What five countries do you cook most?

[MrBoombastic]

Many Chowhounders it seems are quite the *cosmopolitan*. What five countries do you cook most? (Other than the United States of America!)

My five countries that I cook most:

Italy. A lovely country with lots of culture and good food. In Tuscany and Rome and then further South the food is delicious with olive oil. In the North part its much more butter but still it' good.

India. To be honest India is not my favorite country and I dont recommend it. But the food is *the best* especially for the use of spices! Maybe you can say India is the best *only* for the use of spices. But no country has more delicious food than India because the spices are deliciious. It takes a long time to cook India. Sometimes I am too busy *studying* to cook India.

China. China is a *rough and real* country with *down to earth* people and the *Great Wall of China* which is very steep! China has many different food regions including but not limited to Shanghai, Sichuan, Hunan, and Gwongdong, and the food is varied and delicious. Also China is easy to cook!

Mexico. I love the *Mexicana* people and there goodness. Mexico food is delicious and also it has a lot of complexity and variety.

Thailand. Thailand is "unusual" and do not criticise the King! But the food is so complex and serious and unique and, furthermore, it has good variety.

One last comment please so there is no misundersatnding. My two favorites foods in the world are French food and Japan food. I dont cook these foods because I cant make them great. Personality wise, I strive for greatness in everything I do!

[staughton]

By "other than the U.S.A.," I'll take that to mean the Anglo-inspired American food from my region Md/Va, so I won't be giving the UK any credit for what I mostly eat!

Italy
Mexico
Afghanistan
France
India

[Harters]

Excluding my own national cuisine:

Pakistan (and other South Asian)
Lebanon (and other Middle Eastern)
Cyprus
Italy
Spain

[Nuray]

Turkish the most because I am Turkish.
American
Thai
Vietnamese
Some Japanese, Nepalese and Malay dishes are next on my list as I will try to re-create the food I ate while I was travelling.

[Disneyfreak]

I think I have to add more ethnic food to my repertoire.

I cook:
Italian
Chinese
Mexican
Jewish comfort food (I know -- it's not a country but it is what I cook.)
American -- Yeah I'm breaking all the rules.

[alliegator]

Thailand

Vietnam

China

Korea

Italy

Clearly, I'm an asian food freak. I love seafood, and try to work it into about half of my dinners. Morocco will probably make it's way onto that list as I've just returned from a trip there and am itchy to recreate some of the wonderful meals I had!

[Bada Bing]

I'm American. Beyond that:

Italian
Indian
Thai
Chinese
French

[Allegra_K]

China (Probably the most frequent)
El Salvador
Thailand
Mexico
Middle East-no specific country

However, I love to try different cuisines so am often cooking from other countries, maybe only a few times, but I have a good time doing it. Japan has been a good one as of late.

[The Professor]

Hungarian (and by default, Romanian since much of that country was once part of Hungary)
Italian
Chinese
British Isles
Middle Eastern

[Jpan99]

Albania
Italy
Mexico
China
Vegetarianland

[ellabee]

Mexico
Morocco
Italy
.
Then it gets hard to say. Are souffles and quiches inherently French? If so, France would be next, particularly given the occasional coq au vin or batch of gougeres.

And with only one or two dishes per cuisine: Thailand, China, Viet Nam, India, Germany, Greece, Lebanon, El Salvador... Of those, I'm most interested in focusing more on Indian cooking.

[Veggo]

What is your favorite dish from El Salvador?

[ellabee]

Curtido, a fermented slaw of cabbage and carrots that's an essential accompaniment to pupusas -- which can be pretty heavy (Salvadoran tortillas are much thicker than Mexican).

I'm partial to fried plantains with crema and black bean puree, too, but my favorite way to have that is when someone else makes it for breakfast. Hasn't happened in quite a while!

[Veggo]

Thanks. It's been 24 years since my visit there. Good memories.

[Allegra_K]

Ellabee, do you ferment your own curtido? I've been looking for a good recipe to try--currently all of the curtido recipes I've made have never come close to the glorious ones I've had in El Salvador. Would love if you could share your recipe!

[ellabee]

I've made it two or three times, but have had your experience -- not as good as remembered. On the other hand, I haven't reproduced the conditions that made it such a thrill to begin with: serious overdose of heavy, starchy, and greasy food; deprivation of fresh fruits and vegetables; and oppressive heat. The first bite of curtido, my whole body sang: cool, fresh, crunchy veggies at last!

