Ce'nedra

Golly! Everything on this page is so lavish and elegant; I'm going to break things up a tad and bring in something a little more rustic, less refined. Vietnamese sour fish soup (canh chua ca). This certainly isn't the latest thing I've cooked but thought I'd share anyhow. Slightly sweet, slightly puckery (maybe more than slightly), just the way I like it. Many people use fish fillets but I think fish head (in addition to the fillets) adds a real dimension to the dish, especially if you're the kind of person fascinated by all things textural. Deeper flavour too, I'd say.

I've learnt from my mum to use dried squid (and sometimes dried shrimp) when making stock, the chicken and pork variety. Can't say it smells so good on its own (actually, I could get graphic and get into the details...but I won't) but my word, it's brilliant for soup. Can't do without it.

Will, I'm also interested in Teochew cuisine because it's part of own heritage (dad) and there is a particular cookbook I've had my eye on called 'The Food and Cooking of South China: Discover the vibrant flavors of Cantonese, Shantou, Hakka and Island cuisine' by Terry Tan. The "Shantou" mentioned is a Teochew city (within Chaoshan...and also happens to be the city of my ancestry). Unfortunately, I have not yet flipped through the book because I've only caught sight of it online. But for now, this seems closest to what you're looking for. However, you may also want to check out some Fujian cookbooks because Teochew is very similar to it (not just because of proximity but the Teochew were in fact a migrating group of people from southern Fujian itself) and shares many dishes. I have 'Cooking from China's Fujian Province' by Jacqueline M. Newman and while I haven't had the time to cook from it, the recipes seem very authentic.

Great thread; I've been wondering the same Q for much of my blog foraging years. Love Mexican but can't seem to find a site with substantial information on it...thanks everybody!

She comes across as a bit pretentious for my liking (maybe that's her media personality taking over). Did anybody read the article where Anthony Bourdain blasted her food show? Was hilarious.

Had a very successful dinner; thanks everybody! Will blog about it some time

Oh and maybe a sprinkling of sugar would serve well if I ultimately use the vinegar?

Thanks for the all the comments, everyone. Very much appreciated. I truly meant it when I said the recipe was simple haha; it's merely dijon mustard, red wine vinegar (which I will now substitute...I only need 3 tbsp), chicken, olive oil, parsley...done! I need to use up my mustard and dying parsley. From all of this, I can deduce that I'll be using a little red wine...perhaps 2 tbsp? And 1 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar...seeing as some of you saying the white vinegar is too harsh, I may stick to the lemon hmm.

The recipe is a well-cooked chicken so I suppose the vinegar serves as a sort-of marinade. In that case, should the white vinegar + red wine be ok (I tend not to follow recipes to the tee anyhow)? I'm guessing maybe just a slosh of red wine... I'm afraid I can't use white wine vinegar as I also don't have that at home currently. Thanks plenty for the recs!

I'm planning on making a fairly simple French-ish dish and the recipe calls for red wine vinegar, which I don't have in the pantry at the moment (I do have white vinegar, palm vinegar and Chinese black vinegar). Seeing as I only need a few tablespoons, I'm probably not going to take a trip for it any time soon! Are there any decent substitutes? Browsing online, I came across the suggestion of white vinegar with red wine...if so, what do you suppose is a good ratio for the mixture? Any other suggestions are very much welcome, thank you!

I just did some researching upon this great news and came across this: http://culinariaeugenius.wordpress.com/2008/02/04/culinaria-cookbooks/ I too read in the same link about Culinaria Japan being released around the same time as China.

Oh and sorry, forgot to thank you profusely!

NOOOOOO! I thought the Culinaria series was long dead (and sure enough, I've bought most of what was part of it)! I don't understand...why a new edition NOW (not that I'm complaining)? I MUST GET THIS!

It's jasmine rice for me; perhaps I simply grew up on it but I adore the soft fragrance to it and seems to soak up sauces very well. Another thing is it isn't too sticky and mushy (unless of course you overcook them).

djyee100: Thanks I was surprised to find it was a lot easier than it looked!

I've been away for far too long so here's my comeback cooking...harlo again! Bo la lot (beef wrapped in wild betel leaves served alongside fine rice noodles (banh hoi) and a fermented anchovy sauce (mam nem)

Bo la lot (beef wrapped in betel leaves) served with that funky, smelly (which, let's admit it, what makes it so great) sauce made of fermented anchovy, mam nem cham and fine rice noodles (banh hoi). Addictive is all I can say really.

So I've been daydreaming of making soft tacos; but in order to do that, I'll need masa harina or fine cornmeal. Does anyone know if Woolies stocks these? Or any other large supermarket? That's first choice; otherwise I can always head to a smaller speciality store...but only if I need to!

Nigel Slater's Tender: v. 2: A Cook's Guide to the Fruit Garden will be coming out soon so while there's no current reviews on it, that's certainly one to look into.

Thanks; will do that I only know of Asian toasted sesame oil so not quite sure which other one you're referring to haha.

Do you mean sesame oil + toasted sesame seeds? I think I may be giving this one a go...only problem is I've got no idea about the ratio.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm thinking specifically of the Chinese sort you buy in jars (with a paste-like consistency) to bring home and blend with soy sauce and/or various other sauces for hot pot, dan dan mian, etc.

Was wondering if anyone knows how to make sesame paste? I've read some recipes that use toasted sesame seeds with chicken stock and others with sesame oil; anyone who can clarify?

Yes, stuffed in the cavity and the bottom sewed up. However, the night before (overnight), the chicken was rubbed (inside and out) with soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine (such as Shaoxing or Michiu) infused with cinnamon sticks and star anise, minced garlic, oil, salt and sugar.

I just received the book today so I'll be reading it in bed tonight; you can imagine how excited I am. Besides his recipes, Nigel's writing flows so naturally yet verges on poetic. Truly beautiful. Just to let anyone interested know, I'd highly recommend visiting Book Depository (the website) every once in awhile as I purchased this book for only $16.75 (Australian)!