Need help with Chinese dinner party menu

[Darkginger]

I already know what one of the dishes will be - it's what I
call 'Kung Po Chicken' - because that's what the Chinese
restaurant we used to get it from called it - basically
chicken chunks fried in a cornflour batter with a hot/spicy
sweet 'n sour sauce over them. Usually, I'd do Ginger Beef
with it, but one of the guests hates ginger, so I'm looking
for something else that will contrast with the chicken, and
yet not be a stir-fry as such (stir fries are 'weekday' food
to me - I want something that's more complicated and
'special').

Matters are slightly complicated by the fact that my DH
dislikes most seafood, though he'll eat squid. So, I'm
looking for a beef, pork or squid (he dislikes lamb too,
fussy bugger!) main course that would contrast with a fried
dish - forgot to mention that I'm probably going to do that
duck with pancakes thing as well (crispy duck with spring
onions and cucumber, wrapped in pancakes, with a choice of
hoisin or plum sauce). Oh, and fried rice, prawn crackers,
fortune cookies etc. to enhance the restaurant-like
experience! (Though not trying to do anything pretentious,
just fun!)

No terribly exotic ingredients, please, as they're probably
not easily found around here (Ireland, the west of).
There'll be 4 of us for a casual dinner sometime next
weekend. I don't mind spending the whole day in the kitchen,
if that's what it takes - that's my idea of heaven!

Any suggestions much appreciated. TIA! I just seem to
be having a mental block once you take ginger out of
the equation.

Jo

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[Occupant]

My only thought is this. Since ginger and garlic are such a
part of Chinese food, and the enormous effort it takes to
entertain, why not prepare something easy like roast and
vegetables or BBQ where there is a lot of prep work and you
can enjoy your company as well and not sweat likes and
dislikes of family and guests.

Darkginger wrote:
>
> I already know what one of the dishes will be - it's what
> I call 'Kung Po Chicken' - because that's what the Chinese
> restaurant we used to get it from called it - basically
> chicken chunks fried in a cornflour batter with a
> hot/spicy sweet 'n sour sauce over them. Usually, I'd do
> Ginger Beef with it, but one of the guests hates ginger,
> so I'm looking for something else that will contrast with
> the chicken, and yet not be a stir-fry as such (stir fries
> are 'weekday' food to me - I want something that's more
> complicated and 'special').
>
> Matters are slightly complicated by the fact that my DH
> dislikes most seafood, though he'll eat squid. So, I'm
> looking for a beef, pork or squid (he dislikes lamb too,
> fussy bugger!) main course that would contrast with a
> fried dish - forgot to mention that I'm probably going to
> do that duck with pancakes thing as well (crispy duck with
> spring onions and cucumber, wrapped in pancakes, with a
> choice of hoisin or plum sauce). Oh, and fried rice, prawn
> crackers, fortune cookies etc. to enhance the restaurant-
> like experience! (Though not trying to do anything
> pretentious, just fun!)
>
> No terribly exotic ingredients, please, as they're
> probably not easily found around here (Ireland, the
> west of). There'll be 4 of us for a casual dinner
> sometime next weekend. I don't mind spending the whole
> day in the kitchen, if that's what it takes - that's my
> idea of heaven!
>
> Any suggestions much appreciated. TIA! I just seem to be
> having a mental block once you take ginger out of the
> equation.
>
> Jo
>
> ---
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-
> virus system (http://www.grisoft.com (http://www.grisoft.com/)). Version: 6.0.714 /
> Virus Database: 470 - Release Date: 02/07/04

[Bob]

Jo wrote:

> I already know what one of the dishes will be - it's what
> I call 'Kung Po Chicken' - because that's what the Chinese
> restaurant we used to get it from called it - basically
> chicken chunks fried in a cornflour batter with a
> hot/spicy sweet 'n sour sauce over them. Usually, I'd do
> Ginger Beef
with
> it, but one of the guests hates ginger, so I'm looking for
> something else that will contrast with the chicken, and
> yet not be a stir-fry as such (stir fries are 'weekday'
> food to me - I want something that's more complicated and
> 'special').
>
> Matters are slightly complicated by the fact that my DH
> dislikes most seafood, though he'll eat squid. So, I'm
> looking for a beef, pork or squid (he dislikes lamb too,
> fussy bugger!) main course that would contrast with a
> fried dish - forgot to mention that I'm probably going to
> do that duck with pancakes thing as well (crispy duck with
> spring onions and cucumber, wrapped in pancakes, with a
> choice of hoisin or plum sauce). Oh, and fried rice, prawn
> crackers, fortune cookies etc. to enhance the restaurant-
> like experience! (Though not trying to do anything
> pretentious, just fun!)

