nakji

I'll be in Malaysia in February during my Spring Festival break - right now it looks like I'll be starting in Kuala Lumpur and then going through the Cameron Highlands, and then to the Tioman Islands - or the Perhentians. I haven't decided yet. Anyway, I don't know my nasi from my lemak, so I need to be schooled. Looking through this topic, I know that I must must must get some satay and chicken curry puffs, but other than that I'm open. I guess traditional Malay food is what I'm most interested in, and hawker stalls in particular - although I wouldn't turn my nose up at fine dining, either.

How long do you usually store your beans for? If you use them up in a week or less, the container technology probably doesn't matter much. I use an old Illy can, for instance, since I drink my coffee fairly quickly. I've never noticed a deterioration in taste.

Every year I make flourless peanut butter cookies - that started because I have a friend with Celiac's disease who loves peanut butter and chocolate. This year is no exception - just a cup of peanut butter, a half cup of brown sugar, and one egg, beaten together and baked. I chop and add in some decent dark chocolate. I like these because they don't dirty more than a bowl and a spoon. I also usually make whipped shortbread, another three ingredient wonder cookie. I can never find glace cherries, so mine always get a dose of sprinkles on top. I find the key for deliciousness is to stay away from the Australian and NZ butters, and go right for the Lurpak. This year I'm contemplating adding a recipe for gingerbread I found in a Jamie Oliver book - it calls for grinding up a batch of shortbread cookies with treacle, glace peel and spices, and then re-baking. I want to do a batch of mince pies as well, if I can find a decent recipe.

Excellent, excellent suggestions all. I had definitely planned on decorative tops, since all the pictures I've seen of them seem to feature that heavily. I'm not sure if I can get my hands on powdered sugar, but I think the "snow" effect is charming. Shortcrust seems to be the most manageable kind of pastry for me to make, so I'll no doubt go that route. As for the filling, Dougal, your description is just what I needed. Glace peel and the like are very thin on the ground here in China, but spices (of course) are accessible. I haven't seen a jar of Crosse & Blackwell yet, but I grew up eating their tinned cakes, so I would opt for that if I can find some. What's likely, though, is that I might find a jar at Marks and Spencer. I won't know until I go into Shanghai the weekend before Christmas, though - so I need a back-up plan. What's the most minimal mincemeat I can make from scratch?

I'd like to make some mince pies for a Christmas celebration I've got coming up with my British co-workers. I've never tasted one, though, so I don't know what I'm looking for when I evaluate recipes. Is homemade mincemeat necessary? Or can I get by on jarred? What kind of pastry is ideal? Help - I'd like to make something nice and traditional, since we're all away from home for the holidays.

I use a whole stock chicken cut up into pieces - feet but no head, and two Japanese leek stalks. Chinese leek stalks? Whatever you'd like to call them. I use lop yuk rind with attached fat when making corn chowder. It yields an unctuous and smoky taste.

Is it long and white? It could be a daikon, or what Koreans call "mu".

Oh, the packet of Ajisen noodles in my fridge is just not going to cut it after those pictures. Fukuoka remains on my husband's list of must-visit places in Japan, merely for their ramen. Thanks! I didn't think it was a Wako, though no disrespect meant to that chain. I have had many a fine tonkatsu there, as well.

Curiously, Snickers is the one chocolate bar that you can rely on finding in pretty much any country in Asia. This is sad, because I can't stand the damn things. Nougat? Ick. Note I said, "chocolate bar" and not 'candy' bar. This is because I'm from Canada, where we still make a pretense of calling the brown coating "chocolate". American "candy" bars taste like wax to me. For mass-produced chocolate from English-speaking countries, my ranking goes: 1. UK 2. Australia 3. New Zealand 4. Canada 5. US Try a Dairy Milk from each country and see how you would rank them. This is a fun afternoon's work. My list of top-three mass-produced sweets: MeltyKiss Mint Aero Double Coat Tim Tams. I have a box of Petit Ecolier in the kitchen which I literally just opened before reading this topic. My husband chastised me for calling it a cookie, when clearly, he thinks, it is a biscuit. I had a hard time deciding between Twix and Meltykiss, but I chose MeltyKiss because you can choose to have just one. If you open up a Twix, hooboy, that sucker's getting finished. And no sharing.

As an update: how long does home-made yogurt last?

Looks great - did you use pork belly with that, or just one type of pork? I've been using smoked ham to great results. I made the beef with cilantro this past week to accolades from my husband, and the cilantro definitely played more of a vegetable role. It plated beautifully, with all that red and green. But if you you don't like cilantro, that dish isn't going to change your mind. Save it for a night when it's just you and your wife.

