Comments on: Foraging & Experimenting…

By: thelma

thelma — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:11:10 +0000

bettyq, i am so overwhelmed by your kindness. i can buy the rest of the ingredients for the xc except the dried scallops. i don’t know of any chinatown here in san diego where i night be able to get the dried scallops. if you are able to send me some, i will pay for it plus the shipping. m son, who loved the malaysian fried rice with xo would be so happy if we are able to cook it at home.

we’ll be going to los angeles this weekend to celebrate father’s day with 87 years old father-in-law, but we do go there to visit every other weekend. once i an able to make the xo, i shall be taking some with me on our next visit to los angeles.

i must have misplaced your email address so do you mind giving it to me again so i can send you my address? thanks, bettyq….

By: betty q.

betty q. — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 03:14:58 +0000

Thelma: do you have a large Chinese community in San Diego? If oyu do, is there a Chinatown there? Last time we went there in San Diego, we didn’t get to see much of San Diego. I think we there for only a couple of days. If you do have a Chinatown, try to find a Chinese herbal store wher ethey have bulk stuff. Do not be persuaded by the merchants to buy the fist grade scallops that cost an arm a leg. The tiny ones that look like dehydrated bay scallops will do. Once rehydrated, it will be good to use for XO. Besides, you are going to shred them anyway, so no one will know whether it is primera clase or not.

next option: if you don’t have a CHinatown there….I think you know my e-mail addy. Send me youe mailing address and I will mail you 1 pound of those. …believe me when I say, you will end up with a whole wokful of XO once you have added the rest of the ingredients. For the ham, I only buy the prosciutto now at the grocery delis…much easier to use and I just buy the quantity I need.

When are you leaving for LA? It takes at least 7 to 10 days before the dried scllops will reach you. So, the earlier you send me your address, the fster you will be able to make it!

By: thelma

thelma — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:31:32 +0000

bettyq, i would like to try making your xo recipe but i don’t know where to buy those dried scallops. there’s a chinese restaurant where we go to and they serve the best malaysian shrimp fried rice with xo among the ingredients.bettyq, you’ve always been really helpful as always…

apicio, do you think that you can share with me your xo recipe with shrimp paste (belachan)? i would really appreciate it…

By: betty q.

betty q. — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:03:59 +0000

Xo is usuaaly made with dried scallops, dried shrimp. ham, garlic, shallots, etc. Thelma. But Apicio makes it with shrimp paste (belachan) and olive oil, and I guess some other stuff too!

Hey, I think you should also make XO and bring it to LA. I sent dried scallops to Apicio before and he made it and brought it to Brazil. I think his compadres liked the XO….which reminds me…have to call ONie to accompany her and go to Chinatown to buy dried scallops!

By: thelma

thelma — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:22:54 +0000

now i remember that you posted your xo recipe using shrimp paste. i forgot the rest of the ingredients. hmmm…dulong in olive oil? i didn’t see that in the supermarket when i was there, but i will surely look for that on my next visit. thanks, bettyq….

By: betty q.

betty q. — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:09:51 +0000

Thelma: your block of shrimp paste…I think that is belachan the Malaysian equivalent of our alamang. Apicio makes what he calls the “bakya” version of XO sauce using belachan.

Thelma…bring back Dulong in Olive OIl too. I am sure you are going to like it!

By: thelma

thelma — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:40:10 +0000

hi bettyq! it was a good thing that you still received in the mail your sauteed alamang in spite of that condition. just like you, i love, love, love bagoong that i try not to run out of it. i just bought from the filipino store the pink one which i cook for binagoongan. i also have the sweet one which is bottled by fiesta products. my ilokano friend here also introduced me to the balayan bagoong which also is good with calamansi juice and paired with fried isda and grilled eggplants that i harvest from my garden. i also bought a block of shrimp paste that i really don’t know what to do with it. perhaps, you can enlighten me on what it is best used for.

hill roberts, it’s beautiful in this part of california. the climate is really nice all year round. let me know when you decide to come to california and we’ll cook up a storm. yes, haleyang ube is one of my favorite kakanin also. i also crave for tuyo once in awhile. have you tried the bottled tuyo soaked in olive oil? i bought a few bottles when i was in the philippines last april. i’m going to buy a few bottles more plus cans of tabang talangka when i go to philippines again this coming august. you will like the tuyo with olive oil in bottles because you don’t need to fry them anymore. let me know if you want a few bottles of those bottled tuyo and i will gladly mail them to you.

By: hill roberts

hill roberts — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:07:57 +0000

Hi, Thelma: How nice and sweet of you to offer to send me ube. Truth is, I thought you were flying from the Philippines to the USA, and taking with you the eggplant pesto. Aaaaaayayyyay! How’s California? Never been there yet…
Hi Betty q.Now, now, you’re making my mouth watery, naughty you! My goodness, if there’s anything I miss in the Philippines it’s the bagoong, dried fish and its smell of course, as well as puto, bibingka, palabok, luglog, etcetera…what do I do, girls? Dream, dream, dream.Girls, come and check me out in Spain when you get the time! Cheers.

By: Benjing

Benjing — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:49:17 +0000

The “pickled” eggplant betty q wrote about is similar to “caponata”. Wonderful as a cold appetizer by itself or as a topping for bruschetta. Another way to enjoy the eggplant is “baba ghanoush”, a Middle Eastern dip (for pita bread) made with tahini and lots of garlic. My fav eggplant dish is just plain sauteed in oil and dressed with soy sauce and lemon juice (calamansi would be better but we can’t get them fresh here, only frozen juice in plastic pouches). Sometimes, I use oyster-flavored sauce instead of soy sauce.

By: betty q.

betty q. — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:09:52 +0000

Hill roberts and Thelma: I received a package last Christmas of Sauteed Alamang through the mail. Unfortunately, one of the bottles got broken! So, Canada Post, put it in a plastic bag when I received it. They apologized and said it was rather stinky and wondered why anyone would send me pasta! I told them it is a specialty …much like in Italy…the more pungent the anchovies are, the better they are and a little goes a long way!!!!. … :)