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Saturday, August 2, 2008

Japanese Hon Dashi Bonito Fish Soup Stock - 2.29 oz x 2 bottles

This bonitofish soup stock is used for soup base for miso soup, hot pot, and soup noodles. Dashi is the most important flavor of Japanese food and it's used in many different dishes, and you can use this instant version or make it from scratch with katsuobushi. To make dashi using this product, simply add to boiling water and stir (1 tsp Hon Dashi to 1 cup water). As a variation, use the liquid in which dried shiitake mushrooms have been soaked. Sometimes translated as broth, dashi is actually much more. Its not only an essential ingredient for literally thousands of Japanese dishes, its also a deliciously creative way to add irresistible flavor to foods while reducing sugar and salt content. Have you ever had the feeling that some flavor is missing, but you dont know what it is, or what to add? Try adding a little Hondashi. We offer the best quality Ajinomoto brand. Picture is 2.29 oz jar but now we offer a box containing three sachets, 1.76 oz each sachet.
Customer Review: The Missing Ingredient
This really is the missing ingredient to all of your attempts at making traditional japanese food! It may seem odd that fish is used as a "spice", but it really almost is just that. I tried making steamed japanese vegetable with mirin & soy sauce figuring that Mirin was the missing ingredient. But it wasn't until I read on one of the packages that hon dashi is required, that I discovered the true missing ingredient! I bought fresh miso to make miso soup, and it too didn't taste right. Added a spoon of hon dashi and suddenly I had real Miso Soup! (actually i found out later you can buy fresh miso for miso soup with the dashi already added) Hon dashi is great for soup stock for udon or soba too. Buy some and add a little to whatever doesn't taste quite japanese enough.


If you are baking the eggplant whole, lightly puncture the skin in several places with a paring knife to prevent pressure from building up inside the eggplant, which can result in eggplant ending up all over the inside of your oven. Unlike many vegetables, eggplant doesn't really suffer from extended cooking periods - an undercooked eggplant will have a more chewy texture, whereas eggplant that has been overcooked simply becomes softer.

  • Reducing swelling
  • Clearing of stagnant blood
  • Reducing hemorrhages
  • Comforting bleeding hemorrhoids
  • Treating dysentery
  • Reducing the risk of stroke and heart disease
  • Reducing steroidal hormones which are linked to tumor growth
  • Prevention of cell oxidation, which can lead to cancer
A couple of other interesting uses include applying raw eggplant directly on a scorpion sting, and if you experience frostbite, prepare a tea of eggplant, bring it to room temperature, and apply a compress to affected areas.

  • aubergine
  • eggplant
  • brinjal
  • melanzana
  • garden egg
  • egg apple
  • patlican

Listada de Gandia

o Shape: long oval shape, green thorny calyxes that curl

o Appearance: stunning white and purple stripes

o Flavor: mild white flesh; slightly bitter skin

o Other: meaty, creamy texture, holds shape when cooked

Health Benefits

Botanically it is a fruit, but most often it is referred to as a vegetable, and for those who enjoy it, there is a long list of medicinal benefits. High in bioflavonoids and the antioxidant monoterpene, the eggplant is effective at assisting with a number of health items, including:

White Egg

o Shape: shaped like chicken or duck egg

o Appearance: white

o Flavor: sweet, mild, somewhat watery-tasting

o Other: firm flesh; tough skin; holds shape when cooked

Lao Green Stripe

o Shape: golf ball shape, pointy calyx "hat"

o Appearance: striped

o Flavor assertive flavor

o Other: also called "Thai Green Stripe", seedy texture

The flesh behaves much like a sponge and will soak up the juices and oils it is cooked in. In some cases this is a good thing, such as when you are marinating the eggplant. However, in other cases this isn't so desirable, such as when frying. In applications where absorption is not desired, coating sliced eggplant in some sort of breading is a common way to avoid soaking up too much oil during cooking. The real key to success using this method is to let the breaded eggplant sit in the refrigerator for half an hour before frying. Other methods for reducing the absorbency of eggplant include:

