Someone's in the Kitchen

This Week's Film: Mano Po
Cuisine: Philippine

This week, I’ve been spending my days in the kitchen revisiting and refining some of my favorite Philippine recipes. Among them: Escabeche, Empanadas, Lumpia, Pancit, Adobo, and a new recipe for a corn chowder with crab that I’m trying for the first time. I'm not yet sure which one I will be featuring to go with this week’s film, but it’s sure to be a tasty accompaniment for Mano Po. My Philippine recipe will be posted at the end of the week along with my film review.

You can also visit me on Facebook ChopstickCinema, where you can post comments and become a fan. To contact me by e-mail, send to cheiter at thingsasian dot com.

In addition to the recipes that appear on Chopstick Cinema each week, I have an extensive archive of international recipes and photos available for your website or publication. For details, visit my Recipe website.

12:43 AM PDT Permalink |

About This Week’s Film

This Week's Film: Mano Po
Cuisine: Philippine

In five years of watching and reviewing Asian films for Chopstick Cinema, I’ve always loved the ones from the Philippines. This week’s film, the epic Mano Po, will undoubtedly be no exception.

Here is the NetFlix synopsis:

“This sweeping tale of a Chinese-Filipino family's search for identity and place in Philippine history won praise from critics -- and also spawned two sequels. During the Chinese Revolution in 1949, a young Chinese trader, Fong Muan, marries the pretty Filipina Elisa. But life for their two children -- and their children's children -- who are raised in a mixture of Chinese and Filipino-Hispanic traditions, proves to be anything but normal.”

Join me throughout the week on Chopstick Cinema for a closer look at the food and the film. My film review will be posted at the end of the week, along with my Philippine recipe.

You can also visit me on Facebook ChopstickCinema, where you can post comments and become a fan. To contact me by e-mail, send to cheiter at thingsasian dot com.

In addition to the recipes that appear on Chopstick Cinema each week, I have an extensive archive of international recipes and photos available for your website or publication. For details, visit my Recipe website.

09:23 AM PDT Permalink |

Welcome to This Week’s Chopstick Cinema

This Week's Film: Mano Po
Cuisine: Philippine

It’s Philippine food and a Philippine film this week, as I watch the epic Mano Po, and conjure up a Philippine dish to go with it. Join me this week on Chopstick Cinema for a closer look at the food and the film. My recipe and film review will be posted at the end of the week.

You can also visit me on Facebook ChopstickCinema, where you can post comments and become a fan. To contact me by e-mail, send to cheiter at thingsasian dot com.

In addition to the recipes that appear on Chopstick Cinema each week, I have an extensive archive of international recipes and photos available for your website or publication. For details, visit my Recipe website.

12:01 AM PDT Permalink |

Film Review: In Between Days

This Week's Film: In Between Days
Cuisine: Korean

It's a cold, lonely life for Aimee, a Korean teenager who has recently immigrated with her mother to the outskirts of Toronto. Her days are spent in high school, in ESL classes, where she mindlessly doodles in her notebook, waiting for the bell to ring. To the casual observer, not much appears to be going on in Aimee's life. Yet, just beneath the surface, she is a cauldron of emotions.

Here is a link to my Film Review on ThingsAsian.

You can also visit me on Facebook ChopstickCinema, where you can post comments and become a fan. To subscribe to ChopstickCinema, follow the RSS link below. To contact me by e-mail, send to cheiter at thingsasian dot com.

In addition to the recipes that appear on Chopstick Cinema each week, I have an extensive archive of international recipes and photos available for your website or publication. For details, visit my Recipe website.

11:33 AM PDT Permalink |

Recipe: Lettuce Wraps with Spicy Dipping Sauce

This Week's Film: In Between Days
Cuisine: Korean

This recipe is a ‘portmanteau’ of two Korean dishes: Bulgogi Grill and an appetizer called Kujolp’an. Bulgogi Grill is simply a variety of meats in a variety of marinades with a variety of dipping sauces, grilled tableside and consumed as each batch comes off the grill. The Kujolp’an appetizer is a ‘Nine Treasure’ assortment of fillings to assemble into delicate pancake wraps. Since I wasn’t in the mood to make a labor-intensive batch of homemade pancakes and all the elaborate fillings to go with them, I decided to prepare the Bulgogi Grill and serve it in the style of Kujolp’an with lettuce wraps, fresh filling ingredients, and a spicy dipping sauce instead. A wonderful choice for a hot summer evening.

Here is a link to the Recipe and Photos on ThingsAsian.

You can also visit me on Facebook ChopstickCinema, where you can post comments and become a fan. To subscribe to ChopstickCinema, follow the RSS link below. To contact me by e-mail, send to cheiter at thingsasian dot com.

In addition to the recipes that appear on Chopstick Cinema each week, I have an extensive archive of international recipes and photos available for your website or publication. For details, visit my Recipe website.

10:01 AM PDT Permalink |

Choosing a Korean Feature Dish

This Week's Film: In Between Days
Cuisine: Korean

These warm summer days make me want to keep it light, and the weather is also perfect for grilling outdoors. And since some of my favorite Korean foods are grilled, I’m leaning in that direction for this week’s dish. The one at the top of my list is actually a synthesis of two classic Korean dishes, Bulgogi Grill, and Kujolp’an, both of which I’ve made with good success.

Check back tomorrow for my new Korean recipe, and again on Sunday for my In Between Days film review.

You can also visit me on Facebook ChopstickCinema, where you can post comments and become a fan. To subscribe to ChopstickCinema, follow the RSS link below. To subscribe to ChopstickCinema, follow the RSS link below. To contact me by e-mail, send to cheiter at thingsasian dot com.

In addition to the recipes that appear on Chopstick Cinema each week, I have an extensive archive of international recipes and photos available for your website or publication. For details, visit my Recipe website.

01:30 PM PDT Permalink |

About In Between Days

This Week's Film: In Between Days
Cuisine: Korean

In Between Days is the 2007 directorial debut of So Yong Kim, in collaboration with writer, director, producer Bradley Rust Gray, who have since worked together on another film titled Jack and Diane. Filmed in Toronto, In Between Days focuses on the life of a Korean immigrant family whose teen-aged daughter Aimee struggles with isolation in her efforts to adapt to her new life. The film, which stars Jiseon Kim as Aimee and Taegu Andy Kang as her best friend Tran, won the coveted Special Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.

My film review will be posted at the end of the week, along with my Korean recipe.

You can also visit me on Facebook ChopstickCinema, where you can post comments and become a fan. To subscribe to ChopstickCinema, follow the RSS link below. To contact me by e-mail, send to cheiter at thingsasian dot com.

In addition to the recipes that appear on Chopstick Cinema each week, I have an extensive archive of international recipes and photos available for your website or publication. For details, visit my Recipe website.

12:14 PM PDT Permalink |

About Korean Food

This Week's Film: In Between Days
Cuisine: Korean

Although exotic to my western palate, traditional Korean dishes are mainly composed of commonplace meats, seafood, vegetables and seasonings. No doubt, it's the ways they are combined that give them their unique ethnic flair. Typical dishes include fresh green salads, hearty soups, savory stews, meats and seafood simmered with fresh vegetables, barbecued meats, fermented seafood, pan-fried omelets, rice medleys, steamed or pan-fried dumplings, and boiled, pickled or sautéed vegetables.

The most widely known Korean dish is bulgogi barbeque. However, Korean cuisine consists of many interesting dishes beyond this style of meat preparation. A traditional Korean meal typically includes a hearty soup, a variety of fresh vegetables, a rice dish, and a fish or meat dish, all of which are served at the same time.

The most common Korean dishes include bap (steamed rice), juk (porridge), guk (soup or broth), jjigae (hearty stew), jjim (braised meats), jorim (simmered dishes), namul (vegetables and greens), kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage), jeotgal (fermented seafood), gui (broiled or barbecued meats), jeon (pancakes), and mandu (steamed or pan-fried dumplings).

One of the most popular communal dishes is kujolp'an, a nine item assortment of spicy grilled meat and crisp vegetables to fill wraps made with leafy lettuce and delicate pancakes with dipping sauces both spicy, and sweet and sour.

The recipe will be posted at the end of the week along with my In Between Days film review.

You can also visit me on Facebook ChopstickCinema, where you can post comments and become a fan. To contact me by e-mail, send to cheiter at thingsasian dot com.

In addition to the recipes that appear on Chopstick Cinema each week, I have an extensive archive of international recipes and photos available for your website or publication. For details, visit my Recipe website.

10:04 AM PDT Permalink |

About This Week’s Film

This Week's Film: In Between Days
Cuisine: Korean

I have a growing fondness for Korean film since I’ve seen so many excellent ones in recent years. This week, I am featuring In Between Days, a story of young love. Here is the NetFlix synopsis:

“Newly transplanted Korean immigrant Aimie (Jiseon Kim) is treading unfamiliar waters in her adopted country. Turning to her best -- and only -- friend, Tran, for support, the lonely teen finds herself falling in love with him, a development that could jeopardize their relationship. Director So Yong Kim's artfully crafted tale of adolescence and assimilation nabbed a Special Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.”

Join me throughout the week on Chopstick Cinema for a closer look at the food and the film. My film review will be posted at the end of the week, along with my Korean recipe.

You can also visit me on Facebook ChopstickCinema, where you can post comments and become a fan. To contact me by e-mail, send to cheiter at thingsasian dot com.

In addition to the recipes that appear on Chopstick Cinema each week, I have an extensive archive of international recipes and photos available for your website or publication. For details, visit my Recipe website.

09:49 AM PDT Permalink |

Welcome to This Week’s Chopstick Cinema

This Week's Film: In Between Days
Cuisine: Korean

Korean food is always a pleasure in the summer, since one of its best dishes is Bulgogi Grill, and I'm in the mood for it. The film I have chosen to go with this week’s menu is In Between Days, a youthful love story. Join me this week on Chopstick Cinema for a closer look at the food and the film. My recipe and film review will be posted at the end of the week.

You can also visit me on Facebook ChopstickCinema, where you can post comments and become a fan. To contact me by e-mail, send to cheiter at thingsasian dot com.

In addition to the recipes that appear on Chopstick Cinema each week, I have an extensive archive of international recipes and photos available for your website or publication. For details, visit my Recipe website.

12:09 PM PDT Permalink |

Film Review: Akira Kurosawa's Dreams

This Week's Film: Dreams
Cuisine: Japanese

Follow Akira Kurosawa on a journey through his dreams, from early childhood, to visions of the apocalypse and beyond. In this series of eight vignettes, ranging from seven to twenty minutes each, and based upon actual dreams throughout his life, Kurosawa creates a mosaic of imagery and symbolism that, when viewed as a whole, forms a very clear picture with an important message for mankind.

Here is a link to my Film Review on ThingsAsian.

You can also visit me on Facebook ChopstickCinema, where you can post comments and become a fan. To subscribe to ChopstickCinema, follow the RSS link below. To contact me by e-mail, send to cheiter at thingsasian dot com.

In addition to the recipes that appear on Chopstick Cinema each week, I have an extensive archive of international recipes and photos available for your website or publication. For details, visit my Recipe website.

12:11 PM PDT Permalink |

Recipe: Sushi Salad

This Week's Film: Dreams
Cuisine: Japanese

I was in the mood for sushi, but didn’t want to make a big fuss. So…I made a deconstructed sushi salad. It has all the same components as sushi, but they’re in a bowl instead of parceled out into little bites, sort of like Chirashizushi, but with a few liberties taken.

Here is a link to the Recipe and Photos on ThingsAsian.

You can also visit me on Facebook ChopstickCinema, where you can post comments and become a fan. To subscribe to ChopstickCinema, follow the RSS link below. To contact me by e-mail, send to cheiter at thingsasian dot com.

In addition to the recipes that appear on Chopstick Cinema each week, I have an extensive archive of international recipes and photos available for your website or publication. For details, visit my Recipe website.

08:23 PM PDT Permalink |

Choosing a Japanese Dish

This Week's Film: Dreams
Cuisine: Japanese

Japanese food is such a rich and varied cuisine that it’s often hard to choose a single dish. And in the past twenty years, since I lived in Japan, I have made so much Japanese food that it’s also difficult to come up with something new and original, something I either haven’t tried or haven’t made. So my search for a recipe may take a little more effort than usual this week. However, I have plenty of Japanese cookbooks to inspire me.

My recipe will be posted at the end of the week, along with my Dreams film review.

You can also visit me on Facebook ChopstickCinema, where you can post comments and become a fan. To subscribe to ChopstickCinema, follow the RSS link below. To subscribe to ChopstickCinema, follow the RSS link below. To contact me by e-mail, send to cheiter at thingsasian dot com.

In addition to the recipes that appear on Chopstick Cinema each week, I have an extensive archive of international recipes and photos available for your website or publication. For details, visit my Recipe website.

09:10 AM PDT Permalink |

About Dreams

This Week's Film: Dreams
Cuisine: Japanese

After an already long and illustrious career as a writer and director, at age 80, Akira Kurosawa enjoyed yet another success with Dreams, an eight-part collage of vignettes from his own dreams. They include: Sunshine Through The Rain, a fox tale; The Peach Orchard, based upon the Girls’ Day celebration known as Hina Matsuri, the Doll Festival; The Blizzard, in which four men climb a mountain in a heavy snowstorm; The Tunnel, a nightmare about the return of a soldier from the war; Crows, a dream that features Martin Scorsese as Vincent Van Gogh and visual effects by George Lucas; Mount Fuji in Red, another nightmare about a nuclear melt-down; The Weeping Demon, a post-apocalyptic nightmare based upon a fable of the same name; and finally, Village of the Watermills, in which a village community has returned to the rustic way of life.

My film review will be posted at the end of the week, along with my Japanese recipe.

You can also visit me on Facebook ChopstickCinema, where you can post comments and become a fan. To subscribe to ChopstickCinema, follow the RSS link below. To contact me by e-mail, send to cheiter at thingsasian dot com.

In addition to the recipes that appear on Chopstick Cinema each week, I have an extensive archive of international recipes and photos available for your website or publication. For details, visit my Recipe website.

08:52 AM PDT Permalink |

About Japanese Cuisine

This Week's Film: Dreams
Cuisine: Japanese

Whenever I choose Japanese cuisine as my featured menu, I always refer my readers to an article I wrote for ThingsAsian titled Of Rice and Zen. There you will find a comprehensive overview of all the classic Japanese dishes.

My Japanese recipe will be posted at the end of the week along with my Dreams film review.

You can also visit me on Facebook ChopstickCinema, where you can post comments and become a fan. To contact me by e-mail, send to cheiter at thingsasian dot com.

In addition to the recipes that appear on Chopstick Cinema each week, I have an extensive archive of international recipes and photos available for your website or publication. For details, visit my Recipe website.

09:22 AM PDT Permalink |