Published Date: Oct 25th, 2018. Mandarin Pages
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Sunday, 28 October 2018
Monday, 22 October 2018
Siwen Wong's Food Column (English Version)
Special Gourmet Food from Different Parts of the
World
The
focus here Is not on strange, unfamiliar food but rather special cultural food
that can be easily accepted internationally by everyone.
By Siwen Wong
1. Burmese Fermented Pickled Tea (lLaphet)
If
you have an opportunity to travel to Myanmar, you will see many Burmese,
whether they are women, men, old people or children, with their faces smeared
with a layer of white ‘paint’. This is in fact Thanaka, a natural sunscreen and
anti-aging face cream. Burmese women who use it regularly rarely have dark
spots, and their skin looks at least twenty years younger than their actual
age!
Thanaka smeared on a Burmese
woman's face
As Myanmar has been under the economic sanctions by the Western
countries for a long time, it indirectly forced the country to produce their
own agricultural produce and food commodities to become a very self-reliant
country. Until recently, after the change to a more liberal government,
foreigners can now travel there and have the opportunity to interact with the
local Burmese to know their culture and food.
Burmese’s fermented pickled tea
leaves, Laphet
Burmese
would use a mortar and pestle to smash the fermented pickled tea leaves into a
paste and then mix it with other flavoring and seasoning ingredients to turn it
into a very unique Laphet salad dressing.
Laphet
salad is one of the most unique and best salads I've ever tasted. It is also
one of my most highly recommended and most appetizing vegetarian dishes that
you can enjoy with rice alone. It makes you feel very satisfied after eating it.
My Burmese friends told me that Laphet was their favorite dish during their days
as poor students! Laphet as a tea can also help to refresh and alert the mind,
not unlike coffee.
The
Burmese roll the fermented pickled tea leaves into a long tube using large
leaves. To prepare Laphet salad dressing, open the long tube and rinse the fermented
tea with water to get rid of its bitter taste.
Prepare a mortar and pestle, smashed green peppers, garlic, ginger
slices and fermented tea together. Then mix in fish sauce, lemon juice,
ajinomoto and a lot of sesame oil. Your Laphet salad dressing is now ready.
Usually
the salad vegetables that the Burmese regularly use with their Laphet dressing
are lettuce, Napa cabbage (softened it with salt), cucumber or tomato (most
Burmese prefer to use tomato alone), which is then garnished with assorted crunchy
nuts (double fried dried shrimp, pumpkin seeds, broad beans, garden peas,
peanuts and sesame seeds). Once the vegetables are prepared, add the Laphet
salad dressing and mix well before serving.
My
close Burmese friend taught me how to prepare Laphet Thoke. Her father used to
be a Burmese ambassador to the UK and Switzerland. She grew up eating the best
gourmet food in Myanmar and I was lucky enough to learn from her how to prepare
this most delicious dish. She told me
that sesame oil can be replaced by olive oil. She also generously added a large
amount of Laphet salad dressing making her Laphet Thoke full of fragrance and
with subtle flavors.
2. Fennel Pollen
Westerners
are no stranger to fennel. The Chinese use chopped fennel leaves mixed with
minced pork to make dumplings and the Indian use ground fennel seeds as one of
the secret spices in their curry paste. But not many people know the culinary
value of the eye-catching fennel blossom yellow pollen that can be found
growing wild in most parts of New Zealand.
Fennel
pollen is hailed as a Culinary fairy dust by Western chefs. In particular,
Italian chefs love to use it to garnish, especially by sprinkling it on the
fish dishes.
28
grams of fennel powder can cost about 24 USD and usually only appears in
European haute cuisine as an embellishment and flavoring.
3. Sarawakien Empurau Fish
Empurau
is the species of torambroides, in fact it can be found throughout Southeast
Asia. The same species can also be found in Thailand's Chao Phraya River and
several Indochina countries along the Mekong River.
So,
what makes an empurau of 10 kg from Sarawak sell for over $2,000?