Rosita

o Shape: long, oval shape

o Appearance: bright lavender color, white flesh

o Flavor: mild, sweet flavor

o Other: smooth, tender flesh and skin; Puerto Rican

Wash the eggplant just before peeling or using it. Using a stainless steel knife to avoid discoloration, remove the cap and stem. Once cut, eggplant flesh will naturally begin to darken with exposure to air, so place cut slices or pieces in a salt or acidulated water bath to keep the flesh white. Be sure not to use an aluminium pot when cooking eggplant because it too will discolor the eggplant and provide it with an off-flavor.

Eggplant should not be eaten raw due to its higher solanine content as well as its extremely fibrous meat, both of which break down during cooking. Eggplant may be cooked with or without its skin, but some may find the skin bitter. Because large eggplants and most of the white varieties have a thick, tough skin, and because bitterness is concentrated just under the skin, they should be peeled with a vegetable peeler prior to cooking. While not really necessary, some cooks will also salt the cut eggplant and let it sit in a colander for a short period to leach out water and bitterness before cooking.

As a rule of thumb, 1 average-sized eggplant will serve 3 people, and one pound of eggplant is equal to roughly 3 to 4 cups of chopped eggplant.

Thai Long Green

o Shape: long, slender shape

o Appearance: lime green skin, white flesh

o Flavor: sweet and nutty, reminiscent of green beans

o Other: Thai; velvety flesh and skin; seedless; short shelf life

The eggplant (Solanum melongena) belongs to the nightshade family of plants. This diverse family of plant includes members like the poisonous Jimson weed and Deadly Nightshade, as well as more familiar and non-poisonous plants like tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers. The members of this family of plants all contain a toxic alkaloid called solanine, which can cause diarrhea, headache, vomiting, and even heart failure in those who are overly sensitive to it. Fortunately for most us, this amounts to a very small percentage of people.

In it's history, because of its relation to these potently toxic plants, Europeans called the eggplant the "Mad Apple", due to their belief that eating one would drive you insane. Even after it proved itself as a safe and useful food product, the poor eggplant still had a difficult time of removing this negative moniker. Even though the eggplant was among the numerous plants introduced to America by the Spaniards several hundred years ago, it wasn't until sometime during the mid 1900's that eggplants were commonly recognized as an item that could be used for something other than ornamental purposes.

Globe

o Shape: oval or pear shaped

o Appearance: glossy deep-purple to black skin, cream to green flesh

o Flavor: mild with a slight bitterness and a soft texture

Rosa Bianca

o Shape: round

o Appearance: white skin with lavender streaks, white flesh

o Flavor: sweet flavor

o Other: Italian eggplant; creamy yet firm texture, retains its shape when cooked

Selecting Eggplants

The Mad Apple a.k.a. Eggplant

Storage

  • Par-boiling slices for 1 to 2 minutes. Be sure to thoroughly drain and gently pat the slices dry with paper towels before further cooking.
  • Microwaving will also help to remove excess water. Microwave slices on high for 4 to 6 minutes, remove, cover and let stand for a minute or two. Use paper towels and press lightly to soak up the water.
Eggplant can be steamed, fried, baked, sauted, boiled, microwaved, stir-fried, pureed, or stuffed, and the thousands of different recipes available on the Internet and in cookbooks are testament to this.

Look for a symmetrical eggplant with smooth, uniformly colored skin. Tan patches, scars, or bruises indicate decay. Also avoid eggplants with wrinkled or flabby-looking skin. Oversized purple eggplants, usually over 6 inches in diameter, may be tough and bitter. When you press gently on an eggplant, the finger mark will disappear quickly if the eggplant is fresh. Eggplant should feel heavy; one that feels light for its size may not have a good flavor. The stem and cap should be bright green and healthy, not browned and wilted.

