Ce'nedra

Thanks for the info MoGa and prasantrin. That's strange...I've read that eating bear meat can be poisonous for humans...and yet I just read that Ainu people not only eat the flesh, but also thin slices of the liver and other innards RAW! Are they super-humans or did I get my facts all mixed up?

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

Again, my curiosity of food intermingled with history always gets to me in time. I've always wondered about Ainu cuisine - whether it's still commonly eaten amongst the Ainu community in Japan - whether there has been a growing interest in it - what are some common/popular dishes - are there any Japanese dishes of Ainu origin - is there such thing as Japanese-Ainu fusion cuisine today - is it vastly different from mainstream Japanese cuisine - are there any books about it - and...if anyone has had experience with Ainu food, please share! edit: typo again argh!

Big Bunny: Oh boy, I'm so excited! And remember to take photos of your fabulous meal! Oh gosh, I've been looking for a laghman recipe (a reliable one that is) so I might just HAVE to get this book! Is it the Uighur version? Also, for the seawood salad, from which region/group is that recipe from?

BonVivantNL: You're right, Sichuan food is one of the more popular regional Chinese cuisines, but nowhere near as popular as Cantonese in the West I don't think (at least not where I live). Please tell me more about Fujian when you can! Big Bunny: Thanks so much for the recommendations Martin Yan is indeed good! I have a free cookbook (more of promotion book but it had plenty of recipes) from him and it's truly wonderful and *drum roll* VARIED! Your mention of his "Chinatown Cooking" really caught my eye -I really enjoy cookbooks complete with a mini history lesson and that book sort of sounds like it does! It seems these regional books I'm after tend to be passed down by word of mouth rather than printed for purchase...sigh... aprilmei: I'm aware there's a real version of sweet sour pork (thanks for the heads up anyway) but I was trying to make a point that I wanted Chinese recipes that were a little different/not so common

Other than all those fancy places, I would personally recommend Prasit's in North Sydney. Really GREAT, quality Thai food. You can't go wrong with the banana flower salad (particularly this!), soft shell crab Thai-style and, Balmain Bug curry, green curry among others. And I suppose if you want a true blue Aussie experience, there's always Harry De Wheels

As most people said, Kingsley is always one of the best choices, but I also have a soft spot for Ribs and Rumps (they have one in Gordon, Manly and Campbelltown).

Ok I couldn't resist -here are some other brilliant foodie blogs! http://www.aromacookery.com/ http://kokonuggetyumyum.blogspot.com/ http://noodlepie.typepad.com/

Some fine food blogs (I enjoy so many that I can't possibly list them all at once): http://grabyourfork.blogspot.com/ http://www.xanga.com/CantoneseCooking http://www.xanga.com/thousandthdish http://www.rasamalaysia.com/ http://pwmf.blogspot.com/ http://cookingismypassion.blogspot.com/ http://abstractgourmet.com/ http://beverly.livejournal.com/ http://onokinegrindz.com/ http://wlteef.blogspot.com/ http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/ http://coconutlime.blogspot.com/ http://www.chubbyhubby.net/ http://mykoreankitchen.com/ http://www.cupcakeblog.com/ http://cookbookqueen.blogspot.com/ http://cookiemonzters.blogspot.com/ http://www.notquitenigella.com/ http://www.maangchi.com/ http://jenzhomekitchen.blogspot.com/ http://www.mediterrasiancooking.com/

I'm talking different regional foods such as Teochew, Hakka, Fujian, Northeastern, etc. Too often do we get books (as great as they are) discussing either Western-Chinese or Cantonese-style cooking and it's becoming quite a struggle to find a recipe that focuses on something like the food from Chaoshan. A good sign, however, is that I've noticed an increasing interest in Sichuan/Hunan cooking when I browse at bookstores. It's nice to know that people are branching out and not thinking of a 'sole' style of Chinese cooking. I was also pleasantly surprised when chrisamirault recently posted about "Beyond the Great Wall", a new cookbook which explores, amongst others, Xinjiang (yay!), Tibetan, Yunnan cuisine -I suppose everything that's not eastern Chinese. (check out the thread here http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=115247) But in this thread, I'm still trying to focus on eastern Chinese cuisine (i.e. mainly 'Han' recipes, not necessarily different ethnic groups) yet different regions not so well known. Can anybody make some recommendations? THanks in advance

I LOOOOOVEE soft tacos (in fact, I LOOOOVE most wrap-like foods) so does anyone have a simple, fool-proof recipe for making the tacos? Hopefully, I don't need any special Mexican cooking equipments...

What's his newest book and how many has he had released anyway?

Thanks so much for mentioning this book (otherwise I would have never known it existed)! I've been looking around for a decent cookbook detailing the food culture and recipes in Xinjiang and other lesser known Chinese areas so this book really intrigues me. They probably didn't but it would be amazing if they also explored Manchu cuisine (in Heilongjiang and Jilin). Big Bunny: I'm waiting for you!

