Category Archives: – Unique food traditions

Replicating a Uyghur tonur baking experience in an American oven

Posted on March 16, 2023 by David Dettmann

As you may know, over the past many years I have been experimenting with baking techniques that replicate the traditional Uyghur tonur oven. Those experiments tended to include the use of a broiler, and/or a super hot and dense cooking … Continue reading →

Posted in - Featured Food Discoveries, - Unique food traditions, Central Asia/Uyghur food | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A foray into Ethiopian flavors

Posted on August 13, 2017 by David Dettmann

Please allow for a temporary distraction from the great Asia-focused food in Philadelphia. Don’t get me wrong, this is an exciting time for new Asian food items–it seems every day there is something new–but I’d like to share a recent … Continue reading →

Posted in - Featured Food Discoveries, - Featured Markets, - Unique food traditions, Non-Asian | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

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

Ulaanbaatar post #3: A tribute to Mongolian “greasy-spoon” eateries

Posted on July 23, 2015 by David Dettmann

Chances are, traditional Mongolian foods are totally unlike what you imagine them to be. Taiwanese, Chinese, and American Mongolian Barbecue and Mongolian hot pot chain restaurants have done plenty to influence the global popular imagination of what Mongolian food is … Continue reading →

Posted in - Featured Food Discoveries, - Guides, - Unique food traditions, Mongolian food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Uyghur style rice pilaf with beef and yellow carrots

Posted on October 5, 2014 by David Dettmann

Happy Eid!  Over the weekend friends will be feasting around the world, and in Xinjiang no doubt people will be eating the dish I’ll describe below.  Half a world away in Philadelphia, the weather is changing from hot to quite … Continue reading →

Posted in - Featured Food Discoveries, - Recipes, - Unique food traditions, Central Asia/Uyghur food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Northern Lao ingredients and cooking blog

Posted on October 1, 2014 by David Dettmann

Last night I came across a very interesting blog and cookbook.  I hope the cookbook will be as good as the blog is, we will have to see.  The blog/site is called Food from Northern Laos: The Boat Landing Cookbook, … Continue reading →

Posted in - Unique food traditions, Thai/Lao food | Tagged | 2 Comments

Happy Eid!

Posted on July 28, 2014 by David Dettmann

Today Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Fitr (“Roza heyit” in Xinjiang), the feast  day that marks the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting from dawn to dusk (if it is allowed, anyway).  Excellent feasts will be had today. … Continue reading →

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Uyghur flatbreads, meat pies, and the tonur oven

Posted on July 20, 2014 by David Dettmann

I love looking at recipes and cookbooks–especially the kind that explain the unusual elements you are trying to replicate.  There are some gems out there for US cookbooks nowadays, with authors that do go through great lengths to explain culture … Continue reading →

Posted in - Unique food traditions, Central Asia/Uyghur food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments