prasantrin

My mother takes them home to try to root them... My co-workers kind of roll their eyes at my food obsession, yet they hang around my desk hoping for offers of tastes of my lunch or whatever I have. It annoys me, but my Asian background always leads me to ask, "Do you want to try some?" even if I only have just enough to fill my tummy. One of these days, I'm going to grow a backbone and protect my food like it should be protected! edited to change "background" to "backbone"...how the hell did I screw that up?

Thanks! It's on my baking list for tomorrow--just one question--do you flatten the cookies before making, or just scoop and bake? I don't have a Silpat here (and even if I did, it wouldn't fit in my Japanese-sized oven ), so I might turn down the temperature a bit.

There is little better to quench a salt craving than deep-fried chicken skins (freshly fried, of course), sprinkled with salt and dipped in ketchup. If you want to gild the lily, dust them lightly with cornstarch before frying them.

Gotta recipe to share? I have a Costco-sized jar of peanut butter to use up--and I don't even really like peanut butter! But buttery peanut butter cookies, I think I can handle!

Ummmm....I just don't know what to say.... But your description was quite accurate! It actually looks pretty good. I'd have liked it on a baguette. What's in it?

If you can get green tea ones out there, I'll be terribly jealous. They only come out once a year around my area (half-way between Kobe and Osaka) and in my two years I have never been able to try one. I love green tea anything!

Lee Valley in Winnipeg has an excellent Sharpening in the Kitchen workshop--it often sells out. They teach you how to use a steel, wetstone, and some kind of electric band sharpener thing. The one in Lee Valley may have a similar course.

Well, you're polite, informative, easy to understand, seem to have a sense of humour....I'm not quite sure you belong here... If only my first post could have been so good!

I would go so far as to say that most Thai restaurants in North America use ketchup in their pad thai. We ask wherever we go, and almost all of the restaurants (a few across the US--not in areas heavily populated by Thais, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, etc.) said they used ketchup. Pad thai isn't one of my favourites, either. I wouldn't be surprised if it's more popular with farangs than with Thais.

I've considered doing just that. My only concern would be weight--I'd have to haul the thing here and then send (or bring) it back myself (I have just over one year, maybe two, left on my contract). I've really been hoping my employers would splurge on one for me, but since they wouldn't even replace a Y20 000 VCR/DVD player, I think there's little chance of it. Oh well. I can just dream, and live vicariously!

Now, that is an understatement! I crave a KA, as well, but in Japan the cheapest I've found is about Y82,000 (C$820-ish, US$700-ish) for the 225W, 4.3L model, and Y132000 (C$1320, US$1100) for a 250W, 4.8L one. A bit pricey for my pocketbook, and pleas to my employers to buy me one have fallen upon deaf ears (for some reason, they always think I'm joking...).

This one goes on the list...I have enough "thai supplies" that I will be having a little dinner party. Anything I should keep in mind? Tips, tricks? ← Tom kha gai is very easy to make--it's hard to screw it up, but I would suggest adding the lime juice a little at a time. I've followed recipes and had it be too limey using the amounts they suggest. For your dinner party, might I suggest sangkaya for dessert? If you don't want to use kabocha to cook the custard in, I would suggest serving it with sticky rice. I love sticky rice with custard, especially with some warmed coconut milk poured over it. It's a very nice way to layer the coconut flavours (but with the sticky rice, it can also be too filling after a large meal). I have some sticky rice if you need it, so you don't have to add to your collection of stuff to get rid of! Oh, long-grain or basmati rice cooked in coconut milk instead of water is a nice way to use up more of those cans.

I can't believe you're moving to Bali! We never even got to have our yoga day! (I still haven't gone...I was thinking of going last weekend but now I'm sick!). There's a pretty active yoga scene in Ubud, if you're going to be around that area. My favourite granola-type cafe/restaurant/store had a yoga studio on the third floor (Kafe on Jalan Hanoman)--I even brough yoga gear with me so I could attend classes, but I never got around to going. As I was browsing for a banana muffin recipe, I found a muffin recipe that uses coconut milk here. I thought it looked good--has pineapple in it, too, if you have any cans of pineapple lying around. And a coconut bread pudding recipe that will use up two whole cans! You can send me anything you want! Except maybe the TSP and non-alcoholic beer. I can meet you somewhere to pick it up, too, if it's easier for you. I ditched my Saturday Japanese class, so I have more weekend time free!

