Profile

nillawan

Half Thai, half Chinese and grew up in Australia, I have experienced food from the best of a few worlds in a real way. Here is where I scribble down my notes.

  • Website
  • Location: Australia
  • Favorite foods: The list would be longer than Santa's.
  • Last bite on earth: A really big bite.

From Love to Hate

@biminitwst, I have a friend that hates onions too! I can't get my head around it! Its in most dishes and they are soooooo beautifully sweet when cooked! I OD my cooking with onions.

@lemonfair, I love sour cream but I can understand where you are coming from. I hated yoghurt for a LONG time. Tasted like off milk. I can eat it now but still not loving it.

@Mr Nick, I still dislike wine. Can't tell the difference between ANY bottle. Just bitter liquid to me. Which is a shame because I live in Adelaide, prime wine region. As a matter of fact, just visited a winery a couple of days ago called "Bird in Hand" who took out the "Best Sharaz in the World" award. All wasted on me. Here is a link if you are interested: http://www.birdinhand.com.au/content/nest-egg-worlds-best-shiraz/

Judging from everyone's response, those that does not like olives, keep forcing them down. They will be the best thing that happened to you :)

How to cook for someone who has lost most of their taste/smell

I think you should make something just visually appealing so he can feast with his eyes! Plate up nicely, use a variety of coloured veg etc... If he can barely taste or smell then that would be the way to go I think. No point flavouring everything hard core so he can taste it and then it kills his kidneys.

Quirky Eating.

This is very common in Asia but when I do it at work here in Australia people look at me like I'm a freak. I love to dip my strawberry, apple, pineable, oranges etc... in salt. YUM!!

Signature Dish

OMG the spam musubi is soooooo out of this world! I love spam. Especially deep fried. I can eat that over steam rice. YUM!

@Tru. Does your char siu taste like the ones hanging up in Chinatown? If so, link please!!!

What's the most decadent thing you've eaten at a fair?

Churros covered in cinnamon sugar with chocolate dipping sauce. Now I'm googling where and when the next fair is. HA HA.

Brilliant ideas that became big ol' failures

I was on holidays and they did not have a pan. So I made fried rice on an oven tray place over the stove LOL! They make pans with sides for a reason! Ha ha ha. Oh dear what a mess.

cooking disasters?

First ever cake, a butter cake. It looked PERFECT. Skewer came out clean. Rose heaps and felt spongey. Left it to cool then tipped out onto a cooling rack. The crust of the cake broke and I was totally covered in batter, my jumper, pants and fluffy slippers :( 80% of it was still uncooked batter! Spent the night mopping the kitchen floor. Verdict: My skewer is a jerk.

Foods you can't keep in the house

Chocolate. My cravings are hardly there but when it hits I'm possessed. I'd just keep eating and eating until I feel sick. Ha ha.

Do you have a canned tuna recipe that is awesome?

Why not make Tuna Mornay and fill it up in a hollowed out crusty bread roll? Its so creamy and delicious. I made some the other day. Recipe at:

http://www.nillawan.com/html/Food/TunaMornay.html

Frozen fruits

I eventually found some strawberries today and they look like they have been grown in someone's armpits! :( But after all the feedback on frozen fruits, I decided to go with going off fresh rather than frozen.

@sorbriguet, thanks for pointing the guide out to me. I'm kinda new here but I'll learn in time. Much appreciated.

Worst Food Experiences

I ordered a seafood basket from Red Rooster. It was horrible. I should have known not to order seafood from Red Rooster, a fast food chain that was famous for CHICKEN! Ha ha ha.

~ nillawan.com

Drinking plan for beginners

Hi guys/girls, thanks so much for the insightful feedback. And for concern for my well being in trying to drink. I don't drink not because of principal. I just freaking HATE the taste. Its so bitter and feels...heaty. Yucks!

I think its easier to list the drinks that I have tried and do not mind, than to list the drinks I dislike which would be quite a few. I do not mind kahlua and milk because it tastes like ice coffee. But at work functions I don't want to be drinking litres upon litres of milk. Its filling. I do also enjoy Rekorderlig of all flavours, but that is rather specialised and most places do not have them. I just want to start with a common drink.

