Then there's the Vietnamese, who probably use pretty well everything although they may not serve it to outsiders.

Yes, I'd forgotten, there is a huge Vietnamese
presence in Texas and Louisiana.

Not too long ago, Marcus Samuleson did a series called "No Passport Required". One of his shows was set in New Orleans.
We eagerly looked forward to it expecting to learn something new about
Cajun or Creole cooking. Instead it was 100% focused on the Vietnamese

Mkes sense, as the normal New Orleans subjects have
been done over and over again. Plus, as he is a
displaced person himself, he must have a lot of
sympathy for other refugees and emigres.

community in New Orleans -- which I never knew existed. His show on
Detroit was focused on the Middle Eastern community there.
Neither show was what I expected, but both were excellent. I think
that there were only six shows in all. Other shows were Ethiopian in Washington DC, Indo-Guyanese in Queens, Mexican in Chicago and Haitian
in Miami.

All interesting.

And yes -- most of us would quickly change some of the ingredients in
this recipe, but it does look like it has possibilities.
Title: Spinach & Beef Pita Sandwiches !

Definitely not my kind of thing!

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v7.07

Title: Eggplant Sichuan Style
Categories: Chinese, Vegetarian
Servings: 4

6 Chinese eggplant, or:
1 lg Italian eggplant
2 ts Salt
4 tb Peanut or corn oil
- (or more if needed)
1 tb Soy sauce
1 tb Sugar
1/4 c Chicken stock
2 ts Grated fresh peeled ginger
1 tb Minced garlic
1/4 ts Dried red chile flakes
1/4 c Chopped water chestnuts,
-(peeled), preferably fresh
3 Green onions, trimmed and
- chopped
1 tb Red wine vinegar
1 tb Sesame oil
1 tb Toasted black sesame seeds
- (for garnish)

CUT EGGPLANT into 1/2-by-2-inch strips. If using Italian eggplants, peel
skin. In a colander, toss eggplant with salt; drain for 30 minutes.
Squeeze
gently to remove excess water. Pat dry with paper towels. In a small
bowl,
mix soy sauce, sugar and chicken stock. Preheat wok until hot over high
heat. Add 3 tablespoons of the oil, tilt wok to coat sides. When hot, add
1
layer of eggplant, stir-fry until seared and tender (about 3 minutes).
Remove to colander. Drain over a bowl to catch juices. Cook remaining
eggplant in same manner adding more oil if needed. Reheat wok over
medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil, ginger, garlic
and
chile; cook gently but do not brown. Add water chestnuts and half of the
green onions; stir-fry together for 5 seconds. Increase to high heat, add
reserved soy sauce mixture and eggplant juices; bring to a boil. Return
cooked eggplant; toss quickly over high heat until most of the sauce is
reduced and absorbed into eggplant (about 1-to-2 minutes). Fold in
vinegar
and sesame oil. Remove to serving dish. Top with remaining green onions
and
sesame seeds. Serve hot or cold.

JOYCE JUE - PRODIGY GUEST CHEFS COOKBOOK

She means big purple eggplant when she refers to Italian.
It would be better to add a little minced pork and/or an
order of magnitude more hot pepper. White sesame seeds.
[M's notes]

MMMMM
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