Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (tcrouzer)

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 08:26:01 GMT

justinjack, your web sites do not work.
Here is a link to an RV site that has a written recipe:
http://www.fiberglassrv.c...-chili-rice-37393.html

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (justinjack)

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:40:45 GMT

More about Jimmy James, go to chili-rice.com, or shanghai-jimmy.com

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 22:22:27 GMT

HD, and others wanting to try your hand at Shanghai Jimmy's famous Chili Rice, the actual recipe is no where to be found! But... you can come close to making something like Jimmy served. by using a lean ground, or finly chopped, meat like round steak. Jimmy probable used that but I like sirloin. Jimmy may have browned the meat a bit but I have many times done it northern style by skipping the browning process and just adding water. If you do brown the meat don't drain it! Jimmy used a pat of margarine as an option to fattin it up. I like to cook the rice in butter. A quarter stick for 1 lb. of rice.

Born In OKC suggested using some Wick Fowler's chili seasoning but maybe just half the mix. I use it all, or sometimes Carrol Shelby's, but for a bit over 2 lbs. of meat. The kinda unusual bay leaf, sugar, and lemon juice, from Jimmy's LP record posted here earlier in the thread, (for you younger folks thats something kinda like a big CD :~) ), are things I use. I like lime juice instead of lemon sometimes.

One thing I used while looking for a maybe secret ingredent was Soy Sauce. Just one tbs. per lb. of meat. You could just try adding some to a small portion to see how you like it.

Jimmy was known as the king of options. Chopped onions, celery, sweet relish, and "Jimmy's Sauce" that was a kinda picante type stuff, were optional toppings. I like chopped pickled jalapenos w/ mine but I am known to put that on almost anything. I may have forgotten an option or two?

Oh, and at least at some of his locations, Jimmy used a powdered cheese, like what comes in Mac n Cheese, as an option. I just use mild grated Cheddar of Colby. This is not added to the chili while cooking.

Oyster Crackers, like in were offrred as a side but you could always put some on top. This is a must have I think.

Jimmy put the rice, then the option of a pat margarine (not butter most think), then the option of cheese (most think under the chili), and then the chili. He served his Chili Rice and a paper cup type thing. I just use a bowl. You could order double layers of all this from Jimmy if you wanted.

Jimmy's recamended drink w/ Chili Rice was lemonade. It is supprisingly good w/ chili Rice! Sometimes I dring beer.

Is this Shanghai Jimmy's reacipe? Well his secret recipe remains just that. But... re read this thread, and take your choices above, and I think you will be on your way to making some real good Chili Rice, that is somewhat close to what made this dish so foundly remembered by most all who were lucky enough to have had it.
Joe

Oh, feel free to ask quistions if you like. Maybe others who have had Jimmy's Chili Rice might chime in I hope.

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (HDtravlr1)

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:00:10 GMT

PapaJoe8
Still no luck on finding the recipe for Jimmy's chili rice? I have been reading this post since it was started and want to try some!

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (MellowRoast)

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:57:42 GMT

Austin is where I was first introduced to the breakfast taco, and I've loved them ever since. You can't beat the $1.50 breakfast tacos around that city.

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 18:51:10 GMT

Allin, welcome to Roadfood! How did you learn about Shanghai Jimmy?

Mellow, Matt's El rancho was another another one of my fav places to eat in Austin. They made a round crispy Taco that I loved. Maybe they still do? It was just off I-35 back then. You might enjoy the Long Gone Austin Taco thread about the Tamale House. It's here somewhere. I would Google it instead of the search here.
Joe

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (allin)

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:10:12 GMT

good to see the information and i like also Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice and its like good taste to me...

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (MellowRoast)

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 10:52:13 GMT

I'm sure those places were long gone by the time I got to Austin. But talk about a town with a lot of great places to eat.

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:07:06 GMT

OH Mellow, Shanghai Charlie's (I hope that is what it was called) was long gone by the 80s I think? It was on a street behind the UT main drag. It was good chili rice though! Someone said Charlie's used jasmine rice but that was not my memory. It tasted just like Jimmy's Chli Rice to me. And we are pretty sure Jimmy used regular white rice of some kind.

