Blog:
Chinatown shopping list
I went to Chinatown this afternoon. It was a very exciting and pleasant visit as usual. I bought these items.
Chestnuts, ginkgo nuts, air vacuumed sticky corn, green onions, Asian chives (buchu) shrimp, thin noodles, Chinese black bean sauce, a can of bamboo shoots, and fresh pork belly! And a dozen live blue crabs!
I cooked the chestnuts and tasted them after my dinner and they were very sweet and delicious! The live crabs are in my freezer! Sorry crabs! Tomorrow, I am going to make “gae jang” (salty crab side dish).
Oh, I love China town and Chinese sellers, too. One seller was very funny even though his English was poor.
Me: how much is this?
crab seller:…. tting tting shawa … (It sounded like that)
Me: Why this crab is more expensive than that crab? (Price tag was on the basket of crabs)
crab seller: … pause .. “boy!”
Me: haha, boy crab is more expensive than girl crab?
The crab seller and I were laughing loudly because we exactly understood the jokes!
Maangchi,
I found your site recently and LOVE it. Thanks for all the great cooking tips. I find them very inspiring!
I have a question: How do you cook chestnuts? My Korean students used to bring cooked chestnuts to school as snacks, and they were always tasty and easy to peel. Whenever I try to roast them myself, though, the outer later peels off easily, but the inner layer seems impossible to remove. Any suggestions would be great because I love how these taste (but I always seem to ruin them)!
November 14th, 2008 at 5:30 pmdaffiney
Wash chestnuts a few times and place them in a pot. Pour water into the pot until chestnuts are submerged. And boil over medium heat for about 15 minutes (I can’t tell you exactly how long it will take). It should be cooked until water on the bottom of the pot is almost evaporated.
Take one sample out from the pot to check if it’s fully cooked or not. It should be soft and puffy. If it’s not done, then simmer it over low heat for a few more minutes.
When it’s cooked fully, rinse the hot chestnuts in cold water so that the skin of chestnuts will be separated more easily from the nuts.
When you eat it, cut it in half with a knife and use a small spoon and scoop it! Awww! While I’m explaining this to you, I feel like eating it again! :) Fortunately I still have some fresh chestnuts in the fridge. I am going to cook it now. hehe!
November 14th, 2008 at 6:37 pmThanks so much. I can’t wait to try this!
November 16th, 2008 at 3:42 amumm, i love crabs (esp females with roes) too maangchi :) and it’s a humane way to kill the crabs by putting them to sleep in the freezer! will you be posting the crab side dish recipe?
November 18th, 2008 at 2:46 amhope you’re recovering from the sprained left wrist; is it still painful? take care! :)
November 18th, 2008 at 2:51 ammeileng,
November 18th, 2008 at 8:46 amThank you very much! I will post my written recipe for “gaejang” (crab with soy sauce) soon.