[lusciouskiwi]

I haven't visited for a while, but first up I want to say thanks to Sun for starting the thread and all the folks who have contributed so much yumminess! And drooling.

Now that I've moved and my new house has a nice big kitchen, one of my new year's resolutions is to cook once a week. The more manageable the resolution the more achievable right? And who knows, maybe I'll be able to crank that up to much more frequently.

I think cultural differences around food and the meanings associated are very interesting but also cooking techniques.

In Malaysia kitchens don't normally have running hot water. If you need it you boil it. In South Korea and Malaysia kitchens typically don't have an oven. And in both countries you buy a two-burner (usually two) gas bench-top cooker from the supermarket. In Korea the gas is supplied to each house. In Malaysia you buy a tank and then when it's empty, phone someone, they come around and swop the empty tank for a full one. It's not like the little squat tanks you use on a bbq.

The previous house I rented had a two-late induction cooker installed. I had bought an individual one previously. They're ok but you can only use pots and pans specifically designed for induction cookers. I prefer gas myself.

What else ... in older/typical houses in Malaysia there is a wet kitchen and a dry kitchen. In older houses the wet kitchen is just out the back door. It's for frying and other messy types of cooking - therefore easier to clean up. In my house the dry kitchen has the fridge, microwave and a sink. The wet kitchen, which was built on I'd say, has the gas cooker, a hood and a sink.

Of course I have a rice cooker, but it's monster size for when my ex lived with me. Not too sure how to use it for one now (anybody can tell me how to cook brown rice in it? water, etc?). If I were really into old school cooking, I'd have a mortar and pestle. My ex's mum could rock one of those when she was younger. Nowadays most women use a blender unless they're poor.

I'm no expert, but if you have any questions, fire away and I'll try and answer.

All the best for a new year of healthy (and sometimes not so healthy) yumminess!