Okay, to summarize:

- no chicken (since it would be redundant)
- no seafood
- no ginger
- no stir-fry

With those restrictions in mind, here are some suggestions:

Red-cooked beef or pork Chinese barbecued pork -- or steamed
buns with barbecued pork inside Grilled skewered beef or
pork with dipping sauces Ma Po Tofu (if YOU can get Szechuan
peppercorns!) Chile squid soup

Bob

[Rona Yuthasastr]

"Darkginger" <darkginger@drowelf.net> wrote in message
news:Ke6Gc.3869$Z14.4779@news.indigo.ie...
>
> Any suggestions much appreciated. TIA! I just seem to be
> having a mental block once you take ginger out of the
> equation.
>

If you can get Szechuan peppercorns, try spicy salt squid
(can also be done with shrimp if you want to provide variety
for your guests--do some in shrimp and some in squid so your
husband can still eat it). Here's a recipe for the spicy
salt mixture.

http://www.chinesefood- (http://www.chinesefood-/)
recipes.com/chinese_sauces_seasonings_recipes/szechuan_spic-
y_salt_hot_pepper_mix_recipe.php

I think the squid (or shimp) is usually lighly breaded (I
would dredge in cornstarch) and deep-fried so it's sort of
like calamari. Then you can serve the spicy salt as a
dipping salt, or sprinkle over the squid/shimp and mix well.

Here's a full recipe but for shrimp. You could use squid
instead, though.
http://www.chefdoctor.co.uk/recipe.asp?ID=73

I would also second the suggestion for Chinese-style
barbeque pork. If you're doing the duck anyway, you can make
the pork and some bao along with the pancakes and serve it
with hoisin and a spring onion so the guests can roll/wrap
their own.

rona
--
***For e-mail, replace .com with .ca Sorry for the
inconvenience!***

[Hahabogus]

"Darkginger" <darkginger@drowelf.net> wrote in
news:Ke6Gc.3869$Z14.4779@news.indigo.ie:

> (he dislikes lamb too, fussy bugger!)

The lamb could be replaced with any of his drothers. This is
not a spicy Dish but does taste good.

Other ideas available at
http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/asia/chinese/

@@@@@ Now You're Cooking! Export Format

Lamb In A Hot Garlic Sauce

none

1/2 lb spinach or any leafy green; vegetable-snow pea pods 2
tablespoon vegetable oil
2/2 lb lean lamb, thinly sliced 4 cloves garlic,finely
chopped freshly ground white pepper
3/2 teaspoon sugar 1 tablespoon nuoc mam sauce 1 tablespoon
oyster sauce Optional Garnish fresh sprigs of mint and/or
cilantro to garnish

Hot garlic Sauce in this case means the sauce is warm
hot(from being cooked) not spicy hot(from peppers).

Blanch the greens in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and
place on a serving dish. Heat the oil in a wok and stir-fry
the lamb until nearly cooked. This should not take more than
2 minutes. Add the garlic, pepper, sugar, Nuoc Mam sauce,
and oyster sauce and stir-fry until the lamb is completely
cooked and tender. Pour the lamb and sauce over the greens.
Garnish with mint and/or cilantro.

Yield: 2 servings

** Exported from Now You're Cooking! v5.66 **

--
Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on
nothing but food and water.
--------
FIELDS, W. C.

[Darkginger]

"occupant" <electronicmailfixtosend@telust.net> wrote in message
news:40E8F7C1.F509B704@telust.net...
> My only thought is this. Since ginger and garlic are such
> a part of Chinese food, and the enormous effort it takes
> to entertain, why not prepare something easy like roast
> and vegetables or BBQ where there is a lot of prep work
> and you can enjoy your company as well and not sweat likes
> and dislikes of family and guests.

Garlic's OK, it's just ginger that isn't - and I don't mind
the effort - we just want Chinese this time (I've done
Indian, Mexican, Italian and roasts already!)

Jo

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