Hey guys, a few notes: 1. After posting this to Patreon, it came to our attention that the Thai and Vietnamese versions of sour bamboo shoots seem to be very available in the west - basically just as available as the packaged bamboo shoots we used in the video. If you’re USA based and have access to Weee!, they carry the Vietnamese style of the product which would be perfect (link is in the description). The Thai style that’s available is generally pre-sliced into very thin sheets, which isn’t super ideal but would totally work ok. 2. The packaged bamboo shoots we used in the video aren’t even *really* fermented as far as we know - they’re simply packaged in brine together with pickled yeshanjiao chilis, and pick up a good bit of that flavor. Thus why the aforementioned Thai/Vietnamese versions would work better. 3. Japanese pickled bamboo shoots (i.e. menma) would likely be a bit of a reach, however. We didn’t try them out, and they might be a decent enough experiment, but AFAIK they’ve got a pretty distinctive taste that I’m not sure would work here. 4. If using the Thai or Vietnamese sour bamboo shoots, our recommendation would be to cut the rice vinegar by half at first - i.e. use ½ tbsp instead of the full tablespoon in the sauce. We upped the rice vinegar quantity to 1 tbsp because of the fact that we were using that package bamboo shoot. Then, at the end, taste your soup - the soup should be a *little* sour. Add more to taste. 5. There’s two traditional choices re meat at noodle shops in Nanning - pork, or a combination of pork/liver/intestine. We really liked the pork liver in here, so we wanted to include it… but didn’t really feel like dealing with prepping intenstine, which can be sorta painful. I’m pretty sure fresh pork intestine is pretty difficult to source in the west anyhow. So yeah - don’t feel bad for going the all-pork route, definitely a traditional option too. 6. This is a very easy flavor profile to veganize. Skip the lard and pork, obviously. Swap the oyster sauce for vegetarian oyster sauce; swap the 1/8 tsp chicken powder for ~1/16 tsp MSG. Use mushroom or vegetarian stock. That’s all for now. We’re on our way back home from travelling in western Hunan, so we’ll probably be a bit less responsive than usual in the comment today :)
@@nvdawahyaify I saw a few knives that look like that on aliexpress, just not sure what's the exact product. I do know their normal Chinese chef knife is a shi ba zi zuo though.
Personally I would make a large jar of this Ol' buddy sauce. About the same recipe: - veggies: heavy amount of sour bamboo shoot, chopped mixture of chillies, garlics and fermented black beans. - seasoning: dark vinegar, light soy sauce, salt, sugar, MSG and optionally, 黄皮酱 aka Wampi sauce, a jam made from the regional grown berries - Dry-pan-fry the bamboo shoots to evaporate the waters and condense its flavour, put it aside after done. - Add quite large amount of vegetable oil, about half size of your chillies-garlic-blackbeean mixture, perferably those light flavour oil like corolla or sunflower oil, heat it up until just start smoking, pour the mixture in and let it fry for 30 seconds to fully extract the aromas. - Add the prepared bamboo shoots - Add decent amount of light soy sauce from the edge of the pan/wok, the amount should be about 1/2 of the aroma mixture - Add dark chinese vinegar, sugar, salt, and MSG to your taste. It should taste mildly sour with some fragrance of the vinegar, but still leads by the soy sauce flavour. (optional) - If you have wampi sauce, pour half of the jar into the pan - The sauce should be heavily seasoned as its usage is to be diluted in noodle soup base or other dish's flavour. - Let the whole thing cooking under low heat for couple miuntes, pour into a jar, seal after cooled, and it is done. - The sauce can be safely stored for one to two months in the fridge since it is so heavily salted and have oil on the top to prevent direct contact to air. - It is vegan by itself but the taste is marvelous, its application also works wonders accompanied by meats. = An Example of How to use the sauce Ol' Buddy Noodle - Heat up the pan with some oil in - Add the sauce mixture and let it heat up - Add meat, pork slice/pork mince/etc - Add hot water or stock and let the whole thing cook for 2-3 miuntes, then add noodle in - taste the soup, if it is a bit bland then add some soy sauce. - Pour the whole thing into a bowl and chop very decent amount of spring onions on it, Enjoy!
I love trying out your recipes at home, the only chinese food around where I live is the stereotypical american style takeout, and I love watching your videos to expand my food horozons
Then just order your groceries online to be delivered. Items are super inexpensive and deliveries over $35 are free.... As Chris showed, items are available at Weee... Including fresh items like Asian herbs, fruits and veggies. That's what I do.
