Asian Flavours Part Three: Bali - Island of the Gods

          The beautiful sights, sounds, smells and people of Bali

If Italy is my cultural and emotional homeland, the island of Bali is my spiritual one. On my fourth visit to the island, I am once again reminded of that. Statues of the gods everywhere – Shiva the Destroyer, Vishnu the Preserver, Ganesh, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and seemingly the most popular. Offerings wherever one looks – in the middle of the road; at the temples, big and small, that grace every village, building and home; atop a statue. Each one is a tiny random poem of love – a bit of fragrant rice, flowers, incense, perhaps a cracker – nestled in a miniature woven basket no bigger than a salad plate. All these elements blend to create an almost palpable air of holiness.

Offerings all around

A more elaborate gift.  Balinese women can spend up to one third of their time in devotional work, including preparing daily offerings to the gods

Balinese food reflects that complex blend. Combining Indonesian, Dutch, Indian, even Arab influences, the best of it has subtle but intense flavour at every bite – galangal, lemongrass, wild ginger, layered with kaffir leaves, fresh coconut and chili. Of course rice, served throughout the day, in dishes such as nasi goreng or for dessert as tape ketan.  And fruit - always fruit.

Ah, that fruit. Although not unique to Bali, the overflowing bowl of tropical fruit in my resort room still holds freshness that I rarely sample at home. My favourites are pulpy passionfruit and sweet cool mangosteen, the segments strangely resembling garlic cloves, in looks only. The fruit itself has a unique taste all its own, one that is hard to describe but impossible to forget.

Unappealing but utterly delicious passionfruit

The restaurant scene is international, reflecting the importance that tourism plays in Bali’s culture and economy. Italian, Thai and continental dishes mingle on the menu with chicken satays, spicy fried noodles and fresh grilled local fish. The common element for many restaurants is clearly in the design – the vibe is casual, the restaurants open wide to the balmy air, each with a cool urban decor.

We dine one night at Terazo, and the menu reflects the diverse tastes and sensibilities of the customers.  Me? I have an ice-cold Bintang beer, a refreshing gazpatcho soup and pork belly with cannellini beans. While roast suckling pig is a mainstay in Bali - babi guling - this pork has more of an Italian feel, scented with rosemary and garlic.  I don’t know if it’s typically Balinese but I do know that it’s delicious.

Icy cold local Bintang beer

Chilled gatzpatcho with lemongrass

Slow roasted pork belly with braised cabbage, cannellini beans, in a rosemary roasted garlic jus

A Taste of Bali

Several years ago we took cooking classes at the Four Seasons resort in Jimbaran Bay. This recipe has since become a standard appetiser at our house, especially at our holiday Open House, where a little taste of Bali makes even the coldest December day brighter.

Saté Lilit Bali (Balinese Chicken Sate)
courtesy of Four Seasons Resort at Jimbaran Bay

We are very lucky to live in a city where the exotic ingredients needed here are readily available. I have cited a list of mail order sources for the more obscure ingredients.

1 kg boneless, skinless chicken meat, minced (can use just breast or thighs or a combination of both)
3½ ounces shallots, finely chopped
1½ ounces garlic, finely chopped
4 pieces fresh small red chili, thinly sliced
4 tsp ginger, finely chopped
4 tsp galangal, finely chopped
2 tsp Chinese ginger (grachai), finely chopped


Chinese ginger, photo courtesy of Aromatics International

2 tsp fresh turmeric, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon ground turmeric)
1 tsp white pepper, ground
2 cloves clove, finely minced
1 tsp nutmeg, ground
1 tsp coriander, ground
1 tsp white sesame seed, ground
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tbsp canola oil
36 pieces lemongrass, cut into 6 inch skewer lengths
2 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
2 oz grated coconut, unsweetened

1. Heat oil in a frying pan on low heat and sauté all the spices, except the lime leaf and coconut, until aromatic and cooked through. Remove from heat, cool and blend to a paste.

