mizducky

This stuff sounds really cool. How was the dried water-weed served? Used as a wrap? Slivered and put on other dishes? By itself? Wondering what this stuff is called, in case there's a chance, however remote, that I might run into it at a local Asian market at some point.

Ooooh! Yes, please to be showing a lunch at this joint. I'm already liking its vibe just from the outside, and I haven't gotten a chance to enjoy any soul food--even vicariously--in ages.

Thanks in part to my recent switch to a healthier food regimen, I've really been hitting the local Vietnamese joints recently (in my opinion, Vietnamese noodle soups such as pho and bun bo Hue are strong contender for perfect dieter's dine-out option). Here are the ones that I've enjoyed so far: Convoy Noodle House (4647 Convoy St # 101B -- in the same block as Jasmine, same side of street, a couple of strip malls north). Great all-round restaurant, with a friendly mellow feel. Decent flavorful broth, especially in the bun bo Hue. The plate of add-ins (bean sprouts, herbs, etc) tends to be a tad on the modest side. Pho "T" Cali (7351 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, in the same corner strip mall as the taqueria Lolita's) -- this large-ish super-spotless pho joint is like a rapid-fire assembly-line at lunch time, moving a large number of mostly non-Asian office workers in and out quickly and efficiently. Their pho is decent-to-good; again with the somewhat skimpy add-in plate. Saigon Restaurant (4455 El Cajon Blvd.; stand-alone building, with a street-edge sign you can't miss) -- A busy and very good restaurant serving a mix of locals and SDSU students (at least I'm guessing that's where all the studenty sorts are coming from). Very tasty broth and very generous amounts of meat in their pho. They also have a huge menu--I mean, even more huge than the typical pho place; several local eGulleteers and I had a fabulous multi-course dinner there recently, which while not exactly qualifying as "cheep eatz" was definitely quite reasonable given the tons of food we consumed. Pho Ca Dao (5223 El Cajon Blvd.: stand-alone building in the same shopping center as the World Foods Market, an Asian supermarket that is also very worth a visit) -- I've only eaten here once so far, but it was good! Had a bun soup with duck that was very yummy--the broth is not anywhere near as hot as it looks, but is quite tasty. This place apparently does not get very many non-Asian customers; they tried to talk me out of ordering the bun, fearing I wouldn't like the un-deboned duck and chunk of congealed pig's blood they serve in it. But I prevailed, and I'm glad I did. For a change, a very generous pile of add-ins, including, for the bun, both mint and basil plus other herbs, and shredded cabbage as well as bean sprouts. The Convoy neighborhood and that stretch of El Cajon Blvd. between Saigon and Ca Dao both have a number of other pho joints large and small; and I understand there's another clump of them up on Mira Mesa Blvd., and another on Linda Vista Road (I think I mentioned Pho Pasteur in a previous post--they're at 7612 Linda Vista Rd.). More to explore...

Dude! Sorry to be arriving to the party so late. Rock on!

Yeah, some kind of chilled vegetable-based soup would be a great contrast with pork sandwiches, I would think. Some kind of gazpacho, for example.

You can't be the only one, Pam--why else does there exist that time-honored saying "The shoemaker's children have no shoes"? Thanks once again, Pam, for giving us a glimpse into your world at one of its most hectic moments. Rest well!

I meant to respond to this topic earlier, but got distracted by something or other. Anyway, just wanted to add that one of the many cuisines covered in Madhur Jaffrey's excellent World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cookery is that of Japan. She gives several basic recipes and techniques, including sushi (making the rice, shaping the rolls, suggestions for fillings/toppings, variations like chirashi sushi, nigiri sushi, inari sushi, etc.); Japanese-style omelettes; tempura; stews; pickles; and more. She also has a couple different recipes for vegetarian dashi/stock from scratch. Another valuable aspect of this book is a fairly extensive ingredients glossary. Plus you also get recipes from all over the rest of the Far and Near East, too! One of the most heavily used cookbooks in my collection.

