KennethT

Torch ginger flower (frozen). I can't wait to use one! Unfortunately, I was in the store looking for frozen sand ginger (also called lesser galangal) or kencur in Bahasa, and couldn't find it anywhere. Nor can I find it online. I can find it in its dried form easily, but I assume that like most things, the dried form has a very different flavor and usage than the fresh or frozen.

true - I was just looking at the shape of the bulbs

I used to use a UV device for psoriasis and it had 4 sets of bulbs that looked just like yours!

I have a relatively inexpensive high powered induction burner (my apartment building has no gas service) and I have the same issue as the OP. Cast iron conducts heat relatively poorly so on induction you wind up with hot spots just above the induction coil if you crank the heat up right away. I also did a great job of warping the bottom of my flat bottomed carbon steel wok! When I do anything on cast iron, I let the empty cast iron pan heat slowly on relatively low heat for maybe 10 minutes before I need to use it. Using an induction compatible pan with aluminum or copper sandwiched in the base will make your heating much more even. Hopefully soon I'm going to get a better (and unfortunately not inexpensive) induction burner that supposedly has a more even magnetic field distribution - but I'll know more once I get it.

OK - temporarily out of SE Asia and on to Mexico - with a rendition of the ever popular smoky red chilli chicken foot burnin' tacos.... I refreshed the master sauce in the freezer with an extra Pasilla de Oaxaca (super smoky) and 2 chipotle and some of the adobo, along with a bit of fire roasted crushed tomato, and some shallot and garlic. ETA - I just noticed this now - and no, I'm not @CantCookStillTry's husband....

After drooling over @shain's Thailand photos, I was so in the mood for Khao Soi that I finally succumbed and just made it... Recipe from a cooking class in Chiang Mai many years ago....

Southern India inspired shrimp with masala potatoes, coriander-mint chutney from Dishoom and tamarind chutney. Curry leaves and mint from the garden.

Is it too late for you to adopt me?

Indonesian-ish mee goreng (fried noodles) with shrimp

Chicken Panang curry... kaffir lime leaves from the garden (the tree needed a bit more pruning to encourage more new growth).

How does that work? Do they pack the bread and cold cuts separately?

I agree with @Tropicalsenior - the liquid at the bottom should be kept for at most a week as it will spoil, and will then spoil the fat. In the future, if you were to pour everything into the jar, tighten the lid and then put in the refrigerator upside down, the liquid will now be on top, and you can then remove it once cold (and probably jelled) and just scrape an extra millimeter or so of the fat with it so it's not contaminated, then you'll have the perfect lard in the fridge with no problems. I used to do this with duck fat and drippings when I'd do confit sous vide.

Do the walnuts act as a thickener or are they more about flavor? Reminds me of some Nyonya curries that use candlenuts in the rempah that act as a thickener.

Finally! My kaffir lime tree has finally started a new flush of foliage. This is the tree that was a bit rootbound and I wound up thinning the roots and replanting in New coir. It was dormant for quite a while so I was starting to worry about it.

Another thing to do would be to put the cloves in a bowl, then cover with another of the same size bowl and shake. It basically peels itself during the shaking. I don't bother when doing a couple cloves, but if I have a head or two to do.

I've only gotten takeout from them once. the chicken mole taco was really good. The chicken enchilada was also decent, but I'd have to give them another try to be sure. It's a tiny storefront place but the menu is pretty big. We also got a guac and chips - guac was ok, but the chips were really nice and corny.

When hiking, how do you cross the streams? Do you take your hiking shoes off or do you go through and the shoes get soaked?

Missed that... Nice!

What, no onion volcano?

I don't think so. I use corn starch because that's what I have. I know @liuzhou would most probably use potato starch, since I don't think one grain of corn starch exists in his apartment.

That doubanjiang looks like what I can get, and I use it - it's fine. I like some of the Woks of Life stuff, but others not so much. I find this a much better version of mapo tofu -

Sorry - was this directed to me? If so, they came out really good. The the steaming rendered a lot of the fat. And then chilling it down and letting them sit uncovered in the refrigerator really dried the skin pretty nicely - I think I may attempt a deep fry instead of broiling next time!

This is the common one that I see

Back to a night in Singapore because the Superbowl is a good excuse to make wings (roughly $3/lb from Wild Fork) that have been in my freezer for a month or so. And of course, since I already made the chilli sauce, chicken rice.

Singapore wings redux.... Marinade: Steamed on 250F super steam in CSO: Chilled down and then broiled on each side for 2 minutes until done: