It's always interesting to be amazed by information beyond our normal experience. I was looking for the relationship between the "bird of paradise" plant and the banana. This diagram, called a rhizogram, explains that and extends it further.


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The Mahayana Buddhist sect is largely vegetarian. Generally it is the religious who follow this practice more so than the lay faithful but this depends on where and when. In China there are a number of Buddhist Restaurants some part of a monastery others associated with a monastery and use the income for capital support. I have enjoyed a few in China; Chonqqing, Guangzhou and Wutai Shan. The most interesting aspect of it was the near impossibility to distinguish this vegetarian food from meat...
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Wine flavours are fashionable. It's very difficult to separate the trend from the absolute so it's sensible to keep in mind the inevitable change in preferences and recommendations as well as personal preference on the pairing of wine with the myriad Asian cuisines. It's worthwhile for the interested to keep up with the reading on the topics and indulge in the occasional publication on the topic.

"Asian pairings"
Karen MacNeil-Fife June, 2000

"I generally rely on instinct when pairing wine and f...
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Agar is a vegetable product harvested from seaweed. There are quite a few grades but generally speaking any agar available for cooking is suitable. It is primarily used by the cook as a gelling agent like gelatin. The selection of one over the other maybe the obvious choice of a vegetable product vs an animal product.

It can be used for gelling acid foods such as acidic fruit juices whereas gelatin is likely to fail. The amount needed is less in quantity generally speaking this is of little c...
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Materials:
Timber: unfinished Oak. 80x5x2 cm (30" x 2" x 3/4").
8, timber screws
Wood glue (PVA).

Method:
The finished frame should have a 12.7 cm (5-in) square opening and stand 5 cm (2 in) high.

Cut the wood into 4 pieces—2 pieces should be 13x5x2 cm. (5" x 2" x 3/4") and 2 pieces should be 16.5x5x2 cm. (6-1/2" x 2" x 3/4").
Drill two holes on the 5cm (2")-face ends of each of the longer pieces (that's 4 holes total per long piece).
Screw the pieces together and secure with wood glue. Recess ...
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Webster's definition of relish is "any of a variety of foods, as pickles, olives, piccalilli, or raw vegetables, served with a meal to add flavor or as an appetizer; or a pickled condiment, usually with ... spices, sugar, vinegar, etc."

A chutney is a relish made of fruits…spices, herbs and sugar with vinegar or lemon juice. As you can see this has bypassed the Indian origin of chutney.

The best answer to the question "What is the difference between a relish and a chutney?" is in O Chef  wh...
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Unfamiliar and lesser known cuisines are not uncommon in Asia. Most are associated with minority ethnic groups. I include many of them in the country of origin until a certain number of recipes have been documented.

A few days ago I had an email from Celine Marbek who is a well known chef and is an advocate for her ethnic group and their food. The Malacca Cristang group is one of the very small minorities in SE Asia with the...
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Chinese version
Chinese dumplings (jiaozi) may be divided into various types depending on how they are cooked:

• Boiled dumplings; (shuijiao) literally "water dumplings" (水餃; pinyin: shuǐjiǎo).
• Steamed dumplings; (zhengjiao) literally "steam-dumpling" (蒸餃; pinyin: zhēngjiǎo).
• Shallow fried dumplings (guotie) lit. "pan stick", known as "potstickers" in N. America, (鍋貼; pinyin: guōtiē), also referred to as "dry-fried dumplings" (煎餃; pinyin: jiānjiǎo).

Dumplings that use egg ra...
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EdiblyAsian readers are seemingly becoming more interested in some very traditional ingredients such as Prahok, Fish Sauce, Padek and a few other cottage industry products. This is a story on Prahok that I feel very fortunate to have stumbled on. It's from a UNDP press release from Cambodia. Reference: http://www.un.org.kh/undp/pressroom/press-releases/prahok-producers-form-association-to-expand-market-opportunity

Prahok Producers Form Association to Expand Market Opportunity
Published: Sunday,...
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Sushi a la carte

aji: horse mackerel
akagai: ark shell
ama-ebi: raw shrimp
anago: conger eel
aoyagi: round clam
awabi: abalone
ayu: sweetfish
buri: adult yellowtail
chootoro: marbled tuna belly
ebi: boiled shrimp
hamachi: young yellowtail
hamaguri: clam
hamo: pike conger; sea eel
hatahata: sandfish
hikari-mono: various kinds of "shiny" fish, such as mackerel
himo: "fringe" around an ark shell
hirame: flounder
hokkigai: surf clam
hotategai: scallop
ika: squid
ikura: salmon roe
inada: very young yellowtail
kaibash...
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Raita (Hindi: रायता rāytā) is an Indian condiment based on yoghurt (dahi) and used as a sauce or dip. The yoghurt may be seasoned with coriander (cilantro), cumin, mint, cayenne pepper, and other herbs and spices.


Raitas have been variously categorised as sides, salads, sauces, spreads and dips and they fit all of these classifications
It may be prepared by frying cumin (zīrā) along with black mustard (rāī) and these mixtures are mixed into the yoghurt. Minced, raw vegetables ...
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Ikan Bilis is seen most commonly with Malaysian food. It's served as a side dish or condiment and may even be semi-dried. The semi dried fish are produced on Pulau Pangkor. The monopoly for this food is by Keng Hai Chuan who also sells imported anchovies. The imported fish , presumably from Thailand, are cheaper and so has a definite part of Mr Beh's market. The premium fish though is his own catch and processing which is basically sun drying without any preservative. There is a visible diff...
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An aspect of fish marinades that is believed incorrectly is that juices remaining plus the marinade after cooking are to be relished. Generally this isn't the case. The juices tend to be cloudy and have a less than pleasant taste, even bitter. For this reason many good restaurants discard the juices immediately the fish is cooked and replace the marinade with some reserved and is still fresh. It's an excellent tip and easy to do. Just remember to make some excess marinade and hold it in rese...
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Parkia speciosa (petai, bitter bean, sataw, twisted cluster bean, yongchaa, yongchaak, zawngtah or stink bean) is a plant of the genus Parkia in the family Fabaceae. It bears long, flat edible beans with bright green seeds the size and shape of plump almonds.

The odour is extremely sulf-hydryl similar to aspects of coffee, the smell of foxes and the pungent smell of methane from garbage fills. Not surprisingly an acquired taste. The aroma is due to specific amino acids and after ingestion the ...
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You may never know whether you are eating shrimp or prawns.

Both prawn and shrimp can be found in fresh water and oceans.They both have ten legs and an external shell. They taste the same and they look the same. The primary difference is the structure of the gills. Shrimp have branching gills like a tree whereras prawn have flat parallel plates of gill. You aren't going to see this in processed crustacea on your plate! The difference to note on a cooked animal is that prawns second pair of pin...
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Sticky rice is a rice grain that typically presents as white and opaque and short in length. There are longer grain varieties and other colours such as black and red which are also quite popular in desserts and for use in restaurants. There may be some nutritional advantage in the coloured versions but really it's quite minimal.

There is a traditional method of preparation of sticky rice which begins with a wash to remove any fine and soluble or easily dispersed rice powder plus any contamina...
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If you are searching for specific recipes for "Sizzle Plate Dishes" preparation, I have compiled this list linked to the highlight.

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