Asian Produce - Ideas?
 

There's a huge asian supermarket in my hometown, and there are many
foods I'm familiar with. But I'd like to broaden my horizons. I'm
particularly interested in the produce. I currently prepare Chinese
broccoli, mustard greens, and baby bok choy in a very simple way - I
boil them for just a minute or two, then toss with either oyster sauce
+ veg oil or ponzu sauce + veg oil to coat. (This is very tasty by the
way.) But I'd like to branch out. Does anyone have any ideas for how to
prepare other kinds of Asian produce, like bittermelon, or coconut....
or any ideas for how to season the greens I'm already cooking? I don't
have a wok yet, but I do have a large frying pan so I could stir fry.

Thanks in advance,
Jen

On 3 Sep 2005 08:50:36 -0700, Jennyanniedots > wrote:
> There's a huge asian supermarket in my hometown, and there are many
> foods I'm familiar with. But I'd like to broaden my horizons. I'm
> particularly interested in the produce. I currently prepare Chinese
> broccoli, mustard greens, and baby bok choy in a very simple way - I
> boil them for just a minute or two, then toss with either oyster sauce
> + veg oil or ponzu sauce + veg oil to coat. (This is very tasty by the
> way.) But I'd like to branch out. Does anyone have any ideas for how to
> prepare other kinds of Asian produce, like bittermelon, or coconut....
> or any ideas for how to season the greens I'm already cooking? I don't
> have a wok yet, but I do have a large frying pan so I could stir fry.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Jen

I prefer simple preparations myself for stuff like bok choy... We
usually saute some minced garlic in peanut oil, then add the bok choy and cook
until slightly wilted, stir in some soy sauce and a bit of sesame oil to
taste. Oyster sauce, as you mentioned, is good, too. If you don't mind a bit
of heat, adding fresh sliced chilies is nice, or a spoonful of chili-garlic
sauce. Otherwise, the greens could be used in a regular vegetable stir-fry or
soups.

Bittermelon is a bit of an acquired taste. I haven't managed to
acquire it, so I'm afraid I don't have any recipes. :) But doing a Google
search for it turned up (in the first result, i think) an interesting
website with pictures and dish ideas, mostly Bengali dishes, IIRC.

Ariane

"Jennyanniedots" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> There's a huge asian supermarket in my hometown, and there are many
> foods I'm familiar with. But I'd like to broaden my horizons. I'm
> particularly interested in the produce. I currently prepare Chinese
> broccoli, mustard greens, and baby bok choy in a very simple way - I
> boil them for just a minute or two, then toss with either oyster sauce
> + veg oil or ponzu sauce + veg oil to coat. (This is very tasty by the
> way.) But I'd like to branch out. Does anyone have any ideas for how to
> prepare other kinds of Asian produce, like bittermelon, or coconut....
> or any ideas for how to season the greens I'm already cooking? I don't
> have a wok yet, but I do have a large frying pan so I could stir fry.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Jen


You might consider getting a CHinese (or Asian) cookbook that has photos of
the ingredients. It can be hard to tell what something is without
experience!


--
Peter Aitken
Visit my recipe and kitchen myths page at www.pgacon.com/cooking.htm

Apologies if this is a duplicate post, but I didn't see it
go through on my first attempt. --thelma

Jennyanniedots > wrote:
: There's a huge asian supermarket in my hometown, and there are many
: foods I'm familiar with. But I'd like to broaden my horizons. I'm
: particularly interested in the produce. I currently prepare Chinese
: broccoli, mustard greens, and baby bok choy in a very simple way - I
: boil them for just a minute or two, then toss with either oyster sauce
: + veg oil or ponzu sauce + veg oil to coat. (This is very tasty by the
: way.) But I'd like to branch out. Does anyone have any ideas for how to
: prepare other kinds of Asian produce, like bittermelon, or coconut....
: or any ideas for how to season the greens I'm already cooking? I don't
: have a wok yet, but I do have a large frying pan so I could stir fry.

One of the highlights of our visits to our kids in Santa Cruz
is stopping at 99Ranch on the way back from San Jose
airport and stocking up on more Oriental vegetables than
we'll ever be able to cook in one short visit: Chinese
broccoli, mustard green, 'oil green' -- the green w/ the tiny
yellow flowers, long bean, bitter melon, 'hairy' squash and
'pointy' squash [sorry, I don't know proper names], taro,
lotus root, long light purple eggplant, garlic sprouts, daikon
& better yet, lobak, [two turnip-like vegetables]; then a sweep
through to find things we've never seen before and won't have
any idea of what to do with when we finally confront them.

When you've stuffed your cart with vegetables, head for the
sauces and condiments: chili paste with garlic, fermented bean
curd (my absolute favorite), fermented shrimp paste--for the
very bold, red bean curd, sesame oil, hot red pepper oil,
sesame seeds, star-anise, preserved bamboo shoot w/ chili
pepper, preserved radish...

I don't use recipes, just experiment with the various
vegetables and sauces, etc.

Here, though, is something I like and don't see too often:


Lotus Root with Sesame Seed

1 medium size lotus root
soy sauce, white wine, toasted sesame seeds, oil for stir-fry

Peel the lotus root and cut it across in very thin, lacy
slices. Slice as thin as you can. Stir fry the lotus root
in oil. Add soy sauce and wine as it cooks: the lotus root
will exude a little thick, sticky liquid that slightly
thickens the wine, soy-sauce mixture. Add enough sesame seed
to bury it all near the end of cooking [not really--but use
enough to get a good amount of seeds on every slice]

Sorry -- no proportions, measurements, cooking time, but
it seems to work within a wide range of options.

--thelma
: Thanks in advance,
: Jen

In article . com>,
"Jennyanniedots" > wrote:

> There's a huge asian supermarket in my hometown, and there are many
> foods I'm familiar with. But I'd like to broaden my horizons. I'm
> particularly interested in the produce. I currently prepare Chinese
> broccoli, mustard greens, and baby bok choy in a very simple way - I
> boil them for just a minute or two, then toss with either oyster sauce
> + veg oil or ponzu sauce + veg oil to coat. (This is very tasty by the
> way.) But I'd like to branch out. Does anyone have any ideas for how to
> prepare other kinds of Asian produce, like bittermelon, or coconut....
> or any ideas for how to season the greens I'm already cooking? I don't
> have a wok yet, but I do have a large frying pan so I could stir fry.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Jen
>

Just try anything that is green there. :-)

Chop fresh shallots and add them, and the three main flavors are small
amounts of soy sauce, lots of fresh grated ginger and garlic.

I also shop at the oriental market! I've sworn to try something new each
time I go there. That's how I learned to love shredded seaweed (Kombu)
in soups.

Last time I was there, I bought a large jar of toasted sesame seeds.
They have been fantastic used in a number of ways!

If in doubt, ask one of the oriental ladies that shop there that speak
good english. They have always been happy to assist me with ideas as to
how a particular item is used. I also do a lot of googling. I discovered
a lot about some of the more exotic dried mushrooms that way.

Don't pass up fresh shitakes or oyster mushrooms if they appear in the
produce section!

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson