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touaregsand

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Posts posted by touaregsand

  1. I'm very interested in exploring the ethnic food scene in Paris as well

    The best ethnic in Paris will be North African (both upscale and casual) and Vietnamese. I wouldn't bother with the other ethnic choices since you'll only be there for a weekend. I've never been to Chinatown in Paris, but I have been to the one in London. I suspect that they are comparable, maybe the one in Paris offers more choices. The Italian is okay. I wouldn't try Mexican at all.

    Coming from London, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with how affordable Paris can be.

  2. Was anyone else a bit uncomfortable with his attitude towards his server's accent?

    I was.

    The most dreaded words diners hear today are, "a gift from the chef," announced by a lowly crew member whose weak grasp of English leaves everyone scratching their heads. "Rotten lamb?" Oops, gratin of lamb.

    I think that he's referring to someone who might be a busser. Who wouldn't be trained to field questions about the food. Or maybe an expeditor who just delivers the food, but expeditors don't always speak English that well even though often times they know the menu as wells as a server.

    "eep crop poor gozola croce." A waiter finally rescued us - and him - by identifying the mystery item as a red beet-crisp coronet filled with beet puree and gorgonzola dolce.

    Isn't that sort of like asking the host/hostess for wine recommendations, then complaining about inadequate suggestions, then finally being rescued by the sommelier?

  3. OK, OK, I guess I've been swamped with other stuff, so I have not been

    able to write about my IST trip  :sad:  Anyday Now, Anyday ....... :wink:

    BTW, only 3% of .TR is in Europe, their Capital, Ankara is in Asia ---

    But their soul wants to be European  :smile:

    I think that their economy wants to be European. :wink:

    I think of Turkey as more of a Middle-Eastern country in terms of cooking. But then again Greek cooking is like this also.

    It's been almost three years now. Will we ever hear of this trip? :smile:

  4. I've tried most parts of animals. I just can't do the head or balls though (maybe if they were fried or heavily spiced or topped with fistfulls of parmigiano reggiano) I enjoy raw meat and blood sausages, but just raw blood I don't think so.

  5. By the way, if anyone's interested in reading an interesting report on one of the many ways to shape semolina pasta in Southern Italy, check out this blog article from fellow eGullet members katiaANDronald.

    Amazing methods! :wub:

    Is the Algerian dish you're referring about rolled or hand shaped?

    The dough is made from fine semolina flour, water and salt. It is rolled into thin sheets to be used for lasagne type preparations or cut into varying widths for pasta dishes. The sauces can be very delicate, like slow cooked fennel or fiery hot and aromatic with spices.

  6. The whole article is strange, beginning with the thesis and the examples that are just fishing for ways to complain about something that is FREE and meant as a friendly gesture from the kitchen.

    It seems like Cuozzo needs a vacation from food writing to replenish his creative juices. At this point he's just a sour lemon fabricating bad "news".

  7. I went to Chinatown the other day for my Vietnamese sandwich fix. I got a steamed bun for my mom. It was the biggest steamed bun I've ever seen in my life. We could recognize the vietnamese charcuterie, 1/4" slice of harboiled egg, but there was this mousselike portion to the filling. It tasted of sweet onions and maybe soy sauce, but other than that we could not figure out what it was. My best guess is that it's seasoned sweet rice flour.

    Help! What is it?

  8. fat I can see= BAD! Fat I can't see= well, maybe not so bad.

    I think that this attitude is a huge part of the chronic diet struggle that some people go through. A huge part of feeling satiated and not overeating is satisfying the palate. Fat that is visible is fat that is much more satisfying in the mouth than hidden fat. Another problem is the delusion that hidden fat "maybe not so bad". It's worse because not only is it not as satisfying to "the fat tooth" but it's also very easy to eat more than intended all the while deluding oneselfs that "it's not so bad."

    I've read some posts regarding dieting and trying to lose weight and it makes me a little sad when I read things like "I was bad today, I ate "X"" It's okay to indulge just not too much, inhale, enjoy, relish, savor, swallow...

  9. Don't get me wrong: I adore slop, but in a very particular context. Brunch and Mexican food are, in the States, things you can have cheaply, at odd hours, and when you're not entirely sober. Diving into a vinyl booth and talking elbows-on-the-table as you entertain refill after refill (coffee, tortilla chips...) - these are the things I miss.

    Funny you should mention Mexican food, because that is the one thing that I miss when I'm in France. Everything else I can live without or make myself. But I just can't duplicate that inexpensive taqueria flavor. (and if anyone is tempted to ask why I'm thinking of Mexican food it's because I've spent enough time in France to start missing things from back home).

    But the informality and price that I associate with taquerias back home can be found all over Belleville in the small and lovely North African joints.

