KennethT

@Smithy One thing to keep in mind is that key limes have seeds. The way they're juiced all over SE Asia (that's pretty much the only kind of lime they have there) is to make 3 vertical cuts, basically cutting the cheeks off - all the seeds should be left in the core and each cheek should squeeze really easily. You can also squeeze the core, but, you know, seeds. Another way I've seen is just to cut straight into the lime, vertically, about halfway through and squeeze while leaving the knife in the cut (which tries to block the seeds).

I think I'd get on a plane and fly there! I could clean out the store!

I wonder how well the camera works after a few months of use and the lens is covered in "patina"....

While I loved duck sauce as a kid (always with egg rolls!!!), I think they're mostly sugar (or cornsyrup).

This was a first attempt at making nasi brongkos. Typically made with beef (shank or shin), instead, I made patties using ground bison. We loved this dish when we visited Jogjakarta but it took until now to finally want to make it at home. In my research, I was surprised to learn that it uses kluwak (buah keluak in Malaysian) which is the black nut paste which we had fallen inlove with. In this dish, the nut meat is mashed into the bumbu (spice paste) and fried before adding water (I used pork stock since I didn't have beef stock and since I was using ground meat that I wasn't cooking for a long time, wanted some extra mouthfeel) and coconut milk. We had originally thought that this dish used a few dried spices like cloves and cinnamon, but not one recipe/video of people making it used spices other than some ground coriander - although maybe 3/4 or the recipes used another unexpected ingredient - fresh kencur. Typically, this dish has a more soupy consistency but I decided to make mine thicker as I was nervous that the flavor would be too diluted. All in all, it was delicious, but I think it needs a little work to make it how we remembered it.

I feel the same way about most mocktails - I wonder if it's from the glycerol that is present in alcoholic beverages which gives viscosity, that isn't present in non-alcoholic ingredients. Maybe someone should experiment with adding a few drops of vegetable glycerine or something to help give it more weight. I have to say - for a restaurant that obviously puts weight on presentation - the ice cream scoop of mashed potato is a little off-putting.

@C. sapidus Lots of Viet dishes (especially in central Vietnam) use peppercorn rather than chilli. I remember eating banh canh (an udon-like noodle soup) in Hue in which the broth was mostly peppercorn, and there was a dish on the table with tons of ground peppercorn so you could add even more. I also remember in Saigon where it's common to make a paste out of salt/peppercorn/lime juice (although sometimes it's salt/chilli/lime juice) that's used for dipping fish/seafood but also common with fruit - fantastic with somewhat bland fruit like dragonfruit.

Or maybe they used all the salt on the tuna and had none left for the mahi!

Which side of St. Thomas will you be on? The dry side or the rainy side? Many years ago, my wife's cousin had a condo on the dry side of St. Thomas - very close to the Ritz-Carlton. I was so surprised to see cactus on the side of the road! Especially since it was pouring rain when we picked up the car at the airport.

They look amazing! Were they still soft on the inside?

Thank you. Wow, the last time I purchased them from Kalustyan's, they were $29.99 for 3 ounces (90g) for A grade (large) and they're usually expensive but have lots of hard to find things. On their website, the current prices are: https://foodsofnations.com/products/pasilla-de-oaxaca-dried-chiles-mild-hot-67012300136?_pos=2&_psq=oaxaca&_ss=e&_v=1.0 normal grade https://foodsofnations.com/products/pasilla-de-oaxaca-extra-large-medium-hot-67012300133?_pos=3&_psq=oaxaca&_ss=e&_v=1.0 superior grade, extra large FYI, pasilla chilies are different from pasilla-de-Oaxaca. Regular pasillas don't have the characteristic heavy smokiness that the Oaxaca ones have and are much less expensive.

I'm a big fan of pasilla de Oaxaca but find them considerably more expensive than other chillies. How are the prices of your source?