2. Mix the spice paste with the minced chicken; add lime leaf and coconut. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Take 20 grams of the chicken mixture and work around the lemongrass skewer; repeat with remaining chicken.

4. Grill the satays until cooked through. Serve with peanut sauce.

Makes 40 satay skewers.

Make ahead: The paste can be made ahead and frozen. The skewers can also be made ahead, grilled and frozen. Or the paste and chicken can be prepared the day before; do not add coconut to raw meat until just before assembly.

I'm also angling to get the recipe for krupuk.  These delicious and highly addictive crackers are served alongside drinks at the Four Seasons resort in Sayan. Watch this space!

The Jati Bar at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan

The Sights of Bali

Bali is a sensory assault.  Everything is colorful - the amazing terraced rice paddies, the women with their elegant, feminine clothing, the food.  Best of all is the gentle and hospitable nature of the Hindu-practicing Balinese, who prize children, harmony and the earth around them in a way that is spell-binding.

The terraced rice paddies in Bali

Balinese children are considered sacred.  When a baby is born, its feet do not touch the ground for the first three months of life, to preserve the purity of the new soul that has been born to this base earth

Motor scooters are the most popular form of transport. It is common to see a family of three or even four astride a scooter - no helmets of course!

Balinese "dance-drama" features well-known characters from the deities and elaboarte costumes.  These masks are a readily available - and dramatic - souvenir of the island

Beautiful Balinese women gracefully carrying trays full of offerings

Temples everywhere

Cutting coconuts for the fresh coconut water

Even the "Do Not Disturb" sign is beautiful

After a brief and blissful sojourn in Hong Kong to reconnect with Richard before heading home (nothing like a long distance date to keep the marriage fresh!), I wind up my Asian travels, settle back at home and dream of vsisting Bali again some day soon.

Asian Flavours Part Two: Singaporean Chilli Crab

If you've ever been to Singapore, surely you have encountered Chilli Crab.  Served family style in restaurants all over the city, the crabs are swimming in a tomato-based sauce, and always come with deep fried sweet Chinese rolls called mantou that you eat by the dozen to capture the sauce.  There are variations on the theme, the most popular being black pepper crab.  The best places for Chilli Crab are the seafood hawker stalls or the waterside restaurants at and around the East Coast Seafood Centre, although the subject is one that causes heated debate amongst the locals. 

My favourite places are the cheap and cheerful places: very bright lights; plastic tablecloths; skimpy paper napkins; no atmosphere.  But amazing crab.  On this trip, though, we're being treated in style, so the restaurant is a step or two up from the ordinary: Jumbo Seafood.

At Jumbo, the open kitchen and floor to ceiling tanks of all manner of live crustaceans - including a particularly ugly geoduck - make for a different kind of Chilli Crab experience.  Still, the stacks of paper napkins, big water bowls and disposable bibs remind us that this is a place where messy fingers are expected.

  

 Appetisers include Fried Prawns with Cereal; Donut with Seafood Paste (essentially deep fried dough stuffed with cuttlefish paste); Deep Fried Bean Curd; Marinated Jellyfish

The delicious Chilli Crab

With nutcrackers, we take turns tackling the slippery obstinate shells, extracting the scant meat like so many rare pearls from oysters. Just one more mantou.  Let me try to crack that last crab claw.  Sated and happy, we pile into the waiting cars, fingers still sticky and fragrant.

Although I haven't tried this recipe from Tyler Florence, the ingredients look like they'd make a mighty fine mess 'o chilli crab.  Let me know if you try it!

Asian Flavours Part One: Spicy Grandma meets Indochine

For the past two weeks I've been on the road in Asia. Starting in Beijing, my travels have taken me to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and finally Singapore. Travelling on business is never easy; and airplane food is hardly gourmet. But still I’ve managed to see some amazing sights, and have some amazing meals, complete with wacky menu descriptions, unusual tastes, and the hilarity of ordering by “sign and point” (not to mention trying to navigate room service orders).  The way that food manages to connect us to one another - across very different cultures and languages - is one of my favourite things about travel.