The best version I've made by far was with cabbage and carrots I grew myself, which was a couple of years ago. So freshness of the ingredients might be the key, rather than the recipe; the veg's have more of their own juice to contribute, and their enzyme content is at a peak. I'll have to look up the recipe I used and compare it with the ones I've clipped online; might take a day or two, but check back.

[winepoet]

Cooking

Italy
Spain
Provencial
Chineese

Baking - Britain - scones, tea cakes, savory tea sandwiches

want to learn Indian, Thai and Korean

[rayrayray]

This is a great thread. I noticed up thread Cuban cuisine took some bashing. Sad, it's actually one of my favourites. I've had some excellent meals in Cuba in the privately owned family restaurants that can now operate there. That being said:
-Italian
-South American
-French
-Caribbean
-Canadian (especially Quebecois)

[Veggo]

I'm probably the Cuba basher you mention. My point has more to do with the lack of availability of ingredients in Cuba than the Cuban cuisine itself, coupled with breathtaking poverty there. Cubans simply can't afford to dine out. Cuban food is generally better on Calle Ocho in Miami than in most paladares and state-owned restaurants in Cuba.

[sunshine842]

that's what I understood you to say, Veg. Cuban food is awesome if the chef can actually get his/her hands on the right stuff!

Lots of Cuban and Spanish dishes still show up in regular rotation in my kitchen -- because they're good. (but then the output of my kitchen has evolved into something just this side of psychotic....Midwest church potluck tonight, Cuban tomorrow, French country cooking the next night....at least it's interesting!)

[Perilagu Khan]

Sounds like me. Completely eclectic and no rhyme or reason except scrumptiousness.

[rayrayray]

I've unfortunately never been to Miami so I've not had that chance to compare. Agreed there is a lack of ingredients available due to the poverty and rationing system (no black pepper!). However they do some wonderful things with what they have available. Maybe its the Cuban hospitality that made me enjoy the food there so much.

[sunshine842]

Tampa has a huge Cuban population as well -- so you can find a good meal there, too.

[StringerBell]

The big 3 for me in order are

Mexican
Indian
Thai

and then probably Italian and Japanese.

[cgarner]

Other than from different regions of US
Italy
"other" Mediterranean influenced cuisine
Mexico
Vietnam
India

[AmyH]

Bolivian
Korean
Italian
Indian
Jewish (Israeli/Easter European)

[foodeditormargaux]

Italian

Greek

Provençal

Northern Spanish - including Galician, Basque and Catalan

Aegean and Ionic Island Mediterranean

Due to the fact that I am highly allergic to soy in all its forms; and we live in the Mediterranean, thus, the fresh ingredients are much simpler to purchase.

We enjoy having Mexican, Sashimi with wasabi and ginger and enjoy Goa, Vindaloo and Madras style Indian dining out with friends or family or just us however, it is complicated to achieve the results without fresh products here.

We also enjoy Peruvian, Turkish Meze, Moroccan Tagine, Argentinian and
Brazilian.

[ctfoodguy]

Italy
Mexico
China
France
Germany

[luvcubs]

Italian
Mexican/Tex-Mex
Southern American

I'd like to learn more Greek and more Thai

[charles_sills]

mexico
turkey
italy
germany
then pseudo "asian" which shouldnt really count because it is all probably so inauthentic that i should be slapped haha.

[cresyd]

Middle Eastern
Generic Mediterranean
Mexican/CalMex/TexMex/etc.
Italian
California 1980's co-op Montessori vegetarian (some of us grew up eating far less exciting food at home than others....)

[tardigrade]

I wouldn't say "make" as much as "be highly influenced by, since my cooking is based on what ingredients I can find locally. I don't claim authenticity for any of them. (And my philosophy is that there are only a few basic dishes anyway - soup, stew, stuff wrapped in dough, stuff on top of starchy stuff, stuff stuffed into other stuff, and raw stuff- and cuisines differ mainly in what they use as the stuff) If I have something I like when I travel, I try to approximate it.

Mexican: there's a large Mexican population here and a Mexican grocery within easy walking distance -and two larger ones a little further - so getting the spices and basic ingredients is no problem. I'll even let a little Tex-Mex creep in sometimes.

Northern Italian/Californian: the first has a big influence on the second, since the climates and the approaches to cooking are similar. A few dishes I had in Italy have become staples, especially tortellini in brodo and stracciatella. I don't make Southern Italian as much.

Indian: still not getting the spice mix quite the same as I've had in local Indian restaurants but improving. Currently experimenting with various dals.

