huiray

In regards to at least one aspect of the discussion - the hatred of vegetables seems, to me, to be an especially Western phenomenon. I have always found it odd. I grew up in a situation where (as many others like me, and countless others through millennia in E/SE Asia) vegetables were part of the daily table and were absorbed into one's experience and expectations. Perhaps it is the case that this is not the case in Western cuisines (which the popular narrative would have us believe) but this would be one aspect of learning to like various stuff that is NOT predicated on what one experiences as a child in the Western World.

I don't recall ever being served a "separate" meal by my mother when I was growing up. We all ate together, for the most part, "at table" - and ate whatever was placed upon the table. I hated mushrooms and liver, yes, when I was young - and was allowed to pick those aside or not scoop them up from the communal dish (I ate in a "Chinese Communal Dining" situation) but was not allowed to refuse to eat "everything and anything on the table". There were also times when I was made to sit at the table until I ate at least an acceptable amount of whateveriwasrefusing - and my tears did not matter one whit. No, it was not "child abuse" (to those politically-correct Western folks who might think this way nowadays) and I did not think it so even then nor even now. It was a situation where I learned about various foods as part of the culinary experience.

Yet however badly he allegedly behaved in that alleged domestic abuse situation (who started it?) it is no worse or even better than any number of such similar situations involving US football players, baseball players, various chefs even hither and yon, AND including instances of FEMALE bashing of male spouses. It is but to the "narrative" of whatever one is subscribing to that one points fingers at in "corroboration" of something or other.

Top Chef Boston Episode 4: Some comments. Cheers and Norm duly make their appearance. Another "Boston cliche" struck off the list. (((Sigh))) Gregory drops his shit all over the floor. Why didn't he simply spear his slider/mini-hamburger/whatsit with a cocktail/olive spear, long toothpick, whatever (it's being done in a BAR, for Chrissakes, those things are all over the place, or should be!) EC - Aaron, Gregory & Katsuji do good. Aaron shows again he has skills, and it was commented on in the "voice-overs" that they, as a group of ECs, knew how to write/put together a menu. (Richard Blais in his blog on this episode also talks about putting together a menu that will appeal to the masses, not just chefs and rabid foodies) Mind you, I thought Katsuji was a prick on this episode. Stacy barely escapes elimination. Again. It seems that her cooking (with reference to Jaymes' post above previously) may not be consistently that good. Sad to see you go, James. But perhaps Blais (in his blog) described the issue suitably.

A very simple and lazy dinner. (Didn't feel like cooking-cooking at all) "Curry Chai pow yu" (咖哩齋鮑魚) [Companion], softened mei fun, sliced Tokyo negi.

Last Chance Kitchen will be starting up on December 10. http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-12/blogs/team-top-chef/last-chance-kitchen-is-coming The timing is suggestive of several possible scenarios including being done with the eliminated chefs recalled to LCK just before the finale is shot (live?). I imagine an immediate giveaway will be if they look slightly "different" (hair, skin tone, clothes, etc) from when they competed in the episode they were eliminated from. (I doubt the TC crew will exert themselves to make the cheftestants look "just like they did". They never have in the past.)

