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Just did the pancake course. Please share the soup, and other courses for me. I guess I'm not properly schooled in the courses of Peking Duck.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
Haven't got a recipe for the duck soup - just have had it and know it to be rich. The broth has bits of meat in it but is primarily bones. Pretty sure there was some veges in there too but I was focussin too hard on the duck! Most sit around sucking the meat off the bones, so perhaps not recommended for elegant dining.

The san choy bow is basically minced pork and/or minced chicken with shredded carrots and water chestnuts stirfried in seasonings and sauce and served in iceberg lettuce leaf bowls. Some also put bean sprouts in as well for that added crunch. Just like the pancakes, you roll it up and eat. you should have a range of sensations in your mouth, with the warmth of the mixture, the softness of the meat, the sweetish flavours of the sauce and the crunch from the lettuce, water chestnuts and the sprouts if you added them, along with the cool crisp texture of the lettuce. In the case of Peking duck san choy bow, they replace the pork/chicken with the shredded meat from the bird. This way the entire bird is used, nothing is wasted and the meal can feed up to twelve people depending on the size of your duck and how much added extras you put in, although I believe 6-8 is more common.

It is gone midnight here, so tomorrow I will grab my actual recipe for san choy bow. I know where it is. I think.

But your duck looked lovely!
 
Oh I should add that the third course isn't necessarily san choy bow, just that I prefer it. You are normally offered other choices at a restaurant.
 
As the link explained, the reason my Peking duck pancakes didn't fair as well was that I was placing duck meat into the pancakes instead of the crispy skin. The meat flavor was too delicate for the bold sauce. Oh well, now I know. The dipping sauce was still very good.

Thanks.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
San Choy Bow

San Choy Bow (Serves 12)

1 T vegetable oil
1 lb lean pork mince
1 T cornflour
6 fl oz water
1 T dry sherry
1/2 t sesame oil
1 T oyster sauce
2 sml fresh red chillies, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 t grated fresh ginger
7 oz canned water chestnuts, drained and chopped
12 iceberg lettuce leaf cups

Cook the mince in a hot wok coated with the vegetable oil. Stirfry until browned and then drain the cooked mince on kitchen paper. Use more paper to clean out the wok but don't rinse.

Mix well the cornflour, water, sherry, sesame oil and oyster sauce in a bowl. Reserve with other ingredients. Return the mince to the hot wok and add all other ingredients except for the lettuce but including the cornflour mixture. Stir constantly on a high heat until the mixture boils and thickens and the meat is fully cooked.

Place a bowl of the cooked meat mixture on the table with a plate of lettuce cups and let guests spoon mixture into the cups at the table. Roll up and enjoy!


You can use other minces in this mix, eg pork/chicken, chicken or even beef, although you may wish to amend the seasonings. In the case of a Peking Duck course, you used the duck meat shredded and heated with the other ingredients. As previously said, you can also add carrot and spring onions or bean sprouts, etc.

Almost every restaurant you go to that serves this dish, will do it differently. And I think you will find more authentic recipes than I have typed here.
 
I've settled on ehich challenge I'll tackle first. On Saturday, I'm going to make a formal Chines Dinner with 6 courses.

Here's the menu:

Cold dishes:
1. Sushi – filled with shredded scallops and wrapped in spinach leaves instead of Nori (Don't like seaweed)
2. Ranguns – filled with crab and sweetended cream cheese
3. Glazed skewered chicken strips
4. Mellon and berries, skewered and candied

Hot Main Courses
1. Mongolian Beef.
2. Chicken Velvet with Mushrooms
3. Stir-fry Veggies with Chicken Sauce

Soup:
Egg Drop Soup

Staple:
Dumplings filled with sweet beaf and veggies

Snack:
Chicken Spring Rolls

Desert:
Tanghulu – Haw fruit is not available and so will be using kiwi and strawberries

Beverage – Herbal Teas

I'll let you know how everything turns out.:chef:

Seeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

And here I was gonna challenge myself to be the judge, but Goodweed lives in Michigan, I live in CT. DARN .. and I would have loved to help too :)