Well, K8memphis, there's your answer--they're no doubt steaming the bagels. Although the idea of steamed chocolate chips don't sound all that palatable to me either. But at least they wouldn't all just dissolve and wash away as they would if these folks boiled their bagels the old-fashioned way. I confess I have major mixed feelings about this cocoa bagel thing. Mostly against, because I'm another bagel purist who wants her bagels savory, damn it! But at the same time, I realize I've been known to wolf down chocolate muffins (or at least I did before I went on the diet thang), even though I've always held that a chocolate muffin is just a glorified cupcake only for breakfast. So ... I dunno. I am willing to cut them some slack, though, because it's hard to resist creating *something* to take advantage of Coco Crisp's name. Even though the article quotes the owners of this bagel enterprise as saying this creation isn't specifically in Crisp's honor. (Maybe he can use one to splint his broken finger?) And the appropriate schmear for this critter? Why, cake frosting, of course. Especially the canned stuff. Mmmmmm ... flavored Crisco ...

I do a lot of the same things other folks have mentioned, including slivering them up as part of a stirfry, and roasting along with a chicken. I also like adding them to a stew or soup in really huge chunks, so that they don't fall apart but do get very soft--you lose some carrot flavor, but you gain all the flavors of the stuff its been stewed with. One preparation I have not made on my own, but have gotten extremely fond of, is the jalapeno-laced hot pickled carrots carried by some taquerias around here. You can also find them chilled in plastic tubs in some supermarkets here in San Diego, but the best I've had so far came from a random taqueria near my old place--juicy slabs of carrot, and the occasional whole jalapeno, in a nice medium-hot brine. Very addictive. Edited to add: oh yeah! I also love carrots in curries, or even just hit with various curry-type spices. They play off the carrots' natural sweetness really well, without going the route of the added-sweetness glaze.

Bravo! That one's definitely a keeper! And what aspect of Jewish culture is complete without a little bit (or a whole hunk) of humor? Hag Sameach, Pam!

Can I take a stab at that -- the white pepper? It's been around in Chinese cooking as long as black pepper -- since antiquity. Some of my cookbooks use it frequently and some chefs seem to use it exclusively. It is supposed to be the "hot" in Hot and Sour Soup -- and it is often used when you want to keep the color purity in a dish as in a creamed sauce. (Napa Cabbage in White Sauce) ← At the risk of taking this topic even further off on a tangent, I want to piggy-back on this with another question about pepper in Chinese cooking. Whenever I go into an Asian grocery store, I find a large selection of pepper--white, black, ground and whole peppercorns. But I never see anything labeled as Szechuan peppercorns (even now that the US ban is supposedly off). I do see various bottles of peppercorns whose English labeling says something like "special pepper" or "special quality pepper" or similar. Are these just marketing-speak, or is this some code for "Szechuan peppercorns"--or do they have some other significance? (Heh. I see I'm going to have to learn to recognize at least a few Chinese characters if I'm going to get any further along in my appreciation. )

Heh. I tried it, once, but you see, I had an excuse. I was shepherding my parents through a 25th wedding anniversary day in New York City--a Broadway matinee followed by a nice early dinner at the Russian Tea Room. This was when I was of an age (twenty-something) when this kind of day was completely terra incognita to me, so I was nervous to start with. Worse, instead of my parents enjoying being treated like this, they were paradoxically getting as whiny as 3 year olds as the day progressed. I think they just couldn't handle their eldest daughter being in control, and spending money on them; so like nice mature adults they dealt with it by acting out (example, my dad stubbornly insisted on circling the block ad nauseum for a street parking space--in midtown Manhattan yet--ignoring all my pleas to let me pay for a goddamn parking garage; and at some other point he and my mom got in this pissy fight with each other right there in the car). So by the time we got to the restaurant, I was a bit of a nervous wreck. I had a reservation (which I had obsessively checked and rechecked), but now I was terrified the maitre'd would take one look at this lumpen suburban family doing the Lockhorns thing and seat us near the kitchen or some damn thing, which would have inevitably provoked another parental meltdown. So, all afeared and trembling and not suave in the least, I attempted to press a twenty on the maitre d'. Very fortunately, he must have totally grokked the situation in an instant--bitchy parents, sweating-nervous daughter, other offspring already lookign exasperated--and waved off my twenty with a little laugh. We got a perfectly fine table, and while they didn't fawn over us, we did have perfectly nice service. I have never had occasion to try such a maneuver ever again, but I do have some sympathy for the kind of social emergency for which offering such a tip can relieve a helluva lotta stress. Oh wait--I have also tried, in a couple of other desperate circumstances, to bribe hotel catering staff to bring a couple cases of bottled water for the very parched band I was then working for (you would not believe how many times it happened that the event planner for whatever gala we were playing failed to make our promised water materialize, even after numerous requests and references to the explicit requirements in our contract rider, I might add--yeah, band riders are sometimes a source of great amusement for some, but you would not believe the amount of water needed by a hard-working band playing for four hours straight). So yeah, when this kind of crap would happen, I was empowered by the bandleader to blow some petty cash on getting them some water so they didn't blow their singing voices out. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not.