Soups since the last post: Soups: • Pork wontons w/ kai lan in chicken broth. (link) • Beef short ribs (bone-in) & pork belly stew (link) • Short-cut pork spareribs, garlic, snow fungus and wong nga pak soup. (link) • Fresh maitake & white button mushroom soup. (link) • Lotus root soup. (link) • Pacific White shrimp, garlic, chicken broth, Napa cabbage, scallions. (link) • Hot & sour shrimp soup, Thai/Tom-yum inspired. (link) • A variation of bitter gourd & fish soup. (link) • Pumpkin blossom/squash blossom soup; w/ garlic, dark meat chicken, chicken stock, fish sauce, zucchini. (link) • Opo squash soup; w/ garlic, pork spare ribs, dried oysters, dried wood-ear fungus, Chinese mushrooms, goji berries, cellophane noodles. (link) • Cucumber soup; w/ chicken thighs, duck leg, Poona Kheera & Brown Russian cucumbers, garlic (Music), dried cuttlefish, dried Solomon's Seal rhizome, dried longans, dried tangerine peel, Chinese jujubes, chicken fat. (link) • White Russian kale (de-ribbed) & garlic in chicken stock. (link) • Daikon & minced pork ball soup in pork bone soup. (link) • Soup, with Chicken fat, garlic, dark meat chicken, snow fungus, angled loofah. (link) • Pickled mustard soup; w/ chicken, Japanese Trifele tomatoes, ginger, sour plums, vinegar", jozo-mirin, etc. (link) • Chicken broth w/ red carrots, Chinese celery, ginger & sea salt. (link; scroll down) • Soupy fish curry. (link; scroll down) • Bak Kut Teh. (link; scroll down) • Old Cucumber Soup; w/ stuff. (link1; link2) • Soup: straw mushrooms & leafy celery in milky pork stock diluted w/ water & chicken stock. (link) • Baby Shanghai bok choy, wilted in and served with (sieved) chicken broth. (link) • Soup w/ chicken stock, hon-dashi, straw mushrooms, wakame, scallions. (link) • More Bak Kut Teh, a lighter version. (link) • Soup, w/ chicken legs, garlic, sea salt, Savoy cabbage, jozo mirin, couple splashes of Maggi sauce. (link) • Soup, w/ garlic, sour shrimp paste, red & green shishito peppers, green zucchini, white mushrooms, jozo mirin, fish sauce, hon mirin, wild American shrimp. (link) • A ramped-up Itek Tim. (link) • Asparagus & standard mushrooms in chicken stock. (link) • Mushroom soup, w/ fresh maitake, fresh white beech, canned straw mushrooms; in a chicken broth + chicken fat. (link) • Miso soup; w/ Katsuobushi stock, Hon-dashi, cut wakame, Tokyo negi (white part only), aburaage, shiro miso , green parts of scallions. (link) Noodle soups: • Shanghai Yangchun noodles w/ duck wing stock/broth and chopped scallions (link) • Chicken slow-simmered broth w/ celery, carrots, parsley stems; with min6 sin3. (link) • “Instant Noodles Artificial Hot &Sour Shrimp Flavor” (酸辣蝦麵) [Dragonfly] w/ garlic, celery, mushrooms, scallions, eggs, prawns, coriander leaves. (link) • Chicken, snow fungus & angled loofah soup; with Fuzhou-type thin wheat noodles. (link) • "Instant Noodles Artificial Pork Ribs Flavor" [Dragonfly] w/ Tuscan kale, peppered beef, eggs, Zephyr squash & fried shallots. (link) • "Ibumie Penang Lad Mee Perisa Lada Pedas (Hot Pepper Flavour)"; w/ garlic, Tuscan kale, sweet Italian red pepper, fish balls, eggs. (link) • "Fresh" pork tonkotsu ramen [sun Noodles]; with Chinese char-siu, Pull Mustard, "fish tofu", scallions, eggs. (link) • "Hong Kong Style Wonton Soup Flavored Instant Noodle King" (生麵皇) [sau Tao], with scallions, corned beef slices, eggs, Napa cabbage. (link) • "Instant Noodles Artificial Pork-Ribs Flavor" (紅燒排骨麵) [Dragonfly brand]; w/ kkakdugi marinating liquid, Debreziner sausages, yellow onion, eggs, kai-lan. (link) • Skinny wonton noodles w/ vegetable broth and some of the vegetables; plus spinach & Dodge City salami. (link) • "QQ Abalone and Chicken Soup Flavored Vermicelli" [sau Tao]; w/ chicken thighs, romaine heart, spinach, button mushrooms. (link) • "Instant Noodles Artificial Hot & Sour Shrimp Flavor" [Dragonfly]; w/ Dodge City salami, broccoli, spinach, shrimp, eggs, plus some other stuff. (link; scroll down) • "Sapporo Ichiban Japanese-style Noodles & Chicken Flavored Soup"; w/ chicken, romaine lettuce, scallions, garlic. (link, link) • "Stirfried Kimchi Noodles" [Paldo]; w/ kkakdugi, kibun takebue chikuwa, pork meatballs, Napa cabbage, "pull mustard", scallions. (link) • Kimchi noodle soup; w/ Chinese roast pork, baby bok choy, scallions. (link) • "Shin Black Spicy Pot-au-feu Flavor Noodle Soup" [Nongshim] with scallions, shishito peppers, deep-fried shallots. (link) • Pork & shrimp wontons [Prime Food] w/ skinny wonton noodles, romaine lettuce, scallions; in a shiitake/"stock fish"/chicken stock soup. (link) • Laksa lemak, with poached chicken, shrimp, mung bean sprouts, laksa leaves. (link) Congees: • Pork belly rice congee w/ preserved mustard stems & soy puffs. (link) • Rice congee w/ fish. (link) • Rice congee w/ pork spare ribs, pork belly, chillied bamboo shoots, Chinese mushrooms, & tofu. (link) • Rice congee w/ pork spare ribs, chicken, salted mustard, ginger, garlic, aburaage, scallions. (link) Additionally w/ raw egg. (link) • Rice congee; w/ ginger (lots), garlic, pork spare ribs, salt, ja choi (榨菜), dried Chinese mushrooms, fried tofu puffs; and w/ deep-fried shallots, scallions, coriander leaves. (link)

