Milagai
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Posts posted by Milagai
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I love eggplants of different varieties, and in different preparations.
I often use cubed, fried eggplant to "season" dishes. I often made a dish as follows:
1. Cube, eggplant and fry in plenty of oil. Drain well. Salt. Set aside. (I like sweeter eggplants for this, so I often use Japanese eggplants.)
2. Cube firm tofu and fry the hell out of it -- until it becomes hard and dry -- in plenty of oil. Drain well. Salt.
3. Fry some garlic and chili in a sauce pan.
4. Add eggplant and tofu, along with some chicken stock. Cook, adding liquid as needed, until tofu is no longer hard and dry and is coated with eggplant sauce.
5. Finish with lime juice and cilantro (optional).
Eat with rice or rolled up in lettuce leaves.
Recently, I have developed a minor obsession with the "eggplant cutlet" recipe in recipegullet. It is one of the few versions of something baked, rather than fried, that I think is better baked.
Your recipe sounds great and I must try this (with veg stock);
and must check out the eggplant cutlet too...
Re your recipe above, a product available here that I love is
Nasoya Super Firm Tofu, cubed! It's already cubed
and the results are great when you drain it, pat it dry,
and put it in the toaster oven.
The cubes brown up beautifully....
I'll try your recipe above and see....
Milagai
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Remember when I told you that ordering food here in Korea comes complete with actual plates, utensils, trays, etc.? Well, here's an example. What's great is that there are no dishes to wash or disposables to dispose of after. laugh.gif
My friend lives in an apartment building called "Bobo County"(no kidding), not far from that photo taken of your hubby and son in Ilsan. The building is full of one room apartments filled by unmarried young professionals. If you get there around eight in the evening, everyone has left their dinner trays in the hall to be picked up. You can walk along and see what each apartment has had for dinner! The downside is that the entire place reeks of doncasse sauce. Nobody bothers to cook anymore, and it was the number one complaint of a lot of my young married students, that their wives didn't know how to cook!
A note for MarketSt - In South Korea, even in small country towns, most development is of the large apartment complex kind. Of course, this makes sense in the city, where there is a lot of pressure on land-use. However, here is very little modern single-family housing in the countryside, where there is a lot of room for it. People say they prefer to live in the apartment complexes because they're more modern and convenient. Most houses in Korea date from the early eighties and haven't aged well. Ilsan, a developer-planned city, pictured above, has some duplexes and single family dwellings, complete with suburban sidewalks. When my friend and I got homesick, we would walk around it and pretend to be back in Canada (New Zealand for her). It was really weird to take a train to a small country town, with acres of mountains, farm fields, and forest around it, and see three or four giant apartment complexes clustered around one small main street. Interestingly, this trend of everyone living in small (by North American standards) apartments has led to the spawning of several kinds of businesses that we don't have in North America, because we have family rooms. For example, instead of having friends over to play internet games together, kids probably go to an internet room, where each of them can have a computer for a dollar an hour. Instead of young couples making out on their parents' house in the basement, they rent a DVD room, which has a big-screen TV, a DVD player, and a sofa. Karaoke? Go to a singing room. Want a hot tub and sauna? Go to the public bath house. I didn't mind living in a small apartment in Korea, because so many services were available to me in the public domain.
Is that really King Sejong's tomb? Wow. He was one cool dude.
This reply is so interesting in the light of the other thread on women
in the West exiting the kitchen in droves etc etc.
The world around, women seem to be leaving care-work because
it's drudgery, it's taken for granted, and gets no respect.
But it's so interesting to my eyes that your students were
1) male (no women students?) and
2) complaining that their wives didn't know how to cook - hey boys,
why not learn to do it yourselves?
I also love the "urban planning" notion of small clustered dwellings
surrounded by large open spaces, with lots of shared amenities in
the public space; opposed to the sprawl model with huge homes with
everything inside them (and people whine about heating/ aircon bills;
and having to drive everywhere and get stuck in traffic jams....)
(I wonder the score differences between the former and latter
dwellings on www.footprint.org).....
