touaregsand

I never went to the Chinatown in Paris. So I don't know what the food is like there. The Chinese places I saw in the rest of the city were more like traiteurs, hence origami's comment about nuking the food before service. The food just didn't look appealing to me or recognizable. I also saw a few sort of Chinese restaurants that were serving dishes from other Asian countries. I did eat at a Chinese restaurant on the outskirts of the city, the portions were really small and the food was not very good at all, too oily and no flavor. I also had Korean food in Paris. It was very "Frenchified, " very mild. It was tasty and well prepared for the French palate. All of the other diners were French or European. As for London's Chinatown. I just don't know. As friend of mine who is Chinese-Malaysian went to boarding school in England and she says that you go to a restaurant in London's Chinatwon to argue with the owner. Service is abrasive and she thinks the food is appalling. I can't say that I was appalled by it, it just looked strange to me. I recall seeing alot of buffet menus as well.

I read an article a while back about a few chefs in San Francisco doing something similar. I'll try to find and post a link. Are we all getting the impression that learning how to cook is empowering? Of all the lessons that my parents made me take (piano, violin, French, Spanish, tennis, golf, etc) a simple cooking lesson for me was the most immediately gratifying.

Cumin is an important spice in Algerian cookery as well. I love Mexican food! Some of the Mexican dishes I make at home remind my husband of the bled.

In Los Angeles, the Koreans operate a lot of Chinese restaurants west of the San Gabriel Valley. If you go to Little Tokyo in downtown LA a lot of the restaurants are operated by Koreans, further west increasingly so. When my family gets together we make a mix of "authentic" Korean dishes and "Pan-Asian" dishes. We just love good food. The smoked tofu sounds delicious.

Pan- I'm not trying to mount a vigorous argument for influences here. I'm interested in the "fringes" if you will of culture and cooking. Perhaps the Moghul influence in India is more historically traceable than the "influence" of Arab Muslims on Chinese Muslim cookery. When I study Jewish recipes in North Africa I don't really see much if anything that distinguishes them from Arabized North African food, mostly details as they relate to religious traditions. And yes I am aware of the various folks that landed in North Africa over thousands of years. Yes, Chinese cookery uses spices. Do Chinese Muslims use spices that are not found in the "mainstream"?

Wow! I'll leave it alone too. Skate ceviche Korean style is a delicacy. My husband prepares skate with browned butter, an entirely different taste sensation, damn good stuff.

The couscous thread is one to keep an eye on for this.

How do you make fresh tofu? Is it hard?? ← It's not hard at all. it's sort of like making cheese, but easier. I recall Tokrakris did an egullet program on making tofu. If I'm mistaken I would be more than glad to get into the specifics here. Just let me know.

Tofu (doobu) is so important to my family that we often make it fresh at home.

Korean dwenjang chigae- The most basic recipe is as follows. 6 cups water 2 tablespoons or more to taste of dwenjang paste or denjang paste (available at a Korean market near you or online) 1/2 pound firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes. To this you can add other vegetables such as zucchini, onions, potatoes, and jalapeno peppers (Koreans love this pepper). You can also add uncured pork belly or beef. I prefer to make mine with a Korean white beef stock as the base, but plain old water is fine.

Oh yes. ginger, garlic and scallions are delicious additions to mapo tofu. I would saute the garlic and ginger first, then the chili sauce and bean paste. The finely chopped scallions I would add towards the end of cooking.

The way I make ma po tofu is with Chinese garlic chili paste and Chinese fermented bean paste (the name escapes me now, but I'm sure someone else here will give it a proper name). I've seen recipes with black bean paste and some with no fermented pastes added at all. I take a tablespoon each of the chili paste and bean paste and "fry" it in a little oil. I add a 1/2 a pound of ground beef (I don't eat pork, which is probably more traditional), cook for a few minutes, add bamboo shoots, waterchestnuts and about 1/4 cup of water, cook untill the meat is done, finish the sauce by adding some cornstarch. I don't know if this is traditionally Chinese at all, but it's the one I grew up eating. As for the fried tofu, it means shallow fried. The amount of oil I use depends on my mood and the state of my girlish figure . I've prepared it with a spray oil or just enough oil to coat the pan. Deep fried tofu is delicious too!

