OnigiriFB

Wholesome to me conotates that the dish is something I would want to feed growing children. You may be right in that it is a combination of heathy and hearty.

Oooo I love the curried beef pastries. You wouldnt' have a recipe would you?

I also have to admit to never having cassoulet. I'm looking forward to reading about your adventures.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks the judges except JS sucked! I didn't even catch what qualified the chick to be a judge but she was probably the worse one I've ever seen. I kept thinking lady go back to snarfing McDs as you obviously enjoy that type of er "cuisine" more. That is one of the reason I don't like Iron Chef America. The other is I can't stand Cat Cora or Bobby Flay. So I pick which shows I will watch. ICA just seems boring compared to IC. I don't know if its the palates of the judges or just the cooking itself. But no one seems to come close to the originality of IC. I for one would be interested in tasting some of the wierd ice creams. Then again I'm not stuck on the fact that ice cream should be sweet etc. I'll be interested in watching the shows where Chris our fellow eGulleteer is a judge. It'll be nice to have another judge that appreciates food. On topic wise. I have never eaten either chef's cuisine but wylie's cuisine seemed just gimicky. Kudos for his creativity but the ingredients and combinations he used seemed to me like they would lack flavor. Seeing him on ICA I'm not sure I would enjoy going to his restaurant more then once. Maybe I just don't get his cuisine either? Mario's approach is more something I would enjoy.

Here, here Miz Ducky! I agree american culture is way too scared of fat. I always thinks its funny when my friends will drink tons of soda, eat fast food, eat tons of processed food but refuses to eat the fat on a steak, chicken skin or dark meat, and uses margarine. Blech. Give me the fat and crispy skin and real butter please.

Thank you Ah Leung! I was just about to do a blog about this since a few of my readers aren't experienced with the ingredients I use often. One thing I might request is that you include a mention on what these ingredients taste like? Like how oyster sauce is sweet/salty and maybe how it is made if possible? Either way the thread is a great one so thanks once again!

Thank Jason for the correction. I wonder if it is similar to pho broth or thai beef broth used for noodle soup. Both if made traditionally can be labor intensive and require a long simmer time. I know in my family we had an aunt who specialized in making beef broth for noodles. It took pretty much all day and the only thing I remember that was in it beside huge bones was pineapple of all things. I'll be interested to see what people have to say about japanese ramen broths.

You mentioned a couple of post ago that you buy bread locally. Are there particular stores you like to shop in? Are they organic? Does it matter to the family?

Chinese style BBQ Pork and Ma Po Tofu flavoring. Thanks to eGullet and Ah Leung I never buy the pre made marinade any longer. I just make my own and experiment with the ingredients for the marinade. So far tons better than the pre packaged stuff.

Mmmm that looks nummy! I would also be interested in various ramen broths used. I know soy sauce and miso but had never heard of tonkatsu broth. Any others?

In Vietnamese, I think it is called: Chạo Tôm The shrimp paste is mixed with a heavy dose of garlic and grilled/BBQed. I love this dish! ← Hrm.. if you like it Ah Leung I'm definitely going to have to try it

Austin! Finally back from the north? Can't wait to see what all you ate up there. Hope you got some good pictures of kao soi. I'm not sure who the author of Sii Phaen Din is. I thought he was a Mom somthing or other though. Have you read the book? It's very good. I believe it won awards and stuff.

Helenjp - thanks for answering my question. Wow you've been in Japan for awhile. I've been thinking going into the JET program as I've heard good things about it. I want to take Chinese too. All my friends in LA speak cantonese though so this should be interesting. Hehe I love Fruits Basket. I watched the anime first (I'm an otaku) and then read the manga. Love it. It's my all time favorite series right now. Anime is what started my interest in Japan and all things Japanese. I even started teaching myself to cook Japanese food after seeing anime characters eat stuff. Now I watch J-drama too. Anyway sorry for the non food tangent.

Ooo tempura looks oishii desu ne!!!! Thank you now I know how long to cook mine for thats what I was a little confused on. Great job Helen. This is a bit off topic but may I ask how long you've been in Japan? I took a bit of japanese in highschool and have always wanted to go.

I think I have heard of that. Haven't had a chance to try it though. I love vietnamese also. Is it really sweet? I've never used pandan essense either. I'm not even sure if my local asian market will have. I'll definitely be looking for it so I can try my hand at pound cake.

I'm not sure if I want your job more or to be your clients more! Sounds tasty!