Milagai
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I studied aerospace engineering and computer science in college, and now I do database programming work for a living. So I understand on an intellectual level why woman cast off the duties of the kitchen as a sort of slavery, unappreciated housework and kitchen work seeming to be chains that held them back from external, high compensation work. But I don't agree on an emotional level that it has to be a trade off. Sharing food that I have prepared with my own two hands is my way of creating bonds, celebrating family, enriching my own life and (I hope), that of those who share my table. I think one of the negative aspects of feminism is the attitude that traditional women's duties are inherently inferior, that choosing to cook and care for a family is somehow a lesser choice. I think that's a dangerous message to send to bright young women.
Wise words dividend. From the sociologist's perspective, I think it is
*one brand* of Western, upper/middle class feminism that has focused on:
1) women looking out for # 1
2) making efforts to participate in high compensation work
3) consequently pooh-poohing the realm of unpaid and unappreciated
housework
that seems to be operating here (after all, this style of operation
served the boys so well).
This has been one reason why
large numbers of women in the West who always worked (poorer women,
women of colour, etc), who always had to juggle home and work,
and who were doubly debarred from high paying professions, their
voices got left out of that vision of feminism.
The result seems to have been:
1) criticism of ALL feminism as being ultimately about selfishness
(so many writers female and male start with "I am not a feminist but..."
and then go on to articulate classic feminist ideas) but not about
the positive virtues of connectedness, co-operation, and nurture....
(seen as code words for domestic servitude).
2) devaluing of the "sphere of reproductive labor" (=housework
to you and me) because it's seen as servitude, holding women
back, etc.
So the message being sent to bright young women AND men is that
this stuff is not worth doing; focus on what brings big bucks.
The message is not going out, as it should, that CARE WORK
(=again housework) is something everyone should do well because
we all need it emotionally and physically.
And all young men and young women need to learn this stuff, like
they learn any other basic skill. If you can program a computer, drive a car,
etc. you can jolly well run the dishwasher and washing machine
and whip up decent (_______ insert iconic dish here); and freeze
a week's worth of dinners.
Milagai
ps: dividend, the three young men you lived with, what chores if
any did they do? It was great that they appreciated the meals
you enjoyed making for all, but did they ever learn to cook anything
however basic?
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I meant they were eating mountains of rice with VERY small servings of the other
gotcha, thanks
Milagai
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I'm going to bet that the hardest question to answer will be whether women who have been through fifty or so years of feminism as part of life and culture in whatever way - still tend to use and think of the skills of the kitchen with a man, in some romantic sense, layered on top or underneath it all somehow.
Do men of similar background feel the same way about their
Mr Tool Belt skills?
Milagai
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This may or may not be true - I am not sure.
From the little I have read/observed,
vegetarian communities in India tend to rely on some dairy
in addition to grain+bean;
non-vegetarian communities don't do so much dairy
except in desserts etc.
Regarding "complete" protein, that was a myth exploded years
ago by the nutrition gurus. And if you want to
combine proteins, nutritionists suggest that
beans+grain does it for you, with or without dairy.
Not sure what your question referred to.
Milagai
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trust me, Gastro888, the dog eating was definitely an economic decision. Deep in Benguet province in the Philippines and the village is an Igarot one (Filipino aboriginal people) and is extremely poor. I later took the kids there and we stayed for 5 days and we all ate the dog adobo as that was pretty well all the protein they had except for manok (chicken) the pork(baboy) was saved for very special occasions. Basically we ate mountains of rice with veg and mung beans and very small amounts of meat. But we did laugh a lot and enjoy amazing hospitality.
......not like the markets I've been to in China where yellow dog is prized for other reasons as you say, as I believe it is also in Korea
Just a tiny point and nothing to do with dogs really.
If people are eating mountains of rice, veg, and mung beans,
there is abundant protein and other nutrients in that meal.
Dog may be low on the
local hierarchy of meats, but from your description, hardly
sounds like it's needed to stave off starvation.
Milagai
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What Edward said is right.
The meat-ness is very caste-based.
The Kshatriya (warrior) groups eat more meat, to
promote warlike energy.
Other groups are typically vegetarian.
Also, other important local religions (e.g. Jain) have taken vegetarian philosophy
to a fine art.....
And meat is a luxury so you're not likely to be slipped
some unless you specifically ask for it.....
And the great thing is that in India people really understand
being vegetarian so you never have to worry about being
offered fish, or deal with hidden ingredients (e.g. stock etc.)!
Eggs are considered non-vegetarian, though dairy is a big
part of the vegetarian diet.