REALLY sorry for the belated reply guys Have had much to do... My recipe is fairly vague as there are no real measurements so sorry again for that...but I think it's something you can work out anyway, hopefully 1 tsp five-spice powder 8 drumsticks salt sugar soy sauce fish sauce crushed garlic water * I know this isn't specific but there should be a good deal of soy sauce and fish sauce! Maybe this could help... Marinade for at least 2 hrs in the fridge. Pan-fry the drumsticks (both sides obviously) until well browned. At this point, mix the remaining marinade sauce with some water (I'd say enough to allow the mixture to reach approx. 1/2 the width of the drumsticks). Taste and season with salt/sugar accordingly. Let the drumsticks simmer in the mixure until the sauce boils, in which it will soon reduce and thicken. Serve with steamed rice (spooning the delicious bronze sauce over)

Thank you!

Hi jo-mel, sorry for the EXTREMELY late reply. Have had alot of work to do lately. There's no real measurement as it's a family recipe that my mum taught me on the spot so here goes... 1 tsp five-spice powder 8 drumsticks salt sugar soy sauce fish sauce crushed garlic water * I know this isn't specific but there should be a good deal of soy sauce and fish sauce! Maybe this could help... Marinade for at least 2 hrs in the fridge. Pan-fry the drumsticks (both sides obviously) until well browned. At this point, mix the remaining marinade sauce with some water (I'd say enough to allow the mixture to reach approx. 1/2 the width of the drumsticks). Taste and season with salt/sugar accordingly. Let the drumsticks simmer in the mixure until the sauce boils, in which it will soon reduce and thicken. Serve with steamed rice (spooning the delicious bronze sauce over) I'm not sure if we're referring to the same recipe...but do you mean the one with sweet mayonnaise sauce laced with honey? Like this I tried to recreate this at home but we didn't use honey (which would be mistake #1 ) and the results weren't the same as the Chinese restaurants...although it WAS fairly good. Very simple (my version at least):

I've been dying to make dolsot bibimbap but I can't without the stone bowl (or even metal)! I checked out my local Korean grocery store recently but I don't remember seeing any. Does anyone know a place in Sydney which sells it? And around which price is it normally sold at?

Chicken drumsticks with five-spice sauce mixng it up

Chicken drumsticks with five-spice sauce mixng it up

THanks for all the suggestions, guys! You know what, I think I'll just get all of them in time haha! If not for the food, then for her beautifully crafted writing. Speaking of which, she came down here in Sydney very recently and I missed out! I'm very disappointed in myself -shall go in a corner and sob.

Bond Girl: Thanks for the insight It makes sense to me as the Han didn't have very friendly ties with their northern neighbours. As for the stir fried milk, I only know of a fried milk dish which is sweet, not savoury.

That cod looks so tender mmm...what kind of broth is it? Ahh family recipes are the best. They might not be the most 'authentic' or whatever you shall call it, but they're almost always the most delicious to us! Back to my dinner here (from awhile back actually). Lap cheong fried rice and hairy melon soup (one of my favourite soups of all time). These are also my mum's recipes.

Lap cheong fried rice and hairy (?) melon soup -simple, tasty and easy meals put a smile on my face The soup is one of my favourites.

When surfing online, I've come across countless foodie websites/forums/postings arguing on whether a particular dish is Vietnamese or Cambodian in origin. I was never aware of this apparent misunderstanding/whatever you shall call it. Anyway, I'm not well acquainted w/ Cambodian food AT ALL so I tried looking it up. There were alot of dishes that were similar, if not the same, including pho, bun bo hue, Vietnamese crepes, beef luc lac (I don't think I'm spelling it right, but apparently it means 'shaking' or something along those lines), rice paper and there's PLENTY more. I've heard (or should I say read) a few Cambodians make the statement (online -not my personal experience) that 'all' Vietnamese food coming from the central and southern regions are Cambodian in origin due to those lands being originally Cambodian...I personally think it's quite silly to make such a general statement but because I have zilch knowledge in regards to all things Cambodian, I need to ask some other foodies here! Any comments? Edit: Interestingly, the other day my mum prepared a Cambodian dish (which I must say I only JUST discovered after eating it for probably 2 or 3 years). I don't know it's name but the noodles were similar to the tapioca noodle sort and ladled into my bowl was a creamy, shrimp-coconut milk soup... Re-edit: I do agree, however, that there must be some influence vice versa since it's only natural when two or more countries border each other.

Hmm actually I think may be able to come up with a semi-reasonable explanation for my way of thinking (for the above). Semi... Maybe I don't consider soy sauce-butter, mayo-fill in blank, etc 'fusions' (well they are technically speaking) because those dishes tend to retain essentially Asian characteristics (for eg fried rice with the soy-butter) whereas the rice paper example I gave, to me, has transformed into a very Western palate. Ok I think I'm confusing myself now...