Soup

slightly off topic, but there are people who believe in the adage "hotter the weather, the hotter the soup". Ever try really hot (spice and temp) soups? You could have a great sweat? It does cool you down a bit and can make you feel very refreshed. But then again its no air conditioning either. Soup

I love Peruvian rotisserie chicken. Chicken dipped in to that green spicy sauce beats any grocery chain rotisserie chicken. I also love the various sides. Yum. Interested in hearing which place you believe serves the best and why?

I saw them at Super H for 4.99/lb as well this weekend. But they didn't look that great. I love the ones with the smaller pits but there seems to no way to tell until you actually eat them.

Sorry no pictures... Well, I took a shot. I tried making hand pull noodles with the direction. I got to the pulling stage no problem. However, when I pulled (simulating the actions of the people I've seen do this) it didn't exactly make nice long noodles. I could get two pulls and sometimes three but the "strands" would break. I didn't think something so thick would break apart so easily. Also the strands were not even. There were thick parts and thin on the same strand and from one strand to another. More times than not it would break closer to where my hands were holding the dough, near the end. I wish I could discribe the dusting my kitchen got with all the flour. After a few attempts, I gave up. I am going to try again. I think maybe I should work the dough more and definitely add a bit more water. BTW, this is amazing upper body work out. I don't know how those people make noodles all day using this method. Soup

I love lychees. I don't there you can improve it beyond peel and eat concept. Unfortunately, this fruit does not love me back. One of my few food alergies...

We took this trip in 1996. A few years back. We did eat at some really great places but I'm afraid our memories are not that great. We use the Berkley guides for lodging and resturant guides and "chance" was our other resturant guide. We did not each at fast food chains for most of the trip. Few things that still stand out in our minds.... 1. Steam oysters in chinatown in seattle 2. Fruit Loop (a drive to various orchards) around the columbia river gorge 3. Fresh salmon off the boat on the oregon coast 4. Spicy Beef Jerky in Tillamook 5. DimSum in Vancouber We did drive through KS city but it was 4 in the morning so no BBQ.

Methinks we have solid group of Koreans here and enough interest in Korean food for a seperate Korean food forum. ← Are all of you koreans?

In addition to to the suace, I love the ones with raw fish or dried fish shreds. Yum.

It sound like a great trip. The columbia river gorge if you have a chance should not be missed. We drove from The Dalles all the way to the coast and it is still one of the most memorable drives my wife and I have done. I am curious about a few things... Why choose an RV? Why not go in a regular car/suv/minivan and stay @ motels with the $2.9K. You'll save on gas and get to enjoy a lot of the roadfood without cooking. You also get better acceleration on the steep hills you will hit. Daniel, you also mentioned trip from vegas, siene river and greek islands. I love to know what kind of career affords a person so much free time (so that I can emulate it). I've done all these things but it has taken me me over 10 years. Love the greek islands (don't make hotel reservation in advance on the islands. just get places once you come off the boat. You get much better deals. ) Love the greek people, food and drink. Hate their cab drivers. Since we are sharing US driving trip iteneraries, my wife once did a 4 week trip from DC to Denver to yellowstone, Grand tetons, snake river, columbia river gorge, portland (24 hour church of elvis, not to be missed), Portland coastline, Seattle, Olympic, Vancuber, mt. Robson, Banff, Jasper, Calgery (some of the most friendly people), Glacier, Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, Chicago, Falling Waters and DC. About 11K miles. We averaged about an argument a day but man was it a great trip. And we are still married.. Soup

I think I added too much flour and not enough salt. I'm also going to switch the flour from Gold Medal Bread machine flour to King Arthur's AP flour. I'll follow most of JFLinLA's recipe but I'll cut the recipe by half. I do have a question about yeast and letting the dough rise. I think I'm hearing that if I don't let it rise long enough, it has an effect on flavor? How long should I leave the yeast in warm water with sugar before I add other ingrediants? Does the amount of sugar I add here have any effect? On the second and third rise, how long should I let that go? Does yeast and amount of time I give it in these various stages have effect on flavor?

JFLinLA, the Recipe would be greatly appreciated. Soup

I know the intent is more towards food but the spoon and the stone bowl post got me thinking... Have your friend go to Insadong and get some korean Ceramics. My wife and I love our ceramic pieces we've picked up in Korea over the years. The really nice stuff are tough to find in the US where as everyday spoons, bowls and tables are available at most korean grocery stores. For food I second the really good Kochujang and DenJang. Also dried parsimmons. Yum. Soup

Yesterday, I tried making Challah. Recipe was yeast to warm water with sugar. added milk (scalded then cooled) melted butter, 2 tsp of salt and two eggs. About four cups of flour (I used bread machine flour. Gold was the brand). I also added a table spoon of sugar after the eggs were added (was hoping for a bit of a sweeter flavor). I mixed the flower, kneeded it, let it rise and punched it down and kneeded again. I then did a six braid (I like the look a lot better). The bread came out looking amazing for my first try. With excitement I tasted a slice from it. It tasted like saw dust. It had no flavor. The mouth feel, the texture and color were all the stuff I was looking for. But the taste, it sucked. I've had way better stuff from whole foods bakery. What did I do wrong? Basically my goal was to do a very rich sweet egg bread. I don't care it is kosher since my family is not kosher. Soup

Is it me or have the rinds gotten thin?

