Asian Food Pix by MakanTime.com - Asian Ingredient Guide

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

	Date, Chinese ............................................................ Not the the fruits from the date palm(Phoenix dactylifera), Chinese date or jujube comes from a plant native to Asia but widely grown in China. Sweet and crunchy when fresh and taste like apple, it is the dried forms that are used in Chinese cooking. The black ones are known as Dazao, red ones Hongzao, and those candied ones are known as Mizao. The seeds are usually removed as they are considered "heaty" (A Chinese medical term). The different in colour is brought about by the different ways they are processed.
	Dihuang (Shengdi, Shudi) ............................................................ Rehmannia root is a herbal soup ingredient used in Traiditional Chinese Medicine to replenish and norish the Vital Essence. It turns a herbal soup brown. A prepared form (Radix rehmanniae praeparata)is known as Shudihuang. Consult your physician on usage.
	Dragon fruit ............................................................ The fruit of a cactus of central American origin is now a popular fruit in Southeast Asia, much of it imported from Vietnam. Dragon fruit is juicy, but only slightly sweet.
	Drumstick ............................................................ A native of India, the drumstick tree is also known as the horse radish tree, its roots were once used as a horse radish replacement (contains toxin and has to be properly treated). The immature drumstick size fruit is used as a vegetable. Scraped and cut into sections, the seed pod is fibrous and is chewed to extract the juicy bits. The seed is crunchy with a nice flavour. The leaves are so nutritious its being widely promoted in the 3rd World countries.
	Duku langsat ............................................................ Lansium domesticum A seasonal fruit of tropical Asian origin with a translucent sweet flesh but a bitter seeds. There are several varieties some with thick skin which could easily be pressed open.
	Durian (King of Fruits) ............................................................ Durio zibethinus Definitely the most interesting of all tropical fruits and the most loved fruit of Southeast Asia. It has a very strong aroma and certainly an aquired taste, either a love it or hate it affair. Quality varies and taste differs, some creamy and taste like vanila ice cream while others somewhat soft and slightly bitterish. Color of the flesh range from creamy white to orangy yellow. It has been described as rotten onion with a touch of turpentine ... It is a seasonal fruit, and begining to gain popularity outside Southeast Asia. The shell is extremely hard, to open, use an oyster knife and ply open visible lines formed by the thorns.
	Duzhong ............................................................ Cortex Eucommiae, Eucommia ulmoides Eucommia bark is a herbal soup ingredient used to strenghten bones and muscles in Traiditional Chinese Medicine. Consult your physician on usage.
	Back