I like how “Cloverfield” keeps popping in and out of public consciousness. After the mysterious trailer first appeared in front of Transformers it looked like the movie was going to rapidly burn out considering the massive hunt that was going on for clues. When those clues weren’t forthcoming, I worried that the J.J. Abrams produced picture might suffer from Snakes on a Plane syndrome: overexposure and then a loss of publicity resulting in a catastrophic box office turnout. Instead the picture has managed to turn that initial burn into a slow simmer, putting clues out frequently enough to keep people engaged but not tired of the lack of answers.

The latest clue is another picture appearing on the 1-18-08.com website. The image shows a Japanese chef excitedly showing off his latest creation. On the back of the image (remember, you can flip those over) is the recipe in Japanese. Rope of Silicon is carrying the following translation of the recipe found at Unfiction:

Everybody, thank you for viewing! I'll introduce this week's delicious recipe. Please make sure to keep this one cold! Skinless chicken breast - 2, cut in halves S?men noodles - 10 oz. Watercress - 1/2 cup cut into small strips Turnip - 1/2 cup, thinly sliced Shiitake Mushrooms - 1/2 cup Chicken stock - 1/3 cup Sake - 2 tbsp. Sugar - 1/2 tsp. Deep-sea crab - one In a small saucepan, stir together 1/3 cup water, chicken stock, sake, and sugar. Chill it until it becomes cold. Grill the chicken breast on both sides for about 8 minutes, and then chill. Boil the noodles for about 3 minutes, and then run under cold water until chilled. Mix the watercress, turnips, and mushrooms into the s?men. Slice the chicken thinly and arrange on top of the s?men mix. Just before you serve, put the crab in the sauce and pour over the noodles generously. Go Go Delicious Chef! #3912

Apparently fans are keying into that last ingrediant, the “deep-sea crab” and correlating it with an image of a crab found at Slusho.jp, which is supposed to be another viral promotional site for the movie. Does this mean the creature of “Cloverfield” is a giant crab? Isn't it just as likely that it will be a giant chicken, after all, that's an ingredient too. We have no idea, but isn’t it fun to guess?

Meanwhile, 1-18-08.blogspot has come up with another find for the movie: another viral site, similar to Lost’s Hanso Foundation. The company: Tagruto Corporation. Now, how do we know this is actually a viral site for this movie, unlike those that have been proven to be for other projects? Well, one of Tagruto Corp’s subsidiaries is… Slusho. Ah, the puzzle pieces slide together. The company’s website talks about deep-sea drilling, which theoretically could be responsible for awakening whatever monster the movie winds up getting.

However much of this winds up being true or even related to the movie is unknown, but it’s neat to see what a crazy web is being woven, even this far out from the movie’s release date. I will say this: speculation and viral sites are fun, but we need a new trailer to help build the hype back up. Give us some more to work with!