is found at:
http://vsack.bei.t-online.de/afa_faq.html


and is as follows:

The Usenet newsgroup alt.food.asian was created in the fall of '96
by Mike Sullivan.

Charter:
alt.food.asian is a newsgroup for the discussion of recipes,
ingredients, equipment and techniques used specifically in the
preparation of Asian foods.

The following is, unfortunately, scanty and sporadic, but picking up of
late. People who just "find" us and ask for a recipe "just like at my
favourite restaurant" tend to walk away empty handed and the following
links are designed to help those to help themselves. I will try to look
at every link mentioned in posts to a.f.a, but I'm human, and if you
find a unique site with pictures of ingredients, or a good encyclopedic
treatment of an Asian food (e.g. a complete miso page), cuisine or
cooking technique, please email it to me. Additionally, although many
FAQs are answered in the sites below, I'm slowly gathering the *V*FAQs
(very frequently...). Suggestions and entries for this category are
welcome. I'm not doing this for fame or profit, and if anyone else is
more ambitious than I, feel free to snag any or all of this for your
attempt.
blacksalt

INGREDIENTS:

Site with photos of tropical fruit says:
"Common and Latin names are linked to pictures and five groups of fruit
have a good deal of written information on fruit usage, including
recipes.":
http://www.proscitech.com.au/trop/fruit.htm

Good pictures of Asian vegetables, with common names in many languages:
http://www.nre.vic.gov.au/trade/asiaveg/thes-00.htm

Filipino veggies scanned! Actually, they look like photos:
http://www.tribo.org/vegetables/sampler.html

Guide to Thai veggies, with nutritional info. At least visit the map of
Thailand made of veggies:
http://www.ku.ac.th/AgrInfo/fruit/veget/index.html

Thai fruit. Click on the photo of the fruit to get detailed info
including how to eat:
http://www.ku.ac.th/AgrInfo/fruit/

Photos of many Asian veggies and tropical fruits. Mushrooms, also. Not
strictly Asian:
http://coosemans.com/guide.php

Purchase plants like neem, pan, tulsi, etc. to grow at home. Indian
focus, with lots of jasmine plants, too. A USian company:
http://www.bhatia-nurseries.com/

Purchase seeds for Asian veggies. Several varieties of each. USian
company. Includes pictures:
http://www.evergreenseeds.com/evergr...ableseeds.html

Site of sites for herbs and spices. Many languages. Stop to browse and
stay all day:
http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/index.html

For quality spices, USENET users praise Penzey's to the stars. The
catalog is fascinating, as well:
http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-local/Sof...html?E+scstore

"Everything you need to know about glutamate and MSG":
http://www.ific.org/publications/brochures/msgbroch.cfm

Wasabi--Commerical site with useful information:
http://www.freshwasabi.com/about.htm

General ingredients site with many pictures of beans, noodles, sea
vegetables, etc. used in Asian cooking. Helpful in identifying the
interesting ingredient you brought home from the Asian market:
http://www.foodsubs.com/

Great pictures for identifying that vegetable you brought home from the
Asian market:
http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/...cts/98-033.htm


GENERAL ASIAN RECIPES:

Most famous megasite for recipes. Used to be known as SOAR:
http://www.recipesource.com/

Large list of links to many cuisines:
http://members.tripod.com/~veema/food.htm

Lawrence Wheeler's page:
http://asiarecipe.com/

Homepage of an enthusiastic cook, who posted here under the name Zygot.
His instructions for preparation of Asian dishes are detailed, assuring
success. The 6+ dishes I've tried have come out beautifully:
http://www.geocities.com/wjmarkca/

Bill Wight is an exceptionally good pack-rat, and has archived many
recipes:
http://home.earthlink.net/~wwwca

Central Asian:
http://russia-in-us.com/Cuisine/Dadiani/asia.htm

Large site with Malaysian, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese and other
cuisines. Select the Thai option to access Muoi Khuntilanont's Thai
Kitchen, which previously had its own Web site:
http://www.makantime.com/recipes.htm

Largest list of links so far:
http://www.cbel.com/asian_recipes/

Scroll down for links to Arabian, Chinese, and Japanese food sites:
http://www.lingualearn.co.uk/food.htm

Crimean Tatar dishes:
http://www.euronet.nl/users/sota/recipes.html


AFGHAN:

Several recipes, a little short on instructions, but some with pictures:
http://www.afghan-network.net/Cooking/


