Tepee

There are some dishes (mostly the Indonesian ones) I haven't cooked before, and you guys are having so much fun, I just had to order the book. Hope to get it by Monday and jump in.

Wah! That jook is really loaded! And all that garlic! You certainly didn't get shortchanged. This thread is definitely going to be bookmarked for a verysoontobe trip. Carry on indulging us (and yourselves)....

I've done it in many styles, but a favourite is adding fried and browned shallots and finely chopped kaffir lime leaves and pickled chillies. Many ways to finish it; if I want crunch, I dip it in egg, then roll in almond flakes. This picture shows it simply rolled in oatmeal. And to cut down on the fatty content, I bake them.

Thanks, Jason! It's a good thing I don't live in Japan...in 5 days, I put on as many lbs!

I don't know if indonesian kuih lapis is the same as malaysia's (I'm too lazy to find sphaghettti's pix). Here's a recipe for a malaysian kuih lapis. It's a steamed 'cake' usually made up of 9 layers of pink and white, with the last layer almost red. It's also called 9-layer cake in chinese; kids (and kids at heart) love to peel it layer by layer to eat. Made from freshly squeezed coconut milk, it's really delicious.

Go, Ah Leung Gaw, go!! I know sweets are not your thing, but, if you happen to pass by a sweets shop, can you see if they still have the chewy osmanthus sweets wrapped in edible paper? Last time I ate that from my mother's trips to HK was 2 dozen years ago.

Home after 5 days of good eating and snacking, this is what we still have in our stash...uhm...2 or 3 boxes of each . Don't think they'll last long, though. Oh, I didn't see all the above varieties of KitKat or Pocky! Hubby says I'm going to turn into a porky very soon. Would appreciate if I can get the name of the snacks below. We particularly like the black sesame seed (?) triangular mochi-like snack with red-bean filling. These we bought from a snack shop in Shinzaibashi. There are a few more boxes of goodies not photographed. Such a shame to open up such beautifully-wrapped boxes.

Junehl, Gorgeous! I can see how we can play with all sorts of filling, using the more expensive ingredients for festive occasions.

Hey Mark In the recipe, you're asked to thinly slice the tempeh and fry till crisp. Do the same(separately fried) for the tofu (get taukwa/hard beancurd), fuchook/beancurd skins, and suhun/beanthreads. Looking at this thread (which brought me to his website), I can see James' book must be one of the best on our region's cooking. We have lots of cookbooks by local authors, but the instructions, layout, etc...are skeletal, with no soul. I don't buy them. But I might just put this book into my christmas wishlist.

Its taste? YUM? Comforting? I remember when I was very heavy and huge with my first child, and I had this incredible craving for beef rendang. Nothing was going to stop me from getting a rendang lunch even if it meant trudging upslope from my office in the hot sun. Baby was happy after that meal and announced she was ready to come out that night by bursting my water bag one month early. Sorry for TMI! If you want a darker colour, just fry the coconut longer in the wok. You have to do it vigorously for even browning and to prevent it from getting charcoaled. Some recipes include a small slab of palm sugar. I like my rendang dark and dangerous. Another way to enjoy rendang is to make sushi rolls! Forgive me, purists. OK, we'll call it some other name. Just finely mash up the meat. Delish! It makes very good party finger food.

Gosh. Didn't know when I stumbled on this thread, that there's so much great SEAsian cooking going on. I gotta get out of my usual zones and read more... 2 things caught my eye as I was skimming through the 7 pages. The Penang Kueh Teow...we use wider noodles. You never see such fine noodles in our street CKTs. And Penang-style is much paler in comparison with KL-style which uses more black soy sauce. The pix shows an in-between version. 2. Tempeh is also very good eaten with lontong (pressed rice) and kuah lodeh sayur (coconut gravy with vegetables). This is an authentic recipe...will translate if anyone is interested. Gotta run. Or is it in James Oseland's book? Haven't had the pleasure of reading it yet.

Tks, muichoi, for the heads-up. Yum yum yum, prawncracker, it looks so good! Next time I'm going to try will be in a fortnight's time. Can't wait! And make it again for gaw doong (winter solstice) reunion dinner. Can you feel my excitement?

Yum! I agree Jack and Fatmat's pies look soooooo good! Come on, Rona (you're a search whiz), let's make this.

