It’s cute and it’s funny but it explains well why people find safety in conformity and in joining the proverbial bandwagon. Paradigm Created I used to think it was stupidity that turned hordes of people into zombie-like followers but it might be more than that. The “pain” suffered by every new monkey in that little ... (more)
Ma Po tofu
Posted on November 14, 2008 · 10 Comments
There are two recipes for Ma Po tofu in the archive but I don’t mind posting a third. Any recipe can be improved or tweaked further to suit the cook’s or the diner’s palate. In the case of Ma Po tofu, I was looking for a particular combination of spices and seasonings that would give it that certain oomph! That happened yesterday, finally. How? I added an essential ingredient that I did not have during my previous attempts at cooking the dish — Sichuan peppercorns.
Sichuan (Szechwan or Szechuan) peppercorns
Posted on November 13, 2008 · 14 Comments
If the dish known as salt and pepper pork is familiar to you, the pepper sprinkled over the pork in that dish is none other than Sichuan peppercorns. Named after a region in China from which it is known to originate, Sichuan or Szechuan peppercorns are not related to the black pepper nor the various chili peppers. They are the fruits of a plant family grown in Asia.
Contrary to common belief, Sichuan peppers are not only important in Szechuan cuisine but is found in many Asian cuisines including Indonesian, Tibetan and Nepalese (or is it Nepali?).
The amero and the North American Union
Posted on November 13, 2008 · 4 Comments
(Today’s column) For about three weeks now, an e-mail about the collapse of the US economy before the summer of 2009 has been circulating. The text of the e-mail is a verbatim reproduction of a Web log entry by one Hal Turner who, until July of 2008, ran a donations-dependent Webcast show from his home ... (more)
Lemongrass tamarind chicken
Posted on November 13, 2008 · 11 Comments
It is curious how one finds the basic sweet and sour dish in the cuisine of every Southeast Asian country. We have our escabeche; the Thai have their Pad Preow Wan Kai (they even have a name for their sweet and sour sauce — Nam Jim Priao Wan); the Malaysians have a cooking style known as Masak Branda/Belanda which, according to Bee of Rasa Malaysia, applies to eggs as well as fish; and there’s this Vietnamese sweet and sour chicken dish with lemongrass and tamarind.
Anchovies and eggs mish – mash
Posted on November 12, 2008 · 19 Comments
Needless to say, it’s been a stressful day and I’ve been snarky and irritable. I was planning on posting a more exotic dish today but let’s keep it light for now, shall we? Some kind of comfort food seems to be more appropriate because comfort was something I needed badly while waiting for Google to review the site and re-crawl the pages and remove the red alerts.
This anchovies and egg dish was breakfast two days ago.
The relevance of homework
Posted on November 11, 2008 · 22 Comments
(Today’s column) Everyone who has gone to school has experienced homework and projects. I have. Some homework I appreciated because they strengthened my grasp of lessons learned inside the classroom. Some projects I really enjoyed because they involved discovery–like the one about pouring vinegar in a jar with a chicken bone and finding out how ... (more)
Revisiting Manderley
Posted on November 11, 2008 · 4 Comments
I’m reading Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca for the second time. The date on the flyleaf of the book says I bought it when I was 15 years old and I must have read it not too long after I bought it. When you buy books out of your school allowance, you tend to buy one ... (more)
Braised tilapia
Posted on November 11, 2008 · 20 Comments
To braise means to cook in a little sauce that gets absorbed by the seafood or meat turning it highly flavorful. In Asia, the sauce in which fish, chicken or meat is braised is always supplemented with herbs, spices and aromatics. So, basically, you put some sauce in the pan, you add the herbs, spices and aromatics, you add the fish, chicken or meat, you cover the pan and leave everything to simmer.
It’s so simple, one wonders why not many people take advantage of the braising method of cooking.
Sauteing basics
Posted on November 10, 2008 · 14 Comments
I am not a fan of ginisa (saute) mixes. First of all, they provide no added texture to the cooked food. Secondly, there are no natural nutrients found in them. Thirdly, they do not give the dish that interesting mix of colors that only real herbs, spices and vegetables can. When I saute, I start with fresh everything. Like I did this morning when I made an anchovies and egg breakfast. I will post the recipe for that later. For now, let’s talk about sauteing basics, a.k.a. how to peel garlic, chop onions and whether it’s really necessary to scoop out the seeds of the tomato.
Conversations