GENEVA - Chinese and international health experts will meet in Beijing next month to discuss strengthening food safety rules, the head of the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

The Sept. 12-13 talks, which WHO officials said had been planned for a year, follow a string of embarrassing product recalls in China, which has been plagued by safety problems with toothpaste, tires, seafood and toys.

“I’m happy to note that there will be an upcoming meeting in Beijing on food safety issues in September,” WHO Director-General Margaret Chan told a news conference mainly devoted to WHO’s annual report on infectious diseases. “The government of China is committed to improving their system.”

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Ingredients:

1 medium-sized bangus or milkfish (about 800 grams)
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. calamansi or lemon juice
1/8 tsp. pepper pinch of salt
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp. cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. butter or margarine
1/3 cup peas, drained
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup potatoes, diced finely then fried
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cooking oil

Procedure:

Clean fish. Pound to soften. Slit back to open and remove backbone. Scrape meat with a spoon or knife. Keep skin in 1 piece. Soak skin in mixture of calamansi juice, soy sauce and pepper. Set aside. Boil bangus (milkfish) flesh with pinch of salt and 1/4 cup water, until color changes. Set aside. Drain. Pick bones. Fry garlic, onions and tomatoes in hot oil. Add fish and season. Cook 5 minutes. Remove from fire. Put in margarine, peas, raisin, fried potatoes, and eggs. Mix thoroughly. Stuff fish skin with mixture and sew opening. Dredge in flour and fry until brown. Arrange on a platter, garnish with kinchay, or Chinese celery, tomatoes, and slices of lemon.

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
2 cups light corn syrup
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (3 oz.)
1 (8.5 oz.) can cream of coconut
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 whole egg
8 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream or whipping cream, whipped
1/2 cup toasted silvered almonds

Procedure:

Generously grease a 1-1/2 quart casserole; set aside. Stir sugar and syrup in a medium saucepan to combine. Attach a candy thermometer to side of pan. Without stirring, simmer over low heat until mixture reaches 300 deg. F (150 deg. C) on thermometer. Mixture will be a light caramel color and separate into brittle threads when dropped from a spoon into water. Remove from heat. Stir in butter until melted. Preheat oven to 350 deg. F (175 deg. C). In a small bowl, combine cream of coconut and flour to make a smooth paste. Stir into syrup until blended. In the same small bowl, beat whole egg and egg yolks. Stir 1/2 cup of the syrup mixture into eggs. Stirring vigorously, slowly pour egg mixture into syrup mixture until blended. Pour into prepared casserole. Place casserole in a slightly larger baking dish. Pour water 1 to 1-1/2 inches deep into outer dish. Bake about 40 minutes in preheated oven until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool slightly. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. To serve, invert casserole onto a platter; remove casserole. Spoon dollops of whipped cream on top of flan. Make peaks by pulling cream upward with the back of a metal spoon. Sprinkle with silvered almonds. Make 8 to 10 servings.

Variation:

Substitute 2 cups crushed, sweetened strawberries, raspberries or blackberries for whipped cream.

Ingredients:

1/2 kg. fresh shrimps (medium size)
1/4 cup tomatoes, chopped
10 pcs. camias
1 bunch kangkong
1/4 cup onions, sliced
3 cups rice water
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. monosodium glutamate

Procedure:

Fry chopped tomatoes and sliced onions. Add the camias and cook till camias are soft and mushy. Add rice water. Let boil. When boiling, add shrimps. Season with salt and monosodium glutamate. Drop in kangkong and cook 2 minutes more. Makes 6 servings.

Hot topping causes the cream cheese to melt deliciously over the dumplings.

Ingredients:

1 (29-oz.) can peach halves
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (2 oz.)
3 to 4 tbsp. cold water
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
Ground cinnamon

Peach Topping, see below

1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature

Peach Topping Ingredients:

1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup reserved peach syrup
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. butter or margarine

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 deg. C). Drain peach halves, reserving 1 cup syrup for topping. Set aside. Blend flour and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture is the size of small peas. Stir in Cheddar cheese. Toss gently with a fork while adding water 1 tablespoon at a time. Toss until moisture is distributed. Shape dough into a bal. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to an 18″ x 12″ rectangle. Use a knife or pastry cutter to cut dough in half to make two 18″ x 6″strips. Cut each strip into three 6-inch squares. Place 1 peach half cut-side down in the center of each square. Cut butter or margarine into small pieces. Distribute evenly over peaches. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. Moisten edges of pastry with water. Bring corners together over peach halves. Pinch corners and edges together to make a tight seal. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 20 to 25 minutes in preheated oven until golden brown. While dumplings bake, prepare Peach Topping. Cut cream cheese into 6 equal pieces. Place baked dumplings in small dessert dishes. Top each dumpling with a piece of cream cheese. Spoon hot topping evenly over dumplings and cheese. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

Peach Topping Procedure:

Blend sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat. Gradually stir in reserved peach syrup until thickened and bubbly. Stir in lemon peel, lemon juice and butter or margarine until smooth. Keep warm over low heat.