BHUTANESE:

Only a very few recipes, but look authentic:
http://members.tripod.com/thinley/recipe/Foodintro.html

Recipes from Assam, Bhutan, Northeast, and Foothills of Eastern
Himalayas:
http://assam.faithweb.com/recipe/


BURMESE:

Overly "cute" site, but many recipes and reasonable instructions:
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/...1/Recipes.html

Wide variety of recipes for things as basic as Burmese beef stock:
http://www.myanmardotcom.com/FoodDrink.aspx


CAMBODIAN:

Many recipes from an ethnic group of SE Asia:
http://www.khmerkromrecipes.com/

A few recipes that sound good. Check out the potato and pumpkin pudding:
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/khmer/food/food_set.htm


CHINESE:

Dozens of recipes arranged by region, from the unusual ("medicinal
cooking") to names often seen in USian Chinese restaurants ("Fried
Dragon Leg"):
http://www.chinavista.com/culture/cuisine/recipes.html

Multitude of Chinese recipe links:
http://members.fortunecity.com/oldman88/CFN_recipes.htm

Large site with much info:
http://www.chinesefood.about.com/


FILIPINO:

Links to several pages:
http://www.tribo.org/filipinofood/food2.html

Few recipes but lots of detailed background on food and eating in the
Philippines:
http://www.toad.net/~cabinjohn/

Looks very authentic, with good photos:
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/T...cuisine_fs.htm


HAWAIIAN:

As varied as the cultural makeup of Hawaii:
http://www2.hawaii.edu/recipes/

Several Asian cuisines from a Hawaiian's standpoint. If you miss the
Asian food you had in Hawaii, try this spot, although the Haole dishes
make this Haole cringe:
http://kalaniosullivan.com/General/Opinions-k2.htm


INDIAN SUBCONTINENT:

Many categories, each with several recipes:
http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/recipes/

Many diverse dishes from three chefs:
http://www.bawarchi.com/index.html

Lots of dishes:
http://www.daawat.com

More dishes:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Woods/9843/menu.html

Links, links, links:
http://www.khoj.com/Life_and_Family/Recipe/

Megasite with many Indian food links:
http://www.gadnet.com/recipes.htm

Large site with recipes, information, and links to buying products:
http://www.deliciousindia.com/

An Indian food and ingredient glossary:
http://bbcb.co.uk/modules/xfsection/...p?articleid=32

North and West Indian recipes:
http://www.bitusvegetariancafe.com/india.html

Many recipes, instructions not very complex, however, several
Indian-style Chinese (e.g. Chili Paneer or Veg. Hakka Noodles), which is
the rage in many Indian communities:
http://www.ruchiskitchen.com/ruchiskitchen/recipe.htm

Large introductory site with pictures and descriptions of the Indian
food usually eaten in the US. Glossary and links about Indian culture,
especially Hindu, as well:
http://www.cuisinecuisine.com/HomePage.htm

BALTI! India via Birmingham. With links to other Brit-style Indian
cooking:
http://www.owlsprings.com/the_balti_page.html

Goan:
http://www.goacom.com/cuisine/

Several sites of recipes posted by Keralan home cooks:

http://www.123kerala.com/recipes.html

http://www.my-kerala.com/p/cook/

http://www.voiceofkerala.com/viewrec.asp?from=KER

http://www.newkerala.com/recipes/

Marathi dishes:
http://theory.tifr.res.in/bombay/his...e/marathi.html

Orrisan dishes:
http://members.tripod.com/oriyakitchen/

South Indian:
Reasonable renditions of traditional South Indian dishes:
http://www.sysindia.com/kitchen/

Sindhi Cuisine:
Not actual recipes, but some instructions and nomenclatu
http://theory.tifr.res.in/bombay/his...ne/sindhi.html

"World-wide Indian Grocery Shops List", though none listed in Asia! The
ones I know of look current:
http://members.tripod.com/~m_gopal/

Make a tandoor oven:
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/...3012/page2.htm

Buy a tandoor oven. US company:
http://www.gulati-tandoors.com/type.php?pg=typic

Large Pakistani site. Better sounding meat recipes than many Indian
sites, and the chaat (snacks) look excellent as well. Not *long* on
directions, so if you are new to Asian sub-continent cooking, you might
ask for some help on afa:
http://www.contactpakistan.com/pakfood/

North Indian words relating to food translated into English:
http://theory.tifr.res.in/bombay/his...ine/vocab.html

