[Matthew357]

So, the rice cooking thread got me thinking....for me Asian food is like...well, it's one of the most interesting things to me ever. I guess growing up on a mainly western diet causes this, but for some reason just the differences in how they prepare food compared to what I consider "the norm" is amazing.

Sooo..does everyone else find Asian food just incredibly interesting? If so...why?

Matt

[Foodie Jeff]

I guess being raised on simply prepared Midwestern food also piqued my interest in the food of other cultures, including Asian. The "different" seasonings and ingredients: dark and light soy sauce, hoisin, ginger, peanut sauce, coconut milk, bok choi, rice sticks, wood ear, to name a few, provide an interesting contrast to western food.

The wok is an interesting cooking vessel too. It is amazing how many cooking methods it will accommodate: steaming, stir-frying, braising, etc. Learning to use chopsticks was quite an experience, however, I cannot get used to "shoveling" rice into my mouth from a rice bowl or "slurping" noodles because of my western heritage and sense of table manners.

BTW, there is an interesting article about the proliferation of Asian restaurants in the Los Angeles area in the NY Times. You can read it here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/17/dining/17ASIA.html

[Suzanne]

Sooo..does everyone else find Asian food just incredibly interesting? If so...why?

Yes. Actually, I would say "Asian foods," since Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, Cambodian, etc. etc. are all different, and each has its own variations as well. Just a wealth of yummy stuff!

Because:[list=1][*]They use flavors I love.[*]They really need FRESH ingredients to work well.[*]Although the prep can take time (good knife-skills practice, though), the cooking itself is FAST.[*]If done properly, they tend to be HEALTHY.[/list=1]

[Matthew357]

<<I cannot get used to "shoveling" rice into my mouth from a rice bowl>>

Heh, I actually prefer the shoveling method for eating rice. It's actually gotten me a few grins in Asian restaurants by the staff, since I couldn't be anymore white.

<<Although the prep can take time (good knife-skills practice, though), the cooking itself is FAST.>>

Yeah, Knife-Skills are really paramount in Asian cooking that I've seen.

Matt

[Bacchus]

I like chinese dishes, especially cantonese and szezhuan(sp?). Thai is also very interesting because of the large use of seafood. I also like the way japanese food is prepared and served. All in all some good stuff

[phatch]

I too love that cuisine. My problem is so much of it is packed with sodium. I suffer under a sodium restriction and that drastrically reduces Asian cuisine.

Certainly not all, but the classic condiments and flavors take a serious hit.

Phil

[ShawtyCat]

I didnt think they used that much sodium since soy sauce is mainly used instead of salt for flavor. Maybe someone will answer that. I know you guys don't want me to go starting a "new" thread on the correct uses of soy sauce. I can just see the response.

I also love Asian food since it remids me of home. Cause of the rice I guess. Its hard to get lots of rice at a western restaurant. And I get strange looks when I do. I always think the waiter is looking at me thinking "she's definately not from here". I love Japanese because of the Fresh taste. I love Chinese because of the diverse flavors, plus they have spicy food too.

I havent tried all the others but will be when I don't have a huge tummy to roll off my bed. I did get a craving for chinese at 3am but all the places were closed except for one that was about an hour away. My hubby is still telling the story of me getting a cab just to eat Chicken & Broccoli with Garlic Sauce.

[jbuder]

first time i tasted thai food, i thought i'd died and went to heaven (felt that way about indian food as well, actually). i grew up loving chinese food, but had never had thai, cambodian, vietnamese. i love the layering of flavors and the freshness of the ingredients. tastes i had never before known but needed no experience to accomodate to. still have not tired of them. andd= they are so much fun to cook!

[Matthew357]

My favorite asian food experience to date (other than those pickled radishes) was at Korean Barbecue here in Atlanta. The owner of the place I worked at in Athens (about a hour drive from Atlanta) took us there one night after work. Apparently the place opperates on Korean time so they were still rather busy when we got there at 2:00 in the morning. Just the most interesting hot and spicy food I've had...tons of little condiments etc. The funniest thing was it was very inconspicuous and located right behind a strip joint.