Omg I accidentally made something just like this last week after watching your rice noodles video. Used black bean paste and chili shoots instead. Funnily enough I had a cold and it got better the next day haha
2:16 You can find fresh bamboo shoots Occasionally at big asian supermarkets Like Hong Kong City Mall in Houston Or MT Supermarket in Austin But not like 99 ranch
really love how many of your channels recipes are already vegan by nature, or are simple to modify. big thanks for this amazing insight into authentic chinise cuisine
About pork intestines and their availability in the USA: it is widely available in the southern US. If you ask the butcher in your grocery store, subheading can obtain some for you or direct you to the store in town that carries “chitlins”. You would have to show us how to prep them though
And due to the Great Migration, I've found chiterlings in just about every grocery store I've been to in majority black neighborhoods even in the Northeast and the Midwest. And ANY local butcher can get them for you if you ask.
Watching these videos, I realize how lucky I am to be based in San Francisco and the Bay Area in general where almost all of the "impossible" to source ingredients are all at my local markets.
Lucky. I'm on the opposite end of the scale... I'm pretty sure there's only two or three ethnic food stores in my whole state... If I can't get it online I'm pretty much doomed.
lmao if you have a stand of bamboo growing just over the fence in your back yard, you can get fresh bamboo shoots every spring, even if you’re not in china. but if you let them get too big before you go out and kick them over, they’re too tough to eat. my dog likes to pull them up. it’s very cute edit: this is not a categorical recommendation to eat random plants from your yard :'3 we knew that these particular bamboo shoots were fine, but definitely if you're not sure, don't eat it asdfghjkl
people should be careful with this - lots of bamboo varieties, especially the kind you find in gardens in the UK (not sure about elsewhere) are super poisonous
I can’t express how much I love your presentation! Your history, thoroughness with explaining all ingredients and substitutions, and the general expertise and charisma of your tone is so loved! Thank you!
You’re channel is legendary. The flexibility is so relaxing. You offer so many different routes to each of your recipes. Makes it feel like you want the viewers to just enjoy the process and food
I am incredibly fortunate that there is a Guangxi rice noodle place at the middle of New Jersey, which is like 40 minutes away from me. I have the chance to eat this (usually too spicy for me) and other classics like 桂林米粉 when I am craving one.
Oh hey! A classic from my hometown! I have my own recipe that I'm using, but will give this a try as well! This flavour combination I actually didn't like when I was younger. Really love it now.
I love this! My dad is from Nanning and he's an amazing cook, but the dish isn't for everyone lol my dad made this for me, my gf, and my friend while we were hanging out at home. My friend loved it and scarfed it down but my gf disliked the bamboo taste. Worked for me cuz I got a convenient second bowl lol
I have a good friend who almost never gets sick, only once every 2 or 3 years, but whenever he does, he drives about two hours out to the closest authentic Thai place and gets his food as spicy as possible and he swears that by the time he's done eating he feels completely healthy again.
Here's a fun fact: the chicken bouillon powder with the sassy chicken on the front that comes in the yellow container doesn't actually contain any animal products.
Thank you for this!!! My wife is from Nanning and every time we visit there, these are on the top of my list of things to eat. I will definitely be attempting to make this.
Where can I get one of those Amazing Orc-killing class knives?! Edit: I am a huge fan of listing the receipe ingredients along the bottom as you are saying them. Helps a lot for people like me with damaged ears.
Yeah for stuff that’s rapid-fire I think it’s helpful. But! Remember that all our video (within the past ~2 years) have proper (I.e. not automated CCs) for the hard of hearing/those watching in noisy places.
OMG I'm so happy to see this!!! Nanning is my hometown and I miss it so much. And this might sound odd, but I'm so happy you didn't use any tomatoes!!!!! For authentic LaoYou style, the sour and umami flavor should come from the fermented bamboo shoot and black beans. I know local some Nanning people don't want to see any tomatoes in their LaoYou noodles because they consider it "lazy" (because it means the shop just did not bother to make/buy good bamboo shoot and just use tomatoes to substitute the flavor).
I made these with douchi and pickled bamboo shoots from my local Asian grocer (K&S in Nashville TN, USA). I could not find pickled chilies so I subbed Sambal. The end result was amazing. My daughter has had a cold for almost a week with a weak appetite, and inhaled two servings of this stuff! Thanks for the recipe! I may never make it to Nanning, but I now have a taste of it a few minutes away in my kitchen.
Pickled bamboo shoot, red chilli and Garlic are a classic combo in Assamese cuisine. Basically there is a whole genre of dishes called "Boils" in English where meat is boiled with ginger, garlic and red chilli and finished with pickled bamboo shoots and thickened with rice flour slurry.
Thank you so much for putting the recipe on the left! I've been following you for a long time I've made some of your dishes I live in the San Francisco Bay area so I can get quite a few of those things. Thank you very much!
I really enjyo the high level overview you did. It is very useful if you are already familiar with the cooking style or the particular dish and just want t a quick reminder.
Really? Could you elaborate on that? If that's so, then why does seasoning make it less sticky? Is it the same with regular pans, or are woks somehow unique?
MD here. We get fresh bamboo here in the Chinese groceries. Limited on the varieties tho. We can actually cut them ourselves as there is wild (technically invasive) bamboo.
