SuzySushi

Doesn't longan (Chinese) translate to "dragon's eye"? Wonder how they got "cat's tears" in Malaysia!

I was in a social situation in Japan where I had to eat some kind of shiokara that was truly vile. It may have been ika? It looked like red-orange worms and was extremely salty and fishy. I've never encountered it since, and there are actually some kinds of shiokara that I've liked.

So where's Ben? Looks like he wasn't at his own party! (Happy Belated Birthday!!!)

Also pizza pie...

I hadn't particularly noticed the slice count of Japanese loaf bread when I was in Japan and wonder about the 4 slices. Aren't people worried about bad luck? [For those of you who are not Japanese, sets of 4, or speaking that number aloud, is usually avoided in Japan because the sound of the word is a homonym for the word for death. It's like the superstition about the number 13 in the USA.]

I haven't been to the shop yet... I only know the abbreviated offerings in our supermarket and the Ala Moana stall. But their shop menu is online at their website. It looks like they have more varieties. My husband is going there on a reconnaisance mission when he's in town Tuesday!

Heartfelt sigh....... Nothing as fancy as any of you this weekend. We went to a friend's for a tempura party. I brought yakisoba and prepped veggies (kabocha, green beans, eggplant fans, carrots, bell pepper). We tempura-ed the veggies and shrimp just before serving them to the hungry crowd! Dessert was ice cream and a peach pie brought by another guest. No pictures because I misplaced my digital camera -- then found it while driving home (darn! I'm carrying entirely too much stuff in my handbag).

I'm resurrecting this thread because I just discovered a wonderful source for fresh wagashi in Honolulu: a shop called Kansai Yamoto, located on Kapiolani Blvd. a block away from Ala Moana Center, with a small stall in the shopping center itself. We found their fresh daifuku in our local supermarket, and I must say it's some of the best wagashi I've ever tasted. We're now eager to work our way through their menu! I bought the traditional daifuku, but they also make new-wave versions like ichigo (with fresh strawberries), chocolate, green tea, and kona coffee.

Re: Ryokan. In rural areas, try for Minshuku ("people's inns"). They're similar to ryokan in many ways, but a lot cheaper! You'll sleep on futon, bathrooms are down the hall, many have lovely furos, and the food's usually good. Many of the staff do not speak much English, but they're friendly and you can get by with smiles and sign language.

Tried a new pasta dish: penne with sautéed eggplant, tomatoes, goat cheese, and slivered basil.

1,000,000?

Good one! This is ground pork stir-fried with a vegetable of some kind. The ground pork looks like ants. Can you name the vegetable? My mom usually makes "ants climbing bricks" (蚂蚁上转, ma yi shang zhuan) which is with squash cut to into squares, which resembles bricks. ← I've always understood it to be ground pork stir-fried with cellophane (mung bean) noodles, with the noodles representing the branches of the tree.

My favorite fanciful Chinese food name has to be "Ants Climbing a Tree." In Japanese, I like "Oyako Donburi," literally "Parent-and-Child Bowl" because it contains both chicken and eggs.

The baking time sounds way too short to me! I'm not familiar with this recipe, but the recipe I use for rugelach (cream cheese & butter dough) needs 25-30 minutes @ 375F.

I love my Spanek vertical roaster. I got one after a friend served us the most succulent roast chicken we'd ever eaten. Yes, vertical roasting makes a difference.

Best way to handle specifying ingredients is to include an exhaustive glossary in the front or the back of the book, in which you discuss the different types of flours, oils, sugars, etc. You can then refer to them by name in the recipe without repeating yourself each time. When you have found that only one ingredient works in a recipe, you can list it as: (no substitutes).

Still on an Indian food kick, so last night I made my own take on Saag Kefte, lamb meatballs in spinach sauce, combining two of Madhur Jaffrey's recipes. It was yummy.

Boiled peanuts, BTW, are also a popular snack in Hawaii. They're cooked the Chinese way, seasoned with soy sauce and star anise, and sold chilled. Just about every supermarket sells them -- inexplicably, usually at the fish counter!

A friend of mine who lives in Queens (NYC borough) knows people in her neighborhood who have never so much as crossed the bridge to go into Manhattan! Their explanation is that they simply don't feel the need to.

In answer to the first question, both! I'm still learning (and always will be!). Second answer is both, too. I'm most familiar with Japanese and Chinese food, but write about everything as I go. If I don't know the answers, I research them!

A friend of my daughter's unexpectedly is staying over another night, so tonight I was faced with having to stretch 3/4 pound of ground beef -- originally destined for hamburgers -- to feed 4 people. Browsed through my recipes and came up with one that's been in my files for a long time: Bori-Bori, a Paraguayan dish of ground beef mixed with corn kernels (and egg and bread crumbs and a little spice), formed into patties, and grilled. The corn kernels char slightly during grilling, for a fortuitous flavor combination. I served that with whole wheat tortillas and homemade salsa. It was a big hit with both the kids and us. Later Googled the recipe and found many recipes for Bori-Bori dumplings made of chicken and cornmeal! No beef. No corn kernels. What gives?

It's been a while since I've been to Japan, so I don't know the full range of everything that's available now, but definitely some yatsuhashi senbei (both fresh and dried) and various local pickles. A friend recently brought me some ao-shiso pickles from Kyoto that were wonderful!

Okay, I'll bite! Not really applicable. I like writers who have a strong, evocative voice, but that's not the kind of writing I do. For pay, I research & write market research reports on the food industry. For love (sigh.... I wish it were for pay!), I write a small circ. newsletter on Asian food. Currently on the back burner are two cookbook proposals that have not yet been accepted for publication. Many years ago. Food writing about 16 years ago. As I said, I have two cookbook proposals on the back burner. My ideal publisher would be Workman because I like the format of their books. My mission is to educate readers and open their eyes to food possibilities (and connections) they haven't thought of before. I also wouldn't mind my name going down in history as an expert on X!

Two types of amaranth are used in Asian cooking: the purple-and-green kind and the all-green kind

Oh, yes. I'm currently on a garam masala kick.