> On Sun, 3 Aug 2008 16:04:35 -0400, cybercat wrote:
>>>
>>>> "aem" > wrote:
>>>>> The marinade sounds good, though I'd have added some rice wine or
>>>>> sherry to it. With already seasoned vegetables and chicken with that
>>>>> long marinade, why did you need to add bottled sauce?
>>>> Because I like it. I did not add much, as it turned out it was just
>>>> enough to get the rice dirty. It wasn't swimming or anything.
>>> you go ahead and do it if it tastes good, honey. we deal in results.
>>>
>>
>> *teef*
>>
>> That's about it. I am absolutely not interested in attempting any kind of
>> haute cuisine, being a "proper cook" etc. That kind of precision is one
>> reason I will never be a baker. I do like making my own sauces and
>> dressings, so that there are not so many weird chemicals in them, but I
>> am not going to do that with Asian-style dishes because I don't make them
>> that often. I have a beautiful wok I rarely use. Maybe one day, I will be
>> more interested in such things, but today there are many things more
>> interesting to me than fancy cooking.
>>
>> Besides, that's what you're for. You cook all kinds of fancy Asian stuff
>> from scratch, dontcha?
> You seem to be making using basic ingredients into way more than it is.
> What people are commenting on is that you were 95% of the way there to
> great taste before introducing the bottled sauce.
>
> Things like oyster sauce, real soy sauce, ginger, etc are just basic,
> inexpensive ingredients that anyone including your average family that may
> even be in a shack would have on hand and use. It hardly involves
> precision and definitely isn't "haute cuisine".
>
> Using bottled sauce is analogous to using "roast beef mix" instead of the
> simple task of say adding some root vegetables and seasoning to a piece of
> beef and getting a tasty result.

There was fresh ginger and "real soy sauce" in the marinade, so it was in
the dish. And I got a tasty result. I disagree about what the bottled stir
fry sauce is--it is a combination of ingredients I generally don't have on
hand and do not WANT to have on hand.

But thanks so much for trying to shove your opinion down my throat. Very
nice.

aem > wrote:

>Kimlan is a very large Taiwanese food products company, claiming the
>biggest soy sauce sales among Taiwan brands. Pearl River Bridge is a
>very large company in Guangdong, which may be the biggest soy sauce
>seller from China. Kikkoman has the equivalent position in Japan.
>They all make "genuine" stuff, naturally fermented, as few additives
>as possible, and they all taste good to a lot of people. You can find
>all three in both the asian markets and the supermarkets here in
>SoCal. Which you like best is up to your taste. Kikkoman has a lower-
>sodium soy sauce that tastes, as far as I can tell, just like the
>regular product. I don't know whether the others offer a lower sodium
>version. I've been stuck on Pearl River Bridge for quite a while now
>but I've used both the others in the past and may again in the
>future. -aem

Does anybody here brew their own soy sauce, or ferment their
own black bean sauce, or concoct their own oyster sauce from
oysters?

Just curious. It seems to me it's relatively difficult
to avoid bottled ingredients in Chinese food preparation,
relative to many other types of cuisines.

Steve

cybercat wrote:

> "George" > wrote in message
> ...
> > cybercat wrote:
> >> "blake murphy" > wrote in message
> >> .. .
> >>> On Sun, 3 Aug 2008 16:04:35 -0400, cybercat wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> "aem" > wrote:
> >>>>> The marinade sounds good, though I'd have added some rice wine or
> >>>>> sherry to it. With already seasoned vegetables and chicken with
that
> >>>>> long marinade, why did you need to add bottled sauce?
> >>>> Because I like it. I did not add much, as it turned out it was
just
> >>>> enough to get the rice dirty. It wasn't swimming or anything.
> >>> you go ahead and do it if it tastes good, honey. we deal in results.
> >>>
> >>
> >> *teef*
> >>
> >> That's about it. I am absolutely not interested in attempting any kind
of
> >> haute cuisine, being a "proper cook" etc. That kind of precision is one
> >> reason I will never be a baker. I do like making my own sauces and
> >> dressings, so that there are not so many weird chemicals in them, but I
> >> am not going to do that with Asian-style dishes because I don't make
them
> >> that often. I have a beautiful wok I rarely use. Maybe one day, I will
be
> >> more interested in such things, but today there are many things more
> >> interesting to me than fancy cooking.
> >>
> >> Besides, that's what you're for. You cook all kinds of fancy Asian
stuff
> >> from scratch, dontcha?
> > You seem to be making using basic ingredients into way more than it is.
> > What people are commenting on is that you were 95% of the way there to
> > great taste before introducing the bottled sauce.
> >
> > Things like oyster sauce, real soy sauce, ginger, etc are just basic,
> > inexpensive ingredients that anyone including your average family that
may
> > even be in a shack would have on hand and use. It hardly involves
> > precision and definitely isn't "haute cuisine".
> >
> > Using bottled sauce is analogous to using "roast beef mix" instead of
the
> > simple task of say adding some root vegetables and seasoning to a piece
of
> > beef and getting a tasty result.
>
> There was fresh ginger and "real soy sauce" in the marinade, so it was in
> the dish. And I got a tasty result. I disagree about what the bottled stir
> fry sauce is--it is a combination of ingredients I generally don't have on
> hand and do not WANT to have on hand.
>
> But thanks so much for trying to shove your opinion down my throat. Very
> nice.


