From the category archives:

Ingredient

Matsutake Mushroom Dobin Mushi Recipe

October 12, 2009
matsutake mushroom, japanese recipe, dobin mushi recipe

One of my favorite cooking shows of all time is the original Iron Chef. No, not the modern version that plays over and over on Food Network right now, but the one taped in Japan with the silly English dubbing that always cracks me up. The episode that I drooled most over was “Battle Matsutake.” [...]

Read the full article →

Baby Corn

August 17, 2009

Baby corn is young corn, usually eaten whole, yes, cob included. They are boiled, or tossed into stir-fry dishes. Cooking doesn’t change its texture – they are as crunchy and sweet as raw. They can be found fresh in Asian grocers or canned would be an acceptable substitute.
While fresh baby corn is incredibly delicious and [...]

Read the full article →

Fish Sauce

August 8, 2009

Fish sauce is an essential ingredient in my pantry. It has a nice salty-sweet flavor to it, and you use it very sparingly, like Anchovy paste. A little goes a long way! There are several brands of fish sauce, the best one I have found so far is called “Three Crabs”. Good fish sauce should [...]

Read the full article →

Saffron

August 8, 2009

Saffron comes from the stigma of the saffron crocus. It’s no wonder that saffron’s considered one of the most expensive spices: according to Mr. Harold McGee, it takes over 70,000 flowers and about 200 hours of labor to produce only 1 pound of dried saffron.
The best saffron is bright red, and not yellow. It’s wonderful [...]

Read the full article →