chefzadi

That's it exactly! It reminded me of how people enjoy and discuss wines. Ever since the first experience I've tried to appreciate fruit a little more. ← That's a good metaphor, wine. You're right, the complete flavor profiles of fruits is much appreciated. I remember watching my wife and her mother eating these big Korean grapes, almost the size of small plums. They would peel the skin from each one and anticipate the flavor based on the physical characteristics. "This one is a little soft, this one looks really sweet and the texture is going to be good, here you have it." Did you also notice with some of your Korean friends that there is great pride in the whole process of peeling and cutting fruit into neat pieces? It's almost like a ritual. Obviously not ALL Koreans, but I do think it is a feature of the food culture. By the way, I have permission to post this stuff from my wife. She can be really mean when people say weird things about Koreans and generalize about Asia.

The single piece of fruit phenomenon. This is an example of the communal aspects of Korean eating (found in many, many other cultures). If there is one piece of fruit it can serve one person or even split amongst 7 people. Koreans also buy cases of fruit and put out big platters of fruit after meals too. When I was living in Seoul and in now in Los Angeles, I have noticed more affluent or even not so affluent Koreans are willing to spend quite a bit of money on expensive fruits and vegetables. I remember $5-$8 pears in Seoul. They were very large and delicious, but wow expensive. I don't know of too many other cultures where people buy expensive fruit that is individually wrapped by the crateful. I have had the same experiences as you describe, again and again. Comments on the qualities of the fruit, texture, etc.. Sometimes even comparisons to the last time they had the same fruit, "ah, it is really the height of the season now! the last peach was a little sour and not quite ready."

The ikura (cod roe) pizza definitely looks intriguing. This sounds like a winning combination with the saltiness of the ikura in place of, say, anchovies, combined with the putsu putsu quality of ikura as they burst in your mouth. ← I thought ikura was salmon roe. (?)

Being an outcast is not always a bad thing.

Yes I agree with you and was a bit confused by the McDo and TGIF thing to begin with. ← When a culture starts to copy something adapted from another culture, it's a sign that something is becoming generally accepted. Like teriyakai, or crispy Chinese noodles on a McDonald's salad. Or the potstickers that were on the menu at TGIFridays's in 1986. When a food item hits large chain restaurants with limited menus, you can be pretty sure that culture's food has been adopted into the mainstream, or at least that culture's perceived flavors have been. Thai, Chinese and Japanese flavors, or pseudo-flavors, are widely present in school cafeteras and chain restaurants. Korean flavors, or at least flavors identified as Korean, are not. Society has not well accepted Korean food or flavors in a broad sense. I suspect it's becuase of the salt and perhaps strong flavors as noted by other recent posters. Korean food is the only food I can think of that serves large quantities of raw garlic..... ← Is your food culture represented by McDo and TGIF? Very interesting.

Yes I agree with you and was a bit confused by the McDo and TGIF thing to begin with.

I don't eat at McDonald's or TGIF. Does McDonald's have anything Japanese or Thai on the menu?

Like I wrote upthread kimchi in Los Angeles is in the national chains. So is bbq sauce. Bibimbap has made it's way into non-Korean, non-Asian places. Korean bbq is the new Japanese teriyaki around here. The Thai place down the street even serves it as the chef's special and the owners are Thai. Maybe it's the Korean food in New York? Or it's it is not to your taste no matter where you've had it? Which is quite allright too. In my neck of the woods I can point to lots of examples where it has entered the mainstream, national chains don't get more mainstream. I'm not claiming that it's to everyone's taste or will become as popular as Chinese, but it's not exactly floundering in insularity in Los Angeles. Anyway, they also do very well (thriving in fact) catering to their own. If the Koreans themselves are happy, it really doesn't matter.

Korean upperclass cooking was traditionally generally less salty and less intense. More food avalable to eat and all that. So the banchan didn't have to stretch to feed as many people. My wife's consistent complaint about restaurant food is just that it is too strong and salty compared to the homecooking she was brought up on. First five years of her life in Korea I should add and then later moved back to live for a few years as an adult. Even so she stills knows how to order to avoid the heavier stuff. Koreatown in Los Angeles extends beyond it's official city designation. Plus all the mini-Korean areas. then there is another Korean Town in Garden Grove... all this helps to mainstream it quite a bit. Trader Joe's carries two different kinds of Korean bbq sauce for example plus they have marinated Korean bbq beef. Costco here carries Korean galbi cuts last time I checked in my area. I made Korean bbq, kimchi and rice for my very diverse group of students. They all had it before and it was all gobbled up. A general Asian place in a mainstream American mall serves two different kinds of kimchi. And pretty much every national chain grocery store I've been to here carries kimchi, so does the Whole Foods I've been to. Generally I'll say that I really like the fact that Koreans do things on their own terms and serve their community extremely well and successfully. Good for them.