Generic Middle Eastern: I take a lot of my recipes from the Sephardic sections of Rosen's "The Book of Jewish Food"

Northern European German/Polish: what my grandmother made, especially in winter: soups, stews, cabbage and beet dishes, potato pancakes

But most of my cooking is based in the land of Tardigradia, where leftovers are combined in creative ways: boeuf bourgignon wraps with a side of pickled beets, anyone?

[sasicka]

Italian
Hungarian
Japanese (even though itś not perfect and is far from the original, still better than most so called "Japanese" restaurants in Prague)
British (contrary to public opinion, British cuisine is yummy yummy, you just need to choose your inspiration thoughtfully)
French - only bistrot style, not the heavy long cooked coq au vin and similar, just the best dish ever made, steak + frites with green salade vinaigrette...

[tardigrade]

British cuisine has come along way in the last 25 years, when the only way of preparing vegetables seemed to be boiling them until they surrendered. I've had some very good dishes in the UK - rabbit pie, lamb and apricot pie, pork pies - even haggis - and some of the best fish I've ever had.

I'll challenge you're steak + frites with moules frites, though (even though the Belgians claim it).

[Jen76]

Romania
Italy
Germany
not a country, but Mediterranean style foods are popular in our house
Brazil - just started
Argentina is next on the list of things to try

I love Asian food of all kinds, but husband doesn't, so I get my fix by eating out for lunch many work days.

[sunshine842]

What dishes are representative of Romania/do you cook?

[Chemicalkinetics]

Blood, but you don't cook it.
(tongue in cheek)

[sunshine842]

LOL.

I'm really curious -- I'm pretty good with different cuisines, but I'm not sure I could name a Romanian dish if it was the million-dollar question.

[cheesemaestro]

The only Romanian dish I can recall off the top of my head is mamaliga, which is very similar to polenta.

[Jen76]

Ha! No blood, contrary to popular mythology. ;)

Romanian food is fairly simple - not to be confused with simplistic - despite Anthony Bourdain's poor experience there (never take a Russian as your guide to Romania; you will receive a cool reception). Chicken and pork are popular. They love soups, especially "ciorbă" (pronounced chore-buh) which are made tart/sour with a fermented wheat bran "broth" called "borş" (borsh), which is not to be confused with the Russian beet soup.

My personal favorite is Ciorba de Perisoare which is a meatball soup somewhat similar to Italian wedding soup but with a different flavor profile since it's sour. I also make my MIL's recipe for salata de beouf, which, despite its name, I've never seen made with beef. It is basically a potato salad that my MIL makes with chicken in it. I love salata de icre which is a spread made with carp roe, and is very similar to the Greek taramosalata. My husband loves the eggplant spread and the roasted red pepper/eggplant spread, and sometimes he'll make some if he has a craving. I don't like either vegetable, unfortunately for me. We also make chiftele (kif-tel-eh), which are basically meatballs. My MIL makes them with a light tomato sauce and serves them with "mămăligă " which is Romanian polenta. And, as soon as the weather cools down here in the desert, I will return to my quest to attempt to make the perfect cozonac, a traditional sweet bread. There are lots of other dishes, but the meatball soup, the potato salad, and the chiftele are staples in our house.

Cozonac:
http://homecookinginmontana.blogspot.com/2009/01/romanian-cozonac-nut-filled.html

Chiftele:
http://magdawithlove.blogspot.com/201...

[sunshine842]

Thanks - yes, I can always google..but this was one I wanted to hear the answer from someone who actually *does* it!

That all sounds really, really good. Especially that bread (that looks particularly dangerous to have in the house).

(the language teacher in me hears a more-than-passing similarity to "Kefta/Kofta" and "chorba"....I'm guessing they all have a common ancestry over the centuries.

[Jen76]

That's why we participate on CH, right? Firsthand knowledge/experiences/ideas vs. Google searches. ;)

Romania has been invaded a lot over its history, so there's a lot of Russian, Turkish, Mediterranean, and, of course, Roman/Latin influence on the food and language. It's the only Latin-based language in Eastern Europe. It's also been rather impoverished for a long time, so the cooking techniques are those of making use of what you've got and preservation. It's comfort food.

[sunshine842]

the older I get, the more I prefer to learn the comfort foods, rather than the showstoppers, when I'm learning a new cuisine.

[James Cristinian]

Texas, Southeast

Louisiana

TexMex

Mexican

Italian

All legitimate countries/and or states of mind.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Texas is not a country. :)

[James Cristinian]

I think you missed my edit. There are some down here that think we can reform our old Republic, a mistake. Now Louisiana is it's own country, and one must have Federal papers to cross over into the USA.

[Veggo]

As in, over the road truckers passing through Louisiana are REQUIRED to buy fuel there, and prove it at the weigh stations.

[Chemicalkinetics]

I don't get this inside joke...

[James Cristinian]

Is that why there are so many weigh stations? I thought it was to capture illegal boudain and crawfish shipments.. We have tons of weigh stations in Texas, and rarely do you see one manned.

[Chemicalkinetics]

<Texas, Southeast>

Southeast is still not a country. :P

I am just having fun with you. (You noticed that I only pick on the Texas part not Louisiana part, right?)

<There are some down here that think we can reform our old Republic

The Old Republic is dead. It is the the time of the Empire.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia...

[James Cristinian]

We're all having fun. I chose Southeast Texas, the part I grew up in and am influenced by it's food, as all Texas is very different from other parts of the state. I think Louisiana and Texas are totally different than anywhere else in the US. Maybe we can go back to 48 states again. Tounge firmly in cheek.

[James Cristinian]

Didn't catch the old Republic Star Wars reference until I read the Wiki link. I'm a 2001 Space Odyssey guy. Texas was a Republic from 1836 'til 1845 when we cashed in our chips and joined the good USA.

[Chemicalkinetics]

:) Interesting that I have never watched the 2001 Space Odyssey. I will see if my Netflix online has it.

Yeah, I know Texas gained independence from Mexico and was a independent state for a short period. Louisiana, on the other hand, was bought. So if Louisiana does not want to be part of the USA, then it will have to go back to the French. (Tongue firmly in cheek).

[Will Owen]

Midwestern/New England American
French (Cuisine Grandmere or bistro)
Italian
Asian/California fusion
Provencal/Catalan

Provisionally:
German and Eastern European when SoCal is chilly enough.
Mexican when I get a new Bayless or Kennedy cookbook … !

[kattyeyes]

New England American for me, too, no doubt! No fair that was excluded from the countries we cook the most as I am an all-American mutt and cook THAT WAY quite often. :)

[sunshine842]

French
Italian
Latino -- a mishmash of Mexican, Cuban, and Spanish (can you tell I'm from Florida?)
Asian (stir-fry, pad thai...another mishmash)
North African

[westernmeadowlark]

Italian
Mexican
Chinese
French
Greek

[inexorablyfabulous]

Top 5---
Mexican- food from Yucatan
Mexican- food from Jalisco
Mexican- Tex-Mex
Indian
Thai

[OnkleWillie]

During the week when my wife is partaking, my cooking generally involves one of the following:
Italy
Mexico
China
Germany
Peru

On the weekend I cook for myself alone so I can jack the heat scale up to 7 or 8 out of 10.
India
Sichuan
Thailand
Korea
Cajun

[Perilagu Khan]

You're a good hombre, Willie.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Me:

Chinese,
Indian
American
Korean
Vietnamese/Thai

(So want to learn to cook Mexican. Bought a book online, but it got stole at my doorstep.

[Caroline1]

Ck, there are a gazillion great Mexican recipes on line! I'm sorry your cookbook was stolen, but golly gee, why did you buy one in the first place? For me the great advantage of on-line recipes and cookbooks is that they don't require any additional shelf space! '-)

[Chemicalkinetics]

Actually, if it is just the cookbook, then it is fine. Long short short, there are a bunch of teenagers who decided to "hijack" UPS and Fedex delivery in my neighborhood. They were eventually caught, but they were basically hiding in brushes and ambushing UPS and Fedex delivery (right after the delivery trucks pull away). I alone have three things stolen including that "Darth Raven" action figure you see for my icon. I had to order twice because the first one was stolen.

I actually did not really buy the Mexican cookbook per sa. I am an Amazon top reviewers so Amazon once awhile send me products for reviews.

[kattyeyes]

You shoulda zapped them with whatever superpowers that action figure possesses. Little punks!

That is interesting re Amazon. Makes me think I should write some reviews and see what lands on my doorstep. :)

[Chemicalkinetics]

:) Well, if you get many "thumb ups" for your reviews, then you increase your review ranking and Amazon will contact you once you have a high score. What Amazon does is that it will send you a list via email and you can select whatever items you like from that list for review. So you have some control of what comes to your doorstep.

