Ce'nedra

That UzbekCuisine website is really great; gives a good general idea about the essential ingredients of the cuisine. I was looking up Amazon (as I've been doing alot these past few days), and found two particular cookbooks of interest: 'Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook' by Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman. http://www.amazon.com/Please-Table-Anya-vo...hu-wl_mrai-recs The book has really good reviews (full stars from quite a number of ppl) and apparently, the recipes aim to give a good varied overview of Russia AND Central Asia. Also offers interesting history bits about the different groups of people and their culinary traditions. Another book to my wish list! 'The Art of Uzbek Cooking' by Lynn Visson, which also seems to have fairly good reviews. My gripe would be that there are no pictures, according to the reviewers. A real pity for people like me who are total noobs to this little known cuisine. http://www.amazon.com/Uzbek-Cooking-Hippoc...s/dp/0781806690

Thanks sooo much for all the information (and WOW to the websites!) piazzola. Oh gosh, Uzbek cusine, I've been long interested in the food from that area but know absolutely nothing about until possibly...now! You're the best! faine: I would LOVE to see those pictures, thanks! Anyway, I'm going to go read up on those links now woohoo!

Well I watch the Aussie version seeing as that's where I'm from but back in the days, when I had cable tv, I used to watch the British version too. Anyhow, I've been checking out their website for awhile now, collecting recipes and whatnot, but never got around to actually testing them. My big Q is: do the recipes really work?

A stew?! Would have never thought! Thanks for letting me know -might need to experiment one day (of course, only when parents aren't at home eating).

Hmm is the book fairly similar to Kylie Kwong's books (of 'Modern Chinese' sort)? The tea and spice smoked duck sounds especially good -you definately got me interested there! I'll probably go have a flip through at the bookstores first, have a rough idea of his recipes and think on it. It certainly sounds intriguing though. Thanks for the heads up! Psst...about 'authenticity'...there are times when I can be a bit anal about that sort of thing too but quite honestly, I'm 99% of the time all for the theory: "if it tastes good, nothing else matters!"

In the meantime, you should check out Neil Perry's "Balance and Harmony". I just got my amazon.co.uk delivery of it today. They key differences between the Australian and UK versions is that the Australian one has a red cover and comes in a presentation box. The UK version does not have a presentation box, but the box design is the cover. Oh, and the UK version works out to be about $35 cheaper than the cheapest Australian price ($85 at Target) and $75 cheaper than the Australian RRP ($125). ← What kind of recipes/theme is the book based on? Aha! Aussies get it better this time around

You shouldn't have too much trouble tracking down a copy at a second hand book shop or in an op shop. I'm not sure who Elise Pascoe is, but Cherry Ripe was an influential Australian food critic. ← That does indeed sound promising then. Yeah I'll go track it down at one of thost dusty bookstores if I don't end up buying it on Amazon!

Time. Or a pressure cooker, if the stock doesn't need to be clear. I don't believe there is any other secret ingredient. ← Ahh, time. I'm a little different as my 'special' ingredient is dried squids. It adds a smoky sweetness to the stock.

I'm not sure what the actual name is but I make the Chinese version with a filling of pork & prawn mince, mushrooms, onions, soy sauce, fish sauce, salt, pepper...

What's everybody's 'secret' ingredient for stock? Or should that be split off into yet another thread...

What does Teochew cuisine fall under? I know it's technically part of Guangdong but the cuisine itself is much closer to that of Fujian.

In that case, I think I may stick to Japanese brands. Much talk in other threads has been focused on reigional foods so how does that apply to Korean cuisine? Is there a clear distinction between North Korea and South Korea? And then within those cuisines, what are the smaller regional differences? How can you tell?

What does everyone think about cooking the steak on all sides in the pan and then letting it cook through in an oven?

Just a Q: is there any difference between Chinese and Korean sesame oil?

Was browsing the 'Beautiful Cookbook' series on Amazon as I quite enjoy the two that I have and was surprised to find 'Australia the Beautiful Cookbook'! It's written by Elise Pascoe and Cherry Ripe. http://www.amazon.com/Australia-Beautiful-...e/dp/0002553724 Has anyone had a good flick through (or better yet, own it)? I'm interested in knowing what kind of recipes there are and how the authors define Australian cuisine.

How about 'Mexico the Beautiful' or 'Savoring Mexico'? Does anyone recommend either of these two? Edited to include links: Mexico: The Beautiful Cookbook by Susanna Palazuelos http://www.amazon.com/Mexico-Beautiful-Coo...s/dp/000215949X Savoring Mexico by Marilyn Tausend http://www.amazon.com/Savoring-Mexico-Reci...n/dp/0737020490

Was the one in Guangxi served with pigeon too? Or pork maybe?

Ahh thank you nakji. I would have NEVER guessed those 'pancakes' were daikon! Those daikins must have been huge (or that photo was a closeup).

One thing that you'll appreciate after you eat more soup dumplings is how thin and perfect the dumpling skins are at Din Tai Fung are. After DTF, you'll notice how much thicker the dumpling skins are at other establishments to ensure that their dumplings won't break apart. ← The dumplings skins are indeed a beautiful thing but I must disagree with them not breaking as it happened to me It's just a pity that the filling at DTF aren't all that spectacular otherwise they would have truly had THE best dumplings.

What's your cutoff for "authentic" here? ← Umm...whether it exists in China?

When in doubt, search for SBS Food Safari! Edit to add: I don't know about Pakistani food but if you're still interested, I have a really good Indian cookbook that features fairly simple yet authentic recipes. It's called 'Simple Indian: The Fresh Taste of India's New Cuisine' by Atul Kochhar.

Is san choi bau (you know, the minced meat-vegies in lettuce cups) authentic Chinese or some Western-Chinese concoction? And what about Chinese mustard? What is it made of exactly (I haven't had it myself -at least not that I'm aware of) and is it an authentic ingredient or borrowed/derived from the Europeans (like Dijon mustard)?

I'm not too sure that I'll be using a whole either, small or big! Which part of the lamb is a good substitute I wonder?

Intriguing combo. What do you eat it with? ← Anything crisp fried (and usually Asian-flavoured or inspired).

sure, you just take some pork belly and boil it in water flavored with onions, garlic, spoonful of daengjang paste, and some ginger. I would just add each to taste. Boil it until the meat is cooked all the way. Then take some napa cabbage and salt it overnight or for 12 hours. When you are ready to eat the cabbage you have to make sure to rinse it and wring it out...or it will be too salty. For the radish, just see my reply to nakji (sorry for the lack of measurements). Lastly just buy a packet of frozen raw oysters and thaw them out. Rinse them with salt (I don't know what this does, but my mother does it) before eating. It's pretty darn easy to put all of this together and very tasty to eat. ← Thanks heaps I was browsing for bossam on flickr and found this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12670449@N06/2755890395/ Do you know what's the yellow stuff on the right and the circular pancakes (?) in the middle? What are they made of? Oh yeah, and is it common to eat bossam with tofu? I've seen it served that way here and there.