My ideal is to work my way up to WINE. Presently I have been able to find ANY beer, wine or bubbly that I like. All wine currently tastes the same to me, bitter. I've tried a whole variety, including riesling :( Do not like beam and coke or rum and coke. Again so bitter, my eyes water.

@Lili13, vodka cranberry, never tried but will do. Had to google Malibu Bay Breeze but it looks like another sure star I can try.

@CandiRisk and Erin_in_AR, tonic and lime is a real FANTASTIC idea! I will be doing that from NOW until I acquire the taste for alcohol :) Saves me from all the stares *big smile*.

~ nillawan.com

Suggestions for a Thank You gift (food)

Gingerbread man! I made it at the last get together and wrote everyone's name on them. I even made a small little one for families with kids and put the kids initials on them. Plus Gingerbread men lasts for WEEKS! ~ nillawan.com

When do you salt the water?

I always boil water in a kettle and then transfer it to a pot on the stove. Then when its furiously boiling (which is about 30 seconds later), I add the salt. NOTHING boils faster than using a kettle if speed is your concern. ~ nillawan.com

Foods that are better (or still good) cold

Sushi. Corned Beef. Pasta salad. To be honest anything with low animal FAT content are great cold. Fat solidifies into a wax like feel in your mouth when cold. NOT COOL. ~ nillawan.com

Breakfast ideas for vegetarian guests who don't eat dairy?

Me and my partner made slow cooked eggs the other night inspired by a fancy pants restaurant we ate at. Its where you slowly cook eggs in water of around 65 degrees celcius for 50++ minutes. They are TO DIE for. Eggs like no other. I personally don't love eggs, but I can eat a few of these. ~ nillawan.com

Rehearsal diinner stress out!

Sushi. I was shocked at how CHEAP they were to make. I bought one salmon fillet, a few crab sticks, one avocado and made enough sushi for a small village. ~ nillawan.com

Bruising the fruits/avocados rant

@Lorenzo. What I do when I buy avocado is I push the top bits down gently to tell if they are ripe or not. Usually that bit gets cut off and no one notices the difference. ~ nillawan.com

All out American Meal

@blizcheater. Oh I forgot to mention, Aussie dessert would be Lamingtons and Pavlova :) Aussie drinks is beer and MORE beer.

For Lamington recipes you can go to:
http://www.nillawan.com/html/Food/Lamingtons.html

I just made it the other day for my little niece. She LOVES it so much.

~ nillawan.com

All out American Meal

@blizcheater. Aussies have VERY little that is true blue (ie. Aussie). Unfortunately most of our foods come from the Brits/Italians, think stews, roast, pizza, pasta etc... that is what the average Aussie eats.

Then there is our BBQs. Sausage sizzles is not really a dinner party thing but more of a casual affiar but we really get all gourmet with our BBQ. Whole fish in foil, oysters, octopus and of course kagaroo meat :) And that would be an aussie affiar.

@thecheeseburgerqueen. LEMONADE! Omg that is what I will do!!!! So American in my Aussie eyes.

@Ama658. Will do. Thanks for all your help (double help ha ha...no worries about the double post). Pumpkin is definitely VERY interesting to use in desserts. We Aussies DO NOT do it at all.

~ nillawan.com

All out American Meal

Thank you so much my American foodies. Smme very exceptional ideas and inspirations there. I had to look up what a few things were like hushpuppies and by god how yummy would deep fried batter be? We don't have anything like that here. Milkshake for dessert was a very cute suggestion too!


From all the readings I'm now thinking:
1) Entre - Buffalo wings
2) Mains - BBQ ribs, Les ah's cole slaw, corn bread
3) Apple pie :)

I was in Atlanta last Christmas for work and a lovely american lady baked some Pumpkin Pie. FIRST I've ever heard of it. That was all kinds of delicious though.

Yeah sorry about the sterotyping :( In Australia, USA food is associated with ribs and wings and thats all I know of American food. Can't wait to try baking corn bread. Not sure if we get corn meal here though. Will seek it out.

safe to eat?

