I’m really frustrated by the lack of information about Chinese food and vegetables on the web. I go to the local grocery and buy some “yau choy” from the produce section, and then come home to find only 3 hits when I look for recipes on google, and none of those have actual recipes for it. I found out it’s also called “oil seed rape” or “broccoli rabe.” The first sounds dirty, and the second sounds like a a underground techno party for vegetarians with colds. I see a lot of chinese cookbooks out there, but since I don’t know if any of them are any good, or authentic, or whatnot, I have no idea what to buy.

This goes along with my frustration at identifying the dish “Ling Gao with Sezuan Pickles,” which is served at King Fung Garden in Boston’s Chinatown only if you ask nicely (since it isn’t on the menu). Ling gao seems to refer to small 1-2″ long noodles that are oval, thick, and chewy. But I can’t find any information anywhere about these noodles, where to get them, what else they might be called, etc.

California has great produce, only I have no idea how to cook most of it. It’s not that I can’t make something up, but I would rather have some recipe at least point me in the right direction.