If you look at this Mexican cookbook, then you can see that the fourth reviewer (Brain Connors) and the sixth reviewers (Katawampas) are Vine reviewers and they requested and received the book for free and in return they reviewed the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Truly-Mexican-E...

[kattyeyes]

So cool--glad to know this, thank you! And Katawampas (cattywampus/catawampus) is a great screen name!

[Perilagu Khan]

If it was 1,000 Mexican Recipes by Marge Poore, that was a grievous loss.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Nope. The book is named "Truly Mexican: Essential Recipes and Techniques for Authentic Mexican Cooking"

http://www.amazon.com/Truly-Mexican-E...

The book was a new release, and I was an Amazon Vine reviewer (basically someone who receive a free product in exchange to write a review online for Amazon). Needless to say, I could not review what I did not receive.

[Veggo]

Live too close to Camden?

[Perilagu Khan]

Heh heh.

Now don't say mean things about Jersey!

[Chemicalkinetics]

No, not professional thieves, more like middle school/high school kids who have nothing to do. The rumor is that they were biking around the neighbor and follow UPS and Fedex trucks, and if the delivery boxes were left in front of the door, then they would pick them up.

Kids these days...

[2m8ohed]

Taiwan/China
Japan
Italy
Mexico
Thailand

[deet13]

Frequency of cooking:
British
Cuban
Japanese - rice balls and yakitori
German
Colombian - my new recipe kick...

[Spot]

Your 5 are my 5, too.

[chefathome]

Thailand

Croatia

Britain

Italy

Turkey

Those are my top 5 but I cook so many cultures/countries/regions. My current dabbling favourites include Lebanon, Israel, Norway...and they are all just so darned good.

[Pata_Negra]

country sounds too broad but i tend to make (in no particular order): German, Portuguese, Chinese, Vietnamese. simple dishes only though. otherwise i like eating just about all cuisines, save for Indian and all kinds of curry (although i do love Thai food...).

[rasputina]

At our house

Italy ( my husband and daughter)
Japan ( my daughter)
Mexico ( my husband)
Lebanese ( my husband)
Greek
India
France

Creole
Cajun
China
Morrocan

[Perilagu Khan]

Italy
Mexico
India

No other country even comes close to the top three. I cook Italian and Mexican with equal frequency. India is a fairly close third.

[magiesmom]

Italian
Indian
Spain
Middle east
French A distant fifth

[Caroline1]

Fun question! Me? In no particular order of preference or frequency,

French/classic haute cuisine (1960s)
Turkish/Greek
Italian
Mexican/Cal-Mex/Border
Moroccan

There are lots more, like Chinese and Japanese, but you only asked for five. '-)

[Veggo]

Caroline, you may have 2 of mine - I never made it to five!

[Caroline1]

You're stretching my credulity. As in hard to believe!

[Veggo]

Pretty much Mexican, a little sushi, then my collective caribbean, Garifuna, and Uruguayan really only counts as one. Cuban doesn't count at all.

[Caroline1]

I suspect you have really pissed off some Cubans!

[Veggo]

Cuban in Cuba sucks because they are too poor for good ingredients. Cuban on Calle Ocho in Miami is far better, and there are a few nice Cuban restos within easy reach in Sarasota - Tampa, the Columbia has restos in both. I think you know I am a Cuban sympathizer.

[sunshine842]

and the argument could be made that for folks around Tampa and Miami, Cuban food isn't really ethnic...it's just how folks eat in those cities! (Cuban sandwiches, media noche sandwiches, cafe Cubano, flan, black beans and rice...that's all just comfort food!)

[Veggo]

For the most part, yes. But there are some pretty good Cuban braises and ropa viaja in Florida that are the real deal. It's unfortunate that it's almost impossible to get a good fish dinner in Cuba, because nobody can have a boat. The repetitive black beans, rice, and plantains with every cuban meal gets tiresome.

[sunshine842]

I don't doubt that...and I have to bow to your experience on that one...hopefully one of these days, Americans will be able to visit.

[Musie]

Hrmm...

Italian
Indian
British - To remind me of home!
Chinese
Mexican

I'm also going to include American (on the side). Since moving to Canada, I actually cook far more American style dishes than I ever did before.

[junglekitte]

India
Middle Eastern- Israeli/Lebanese/Syrian
Morocco
Mexico
Italy

(I have a theme going there I guess... ) :)

[foreverhungry]

Hard question to answer, because it's more region than country. Country is too broad.