    I adore those North African joints and when I'm back home in the States that's what I miss the most about France. French ingredients/foodstuffs are readily available in Los Angeles, depending on how much you want to pay for it. The bread is not the same of course, the closest we've found is at Vietnamese bakeries and not at those ristzy westside artisanal bakers. But it's impossible to find good kebab and merguez sandwiches around here the way it's made in France.

    I'm surrounded by French expats in LA. Many of them never quite adjust to American food. I hear the same complaints all the time.

  10. Somewhere in my memory is a statement from the Dalai Lama that eating meat is allowed, as long as it is not killed for your consumption... Belly up to the counter @ McDonalds...A life is not taken for your personal benefit..

    I haven't heard about the Dalai Lama saying this specifically. But I have heard about this before in certain Buddist spheres. If an animal dies a natural death, old age or tractor accident for instance, than it's okay to consume the meat.

    I've seen monks in Korea with cell phones. :laugh:

  11. I must admit. I don't eat beef that often. So I haven't had that much experience. But when I've eaten braised ribs (don't know what kind they were) in fine restaurants - they didn't have more than a trace amount of visible fat. That's why you have to braise them - not much fat.

    The fat's been trimmed at those fine restaurants. I'm not sure how they get to the fat in between though. And this portion of the animal is also used for Korean Galbi, which is grilled, a much quicker cooking process than braising.

    unhealthy home-cooked food as opposed to unhealthy fast-food-junk food

    I think that unhealthy home cooked is less un healthy than fast-food-junk. At home we're not adding chemicals, preservatives, hidden fats, etc...

  12. This botanical pest is considered something of a delicacy in some parts of the world.

    Older Koreans are very good at identifying edible wild greens. My 97 year old grandmother and her friends climb under a fence in the San Fernando Valley to pick wild greens from a field in the middle of the city. :laugh:

  13. Saemjang is usually used as a condiment for lettuce wraps with rice, beef, sliced scallions, garlic slivers, etc. Or sometimes as a dip for fresh chilis or sundried anchovies.

    Saemjang isn't used in bibimbap, the dish called "bibimbap" that is, as opposed to preparing bap with leftovers to "Bibyuh muguh" (mix and eat) at home. In which case you can use saemjang. Alot of Koreans do this.

  14. I thought of two more cucumber pickles, they're actually my favorites. Both are based on long thin Korean cucumbers pickled in brine, just salt and water.

    Oi jjang achi 1-

    Rinse the salt pickled cucumber

    Slice into 1/3" rounds

    season with garlic, red pepper flakes, sesame oil, sesame salt, a little sugar.

    Oi jjang achi 2-

    Rinse salt pickled cucumbers with water

    tear into strips with your hands (this is where a picture is worth a thousand words)

    Place in a jar, top with cold water and add some finely sliced scallion tops.

  15. My wife is on a mission to avoid any "visible" fat. Her crusade has affected my daughter and instilled a fear that caused tears last night.

    Chicken nuggets are OK

    Microwave taquitos are OK

    Kraft Mac & Cheese is OK

    Crazy!?!?!?!?!?

    Yes totally crazy!!!!!

    The hidden fats are what kill you. Sticking with visible fats is not only more satisfying to the palate, but you can control how much you eat. Whereas with the processed stuff she thinks is ok, contain lots of fat, preservatives, sugar....

  16. PS I had a terrible time eating on my last visit to Korea - it was very difficult with my limited knowledge of Korean language to find vegetarian meals. I ate a lot of "guk" and "bap". (Soup and Rice)

    I'm assuming that you don't eat seafood. I can see why you would have a hard time if you don't speak or read Korean. Seafood and meat make their way into dishes in small amounts for flavor. This wasn't common at all say 30 years ago. It's a way to show off "prosperity" (remember we're confucianists also)

    When buddhism reached China the act of seeking alms was frowned upon, Chinese believed that if you don't earn your way you don't eat, no free lunches there. So the early monks had to become gardeners in order to survive, they essentially became vegetarian in China.

    Interesting. Buddhism entered Korea through China, but in Korea seeking alms is not frowned upon.

    Westerner's unnerving and obsessive methods of analysing absolutely every word while totally missing the inherent point or meaning of the words.

    This is why they talk endlessly about Koans. :laugh:

    At the end of the day, religion is not a constant. It changes continuously to accommodate the needs of the times. Apart of it remains in the past and a part in the present. At times these may come as contradicting. I think people are just doing what is practical. His Holiness included.

    This is the sort of belief/nonbelief I was raised with.

  17. I love charred bits of fat on grilled meat. I'm not too crazy about fat on braised meats though, so I follow the "Chufi plan" I eat the tender morsels of meat and my husband steals the fat pieces off my plate.

    My overall policy on eating fat is to eat fat that I can see. I don't eat processed/packaged foods which contain a lot of hidden fat and god knows what else. I don't have a weight problem at all, even though it looks like I indulge my "fat tooth" quite a bit.

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