I've never had Chinese "hot pot", but as far as I know, the two are similar but not really the same. With Japanese shabu shabu, you usually just briefly dip the food item into the broth--just long enough to cook it (some vegetables get left in a bit longer, though). Then you dip it in some sort of sauce, and that's where the flavouring comes in. The broth, itself, isn't supposed to be the main flavouring component. The most common sauces are goma (my personal favourite) and maybe ponzu? I think in theory, Japanese nabe might be more similar to the Chinese "hot pot" in that everything is cooked in the pot, so they add more flavour to the broth.

I'm not sure, but I think that could be referring to my father's family's style of cooking. I do remember "talking" with Pim a little about Royal Thai Cuisine during her (and Mamster's) eGullet course, but I don't remember if she said her family's cooking was of that style, as well.

On a related note, how much accountability do you have to them regarding your expenses? I assume you have to keep a detailed budget regarding your expenses, but do they even look at it? You've been there for so long, I imagine there's a lot of trust between both parties to make things like that less necessary (though not necessarily "unnecessary").

Why not post the pictures and results here, as well? Unless you're also fishing for a few more hits to your blogs...

Many merchants, particularly in Asia, will add the credit card commission to your total if you pay by credit card. For example, in Bali, many of the smaller stores which accept credit cards will add 1 or 2% to your charge to cover their commission. I also know of at least one discount travel agent in Canada (Winnipeg, specifically) that does this (I'm sure there are others). As far as I know, this is actually against most credit card companies' merchant agreements and you can (if you can prove it) apply to have the extra charge reversed.

If I could only buy one, should I buy the King Arthur's Baker's Companion or the 200th Anniversary book? I'm thinking of picking one up, as I see a lot of pointers to the KA book (but those pointers don't always specify which one).

On that note, what are the chances that non-alcoholic beverage pairings will be developed on a regular basis? As brought up elsewhere in eGullet, many of us who like to dine cannot tolerate alcohol, but would like the option of enriching our dining experiences, as one does with wine. I'm probably not headed your way till the summer, so you have plenty of time to consider it!

Ya! Lots of pina coladas! Actually, I was thinking of using them in other kinds of blended beverages (non-alcholic), too. Like smoothies or something like that. Thai coconut ice cream is nice way. It's very dense, not like American ice cream. And very coconuty. Here's a recipe from Colonel Philpott's wife. Some may remember him as a frequent poster to rfc way back when. Wonderful recipes, and at least the linked-to site gives credit where credit is due (unlike some sites out there which pass his wife's recipes off as their own! Oh, back on topic, there a noodle dish similar to pad thai which uses coconut milk. I actually prefer it to pad thai. If you have a Thai cookbook lying around, I'm sure you'd find a recipe for it. If only I could remember what it's called...

Holy crap! This doesn't sound good! I do hope for the best for you and "the Procedure" and I hope you're back with us soon! (I'm sending only but my purest positive vibes your way!)

Any other examples? To generalize that one experience and say that it "doesn't bode well for personal chef-ing" is pretty ridiculous. I would say it speaks more about the family that hired him (perhaps they are content with mediocre food or, more likely, didn't take the hiring process that seriously) than it does about personal chefs. Yes, it is about finding a chef that suits the family (and vice versa), and the family doesn't do the work required to find that particular person, well, they can only blame themselves for the crap food they're eating.

What kind of equipment are you using for the grinding and stuffing? Did you buy it in Japan or in the US? And where'd you get the casings and back fat? Did you have to special order them? I really miss good sausages--those Johnsonville brats from Costco are the best I can get, and I want better!

Those are my absolute favourite Japanese cookies! They're really just langues de chats (sp?) but they're awesome! I was at a Hokkaido Fair at one of the Hankyu Dept. stores in Osaka, and I found they now have regular chocolate fillings (used to just be white chocolate). I didn't get to try them, though. I do have a box of the white chocolate ones hidden away for a rainy day!