The moffle is a Japanese snack that's exactly what the portmanteau word adds up to—mochi plus waffle. Cubes of mochi (glutinous rice that's been pounded into a paste) are plopped into a waffle iron (or custom moffle irons in Japan). Panini presses apparently work or—just entertain the idea for a second—a George Foreman grill? The cubes flatten and grow waffle grooves and have a warm chewiness that's somewhere between a bread and a goo. Moffles have one of those textures where you have to chew the for length of the alphabet. They aren't the most flavorful thing in the world—I mean, it's rice paste—but part of the fun is jazzing up the crunchy surface with toppings, whether sweet or... More

The Grocery Ninja leaves no aisle unexplored, no jar unopened, no produce untasted. Creep along with her below, and read all her mission reports here. Before I moved to the Bay Area (land of Ranch 99 and accessible Asian foodstuffs), I used to cart heavy glass jars of yucheong (yuzu syrup) on the 24 hour flight back from Asia. My friends would save their luggage space for practical things like textbooks (usually one-third the price of what you would pay here). But I would splurge all my luggage space on jars of this golden goodness. Because when the days are long and dreary, and when it seems like the weekend will never arrive, and that the work keeps piling up,... More

Photograph from Jeremy Bautista on Flickr Shopping at the Asian grocery chain H-Mart might be like a frenzied afternoon at Marshalls—piles of Fuyu persimmons, jars of kimchi, and stacks of slimy fish all compete for space—but the prices put Whole Foods to shame. Granted, you won't always know where your food came from (probably somewhere in Asia) but the products are diverse, inspiring, and recession-friendly. That's why D.C.-area chefs like Michel Richard of Citronelle and Central are flocking to H Mart and Super H Mart, according to Melissa McCart in the Washington Post. She notes that at a conventional grocery store, shoppers might find one or two brands of condiments, but at H-Mart, the variety is comparable "to the... More

Words by Michele Humes | Vietnamese restaurants in the U.S. tend to be dominated by pho and banh mi. Delicious as these signature creations are, Vietnam has a whole world of delicate, nuanced, often French-influenced dishes to explore. In Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, Andrea Nguyen, who also maintains the blog Viet World Kitchen, has compiled more than 175 recipes from her native land, carefully annotated so as not to intimidate the novice. Vietnamese food is notable for its fresh herbs, vibrant colors, and refreshing, frequently acidic flavors. You'll find many of the same flavors throughout Southeast Asia, but only in the Vietnamese tradition is each meal accompanied by a variety of fresh, uncooked vegetables, served with a dipping sauce. On... More

Hel-lo, pumpkin. As Helen of Ready Steady Go points out, this is a good reason to love October and Japan simultaneously. The Japanese stick snacks Pocky have been spotted in such flavors as banana, green tea, and milk, but pumpkin? Even lifetime Pocky eater Robyn was speechless. Good News: The ingredients contain actual pumpkin. Bad News: They may not taste like actual pumpkin.... More

Last week, the Russian housemate came back from the grocery with a pack of what looked like fossils. On close scrutiny, they turned out to be dried lotus roots—something I should have been excited about, as I’ve been craving lotus roots and had not realized they were available. More

Scattered near Southern Cali college campuses like UCI and UCLA, Asian-style bubble teahouses stay open late, serving the student community. They go through boxes of extra-fat straws, wide enough to fit tapioca balls or "boba" as it's often called, about the size of marbles. Stab their fluorescent-colored straws into cellophane-wrapped plastic cups which is filled with traditional flavors (green or black milk tea) or fruitier options (lychee, honeydew, mango). Gummy and gelatinous, the tapioca boba bubbles sitting at the bottom of each cup symbolize a cultural staple for young Asians in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and all over California. For only about two bucks, the drink (hot or cold) is just as important as the scene—brightly-lit with comfy couches, usually... More

Hong Kong-based food blogger Sui Mai found the most delicious Pringles ever at Sogo. Oh, how my taste buds tingle for the bland!... More

Santos of the Scent of Green Bananas is putting together a list of Asian women who've got food blogs—the number is at 328 and counting! Our Alaina Browne made the graph you see above to better visually represent which countries the bloggers are in—you can see a larger version to make better sense of it. So far the US has almost a third of all bloggers listed; the other countries that round out the top five are Singapore, Japan, Australia and the Philippines.... More