Raquel

What ever happened to Into the Fire? It was a great "behind-the-scenes" doc that showcased one restaurant per show. A great show that was on the Home Channel was Kylie Kwong: Cooking With Heart and Soul. It came out of Australia and was so well-executed. Beautiful, luscious food shots and interesting menus. All bent towards Chinese cuisine... Another was Surfing the Menu... also Australian.

TEAM FLAKES! Made from 4 grains: Oats, Corn, Rice, Wheat. Hope I got that right! They were so thick... so crunchy... so malty... It's an absolute sin that this cereal was taken out of production. I recently found out some information on the demise of my beloved cereal: "In 1968 the Naperville plant was opened to produce Team Flakes and 100% Bran Cereal products for Nabisco. In 1993 Philip Morris acquired the Nabisco Ready-to-Eat Cereal Division which also included the Naperville facility. In 1996 the Naperville facility succesfully started production of the Frosted Shredded Wheat line."

Thanx Ji-Young! You've been a great help. I think the one that I visited a few years ago was So Kong Dong. That's the name that sounds familiar. I'm going to go out there the first chance I get. I'm jones-ing for the stuff! Kam Sa Hap Nee Dah...

Peanut Butter Hamburgers. Apparently this was a popular drive-in special in the 50's. I like to slather crunchy peanut butter on a freshly grilled burger. Add all the fixings and you're in like Flynn!

Hmmm. Maybe it is a Filipino thing. I LOVE vinegar as well. Check this out: A big white, meaty chunk of boneless bangus dipped in white vinegar with fresh raw garlic floating in it. Along with palm-pressed bite-size rolls of hot white rice. Mmmmmmmm. Takes me back to the islands...

Haw Flakes rule! What a blast to my past. What about BOTAN RICE CANDY? It came in that little orange box and had a picture of a Chinese baby on the front (or something similar). The top of the box always had a toy in it (like a little plastic car). And the orange, chewy candy inside was wrapped in rice paper. Anybody remember this?

Cap'n Crunch is divine. I prefer it with milk. And what is UP with the ravaged roof-of-the-mouth after you're done with a bowl?!?!?

My friend in high school got caught eating sticks of butter when she was 3 years old. Her mom didn't understand why they were going through so much butter every week until one of the older sisters caught her red (butter?) handed in front of the fridge munching away. Funny thing is when I told my mom this story, she thought it was perfectly rational for a 3 year old to do it? (It tastes so good and it's so creamy, of course, she'd eat a whole stick!) Ai ya! ← Ba Ha Ha Ha! Your "Ai Ya" reminds me of my dad! The kid-loving-butter thing makes complete sense. It must come naturally. If I don't watch the stick of butter at the table, my kids will just dig big tablespoonfuls of it and plop it on their bread. Kids usually have an innate sense of a "good thing"!

What about butter sans vehicle? My mother-in-law will eat a pat of butter all by itself.

I just had a big bowl of Cap'n Crunch cereal with some organic milk! Mmmmmmmm....

My mother used to cook a tasty Chinese beef stew with whole, not grated ginger. It also had carrots, potatoes, and star anise, but I forget what else. ← My dad still makes that same Chinese Beef Stew (sans potato). Whole ginger, beef, carrots, lots of star anise, black soy sauce, sherry wine, rock sugar. The beef is tender and luscious... a very comforting and homey dish.

Mmmmm. Thanx for mentioning the Caiparinhas, johnnyd. LOVE those. And PaoPao, johnnyd had a link to the Maria-Brazil.org website, which I think is a really great guide for Americans. She covers alot of ground that I'm sure you'll find very useful (restaurants, bookstores, points of interest, culture, language, recipes, how not to call someone an assh*le by making the "OK" sign, etc.). You'll be a carioca in no time!

Mmmmm. This Iranian method of cooking rice sounds delicious. I like the filling additions (dried fruits, nuts, meat, etc.). My mom is from the Philippines and taught me how to make something similar that she called calo-calo... we usually had it for breakfast with eggs, sauteed onions, tomatoes and fresh mangoes. However, our's uses only rice. No fillings. It has to be made with leftover rice, as fresh rice won't create the nice golden-brown crust on the bottom. And it has to be left alone while cooking. No poking or stirring. In fact, I just made it tonight for dinner! The family ate that with some beautiful pork sausage and a bok choy stew. I will definitely try the Iranian version the next time. The par-cooking of the rice is interesting. Thanx for the post.

