Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I'll have a dearth of plums in a week or so. I have a couple of tart recipes but a girl can eat only so many tarts.

I'd like to make Chinese plum sauce. I've checked my Chinese cookbooks to no avail. I've pulled a couple of recipes off the internet but does anybody have a t&t recipe for Chinese plum sauce? I'd appreciate it.

fitzie

Fitzie, I can't help you but we do love love love plum jam. Great for crostata in the winter months.

Fitzie,

I do have a recipe but I'm working late tonight. I'll get it to you tommorrow.

Thanks, Fuzzy. I apprediate it.
fitzie

Well.... my neighbor came over today with a basket of plums and proudly handed them to me. He was eating one and said that although they didn't look ripe they were very tasty. Well, I tried one and it was at the extreme end of tart!

I've never tried to ripen plums. Does anybody know? Do I leave them sitting on the windowsill or put them in a paper bag? I was really looking forward to my first picking. Have Kenji's crust recipe on the kitchen counter, bought butter today, and was trying to decide between Mary's plum tart and another that I've been eyeing for a while.

Damn!

fitzie

Fitzie
Just leave them on your counter at room temp and they will ripen... may take a few days.
I froze the excess pie crust and it holds up well.
Hope you get to enjoy them soon.
Ilene

I'd put them in a paper bag.

Also, there's a fantastic recipe for a sausage, plum braise in Mollie Stevens's All About Braising both Becca and I love. Let me know if you want the recipe.

Amy

Fitzie,

Please note that I have not tried this recipe. It's from Asian Sauces & Marinades: http://www.amazon.com/Asian-Sauces-Mari ... 1552976149

2 lbs dark red plums, pitted & chopped
3/4 cup raisins
8 oz chopped onions
2 medium chiles, seeded & chopped
2 tsp fresh ginger puree
1 tsp alspice
1 Tbs crushed black peppercorns
1/2 tsp ground cloves
4 cups rice or distilled vinegar
1 Tbs salt
4 cups coarse sugar, preferably demerara

Put the plums in a large saucepan with the raisins, onions, chiles, ginger, allspice, peppercorns, and cloves. Pour in the vinegar and boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

Puree the mixture. Add the salt and sugar, turn back on the heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Simmer over low heat until thick with no excess liquid, around 2 hours. Bottle or jar. Makes about 1 quart.

Note: the recipes in Asian Sauces & Marinades are sometimes a bit off in quantities, so don't be afraid to adjust the above if it seems out of balance to you.

Thanks, Fuzzy. This book looked so ineresting that I ordered it.
fitzie


Yes, Amy, I'd like that recipe. It sounds really interesting.

Fitzie,

The book has a LOT of good ideas and sauce recommendations. However, I'll warn you that the recipes are not very well tested, so use your intuition if quantities seem wrong.