Well, you've got nothing on Linda Lovelace, lol...

But do keep posting yer lame "recipes", we'll be glad to "deconstruct" them
for you...

:-)


--
Best
Greg

" I find Greg Morrow lowbrow, witless, and obnoxious. For him to claim that
we are some
kind of comedy team turns my stomach."
- "cybercat" to me on rec.food.cooking

aem wrote:
> On Aug 4, 10:43 am, George > wrote:
>> How does Kimlan soy sauce(s) compare to Pearl River Bridge?
>> I have never seen it in the Asian markets I frequent in the
>> NYC/NJ/Philly area.
>
> Kimlan is a very large Taiwanese food products company, claiming the
> biggest soy sauce sales among Taiwan brands. Pearl River Bridge is a
> very large company in Guangdong, which may be the biggest soy sauce
> seller from China. Kikkoman has the equivalent position in Japan.
> They all make "genuine" stuff, naturally fermented, as few additives
> as possible, and they all taste good to a lot of people. You can find
> all three in both the asian markets and the supermarkets here in
> SoCal. Which you like best is up to your taste. Kikkoman has a lower-
> sodium soy sauce that tastes, as far as I can tell, just like the
> regular product. I don't know whether the others offer a lower sodium
> version. I've been stuck on Pearl River Bridge for quite a while now
> but I've used both the others in the past and may again in the
> future. -aem

Thanks, I wonder if the importers haven't brought it to the east coast yet?

My current favorite is Pearl River Bridge dark mushroom. I also have a
jug of Kikkoman for some Japanese dishes that taste better with it.

cybercat wrote:
> "George" > wrote in message
> ...
>> cybercat wrote:
>>> "blake murphy" > wrote in message
>>> .. .
>>>> On Sun, 3 Aug 2008 16:04:35 -0400, cybercat wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> "aem" > wrote:
>>>>>> The marinade sounds good, though I'd have added some rice wine or
>>>>>> sherry to it. With already seasoned vegetables and chicken with that
>>>>>> long marinade, why did you need to add bottled sauce?
>>>>> Because I like it. I did not add much, as it turned out it was just
>>>>> enough to get the rice dirty. It wasn't swimming or anything.
>>>> you go ahead and do it if it tastes good, honey. we deal in results.
>>>>
>>> *teef*
>>>
>>> That's about it. I am absolutely not interested in attempting any kind of
>>> haute cuisine, being a "proper cook" etc. That kind of precision is one
>>> reason I will never be a baker. I do like making my own sauces and
>>> dressings, so that there are not so many weird chemicals in them, but I
>>> am not going to do that with Asian-style dishes because I don't make them
>>> that often. I have a beautiful wok I rarely use. Maybe one day, I will be
>>> more interested in such things, but today there are many things more
>>> interesting to me than fancy cooking.
>>>
>>> Besides, that's what you're for. You cook all kinds of fancy Asian stuff
>>> from scratch, dontcha?
>> You seem to be making using basic ingredients into way more than it is.
>> What people are commenting on is that you were 95% of the way there to
>> great taste before introducing the bottled sauce.
>>
>> Things like oyster sauce, real soy sauce, ginger, etc are just basic,
>> inexpensive ingredients that anyone including your average family that may
>> even be in a shack would have on hand and use. It hardly involves
>> precision and definitely isn't "haute cuisine".
>>
>> Using bottled sauce is analogous to using "roast beef mix" instead of the
>> simple task of say adding some root vegetables and seasoning to a piece of
>> beef and getting a tasty result.
>
> There was fresh ginger and "real soy sauce" in the marinade, so it was in
> the dish. And I got a tasty result. I disagree about what the bottled stir
> fry sauce is--it is a combination of ingredients I generally don't have on
> hand and do not WANT to have on hand.
>
> But thanks so much for trying to shove your opinion down my throat. Very
> nice.
>
>
>
It is a discussion group. If you don't desire any comments about your
comments then maybe start a blog about your ideas and set it up so no
one can post comments.

