KennethT

I had my fill of durian a few years back in Singapore... I actually really liked the flavor and texture, but didn't like how the flavor lingered.... for hours!!!

The Thai store on Mosco St? If so I'm happy to hear they're still open! But why brown sugar instead of palm sugar?

Moving on to Vietnam.... Goi Xaoi Ga - mango salad with roasted chicken thighs and some sawtooth coriander and rau ram from my garden as well as green onion and Thai basil. Thighs were done in the CSO

@liamsaunt Can I join your family???? Jeez that looks good...

I loved those fried. Good snack with beer. But to be honest I thought the fried crickets were better.

I've now used the CSO to steam whole fish twice. Both times it performed admirably but it was a bit of a learning curve as the steaming times are a little longer than they'd be than if I was using a traditional steamer on the stovetop.

Still in that Thai feeling... Steamed dorade with lime juice broth. Simple flavors but addictive! Shown with a lovely skin contact orange wine from Israel!

Fantastic! Exactly what I was looking for!!!!! Thanks!

pics or it didn't happen...

Some of those were exactly what I was looking for, but unfortunately, it's only 2 of us - I don't need a dozen of them!

I'm trying to get away from the wide shallow bowl to a deeper one commonly used in Asia... a plus if made from melamine or some other mostly indestructible (and cheap) material....

Homemade Thai Chicken noodle soup... With a beautiful chenin.... Because it's Saturday! BTW, I need new soup bowls for these Asian noodle soups and noodle bowls.... Any suggestions? I can't make it down to Chinatown any time soon....

I have some home made small batch lebne from a local Middle Eastern store that I bought a few weeks ago and have kept in the refrigerator. It has no markings of "use by" or any other expiration type dates on it. How can I tell if it's still good and when it's time to throw it out? Obviously, I have very little experience with yogurt type products!

I did save some seeds! It was years ago though, so I don't know how viable they are anymore... I just don't have the space to grow it now that I have a 5x5 grow tent in the middle of my living room... and the fact that (hopefully) we'll be moving in a few months, so long as our building allows us to start renovations some time soon. Plus, once in the new apartment (that has a 14' ceiling) I'd really like to make a hydroponic living wall filled with tropical plants... that would be really cool...

Welcome! I love Viet Nam! One of my favorite trips was to Saigon a few years back... my wife and I were planning on taking another trip in December to the south - delta area, etc., but I don't know what's going to happen now with the whole coronavirus thing - I don't know how I feel about taking a 30 hour flight... anyways, I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Yes, years ago, I bought a single Goose Creek tomato plant to grow indoors in my 750sq foot NYC apartment. The plant arrived in great shape and it did really well in my hydroponic setup... a little too well! Not knowing as much then as I do now, I topped the plant when it approached my ceiling (which one should not do to an indeterminate tomato plant which will keep growing and producing for almost a year) which subsequently made it throw new shoots all over - the plant completely took over a whole corner of my living room and was drinking over a gallon of water per day! When I finally took the plant down, it was a humid mess inside the canopy, which was more like a hedge than a single plant. There were tons of fruit I never knew about (by then a bit rotted). It filled about 3 of those large black trash bags when I finally took it down! But I will say that those tomatoes were by far the best I've ever had anywhere. I still miss them....

@Eatmywords Love it! What type of oil did you use?

@Kim Shook Condolences from me as well. I know all too well what your experience was like -although not in the time of COVID....

@liamsaunt I think your efforts have been stellar!

First experiment of Cantonese whole steamed fish (striped bass). Definitely worth another shot soon and paired nicely with this 2010 Riesling which had tons of flinty acidity. ETA: BTW, the fish was steamed in the CSO....

@Nicolai I don't see the salmon...

I've also read articles (I didn't save the sources..) that said that many herbs respond to insect nibbles - they increase their essential oil production and get a stronger flavor as a way to discourage the pests.

Xe May - it's a tiny underground shop on St. Marks between 1st Ave and Ave A in the East Village... Their bread could be better - it's not as crispy on the outside and soft/fluffy on the inside as most are in Saigon, but for NY, it's one of the better breads for this sandwich. And their flavors are great. I'm a big fan of the 'Pilot' which is lemongrass grilled chicken - it's tasty and not nearly as bad for you as all of the pork options... but I'll still get a classic one from time to time, doctor be damned! ETA - also, since now it's only takeout, the bread loses something during transit - in our case, about a 5 minute walk... during normal times, we'd eat in the place (it has about 5 seats) and it's better that way...

It's the OG of English sparkling, and certainly can go toe to toe with any of the top stuff from France. The couple who are the winemakers there have a really great story too. I was recently lucky enough to try 3 of their wines - this Cuvee Cherie (named after their head winemaker) which is their demi-sec (but doesn't come off as that sweet because it is so well balanced), their 2010 '1086 Prestige Cuvee' and their 2010 '1086 Prestige Cuvee Rose'. All of them were stunning.

Another meal of Singaporean chicken curry with homemade roti prata. Was fantastic with this English sparkler that has some residual sugar but great acidity to balance it out.