In North America, the Globe variety reigns supreme. But around the world where eggplant is far more popular, such as the Orient, eggplants of numerous varieties, shapes, flavors and colors can be found. Some of the more common varieties available at your grocer and Asian and Middle Eastern food stores are:

Common Varieties

Both cold and warm temperatures can damage eggplant. It is best to store eggplant uncut and unwashed in a plastic bag in the cooler section of the refrigerator. Do not force the eggplant into the crisper if it is too big, as this will bruise the vegetable. Eggplant may be blanched or steamed then frozen for up to 6 months.

Pintong Long

o Shape: long and slender

o Appearance: deep purple to lavender skin, green to purple-black calyxes, white flesh

o Flavor: sweet with a nutty flavor

o Other: buttery texture; Taiwanese

Available year round with its peak season in August and September, the eggplant is known worldwide, and by a wide variety of names:



Fresh Thai chile peppers - 16 oz

Thai chile peppers (Prik ki nu). Also known as birdseye chile peppers, these are small and one of the strongest varieties available. Used in many Thai soups and curries (if you browse our recipe section on importfood.com, you'll find that almost every recipe calls for this product). Our chile peppers have excellent shelf life if refrigerated, and fresh green stems. When you order you get a nice large pack of either all green, or a combination green & red Thai chiles (depends on avail). Will last a few weeks in the fridge, also freezes well in a ziplock. We pack the produce carefully and ship every Mon/Tues/Wed via USPS Priority Mail (2 day delivery) to ensure freshness, and orders may not ship until Wed due to Mother Nature & harvest conditions. We also offer Fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves separately in addition to Thai basil, green papaya, whole fresh tamarind and Thai eggplant. Additional images, recipes and detailed description at ImportFood.com.


What's odd is this tea has been around for thousands of years and is quite common in the Asian cultures - just a regular part of almost everyone's daily routine.

Just why is it so popular?

Wuyi oolong has been reported to provide many health benefits from weight loss to preventing cancer growth. For example, many scientific studies have been documented in medical journals supporting this flavorful tea's calorie burning properties.

Find the top online tea outlets selling the best calorie burning, wu-long /Wu Yi teas:

Wuyi Oolong tea is experiencing an amazing popularity over the last few years. Many celebrities like Oprah Winfrey have openly endorsed this magical tea- no doubt giving it a marketing boost.

It's easy to make drinking wuyi oolong a regular part of your diet simply because of the taste. It's taste is characterized as fruity, slightly roasted, subtle or even nutty.

It has also been reported that by simply drinking 3-4 cups daily you will burn enough extra calories to lose between 10-15 pounds over 8 months.

Typically, this is loose-leaf tea, requiring brewing and steeping, however many online tea purveyors have produced excellent loose-leaf bag versions of wuyi oolong. Real tea lovers typically shy away from grocery store tea in bags because it is little more than tea "scraps" packaged and marketed as quality tea. Not so with the loose leaf bags found online at quality tea outlets.

Drinking wuyi oolong will help you burn more calories and supply you with plenty of antioxidants - and it tastes amazing!

Wuyi Oolong - The Most Popular Tea

So why not learn how easy it is to do something really positive for your health?



The 2007-2012 Outlook for Thai Foods in Greater China

This study covers the latent demand outlook for Thai foods across the regions of Greater China, including provinces, autonomous regions (Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Xizang - Tibet), municipalities (Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, and Tianjin), special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau), and Taiwan (all hereafter referred to as regions). Latent demand (in millions of U.S. dollars), or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.) estimates are given across some 1,100 cities in Greater China. For each major city in question, the percent share the city is of the region and of Greater China is reported. Each major city is defined as an area of economic population, as opposed to the demographic population within a legal geographic boundary. For many cities, the economic population is much larger that the population within the city limits; this is especially true for the cities of the Western regions. For the coastal regions, cities which are close to other major cities or which represent, by themselves, a high percent of the regional population, actual city-level population is closer to the economic population (e.g. in Beijing). Based on this economic definition of population, comparative benchmarks allow the reader to quickly gauge a citys marketing and distribution value vis-à-vis others. This exercise is quite useful for persons setting up distribution centers or sales force strategies. Using econometric models which project fundamental economic dynamics within each region and city of influence, latent demand estimates are created for Thai foods. This report does not discuss the specific players in the market serving the latent demand, nor specific details at the product level. The study also does not consider short-term cyclicalities that might affect realized sales. The study, therefore, is strategic in nature, taking an aggregate and long-run view, irrespective of the players or products involved.


