Dejah

I am in the same category, but somehow, it still happens. Must be Safeway fresh, pillowy butter pan buns with smooth peanut butter. I could polish off 3 at a time!

Been catching up on your travelogue. After the March 23 – Mountain Octopus entry, all I can say isSHOCK 'N' AWE!

Somehow, feeding boiled egg to a hen with a broken ankle just doesn't sound right.

Joong, Joongzi, anyone? Today's the day and I didn't have time to make any. However, s-i-l came over last night at 10pm with a dozen, and I promptly sat down and ate one warm, googy sticky rice filled with lapcheong, duck egg, saltd pork, mushroom, and peanuts. Having more for supper tonight with hot'n'sour soup.

Really sorry to hear about your father and mother, Gastro. They'll be happy to have you looking after them with the traditional tonics. I'll see if I can find out more information about the tonic when I visit my mom tonight.

Hi Diana, The purpose is the same as "velveting" meat before stir-frying. The small amount of cornstarch gives the slices of fish a velvet texture as it is quickly cooked in the congee. It really makes a difference. I usually add more than "a pinch."

Thanks for the responses. My friend has planned a Saturday trip there with several others as part of a day trip. I'll do reconnaissance then go back early the following week for a longer shopping spree.

Our kids are all home, so we started the Easter weekend with rosemary-dijon mustard glaced racks of lamb on Friday, roast Turkey and all the trimmings last night. Tonight, I have a 5-rib AAA prime rib ready to go along with Yorkies, steamed mixed veg (cauliflower, green beans, broccoli, carrots), garlic mashed potatoes, d-i-l is bringing green bean casserole, broccoli pecan salad, and ambrosia delight for dessert. My 100 year-old Mom is in a transitional facility waiting to go into personal care. She was wishing that she could come home for the family dinner, so we are going to surprise her by taking the whole dinner and crew up to her. We've booked a large family games room and wine is allowed!

We're heading to Dayton, Ohio this summer, and one of the places I've heard about is Jungle Jim's International Market in Fairfiled, Ohio. What is shown on their website is incredible. Anyone been? Is it as exciting as it looks?

Thanks for sharing your adventures, Rona. I particularly enjoyed seeing pics of your Mom - a lady I hope to enjoy food with one of these days. The silk worms remind me of the ones my grandfather used to love. They were called "rice worms" - loosely translated. Apparently they were gathered in the rice paddies in the spring? My memory is vague but I can remember shuddering whenever the plate was brought to the table. These were mixed in with eggs and steamed. I wonder how the spiders are eaten, as street food?

Now I'll be humming "Leaving on a Jet Plane" for the rest if the day! Looking forward to more food!

Dejah, Here’s a shot of the package of starch I’ve been using. Good luck on finding it, and thanks. I’d been meaning to get a picture on file for some of my Chinese friends to see if they can replenish me. (and if anyone out there knows a place in Vancouver with this, I'd love to know!) ← Thanks, Peter! I tried to find a copy of Joannes Riviere - Cambodian Cooking at Barnes and Noble across the border this weekend, but will have to order it through Amazon. However, I did pick up Charmaine Solomon's The Complete Asian Cookbook, and it has a small section on Cambodia & Laos. That'll keep me reading for now.

That looks like a great "send-off" meal for Yoonhi before you left again The Sichuan bean starch - what is it made from? Is it available in North America? If not, I could get my students to find it for me when they go home to China during the term break. If you have a picture, that would be very helpful. So, from where are we to expect the next feast-report?

This is what my family call Nian Gao, and we also fry it up dipped in egg. The ones shown by lilyhotel are what we call gnai lan yuen (in Toisanese) Mom made them into disks, balls, long chunks, steamed, then kept them immersed in water in big urns. The yuen stay hard until they are sliced and fried up with meat and vegetables. I love it when they get a little crispy on the outside but soft inside, and dipped in spicy hot sauce. The ones we can buy are usually elongated flat pieces about 1.5 inches long. I have a package but never cooked them.

Or it could simply be sweet soy sauce?

Groan...looks like I'll have to buy Joannes Riviere - Cambodian Cooking. The last dish with the green peppercorns just did me in. I can almost taste that burst of pepper and basil. This dish has all my favourite ingredients and aromas. I wonder if Rona knows where I can buy green peppercorns in Winnipeg... Keep 'em coming, Peter. It's always great to have your pictorials to go along with the cookbook. I also saw Elephant Walk in Amazon.ca. Whoa! Expensive!

