Category Archives: – Featured Food Discoveries

Selamat pagi, Yogyakarta: a surprisingly rich and savory chicken rice porridge for breakfast

Posted on August 11, 2016 by David Dettmann

I’ll start by saying that I’m not one for sweet breakfasts. As regular readers will know (ex. 1, ex. 2, ex. 3), I prefer savory foods leftover from the night before to American breakfast cereal or glazed donuts. A recent … Continue reading →

Posted in - Featured Food Discoveries, - Recipes, - Unique food traditions, Chinese food, Malay/Indonesian food, Thai/Lao food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Salam leaf, an essential flavor in Indonesian cooking

Posted on August 6, 2016 by David Dettmann

What you are seeing above is NOT a bay leaf. I say this because it seems like a majority of all recipe sites and blogs online, as well as cookbooks translate daun salam as “bay leaf” in English. In fact, … Continue reading →

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Kassod tree leaves and a leafy Thai curry with grilled fish (gaeng khiilek)

Posted on August 4, 2016 by David Dettmann

I am back after a nearly four month hiatus. Although I didn’t report on them as they were happening, over these past several months I was fortunate enough to have many incredible food experiences in Mongolia, China, Thailand, and Indonesia–experiences … Continue reading →

Posted in - Featured Food Discoveries, - Recipes, Thai/Lao food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Guilin rice noodles for breakfast

Posted on April 12, 2016 by David Dettmann

My 2014 posts on Guilin rice noodles (Guilin mifen 桂林米粉 master stock and noodle staging) are two of the most viewed posts on this blog. Google is the primary referrer, and I attribute these search engine queries to: 1. people … Continue reading →

Posted in - Featured Food Discoveries, - Recipes, Chinese food | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Vietnamese Plaza in Near Northeast Philadelphia

Posted on March 7, 2016 by David Dettmann

Regular readers will be familiar with the mission behind this blog… to showcase notable food finds from my exploration of markets of Philadelphia’s Asian diaspora communities. Since I moved to Philadelphia a few years ago I have spent a lot … Continue reading →

Posted in - Featured Food Discoveries, - Featured Markets, Vietnamese food | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The fresh herb section

Posted on March 3, 2016 by David Dettmann

Fresh herbs are absolutely key for several Southeast Asian cooking styles. In particular, culinary traditions of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam have firm foundations on green herbs. In most cases fresh herbs will be the variable that will take a dish from mediocre to extraordinary. This post highlights common herbs with a visual directory. Continue reading →

Posted in - Featured Food Discoveries, - Featured Markets, - Guides, Cambodian food, Thai/Lao food, Vietnamese food | Tagged | 5 Comments

Sticky rice as thickener and Isaan chicken stew

Posted on February 7, 2016 by David Dettmann

In a previous post I discussed Southeast Asian sticky rice (a.k.a. glutinous rice, or khao niao) in some detail, along with a few ways it can be used as a cooking ingredient. I mentioned it could be dry roasted in … Continue reading →

Posted in - Featured Food Discoveries, - Recipes, Thai/Lao food | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sour krasang fruit for Cambodian soups and dips

Posted on December 13, 2015 by David Dettmann

Recently I found a rare Southeast Asian cooking ingredient in the freezer section of my local Cambodian market: krasang fruit ក្រសាំង (pronounced “ga-sang”). The flesh and seeds of this fruit are used to sour soups and dips, much like the … Continue reading →

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Dried ngiu flowers and a Northern Thai spicy noodle soup

Posted on December 10, 2015 by David Dettmann

In the States we don’t generally think about eating flowers, but flowers have long been culinary tradition in many parts of the world. Mainland Southeast Asia is particularly fond of including flowers in meals, whether they are used as a … Continue reading →

Posted in - Featured Food Discoveries, - Recipes, Myanmar/Burmese food, Thai/Lao food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Unusual food finds at Cousin’s Supermarket in North Philly

Posted on October 9, 2015 by David Dettmann

Cousin’s, a Philadelphia institution since 1976, is a very unique supermarket. It has a commendable selection of attractive produce, and aisle upon aisle of fascinating non-perishables from all around the globe. Just to be clear, Cousin’s is not an Asia-focused … Continue reading →

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