San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-11-01
CHINESE COOKERY.
KITCHEN SUPPLIES OF A RESTAU-
RANT ON MOTT STREET.
A Great Variety Of Spices and Condi-
ments-A Stock Of Standard Foods,
Many of Which Are Not Familiar to

Long before Lucullus immortali1ed him
self by RECALLING the jeunesse doree Of Rome
with his hundred thousand dollar dinners his
prototypes were INDUCING in the same pleas
ures on a similar scale in Pekin and Fook-
Chow, for astronomy has been among the
fine arts in China almost from the beginning
of Chinese history. The Chinese chef has an
official status of at least forty centuries du-
ration. Two thousand years before the Chris
tian era he was esteemed as highly and paid
as literally as he is today, and now he is ex-
ceedingly well paid.
For example, the chef in restaurant in
Mott street came to New York from San
Francisco under contract by which he re-
ceives 500 month, besides his board and
lodging, for his services All things consid-
cred, this salary is fully equivalent to the
$1,000 year paid to such chefs as preside in
the kitchens of the Hoffman house, belmont
cos, the Union League club and the Wander
bilt mansion. The Monaghan chef, to Judge
by Lee-Ah, who IS the distinguished individual
mentioned, is curiously like his Caucasian
colleague in that he is dignified, egotistical,
petulant and thoroughly independent. I'm
like the Caucasian, however, the great man
of the Chinese kitchen believes in working
himself at the simplest tasks in order to keep
himself in practice.
In taking charge Of the kitchen of great
restaurant his first work is to supply himself
with a great variety of spices and condi-
ments, and in this particular he is fully
qualified to give points to the jaded sybarites
of the Occident. In his stores will be black,
yrhita nd rod rSayt-,ar yrall tho
of the tropics; curry, chutney, mustard,
ginger the favorits spice Of the eest9, green,
dried, picked, sweetened and pulverized;
see-yu, which is the father Of soy and the
grandfather of Worcestershire sauce; olive
oil, peanut OIL cotton seed oil, clarified butter
tine ghee of India; onions, shallots, chives,
leeks, garlic, fu-qua and su-qua thighly Gull
tivated bitter cucumbers,; natal, for which
there is no English name; orange and lemon
peel, vinegar, lemon juice, powdered crab
and lobster shells, a curious preparation con-
tanning iron, half a dozen forms of dried
mushrooms, and not less than fifty powerful
condiments and spices unknown to Americans
and having no English names.
In every kitchen is stock Of standard
foods, but few of which are familiar to the
American eye Among the more interesting
are smoked chicken, duck and pigeon, which,
unlike our smoked meats, retain the natural
color and appearance; shrimps, prawns,
oysters and CLAIMS which have been dried by
some mysterious process, unknown to US,
until they are as hard and durable as wood;
fish that suggests sardinss il oil, but which
is foot in length, from two to three pounds
in weight, packed in a sardine box a cubic
foot in size; dried fishes which range from a
tiny sPrat smaller than but similar to the
English whitebait, to a monster eight feet
long, two feet wide, and two inches thick;
preserved cabbage, which is rolled up 50 as to
suggest ball of yarn: bean, pea and wheat
gluten in long candy like sticks, which are
made by crushing the cereal and removing
the starch by often repeated washings; odd
sausases, of which each one is suspended by
brilliant colored cords. and is stuffed not
with an indlstinguiShabls hash or paste,
but with alternating dice of fat and
!sxn meat; huge oans filed with the
famous edible bamboo tips, which look
ami smell ike huge asparagus, but taste
unlike anything in Christian markets;
water lily leaves, which are used both as a
food and as colorinS material imparting a
beautiful Gresn 70 amy white food with which
they may be cooked; preserved eggs, Of
which each one Is embalAed in a rough mass
of quick lime, charcoal and fish glue sea
sprouts, which resemble string bean two
fest i'll length.
Occasionally in the wealthiest establish
ments may be seen the celebrated birds
nests, which look for all the world like irreg-
ul2r masses. of cooIsfs glue; sharks f-s.
which are gfeenis!l W c--:e lccIrS OF d65iccated
SOFT carthage; beche-de-ls-nler, mollusk of
n high order, which is a first cousin Of Victor
huSo's devil fish; ard dried sea anemones,
wnicL bear tho same culinary resemblance to
BIRDS nests that swapping turtles do to the
diamond back terrapin. Some idea Of the
righteousness of the Mongol is afforded by
the prices he charges for these delicacies.
Dried CLANS cost 81 pound; dried oysters,
$50; sharks fins, 81 to SO, according to
quality: beche-de-la- MGR, from 10 cents to IS,
and birds nests, from $40 to $50 dozen.
II Ciiliese cooking sauces play as import
ant q part as i'll the cuisine at Les Freres
ProVeureau For the preparation of these,
as we'll as Tor the thickening OF soups and the
conooction of "made dishes" there will be
bovlfuls of the finest wheat -four and
starch, and of that finest Of all amylaceous
foods, rice -four. In this and in other re-
SpScLS ING SCOreS u Tue kiecnon contsilu TIE
same articles as first class American restau-
rant kitchens. Whatever Is to be found il
our larders finds place there, and the
numerous articles mentioned add the variety
which is the main distinguishing feature OF
the Chinese cuisine.
The furniture of the kitchen ,resents q
curious instance of the invasion the east
by the west, for the cast iron Gag, or range
Is found beside the brick bty. Csed il
CyL;na ,,b;ob ryr.aatIv reSeroS IaaJ O,,o POO