Kim D

Last night I made Ma Po Bean Curd (page 90 of Lucille Liang's Chinese Regional Cooking) and served Chile-Hot Bright Green Soybeans with Garlic (page 102 of Beyond the Great Wall) as a side dish. I had never eaten edamame and had no idea what to expect. I loved this dish. The soybeans stay firm and I really liked the texture. I am very glad I bought this book. The recipes are simple, easy to make, and tasty. Nothing earth shattering but solid comfort food. I especially like recipes that I can make from items I normally keep in my pantry. And I will be keeping edamame in my freezer from now on.

Jicama is stir-fried with five dried chiles, 2 thin slices of ginger, a little salt. Tofu sheet is added with some vegetable stock and simmered for a while. Soy sauce and a cornstarch slurry to thicken. Garnished with scallion greens.So far the recipes are easy, simple and tasty.

My camera is stilled packed away somewhere. We moved from Chicago in March and we're still not done unpacking. Once I find it, I'll take pictures.The Jicama-Tofu Sheet Stir-Fry was pretty good. I soaked the fresh tofu-sheet in cold water and I really should have used warm. I had to cook the dish longer to get the tofu sheet to soften. On its own, it has a textured-plastic taste. I had no hope for the final dish. But I was pleasantly surprised. Somehow, that texture worked within the context of the dish. I might make it again. It's a nice enough side dish. Nothing earth shattering but a good conversation piece.

I read your suggestion this morning. I stopped by a used bookstore and they had "Putting Food By". I snapped it up and started reading it on the subway. Looks great. I can't remember ever seeing a write-up on root cellaring. Thank you!

I have only used dried tofu sheet, so I checked Bruce Cost's "Asian Ingredients." Without directly saying so, the impression is that fresh and dried are used the same way. Also, he mentions that fresh OR dried should be moistened before use. BB ← I now have Bruce Cost's book on my wish list. Thank you! I'll be making that Jicama dish tonight. If we like it, I'll be picking up dried tofu sheets to keep in my pantry.

I picked up pork already sliced into matchsticks from my favorite Chinese grocer. Perfect for "Stir-fried Pork and Potato Ribbons" on page 304. The ingredients are simple (waxy potatoes, pork, salt, garlic, dried chiles, soy sauce) but the taste is not. This dish will become part of our repertoire.

When I went shopping today, I remembered "tofu sheet". I found them fresh. When I got home and looked in the glossary, I found this -- "fresh tofu sheets are not widely available and so are not called for in this book. Dried tofu sheets and tofu sticks are available in larger Chinese grocery stores and are handy pantry staples..." So, now what? Can I use fresh tofu sheet in recipes that call for either dried tofu sheet or dried tofu sticks? Do I just cook them for less time? I love finding new ingredients and want to try this one. The recipes that caught my eye are "Jicama-Tofu Sheet Stir-Fry" on page 105 and "Tofu Batons with Hot Sesame Dressing" on page 110.

What is it about Mangoes and Curry Leaves that left everyone feeling so meh about it? I made ten recipes from it, so I feel as though I gave it a good try. My favorite was Mountain Dal on page 182 and it's become part of my repertoire. My copy of Beyond the Great Wall arrived yesterday. I made Beef-Sauced Hot Lettuce Salad on page 67 because I had ground beef on hand. And because I so rarely see recipes for ground beef that intrigue me. I liked it yesterday. And I liked it even better today. Easy peasy and tasty.

I've never eaten okra but I've always wanted to cook with it. And now I have. Bhindi Masala from Manjula's kitchen rocks.

Thanks for this link. So far I've made Potato Curry with Yogurt Gravy, Spicy Potatoes and Chola. Each were winners. Easy peasy and delicious. I think the videos make all the difference.

When we lived in Chicago, we saved up our plastic grocery bags and then dropped them off at Dominick's plastic bag recycling bin.

I don't belong to any cocktailian circles and now I know why. They wouldn't have me. Back to lurking.

