Cooking tips and wonderful flavour combinations

[mistersloane]

Also, has anyone managed to track down the "korean chilli flakes" that FD alleges are a) a real thing and b) essential to making good sichuan chilli oil? I tried about six oriental stores today including one that was specifically korean and they all basically just had East End and Rajah brands...

Think they're these ones :

http://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/hot-pepper-flakes

but haven't tried to track them down, if I see any on my travels round London I'll let you know

Also see here :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/sep/05/londons-asian-supermarkets

I've never been to New Malden I don't think though. Arigato on Brewer Street sounds a good bet.

 

[baboon2004]

@Slothrop, don't think it was kecap manis at all, some kind of other soy/chili combo...

essential listening to accompany any New Malden trip (cross-thread pollination):

 

[Mr. Tea]

Fry the onion mix in oil for 5-10 mins, and then add pork shoulder that has already been quickly fried. Stew for a while and then add vinegar to taste...lovely.

Pork vindaloo? Not something I'd ever have thought of...can't really picture even Hindus in India eating pork in a big way, for some reason. Maybe that's just because most 'Indian' restaurants in Britain are actually Bangladeshi and therefore serve halal food though, I dunno.

You sometimes hear people say that pigs are unsuited to hot climates but pork seems to be the main meat in SE Asia, so there must be more to it than that. I guess they don't do very well in arid climates?

 

[Slothrop]

It's a Portugese influenced Christian thing, innit. In fact, according to wikipedia, the name is a corruption of "carne de vinha d' alhos".

(Another food origin fact that I learnt recently: katsu style curry was actually introduced to Japan from India via the British. So when you talk about "authentic katsu curry" you're actually talking about an authentically inauthentic Japanese knockoff of an inauthentic British knockoff of an Indian dish...)

 

[muser]

You sometimes hear people say that pigs are unsuited to hot climates but pork seems to be the main meat in SE Asia, so there must be more to it than that. I guess they don't do very well in arid climates?

Pork is a huge staple of Spain though (fairly arid), people eat it pretty much everyday. They use to get burnt at the stake for being a Moor if they didnt have a pig hanging up out the back. Possible the pigs could have been brought on from the less arid areas I suppose, pigs like mud dont they

 

[baboon2004]

dunno about the exact corruption that led to vindaloo, it's no doubt as Slothrop says, named after vinegar and garlic.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/foo_por_con_per_cap-food-pork-consumption-per-capita

Denmark trumps even Spain in pork consumption

 

[Benny Bunter]

I had pork curries a few times in Goa, its really nice.

Spain definitely has the best ham in the world. A slice of Iberico washed down with a glass of fino sherry is a taste sensation.

 

[Mr. Tea]

Pork is a huge staple of Spain though (fairly arid), people eat it pretty much everyday. They use to get burnt at the stake for being a Moor if they didnt have a pig hanging up out the back. Possible the pigs could have been brought on from the less arid areas I suppose, pigs like mud dont they

I read somewhere, in one of the Moro cookbooks I think, that pork was promoted as Spain's official national meat after the Christian reconquest. Dunno where this left Jews but they might have all been kicked out by this point anyway...

There must be a fascinating book to be written about how religious laws have shaped the world's cuisine, if there aren't several already.

 

[baboon2004]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taboo_food_and_drink

Some interesting stuff here. Who knew that bears aren't kosher?

 

[viktorvaughn]

There must be a fascinating book to be written about how religious laws have shaped the world's cuisine, if there aren't several already.

Yeah that would be pretty cool.

The weirdest thing I think is contemplating the fact that chillies were only introduced to India and SE Asia from S America in the 1500s..so the common perception of that food all being inherently and historically spicy is somehow challenged. (If I have remembered this correctly...)

 

[baboon2004]

i think that's where the use of black pepper in south/SE Asia (common in Cambodia still I know, and also for some set Indian dishes perhaps?) comes in.

Same weirdness with tomatoes only reaching Italy in the 1500s

 

[Mr. Tea]

Yeah that would be pretty cool.

The weirdest thing I think is contemplating the fact that chillies were only introduced to India and SE Asia from S America in the 1500s..so the common perception of that food all being inherently and historically spicy is somehow challenged. (If I have remembered this correctly...)

And what the hell did people in northern Europe live on before spuds were introduced? Lots of bread and porridge and oatcakes, I guess.

 

[Slothrop]

And what the hell did people in northern Europe live on before spuds were introduced? Lots of bread and porridge and oatcakes, I guess.

Yeah, lots of bread, I think. Rye bread is a bit of a northern european staple isn't it?

In other news, I've recently been getting quite into tinned mackerel fillets as something to eat when the veggie's out. Today with onion and peas on a baked potato with a bit of grated cheddar. Lovely.

 

[Mr. Tea]

I remember as a hard-up student frying mackerel fillets with a bit of onion and having it on wholemeal toast for dinner. Total cost about 27p and surprisingly tasty. Because every penny you've saved on food is an extra penny you can spend down the 'Spoons.

The religious laws on food are a whole fascinating world of their own. Does anyone have any idea why Islam largely kept the old Hebrew laws while Christianity pretty much got rid of food laws apart from the thing about not eating meat on a Friday? And even then, the Church got round this in the middle ages by classifying ducks and geese as 'fish' because they're kind of, you know, a bit aquatic...this idea was clearly cooked up by the spiritual forefathers of the lawyers in America who argued that a dollop of tomato ketchup served with a school lunch counted as a 'portion of fruit'.

 

[muser]

I used to have tinned mackarel fillets for lunch everyday in a salad (with celery tomato and balsamic very important), I had to stop after a while because it fucking stank my bag out, and pretty much anything that came in contact with, mackarel is pretty potent. Still have it if im having lunch at home. and also the mustard one is a really good snack on its own.

 

[Slothrop]

Yeah, the smell is some serious business, I've learnt to wash the pan and the tin out sharpish.

 

[baboon2004]

Last time i cooked mackerel, the smell was in the kitchen for a week. Never again, will make do with smoked mackerel fillets unless i can do it on the barbecue. Still the best tasting fish ever though.

 

[Immryr]

i never cook with those tins of mackerel or sardines, the smell is repulsive. much prefere using them in a salad or just in a sandwhich. the only tinned fish i cook with is anchovies.

 

[pork]

Alright dissensus people I'm gonna re-break my lurk hymen for this thread since I've got so many meals out of it.

First: Chinese Sausages. These are amazing! Chuck them in with your rice (use a method where all the water gets absorbed) and they impart a lovely flavour, then just slice them up. and serve them on top. You can cut them up and stir fry them too but they're extemely sweet and fatty so steaming them with the rice is best. I got some with duck liver in which is nice but does rather dominate, I'll be getting the plain ones next time.

Second: HEADS UP FELLOW SICHUAN HEADS. After years of searching I recently found some Sichuan peppercorns worthy of the name in Loon fung on Gerard street. They were tucked in with all the chilis and obviously originally meant for 'medicine' rather than food because the label simply said 'Rural Amorous Feelings' :slanted:

 

[baboon2004]

haha, got a big bag of those at home. thought i should remember the brand name of them in case i couldn't find them again - fortunately it's very memorable. was at a stage of chucking a handful into everything i cooked