nakji

I think there are some Yunnanese dishes that might use it, too. China's a big country, though, and not everything's available everywhere. I guess I'll have to amend that to not being available in my city.

My cousin does her canned beets just this way - and they're excellent, especially mid-winter, alongside a ham. I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on some beets this summer - the raw beet salad and the beet risotto are top on my list to try.

I plan on bringing back some from Canada when I return. Lots of fresh and dried chilies in China, but nothing like anchos or chipotles, though.

Why do you think there's less availability? Not a lot of mushroom love in Oklahoma?

I do this when I go home in the summer and hang out with my Dad for summer holidays. We plan cooking projects, usually tied around a theme like Korean food (grilled galbi) or curry night. This summer we're going to tackle a butt, and probably something out of Cradle of Flavour, which I got him for his birthday. Last summer was brioche, which was totally worth it. From Dorie Greenspan, we split the recipe in half and made one loaf of brioche and one pan of sticky buns. Very well-received by the rest of the family.

I move around a lot, so I keep a running inventory of ingredients in my head of items that are "Find/not find" when I read through new cookbooks. For example, cilantro. All over the place here in China and when I lived in Vietnam, but when I lived in Japan and Korea - virtually impossible. Obviously it's not to the national taste there, and it is here, but when I wanted to make things like salsa, it was frustrating. I'm a much happier cook now that I live in a cilantro-loving culture. Basil, on the other hand - no. Can't find fresh basil anywhere. For obvious reasons, of course, since Chinese food doesn't traditionally use basil, there's no reason to have it available. Still, nothing quite replaces the taste of fresh basil in many Italian dishes, so even now I'm nurturing several small basil plants started from seeds carried into the country by a friend. I hope they survive the summer. Mint is the same, although fortunately the tenant in my flat before me was obviously as equally frustrated, so there's a mint plant growing next to the bamboo in my garden. My neighbours were intrigued when I started eating it. On the other hand, I have access to an incredible range of fruits and vegetables that I never had in any other country. When I return to Canada, I know I'll be frustrated that I can't get fresh bamboo shoots or greens to the freshness and quality I enjoy here. What can't you find in your 'hood? And how cranky does it make you feel?

What's the difference? And how can you tell?

I have a huge mint plant that I want to be able to enjoy the bounty of all winter. It's almost impossible to find commercially where I live, and I want it around for making mint sauces and the like. Is it possible to puree, then freeze and yield an acceptable product for use in chutneys/sauces? Or will it turn black?

So I was reading this series of recipes and thinking, "Mmm, yellow corn". Growing up, we always ate "Peaches and Cream" variety off the cob, as it seemed like it was all growers sold in our area. But lately, "yellow" corn (not sure of the varietal) has come back into fashion for eating off the cob. Last summer, the elusive "Silver Queen" was also available at farm stands, which we ate briefly boiled, with butter. For cooking, however, it seems most commercial frozen/canned corn is yellow. To make matters more interesting, in Asia, I see a lot of a purple-and-white varietal that are quite starchy, along with the straight-up yellow kind. The yellow kind is used for cooking, while the purple-and-white is steamed for snacking off the cob. What kinds of corn do you have access to in your area? And do you use the varieties for different purposes?

Testify. Also: I think I may prefer canned evaporated milk to fresh milk. I don't drink fresh milk, but every once in a while I need some for cooking or a houseguest's coffee. I invariably forget to have some in the fridge, so a can in the cupboard is a lifesaver. The only time I buy fresh milk is to make yogurt, and I use the whole carton up straightaway for that.

Yeah, I remember that now with the gas flame we had to keep them moving to keep from charring.

My canned tomatoes pretty much always outperform fresh tomatoes. I also have a soft spot for canned corn, although I do prefer fresh when I can get it.

I made a cucumber raita last night with cucumber, a little red onion, some chopped cilantro, and a shake of garam masala in homemade yogurt. My husband had most of it gone before I even got the main dish to the table.

Ooh...Korea. I'd love to get some more, different panchan recipes.

They remind me of banh chung or other banana-leaf wrapped sticky rice dumplings. I also found the texture off-putting at first, but you eat enough of them (especially if there's nothing else around) and they grow on you. I imagine masa is less glutinous than the rice is, though. Once, over Tet, when they were all we had to eat, we were served them unwrapped and pan-fried for breakfast - it really helped the texture for me.

When I used them in Cambodia, we ran them over a gas flame first to soften them up. I've only worked with them the once, so I'm not sure if it's a universal rule, but it did soften them up for cutting and folding. I can't remember if the leaves started off shiny and turned dull over the flame, or vice versa, but we knew they were ready when they changed.

...but the drinks don't have any booze in them? I suppose that's the best policy, considering most people are consuming them in the car.

I've never heard of/seen/tasted this before...but it sounds delicious. What are the characters, 豆腐...? And would I be more likely to find this at a Dim Sum place, or bubble-tea style of place?

Do you ever get over to justbento? She has some great side dish ideas, along with ideas about what stores well for your joubisai. One of my favourite fillers is "ribbons" of carrot cut with your carrot peeler, then lightly sauteed with mirin and sesame oil. You can pile them under your meat or protein as a colourful bed.

I second the taki-gomi gohan love year-round. It's pretty much the only way I can get my husband to eat room temperature rice. Harumi (I know, I know, I'm always on about her) has a great carrot and pork with black pepper taki-gomi-style recipe in the most recent book I bought that makes for a great bento filler.

Did the bacon complement the flipper, or fight it, flavour-wise?

What do you need to replace the celery in? I hate the taste and texture of celery, and haven't used it since high school in anything I've cooked. The only dish I've ever really "missed" the texture of it was in bread stuffing for chicken.

I want to grill up some burgers this weekend, but I'm tired of having burgers like hockey pucks. I don't have the equipment to grind my own, which would be preferable, but I'm going to use a mix of pork and beef. What I want to do is grill relatively thin patties - like, around 5-10 cm in thickness. Is this feasible on a grill, or should I just use a skillet?

I brought a bottle of that back for my Dad when I left Japan. He's a dedicated Glenfiddich drinker, and the Yoichi went fast.

I made some potato salad yesterday for the first time using the "toss the potatoes in vinegar" trick. Potatoes; apple cider vinegar; Kewpie mayo; green onions; salt and pepper. Very minimal; very delicious. I like my potatoes half cubed, half mashed, which I achieve by cutting the potatoes into irregular sized cubes.