Spicy Grandma Restaurant
Beijing Dongcheng District, xin Dongon
Market Quniou North Six-storey 609

If your vision of an authethic Chinese restaurant is one where all things weird and wonderful are on the menu, Spicy Grandma is your stop. Want whole baby turtle? Check.  What about goose tongue? Got it. Hmm - even a bit of snake on offer. Spicy Grandma has it all.  The staff's English is spotty, so we're (very) thankful for the large photo album-style menu, replete with succinct and slightly "off" English captions.

"Gluttonous" frog, courtesy of Spicy Grandma website

Beijing is famous for its roast Peking duck, so that's the first order of business.  This version is Camphorwood and Tea Smoked Duck, and yup - it's clearly recognizable as duck.

Deep-fried baby pork ribs somehow seem appealing too (why not, after a 13 hour flight?), and we round off our meal with sauteed pea shoots and eggplant.  And not just any eggplant - this dish is called Burns the Eggplant in Tile. I mean - really - how could you NOT order that dish just to see what it was? 

Well, actually, we can see what it might look like - an interesting presentation on utilitarian tin foil.  When it arrives, the dish lives up to its advance billing, looking exactly the same as the photo.  It is deeply delicious, the sauce fragrant and garlicky.  We use our steamed rice to soak it up. 

The next day affords us very little time to see much of Beijing, but we manage a quick trip to Tiananmen Square.  The day is beautiful and sunny and the square is full of Chinese tourists, taking photos of the stern very young military guards on duty, the massive monuments and each other.

Multi-generations are travelling together, grandma shepherding young children, grandpa holding grandma's purse as he strolls slowly behind.  The rest of the week is a blur, on a plane or train every day, the rain and bitter northern China weather dampening our spirits and making the jet lag linger longer than usual.  Arriving in Singapore to 35°C from frigid Guangzhou feels like a benediction.  We can't wait to put on lighter clothing and eat outside. 

If Spicy Grandma was China unplugged, Indochine is sleek and sexy Singapore glamour.  Reflecting the unique diversity of Singapore, everything tastes fresh, looks wonderful and is enhanced by the perfect little breeze, the glittering skyline and the wonderful company of my colleagues.

The view from Indochine

From bottom up and counter-clockwise: Vit Quay Gion Ton Kin (Fresh Duck Breast à la Ton Kin): Duck breast fillets grilled with herbs and spices, served with crispy basil leaves, crispy rice noodles and aromatic sweet sauce; Rau Xao Thap Cam (Stir-fried vegetables with basil and chilli): Fresh mixed vegetables seared with herbs and chilli; Cambodian Style Chilli and Basil Chicken: Tender chicken prepared in red chilli, holy basil and garlic sauce.

I especially like the way the menu describes the chicken dish: The aroma of this dish is a true indication of its flavour. After eating this, you may find your mind wandering into the world of the ancient ones who had the ability to create temples and structures that to this day remain unchallenged as great monuments.

I don't know that I am inspired to build temples, though...

Ca Chem Hap Chahn (Steamed Sea Bass with Lemon Juice): Whole sea bass steamed in lemon juice, garlic, coriander, and red chilli

Empty dishes; full stomachs; happy people

 Sebastien - our wonderful server, who chose all the dishes and served them with gracious hospitality

Stay tuned for Asian Flavours Part Two: Chili Crab!

April Daring Cooks Challenge: Brunswick Stew

     

Here it is - my first Daring Cooks Challenge post! (a little late because of my Asian travels).  If you don't know about The Daring Kitchen, be sure to check it out - foodies from all over the world sharing their love of food, recipes, tips and - once a month - cooking (or baking) the same thing. 

The 2010 April Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Wolf of Wolf’s Den. She chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make Brunswick Stew. Wolf chose recipes for her challenge from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, and from the Callaway, Virginia Ruritan Club.  I used the Lee Bros. version and modified the recipe by using edamame beans instead of butter beans, all chicken thighs instead a chicken pieces and white wine to deglaze the pot.  Try it, y'all - it's divine!