The other thing you might have missed was the great tacos at the Tamale House on 1st. and Congress, right by the river. I did a thread about those tacos here years ago.
Joe

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:54:56 GMT

From a thread about celery a question came up, by MellowRoast, about Jimmy. Anyone floating around the net, who knew Jimmy, remember him saying why he made the LP about how to make good Texas chili? The recipe from it is on this thread somewhere. Don't be shy and please chime in.

I hope this was not already discussed here. I did not re read this thread.

OKC, any thoughts?

Mine are that Jimmy thought it might generate some spare change. I hope it did. Or maybe he just wanted folks to know more about Texas chili?
Joe

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:59:34 GMT

Some of the not so common chili ingredients on Jimmy's LP recipe were a bay leaf, lemon juice, and sugar. This was not the recipe for his chili rice chili though.

Does anyone who had it remember a slight hint of sweetness in Jimmy's chili? There was for sure something different about his chili.
Joe

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:01:52 GMT

Good idea Rose! Thanks again.

Mellow, there was a chili rice place in Austin in the 60s when I lived there. It was much like Jimmy's. I am sure whoever opened it knew jimmy. It may have been called Charlie's Chili Rice? I ate there all the time.
Joe

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (MellowRoast)

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:59:43 GMT

I lived in Austin back in the '80s. Sure wish I'd known about Shanghai Jimmy then. This thread is making me non-stop hungry.

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (White Rose)

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:54:58 GMT

Sorry, forgot the link:

http://www.dallasobserver.com/locations/dream-cafandeacute--430294/

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (White Rose)

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:53:11 GMT

You're both quite welcome.

One more thing. That article mentions the health food restaurant "Dessert Dreams" owned by a woman named Mary O'brien. I googled health food Dallas "Mary O'brien" and came up with the following link to a review of a health food restaurant called "Dream Cafe," which was opened in 1988 by the current owner/chef Mary O'brien. Maybe the same wonman with a new restaurant? Maybe someone local could visit her, call her, or e-mail her. She might be the same person?

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:36:50 GMT

Rose, thanks!

OKC.. that is a new one for me. I bet that partnership never got off the ground. I have seen no other mention of Jimmy and Mary.
Joe

Re:Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (Born in OKC)

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 04:55:46 GMT

White Rose,

Thanks for the link to the D Magagine article. I am not certain if PJ8 or another previously posted that one or not, but I don't remember it as I write this note. I don't remember a place named "Dessert Dreams" either, but I had been away from Dallas for many years in 1985. FYI, D, is sort of a booster magazine for Dallas. It has items of local interest and history and so on. In some respects it is like the Arizona Highways magazine I remember (and which may still exist) but for a city rather than a state.

So far as Shanghai Jimmy was concerned I do remember a couple of places where he vended vegetarian chili. He used black eye peas as the main or only ingredient in lieu of beef. I have seen some fair vegetarian concoctions using several type of beans but no where else have I seen just one variety used and with success. But then I am partial to anything Jimmy did.

I am reminded that there is a Brazilian dish where black eye peas are soaked until the hulls fall off after which they are molded/formed into balls and fried in red palm (dende) oil, I think. Said to be a first class artery clogger! Fortunately I have never had any! The name is acarje or something like. I don't think Jimmy owed anything to that Brazilian recipe, but it is interesting to note that he used the same raw material in his vegetarian chili.

I've always thought that someone else trying for a vegetarian chili might try to use that Brazilian preparation as a starting point.

Again, thank you for the post.

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (White Rose)

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:14:26 GMT

I hope this isn't old or (worse) spurious information, but I came across this article online while doing a Google search for "Shanghai Jimmy Chili Rice." It's from a amgazine called "D Magazine," which is apparently dedicated to weddings in Dallas. The article is date August 1, 1985, and is from the "Street Talk" section of the August 1985 edition:

There's good news for chili rice lovers. Culinary institution Shanghai Jimmy has spent the last few months looking for someone who might give him some space so he could cook and sell his chili rice the way he likes to do it. He found a home in a new health food restaurant, Dessert Dreams, that's owned by a fan of Jimmy's, Mary O'Brien. There's one catch. O'Brien doesn't sell meat, so in keeping with the theme, Jimmy uses vegetables in his chili instead of meat.