Let
us take a look at East Malaysian Borneo Island's Sarawak empurau fish's
unpolluted habitat and special diet. It is different from other empurau from
other parts of the world. Empurau comes from the hinterland of Sarawak's Kapit
province and it is actually still a relatively unknown part of the world. This
empurau is found along the rapids and waterfalls of primary forest areas which
thrive with wild fruit. The Empurau love to eat 'engkabang' fruit or illipe
nuts that drop into the water. In addition, the rapids and waterfalls
strengthen the muscles of the fish so that its texture is smooth like a
lobster. All these factors contribute to this Kapit inland empurau having a
unique taste and texture.
Empurau
love to eat 'engkabang' fruit and illipe nuts. The indigenous Sarawakian tribe,
“the Dayaks”, make an ‘engkabang margarine’ from the fruit, store it in a
bamboo tube and rub this on bamboo-cooked rice. Engkabang oil has a special
floral fragrance. This engkabang oil can be used to add a subtle taste to
gourmet chocolate - one that outsiders cannot identify.
Empurau is highly regarded for
its remarkably rare taste and texture. Anyone who has ever eaten it has never
forgotten how succulent it is; thus, its nickname among connoisseurs is the ‘forget-me-not
fish’. It is also known as the ‘king of the river’.
4. Hop Shoots
Did
you know that hop shoots are actually one of the most expensive vegetables in
the world? Hop cones are best known for their role in beer brewing, but hop
shoots are also a popular choice among European fine dining chefs as
accompaniments to their main course.
Hop corns for brewing beer
In Belgium, hopscheuten are cultivated in dark rooms or in glass, because the shoots turn green and become harder when exposed to sunlight.
Hop shoots can reach a thousand Euros per kilogram. They can also be stir fried
Even in 1969, Elizabeth David included hop shoots in her recipes for Risotto and Frittata.
5. Polish Pig Trotters Jelly or Aspic (Zimne
Nogi, Studzienina, Kwaszenina or Galaretka)
Thirty years ago in Poland I
tried this traditional Polish food. The Poles only prepare this for special
occasions. I recall not particularly liking this savory jelly when I first
tasted it, but I surprised myself by continually going back for more; indeed, I
would return to the fridge time and time again to cut myself a slice of aspic
and to grab a piece of sourdough to go with it. It soon became one of my
favorite Polish dishes. This jelly filling is not limited to the use of pig
trotters as filling - other variations include fish or other meats.
Polish pork trotter jelly is an appetizer and is often accompanied by a glass of vodka.
Poles usually cut polish aspic into slices and then serve them on a piece of sourdough or baguette as an open sandwich.
5. Indonesian
Tempeh
Tempeh is a regional food of Indonesia;
it is fermented soybeans
cultured with Rhizopus oligosporus, or Rhizopus oryzae fungus. After twenty-four
hours the soybean becomes sticky and can be pressed into any desired shapes.
Organic tempeh can be found in New Zealand at New World supermarkets. It is a food often recommended to vegetarians, as tempeh can be used to make vegetarian burger patties and to cook curries or prepare stir-fry vegetables with after being pan or deep-fried.
You can also utilize tempeh in the preparation of a delicious tempeh salad. Tempeh itself does not have much flavor, so you will need a rich and tasty sauce or dressing to accompany it.
https: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanaka
https://www.frim.gov.my/engkabang-butter-from-the-forest/
Sunday, 21 October 2018
如何像三星级米其林的大厨一样烹饪蘑菇汤? HOW TO PREPARE A MUSHROOM SOUP LIKE A MICHELIN THREE-STAR CHEF?
HOW TO PREPARE A MUSHROOM SOUP LIKE A MICHELIN THREE-STAR CHEF?
如何像三星级米其林的大厨一样烹饪蘑菇汤?
Published Date: Oct 12th, 2018. Mandarin Pages
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/na6J6TxNuj4DnDnNXo7W8w
Friday, 5 October 2018
Happy Birthday Dear Libras Readers!恭祝天秤座读者生日快乐!
Happy Birthday Dear Libras Readers!
Secret Recipes for Honey Cheesecake and Honey Lemongrass Lemon Tea
恭祝天秤座读者生日快乐!
獨家蜂蜜芝士蛋糕和蜂蜜香茅柠檬茶食谱
Published Date: Oct 6th, 2018. Mandarin Pages
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