FAQ for uk.food+drink.indian. A work in progress for Westerners new to
Indian cooking:
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/ejones/ufdi/faq.html


INDONESIAN:

Moderate number of recipes in several categories:
http://www.melroseflowers.com/mkic/index.html

Smooth site with a variety of recipes and pretty good instructions:
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Indonesia...es/default.htm


JAPANESE:

DIY sushi:
http://www.rain.org/~hutch/sushi.html

alt.food.sushi's FAQ:
http://www.sushifaq.com/

An unobtrusively commercial site:
http://www.black-kat.com/blackmoon/food1.html

Many recipes, with step by step photos:
http://www.openkitchen.net/frame/recipe-ef.html

103 recipes in English, some under a Kyoto cuisine subheading. All are
translated from the Japanese:
http://www.bob-an.com/recipe/English/index_e.html

A Japanese food dictionary, with useful links:
http://www.sushi.infogate.de/lang.htm

General site on sushi. Look under archives for recipes:
http://www.stickyrice.com/sushi/sushi.shtml

Sushi restaurant reference:
http://sushiref.com/

Okonomiyaki, the versatile Japanese pancake:
http://www.gci-net.com/users/w/wildeman/okonomi.htm

Sound recipes from books that are for sale. Clear instructions:
http://www.bento.com/tokyofood.html

Mom's home cooking and they mean it:
http://www.nsknet.or.jp/~chrkaji/yasuko/index_e.html

In-depth descriptions of Japanese food. Lots of info:
http://www.media-akita.or.jp/akita-s...ta-shokuE.html

Japanese Food Treats from the Countryside. Photos and descriptions
rather than recipes:
http://www.pref.kagawa.jp/eizo/vol003/en/index.htm

Okonomiyaki, Japan's versatile pancake:
http://markun.cs.shinshu-u.ac.jp/hob...i/index-e.html

Sushi Encyclopedia:
http://member.nifty.ne.jp/maryy/eng/eng.htm


KAZAKH:

The site that follows looks authentic. The unit of
measure, piala, is a handleless bowl that a lab tech native to the area
told me was 200-250 ml. That is, about a shy cup:
http://www.kz/eng/cooking/cooking.html


KOREAN:

Moderate-sized site about several aspects of Korean cooking, with
recipes:
http://www.geocities.com/ypmljulia/index.htm

Moderately-sized site covering typical Korean fare, with pictures of
finished dishes:
http://www.english.dprkorea.com/tour....php?ca_no=659

Interesting facts, careful instructions, and good photos for making
kimchi:
http://www.korea.net/koreanculture/kimchi/kimchi.html

All about Kimchi, which obviously inspires love and loyalty in many:
http://park.org/Cdrom/Pavilions/Kimchi/emain.html

Pleasing introduction to traditional Korean foods, including some info
I've never seen anywhere else. The kook recipes look especially good:
http://eng.joy2food.com/theme/kimch/kimch_00.asp

A few Korean recipes with detailed instructions. These inspire
confidence:
http://fishinnards.com/archives/cat_recipes.html

82 authentic-looking recipes:
http://www.ssoft.co.kr/Cuisine/koreafood/pint_01.htm

A comprehensive kimchi site:
http://www.kimchi.or.kr/english/

Moderately large, smooth site with good info:
http://www.koreankitchen.com/

Gorgeous site with info and many recipes:
http://www.clickasia.co.kr/about.htm


LAOTIAN:

Interesting recipes. Many require dried water buffalo skin:
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/lao/other...ods/recipe.htm

Many pictures of dishes from a cuisine not well know here, but only
about a dozen recipes:
http://www.laopress.com/news/laofood/default.htm


MALAYSIAN and SINGAPOREAN:

Many, many Malaysian recipes, alphabetical by Malaysian name, with
English translation following:
http://thestar.com.my/kuali/

Recipes from Raffles Hotel, a Singaporean site, but the recipes wander
all over Asia. These look good, folks:
http://www.asiacuisine.com.sg/recipe...parent=raffles

Thirty-plus not-too-hard Malaysian recipes:
http://www.regit.com/regirest/malays...ipe/recipe.htm


MONGOLIAN:

A brief introduction to Mongolian cooking, with a few recipes:
http://www.viahistoria.com/SilverHor...anCooking.html


NEPALESE:

Click on Creative Nepali Cooking for several interesting-looking
recipes:
http://members.tripod.com/regmit/