There has been many first...First Pho, Dim Sum, Indian, dungeness crab, real cheese made from unpasturized milk, dry aged beef they are all great and memoriable experiences. I am now lucky enough to experience these food firsts again through the eyes and taste buds of my kids as I introduce them to my favorite foods. They really like some (e.g., dim sum) and hate others (e.g., crabs). I also think one of the great things is the fact that I have been able to try all these item (especially ethic foods) without leaving the country. I've been to few other countries and most do not have the variety that we have here. Good thing for immigrants... (there are exceptions. I love the variety we found in london). Soup

I had my noodle fix this week. Once at the Chinatown Express in DC china town, where I had noodle soup with roast pig. The other was at a korean Ja Jang Mein place in NOVA. I had Ja Jang Mein. They were both good and excellent and had the hand pulled noodles in common. As I watched the noodle maker streching and tossing the noodles, I wondered if I could do it. Have any of you made noodles by hand by the streching method (not via pasta machine or cutting with a knife). I would appreciate if you could share the recipe and experience. I'm hoping to give it a try....It just can't be easy as the people I was watching seem to make it. Soup

Although not part of any farmer’s market, some of you may be interested. My family had been a part of a coop organic farm run by Leigh Heuter of Bull Run Organic Farm (check out their web site http://www.bullrunfarm.com/) for the past 3 years. We are not doing it this year. My wife just could not go to pick up the vegetable with two kids in tow. I miss it already, and I know I’m going to really miss it when fall rolls around. Leigh has weekly drop off around NOVA. We use to pick up at the dog park next to east falls church. We also go to the farm a few times year. I get to pick vegetables with the kids, check out real farm animals (the variety of chickens really amused the kids), pick pumpkins from a real patch in the fall, and pick eggs out of a hen house. It’s not the farmer’s market scene but it may be something many of you may find of interest. Hopefully both kids will be walking and behaving next year, so we can get back into the coop. Soup

Not a vietnamease dish but I make a korean version. Slice tofu into 1/2 inch slices, I usually get 4 or 5 slices out of a block. Dip into flour and pan Fry. Once fried on both sides, I remove excess oil and dump in my sauce. Two TBL of GochuJang, TBL of sugar and TBL of soy sauce. Fresh pepper to taste. Throw the mix into the hot pan and it caramelizes a bit. Green onions at the end, and YUM. If I make a lot of it, I skip the dip in the flour. It doesn't hold up well as the skin gets real soggy. Soup

My family eats a lot of tofu. We generally buy the bucket with 10 blocks of tofu once a week or once every other week. We generally get them from Lotte in Fairfax but have also gotten them from GrandMart, Super H and Han Ah Rum. The Lotte tofu had been really good for years. Really soft but firm enough to hold their shape. Lately, I've notice a change for the worse. I've been looking for a fresher source. If anyone has a good source for tofu, I'd appreciate some info. BTW, anyone try to tofu resturant in eden center? I just noticed it yesterday. Thanks. Soup

can't share much other than it is a big pain to get reservation for dinner at the CIA (from my last three experiences), but man was it worth it everytime. Soup

There are a lot of them. Most are ethic. Try this website. You won't go wrong. www.gmu.edu/jbc/Tyler/TheLoneCritic.htm Soup

Tonight it was Kimchi chigae, oyster fritters, crispy fried tofu with hot and sweet sauce, and dry cooked string beans. Dessert, fresh appricots and peach. I also snuck in some pudding. I got to get a digital camera. Soup

I know the intent was to get a recipe for sirloin tip. I've done a crock pot stew with what ever veggies I have in the fridge and few of my favorite herbs and spices. Was very interested in your side of beef experience. How much meat did you get? How was it broken down? Did you get sick of beef at the end? Would you recommend to others? How was the quality of beef? Would appreciate any insight into the experience. I sold my freezer and I'm looking for a reason to get another. Side of beef would be perfect but hesitent to commit to that long term of a relationship (sort of speak...). Soup

Not sure if you have a rental car? I second jason's suggestion about Mr. B's BBQ shrimp. I've been there over 5 times and have always order the shrimp. Never dissappoints. Love Mr. B's You can't go to NOLA and not go to Commander's Palace on an eating trip. I love their dinners a lot more than the brunch. For breakfast, try Morning Call if you have a rental car. Also out by Metairie are two restuarants. One over looks Lake Ponchatrain off of west end park road near lake end shore park area. Great crab and oyster and very reasonable prices (I just can't remember the name of the place). It is in the Orleans parish. You can also walk over the canal that divides orleans and jefferson parish on a foot bridge. You get to a great little bar with really good gumbo and shrimp dishes. Again really food a reasonable prices. Soup.

Fried chicken (recipe from egullet), sweet corn, broccoli, and yeast rolls from scratch. Fresh baked rolls really made the meal.