Matt

[marmalady]

Shawty - The sodium content in soy sauce is very high. People who are watching their sodium content, or who just don't like all that salty taste can use the Kikkoman low sodium soy sauce.

Mathew - Have you visited the Asian markets in Atlanta yet? Decatur is the name that comes to mind where there are just blocks of different stores and a huge farmer's market with veggies I guarantee you've never even seen before!!!!!

I love Japanese cuisine; the flavors are so subtle; they really don't use a lot of spices, but the flavors of the food are pointed up to the max by using complementary flavors. And I don't think anyone in the world does presentation like the Japanese!! Although I do have to say that some of the 'Japanese' dishes I've seen on Iron Chef are a little over the top!

[Kimmie]

Quote from jbuder: "first time i tasted thai food, i thought i'd died and went to heaven (felt that way about indian food as well, actually)".

ME TOO!!

Although I have a strong penchant for Indian food, which BTW, is not Asian! the Queen of Asian cuisines has to be THAI!

Hot and spicy is what one believes to be flavours and tastes of Thai food. It is correct, but not totally. Thai food, in spite of its occasional sharpness, requires harmony. Coconut milk tones down the spiciness and enhances other ingredients in a dish.

What gives Thai food its distinctive character is a harmony in its tastes. The soups look plain in color but the taste combination is sour, salty, hot and aromatic. The use of peanuts and coconut in their curries are very characteristically Thai as well. I just love the way they use distinct herbs such as lemongrass, kaffir lime, both the leaf and the fruit, galangal, one in the ginger family, and mix them with the pungent sourness of fresh lime or the pleasurable sweetness of palm sugar.

Also, a great bonus for the health conscious is that Thai food is lighter.

[mudbug]

Matt,

Any well known, well educated, and well rounded chef will hold Asian cuisine in high respect because it is so diverse, has one of the longest histories of any cuisine and is eaten by a majority of the humans on the planet.

My tip for Asian cooking: never use "Kikkoman" Go to an Asian store and get an authentic Asian soy sauce. I highly recommend the following which is called "Superior Soy Sauce" there is a lite version and a dark version available.



You may also enjoy the following web site Cooking of Asia

ShawtyCat,

Regarding the saltieness of some of the dishes. It is customary in most asian cultures to eat the food family style which in these cultures means the food is seasoned and cut into bite size peices (no cutting meat at the table). Each dish is placed in the center of the table and each person may get a piece or two throughout the meal at anytime. No passing of dishes either. Each morsel is then eaten with a helping of rice in the mouth at the same time which lessens the saltieness of the morsel which was never meant to be eaten alone. You will hardly ever see a salt or pepper shaker on a truely Asian dinner table.

Kimmie,

I don't think it's just Thai food which is "light". Most truely Asian cuisine is very light and healthy, it's just that most of the dishes regularly found on the dinner tables of Asian countries is really not very common in the states. Even in places like China Towns or Japan Towns, elders tend to scoff at how "Americanized" the food presented in restaurants is.

[Kimmie]

by cchiu: ...elders tend to scoff at how "Americanized" the food presented in restaurants is.

And so they should!

Thanks for the link.

[marmalady]

CCHIU, You're right about 'authentic' Asian soy sauces. But all of the Japanese cooks I know, and all of the major Japanese cookbooks recognize Kikkoman as an authentic all-purpose soy sauce, or shoyu. They also have sauces, or 'su' for different dishes; there is a noodle 'su', a very refined sashimi 'su', etc.

As with everything else, each country in Asian has its own version of soy sauce. Japanese cooks think that Chinese or Korean soy sauce is too harsh for their taste.

[thebighat]

We've got this sweet soy sauce at work that's 2200 mg sodium per tsp. I asked the sushi guys at the earthy crunchy grocery store the other day what kind of soy they used, and they handed me Kikkoman. Anybody see Morimoto RAW on the food channel recently? That sushi was making me hungry.