Ce'nedra

I believe this is a much delayed reply whoopsie! The sauce consisted of tomato sauce, the juice from the pork (through steaming), soy sauce and fish sauce

I'd say 5 cm (little less than 2 inches) is a minimum depth. I did a quick google search and found that at leat two other people said so. ← I made tempura for supper last night, with about 3-cm deep oil. I didn't want to add additional, new oil because the oil in the can was more than one month old (used for deep-frying two or three times). I did manage to make decent tempura, but I still think that 5 cm is a minimum depth. Another important thing to remember is to filter and store the oil soon after you have finished termpura'ing, while the oil is still hot, to prevent deterioration. ← Thanks for your much appreciated help Hiroyuki! 5 cm it is!

Can I ask what is that white cube floating in the milky broth/sauce? My first reaction was tofu but then I thought 'what an interesting way to serve it!'

Hold on, I think I may have seen a recipe for this in one of my Vietnamese cookbooks...will have to check on it. Also not sure about the authenticity.

Ohh...so then it's different to say, the conventional noodle soup? I'm still a bit confused with whether it's a sauce or soup/broth that's served over the noodles hmmm...because you can't really drink nuoc cham (well, you can, but you wouldn't want to lol) as a soup. Well, maybe they serve it that way in northern Vietnamese cuisine. I could be entirely wrong because I'm only familiar with southern Vietnamese food.

Big Bunny and Kim D: Can you post up pictures pretty pleaseeee?

I do both quite frequently. Agree with your opinion on fuyu with beans...or zuchini...or cucumber...ong choy...amaranth...peashoots etc... drool*drool* . ← Ever tried it with toasted bread? I'm thinking of giving it a go

Okay so this doesn't exactly go under 'books', but has anyone watched Kylie Kwong's new My China tv series (based on her cookbook)? How is it? Too bad I don't have cable tv anymore argh!

I've never heard/eaten this bun cha before but I find it a bit strange that the broth is made of nuoc cham? I thought nuoc cham is used exclusively as a dip (or to drizzle over).

In can be confusing. Here (Australia) I've never heard anyone ever talk about "broiling", but of course we do use broilers. The best I can make of the translation (USA terminology on the left, Australian on the right): Broil = Grill/oven-grill (as in, non-adjustable heat source above the food) Grill = Char-grill/barbecue/grill BBQ is a different beast. When we fire up the bbq to cook some sausages or kebabs Americans tend to fire up the grill. I was looking for a thread the other day to mourn what seems to be an Australian tradition of cooking meat to a dry crisp at weekend bbqs, but every bbq thread was about cooking ribs and the like. ← Why hello fellow Aussie! I believe that must be source of my confusion! I'm also from Australia (Sydney) and reading various cookbooks and whatnot, I always get frustrated trying to decide whether I should do the 'heat over food' or 'heat under food'. ...I think I may still be confused... ← For the most part, if asked by an American recipe to grill something I'll head to the bbq (or if I'm lazy, a charcoal-y cast iron griddle pan I have). It's a safe assumption, and usually it's made obvious by the context if this is not the case. ← Thanks for the heads up. And I suppose broiling would refer to the 'on top heat' which we refer to as a 'grill' back home

Hmm I think that perhaps Hanoi/northern Vietnam has a tendency to use only nuoc cham as the dip while southern Vietnam uses a combination of a peanut sauce with nuoc cham (which is how I do it)? Have you noticed if this is true between the two regions? It's really just my own assumption ha. Btw, I'm referring to the dip for summer rolls only (since only nuoc cham is used for the fried spring rolls, rather than peanut sauce). Well then I wonder how they make their peanut sauce in Vietnam if not from peanut butter? Really fine peanut powder maybe?

In can be confusing. Here (Australia) I've never heard anyone ever talk about "broiling", but of course we do use broilers. The best I can make of the translation (USA terminology on the left, Australian on the right): Broil = Grill/oven-grill (as in, non-adjustable heat source above the food) Grill = Char-grill/barbecue/grill BBQ is a different beast. When we fire up the bbq to cook some sausages or kebabs Americans tend to fire up the grill. I was looking for a thread the other day to mourn what seems to be an Australian tradition of cooking meat to a dry crisp at weekend bbqs, but every bbq thread was about cooking ribs and the like. ← Why hello fellow Aussie! I believe that must be source of my confusion! I'm also from Australia (Sydney) and reading various cookbooks and whatnot, I always get frustrated trying to decide whether I should do the 'heat over food' or 'heat under food'. ...I think I may still be confused...

Prawn summer rolls with peanut sauce Speaking of which, do they use peanut butter in Vietnam? I've always wondered this -what's the authentic way?

Prawn (it's not called 'shrimp' Down Under!) summer (and it's not summer here!) rolls with peanut sauce

Fu yu is indeed great with the beans but I only eat it that way (smashed fu yu with sugar in a small dish for dipping the beans into) when mum cooks this seafood-tofu-long bean hotpot (the sizzling kind, not broth based). Otherwise, a simple stir fry (as I described above) of the beans with a tiny bit of minced prok is just divine. One of the best ways to prepare the beans imo.

I think some of the best stock (we tend to make chicken stock at home) include dried squid/octopus as part of the ingredients. It adds a slightly smoky sweetness...not sure how to describe it exactly but there's definately an added dimension to the flavours. We never (hardly) make stock without it!

Is grilling the same thiing as broiling?

I'd imagine dried octopus would be lovely in making stock (well, I'm talking from my experience of dried squid...but they're similar...right?).

Thanks for the answering everyone (and sorry for the much delayed reply!). I have no doubt that some Vietnamese dishes are of Cambodian origin and vice versa but to state a whole region is crazy exaggeration. Anyhow, I was told the many forms of fermented fish/shrimp, etc in Vietnam are in fact Cambodian in origin and yes, you can see many dishes in S. Vietnam using fermented pastes in their soups, etc. Again, I'm not sure if there's any truth to this but it's sounds likely. About the Cambodian shrimp-coconut milk noodle soup ish thing (basically, I have no idea what it's called) I previously mentioned, I finally uploaded a picture lol. Anyone know what it is?

Can tempura be shallow fried? Edit: Gosh, that okonomiyaki-like tempura looks GOOD! I'm inspired!

Those beans are spectacular as a stir fry with minced pork -just add salt, sugar and a little water (I'm huge on 'sauces'/juices).

I LOOOOVEEE THIS STUFF! At home, we tend to place a couple of cubes (with the lip-smacking liquid) in a small dish and mash it up with some sugar. There -perfect dip with some stir fries. Edit: I always remember how Jackie Chan referred to it as "Chinese cheese" in some old movie of his

Ahahaha sake! Must be Yes yes, please do ask your co-worker when you get a chance. I hold alot of interest in the cuisine of lesser-known/diminishing cultures. Speaking of which (thanks for the mention), I'd love to hear about Okinawan cuisine too, and how different it is from mainstream Japanese cuisine. I read that one of the most distinct differences is the Okinawans eat alot of pork -apparently, their eating habits also have quite a few similarities to the Chinese (not surprising since its ancient relationship with China).

AHA! This is what I had in a Burmese restaurant awhile ago! I've decided it's an acquired taste... I'm going to sound extremely ignorant here, but what the hec, what exactly is this anyway?

That is indeed weird. I would have thought Hokkaido has some influences from the Ainu...isn't that their original homeland and where they still abound (comparatively to other areas that is)?