Brunswick Stew
adapted from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-Be Southerners, by Matt Lee and Ted Lee

serves 6 generously

⅛ lb slab bacon, rough diced
1 Serrano or Thai fresh chili, stem trimmed, sliced, seeded, flattened
1 lb rabbit loin pieces
3 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
½ tbsp sea salt for seasoning, plus extra to taste
1 cup dry white wine
6-8 cups Sunday Chicken Broth (recipe below), or low sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 large celery stalk
1 lb bintje potatoes, or other waxy type potatoes, peeled, rough diced
¾ cups carrots, chopped
1¾ cups onion, chopped
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1½ cups shelled edamame beans, defrosted if frozen
1 19 oz can whole, peeled tomatoes, drained and cut into small pieces (approx. 2 cups)
⅛ cup red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
Tabasco sauce to taste

1.  In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, fry the bacon over medium-high heat until it just starts to crisp. Transfer to a large bowl, and set aside. Add the chili to the bacon fat in the pot. Toast the chili until it becomes fragrant, about a minute. Remove to bowl with the bacon.

2.  Season the rabbit and chicken liberally on both sides with sea salt and pepper. Place the rabbit pieces in the pot and sear on all sides, until just browned, and add to the bowl with bacon and chili.  Brown chicken thighs, adding more fat if needed, on all sides. Put the chicken in the bowl with the bacon, chiles and rabbit, and set aside.

Rabbit loins browning in bacon fat

  

3.  Add the white wine to the pot and deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Bring to a boil and reduce by half.  Add 6 cups of stock, the bay leaf, celery, potatoes, chicken, rabbit, bacon, chili and any liquid that may have gathered at the bottom of the bowl they were resting in. Bring the pot back up to a rolling boil, over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and cover.  Simmer for approximately 1½ hours, stirring every 15 minutes. 

4.  With a pair of tongs, carefully remove the chicken and rabbit pieces to a colander over the bowl you used earlier. Remove the bay leaf, celery and chili and discard. After you’ve allowed the meat to cool enough to handle, carefully remove all the meat from the bones, shredding it as you go. Return the meat to the pot.

5.  Add the carrots, and stir gently, allowing it to come back to a slow simmer. Simmer gently, uncovered, for at least 25 minutes, or until the carrots have started to soften.

6.  Add onion, edamame, corn and tomatoes. Simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring every so often until the stew has reduced slightly, and onions, corn and beans are tender. Remove from heat and add in vinegar, lemon juice; stir to blend well. Season to taste with sea salt, pepper, and Tabasco sauce if desired. It's so thick and delicious that a spoon will stand up in the stew on its own.

Look Ma, no hands

7.  You can either serve the stew immediately or refrigerate for 24 hours, which makes the flavors meld more and makes the overall stew even better. Serve hot, either on its own, or with a side of corn bread, over steamed white rice, with any braised greens as a side. 

Sunday Chicken Broth
from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-Be Southerners, by Matt Lee and Ted Lee


Makes about 1 quart

Bones and trimmings, but not giblets, of one 3 ½- 4 ½ lb, or 12-14 oz (approx. 2 cups) chicken bones and trimmings
1 large onion, trimmed, peeled, quartered
6 large stems fresh flat leaf parsley
1 stalk celery, cut into 2” lengths
2 large bay leaves
5 cups cold water
1 cup crisp dry white wine
Salt and pepper to taste

1.  Place bones/trimmings in medium stockpot and add onion, parsley, celery and bay leaves. Add wine and water; liquid should cover all ingredients, if not, add more until it does. Bring to vigorous simmer over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer gently for roughly 45 minutes to an hour, skimming any scum or fat that comes to the surface.

2.  Strain broth into bowl through fine mesh strainer. Discard the solids. Salt and pepper to taste.

3.  Store in tightly sealed container in refrigerator until the remaining fat congeals on the top. Remove the fat, and unless not using within 2 days, keep tightly sealed in the refrigerator. Otherwise, freeze, and it will keep for upwards of a month.

