Fried

chicken, black-eyed peas and corn bread used to be the

dishes that came to mind when you thought "Southern

cooking." Now, it's likely that corn meal casserole,

meat turnovers and yaki soba are also on the menu.

Japanese,

European, Latin, and Central American specialties are

making their way into Fayette County kitchens, as new

residents migrate here from around the globe.

At the

recent international festivals at Holy Trinity Catholic

Church and at the Glenloch soccer fields, both in

Peachtree City, native Georgians and new neighbors

feasted on an assortment of delicious homemade recipes.

The turnout

at Holy Trinity was a veritable parade of nations as

Irish tea cake vied with Costa Rican rice pudding for a

prominent place on the desert table.

The lines

were long at Sunday's fourth annual food and fun fest,

sponsored by the International Society, for a medley of

Japanese favorites which included curry rice, yaki tori,

an Eastern interpretation of shishkabobs, and back by

popular demand, yaki soba, a quick-fried combo of cooked

vegetables, noodles and chicken or pork, like chow mein.

According

to Kazuyoshi Ouishi of TDK Electronic Corp., one of the

volunteer chefs at the festival, yaki soba can be

prepared by mixing Japanese noodles, which resemble

spaghetti, with vegetables, such as green onion and

cabbage. The small pieces of pork or chicken are stir

fried in a wok with a special sauce that includes

Worcester sauce and black pepper.

Ouisha said

the Japanese noodles are available at the Crosstown

Kroger in Peachtree City.

The basting

sauce used in preparing yaki tori, the dish served by

Panasonic employees Sunday, includes soy sauce, sugar,

saki and a "secret recipe" the cooks were

reluctant to divulge.

The curry

rice scented the air with a pungent aroma of more than 30

spices. According to the write-up prepared by Panasonic,

the stew-like dish curry rice ranks alongside sushi and

tempura as one of Japan's favorite dishes. Many of the

spices contained in the curry blocks have a medicinal

value. Turmeric, the spice that gives curry its yellow

hue, aids digestion and keeps the liver strong.

Today,

Japan ranks second only to India, curry's birthplace, in

annual consumption of curry powder.