Take a guess....

[geeme]

I don't have an answer to this, so am actually asking for your input.

I get a particular dish from my favorite local Chinese restaurant that is chock-full of all kinds of things. I haven't ordered it many times at this point, because I just became aware it was available recently. Each time I get it, though, I think "I can make this", and I look very closely at what they have in it. Well, I have made something very close to it, but theirs is just so convenient to pick up.....

At any rate, I had some leftovers (I can only eat about 1/3 of what they serve at a time) for lunch, and noticed something that surprised me - a little green ring that looked amazingly like a slice of green olive. Olive? So I picked it out and tried it by itself to see if it was, indeed, a slice of olive. Nope. The flavor and texture I can only describe as coming pretty close to hearts of palm. But I've never seen a piece of hearts of palm look quite that green or looking so much like a slice of olive. I thought maybe it was lemongrass. But after finding and trying a couple more pieces, I don't think the flavor is very lemongrass-like. Now I'll give you the caveat that this is a strongly-flavored, highly spicy dish - could be the sauce and other ingredients are somewhat masking the flavor.

At any rate, I'm puzzling over what it could be. Sorry, no pics - just keep in mind it really looks a LOT like a slice of green olive. Any ideas on what it is? Your guess is as good as mine!

 

[Sethsquatch]

Bamboo? Lotus?

 

[Justaguy]

Gee it may not be a secret ingredient.........pull one out next time and use for a visual aide while asking them if needed. Then go home and

So we can see while we

 

[Burning Colon]

So, what is the dish called? and please, don't say "number 17" from the menu!
perhaps we can reverse engineer this by starting with a name.

 

[geeme]

Good idea, Mark, but I'd be surprised if we could reverse engineer it, though it's a possibility. It's ja ja mein - I've found MANY different recipes for it online, none of which have everything this place packs into it.

 

[Burning Colon]

guess it could just be a chinese olive. perhaps the chef puts his personal signature on the dish by adding it. i watched a couple youtube videos and you're correct, a thousand and one ways to make the dish, along with its korean and japanese variations.

http://piyananv.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/ga-na-chai-pickled-vegetable-with-chinese-olive-fruit

 

[geeme]

Cool - thanks for looking, and for the link! That may well be it. I'll check out a couple of the Asian markets here and see if they've got some I can try outside this dish.

Yes, when I make ja ja mein, I use a kind of blend of several recipes I found, but add many of the veggie ingredients I know the restaurant uses (plus whatever suits my fancy at the time.) It's truly a meal in itself, even if you leave out the noodles.

 

[Burning Colon]

of all the variations i watched, i think this is the one i would make........ who knows, perhaps i would toss in some sliced olives.........but, i would doubt it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRTQjRUaXG4&feature=related

 

[geeme]

Maybe I'll go pick some up this weekend an post a pic of it, with at least one of every item laid out on a separate plate. So good.... so good....