Ptipois - yes please eat some pandan cake for me. Then I can live vicariously through you. *sigh* I really never thought of that! I'll have to go find some and make my own cake. Oooo now that's a project. Thanks for a great idea. I was so used to people using the leaves (which suck here even if you can find them) but essense shouldnt be too hard to find. Ok I know what I'll be making soon. Now to find a good light pound cake recipe! Er.. the cuttlefish is something people like to eat as kubglam (snack) with beer. So you see those cart come by in case someone wants some before the meal or after when everyone breaks out the alcohol and hangs out. Thai meals can last a LONG time and we like to eat Abra - hrm...you know I don't know if I have had shrimp paste with sugar cane. I've had it on toast. We used to do that lots. I think the shrimp paste is seasoned well so you should have a sweet/salty taste right? Candied shrimp would just taste like sugar and shrimp which really wouldn't have a taste after being overwhelmed by the sugar. Maybe we could experiment with pandan. I'd get pandan extract as opposed to the leaves (which they use in Thailand) since the ones available here are frozen and lose their goodness. You try the bread and I'll try the pound cake? I'll be happy to ship you some if it comes out right

Ahhh good ole S&P I used to hang out at the one in Siam Square quite a bit when I haunted that area (hey I was a teenager and that was THE place to be). I like the pandan pound cake too. Their pandan jelly rolls are good too. *sigh* I want pandan cake. I have NEVER found it here. I think I've seen it in LA but it's probably to exotic for lil old iowa. I wonder if I could even get it here. Hrm.... Ugh... candied shrimp just sounds WRONG! But the cuttlefish peanuts sound interesting. I used to love the dried cuttlefish you find all over Thailand. It's like our version of potato chips. If I get any here I have to eat it alone at home or get some strange looks

I think it depends on the type of sushi. Most straightforward maki rolls travel home pretty well, provided you eat them right away. If you throw it in the fridge, sushi deteriorates quickly, though, because the rice gets hard. ← I don't know I like maki when the rice is still a little bit warm. So for me it still taste better right from the sushi chef.

Interesting. Pretty heathy.

Mmmm pandan bread! Oh man I haven't had that in ages. My favorite is the buns with pandan cream (?) inside. Any chance of a picture of those? Man between you and Austin I'm getting homesick Personally I've never been a fan of thai desserts. We usually had fresh fruit after dinner and that was great but every once in awhile our cook would decide to make something a little fancier. Either it was something (tup tim krop, the green noodle like thing that the name escapes me, etc) in sweetened coconut milk. Or she would go get luk choop or foi tong. Way too sweet for me. The coconut milk stuff wasn't bad but I'm just big of a fan. It always amazed me for a cuisine that prides itself on being a good combination of sweet/salty/sour/bitter/hot churned out such sweet one note dessert. In Thailand's defence I'm not a big fan of american/western dessert either but some of can be tart/sweet too and there seems to be more diversity. One of the wierdest things I've ever heard (never tried umm... not sure I'd want to) is a sugared shrimp thing that was part of royal cuisine in the early 1900s. I remember reading about in Si Pan Din (Four Kingdoms). Great book btw highly suggest you read it if your interested in what life was like in the royal court during those times. My aunt worked in the national library and got me an english translation. Can't remember the authors name but he was Mom something or other. But back to food, I mean come on sugar AND shrimp? From what I remember it was like shrimp coated with sugar.... er... *shudder*

Sushi. I've had sushi that has sat for a bit but nothing beats sitting at the bar and having the chef hand you a plate he made 10 seconds ago.

Uhh... doesn't look crappy to me! Looks delish! *drool* We REALLY need a drooly smilie

Aww thanks Mizducky... Yes yes who could NOT love pork belly *sigh* I have to admit thats my main reason for making this dish.

In 2006, I will eat whatever I like... screw diets! I will make and bring my lunches so I don't have to resort to mcD's or vendo land I will find more little local ethnic dives that I love I will learn how to cook vietnamese and korean recipes as I adore these cuisines but have never tried my hand at them I will teach my friends about various cuisine I like to eat (see blog) I will read more classics. Currently reading Dracula. This is the year I will try african cuisine. Theres a new ghanian restaurant I read about in the news. Can't wait to try it! I will taste different cheese. Used to hate cheese now I want to know what the big deal is. I will use more organic products as my local grocery store is really getting into providing more organic products. I will give but hopefully I can just share or maybe even take I will participate more on eGullet instead of just lurking. We er.. as in the royal we? Why yes I also answer to your majesty My kids umm... last I check I'm neither virginal or named Mary so...