Herbal Teas? Like Jasmine? or Oolong? I love tea!!! :)
 
Ok, I know this thread is supposed to be about gourmet top notch food but I have a different type of challenge for you, that I'm hoping you'll give a go...
...Taco Bell is the one and only fast food place I go to whenever I get the chance. the closest one to me is 30 minutes away but I go because I love it that much lol. I've made tacos and burritos at home often but I just can NOT seem to recreate the flavor. I've even bought the little taco bell season packs at the market and still not the same. So, my challenge for you is to recreate the seasoning blend used on the chicken at taco bell. after you've perfected your peking duck of course.

I haven't had time to recreate the seasoning blend yet. But I did order two chicken products from Taco Bell, the Chicken Burrito Supreme, and the Spicy Chicken Soft Taco. They had completely different flavor profiles. I ate each slowly, taking notes on the spices and herbs I could taste. The following is the result of my deconstruction.

Chjicken Burrito and Taco Filling (the same filling is used in both):
6 oz. tomato paste
2 tbs. mild chili powder
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt

In the burrito, add shredded lettuce, diced tomato, 3 tbs refried beans, 1 tbs. sour cream, 3 tbs. shredded medium cheddar cheese, 2 tbs. diced yellow onion.

Spicey Chicken Filling
2 cups chicken dark meat, shredded
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/4 tsp. red pepper (cayenne pepper)
1/2 tsp. hot chili powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro

To the soft taco add: diced yellow onion, shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
shredded medium cheddar cheese, diced tomato.

As I said, these won't get you the exact flavor you are looking for, but they will get you close. You will simply need to play a bit with the amounts of the herbs and spices. The listed varieties should match what TB uses.

Goodweed's Burrito and Taco filling:
2 well done chicken breasts, cooked over flaming charcoal, diced ( Do not over cook as this chicken must be juicy).
2 splashes (about 2 tbs.) lime juice
1/4 tsp. coarse grind black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Cobine diced chicken and the remaining ingredients in a hot cast iron, or other heavy fryig pan. Heat until the onions are sweet, but not too tender. Serve with your favorite hot sauce, diced tomato, your favorite Mexican Cheese, and fresh corn tortillas that have been softened in hot oil, then drained on paper towels. Some salsa would be good with this also, and some slices of fresh avocado.

And jsut for the record, if done well, any style of food can be considered gourmet. I would certainly put these in that category. The secret that seperates gourmet from ordinary is the quality of the ingredients used, the attention to detail, making everthing the best it can be, and presentation.

At a campfire, in the middle of the woods, properly done s'mores, after a meal of brook trout, pan fried to perfection, seasoned with salt, and a bit of lemon, is as gourmet as anything you would find in a 5-star restaurant.

Gourmet isn't necessarily caviar and truffles. It can be hen of the woods and grouse just as easily, or shaggy meins with garlic flavored spaghetti noodles.

French fries, when paired properly, and presented appropriately is as gourmet as Potatoes Anna. It just depends on the situation.

Seeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
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Oh I hate to be the one that points this out... but I must.

Sushi is not a Chinese dish, or at least if there is a similar Chinese dish it does not go by the name Sushi.

Relevent Wikipaedia entry.

I don't even need to go to the Wikipaedia site to know you are correct. Sushi is Japanese, I believe. I just wasn't thinking. I was trying to build an Asia themed meal that would challenge my cooking skills. As you saw from the results, there just wasn't time enough for one person to complete the many courses. But the meal turned out very good anyway, and I learned a few things along the way.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
Katie E; I will post my egg-drop soup recipe in a seperate thread right now.

Mac 'N Cheese; I'm glad to have helped. Just remember, the amounts of the herbs and spices is at this point, and estimation. You will have to play with the seasonings a bit to get them just right. And always remember the golden rule of seasoning, use a little, let it cook a bit to develop the flavor, then adjust as required. You can always add more of something, but once it's in the sauce (or in the food), it can't be removed.:chef:

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
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