I’ve been doing a quick fry of garlic and douchi before going in with some of the vinegar sauce in order to make some cheap but good instant ramen. Works great!
It's always super interesting when you can sort of infer the relationship between cultures from the cuisine. Lots of similarities between Cantonese, Taiwanese, Thai and Vietnamese. You can almost paint the migration of people and culture if you lay it out on a map.
In the spring time, you can find bamboo chutes growing. Just wait till about the third week of weather above 70 degrees, and the chutes should be anywhere between 5-8 inches. Peal husks, and everything not tender enough to be eaten, pickle the rest to preserve for winter and fall when you cant get bamboo chute fresh in stores.
I got my hands on some sour bamboo from Thailand that came in a vacuum packed bag with liquid. It smells SO funky!! I made the soup base and the whole house smells of bamboo funk. XP I made the vegetarian version and it's quite tasty even though it's meatless! Thank you for sharing the recipe!! ^__^
loved the video!! it's almost a crime that this doesn't have a lot of views!!! Will definitely make this dish for me and my partner, thanks for sharing!!
I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but dark miso makes a decent substitute for douchi. The darker (more aged) the better, obviously. It's not exactly the same, but it's really not far off. Although miso in North America tends to be the light variety (which is still probably better than nothing), I have definitely seen dark miso on my occasional trips back to Canada and the UK.
This looks amazing! You need to publish a cookbook for all of us who love written recipes. Lots of pictures from your amazingly produced videos too. Thanks for the inspiration
Can you give a hint as to how the "Ol Buddy" MaPo tofu would go? Does one just substitute the four main ingredients in this for the Toban Djan? I'd love to play around with that recipe that I cook often, as well as try new ones.
Thank you so much for introducing this amazing noodle dish from my hometown! For me, it always seems so difficult to make it at home. But after watching this video, just realized that most of the ingredients can be found on amazon!! I will definitely try it in the future!
Didn't realize this was a thing! I had left over Mapo Tofu and left over noodles from beef noodle soup, and thought, what the hell, let's mix them together. Delicious, though missing the bamboo shoots.
Tho I still prefer adding some fresh tomato cubes/slices which gives it a mild sour taste and fresh veggie texture. Also, fried eggs is also needed since it can soak some of the soup and when you bite it the flavor will just explode in your mouth.
The synchronicity. Two hours ago I literally made mapo toufu using bamboo shoots, fermented beans (supposed to be 豉醬 but it tastes more like 豆豉 after being in the fridge for a couple more years than it should), and a bit of chilli oil.... I mean, bamboo shoots aren't the kind of stuff I use on a regular basis, probably haven't used it for months.... And then I watched this video, not knowing what 老友面 is...
Man, Asian ingredients are expensive in the US. Not just Chinese imports, but Korean too like jjajang sauce. It's great that you guys are showing authentic recipes, but I need more locally-sourced ingredient alternatives on a budget. I'll probably have to keep sticking to Americanized Chinese recipes in order to not break the bank lol.
I literally bought a fresh bamboo shoot (had to boil it my self do get rid of the toxins) and a prepared fresh bamboo shoot a few weeks ago at an Hmart here in the us. If you have access to a Chinese or Korean grocery store then you should be able to find fresh bamboo shoots in the west.
The packaged bamboo does come w/ a bit of funk :< wish I embraced the fresh stuff more when I was over there but the food is so incredible you find yourself getting caught up in anything.. Many Americans don't know what they're missing w/ real Chinese food it's the sauce to life.
I would love to see a playlist of videos describing naturally gluten-free recipes I have started being interested in Chinese cooking because I'm forced to go gluten free and I prefer to eat things that are supposed to be gluten-free to begin with so if I could know which one of your very fascinated content to relevant to this it will really help thanks very much I appreciate the hard work you do
definitely a well thought out grandma style recipe.... salty from the black beans, sour from the bamboo shoots, bitter from the garlic and liver, spicy from the chilli, and a tad sweet from the soy sauce and sugar used for marinade. Flavor profile heaven right there. Not sure why but douchi in soup noodles always scares me LOL Yet to see some Liuzhou crayfish noodles. or have I just missed it?
I was at a Chinese restaurant in New York City a few years. I ordered beef with noodles and they came with alkaline noodles, only I didn't know that at the time. I thought the restaurant had messed up and dumped soap in the dish by mistake. Lol.
Could you do a few videos on traditional Chinese peasant food? Simple dishes that the poor ate prepared without the convenience of the processed products and mostly vegetarian. Also a few videos on lunch boxes would also be appreciated!
The invasive bamboo stand in my childhood home's backyard evidently dated to the Cantonese family living diagonally on the opposite lot, who'd been in the US for decades, planted it shortly after they got here, and were regularly ?roasting? the larger shoots.
@@ChineseCookingDemystified i do think a well seasoned wok would stand op to this lettle vinager an this cooking time. but if making a one person portion i might go with my claypot