Ce'nedra

Dave Lieberman's Young & Hungry is a great choice for novice cooks! His recipes are very approachable/fool-proof and the results are always great. Obviously, this book isn't for deluxe recipes but they are solid and delliiciousss. Also, Dave's recipes are quite varied (influences from around the world) so that's always a plus. The instructions are the basic, no fuss sort. I'd definately recommend it and...you get to gawke at pictures of Dave who is reallly a babe

Oh man! But I'm going to the US at end of the year and books are cheap there so..........................

Crow's Nest sounds good -thanks! I've eaten at Vera Cruz before, remembered the choc mole was pretty good. Maybe I should check back sometime

No idea what it is? It's a cantonese dessert? ← I'm fairly certain it's Cantonese (or at least Southern Chinese). It's normally served cold (again, it's refreshing) and other than the previously mentioned longans (did I mention they were dried?), there's lychees, seaweed slices, chestnuts, pearl barlies and uhh...I don't remeber the rest. According to what I found online, its Chinese characters are ← 清补涼. literally means "Cooling & Refreshing" in chinese. Here in Singapore we have a similiar version in hokkien dialect known as "清汤 literally means clear soup(dessert) First boil the dry longan with water. After a while light brown color emerge and add the following Pong Tai Hai(is cantonese translation for an olive seed after soaking in water a jelly-like substance appear(unfortunately I forgot the english name, will check it out), sago(small, after cooking), lotus seed(Tin or fresh up to you)and pearl barley my 2 cents... ← My mum and aunts make it too so I should ask them about the preparation

Ahh I've had frozen tofu in hotpot with my friends and thought it was rather interesting in texture. Doesn't taste any more spectacular though. Friend told me it was common in Beijing, where she's from.

Does it matter what type of fish sauce you use? Thai, Vietnamese, etc.? ← Hmm well we use Vietnamese fish sauce at home so I suppose that's what I'd recommend ← Correction: at home we use Vietnamese fish sauce as a dipping sauce and Thai fish sauce for cooking.

Meh I'm one who has an absolute fondness for hearty, rustic, even simple meals and yes, English food is mainly based around that so I adore traditional English cuisine. I suppose many people judge a cuisine on its 'sophistication' and 'complexity', but I find that for me at least, the food I tend to hold closest to my heart are those nourishing, honest dishes. And that my friend, English cuisine has plenty of. Maybe that's why I think German food is also heavily underrated. Why, it's another of my favourite cusines! And another of my favourites, Chinese, which actually tends to have alot of elaborate dishes, I still somehow find the best Chinese meals to be the so-callled 'unrefined' ones. That's not say I don't like my grand meals, but simplicty is where the heart is.

P.S. I believe you can even sell your cookbook through their site.

Aha to me digging up a 2 yr old thread. Anyway, I've mentioned this before but BLURB (http://www.blurb.com/) allows you to publish some pretty professional looking cookbooks (or any other kind of books). You download a program to design it to your liking, then BLURB will print it for you at so and so cost. Here's a link to check out some people's personal cookbooks: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/category/Co...g?ce=dailyolive

You win Has anyone tried cooking with vegemite? That should be interesting!

Kangaroo brains...now that's something you don't hear everyday. I hear kangaroo meat is a good substitute for beef as it's much more lean (well good for those with health concerns anyway).

Just wondering if anyone knows of a store that has a good stock of Mexican ingredients? I find it so frustrating having no clue whatsoever, especially seeing as Mexican is one of my favourite cuisines and I'd really like to make use of my Mex cookbook! There must be one somewhere because I do recall watching the Mexican episode of Food Safari and aha! there they were in a Mexican food store. Here's hoping the prices aren't sky high.

Do any of these sites allow for paypal usage? Because Amazon doesn't (not that I'm aware of) which can be a bit of a pain in the butt for me.

P.S. I think it's probably a better idea, if you're going to substutute the fermented anchovy sauce, with nuoc cham (mixed in with something else) as the taste of shrimp sauce is really quite different. Maybe others can offer some ideas? I'm no expert hah. Do you have any Asian/Vietnamese groceries nearby? I'm sure they should stock this.

