Flavor Forecast has new angle on pairing spices (The Post and Courier)

You've heard of wine pairings, what about flavor pairings? Spice company McCormick has just released its Flavor Forecast 2008, which identifies up-and-coming flavor duos. These are pairings, I'd wager, that ordinary cooks haven't thought of or couldn't imagine, such as coriander and coconut water.

Saimin is a noodle soup dish developed in and unique to Hawaii. Inspired by Japanese ramen, Chinese mein, and Filipino pancit, saimin was developed during Hawaii's plantation era. It is a soup dish of soft wheat egg noodles served in hot dashi (stock from Japanese bonito fish or shrimp). Unlike ramen, saimin noodles contain eggs and tend to crinkle when cooked. It is garnished with green onions, baby bok choy or Chinese cabbage, kamaboko (steamed fish cake), Char siu (Chinese barbecue pork), sliced luncheon meat (Spam is the most popular choice) or Portuguese sausage (linguiça), and nori (seaweed wafers), among other additions. Japanese pot stickers, called gyoza, as well as Chinese wonton, are usually added for special occasions. A pan-fried version, primarily inspired by Filipino pancit, is also popular, especially at carnivals, fair grounds, and catered parties.