How big is New York's Koreatown? Maybe not a good idea to base generalizations about Korean food on NY Korean food? Wife says she walked right past it a few dozen times and didn't realize it was supposed to be anything particular. (Spoiled Los Angeleno ). J. Gold's article gives you some idea of the variety of Korean food available here. Plus there are mini-Korean areas. Korean food is in my top 5 of favorite cuisines. I don't like all the dishes. Just like I don't like all French food or all Algerian food, the two cuisines I grew up eating. When I lived in Korea over time I picked the places that seasoned more to my taste. Which is more like my MIL's cooking. Ligther, cleaner, brighter flavors...

LA Weekly Jonathon Gold's Koreatown's top 40. I think it gives a pretty good idea of L.A.'s Koreatown is like. Korean food is pretty mainstream around here.

There are references to migas in an Anonymous Andalusian cookbook.. I wrote a little bit about it on my blog book of rai (I can't seem to link that post, so do a keyword search on the site for "March of Couscous"). Rachel Lauden offers some comments at the bottom of that article. On a related note Spanish Colons who came to Algeria with the French also brought a version of migas to Algeria. There is a recipe in a Pied Noir cookbook from Oran.

Yes, of course. _________________________________________________________ Thank you again everyone who's contributed to this thread. I should add that either Anglophone or Francophone speakers are fine. Translators can be found for other languages. African-American chefs too. So far the African food focused people (homecooks, food writers/scholars, agricultrual specialists, farmers, chefs, etc..) I know are from West, North, East, Central Africa, the Islands off Africa, the Caribbean/Antilles/West Indies, Latin America, African-American, etc... We are a diverse group. A part of some the things I'm working on is not suprisingly dispelling some myths about Africa and the foods (people too ). ______________________________________________________________ Side note, I have the outline and research already for the Tuareg exhibition. I just posted that as one of the things that I am working on. The premise for that is that a food and cooking technique that had a West African genesis went on to "conquer" the world. _________________________________________________________ Not exactly on topic to this thread, but related is that I am also building a network of food professionals form the Arab world or of Arab descent (all denominations and 2nd-3r-4th generation French or Americans of Arab descent too). As far as other cultural/culinary spheres if you like I can refer you too many of my friends/associates who from Asia, Latin America, Europe, etc...

Hi Erik and CStuart Thank you for responding.

It sounds a little more like grattachecca (shaved ice) than granita per se. But it also sounds really good. Anyway, on the frozen dessert front, I made some granita di anguria* today, and it's superb: refreshing in this brutal heat. I have some peaches ripening, so they will be next; then it's time to scale Mt. Mandorla. Onward and upward! *That's watermelon, of course. Question for the Italophones: is there a connotative difference between anguria and cocomero? There's an etymological difference (one's from Greek, the other's from Latin), but as far as I can tell, they refer to exactly the same fruit. Is that correct? ← granita if this is a granita method, than what I had was a granita. Btw, Tunisans call apricots mechmech (transliterated differently, meshmesh).

A friend of mine from Italy makes it with almond syrup flavored ice and pours coffee over the shaved ice. Delicious and very easy to make. I can't remember where in Italy he said he first had this.

I am writing several articles about African foods and African chefs. I have a pretty good list of contacts. However it is very difficult for me find African chefs outside of my own circle, unless they've gotten some press before. Is there an African or African origin chef in your area who emphasizes foods from the continent or the diaspora? Is engaged in promoting the cuisines of Africa? Some of you here know that I am an African. In December I am giving a lecture/demo on West/North African foods at the Fowler Museum as part of their Tuareg exhibition.

Salut Chef Rick Yes C.S.C.A. is where I teach full time. I've taught at Whole Foods, Sur La Table, will be at central market in August and I've also taught through the LAUSD chefs in the classroom program, private classes and, um, lots more :-D Look forward to your email.

Hi Rick I teach professional and recreational classes. I'm not clear about what you mean when you say you want to teach cooking at the secondary level. I am thinking that the system in B.C. is a maybe a little like France? Secondary school is also vocational school?

First of all, there are different varieties of purslane, so if someone had a slighty slimey and someone else didn't... Second, congratulations Gordito.

Dairy/meat thing is not forbidden in a halal diet. Neither is vinegar, unless there is some sort of hadith that Malaysian Muslims follow that I am not aware. Vinegar is a very common cooking ingredient in North Africa and the Levant. Since you are in Malaysia find a roti maker to sub for wheat tortillas. FanGJiN email me if you have other questions. I worked in Asia and cooked different "national dishes" for diplomats and cultural events. I have an idea of what you can get in Malaysia.

That's my new favorite blog too! And I love that post the most.

Crow is best marinated, skewered and grilled KEBAB style.

Respectfully disagree about this one-- it's not even a French dish, more North African; I might guess for a Croque Monsieur as a "favorite" in France, although the criteria for that title would be hard to measure... ← Nevermind. Moderator delete this post. I shall go watch the World Cup with my countrymen.

Maurice Naughton is the man to go to for good budget eating in Paris (great recs for lots of other things to do in Paris). Google his name and you will find him. Of course I don't know anything about eating out in France.