Chicken Chow Mein,Chop Suey !- Remember the first Chinese restaurants?



With a wonderfully wild freshness due to the overuse of
delicate herbs, this is a definite Clara favourite.

Hi there Babyboomers

We love Asian cuisine and Australia's multicultural immigration program lead to a diversification of cuisine, particularly under the influence of Mediterranean and South East Asian migrants.

Chop Suey

Remember the first Chinese restaurants?   So many of the dishes definitely had Chinese origins, but were modified to suit the western taste - I recall going to a Chinese restaurant  in US, which offered a side salad!   In Australia and US, an insipid menu by today's standards - Spring rolls, Dim Sims, Fried Rice, and Chop Suey which was 'assorted pieces of chicken, fish, beef, shrimp / prawns or pork and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as beansprouts, cabbage and celery, bound in a starch-thickened sauce and  typically served with rice.   Then there was Chicken Chow Mein, consisting of celery and onions in a whitish sauce with crunchy noodles, and  Sweet and Sour Prawns or whatever - great if the sweetness and sourness were balanced but more often, particularly re  the US version, consisting of an overly thickened super sweet sauce.

Most Australian country towns, to this day, have a Chinese restaurant where the food can be decidedly gloopy (or surprisingly wonderful)  but fortunately this is usually balanced by a Thai or general Asian restaurant.


The featured Asian herb salad recently got the tick with key players  where it went perfectly with the first course of BBQ chicken skewers served Asian style. See link below

The wonderfully wild freshness is achieved by massive overuse of delicate herbs along with an Asian dressing.   We've come a long way!
Clara
ps - is there any gold left?

Ingredients
250g / 8 oz rocket (arugula) leaves - (rimmed of excess stems (substitute any peppery lettuce)
125g / 4oz each of mint, basil, coriander  (leaves picked from stems, washed and spun dry)
30g / 1 oz chervil if available
2/3 cup canned bamboo shoots - (preferably already cut into matchstick)
Dressing
2 shallots, peeled, halved, and finely sliced
l tbsp rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
l tsp sugar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp mirin
sea salt and pepper

For the dressing, mix the shallots, rice vinegar, and sugar together in a small bowl and set aside.
Trim any excess stems from the arugula, and pick the herb leaves from their stems. Rinse and spin dry the arugula and herbs. Cut the bamboo shoots into matchsticks.
To make the dressing, whisk the olive oil, sesame oil, mirin, sea salt, and pepper together in a large bowl. Stir in the shallot mixture, then taste and adjust the flavors.
Very lightly toss the arugula, bamboo shoots, and herbs in the dressing, and serve, with chopsticks.

Link for chicken skewers belowhttp://fitinyourjeanscuisine.blogspot.com/2010/10/skewers-capture-finger-food.html
To view or add comment, click on comments at bottom of page or send an email - clara@babyboomerconnections.com.au or visit my website at www.babyboomerconnections.com.au