Ce'nedra

I'm afraid I can't share my thoughts here. I've only had the dried variety

Thai Fish Cakes with Vermicelli (also posted this in the 'Thai cooking at home' thread)

Thai Fish Cakes with Vermicelli

Hmm sounds reasonable. After all, the southern regions in China are known for their easy access to an abundance of fresh fish as well. I think Vietnamese cuisine uses quite a bit of tofu and other soy products because there is a heavy Chinese influence.

hzrt8w thanks for the suggestion Is Sichuan pickled vegies spicy (I'm assuming this because it's from Sichuan ha)? We tend to make our own pickled vegies and such at home because my parents have this thing against buying imported foods from Asia (they seem to think all products from China have illegal chemicals in it). What are the ingredients that are in this particular one you suggest? What other 'healthy' foodies are good with congee?

Thank you David. Very kind of you I'll keep your advice in mind.

Aahhaha! Well C. sapidus, no fear there as I've never been one to shy away from 'rich' foods And thank you for the PM

Haha I grew up with this instilled into me from my parents too! Sad to say, I didn't practice it much. If I don't like something, I don't eat it. Sometimes I REALLY do try to shove it down my throat but in most cases, I just can't do it. I'm such a waster I think I SHOULD start to be more like my parents because it's never a good thing to waste anything! I feel really sinful afterwards so I'm not sure why I continue it

Quick question but what's the best kind of vegie pickles to eat with a heart-warming bowl of congee? How do you make it? I love congee (hell yeah -it's one of my favourites!) but the problem to me seems to be that in order to make it a dinner meal, I NEED some vegetables (it's a family thing) to eat with it otherwise I feel like I didn't have a complete meal *sigh*. Oh the congee I'm talking about is the flavoursome century egg/pork kind.

Ahhh...comfort food is my favourite kind of food sazji, are those Turkish? Greek maybe? I love freshly made breads -the smell just makes you melt inside...and yours looks yum yum...

Just to clarify, I'm NOT referring to the sweet kind I'm talking about the ones you can make into stir fried dishes and so on. I love Korean food but admittedly haven't really explored enough of it just yet... so I figured I could get a kick start by trying to cook with Korean rice cakes. Problem is, I've got no idea where to start! I'm basically looking for something not too much of an acquired taste (as my parents can be a bit difficult with their eating habits) and would make a delicious dinner meal. Oh and not too complex to cook considering my fairly basic skills So if anyone can offer me some recipes, that'd be great! Lip smacking pictures are also welcome Btw, do you have to cook the rice cakes before you can use it?

Thanks for the tip

Haha sorry about my lack of knowledge in Indian cuisine! But yes, your description of the Papdi ka chaat sounds about right to what I had-definately with the crispy wafers. I took a picture of it too...here we go (is this it?): What's the name for this one? And thank you for your extensive knowledge on my beloved Papdi ka chaat

Ok huge problem (for me) guys! I've had the Kylie Kwong: Heart & Soul cookbook for awhile but can't even get a start on cooking some of the dishes simply because I have NO idea what she means by "1 quantity"! What does that amount to? What IS 'quantity' (in terms of measurements)?! She uses the term in several recipes, for eg the 'red-braised beef chuck with chinese marbled eggs' (which I'm dying to try btw). I urgently need help!

Thanks for the insight bethpageblack! I've read that the Teo Chiu (which I'm half of) also use fish sauce in a few dishes and their cuisine (and language -in fact, I think they were once the same until they decided to split ways) is very similar to the Fujianese. So this certainly would make sense. I really wonder though...if fish sauce supposedly originated from China (as said above), how did it come to be used so extensively in South East Asian cuisine in comparison to China? Strange indeed.

Mmm...Sloppy Joes *drool*... The Ming Tsai version (ie Simply Ming) looks really delish! I've recorded it on video so maybe I'll give it a go some time soon

nonblonde007: The perfect breakfast! Btw, this is a question to all, but I heard the whole 'big breakfast' thing is only a myth?

Thank you for the recommendation Oh and thank you Gabriel Lewis for the clarification It seems the Chinese travelled to many countries (well duh, which country DOESN'T have a Chinese person?!) and left a dent (a good one at that) in many cuisines. Popiah in many South East Asian cuisines (such as Filipino, Indonesian, etc) is also of Chinese origin. You can also see many Chinese influences in Vietnamese cuisine as well (naturally).

C. sapidus: How was the chicken curry? It looks full of flavour -yum! I'd love to have the recipe! David Ross: Your duck breast looks so crisp my mouth is watering...I've always been afraid of cooking with duck so I look at anyone who's tried it in awe Even when I've tried cooking 'duck' recipes, I've always replaced it with chicken...I know...I'm bad... Your Walleye meal loves divine! Do you think I could have the recipe for it? And is there any good substitutes for Walleye fish? MobyP: Those sure look professional...I'm not even going to ask for the recipe because it looks way out of my range

LindaK: Yep. Not a whole lot of course. But a dash of sesame oil makes pho really delicious! I always thought it was normal since it has always been a common practice in our family But maybe that's the Chinese side in me creeping out

I haven't tried all of them but Dahi Puri is sooo good! Those pictures posted by percyn are just mouth watering...

Thanks for the info guys. I'm guessing that noone is really definite yet? lol! Here's something I just found...not sure how reliable it is though. http://chinesefood.about.com/library/blcdfishsauce.htm

Thanks for the tip Dejah I'll definately try that next time. I do love flavoursome food -especially since I'm always complaining at the blandness of some dishes when I'm eating out ha! Approx. how long do you think I should cook the lap cheung in the rice for? The only reason why I did it separately is because I tend to have this fear of uncooked meats bleh! Your version of claypot rice sounds very promising! Have a try of mine and see what you think of it Just make sure you make alot of the sauce because that's the essential part of my version

I'm aware that there are some Chinese dishes which make use of fish sauce but is this traditional? Have the Chinese long made use of fish sauce or is it a recent influence from neighbouring cuisines such as Vietnamese and Thai? Obviously soy sauce is very much a Chinese neccessity and invention. But what of fish sauce? When did it come to be seen in Chinese cuisine?

Thanks for the links Gabriel Lewis and Kouign Aman -I will be sure to check them out Wow Gabriel, I never knew pad thai was originated from China? I always thought it was a full blown Thai dish other than the fact that it's based on noodles, a Chinese invention. It's not unlike alot of Chinese stir fried noodle dishes but I didn't think pad thai was a Chinese invention at all. Where did you hear about this? I'm interested in hearing about the history of different foods and dishes Yeah the addition of lime was from one of my cookbooks from an Australian author writing about Thai food haha! One of the very Westernised looking cookbooks...After that experience, I was determined to buy cookbooks written by authors with origins (or at least has a vast knowledge) from the respective country ha!