Many Nepali recipes:
http://www.info-nepal.com/society/recipes/recipes.html


PERSIAN:

Two Iranian sites, long on recipes, but skimpy of instructions:
http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Personal/...arian/recipes/

http://www.iranchamber.com/recipes/recipes.php


SRI LANKAN:

Several links:
http://dmoz.org/Home/Cooking/World_C...an/Sri_Lankan/

All the following sites were pointed out to me by real live Sri Lankans
as "authentic" and full of desirable recipes like Mummy used to make:

http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~v53ash/recipie.html

http://infolanka.com/recipes/

http://www.infolanka.com/org/srilanka/food/recipes.html

http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town...20/recipe.html


THAI:

Author Kasma Loha-unchit's site:
http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/index.html

A commercial site, but many recipes, hints, and an "ask the chef"
option:
http://www.thaigrocer.com/Merchant/index.htm

Commercial site, but not intrusively so:
http://www.importfood.com/recipes.html

21 recipes and growing:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/P...4/recipes.html

Good-looking recipes and lots of background info:
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Thai/food/food.htm

Many recipes with instructions that seem complete, but may need a little
reflection, and many authentic ingredients:
http://www.nikibone.com/recipe/thai.html

Wide variety of recipes with careful instructions:
http://www.thaitable.com/thai/recipes/index.asp

Commercial site with numerous recipes and handy pictures of the
ingredients they sell. I'm betting "parsley root" is coriander root:
http://importfood.com/recipes.html

Commericial site (check out their cooking utensils) with recipes for
typical foods seen at USian "Temple lunches":
http://www.templeofthai.com/thai_rec...i_recipes.html

Several good-looking recipes with photos of the finished product:
http://www.northernthailand.com/cm/r.../thai-recipes/

Thai food dictionary:
http://www.asiatour.com/thailand/e-02trav/et-tr152.htm


UZBEK:

Moderate number of fairly simple recipes:
http://www.angelfire.com/ny/lolamk/dishes.html

Lots of simple recipes:
http://cookbook.rin.ru/cgi-bin/cookb...sine=42&nat=42

Only seven recipes, but detailed instructions. Site only works with
Internet Explorer, it seems:
http://www.abasayyoh.com/uzbekistan/...y/cuisine.html


VIETNAMESE:

Good instructions:
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/vietnames...mese_foods.htm

Six classic dishes with careful instructions:
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian...ut/19/v10.html


VFAQ:

What is the secret to fried rice?

Many have noted that the secret is day-old rice. I suggest starting with
"non-sticky" white rice (i.e. a non-sushi or non-dessert rice such as
Cal-Rose), cooking it in not too much water (mushy won't work), fluffing
and let cool with the cover off, refrigerate overnight, break up the
clumps with your fingers and use this rice for such dishes as Pork Fried
Rice. The other secret is commonly known: have your pan and oil very
hot before putting in the ingredients.

What are good vegetarian substitutes for fish products?

I picked this off a flashy commercial site because it looked like a
'feature of the month', and might vanish:

FISH SAUCE
"Nam Pla" in Thai. A thin, amber colored,
salty sauce, is the predominant seasoning sauce used in Thai cooking.
In Thai vegetarian cooking, fish sauce is usually substituted by a Light
(thin) Soy Sauce. However, to maintain the taste and smell of fish
sauce, a minimal amount of soy sauce is used , but add additional salt
and solids of two vegetarian ingredients, salted yellow beans and
fermented tofu (bean curd), a pungent product of cubed tofu pickled in
brine, sometimes with chili added.

OYSTER SAUCE
"Nam Mun Hoy" in Thai. Oyster sauce is
used in some Thai dishes. It is a rich, thick brown sauce made from
fermented dried oyster. Sin Tai Hing/ Vegetarian Oyster Sauce is a
100 percent vegetarian version made from mushroom and vegetable protein.
It can be used in any recipe as a vegetarian substitute for oyster
sauce.

SHRIMP PASTE
"Kapi" in Thai. Kapi is a salted-fermented
shrimp product used widely in Thai cooking to give the food its
characteristic deep and vibrant flavors. Kapi can be substituted
with various salt-fermented soy bean products such as yellow bean
sauce, Chinese bean pastes, fermented tofu in brine.

DRIED SHRIMP
"Goong Haeng" in Thai. Dried shrimp has been
replaced by a variety of bean products, roasted nut or coconut.



Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer:
blacksalt >