"Stirfried Kimchi Noodles" [Paldo] (this one); augmented w/ kkakdugi plus some of the chillied marinating liquid [5,000 Years Food, Inc.], kibun takebue chikuwa (this one) cut into quarters, pork meatballs [Venus], sliced Napa cabbage heart leaves & "pull mustard" (雪裡紅) (see here also), chopped scallions.

That's because the plating wasn't quite right and there was no katsuobushi. :-) p.s. Those bowls I mentioned should be the medium-deep vertical-sided bowls common in Japanese cuisine; not the tsukemono-type small dish that appears to have been used instead. ;-) ETA: p.p.s. The "sauce" you got might also not have been much more than diluted soy sauce, maybe? A good shoyu for agedashidofu would involve dashi and a wee bit of sugar (from koji; not plain sucrose) as well... I often drink up (literally) the shoyu from an agedashidofu dish after I'm done with the tofu and the toppings and enjoy and appreciate those that were properly made. :-)

:-) Mind you, the serving you got (assuming it *was* agedashidofu) had somewhat clunky toppings and not enough shoyu in a too-small and too-shallow dish. Various restaurants/establishments have variations on how they put together this dish but the ones I enjoy the most are the ones where the tofu is served piping hot (almost scaldingly so) sitting in a shallow pool of just-so-slightly cool shoyu in a semi-deep correctly sized flat-bottomed dish/bowl with toppings of either grated daikon or finely shaved katsuoboshi, usually with some finely sliced scallions as well. There is an enjoyable contrast of textures and flavors and temperatures all in one small dish and with one bite.** With the proper bowl and the proper temperature of the tofu, a rising heat column above the bowl gets created and when topped with katsuoboshi the shaved fish flakes that are placed on top of the tofu dance and wiggle as if they are alive. It's a little extra entertainment and adds to the visual appeal - and is a bit startling to someone who has never seen this dish "come alive" in front of him/her before. I used to enjoy ordering properly-executed agedashidofu for co-diners in this category and watching the look on their faces when they noticed the dancing fish ribbons/flakes. :-D ** But, in anycase, I like tofu so that also factors in.

That's encouraging. Best wishes.

Agedashidofu. I will happily scarf down multiple orders of this.

• Miso soup. Katsuobushi stock w/ Hon-dashi. Cut wakame, sliced Tokyo negi (white part only), sliced aburaage, slurry of shiro miso in a little water. Sliced green parts of scallions. • Sort-of atsuage (firm tofu, pressed for a bit then cut into blocks & deep fried) w/ finely sliced raw hakusai (Napa cabbage). Scallions, sweet chilli dipping sauce.

Season 4 is complete and can be viewed on this website: http://www.gooddrama.net/japanese-drama/kodoku-no-gurume-season-4 (Downloads also available here)

More of the rice congee from dinner last night. Diluted w/ some water, added more of the salted mustard (rinsed & chopped up), re-simmered for a bit. Had a couple of medium-sized bowls of it; the second bowl with a raw egg broken into it and simply folded/mixed in.