My husband and I went to Hida Takayama last year in October and loved it. Take lots of bags for bringing things back from the market, especially if you want to pick up a bottle or two of sake. We didn't eat at Kei-chan, but here's where we did go. The only place I remember in particular was Suzuya, for sukiyaki and hoba miso.

I've been to Wako outlets, and unless this is a radically more upscale Wako than the rest of the chain, the location I'm talking about is completely different from the average Wako. The decor is traditional wood and beam, with blue curtains. There are beautiful wood pickle boxes on each table that look more like old-fashioned bento. And there are only five menu items - the hire, the rosu, the giant shrimp, a chick katsu and an ebi katsu. I don't know, it could be a flagship Wako with a different menu, but I don't think it is. If you're making it a katsu tour, try a Genkatsu outlet. They do millefeuille katsu with a variety of fillings. FWIW, I thought the dishware available at Doguyasuji was nicer than that in Kappabashi, although I only visited Osaka the once.

I also noticed from the accompanying photo that he has a whiteboard in his kitchen. I also have a whiteboard in my kitchen, which makes the count exactly one of kitchen traits that I share with Thomas Keller.

Oh, god, microwaved steamed pudding. That's an excellent idea. With custard sauce. My intrepid mum used to have a recipe for gingerbread in the microwave, with hot lemon sauce. I'm going to e-mail her to see if she still has that recipe lying around.

Sorry, it's not the first floor, but it's the first restaurant floor, which I believe is the fifth or sixth floor in the building. If you order the hire katsu, it comes out about an inch and a half thick, and nicely rare in the middle. All of the side dishes have exceptional care. I'm so jealous! For ramen, Ippudo is a safe option - there's one in Meidaemae station, near Meiji University. Not sure about other locations, but the bean sprout salad alone is worth making the trek. There's another place that I can't remember the name of - it's one of the top-rated chains on the Yamanote line - it has a branch at Kawasaki station that I always used to visit in the basement floor of Kawasaki Be Department store, but there's one on the Yamanote as well. Succulent ramen. Does anyone know the name of the chain? My husband thinks it's called "Meguro". I don't know why I've never written this stuff down.

It just came to me that my mum makes butternut squash in the microwave. She halves it, scoops out the seeds in the middle, and adds brown sugar and butter to the cavity in the middle. She nukes the whole thing until it's soft, and mashes the squash together with the butter/sugar mix, and serves it in the shell. Nice, and when you're making Sunday dinner, it doesn't take up another burner on the stove.

How do you adapt recipes to using a pressure cooker?

Mushrooms! Mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms. In a takigomi-gohan, in soup, or as the base of a nice Korean deonjang-jigae. Mushroom risotto is also good, made with fresh shiitakes. Fried with butter and soy sauce. In bulgogi.

Any dishes in particular in mind for Tokyo? Are you interested in ramen, or tonkatsu? I had an amazing tonkatsu set lunch at the Shin Marunouchi building near Tokyo station- they do filet, loin, and an amazing whole langoustine. Three kinds of in-house pickle on each table. I can't remember the name of the place, but it was the only tonkatsu venue on the first restaurant floor there. Blue curtains, wood interior, and a big vase of in-season branches next to the waiting-bench outside. Sorry, this is a virtually useless recommendation, but if you enjoy fried pork, you'll be rewarded if you find this place. Budget around 2000-3000 for a set lunch.

I'd say it's about 200 ml.

I buy one tin of Illy coffee for each new place I move to, drink it, and then use the tin to store my (cheaper) coffee beans from there on out. My kitchen is not right without an Illy tin. Any glass bottles get saved and used as bulk spice storage.

What do you mean by "fluff" the rice? I've heard this term before, but I'm not clear exactly on what it means - do you mean take a fork to the rice and stir it around after it's cooked, but right before serving? If so, no. What's the purported advantage?

Here's my favourite rice blend: It's a mixture of regular white rice - medium grain here, I think, but I prefer short grain if I can get it, and millet. Note: It's important to wash the rice before adding the millet, or it'll float away in your wash-water. I think the millet gives it a subtle flavour and colour that I like.

I had a Korean night last night. Bulgogi with extra mushrooms: Deonjang jigae, with tofu, chilies, radish, zucchini, and a mushroom broth: Served with rice, commercial radish kimchi, and a lettuce salad with a sesame-chili dressing. It was very comforting autumn food, especially now we're coming into mushroom season.