Dang! You sure did! I do appreciate an expert with egalitarian tastes. Many thanks for all your help.

Alas, I can't help you with the sauce, other than to note that, yeah, it probably would have looked better if it had been thicker. As to the salmon though: yeah, the big-chunk smoked salmon is done with a different process than the thin stuff. The thin stuff is lox, traditionally eaten as-is on bagels, and is meant to have a very mild, even sweet flavor (especially the so called "nova" lox). In many places (especially those without large Jewish communities), you'll see it labeled as just "smoked salmon", on the theory that the locals wouldn't know what "lox" is--but we lox initiates recognize it on sight (and start salivating ... ) The thicker stuff tends to be in the alder-smoked style adapted from the Northwest Native American peoples; it is quite delicious too, but it can definitely come on strong. It can be eaten straight, but is usually served in smaller amounts because of its strong flavor. I've seen it flaked, and then strewn on salads, or added to alfredo-style sauces, or added to risottos--all in garnish-type amounts. When cooking with this alder-smoked style of salmon, I find it works best to use a very light hand with it, or its flavor will take over and blot out anything else in its path. FWIW, I just Googled now, and most of the smoked salmon croquette recipes I ran into specified the lox-type salmon. I'm sure there's a way to use the Northwest-style smoked salmon in croquettes, but I would definitely try using less of it. No worries--hey, I had to climb a salmon learning curve myself, as I grew up eating the lox-style salmon in my New York Jewish family, and was then quite startled when I moved to Seattle and discovered that lox was not the only smoked salmon in the universe. Bottom line: a taste test is always a good thing--not only for your recipe, but as an excuse to munch out on smoked salmon.

Many thanks for the detailed answer, Chad. I do have a couple follow-up questions, for you or anyone else who would like to chime in here. If you have a Chinese style cleaver there are a couple of things to keep in mind: [*] If you got a real Chinese-style cleaver, it's probably carbon steel rather than stainless steel. It'll develop a patina that distresses some people. Doesn't bother me in the least. In fact, the patina is a benign form of rust that keeps the more aggressive and damaging forms of rust from taking hold. Just be sure to dry your cleaver immediately after washing. Rinsing with very hot water will help the blade dry faster. Hmmmm ... then I'm not sure what the heck I've got. It was indeed made in China, and purchased at a restaurant store that caters to Chinese restaurants, but the box sez it's stainless steel, and it does look like that to me (not that I would mind the patina thing, but I guess that's moot now). Here's what the critter looks like: For whatever it's worth, the box also calls this a "Chinese kitchen knife" and a "king knife (Chinese)". Now this is a bit of a bummer to me, because I was seeking a cleaver specifically for whacking bones apart (although using it for the veg-chopping techniques you describe sounds like a lot of fun too). Again, for whatever it's worth, the blade on this thing is not what I'd call "very thin". At least to me, it looks pretty darn thick, and feels pretty substantial in the hand. It was also, admittedly, a damn cheap item (like $10). I suspect that knife mavens such as yourself would probably consider it a piece of crap--which it no doubt is. Given all that, I am tempted to try whacking chicken bones with it anyway. So--my question remains: what weight of cutting board should one be whacking on? (Yeah, I'm a tightwad--kinda comes with the territory of being on a real tight budget.)