If I had known about this Big Binge a month ago, I'd have gotten hubby to change our holiday plans to HK instead of Japan (sob...mine's only 6 days). It would have been great to discover street food with you as you re-explore it. Heheh, you may LOVE this experience so much that you'd be planning a next trip soon. Just let me know early, hor?

Thank you, Jamie. I love it that you still maintain such a great sense of humor despite the not very pretty experience. Wishing you healing for the punctured fingers and pride....

Awww......I was so hopeful...as you didn't find it stinky while it was in your home. Methinks your durian has started to ferment...on the way to becoming tempoyak (like Laksa suggested). And, I agree with everyone, that you may not be in the perfect shape for an encounter with the King. Now wipe this episode off your mind, so that you can try it again someday. ((HUGS)) p/s Erm....but before you do that, and if the memory is not too painful, do you mind giving a blow by blow account of how you opened it up? Did you draw blood? Were you spent after the effort...perhaps that weakened you further...you experienced double whammy together with the release of the cooped up fumes.

I saw jujubes at a local supermarket, exactly like those shown by eje. Think I'll get some to try during my next trip. Thanks for the review, guys.

Your night's my day. I don't know whether to be glad or sad for you. You've got yourself a fragranceless Thai durian. Without any smell, you won't know if you really 'like' the durian,. On the other hand, if you fall under the category of people who find the smell of a durian offensive, then you've got yourself the right kind. Here's an amusing read on opening a durian. However, we don't wait for a crack to appear. Or sometimes, we'll bring containers to fill the durian seeds to pack home after we get the stall-people to open it. That way, we're guaranteed quality stuff, as we have the option to reject unripe hard-fleshed durians. Protective gloves? Nah....just fold a towel thick enough. Have fun! Remember to take pix!

A camera that's very good for photographing food?? In what ways? Do you remember how these features were sold? I shoot a lot of food (self-plug), mostly using a 50mm f/1.4 lens (but I use other lenses as well) or playing with the aperture (for the desired depth of field) or lighting. Most cameras (well, all dSLRs) do this, no? I'm all ears and would love to know why it is emphasized that this new Olympus is perfect for food photography?

Well, well, well.....looks like you're a caucasian (a wild guess) minority in not finding the durian smell offensive. Don't you sleep?? LOL, with the whole night's preoccupation over durian, you'll probably be having torrid dreams.

Apparently not, according to this analysis. Extract.

Thai durians are usually plucked off the tree before they are ripe, so, you won't have our advantage of having fissures in our drop-from-the-tree durians. As for the lack of smell, it's common for Thai species...which is a major flaw where M'sians are concerned. We love the complex flavours and tastes in our durians. Real connoisseurs don't really go for a sweet taste. I've edited my latest entry to describe the lines as more of a path (may or may not be clear...duh?) along the thorns. If you still can't see them, you could snap a pix, and I'll see if I can draw you the paths. But they are not as important as locating the 'point' or thereabouts, where you're supposed to stick your knife. If you're right-handed, you may want to protect your left hand with some towel/rags as you hold the durian steady on a bunched up pile of cloth. LOL, it's always a pleasure to introduce someone to the king of fruits...not time wasted.

Neither. Do like DG said. There may not be cracks, but there will be lines ('path'). Stick a sturdy knife at the bottom...meeting point of the lines. The skin should crack along the lines. Forget about the chopping board. You need the rag to stop the durian from moving around. Domestic Goddess said: We add a little salt to the water in the segment and actually drink from the segment. This is to cool down our systems after consuming the heaty durian....a neutralizing act. Believe it or not.

This article should answer a lot of questions, including different methods of opening it. You should be fine with Thai durians; they do not pack as much punch as Malaysia's. Malaysians turn up their noses at Thai durians, not because of the smell...on the contrary, it's because of the lack of it. I lurve durians and I wouldn't describe them as stinky. Have made durian custard layer cakes with it. Hubby's fav way of eating the balance is filling a very light crepe. I took the pix, hubby made the crepe. Good luck.

Homecooking doesn't get any simpler than this... Crispy anchovies (ikan bilis in malay) fried with peanuts and onions, caramelised towards the end. Would be better if I added chilli to this...but my kids have yet to develop a tolerance for heat. Last week's siu yook aromatised with shallots, then braised with napa cabbage. I added 2 cubes of nam yue (red fermented bean curd). Amaranth with wolfberries ...now...this would be complete with Ce'nedra's very appetizing chili plum beef.