@Tan Can Cook Ever since you start posting recently, I was looking for links to videos that I really liked and just found. I'm curious as to what you think of them. This is only one of her videos - she has a whole YouTube feed full of videos about village cooking in Kerala..... https://www.youtube.com/@VillageCookingKeralaYT

@Shel_B BTW, I was going through my YouTube feed and saw others doing the same thing - cheung fun using rice paper. Most seem to say that it is good in a pinch but the texture of the rice roll will be more chewy and not as soft as what most people are used to.

I personally like Wondra flour, but also sometimes use a combo of rice flour:starch - either corn starch or potato starch depending on what I have.

Personally, I would just use the type of rice paper used in the video to start with to make this dish. There are several different types of rice paper used just in Vietnam - typically varying by the region. The main difference between them is the thickness, thus the flexibility when dry. For instance, the one used in the video is typically used in Hanoi and also in Saigon. A much thinner version (that is flexible like copy paper when dry) is commonly used in central coastal regions like Hue and Hoi An. In the more central area of central Vietnam (away from the coast) I've even seen a version between the two and they put the rice papers out in the morning dew, which moistens them enough to be flexible. To see how the thinnest one is used in Hue and Hoi An, there are lots of examples in my foodblog from that region. I think using anything but the thickest version (which is also the one most accessible here in the US) will turn into wet toilet paper once steamed. While this may not be bad, it won't be like cheung fun, where the rice roll batter makes the rice roll slightly thicker.

Not picky at all - completely accurate. Yes, I tried a few - awful.

Like you say, there is a huge cultural and culinary diversity in Singapore. But the Nyonya are more removed from India than the Singaporean Indian communities - the Nyonya are the product of Chinese men marrying Malaysian women back in the 1800s - but Malaysia itself (especially certain regions) has had Indian immigrants - which is where the Nyonya probably got their dried spice usage. Most Nyonya food doesn't rely on dried spices much, but some dishes that do - for instance, this one.

nothing worse than a pissing contest - especially from someone who hasn't even sampled the wares yet! Personally, with that kind of attitude, I'd make him a tuna fish sandwich and call it a day, but I understand that he's your son's friend and you're a great dad so you don't want to step on anyone's toes. With a guy like that (seemingly) I don't think anything you would do would make him change his mind. Besides, why wouldn't a white guy in KC make good bbq? KC is known for its bbq!!!

I had been growing turmeric for the leaves (hydroponically, indoors under artificial lighting) and it was going great but lately, it stopped putting out new leaves and the old leaves were turning brown. I was wondering what was going on - thinking there was possibly root rot or something so I pulled the plant out of the fabric pot and started to dry root it to see what was going on. Evidently, it's time for harvest!!!! All of this came from a single 3 inch long piece of organic turmeric that I got from my local Indian grocery store. I assume turmeric freezes well - especially since I always crush it into a paste anyway. So I'll freeze most of it and replant one of the ones with a lot of sprouting sites to get a new plant and start all over again.

I make my own Nyonya spice blend which has a lot of ingredients - I make a large batch, then portion into ziplock or vacuum bags and keep in the freezer. A year later, I can't tell it from the freshly made.

On a cold, rainy Sunday, there's nothing better than Indonesian Padang food. This is a padang classic - ayam goreng serundeng - fried chicken. This version simmers the chicken in a spice paste made from shallots, garlic, ginger, candlenuts, turmeric, coriander powder and a lot of galangal, and then shredded coconut. Once the chicken is done and tender, it's removed and the solids strained from the liquid. The chicken is then deep fried and once the chicken is done, the solids are deep fried to a golden brown and then drained. It's a lot of work but so worth it! Served with homemade sambal ijo - literally green sambal made from 3 different types of green chillies, garlic, shallots and green tomatoes.

We have been missing some Singaporean specialties, so.... Old lai huat style sambal grouper Quick pickled cucumber salad

Whenever I grind coriander seeds, I can never get them as fine as when I buy preground coriander powder. I assume the pros are using a burr grinder rather than a blender type grinder. What do you use? Also, when using things like cardamom, do you remove the seeds from the pods prior to grinding or do you use the whole thing?

@rotuts For that space, I have one word: carousel! Seriously, I would consider getting rid of all of the shelves and put in a multi-tiered lazy-susan / carousel, from floor to eye level... Just my $0.02