We just moved from Chicago to New York and I was a bit stressed. Decided that a Negroni would hit the spot. Walked around the Upper West Side, found a liquor store with the proprietor standing outside. I told him that I was going to make a Negroni and if he said yes to all three of my questions, I would come inside. First question: Do you have Hendrick's gin? Answer: No. Just sold the last bottle. And then he wanted to know my other two questions. Now really, what's the point since he'd already said no to the most important question. Against my better judgment, I went inside. He tried to sell me Tanqueray. I told him it wasn't about the price, it was about the quality. So he tried to sell me Bombay Sapphire. That's when I walked out. The next liquor store had Hendricks, Campari but no Noilly Pratt sweet vermouth. I bought Martini & Rossi instead because that's what they had. Forgot to pick up an orange. Recipe for an ideal Negroni? The appetite for one helps but I'm still searching. - Kim

The first time I made this cake, I just made it. I didn't think twice about what "boiling" meant and it turned out great. The second time, I couldn't remember just how long I cooked that sugar/butter mixture. I thought the same thing as you. Foamy didn't seem like boiling. After making it several times, I've decided that foamy does mean boiling. Thanks to your post, I've added that comment to the recipe in case I forget again.

I had that flu as well. I'm just starting to think about cooking again. I've been wanting to make that tofu but I don't like deep frying. I'm not afraid, I just hate wasting all that oil. I'll just live vicariously for now. Great pictures as always.

We had friends over for dinner last night and didn't take any pictures. And we really should have. I think I over cooked the rendang. By the end, the meat was falling apart. It was in the oven for 3 hours at 325 before I decided that enough was enough. I took it out of the oven and finished cooking it on the stove for another 30 minutes or more. It never did get that roasted coffee bean color but the oil did separate and foam. I cooked it in my Le Creusset buffet pan. Perhaps I should have transferred it to my 12" nonstick after taking it out of the oven. Dejah, if you have any pointers on making rendang, I'm all ears. I don't know what it's supposed to taste like so I don't know how close I came to making it right. But I can tell you that there are no leftovers. We loved how the flavors and spiciness snuck up on you after you swallowed and not as much while you were chewing. Anyway, we made three new recipes from Cradle of Flavor -- Sate Ayam (Chicken Satay, page 147), Saus Kacang Tanah (Javanese Peanut Sauce, page 128) and Acar Timun (Javanese Cucumber and Carrot Pickle, page 132). It would have been four recipes but my husband used a different recipe for Singapore Slings. So far, Sate Sapi (Beef Satay, page 144) is our favorite recipe from this book. Thank you very much. We're now at 15 recipes in 18 days. Amazing since I'm not trying to see how many recipes I can make. It's just been that that many recipes have piqued my interest.

Beef rendang is in the oven. I can't wait to see how it turns out. I love making flavoring pastes.

For the past year, I've been cooking from Hot Sour Salty Sweet, It Rains Fishes, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, Breath of a Wok and most recently Cradle of Flavor. So far, in only fourteen days, I've made 12 recipes from this book and three of those twice. And that just amazes me. I've never cooked so many recipes from one book in such a short amount of time. So, why have I tried so many recipes? I think it's because I like the ingredients. Tamarind, curry leaves, fresh turmeric, ginger, galangal, Thai chiles. I've had shrimp paste in my fridge for over a year and never used it much. But I like toasting it. And I love making flavoring pastes. I get to use up a whole bunch of stuff that usually languishes in my crisper drawer until I have to throw it out. And I hate to waste. James Oseland uses weight measurements and I especially like that. I don't have to wonder just what 6 shallots means. Are they 6 of those teeny tiny ones or 6 of the golf ball sized ones? Six shallots is 140 grams. My scale is finally getting some use. If my husband had his way however, I would stop making any recipe that has coconut milk in it. And that's ok. I have Tofu and I'll soon be making Tahu Goreng Bacem (Twice-Cooked Tofu with Coriander, page 330).

