slow braised red grouper in sake 紅燒紅石斑 - part 3

It is time to rotate back to the slow braised red grouper in sake 紅燒紅石斑. It takes some preparation but the result is a pot full that would last for many meals.

my neighbor gave me two can of this craft tuna; he assures me that I will find it better than any I have tried

he is right, it is the best canned tuna that I have ever eaten; it is very creamy, not dry, and full of flavor

I have been burnt so many times buying Hong Kong style sweet egg rolls in the West that I have all but given up risking my money for frustration in return. All that I have tried has too much sugar and lack flavor. The last time I had good ones was in a trip to Asia in Hong Kong. With the recently opened Asian food market, they have a huge selections of different brands, from China as well as from Taiwan. I decide to give it a gamble. There was a Macau brand which can be good but too expensive. I also suspect it just use the Macau shop brand so you just never know. I decided to get the cheapest that has a Hong Kong branding but like most things, really is made in the mainland China.

this was very good ones that I had in Hong Kong that were hand made at the shop; you can see the roughness and airy texture

this one in the cardboard box is just $2.50 so why not?

it turns out it is the closest to the ones in Hong Kong; these shorties are in the extra bonus box

What is interesting is the shorties in the bonus pack taste not as good as the long ones in the big carton. It is because it is either a different batch, or even made in another location. I went through two of the $2.50 boxes and I would later realize buying the one in the square tin is cheaper by weight.

In all honesty while this brand is the best I've ever found in the West, it is not even close to the best ones in Hong Kong, if you know where to go to find them. This is still too sweet, and not fluffy enough as it has to be machine made at this price.

this is a 16 oz net weight in the tin; the brand Eulong 元朗 is misspelled; it should be Yuen Long 元朗, which was a country side but it is as metropolitan as anywhere in Hong Kong is today

the long ones are fluffier

It is time to rotate back to making slow braised red grouper in sake 紅燒紅石斑. I had very good success buying these pink grouper steak from the Asian market near me. I use more the less the same technique as two previous times preparing this. By braising the ingredients under very low heat most of the nutrients, flavors, and fragrance are preserved - instead of boiling away into the air as molecules.

I use a Korean clay pot for the low heat braising - which took about 2 hours

actually there is no pieces of braised red grouper in this bowl; I just pick off other delicious thing from the pot as snack

the flat ribbon is tofu skin roll unwound