Of course, Richmond Hill has plenty to offer those diners who prefer their menus varied to suit any taste of a moment. Steakhouses, tapas, and chophouses abound. No matter whether your idea of a great dining experience is formal, casual, or group oriented, you are guaranteed to find a restaurant in this municipality to suit your tastes.

The Richmond Hill, Ontario Restaurants

A thriving city like Richmond Hill means a lot of restaurants, and the variety available in the city means that there is a dining experience to suit any taste. Over 200 restaurants make up a large part of Richmond Hills hospitality industry; the styles run the full gamut from fast food to fine dining. You can also find international cuisine to fulfill any craving, from the simplified Japanese cuisine of the Far East to the culinary adventures created by the spices of India, right up to recipes developed on our own doorstep such as poutine and the hamburger. May restaurants offer a combination of choices from their menus, while others offer selections unique to their theme.

One of the most popular ethnic foods for people from all walks of life continues to be the recipes of Japan. Richmond Hill has its own great selection of restaurants that will appeal to the lover of sushi, tempura, and sake. Restaurants such as Ido are located in malls all over Richmond Hill, offering shoppers a chance to fill themselves in between store hopping. Favorite sit down sites include Sushi Bell on Yonge Street and Akasaka on West Beaver Creek Road.

A steady favourite in terms of ethnic foods throughout the ages among restaurant goers has always been Italian. Richmond Hill offers a dozen fine restaurants specializing in Italian cuisine. Among the best are the fine dining experience available at Tresca Trattoria on Bathurst Street and the more casual atmosphere cherished by diners at Alice Fazooli;s Italian Crab Shack.



Can Green Tea Lose My Weight?

These polyphenols that are contained in the green tea also seem to work with other chemicals in the body to intensify fat oxidation and thermo genesis. So what does that mean? Well... it basically means that these chemicals combined create fat burning heat in your body.

Some others ways in which green tea can help reduce weight is that the tea seems to help with our insulin levels. You see, the tea helps whatever carbohydrates that we eat be released more slowly, this keeps our insulin levels steady and our weight down, so therefore it reduces our chances of storing any fat. If we eat too many carbohydrates, we often cause our insulin levels to drop rapidly and therefore our bodies store more food as fat rather than burned as energy!

There are many of us in this world that wish to lose fat! In the states, weight loss products are a huge seller. Some of these products can help speed up our metabolism. I think most of us know by now that if you have a faster metabolism, it means that you will burn more calories in a day which can then translate into weight loss. One question that a lot of us are asking these days is...

Green tea is also considered a good method of losing weight as it contains anti-oxidants. The tea's
polyphenols have been shown to have many health benefits because they combat free radicals in the body that can cause cells in the body to get damaged!

I hope that this article has given you the information you were looking for! Have you heard of the shocking proof story and real reason why we gain weight by Dr Suzanne Gudakunst? The real reason why people with weight problems can't lose weight has nothing to do with their will power, over eating or the right diet.

You can learn more about this shocking story by clicking the link below.

So can green tea lose my weight? In one word... yes! Green tea can battle the bulge so to speak. You see, the tea contains caffeine, so this helps to speed up the metabolism somewhat. Now although caffeine increases the heart rate somewhat, tea does not appear to raise the heart rate or blood pressure rate the way other forms of caffeine does.

"Can green tea lose my weight?" Well lets discuss this a bit more ok!

Can Green Tea Lose My Weight?