blake murphy wrote:
> On Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:40:59 -0400, Jean B. wrote:
>
>> blake murphy wrote:
>>> On Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:36:23 -0700, sf wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Thu, 09 Apr 2009 09:04:13 -0400, "Jean B." > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> sf wrote:
>>>>>> On Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:57:05 -0400, "Jean B." > wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Gee, I am surprised you can't find this. The brand is Lan Chi,
>>>>>>> IIRC. That may help. I guess I'm glad I have a jar I just opened
>>>>>>> recently if it is going to be hard or impossible to find.
>>>>>> Are you sure it's paste and not sauce? I can find chili *sauce* with
>>>>>> garlic very easily. It's not the same taste.
>>>>>>
>>>>> Yes, it's paste.
>>>> Great! Where do you find it?
>>>>
>>>> I used to just pick it up at my regular market. I found a thread on
>>>> ChowHound that tells me I'm not crazy... it *is* hard to find here.
>>>> Other threads I found say it's hard to find elsewhere too.
>>> whereat is 'here'? there should be a staggering variety at any asian
>>> market.
>>>
>>> jean b. - i have a jar of the lan chi in my refrigerator. what do you
>>> usually use it for?
>>>
>>> i usually find myself using the szechuan brand hot bean paste:
>>>
>>> <http://www.myethnicworld.com/p-632-bean-sauce-hot-szechuan-style.aspx>
>>>
>>> ...which also comes in a smaller-sized can. the sweet bean is good, too.
>>>
>>> your pal,
>>> blake
>> Oh, gee. Probably stuff off the top of my head now. It seems to
>> me one of my Chinese cookbooks, that was on the cusp of the red
>> pepper flake and paste/sauce revolution called for this. I'll
>> have to unbury those books and look. I think you have Delfs, so
>> it must not be that. Do you have Mrs. Chiang?
>
> you have a good memory. yes, i have delfs, but i'd not heard of mrs.
> chaing's. the folks revieing at amazon seem to like it a lot. i think
> i'll order a used copy.
>
> i also have 'the people's republic of china cookbook,' but the recipes seem
> under-spiced to me.
>
> your pal,
> blake

Okay. I'll try to unbury my shelved Chinese cookbooks. I must
have learned about it somewhere....

Okay, I may have learned about it from Chiang. In the ingredients
section, she lists hot pepper paste. Part of that entry is:
"Back in Szechwan, Mrs. Chiang's mother made her own hot pepper
paste; here in America, we buy it. Chinese grocery stores sell
the stuff in jars imported from Taiwan under a variety of labels;
the most common one is 'hot chili paste with garlic.' "

It is also mentioned in the ingredients section of Claiborne and
Lee's "The Chinese Cookbook."

More recently, "The Shun Lee Cookbook" by Michael Tong, lists this
along with hot bean sauce. Note that Tong recommends Hai Pao Wang
brand, which I have never seen around the Boston area.

I wish I could access my old book on Asian ingredients by Bruce
Cost, but it is on the top of a high bookcase--and barricaded too!
I am sure there are many more references to this in my various
Chinese and Asian cookbooks, though. I think using it is a matter
of habit, to some degree.

I remember Delf's because so few people seem to know about it. It
was really revolutionary when it came out!

--
Jean B.