This is going to be a chop-suey kind of column, of bits and pieces in response to readers. I've been so busy doing our annual Best Restaurants guide that I haven't been as "interactive" as I usually am.

'Ulu variations: I wrote about baked breadfruit chips with mayo dip in my blog recently. So 'ono! Robyn Gentry of Hilo responded to remind me of another breadfruit preparation: "Ka'ulupulehu (the roasted 'ulu) is delish, but I love the way my grams make it, Portuguese style. Boil green peeled 'ulu with garlic and chili peppers, remove, slice sort of thin and fry in butter till golden brown. Salt to taste and YUM." Oh, yeah!

Sake lees marinade: Ed Taniguchi wrote to ask if I had a recipe for a fish marinade made with "sake-no-kasu" (sake lees, or sake sediment), a byproduct of sake-making. He had looked everywhere but not found one. I gave him some leads as to folks I thought might have such a thing and I did find some options online, but if anyone has a good, reliable recipe for marinating salmon (he's just back from a fishing trip with 50 pounds of the stuff, lucky him!), send it along.

Rice-pot cooking: An e-mail friend named Shar asked if I had ever done a story on cooking meals in rice pots. The answer is no, but I know it can be done. I have steamed fish in the rice pot, but I won't do it again. It took several washing and soakings with vinegar to get the fishy flavor out of the pot!

Shar has been making pastas and cakes in the rice cooker. Hmm. Do you use your rice cooker for dishes other than rice? What do you make? Send tips and recipes, please.

Is it still good? My friend RuthAnn Becker e-mailed to suggest a Web site with useful information: http://www.stilltasty.com, which lists the shelf lives of all manner of foods and how they should be stored.

I get lots of calls from readers who want to know if something is "still good," so this Web site should come in handy. My rule of thumb: If you have doubts, throw it out.

Wok quest: Reader Wynnie Hee has been on a thwarted wok quest for some time now. She wrote to tell me of all the different types of woks she's tried that didn't work. She wants a 10- to 12-inch flat-bottomed carbon-steel wok, the kind that has to be seasoned and that was so common 20 years ago before nonstick came in.

She's tried Chinatown, but the only good-quality carbon steel she could find was in the form of immense sizes for commercial kitchens. She tried a $14 wok from Bo Wah, but it is tippy and won't stay flat. She tried a $35 one from another Chinatown store and the metal is too thin — it doesn't sit flat and refuses to season. Everyplace else had nonstick woks.

She laments: "I ordered a $27 Joyce Chen wok from http://www.Amazon.com ... and I want to cry. Yes, it's carbon steel, but it's more like a cross between a big saute frying pan and a wok. It's too shallow and the flat part is 8 or 9 inches. Plus, the handle is not solidly attached: When I tip it on the side I can feel the pan move.

"About 15-plus years ago, I abandoned my cheap, generic, carbon-steel flat-bottomed wok — and bought a Circulon wok because I enjoyed watching 'Yan Can Cook' and that's what he used. What a ninny I was ... (it) did not last long ... the ridges soon kind of mashed together — you can't use high heat."

Anybody got any suggestions about where to buy a good-quality carbon-steel wok in a home size?

Send recipe requests, and answers to queries, to Wanda Adams, Food Editor, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; fax, 525-8055; e-mail wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.