aem wrote:
>
> Priscilla H. Ballou wrote:
> > [snip] When I red cook, I use a concoction which is
> > basically soy sauce, water, ginger, sugar, maybe
> > something else (don't have _How to Cook and Eat in Chinese_
> > here at the office). Do you make a lot and freeze the extra?
> > Freeze it and reuse it? Or do you mean something else by
> > "red-cooking sauce?"
> >
> Yeah, that's the stuff, with star anise (essential) and dried Sichuan
> peppers and other options like a piece of cinammon bark and a hunk of
> yellow rock sugar.

Right! It was the star anise I was forgetting. No dried peppers for
this tender-mouthed gal.

> After you've enjoyed your red cooked pork and turnips, strain the
> cooking liquid through cheesecloth into a jar and refrigerate it. When
> it's cold, any fat in it will come to the top and congeal. I leave it
> there as a sealant until the next time I use it (just like chicken
> stock). It will keep for months in the refrigerator, I think, though
> we usually reuse it quicker than that. Sometimes I have a larger
> quantity than I know I will normally need, so I divide it and freeze
> the excess.

But you were talking about freezing it, weren't you?

> The next time you use it, bring it to a simmer for a couple of minutes
> and then taste it. Replenish whichever elements you think it needs --
> star anise, five-spice powder, dried chile peppers, garlic, ginger,
> whatever, or everything. Repeat the storage and reuse process until
> you have to move. That's the only reason why our current batch is only
> a year or so old.

Wonderful! Thanks so much!

Priscilla