I would have thought 1985 would be too late, but I'm not that knowledgeable about SJ. Ayway, I could only get a Google cache of the article. Here it is.

http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:0LYYEhzAR8YJ:www.dweddings.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp%3Fsid%3D5C1933F1D01C4247A724BAB13C6E670B%26nm%3Dtest%26type%3DMultiPublishing%26mod%3DPublishingTitles%26mid%3D7155F7796F354F21B1183937D847D6DF%26AudId%3D29CB3DCAC7E94A08B642EC371FE6E70B%26tier%3D4%26id%3D23B22717109A4382A0A2F19AB1DE46BA+%22shanghai+jimmy%22+chili+rice&cd=43&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

(Long link!)

Sorry if this has been posted before.

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:05:24 GMT

If anyone stumbles onto his thread who remembers Jimmy's chili, we need your input. Anything you remember would be helpful.

One question was about the meat. Was it ground or small cubes?
Joe

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:25:06 GMT

The new Dallas history site was down for awhile. For anyone interested it's back up now.

And, anyone who has not tried chili over rice... it's oh so nice. I like cheese between my rice and chili.
Joe

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:04:53 GMT

Empress Chili tried a location in Dallas at one time. On the menu was "Shanghai Jimmy's famous chili rice". There is an article from the Dallas Observer about this. It can be found by doing a search at Ask.com for;

"shanghai jimmy" chili

Anyone know someone at Empress? Someone there must have Jimmy's recipe. Would they be willing to share it w/ the chili loving world is the next question?

And... anyone searching the net for info about Jimmy should check out the Dallas History site link above. Lots of new stuff coming to light. The forum there does not show up well in searches for Jimmy.
Joe

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Sat, 10 May 2008 15:52:25 GMT

Yep, I would love to see some Hawaiian chili recipes also! Big one?

Anyone searching the net for info about Shanghai Jimmy... there is some great new info at the new Dallas History site. The stuff on that site does not come up well in the net search things. Try the link below and go to the "Dallas Living" section. Some of the info is on a thread about the "ribshack". The other threads have a something in the name about Shanghai Jimmy;

www.dallashistory.freeforums.org

Joe

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (Born in OKC)

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:11:20 GMT

B K K -

You make an interesting point, actually several. Jimmy lived in the Orient for more than twenty years and operated eateries. I am sure he was well familiar with the practice of putting a portion of a stir fry say on the contents of a rice bowl. In fact, his small portion was given in a carboard container, an 8 oz. "tub" as he called it with the chili and sometimes the other ingredients on top. That "tub" was about the size of the individual rice bowl I see in Chinese Restaurants. The large 16 oz. tub differed by being taller.

One of these days someone will run down all of the items in past Dallas newspapers about Jimmy. One of them had a story to the effect that one of his customers complained about beans in chili because, "They do something to me," leading Jimmy to serve chili over rice. I think that article implied, if it did not actually state, that happened in China. I infer that places he operated, like "Jimmy's Kitchen," mentioned more on the Dallas History Message Board offered chili as part of their American style (well, maybe Hawaiian style) menu. I would comment that Chinese (Cantonese anyway) dishes generally have only a small amount of meat and a lot of vegetables in the sauce - as I am sure you know - whereas the vegetable content in Jimmy's chili was too well integrated to be detected. I have eaten a Viet dish that was mostly shrimp, dried shrimo, red peppers, and oi, sort of a seafood chili.

I really hope we hear from you again. I hope you can post a Hawaiian recipe for chili and if it was used by your mother, well so much the better! I'd also like to know if toppings like chopped onions and cheese are offered in the Islands. Thanks again for a very interesting post.

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (Big Kahuna Kooks)

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:15:02 GMT

Hawaiians have been eating chili rice for years and it is a staple at the local L&Ls and Zippys. My mom fixed it that way when I was growing up and for the longest time I never had chili without rice. It wouldn't surprise me if Jimmy stumbled ontot this local delicacy on his many travels tot the orient as he would have to have laid over in honolulu....

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:25:23 GMT

OKC, Weird how places keep disapearing! I found another way to find the write ups I mentioned earlier. Better hurry! Do a Google for;

jimmy's kitchen french may kowloon central james

No "s, It's the first link and take the HTML version.
Joe

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:56:08 GMT

Oh, one of the Jimmy's Kitchen was in Shanghai but it was later moved. This was mentioned in the write up at the hcclubbing site.

