bonaventure, my mother would have skinned you alive for such offense... as bill said, the liquid from soaking dried up shiitakes is a wonderful addition for soups and stews... what a waste!!!! when i was a kid, i was trying to help my mother and an aunt in the kitchen and i made a huge mistake. i opened a can of canned abalone, and i did the same with the liquid, i poured it down the drain. i'm surprised i lived to tell the tale... dr. waddick, thanks for the correction on the sichuan peppercorns. i read about them in a culinary news article, and of course i should have done some research but i didn't, i just took them at their word that it is a citrus. i enjoy having sichuan peppercorns in my food, but not too much. they leave a lingering, interesting taste in your tongue if you put too much of it. jim mckinney, since i know you'd like this, you should try SPC on sauteed conch, with chili pepper sauce... ========= tsuh yang __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com/