Signs of Spring - Marinated Baby Artichokes

Out of China - and back to blogging!   

Another spring dish, baby artichokes gently cooked and marinated are a fabulous way to usher in the season.  These artichokes can be served as part of a Mediterranean spread of appetisers, as a delicious side to roasted or grilled meats, or simply enjoyed on their own, eaten delicately one by one.

Angelo’s Artichokes

from Olive Oil: From Tree to Table, by Peggy Knickerbocker*

24 baby artichokes

2 lemons 

4 cups water, divided

2 c. red wine vinegar

20 mint leaves, julienned

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 to ½ cup olive oil

1.  Squeeze the lemons and pour the juice into a medium bowl.  Put the lemon halves into the water also. 

2.  Trim the outer leaves of the artichokes until you get to the tender green leaves.  Trim the stem off and the top ½ inch of the tops.  Cut the artichokes in half lengthwise and as you do, put them into the lemon water. 

3.  Bring the remaining 2 cups water and the red wine vinegar to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Drain the artichokes, discarding the lemon halves, and add to the boiling water.

4.  Boil gently for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the artichokes are tender.  Drain and leave in a colander for 30 minutes or so, to ensure all the liquid is drained.

5.  Meanwhile, combine the mint, garlic and olive in a decorative ceramic bowl.  When the artichokes have drained, add them to the mixture and combine until they are thoroughly coated.

6.  The artichokes are ready to serve but will be even better if you let them marinate for several hours.  They can be left at room temperature, or stored in the fridge overnight.  Cover and let come to room temperature before serving (you can serve them cold but the flavour really sings when they are room temperature).

7.  If you can resist eating them all, the artichokes can be stored for several weeks in the fridge.  Put in a container with a tight fitting lid, cover with olive oil until the artichokes are submerged, and serve as needed. These make a great hostess gift, as you can bring them in a beautiful little bowl that becomes part of the gift.

* I love the little circles life makes.  One of the things that really got me going on this blog was a deep desire to celebrate food, and the experience of making it – getting beyond the pedestrian to touch something of the sublime that sharing food brings. And through that process, to discover both the new and known in different ways.

When I was a kid, I was the only one who didn’t eat artichokes.  My mother would make simmer large globe artichokes for what seemed like hours over the stove, cooked with homemade chicken broth and lots of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.  I can smell them now, but sadly can no longer taste them, and that recipe, along with many others, is lost.

Fast forward to the here and now.  Olive Oil: From Tree to Table was a gift from a work colleague, and I immediately loved the story-telling behind both olive oil production and the recipes themselves.  It was one of those books that seemed like a good one to cook my way through, and Angelo’s Artichokes was the second recipe.  I never really thought about who Angelo might be, beyond the brief and charming story Peggy Knickerbocker tells of sharing a meal with Angelo and several chefs and seeing him take a case of fresh baby artichokes and make this dish.

As I made these artichokes recently to bring to friends for dinner, I idly read the description of Angelo again.  Peggy describes him as a forager and an ironsmith.  And it clicked.  Angelo was none other than Angelo Garro, who Michael Pollan goes hunting with in The Omnivore’s Dilemma, a book that has made me passionate about knowing my food and understanding where it comes from.  The chapter that describes their outing – which includes in a gourmet picnic eaten in the middle of the woods – is a highlight.  To imagine that I am ever so slightly closer to someone as passionate about food as Angelo, through the mechanism of a printed recipe on a page, is a wondrous thing.  That my Italian mamma is smiling approvingly down at me somewhere in the great beyond is a much closer connection that I celebrate with every garlicky bite.

AWOL in Beijing

As my plane touched down in Beijing today, it suddenly occurred to me that I might not have access to my blog via my computer. Yup. So I'm learning how to blog via my Blackberry and slowly seeing the attraction of an iPhone... Depending on how it goes, you may see my post on fabulous marinated artichokes later today or in a week when I get to Singapore.