A good question came up at the history site. Has anyone actually seen Jimmy making chili?
Joe

If anyone has tried to email me prior to 3-4-08, my old email froze and I can not get into it. I now have a new email that works from here.
Joe

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 12:10:29 GMT

More confermation at the new Dallas history site that Jimmy's Kitchen was started by Shanghai Jimmy.
Joe

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:05:59 GMT

Bill, who knew Jimm'y to some degree, has found the thread at the new DH forum. He stressed that the LP recipe was not the "real" Chili Rice chile recipe.

So, what do we know for sure. Jimmy was a one man show so the ecipe needed to be fast and easy. It was mild, not greasy, and had no big chunks of meat. What else do we know about the chili, besides that is was tasty stuff?

There are a few things from the LP recipe that I think might fit;
Lemon juice
Sugar
Bay leaf

Chopped of ground beef? I can't remember? Lean round steak, not chuck, maybe so? Did Jimmy have a butcher prepare the meat to his liking, so it was ready to cook, maybe?

Jimmy served oyster crackers. That's a northern chili deal. Hey, Jimmy was from Minnesota.

And celery? It was for sure an optional topping. I have said often, here at Roadfood, that I am sure some secret northern chili recipes use some sort of celery, celery salt, or as someone suggested... celery seed.

Hey, we need to start somewhere.
Joe

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (PapaJoe8)

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:19:26 GMT

I am a dummy when it comes to the copy paste stuff. That link I mentioned above is gone now. I found the write ups another way, and at a different site called hkclubbing.com. Try this;

"shanghai jimmy" "jimmy james" "aaron landau"

It is the 2nd link, and starts La French May Menue, on my Google. I think this post may change that? There are the articles about both "kitchen" locations, and some stuff about their history.

OKC, maybe you can get them on here?
Joe

RE: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice (Born in OKC)

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:23:53 GMT

PJ8-

The bottom line for the following is that if can get to the "frenchnay" article again, or made a copy of it, please post it.

I am still unable to raise the "french may" or "frenchmay" article. I see the index or table of contents item that should be a link when I google, but the return is this address not found on the server ir something like that. All I have is a location, Wanchai, and a "business partner" Aaron Landau who was involved from the index item.

If you google more you can find that Wan Chai is a suburb of Hong Kong and that there are (or were, not sure if they are all open) two or three locations of Jimmy's Kitchen. There is a description of one of them:

Jimmy's Kitchen
1 Wyndham St
Central
Tel: 2526 5293
This restaurant opened in 1928, a replica of a similar American-owned restaurant in Shanghai. Now one of Hong Kong's oldest Western restaurants, Jimmy's Kitchen has had several homes before moving in the 1960s to its present site. Some of its waiters are descendants from the original staff. The daily specials are written on a blackboard, and an extensive a la carte menu offers salads and soups, steaks, chicken, Indian curries, and a seafood selection that includes sole, scallops, and the local garoupa. It's also a good place for corned beef and cabbage, beef Stroganoff, and hearty German fare, including Wiener schnitzel (breaded veal), pig's knuckle, and Knockwurst sausage.

This is similar to what you found, but apparently pertains to a business in Hong Kong. Whether the history that your article said was available at the restaurant is for a Hong Kong location or one in Shanghai I do not know. I do believe what I think of as the real true original "Jimmy's Kitchen" was in Shanhghai as mentioned in one of my books, but until I come across that elusive book again I can't be positive. Also, as I said previously I think several months ago I found references to a present day Jimmy's Kitchen in Shanghai as well as in Hong Kong.

Again I would comment that if anyone has a copy of the Chili Rice menu with the bio or cv on the back and can post it, or just recite the line about the "Jimmy's Kitchen" operated by SJ it might help. I'm pretty sure it included a location and opening date.

Also, if you google "Aaron Landau" and Wan Chai (Wanchai) you will find apparent references to other present day businesses with that name. This is interesting and it is not impossible that some one will see the Aaron Landau name snd it will prompt a memmory though not necessariy of chili.

But to go back to my first comment, if you have or can get that "frenchmay" article, [lease copy and post it.