I believe that to be true. Given that I have eaten Ramsay's food and that of his proteges a number of times and greatly enjoyed it, it follows that he must fundamentally be a good man and that the temper he is renowned for is for the sake of expediency in the kitchen alone. ← Or perhaps the temper he is now renowned for is for the sake of a carefully crafted media persona. IMHO Ramsey is no longer a chef, he's a celebrity. ← He's more than a celebrity. He's a comedian and a clown. He uses his sizeable talents (yes I think the man is a talented chef, a purist when it comes to food and presentation and he seems to care about mentoring the next generation of chefs). BUT, BUT he abuses his talents and his fame to demean people in front of the cameras. And the lame ducks who take it go a long way in substantiiating his attitude. Chef Ramsay may act like a chest thumping rude ape, but the bigger asses are the ones who "take" it.

I was in London shortly after the mad cow hysteria. My favorite meals after a long cold day were pub meals. Filling and satisfying with lots of native beef. Yummmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!! I worry more when having unprotected sex. ;-)

Tofu you say? It's a national treasure in Korea. 1. Sliced into 1/3" think squares or rectangles and "fried" in a little oil, seasoned with salt. (my kids prefer it this way) 2. Fried and served with a dipping sauce of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, scallions and red pepper flakes. 3. It goes into Korean dwenjang chigae (fermented bean paste stew) 4. I cut it into small cubes and add it miso soups (kids prefer this to the super funky Korean chigae). 5. Stuffed tofu. Slice 1 1/2" thick rectangles of tofu, slice in half but not all the way through, stuff with seasoned ground beef, dip in egg and shallow fry. 6. Bejee. Soak dry soy beans in water overnight, grind in blender with water, put into a pot, add kimchi and pork or beef and cook. 7. Use as a "filler" for meat patties or dumpling fillings. The finished product is more tender, lighter and healthier. 8. Soontofu or Soondoobu. A volcanic stew. You can make add vegetables, seafood or meat. 9.Steamed Soondoobu. Yes, there is a dish called soondoobu and a very soft, custard like version of tofu. Steam and drizzle with seasoned soy sauce. 10. Mapo Tofu. Chinese I know but it's super popular in Korea. 11. Tofu "salad". (Japanese inspired). Silken tofu on lettuce, topped with shave bonito and drizzled with miso salad dressing. 12. Of course it can be added to any number of stir fried dishes, soups and stews.

You don't need to cure it before use. They are indeed glazed. I don't know how they breathe. I don't know how they would hold up in a dishwasher, but there's nothing that makes me think they wouldn't hold up. My parents also told me that versions without lids are call ddouk begee. If you want more definitive answers regarding the history and production of jeel geu leut I can call the Korean Cultural Center and the Korean Cooking school to get more information. As a side note if you mention that you used Korean earthenware for cooking in your next book you will become a bit of a celebrity with Koreans. I know the Korean papers in LA would do a write up. Combined daily readership exceeds 100,000. Making the audience second only to the LA times and nearly tied with La Opinion.

Already doing a Merguez, Lamb, harissa, paprika, garlic, cumin & corriander (cilantro) Lamb, Pinenuts, Dates, cumin, corriander..... sounding good! ← Sumac is great in Merguez. Adds a lemony tartness.

Mole sausage. Pork or chicken.

Game bird, duck fat, preserved lemon, olives, pomegranate, spices (maybe allspice)

Lamb sausage. Use North African spices, maybe cumin, coriander, caraway add some pine nuts and fruit (prunes or dates). Lots of garlic of course, maybe some herbs such as thyme or cilantro.

Kim chi sausage. Pork and Pork fat. You could sell a ton in Korea.

Sorry about the confusion. Didn't mean to imply that you implied anything specifically targeting French chefs. I suppose I did imply that by quoting you in my response. ;-) From my my experience and my husbands the kitchen usually maintains good comaraderie. Fights are more common between the BOH and FOH.

As I understand it most muslims have special dishes for certain holidays. For instance a sweet tajine with no salt added to discourage thirst during Ramadan. Do Chinese muslims have such dishes? Are spices used in some dishes?

What are the flavorings "typical" of Manchurian cookery? What type of cooking vessels were traditionally used? Prefered meats and vegetables? Are there any fermented sauces, bean pastes for instance? Is the food spicy? Pickled dishes? How is a Manchurian table set, everything served together? What are the components of a meal, rice, soup, pickle, protein dish? looking forward to some responses.

It's not a kim chi pot. Yes you can use it to store duck confit. The earthenware pot is called jeel geu leut and it is a very common item in traditional Korean kitchens. I've seen it allover South Korea, so I don't know if it's specific to a region. My guess is that it is not. It's used for jigaes or chigaes which are stews. I haven't seen other soups cooked in it, except for the occassional chongol or hot pot. Ovens are never used in traditional Korean cookery. But I have seen jeel geu leut used over very high flames (outdoors, directly on charcoal, gas flame and electirc burners), given that the entire pot is made from the same material it seems that it would be be able to withstand an oven.