On Aug 4, 3:06*pm, (Steve Pope) wrote:

> Does anybody here brew their own soy sauce, or ferment their
> own black bean sauce, or concoct their own oyster sauce from
> oysters?

One of my Chinese uncles brewed his own soy sauce once. Took a
loooong time, he fussed over it a lot, and he was disappointed with
the result. Never tried again.

Black bean sauce is easy. I buy the fermented/preserved black beans,
dry in plastic bag in a cardboard cylinder package. When you want
black bean sauce you (optionally rinse them), chop them up with some
garlic and put them in your hot wok. Add soy, wine, water to taste.
Bottled black bean sauce is all "one note", whereas you can vary
whichever of the ingredients you like to your taste when you make your
own.

Apart from the joke in this thread, I don't know anyone who has made
their own oyster sauce.

> Just curious. *It seems to me it's relatively difficult
> to avoid bottled ingredients in Chinese food preparation,
> relative to many other types of cuisines.
>
I think that's an accurate observation. I've got a good array of
sauces and pastes and curds and oils that it would be quite difficult
to make. I think the current question is whether a bottled "stir fry
sauce" is necessarily good or bad, inferior or superior to making your
own up on the spot, because it probably doesn't contain anything you
don't have in the cupboard. I don't know of any reason to suppose
that the manufactured product is unbalanced in some way that wouldn't
taste good. What you can say is that by using a bottled blend you
give up control over the quantity and quality of each of the
components. How much that matters to any cook seems clearly to be a
personal decision. -aem

aem > wrote:

>On Aug 4, 3:06*pm, (Steve Pope) wrote:

>> Does anybody here brew their own soy sauce, or ferment their
>> own black bean sauce, or concoct their own oyster sauce from
>> oysters?

>One of my Chinese uncles brewed his own soy sauce once. Took a
>loooong time, he fussed over it a lot, and he was disappointed with
>the result. Never tried again.

Interesting.

>Black bean sauce is easy. I buy the fermented/preserved black beans,
>dry in plastic bag in a cardboard cylinder package. When you want
>black bean sauce you (optionally rinse them), chop them up with some
>garlic and put them in your hot wok. Add soy, wine, water to taste.

(Arg, you're using "soy" to refer to soy sauce.)

(Ignore previous comment, just one of my pet peeves.)

>Bottled black bean sauce is all "one note", whereas you can vary
>whichever of the ingredients you like to your taste when you make your
>own.

I didn't know one could buy fermented/preserved black beans.
I'll have to look for those. I normally mix black beans (cooked,
but unfermented) with rice vinegar, chilis, tomato paste and
sesame oil and leave sit up to a week refrigerated. What
I haven't tried is getting the stuff to ferment on its own.

>Apart from the joke in this thread, I don't know anyone who has made
>their own oyster sauce.
>
>> Just curious. *It seems to me it's relatively difficult
>> to avoid bottled ingredients in Chinese food preparation,
>> relative to many other types of cuisines.
>>
>I think that's an accurate observation. I've got a good array of
>sauces and pastes and curds and oils that it would be quite difficult
>to make.

Right

>I think the current question is whether a bottled "stir fry
>sauce" is necessarily good or bad, inferior or superior to making your
>own up on the spot, because it probably doesn't contain anything you
>don't have in the cupboard. I don't know of any reason to suppose
>that the manufactured product is unbalanced in some way that wouldn't
>taste good. What you can say is that by using a bottled blend you
>give up control over the quantity and quality of each of the
>components. How much that matters to any cook seems clearly to be a
>personal decision. -aem

I mainly avoid them because of the cost and the uncontrolled
amount of sodium. But an advantage, to me, of buying a stir
fry sauce instead of using oyster sauce or black bean sauce
combined with other ingredients is I do not go through
the oyster or black bean sauces fast enough. I only make
a few stir-fries per month.

They do last forever in the refrigerator but I only have
so much room there.

Steve

"Steve Pope" > wrote
> I mainly avoid them because of the cost and the uncontrolled
> amount of sodium.

This is the reason I usually like to make my own sauces.

>But an advantage, to me, of buying a stir
> fry sauce instead of using oyster sauce or black bean sauce
> combined with other ingredients is I do not go through
> the oyster or black bean sauces fast enough. I only make
> a few stir-fries per month.

Exactly what I said, and why I use bottled stir fry sauce.

Steve Pope wrote:

> Does anybody here brew their own soy sauce, or ferment their
> own black bean sauce, or concoct their own oyster sauce from
> oysters?
>
> Just curious. It seems to me it's relatively difficult
> to avoid bottled ingredients in Chinese food preparation,
> relative to many other types of cuisines.
>
> Steve

My mother's mother had a shoyu factory in Hawaii during the 50's. She
was pretty industrious for a single mother of 11 kids! The family was
not rich so my guess is that the sauce can't be too hard to make or that
it requires a bunch of expensive equipment to produce.

