Eat your way around the world
The act of "saucing" food in Singapore is not as simple as I expected it to be. From what I can tell, there's two schools of thought on the matter. First: the 'dip & dunk' variety, a.k.a. those who keep a bowl of incendiary hot sauce next to their plates for regular food baths. Second: the 'drizzle & bedazzle' variety, a.k.a. those who let the sauce rain down over their food, free-form. While I wouldn't normally expect this to be a big deal, the foodies of Singapore are so … [Read more...]
Singapore is a true melting pot. In every kitchen, you'll find time honored traditions from around the world, especially India, China, Malaysia, and Europe. Today's recipe, Kaya, belies the British influence on the islands. Think tea time and crumpets. But Asian-style. Here's the skinny: Kaya is Coconut Curd. Curd is a spread that's thickened with egg yolks... In this sense, Kaya is just like Britain's much adored lemon curd, but with the hauntingly addictive flavor of rich, velvety … [Read more...]
Way out in the Pacific ocean sits a bumpy, bumbling little island country called Palau. From what I hear, the fine people (20,000 strong) slather barbecue sauce on just about anything. Fish. Chicken. Even mussels. Some say it's the American influence on their cuisine, but I detect a nod to the rich gingery-garlic barbecue sauces of Asia as well. I immediately knew that I had to make homemade barbecue sauce to experience our Palauan Global Table to the fullest. And if I was going to … [Read more...]
Sometimes life throws us some pretty major "boulders" - huge, overwhelming problems we can't seem to solve, let alone nudge out of the way. In Namibia, you can find a lot of these boulders, literally. Strangely out of proportion, these massive stones perch atop bald, widswept vistas. I like to think of these formiddable boulders as mangoes. Yes, mangoes. Something that, if given enough time, will soften and sweeten and delight you. Why can't all problems be this way? Today's recipe … [Read more...]
Welcome to golden, fire-breathing sunshine. This is piri piri, a famous hot sauce in Africa which has hundreds (thousands!) of variations. Today's rendition comes from Mozambique, where bright lemon juice meets smooth olive oil, tiny hot peppers, and a healthy scoop of red pepper flakes. Piri Piri has her roots in Portuguese culture, whose influence is still felt today in Mozambique. Keep in mind that you can make piri piri by mincing a mountain of hot peppers, if you're brave. In that … [Read more...]
Some days I dream about reinventing myself - pulling myself up, out of the ordinary into the wildly wonderful. On these ornery-sorts-of-days, I imagine myself strutting around in a bold color I've never worn before, like mustard yellow. On really good days I actually make these dreams happen. I become a mustard-wearing queen. Other days I just end up wearing mustard. Literally. That's the way life goes: sometimes change works, sometimes it doesn't. The fun is in the trying. Are you willing … [Read more...]
In college I went by MacGyver. It had nothing to do with my ability to save lives (with little more than a shoestring and a balloon), and everything to do with feeding my four hungry roommates in the face of the greatest of obstacles (an empty refrigerator). I once made them lasagna without pasta or sauce. True story. Which brings me to this Micronesian marinade. There are four fantastic reasons to make it: 1. There is really no need to measure the ingredients. I have it on a local's … [Read more...]
I'll be honest. On the onset, learning how to make Mole Poblano sounded a lot like learning how to knit a wedding dress. Outrageously epic, but not entirely something I had the skills for. In case you've never heard of it, we're talking a Mexican recipe from Puebla that has a million, gazillion ingredients (ok, really just about two dozen), many cooking phases, and centuries of history behind it. Yikes. After staring at dozens of recipes, drinking several cups of tea, and more than a … [Read more...]