The Carioca Karaoke Bar or Favas and Favelas...

Thank you Bernaise... fellow cilatro-hater. Somehow, I don't feel as lonely as I did 5 minutes ago. I agree. In fact I think it tasts like licking an ironing board-all metalic and strange-wrong-yuck! it brings out my inner finicky 8 year old! But that aside: sasparilla root, especially when used in herbal tea concoctions. It's supposed to make a brown tea style drink. revolting! ←

Thanks for all the Cilantro info, Melissa! Very interesting and helpful... Well, I don't know how much this applies to me... I do have a little bit of French and English, but for the most part you could call me Asian. I've heard before that Cilantro is "soapy" tasting to some people. It's nothing like soap to me. It's more of a pervasive effect. It completely fills my senses with a sickening feeling. Isn't that just sad?!?! And I want to love that darn herb so badly... ←

BAD STUFF: Can someone please help me with this one? It's about CILANTRO . For as far back as I can remember, I have had an unbelievably strong aversion to Cilantro. I have tried and tried and tried to like it, or at least get used to it... but my sensitivity is so acute that I can detect a speck of it in a big bowl of soup. The smell of it makes me cringe and waves of nausea overtake my body. I know that some people can't even taste cilantro. It's as mild as a delicate parsley or lettuce (so I've been told), but to me... it's completely overpowering. Makes it really hard to eat Mexican, Indian and East Asian food... I have talked to a chef friend about this and he said that there is a chemical reaction that happenes in some people. Has something to do with the dark green herb plants. He cooked for Quincy Jones once who apparently has the same problem. He hates the stuff... I need some explanation from you food scientists out there!

Nigella Lawson has a great flourless cake made from clementines. I tried it last year and loved it. Very dense and moist... The interesting thing about this cake is that you boil the clementines and puree the whole fruit... skin and all, before adding to the mix. Here's a link to her recipe.

We use turkey all the time in our Chinese cooking. When making potstickers (jao tsu), we use a mix of ground turkey and pork (a slightly healthier alternative!)... along with napa, green onions, tofu, seasonings, etc. This Christmas my sister and I will be making the traditional dumplings. After the filling is ready, the whole family sits around the table and wraps them together. Last night, I used ground turkey in a snow pea stir fry. Turned out great. Turkey is well-suited for Chinese cooking. It's mildness is the perfect vehicle for all the pungent, flavorful tastes associated with Asian cuisine.

You've got to check out this Japanese Ice Cream link. Make sure you scroll through all the flavors. It's truly... inspirational... And more of the same can be found here. Deep Sea Water Sorbet, anyone?

Whatever happened to "Into the Fire"?? I thought it was a pretty cool behind-the-scenes show...

Here's the original Kraft Marshmallow Creme "Fantasy Fudge" Recipe. I've never made it myself, but I hear it's good... Fantasy Fudge 3 cups sugar 3/4 cup margarine 2/3 cup evaporated milk 1 12-oz. (340 g) package semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 7-oz. (198 g) jar Kraft Marshmallow creme 1 cup chopped nuts 1 tablespoon vanilla Traditional method: Combine sugar, margarine and milk in heavy 2 1/2 qt. saucepan; bring to full rolling bail, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring. Remove from heat, stir in chocolate till melted. Add marshmallow creme, nuts & vanilla beat till blended. Pour into greased 13x9 inch pan. Let cool and serve. Microwave method: Microwave margarine in 4-quart microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) 1 minute or until melted. Add sugar and milk; mix well. Microwave on HIGH 5 minutes or until mixture begins to boil, stirring after 3 minutes. Mix well; scrape bowl. Continue microwaving on HIGH 5 1/2 minutes; stir after 3 minutes. Stir in chips until melted. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour into greased 9-inch square pan or 13x9-inch baking pan. Cool at room temperature; cut into squares. Makes 3 pounds.

Chef Boyardee Cheese Raviolis... which I can't find anymore!! Why??

Hey. Thanks for all the info jschyun. I will definitely check out BCD in L.A. Thank for the OC restaurant too. I'm in Huntington Beach and San Clemente pretty often... Is Gaju Soft Tofu anywhere near those areas?

Does anyone know of a good place to find sundubu jjigae in Southern California? I'm assuming it's going to be in the Los Angeles area near/on Olympic... I haven't had the dish for a couple years and am seriously hankering for the stuff!