Veggie rice 菜飯

[abcdefg]

49 minutes ago, Zbigniew said:

...the reason being that what is generally on offer there is the "wrong" kind of meat.

 

I don't understand. What do you mean?

[Zbigniew]

The sort of meat that is eaten in China (i.e. what parts of an animal are favoured and how these parts are generally served) is radically different from the sort of meat that is generally eaten where I come from. The many Chinese visitors to the UK I've dined with over the years have the same difficulty liking chicken breast, rump steak, joints of beef and filleted fish as I do liking chicken feet, pigeon neck, pig's ears, and whole fish on the bone.

[abcdefg]

OK, thanks for explaining. Indeed, there are differences in preference between China and the West, in addition to some degree of overlap.

[skylee]

I cooked for myself last Sunday and today. Both were very simple meals.

 

I bought two long eggplants for HKD2 and a head broccoli, also for HKD2, last Sunday. 

 

For the first meal I steamed the broccoli plain (no oil no butter no salt just some black pepper) and grilled one eggplant using a skillet. The broccoli was perfect but the eggplant was not great probably because I didn't use any oil.  One eggplant and one head of broccoli were too much for one meal for me. 

 

For the second meal I cut up the remaining aubergine and steamed it for just under 10 minutes. The preparation was extremely simple: wash, cut and steam. No rubbing salt on them or soaking them in salt water. No peeling. Not even seasoning.  I made a sauce for the eggplant using some fermented beancurds and hot water. It tasted good but I should have used less beancurds.

 

I like rice with furikake (have to use up the furikake asap or else it will end up in the trash bin).

 

My message to my friends on today's meal - 

今日晚餐：無添加清蒸茄子、腐乳醬、梅+魚仔飯素撈白飯。茄子洗乾淨切條隔水清蒸幾分鐘非常簡單，整爛幾磚腐乳加熱水就成醬無難度。本來仲想食醃青瓜但無法扭開個蓋只好作罷。除咗個醬比較鹹，呢餐幾滿意。茄子上個周末買只需1文但成呎長對一個人來講比較多。一個人真係難買餸。

[abcdefg]

I bought a new flat-bottom, non-stick skillet last month. This one is heavy and has a white ceramic coating inside. By Supor. The maker suggests not using any oil at all when you sauté things. Have you tried one of these? Might help in the preparation of the kind of healthy food you are now striving to eat.

 

Here's a link: http://www.supor.com/product/index/?cid=268&nid=179&#show

 

 

[skylee]

I bought mine from IKEA as it was cheap - http://m.ikea.com/hk/zh/catalog/functional/15922/20624/#/hk/zh/catalog/products/art/40165961/

[abcdefg]

That one is Teflon coated inside, if I've read the website correctly. Some people think Teflon coating is undesirable because of health issues. Some cookware makers are phasing it out. (Personally, I'm not sure it matters.)

[DrWatson]

Hard to say these days. Even "organic" means 100 different things these days. Slightly off subject, but actually my big issue with medical research is the population sizes of the studies. Why is it often only 100 people or less? This year, perhaps eggs are good? Or was it last, I forgot. Flip a coin I guess. Last year, eggs were evil...so says a study with a population size of 72 people.  Sometimes I feel like its just a part of the way medical researchers get through school.  And thus the truth is we just don't know, we just don't know.

 

For what it is worth, I like putting "Ponzu" on things lately. I've been trying to cut back on salt....well, and carbs too, which means more veggies overall. Ponzu makes even the veggies I hate taste great. I'm sure it has its downside though, but.....please! Don't tell me!!!!

[DrWatson]

On 9/23/2017 at 8:56 PM, abcdefg said:

This one is heavy and has a white ceramic coating inside. By Supor. The maker suggests not using any oil at all when you sauté things. Have you tried one of these?

 

I did not have luck with my ceramic pan. It worked great for about two weeks, but then everything started to stick to the pan, especially scrambled eggs. I forget the exact make, but it was from one of those famous French makers....which means I have no idea where it was really made or of its true quality. I often wonder though, perhaps there might have been a temperature limit that I exceeded perhaps? Is ceramic only good up to a certain temperature? That I do not know!

[Lu]

I find the big downside of a white pan is that they're a pest to clean. I have one and it's a convenient size for some meals, but afterwards I'll be scrubbing for ten minutes and then it's still a bit grey.

[abcdefg]

Agree with @Lu and @DrWatson -- I don't like my white ceramic pan at all. Wish I had not bought it.

 

I've read up on them some (AFTER buying it -- slaps head with palm.) What I've learned, a little too late, is that they are usually OK for low temperature cooking. My gas stove runs hot and the flame is hard to moderate. Food often scorches or burns when I cook without oil. When I cook with oil the pan gets black and nasty.

 

Cleanup is difficult, like Lu said. But it is aided by using white vinegar. I didn't know that at first but found it on some low-fat enthusiast's web site. Actually works pretty well.

 

Prefer my old Teflon pan when not using my trusty cast-iron wok. The cast iron wok is well seasoned and never lets me down.