I've been wanting to make Rendang Daging Sapi (Beef Rendang, page 304) but I haven't wanted to babysit the meat on top of the oven for 3 hours. That recipe is back on my list after reading this from Dejah: Last night we made Sate Sapi (Beef Satay, page 144) for the second time. The first time, we sliced flank steak and I was amazed by how tender the meat was. Slicing on the bias made the difference. Yesterday we made a shopping trip out to the suburbs to Mitsuwa to pick up pre-sliced meats. We picked up beef sliced for Yakiniku and used that for the Sate Sapi. You can't get much easier than that. We also made Nasi Uduk (Lemongrass-scented Coconut Rice, page 176) and Sos Kecap Rawit (Sweet Soy Sauce and Lime Dipping Sauce, page 125). For the rice, I used three sad looking lemongrass that I bought at Whole Foods for $24.99/pound. I'm saving the beautiful lemongrass ($1/bunch) I bought at Thai Grocery for something else.

I don't have an answer on the lemon basil as I've never bought it. Few things make me happier than finding a new ingredient to use so it's now on my shopping list. Last night we made Opor Ayam (Javanese Chicken Curry, page 275) and Sambal Mangga Muda (Green Mango Sambal, page 123). The chicken curry was wonderful. I don't think I've ever had a dish made with coconut milk that wasn't tasty. I made the sambal because no one had made it and because I saw green mangoes at the Thai Grocery. Otherwise, I never would have bought a green mango and that would have been a shame. What a nice sour taste. According to my husband, the sambal was better today. The flavors evened out over night.

Thanks for the reminder. I remember reading that the reason the pan should not be covered is that the coconut would curdle. Since my goat meat was still tough after two hour on top of the stove, I decided to bake it uncovered in the oven until it became tender. And that did the trick. Next time I'll just stick it in the oven right away. So much easier than watching and stirring. The first time I made a dish, all I ask is that is have potential. And this dish does. It didn't get a fair tryout since I cooked it and cooked it and cooked ti some more. But the goat did have a very nice flavor. - Kim

Yesterday we made Acehnese Goat Curry ( Kare Kambing, page 314). I have been wanting to cook goat for years. The recipe says to cook this uncovered and I think covered would have made more sense. The goat never did get tender so we had to go to plan B (Cauliflower with Potatoes, Phool gobi aur aloo ki bhaji, page 98 of Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking). The goat curry is in the fridge and I'll braise it in the oven tonight. I think the dish has potential. It smelled awesome. The recipe calls for toasted coconut. Last week I made Miang Kam (Mouthful of Tidbits Wrapped in a Leaf, page 202 of Kasma Loha-unchit's It Rains Fishes) using frozen shredded coconut and it just wouldn't brown properly. This time I bought a coconut, made my own coconut milk and shredded the coconut meat. Fresh coconut browns so much easier. You can see it in the picture above. The picture below shows the goat curry with the homemade coconut milk in the background. I used the coconut juice when the sauce cooked down too far. I definitely got my money's worth out of that coconut. I bought green mangoes. Green mango sambal just might be in the plan for tonight. djyee100, Thanks for keeping up that list. Is there any way it can be moved to the first entry to make it easier to find?

We love Kasma's gkai pad gka-prow (page 100 in It Rains Fishes)! I used to make Hot Sour Salty Sweet's gai pad bai gaprow (page 202) until I made Kasma's recipe. She's never stingy with the heat.This weekend I made Sambal Udang (page 262) and Rendang Kentang (page 223). James Oseland isn't stingy with the heat either. Anyway, I have a question about the shrimp. I bought head on shrimp from my favorite Thai grocery store. I chose the shrimp that were curled up rather than limp. Was that the right choice? When the shrimp were cooked, the shells would not come off. The heads came off with no problem. But the shells were another story. The shells were very thin but not thin enough to chew up. I know because I tried. Good thing I was eating alone. Spitting out the shells might have scared off guests. - Kim

Thanks for including that picture! The recipe said that the cookies are going to spread. Mine didn't. I liked them anyway. Glad to see I'm not the only one that happened to. I will definitely make them again.

To date, I've made 15 recipes from this book. I've had contractors working in my house for the last couple of months. I think the projects have taken so long because I've been baking for them. Last week, one of the contractors literally jumped up and down in the kitchen because he was so happy with the latest recipe... I made the Golden Brioche Loaves and the Brioche Raisin Snails. All of the recipes have been good but these two recipes take it to another level. Awesome. So good I would have sworn they came from a bakery if I hadn't made them myself. - Kim