SERIOUS cooks know they can go off to France and take immersion courses, but until recently, I hadn’t realized that it is possible to take quickie cooking classes: a few hours, a half day or a day.Although I visit Paris often, my visits are short, and I assumed cooking classes would involve a major time commitment. In fact, it is easy to pop into a class, connect with Paris in a different way and, as a bonus, improve your French. (Usually, but not always, there is an English translator.)

The range of choice is so enormous that I decided to explore my options at three principal cooking schools in Paris: École Ritz Escoffier, École Lenôtre and Le Cordon Bleu. All three schools have well organized Web sites, particularly Lenôtre, where classes are given only in French. At Cordon Bleu, amateur classes are translated simultaneously into English, as are many demonstrations; at Ritz Escoffier, everything is translated.

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Ingredients:

1 ox tail
1 ox leg
6 cups water
1/2 cup atchuete seeds for coloring
1/2 cup water
4 pieces eggplants
2 bundles sitao “beans”
1 banana terminal male bud (Butuan variety)
1 head garlic, chopped
2 onions, sliced
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup “bagoong alamang” (salted shrimps)
1 cup ground peanuts
1 cup toasted, ground rice
salt and monosodium glutamate

Procedure:

Boil the ox tail and leg in water until tender. Cut into desired pieces and set aside. Soak atsuete seeds in water. Rub to bring out color. Set aside. Cut vegetables into desired pieces. Boil water, drop sitao and parboil. Remove, set aside. Do likewise with eggplants and banana terminal male bud. Saute garlic and onions in cooking oil. Add bagoong and atsuete water. Let boil for 5 minutes. Blend in ground peanuts and ground rice. Bring to a boil then put in the meats. Just before removing from the fire, add the vegetables. Serve with Bagoong Guisado.

Bagoong Guisado

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cooking oil
1 head garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/4 kg. boiled pork, diced
1 1/2 cup bagoong alamang (salted shrimps)
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup native vinegar
1/4 cup pork broth

Procedure:

Saute garlic and onion in cooking oil. Add the pork, bagoong and sugar. Blend well, then add vinegar and broth. Boil until quite dry. Serve with the Kare kare.

This fondue is a treat for diabetic, low-calorie and low-fat dieters and for nondieters too.

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded low-fat American cheese (8 oz.)
1/2 cup low-fat milk or skim milk
1 tbsp. snipped fresh parsley
1 tbsp. grated onion
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. dried dillweed, crushed
1/4 tsp. celery seeds
1 cup broccoli flowerets
3 tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup zucchini slices, 1/4-inch thick
1 cup carrot slices, 1/4-inch thick
1 cup small fresh raw mushroom caps

Procedure:

Combine cheese, milk, parsley, onion, garlic, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, dillweed and celery seeds in a medium saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat until cheese melts. Pour into a fondue pot or chafing dish. Keep warm over a low flame. Place broccoli flowerets, water and salt in a small saucepan with a tight lid. Cover and simmer over medium heat until crisp-tender, about 15 minutes; drain. To serve, place hot cooked broccoli flowerets, zucchini slices, carrot slices and mushroom caps in individual serving dishes. Using forks, dip vegetables into fondue. Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

1 duck (about 1 kg.), dressed
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. ginger, in strips
2 tbsp. rice wine
1/4 cup cooking oil for frying
6 pieces dried mushrooms, soaked
5 pieces asparagus
1/4 tsp. ginger, in strips
water from 1 can of asparagus
2 tsp. cornstarch dispersed in 1 tbsp. water

Procedure:

Soak duck overnight in soy sauce, ginger and rice wine. Fry in hot cooking oil until brown. Make a bed of mushrooms and asparagus on a platter. Sprinkle with ginger. Nestle fried duck on bed of mushrooms and asparagus and steam for 2 hours. Debone and put back on the platter. Collect drippings, add water from asparagus. Bring to a boil, thicken with cornstarch. Pour over duck. Serve hot.

Here is a new and different vegetable dish that everyone will enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon instant chicken broth granules
1 cup water
3 large cucumbers, peeled
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 cup chopped radishes
2 cups soft white breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram, crumbled
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/8 teaspoon peeper
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (4 oz. )
1 teaspoon dried parsley leaves

Procedure:

Combine instant chicken broth granules and water in a large skillet over medium-high heat, Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise. Using the tip of a teaspoon, scoop out and discard seeds. Place cucumber halves cut-side down in broth. Cover skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Generously butter a 10 inches by 6 inches baking dish. Remove cucumber from broth with a slotted spoon. Place on paper towels to drain.Reserve broth. Melt butter or margarine in the same skillet. Add radishes and saute until soft. Stir in breadcrumbs, marjoram, egg, pepper and reserved broth. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese until melted.Arrange cucumber halves cut-side up in prepared baking dish. Fill hollow cucumbers with stuffing mixture. Bake 20 minutes in preheated oven. In a small bowl, combine remaining cheese with parsley; sprinkle over cucumbers. Bake 20 minutes longer. Makes 6 servings.