Okay, I am now the proud owner of my very first cleaver--a Chinese-style one. Only now that I've got it home, I realize that all the cutting boards around here are relatively thin plastic ones. Somehow I have this vision of hauling off to thwack through a chicken carcass, and thwacking right through the board and a good ways into the countertop. So, what is the recommended minimum thickness and composition of cutting board on which to be going thwack with this thing? As I'm on a tight budget, low-cost alternatives will be highly appreciated.

I have found that you can usually find out seasonal produce information for your region by poking around the websites of state agriculture departments and cooperative extensions (a title usally, though not always, associated with the agriculture departments of universities). Each of these sites are organized differently, and sometimes require a little spelunking to track down the relevant info. For instance: I hit the New York State Agriculture and Markets website just now, and they didn't have seasonal info right on their site (that I could find). However, through their links page I found the Farmer's Market Federation of New York, which includes this Harvest Calendar. You'll no doubt want to do a similar exploration through the website for New Jersey's agricultural department as well.

oh. my. god. That's ... words fail me.

Heh. I just remembered another song my mom taught me when I was a kid: (Verses sung to the tune of "Turkey in the Straw"; chorus to the tune of "Shave and a haircut." "SHUT UP!!!" bit at the end of the chorus should be yelled at the top of one's lungs, with great glee.) Oh, I went into a bakery shop to get a bite to eat 'Cause I was so hungry from my head to my feet So I picks up a doughnut and I wipes off the grease And I hands the waitress a five-cent piece. Weeelllllllll ... she looks at the nickel and she looks at me And she says "Kind sir, can't you plainly see There's a hole in the nickel and it goes right through." Says I, "There's a hole in the doughnut too!" Chorus: Bump-steady-adam--bump bump! Shave and a haircut--shampoo! Hit by an auto--Bellevue!* Clothes on the washline--dry up! You said a mouthful--SHUT UP!!! Oh, I had a little chicken and she wouldn't lay an egg So I poured hot water up and down her leg** And the little chicken cried and the little chicken begged And the little chicken laid a hard-boiled egg Chorus *Bellevue, as all New Yorkers already know, is a major hospital in Manhattan **Not responsible for any animal cruelty implied by this verse

Nothing substantive to add, except: 1. Yum! 2. Ah Leung, I have to say your pictorials have become one of my favorite features on eGullet.

Given my current "healthy eating" resolution, I kinda like the idea ... in theory. It would be more useful, however, if they provided the printout of your meal's nutritional values *before* your order is officially sent off to the kitchen, so that you could make changes to your order, rather than finding out afterwards that you should have ordered something lighter or whatever. And it would also be nice if the printout were optional, for those people who don't want or need to know. And if all the "helpful hints" are as clueless as the ones on that receipt (i.e. why suggest saving 110 calories by holding the mayo next time, when the customer's also got over 400 calories worth of french fried on the bill?), I would be just as happy if they skipped them entirely. Gee, I'm no fun at all, am I? And I'm difficult, too! I think the above answer includes bits of choices #1, #2, and #3.

Hi Pam! I too salute your chutzpah in blogging while gearing up for Pesach, both at at home and at work, for a second year in a row.

Oh, I just remembered another childhood food-related hit: (to the tune of "The Prettiest Girl I Ever Saw"; in addition to the verse doubling, each line is repeated responsively by a second group of giggling students) The littlest worm I ever saw Was stuck inside My soda straw (repeat verse) He said to me "Don't take a sip 'Cause if you do You'll really flip!" (repeat verse) I took a sip And he went down Right through my pipes I guess he drowned (repeat verse) He was my pal He was my friend And now he's gone And that's the end (repeat verse) To be sung at top volume while jumping up and down in the back of the school bus, on the way home from the last day of school before summer vacation.

This topic is cracking me up so much, I was inspired to start this whole other topic on funny food songs.

Yeah, Uncle Frankie did seem to find food endlessly amusing, didn't he? Well, maybe not quite as amusing as the sexual exploits of his touring bands, but still ... I think my personal favorite Zappa food song (at least this week) is "Muffin Man:" "Arrogantly twisting the sterile canvas snoot of a fully charged icing-anointment utensil, he poots forth a quarter-ounce green rosetta ... "