I grew up in Thailand and that is 40 degrees celcius heat HUMID but Mum would cook in the mornings and leave it out on the kitchen table ALL day long with a fly net over so that when ever any of her kids come home at random times of the day from going out/working they could grab a chair and eat at anytime. Everyone was fine and its very common practise. Till now in Australia, I'd cook dinner and pack it for lunch but just leave it on the table. My Aussie friends laughs and says "She's from Thailand and doesn't believe in refridgeration". LOL. BUT big disclaimer, I would say you might need to develop a stomach for it otherwise it might make you sick. So I wouldn't eat it if I was you. Just cut your losses.

~ nillawan.com

Thoughts about buying seafood online

I am not one bit keen on this idea. I would find other areas in my day to make efficient but buying seafood online would be at the bottom of the list. I guess I associate "seafood" with needing to be the most fresh out of every food group we eat and god knows what happens via online purchasing.

Bruising the fruits/avocados rant

I've seen this lady twisting a head of brocolli in opposite directions with both hands to try and remove the stalks so she gets just the floret bits because it was sold per kg. When she left there were just chunks of stalks everywhere. THE NERVE on some people.

~ nillawan.com

Spam Hater

Whats better than spam is deep fried spam. YUM!

From Love to Hate

What foods have you *hated* in the past that you now cannot live without?

It has happened to me three times now.

First with oysters, thought they were slimy, icky etc... and now I think having them any other way except natural is a waste. I can down dozens.

Second were olives. Picked them off my pizza, salad etc... And now black, green, stuffed, unstuffed, pitted, unpitted I'll take them all.

Lastly blue cheese. I can't even walk into a room if someone was eating it. YUCK! But now, the mouldier the better :9 A block a week girl I am.

Because of those three, if I hate something, I'll have a bite everytime I run into a food I hate, hoping one day I'll acquire the taste and be better off for it. Can't imagine going through life without oysters, olives and blue cheese. I was so missing out.

What are some foods you hated that took a while for you to acquire the taste of but now LOVE it? I want to try it :)

Signature Dish

What is your ONE signature dish that everyone raves on about? The dish that family and friends keep asking you to make again and again for them?

Mine would be the good ol' Aussie Pavlova.

Recipe link would be even more fantastic! I wanna try them all out!

Frozen fruits

Wanted to make Pavlova today and I went from supermarkets to supermakets but could not find any strawberries. Apparently there is a shortage for whatever reason.

However, I saw some strawberries in the frozen food section and was wondering:

1) Does frozen fruit look the SAME as fresh fruit when thawed? This is because I photograph some of the dishes I make and don't want it to look discoloured or bruised.
2) Can frozen fruit be used interchagably with fresh fruit when cooking/baking in terms of taste and texture?

Thanks in advance. ~ nillawan.com

Drinking plan for beginners

I'm in my 30s and still have not been able to get into alcohol. This proves to be a real drab at work/networking functions.

I've tried a few alcoholic drinks and they are just too bitter, I don't enjoy them. Can someone suggest a transition plan that will get me to enjoy social drinking like everyone else? For instance "Start with ..... then move onto ..... etc..." Ideas?

All out American Meal

Ok so here is the deal. There are three Aussie families; my partner's parents, me and partner, and his brother's family. We rotate turn cooking once a month in a big get together and its always themed. Last one was Spanish, the one before Russian and now its our turn.

I've decided to pick "All out American" but have no idea where to start. It has to be three courses. I'm thinking for mains I'll do BBQ ribs? Entree, fried chicken wings? Dessert, no idea.

I'll be googling heaps in the next few weeks. Please feel free to link recipes, suggestions for food, even sides and drinks ... anything that is "All out American".

Thanks caboodles!

~ nillawan.com

Why are some animals eaten and others aren't?

"Anything that walks, swims, crawls, or flies with its back to heaven is edible" ~ Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

Please Discuss :)

I posted this very topic 12 hours ago but titled "What can't Chinese people eat?". It got deleted because I either don't know how to post seeing that it is my first post, or someone deemed it "racist". If the latter I apoligise. I happen to be Chinese so its a little hard to be racist to myself.

I just find it intriging why we eat some animals and others we don't. This is after my friend posted on facebook a bowl of turtle and seahorse soup.

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