Fine, Who’s Mani?

No, not who, but what. “Mani” is the Spanish word for “peanut.” At least it is through the majority of Latin America, though in Spain and in Mexico “cacahuate” is preferred, it seems. Bolivia, though, definitely favors “mani.” Hence, one of the most beloved dishes on the country’s tables is Sopa de Mani, or Peanut…

Advertisement

Watch for Tigers!

Particularly good advice when wandering Southeast Asia’s jungled mountains. Ask any local, including the Hmong, a people inhabiting Laos’s out-of-the-way forests. A tiger bite makes quite an impact. In fact, that’s the best way the Hmong have of describing their signature sauce, which they serve with grilled, marinated steak. This, in addition to Blistered Green…

You Dig?

See, that’s pudding cake’s scene, man. All squared off and establishment up top, just like a cake. Upright and everything. Start hanging out a while, though, and you find a softer, freeform pudding too, playing merrily within. Like a chick wearing a wedding dress with flowers in her hair. You dig? All right, enough of…

Concentrate

All right, here’s a challenge.  How do you take a pot of shrimp and pasta, perfectly prepared to delight you and dinner guests, then pour in five cups of stock, and avert disaster?  Not just that, but bring it instead to triumph, much better than what originally was intended?  Quite a baffler.  Is there a solution?  There…

Use Your Noodle

Pad Thai is a prominent offering in Siamese restaurants, no matter whether it’s served up in the dining room, or if it’s delivered. With good reason, of course. Juicy chicken is sliced thinly and is woven among chewy rice noodles. The combination is drenched in a luscious sauce exuberant with Southeast Asian flavors, including tangy…

Veggies, All of It?

Yep, that’s right.  Today’s entry is completely vegetarian-friendly, from the first cilantro leaf to the last grain of rice.  Yet it’s warming and satisfying, due to hearty pieces of sweet potato and a lusciously rich peanut butter-tomato sauce.  Honestly, you won’t spend the whole time you’re eating fantasizing about other ingredients.  Mainly because you already…

Aww, That’s So Sweet!

Chances are, if you purr these words this upcoming Valentine’s Day – or, if they’re directed to you – chocolate is involved.  Not just any variety, either, but chocolate made by the couverture method, a highly-refined Belgian technique reserved for the very finest cacao available.  With a price tag to match, too.  Though for you,…

Ditch the Sticks?

Generally speaking, the Japanese are well-mannered, and they’re most enthusiastic about dining’s refined rituals. (Actually, that can be said, with minor qualifications, of many peoples.) Anyway, it’s not too often a Japan-forward company will advise diners to put down their chopsticks and to eat with their fingers. Yet, that’s precisely what Toiro, a company specializing…

Dabbling in Stocks

Stocks are simple, really. Pick a good one and, if things work as they should, a modest investment up front will yield generous dividends for a long time. This applies to investments, and doubly so to soup stocks. This site doesn’t have much to say about financial planning, though, which leaves only one topic, a…

Year of the Rabbit

Today, January 22, refreshes the Chinese lunar calendar, inaugurating 4721, the Year of the Rabbit.  Rabbits are considered to be thoughtful, friendly, and fathomless.  A pretty good description of this blog’s readers, right?  Thus, before you is a Taiwanese Lunar New Year feast, prepared in your honor Most of the dishes, including the Pork Wontons…