Simple late dinner of rice congee. I did this one a little differently (order of ingredients) than my usual way. Rice bran oil, loads of minced ginger & chopped smashed garlic, about one-third of a whole large plant of salted mustard (梅菜) rinsed & soaked in water for a short while then cut into large pieces; rice (basmati), toss around a few minutes; water, simmer; short-cut pork spare ribs, chopped-up chicken thigh, simmer; seasoning adjusted; cut-up aburaage added towards the end, simmered till done. Slightly thicker than my usual stuff because the rice went in early. Served w/ lots of chopped scallions. Pic of the other one-third part of the salted mustard plant I used. The plate is 9½ inches in diameter. Those small white crystals are indeed salt. The salted mustard is pliable & "soft"/yielding in one's hand. Delicious smell, delicious taste - very different from this mustard plant when fresh. One example of where a preserved ingredient is a prized ingredient in its own right, not a substitute for the fresh stuff.

Sounds enticing. Wonder if this is available around these parts - i'll look for it. Nice imagery. :-) BTW I presume you mean Joe Manganiello ("Alcide"), unless you had Grant Bowler ("Cooter") in mind instead. :-D Just a small niggle - neither one has a hairy chest. ;-)

It's mostly true that I head for Italian (whatever region) or Italian-inspired when I don't do E/SE/S Asian - but I *do* do other things as well. Thanks. Heh. Oh well. That place has become so stuffed w/ ads nowadays anyway it actually freezes my browser sometimes.

• Spaghetti [Garofalo] w/ Hazan tomato sauce, made w/ a can of San Marzano tomatoes. Pecorino Romano. • Standard mushrooms sautéed w/ olive oil & parsley.

• Vinegared braised pork hocks. Hot oil, LOTS of ginger (smashed w/ a Chinese cleaver), pork hock slices, very generous 7-8 second full pour of Chinkiang vinegar, then rice vinegar, gula melaka nuggets; water, garlic cloves (skin left on), dark soy sauce [YHY], light soy sauce [Kimlan], “Luscious Soy Sauce” [Kimlan], Shao xing wine [Lam Sheng Kee], simmer. Whole star anise, a stick of cassia bark, simmer. More Chinkiang vinegar & rice vinegar, simmer. Hard boiled eggs (cooked separately & de-shelled) added in. • Dried de-stemmed Chinese small flower-pattern mushrooms (“far koo”) softened then braised w/ smashed garlic & chicken stock & peanut oil. Trimmed large-cut wong nga pak (Napa cabbage) leaves added in, braised till done. • White rice.

Of the remaining cheftestants: I like Doug and James. I have reservations about Gregory, notwithstanding his success so far.** IMO Katsuji has a nasty side. Adam needs to lose some of his hipster arrogance (and get rid of his 'Murcan flag do-rag). Mei Lin is a little "sharp" although she has skills. The rest sort-of fall into "neutral territory" for now. ** I do think there was a whiff of his throwing George under the bus in the very first Quickfire, and his lying about his prowess with fish, amongst other things. He also hasn't really actually *cooked* that many things - he has done various ceviches/tartare/similar stuff repeatedly - not to say that this isn't a valid way of doing things, but in the context of Top Chef the head judge has famously said in the past that various contestants didn't COOK the stuff they presented.

NOOOOO!!!!! I like that I am able to create text that has italics, underline and bold sections or phrases as appropriate. One does not use these willy-nilly – one hopes – but to NOT have them as available formatting tools is something I would fight very hard against.

Keep an eye on the Spellcheck (in Word and other programs). They're HORRIBLE and often mangle and distort or change completely what one had intended to be said/typed. I like to disable this f*cking "feature".

I would add that IMO both Aaron and Keriann are assholes but the difference is that Aaron appears to be aware of his failings and has declared that he would like to do something about it; whereas Kerriann seems oblivious of her being an asshole and gives no indication that she thinks there is anything about herself that might benefit from some adjustment.

Nigorizake goes well with food, especially slightly spicy foods. Rihaku Tokubetsu Junmai 'Dreamy Clouds' Nigori Sake is one I enjoy - a glass of it shown here and here. It is only lightly cloudy ("usunigori"). Fruity. (It seems this one technically qualifies as a ginjo) Another one I've picked up is Tozai Ginjo 'Voices in the Mist' Nigori Sake. Also very lightly cloudy. Fruity. Pic below: