SuzySushi

Hmmn... I wonder if that's the same thing. I can't seem to find a definite answer on this one. Maybe next time I go by the restaurant, I'll get the dish's name in Chinese characters to see if that gives any more clues. Your explanation is particularly interesting because I always thought of "white fungus" as being an expensive, rare ingredient. This dish cost $8.95 (about average for this restaurant) and contained quite a bit of it.

Okay, so what's bamboo pith? (I'm really sorry I forgot to take my camera to the restaurant. The dish looked - and tasted - very interesting.)

Something might have been lost in translation. I couldn't figured out what it is. Can you describe it a little more? What it looks like? Tastes like? Color? Shape? ← I'm assuming it's some sort of fungus/mushroom. It was cut into rectangles sso I don't know what it's original shape was... cream color, spongy texture, little flavor on its own but absorbed the flavor of the sauce. As I said, the closest comparison I can make is to "fish maw." In searching more, I came up with this website and picture, but I'd still like to know more about its culinary (not medicinal) uses. Bamboo Fungus

I'm curious about Bamboo Fungus. I had some tonight in a dish at a Chinese restaurant. I'd never seen, heard of, or tasted it before. It reminded me of "fish maw," except that the dish was completely vegetarian (rectangles of deep fried tofu, te bamboo fungus, and sugar snap peas in a fresh ginger sauce). I started to Google bamboo fungus anc came up with a lot of mentions of using it in shark's fin soup, and buying it at an herbalist. Does anyone know anything else about it?

Thanks for the recipe! I don't remember seeing sour bamboo shoots either, but I'll bring the picture around to my Asian markets. I've eaten Pork & Sour Bamboo Soup here (at a Vietnamese/Laotian festival), so someone must sell jars of it. By the way, have you ever heard of Bamboo Fungus? I had some tonight at a Chinese restaurant -- never saw, heard of, or tasted it before. The texture reminded me of "fish maw," but the dish was totally vegetarian. I'll Google it and ask on the Chinese food board, too.

Like many others here, I'd have to answer, making anything wrapped -- potstickers, wontons, stuffed grape leaves, sushi rolls. Making and decorating small cookies. Making pancakes. Anything repetitive. Sometimes when it's late at night and the house is quiet, I sort through my spice rack, opening each jar and sniffing or tasting a pinch for freshness. Nirvana.

Oooh, oooh! Recipe, please?

Yup, that's it! I thought it looked familiar. In English it's called Cherimoya or Custard Apple. You can occasionally find them in Asian markets in Hawaii and Hispanic markets elsewhere in the USA. Here's another list of plant names: http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Annona.html

I'm considering getting a Senseo coffeemaker to replace our automatic filter pot because my husband sleeps later than I do, so his coffee is no longer fresh-brewed by the time he drinks it. Question: I drink only decaf. Has anyone tried any of the decaf pods that fit the Senseo system? (I like my decaf strong and brew it from French Roast or Espresso Rpast coffee.) Has anyone tried using reusable pod inserts and filling them with your own choice of coffee? (I'm not talking about making your own pods using paper filters.) What are the results?

Yup... that was one when I was growing up. Another, that I never heard of until a few years ago, from some Armenian friends: on Easter, the kids are supposed to tap their hard-cooked Easter eggs together in a mock "war." The one whose egg cracks first loses; the winner's wish comes true.

Epazote is a Mexican herb. No substitute. Piloncillo = brown sugar in chunk form (little cones). Can substitute regular brown sugar.

Another duck: Pato a la Sevillana, Seville-Style Braised Duck with Green Olives, Fresh Orange Juice, and Fino Sherry, served with Sweet-Potato Chips (from white-fleshed sweet potatoes). We polished off the rest of the cold asparagus from the other night, and enjoyed fresh pineapple for dessert.

One of the best websites for all things Vietnamese is one that Guppymo linked to: Andrea Q. Nguyen's VietWorldKitchen.com. Andrea, a Santa Cruz resident (and friend of mine) is presently hard at work on her own Vietnamese cookbook, to be published by Ten Speed Press in 2006. (Put it on your list!)She has a list of Viet cookbooks in English here. Hope that helps. ← Andrea Nguyen is awesome! I'm salivating for her cookbook!

She ate one... she was so stuffed full of Girls' Day sweets that she didn't have room for the other, so my husband ate it!

Oh, yum!!!! Yes, I've eaten the Grilled Pork quite often in Vietnamese restaurants here (and now I know their "secret marinade!!!). My Vietnamese friend taught me to make a different chicken salad, Goi Ga, with shredded cabbage and a sweet-and-sour dressing. Now I'll have to try yours.

The baguette, and other French breads. A number of "charcuterie style meats, eg: sausages, cooked meats, etc. Of these they make the most fantastic sandwiches. BTW, Vietnamese coffee is some of the best...anywhere. ← I've also read some good arguments that pho was actually descended from the French pot au feu. Here's one article about it. The writer, Andrea Nguyen, is pretty erudite when it comes to Vietnamese food.

A Singapore Chinese New Year's tradition is to eat yu sheng (recipe), a raw fish salad, which the diners all toss together with chopsticks at the table. The higher you toss, the better your luck in the New Year!

Good topic! Best first, and last, depending. When it's an "ordinary" dinner, I usually eat the meat or poultry part first, and leave the vegetables (which I like less) for last. When it's an "extraordinary" dinner, I start out with a taste of one of the items I like best, and pick my way carefully around the plate, leaving a morsel of the best for last. For instance, I like to end a sushi dinner on a rich hamachi or uni note, followed (but not too closely) by an umeshiso roll to clear the palate. Now another question for everyone: do you eat the cake first, the frosting first, or both together? What do you like as your last bite?

Yes, please post your recipe!

AMEN! These food memoirs are all the more remarkable to those of us who lived isolated social existences as children, whether because of growing up in another culture, or because we had few opportunities to dine with anyone other than our own families. Yes, this does open the floodgates to memories. Thank you, Ivan. And thank you, Jaymes, for your eloquent summation of what makes this thread so soul-fulfilling to read.

Soy sauce (a Japanese brand) Dijon mustard Tahini

Okay, I just checked my fridge to see what brand I've been using and discovered that (horrors!!!) I used up my last bottle. Soooo... what's the definitive if I want to buy a good brand of Thai OR Vietnamese clear fish sauce? I don't like Tiparos, which mostly comes bottled in plastic here (which I think does something to the flavor or keeping abilities). I've used Squid brand and Three Crabs brand. What other brands are reliable and exported to the USA? I have access to at least a dozen brands in the Asian markets here.

YES! That's it!!! I think my friend may have bought the fresh rice noodle sheets ready-made in a Vietnamese store in Chinatown. I'll look for those or the mix guppymo mentions, before trying to make them from scratch. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Back to the Mediterranean mode. Tonight's dinner was Polenta with Mushroom Ragu, served with a Spanish-influenced Asparagus and Radish Salad. The mushroom ragu cooking ("wild" & cultivated mushrooms seasoned with herbs and balsamic vinegar): The finished dish. Cooked polenta was mixed and topped with Parmesan cheese and gilded under the broiler: The salad was dressed with a simple mixture of orange juice, balasmic vinegar, and EVOO, scented with cumin. (The radishes were deliciously sweet, like the ones we ate in Europe. Mmmnnnn good!):

So, who are the heaviest hitters? I haven't read through all 52 pages of this thread yet. How are your/their cookbooks organized? By title? Author? Cuisine? Dewey decimal system?