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I guess I was born into it :). Both of my parents originally came from Manado (North Sulawesi), a region in Indonesia well-known for its spicy, hot dishes loaded with herbs, aromatics and LOADS of chilies. Even some of the 'snack' dishes are spicy! There are also many variations of homemade sambals to accompany every meal.

Though I was born and grew up in a different city in Indonesia, Manadonese dishes were often part of the family meals. When I moved to the U.S. as a teen, the food I grew up with became a scarce commodity, but when there's a will, there's always a way! I don't remember a time when I didn't like hot, spicy food, even as a kid.

Continuing the legacy, my two young sons are growing up eating spicy foods. My youngest, a few months shy of turning 3, would specifically ask for something hot: so I'd dab some Sambal Lampung (Indonesian version of Sriracha, and yes, it's hot!) on his plate. He'd sometimes cry from the heat, but that never stopped him from coming back for more!

Maybe this is the next step for me :) I had just recently made my own homemade mayo for the first time ever (with vegetable oil, palm oil to be exact, which came out great, until I refrigerated it...).

Thanks also for the tip for hand-whisking mayo made with EVOO, because almost everything else I read warned against using olive oil because it'll be very strong/bitter (but never explaining 'why').

Next time you're in southern California, there's another very popular dim sum restaurant about 20 minutes drive east from Rosemead: Hong Kong Palace in Rowland Heights. A framed section of the Los Angeles Times displayed in its lobby claimed that it was named the city's 'best dim sum' restaurant (although I don't remember the date, maybe it pre-dated Sea Harbour's opening?).

Great food, great price and 'authentic' dim sum restaurant atmosphere: crowded & noisy, with servers trying to navigate the dim sum carts through the cramped spaces between tables! :) There was always a huge crowd spilling out of the lobby on weekends, waiting for their number to be called inside.

Since I don't live in southern California anymore (bummer), I'll be on a hunt for those duck egg yolk buns here in Jakarta!

Tiger Balm! ... the smell would always remind me of my maternal grandma who'd slather up with it every single night before going to bed :)

The adjective 'perfect' shouldn't be used lightly...

@djwerdna: I don't know where this type of dessert originated, but you're right, they are very common in the countries you mention, also in the southeast Asian countries (Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, etc.), including my own: Indonesia.

The 'canvas' is pretty much the same across all countries: a small hill of shaved ice drizzled with condensed milk. From that point on, the toppings are fair game. Each dessert and each country have their own distinctive combinations.

In Indonesia the most popular version is called 'Es Campur' (literally: Mixed Ice) and the toppings include cubes of black grass jelly, attap/aren fruit, slices of jackfruit, scoops of avocado, tape singkong (fermented cassava) and young coconut flesh. The sweetness is then enhanced by swirls of neon pink syrup! Happy mashing indeed :)

I'd love to try a bowl of patbingsu (extra mochi, please), I hope it's on the menu of Korean restaurants here!

Head on over to this recent thread on Sambal Oelek (which means 'Ground Chili Paste', similar to what you have, just without the garlic).

Just like Sambal Oelek, you can use it anywhere you want to add some spicy kick: by itself out of the jar as a condiment, or mix it into sauces or dips, or include it as an ingredient in stir-fry dishes, etc.

The easiest method is to open it with your fingers, no teeth or cutlery involved: locate the 'ridge/line' (or 'equator' as finsbigfan refers it) on a rambutan, put both thumbs on either side of it and twist open the skin. If the rambutan is ripe, the skin should rip open along that 'line'.

Pop the translucent globe into your mouth whole and spit out the seed when you're done :) (the ease of how the flesh separates from the seed depends on the variety of the rambutan).

Enjoy! :)

I'm an Indonesian now living in Jakarta, but I also had lived for more than 20 years in the U.S., so I do have first-hand experience and exposure to both food 'cultures'.

Others here have noted on the almost-inescapable use of corn in America, so I won't rehash that. Here in Indonesia (the largest SE Asian country) rice is THE main staple of its 200+ million citizens. Rice, mostly in the form of steamed/boiled rice, is a part of almost every meal (lunch + dinner, and maybe breakfast). And it's not just a side dish, it's the main canvas onto which we add small portions of other dishes.

Rice is so ingrained in us (can't resist the pun :)) that if you ask an Indonesian to give it up for more than a day, you'll probably get an "are you nuts?" look :D. And just in case you're wondering, rice was a regular part of my diet while I was living in the U.S., although I didn't have it everyday, mainly because I also fell in love with non-Asian cuisines and they were very easy to obtain (I'd gladly trade some of my rice-centric meals for In-n-Out burgers, great pizzas, bagel sandwiches, burritos, gyros and falafels... if only I can get them in Jakarta as easily as in southern California!).

Yes, other forms of rice are also used in many products here, but the extent is nowhere near that of corn. There are different kinds of rice noodles and rice crackers, and rice flour is used to make a variety of traditional snacks and desserts. And there's no rice 'syrup' or rice 'oil'. Speaking of oil, most Indonesians use locally produced palm oil for cooking. And in general, we never use corn syrup as sweetener, neither in home cooking or in most of Asian-produced 'processed foods'. The only corn by-product regularly used here is cornstarch, as a thickener for sauces and soups.

I don't have much knowledge on the health pros or cons of either rice or corn. But I do know that too much of anything is never healthy.

On tackling the '2-weeks-without-rice' challenge, while I do live in SE Asia and I do write a food blog (Cucumber Pandan), my response to that is: "are you nuts?" :) :)

(but it'd be interesting to see if any other SE Asian food blogger is willing to do it... anybody?)

Yes on eating various organs and 'parts' ! As mentioned above, it depends on how you prepare and cook 'em.

In many other cuisines of the world, these parts are just another regular ingredient in the cook's repertoire. In my neck of the woods, there's a popular 'stew/soup' made from various parts of the goat (yes, goat) from 'head-to-toe' and, of course, its digestive tracts. If you have the stomach (can't resist the pun) to read my account and look at some photos if this dish, click here :)

Years ago when I was working as a waitress in a Japanese restaurant in southern California, once in a while a customer 'in the know' would order deep-fried shrimp heads (this item wasn't listed on the menu). When this dish came out from the kitchen, every head in the restaurant would turn to follow this splendid looking dish piled high with bright red shrimp heads, their long antennae still attached.

As far as I know the chef deep-fried them without any panko/flour. Whatever recipe you decide to use (with or without panko/flour, etc.), make sure you blot out as much moisture from the heads to minimize splattering in the hot oil.

In many Chinese/Asian fried shrimp dish (whether served 'dry' or coated with sauce later on), the shrimps are usually fried whole... and I devour everything, saving the heads, crunchy and packed with flavor, for last! (just be careful with the sharp parts! :)

You can always freeze ginger to keep it much longer. I usually cut it into smaller pieces (so I can just take out what I need later, not having to cut a big frozen knob), then put the pieces in a plastic bag, squeeze the air out and put it in the freezer. Freezing does affect the texture (it'll get mushier), but *not* the taste; so if you're cooking with it (where texture isn't crucial), it's not a problem at all.

Recipe tips: try adding a few slivers of fresh ginger along with the garlic when stir-frying vegetables.

You can also easily make 'ginger tea', here's a recipe. It's great for a cold winter's night, or when you're having a cold/flu. It can also help soothe nausea and a troubled tummy.