But, in order:
France (Alps region - haute savoie)
Italy, Piedmonte
France, Southwest
Italy, Lombardy
Italy, Sicily
Mexico
I know you said not US, but Cajun is a distinct cuisine, so I'll go with that

[FitMom4Life]

Hmmm. I would have to say Italy....Italy, Italy, and then, well, Italy...and then perhaps Mexico. I love Chinese, but I don't want to take the time to cook it. Don't care at all for Indian.

[kattyeyes]

Yeah, I'd have to say Italy would be my first four countries, too, followed by Mexico. I like Indian food, but have cooked it just a handful of times. Love Chinese, but spent more time attempting it when I was younger.

[jmcarthur8]

It took me a while to think about this, and I finally came down to Italy, also. Then Mexico. A few odds and ends of Greek, Indian, Thai or Chinese, but I'd rather eat those out.

I often have been trying to figure out something to do with eggplant from our garden lately, and when I am too tired or too busy to follow a new recipe, I just go for red sauces (we have lots of tomatoes, too) and cheese, it seems, with oregano and fresh basil and garlic. I'm not Italian, but the herbs are so easy for me to use, it's become my fallback when the brain isn't operating at full speed.

[kattyeyes]

Do you make rollatini with some of your eggplant?

[jmcarthur8]

Kattyeyes, I used the same ingredients, but I layered it instead of rolling it. Rollatini lasagna, perhaps?

[kattyeyes]

Ooooooh, nice! So delicious in any form. :)

[prima]

I cook mostly
Greek,
Italian,
Mexican,
Provencal, and
Portuguese mains and side dishes during the summer. Most of the desserts I bake in the summer are fruit-based Anglo-Canadian/American desserts, mostly cobblers, crumbles and crisps.

In the fall & winter, I cook
Indian,
North African,
and Mitteleuropean (goulash, borscht, etc) dishes more frequently.

I tend to cook more German dishes in October, and more Cajun/Creole dishes in Feb/March.

[JungMann]

Chinese
Filipino
Middle Eastern
Asian-American
Indo-Pak

But like you I change with the season and come fall or winter, I'm cooking much more from Mitteleuropa and Louisiana. Or anything that pairs with beer.

[TeRReT]

Outside of Canadian food as I am Canadian, the food I prepare most has changed a lot in the last couple years.

It started out as mostly Italian with some French influence, but now is vastly different.

I would say in order of frequency I cook;

Japanese
Italian
Korean
Chinese
Thai

Sixth would actually be Canadian or North American food. I am not cooking it often these days.

[MrBoombastic]

Thank you for your commentary. How did you learn to cook Korean?

[TeRReT]

Maybe I should have qualified that with endeavour to cook, or cook in the style of, or influenced by :P I have been taught Italian and French cooking, but Korean is certainly an experiment, some traditional dishes that I have researched and made a reasonable attempt at, other times just a general stir fried dish with kimchee and sesame oil.

I live in Japan now, so have access to a whole host of different ingredients and cooking appliances\techniques, and many of the Japanese ingredients and cooking vessels lend themselves to similar cooking to Korean, so I kind of dabble there. Same with Chinese. A lot of the dishes are related to one another between the countries, so I just kind of come up with my own interpretation or whatever. This last month I have been heavily into kimchee, so have been doing a lot of Koreanish food, but probably soon it'll change and I will do something else.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Dude, there are a lot of Asian cuisines there.

[TeRReT]

My freezer is full of rice, my pantry full of sesame oil, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, sake and nori, and my fridge is full of soy sauce, ponzu, yuzu ponzu, ginger, garlic, daikon, green onions, eggplant, shimeji mushrooms, and sliced pork belly, its difficult not to cook Asian :P

I used to have pasta 3-4 times a week, now i am lucky to have it once every two weeks.

[Tripeler]

Yes, but pasta (dried, anyway) is as easy to find in Japan as rice. The decision is up to you, but it sounds like you have a lot of great stuff to cook. Eggplant seems to be particularly good earlier than usual this year.

[TeRReT]

Oh no finding pasta is no problem, its just easier to cook what I am cooking. Part of it has to do with just being here surrounded by Asian food I cook it more, plus I only have 1 burner so if I make pasta I have to make my sauce, take it off, boil water, cook pasta, sauce back on, etc. Kind of half environment and half lazy and maybe another half because its nice to take a break from pasta for a bit :P

[todao]

Italy
Germany
Mexico
Israel
Spain