There's another class of soy sauce that is made without a long
fermentation. If I recall correctly, this was developed after WWII by
the Aloha Shoyu company in Hawaii as a quick and cheap method for
producing the product. It's viewed as low class by food snobs. However,
a lot of folks prefer this to the fermented variety - probably because
they were raised on the stuff.

I have seen on TV how the Vietnamese make fish sauce. They layer salt
and whole, uncleaned fishes in a drum and let it sit for a while. The
clear, straw colored sauce is then drained from a spigot near the bottom
of the drum. So easy that you could try this at home. :-) I won't do
this myself nor would I want to peek into a drum filled with fermenting
fish!

On Aug 4, 4:02*pm, (Steve Pope) wrote:
>
> I didn't know one could buy fermented/preserved black beans.
> I'll have to look for those.

Here in the SoCal asian markets the common item is "Yang Jiang
Preserved Beans" in a yellow cardboard cylindrical box about 5" high.
They last forever. Having them handy, you get used to using them more
often than you might a jarred sauce. I had some fresh green beans
from the farmers market recently and it went like this.

Bring pot of water to boil. While it's heating, trim beans, chop 2 TB
black beans, 2 TB garlic.
Parboil 1 lb.green beans 2 minutes. Drain, run under cold water to
stop cooking.
Heat wok over high heat until wisps of smoke appear. Put in 1 or 2 TB
oil, the beans and garlic. Stir a few seconds until quite fragrant
then add 1/4 lb. ground pork. Stir fry until pink color is all gone
and pork is broken into small chunks. Add soy sauce and rice wine or
sherry, about 1 TB each, stir, add the green beans, stir all
together. When heat has come back up, swirl about 1/4 cup water
around sides of wok, stir again. Let steam/cook another minute or two
until beans are done but still crisp, then check amount of liquid. If
desired, thicken with a little bit of cornstarch slurry.

Very tasty. -aem

Steve Pope > wrote:

> Sqwertz > wrote:
>
>>Bottled "stir-fry" sauce? <shiver>.
>
>>Just buy some oyster sauce
>
> Okay, by what definition is (store-bought) oyster sauce
> not an example of a "bottled stir-fry sauce"??

Bottled stir-fry sauce is a generic name for an American
abomination. Like she said - "House of Tsang".

Ingredients: soy sauce (water, soybeans, wheat, salt, caramel
color), sherry wine, sugar, water, vinegar, modified cornstarch,
cottonseed oil, sesame seed oil, salt, dried garlic, hydrolyzed
wheat protein, dried onions, xanthan gum, natural ginger flavor,
disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate, less than 1/10th of 1%
sodium benzoate as a preservative.

That's not something you'd find being used in any respectable
household. It's like buying a refrigerated, microwavable hamburger
at 7-11.

-sw

"aem" > wrote in message
...
Kimlan is a very large Taiwanese food products company, claiming the
biggest soy sauce sales among Taiwan brands. Pearl River Bridge is a
very large company in Guangdong, which may be the biggest soy sauce
seller from China. Kikkoman has the equivalent position in Japan.
They all make "genuine" stuff, naturally fermented, as few additives
as possible, and they all taste good to a lot of people. You can find
all three in both the asian markets and the supermarkets here in
SoCal. Which you like best is up to your taste. Kikkoman has a lower-
sodium soy sauce that tastes, as far as I can tell, just like the
regular product. I don't know whether the others offer a lower sodium
version. I've been stuck on Pearl River Bridge for quite a while now
but I've used both the others in the past and may again in the
future. -aem

**Have you tried the Japanese tamari? There's some nice organic ones, in
fact every one I've seen has been organic, and they're normally wheat free
too, which is obviously handy for coeliacs. Not sure about the sodium
levels though.

cybercat > wrote:

> There was fresh ginger and "real soy sauce" in the marinade,

The ingredients say 'natural ginger flavor'. That's not ginger by a
longshot. And I'm sure it was a top-quality soy sauce they used in
there.

For the price of two bottles of house of tsang, you could all the
ingredients you need to make 4-5 times as much sauce, and much
better tasting. That also allows you to adjust the taste of one
ingredient up or down to suit your (non-existent) tastes.

-sw

Steve Pope > wrote:

> Does anybody here brew their own soy sauce, or ferment their
> own black bean sauce, or concoct their own oyster sauce from
> oysters?
>
> Just curious. It seems to me it's relatively difficult
> to avoid bottled ingredients in Chinese food preparation,
> relative to many other types of cuisines.

All Asian cooks rely on bottles sauces. They are also very
dedicated to one brand or another.

Most French cooks don't make their own butter or wine, either.

-sw