No idea what it is? It's a cantonese dessert? ← I'm fairly certain it's Cantonese (or at least Southern Chinese). It's normally served cold (again, it's refreshing) and other than the previously mentioned longans (did I mention they were dried?), there's lychees, seaweed slices, chestnuts, pearl barlies and uhh...I don't remeber the rest. According to what I found online, its Chinese characters are 清补涼.

Yes Ce'nedra- it ends up looking like a giant rice cracker. In the package it looks like a really thick rice paper including those basket markings. I have seen with with white or black sesame seeds, and also with dried shrimp. Your beef in vinegar fondue looks outstanding. I have everything but the sauce of course. I will improvise with Vietnamese shrimp sauce and fresh pineapple. ← Thanks heidi As for the giant rice cracker, I don't know too much about it as I don't eat it on a regular basis but I do know that it's often served with Vietnamese salads (goi if I'm not mistaken). It's particularly good slightly dampened with nuoc cham. At times, I've eaten it with congee served with a Vietnamese chicken/duck salad with a nuoc cham dressing. What I'd do is break off a bit of the cracker, scoop some of the salad (and sauce) on it, put into my mouth while smiling, and finally, take a mouthful of the burning congee. Really amazing combo. Otherwise, I just eat those crackers alone as a snack if it's somewhere around the home.

One of my favourite soup desserts is tin bo leung (err no idea how it's spelt), which has longans amongst others. Really refreshing yummmm.

Sorry hedi, I've never heard of banh da before. Is it like a huge rice cracker? My Vietnamese beef in vinegar fondue dinner! This is essential despite it's uhh 'aroma'. It's fermented anchovy dip and according to the label, the ingredients include anchovy fish, chilli, salt, garlic vinegar and sugar. To make it more sauce-y (and to balance the flavour for a bit of sweetness and less of the pungency), I mixed the dip with mashed pineapples (from a can), a little syrup and some sugar. Gotta have the herbs and greens if you're eating Vietnamese. Dad dipping a thin slice of raw beef into the vinegar fondue. My plate -ready to roll! God I love the smelly sauce! Just another food porn shot.

Mmm Vietnamese beef in vinegar fondue! This is essential despite it's uhh 'aroma'. It's fermented anchovy dip and according to the label, the ingredients include anchovy fish, chilli, salt, garlic vinegar and sugar. To make it more sauce-y (and to balance the flavour for a bit of sweetness and less of the pungency), I mixed the dip with mashed pineapples (from a can), a little syrup and some sugar. Gotta have the herbs and greens if you're eating Vietnamese. Dad dipping a thin slice of raw beef into the vinegar fondue. My plate -ready to roll! God I love the smelly sauce! Just another food porn shot.

I'm really looking forward to tryin sizzling sisig one day. Is there a good ol' reliable recipe for it online? Would I need a sizzling plate fo it (certainly would be better aye)?

What kind of sauce is that SobaAddict70? It looks like there's possibly some sesame oil too?

So I went to DTF last week for a surprise bday lunch and I have to confess...I think it's all hype. I find the dumplings in Ashfield much more juicy and flavoursome (gingery, sweet broth mmm). Another gripe -the servings were TINYYY! Not bad but nowhere near as good as it's hyped up to be.

That looks amazing and so comforting. Which recipe did you use for the buns?

So what are your thoughts on Asian food, plated Western-style? Obviously, most if not all mod-Asian restaurants serve food this way and generally, I have no problem with it. In fact, it often appears rather beautiful and refined. The one thing that does annoy me to no end, however, is whenver I see noodle soups (of any kind) served in anything other than a deep bowl! It especially ticks me off seeing the rather sad soup meekly floating in a plate!

Photo taken of a vendor serving the noodles (with all the ingredients laid out). Can anyone figure out what those exact ingredients are? http://flickr.com/photos/fusongsong/22557636/