Trying to dunk a huge king crab into a pot of boiling water might be quite a chore, especially if it fights back! If you have a large freezer, put the crab in there while you get that big pot of water boiling. That will "put it to sleep" without freezing the meat, and there'll be no resistence when it goes for a hot bath.

Great looking table, Chufi. The spiced cigars looked very elegant with the salad. I have been using Hungarian paprika for that extra kick. I agree with you on the bread in the musakhan as the best part: all the flavours, juice... How many guests did you have?

I have posted the recipe for Spiced Cigars with a lamb version that can be used on flatbread.

Spiced Cigars Serves 36 as Appetizer. This is a recipe by Bonnie Stern as posted in The National Post, on a Saturday in one of the "ber" months in 2003. I think the book may have been called Eating In. I still have the photo of her cigars, which do not look like mine, but the instruction portion of the paper is nowhere to be found:-( I have made these often, then freezing them individually and storing them in freezer bags. They are quick to finish off in the oven and make for something entirely different to take to potluck. 1 T olive oil 1 small onion, finely chopped 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tsp EACH of ground cumin and paprika 1/4 tsp EACH of cayenne pepper and cinnamon 1 lb lean ground beef (see ****) 2/3 c tomato sauce 1 tsp salt to taste 1 egg beaten 1 T liquid honey 3/4 c dry fine breadcrumbs 12 sheets phyllo pastry 1/2 c melted butter or olive oil 2 T toasted sesame seeds Method: 1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions and garlic. Cook a few minutes until tender. Add spices. Cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Add beef. Cook until meat looses its raw appearance. Add tomato sauce. Simmer 5 minutes. Season to taste. Transfer to a bowl. Cool. Add beaten egg, honey,and half of the breadcrumbs. Check for seasoning again. 2. Take the phyllo pastry out of the package and cut the stack of 12 sheets into thirds crosswise so that each strip is about 12” x 5”. Cover with plastic wrap and then a damp cloth. 3. Work with one or 2 pieces of phyllo at a time. Arrange the pastry in a single layer on your work surface. Have olive oil or melted butter and a pastry brush at hand. Brush oil/butter over the phyllo and sprinkle with bread crumbs. (I used a lot more than 1/2 cup butter! Ghee works well.) 4. Form about 1 tbsp. of the filling into a log about 3” long and place it the center at the bottom of the strip of phyllo. Fold the side edges over the filling then roll up in shape of a cigar. ( With practice, you can place one stack of several sheets on the work surface and do step 4 with each sheet. This saves having to take a new sheet out each time.) Arrange the cigars on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the top with oil/butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds. 5. Bake in a preheated oven 400F/200C oven for 20 minutes until brown and crisp. * You can freeze them after step #4. When you want to serve them, put them into the preheated oven without defrosting. Add an extra 5 to 10 minutes to the regular baking time. ** You can also bake them then freeze them. To serve, reheat in oven for 15 minutes. These are ok in a pinch. ***DIP: Combine plain yogurt with enough curry paste to taste. (about 1 tbsp) OR If you're rushed for time, use ready-made chunky salsa. The recipe makes 36 cigars, for most people, but never for me! **** I usually make 2 recipes at the same time - one with beef and one with LAMB. The lamb version also works great spread over flatbread before baking in the oven. To this version, I increase the cumin by 1/2 tsp, and add chopped fresh mint into the mixture after it's cooled, along with the egg and honey. After baking, the flatbread is cut into small pieces for serving as appetizer or pizza-like pieces as a main. Keywords: Hors d'oeuvre, Appetizer ( RG2156 )

WElcome to the forum, lilyhotel. Nice to have new input!

Hot pot is all I've ever heard about from my Inner Mongolian students. But then, that might be all they knew how to cook as most seem to come without any cooking skills! Mutton (lamb) does play a prominent role in their hot pots tho'.

I haven't tried posting recipes in Recipegullet, but will get my act together this weekend and give it a go.

I don't use an electric rice cooker unless I am having a dinner party. With cooking rice the traditonal way - on the stove - there is always that lovely toasted crust on the bottom of the pot. I keep the pot on the stove on lowest heat until the end of the meal. Then I pour hot water over the rice and the family fights over this stuff! My grandparents always enjoyed a bowl of the "rice tea" while the young'uns enjoyed the "fan jiu". May not be acceptable in Korea, but I have been known to cook yams along with the rice, then mash the yams into the bottom before adding boiling water. Dessert, anyone?

Fine looking menu, Chufi. Looking forward to seeing pictures of the dinner, especially the musakhan!