Domestic Goddess

Today I went grocery shopping in Seoul (about an hour and a half away) and got: Szechuan peppercorns Chili bean paste Fermented black beans Pressed tofu Guess what I'll be making in the next couple of days?

Mike I am drooling all over my keyboard over all of your pictures. Great pictures and GREAT FOOD!

Onetoughcookie, my kids and I are loving the animals around your gingerbread house. It's wonderful! Thank you for sharing your beautiful creation and for Pam for helping post the picture.

I too, like the chunky stew. Don't strain as finding morsels of beans in the stew is like finding a nugget while panning for gold.

Wonderful story and recipe. Thank you for sharing, I really enjoyed t. I might try your tourtiere pie soon. Maligayang Pasko.

Pan, it is easy to ripen bananas. Stick them in a paperbag and they'll ripen in a day or two.

So that's why my Chinese friends do it ... even at the dinner table. I hve often wondered about that tradition.

Bake it in a pie with potatoes, carrots and gravy sauce. That's what I'm doing tonight!

You don't get Christmas off, Kris? Sheesh! AT least Christmas is a holiday here in Korea and we have monday off. On my end I will make a family favorite - Beef Roast with mashed potatoes, gravy, buttered peas & corn. Dessert might be chocolate cake .

In my region, in the Philippines, traditional fiesta foods like kare-kare (peanut stew), luto sa atay (beef simmered in liver sauce), morcon (beef roll) are served for the Christmas dinner. If the family goes all out, the more delectable Lechon (whole spit-roasted pig) is served with the traditional lechon liver sauce. This, my family does, for Christmas dinner. Desserts include leche flan, fruit salad and ube halaya (purple yam jam).

Insomniac - how can you swap something so delicious? I'd also eat brain torta as a sandwich as oppose to the perennial Filipino way of eating it with rice. Mmmm good stuff!

Thanks Anne! It's not cold enough to freeze the curds... I'll be doing this later this week. Will post an update and pics.

Chef Bradley - brain torta (brain omelet with toasted garlic) is a favorite lunch dish my grandmother would serve us kids when I was growing up. My grandmother is chabacano (spanish/mexican influenced province in the Philippines). It is still my favorite and will fix it if I can find brain here in Korea.

My name is Doddie and I am a cookbook addict too. I find it relaxing to read at night (and very persuasive for those midnight raids in the pantry and fridge).

Dear Santa, I would like to ask for another present. Please give me the gastronomic stamina of the likes of Ling and Henry. Thank you. Doddie

Great action shot and even better shot of the noodle dish. Yum!

Sheetz, I'd love to prepare my own fish balls. Can you give more details on the measurements and how to prepare them? Thanks in advance!

If I do try to make my own cream cheese, is it ok to let the cheese drip out in my porch (it is screened but not heated)? I mean, with all the snow and ice, it will be sufficiently cold enough to let the curds drip there?

How about a soy-sauce/vinegar with minced garlic dip? Different but oh so savoury.

Would you consider a Filipino recipe for cerviche? It entails a lot of marinating in white vinegar and dressing up with slices of ginger, onions and chilis. This recipe is great for flying fish, large anchovies and tuna.

k8memphis - a turones is a deep fried or baked mini spring roll. A turon is a whole spring roll while turones is a miniature scaled version (almost as small as a woman's finger, same length too). We have a savory filipino dessert that is made of cheddar cheese strips, wrapped up in spring roll wrapper and deep fried. Sauce can be a light caramel sauce or a savory lite-soy sauce with vinegar.

Lumiere - I'm a regular reader of that food blog you posted. I take my hat off to my fellow countryman who aims to bring the best in the preparation of his food, setting, etc. Go Marketman!

Cheesy deep-fried turones...

Klary - please add my congratulations to the bunch. What a wonderful dessert and such classy presentation. I bet a lot of us here would just wanna hop on a plane and visit you, just to sample your gorgeous dessert.

I'm a gastro-warrior! You scored 43 You, friend, are a gastro-warrior, a culinary thrill -seeker with a palate that knows no barriers, no shame – and no frozen potato waffles and mass produced condiments.