Most "strict" vegetarian food will not include onions or garlic
because these are associated with Rajasic energy (see
the Kshatriya comment above); and I think very strict
Jain food will not include root veggies as this involves
destroying the plant and inadvertently killing the insect
life associated with it....
Just say you are "vegetarian" and if you eat dairy products
you will have absolutely no problem.
The food is extra delicious.
If you want to avoid dairy, you will have some communicating
to do, but say "vegetarian" and say " please no milk products,
no ghee, no dahi, no cream, no milk"....
People do respect these views unlike the bafflement you
get in other places.
It's been decades since I was in Jaipur but back when
I was there, Lakshmi Misthan Bhandar (=Lakshmi Sweet House
aka LMB)
had great desserts and snacks (light meals).
They have a deep fried milk concoction called "ghevar"
that will clog your arteries but transport you to heaven
before you die......
Rajasthan specialty.......
Milagai
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Hi Domestic Goddess: thanks for yet another vastly enjoyable
eg food blog....
a few questions:
1. The flavor profile of Filipino food seems very different
from Korean or SE Asian food; I mean that just looking
at what you have posted it seems like Filipino food seems
much less spicy and uses much less red chili etc.
Do I have this wrong? Can you shed some light on this?
Which do your kids prefer?
2. Re Korea: is there such a thing as "vegetarian" kimchee,
I mean all bottles I've seen in stores call for fish sauce
as an ingredient? Before I knew about this, I used to
love Kimchee in our local Korean restaurant.....
3. Explanation of your "moniker"?
Thanks...
Milagai
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The recipe is a little more complicated,
but those who enjoy the process of cooking
(as opposed to just the outcome)
and enjoy South Indian home cooking,
try the Asparagus Paruppu Usilli recipe I posted
ages ago on recipegullet.
It was my first post to this group, and I won
a contest on the India forum with that ....
(fond memories.....)
Milagai
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That last post looked just fantastic! Thanks for posting.
Memo to self: newly found 2007 resolution; perfect homemade
felafel....
Milagai
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Thanks for the tip on soaked dried uncooked chickpeas.
Anyone had luck baking rather than frying the felafels?
TIA
Milagai
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Another vote here for plantain chips (with salt and red chili powder),
also tapioca chips,
and Lay's of all people are marketing a totally addictive
sweet potato chip around here!
Among potato chips as available in the US, I like
Utz Kettle Cooked or Lays Crispy....
Indian potato chips of course.... sigh....
I like the extra spicy with curry leaves....
Milagai
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I second Ludja's suggestion of interlibrary loan.
Great way to check out books before deciding
which to buy.
I also endorse Pan's suggestion of Madhur Jaffrey's
World of the East Vegetarian cooking.
It's one of the most used cookbooks in my collection,
and I usually get good results....
Milagai
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Hi: cone pizza is very popular in India too, I can't remember the
name of the chain though.
The fillings are Indian style (spicy paneer, etc.).
Another popular chain is Cafe Day (similar to Starbucks)
that are sprouting just EVERYWHERE you look!
Milagai
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I'd like to give some love to green cardamom, a delicious, sweet, very fragrant spice! It's lovely in savory and sweet dishes alike. Of course I also love cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, and hot pepper. Cumin is wonderful and it's hard to use too much of it; coriander seed is a delicious spice, and fennel seed is also great. Fresh ginger is versatile and doubles as a tonic for the stomach. Galangal is fragrant and has a nearly indescribable and unsubstitutable taste. Juniper berries give a lovely evergreen note to meat, and rosemary is great on roast chicken and other roast meats. We're lucky to have all those spices!
What Pan said!
Cardamom rules, whether sweet or savory.
I have a hard time thinking of cinnamon as
a sweet spice, I like it better in savory.
It's my own private dream that all the
cinnamon flavored baked goods in US/Euro
coffee shops turn into cardamom flavor....
Actually for me, all spices rock.
(I can't think of one I don't like).
I tend to think of other ingredients in a dish
as a vehicle for the spices .....
And to the "curry" lovers - what specific spice note
do you like in the whole mishmash? Or are you
referring to curry leaves?
Milagai
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I don't remember all the spices I have but a few are cardamom, fennel, garam masala, curry powder...however I have easy access to an Indian store to purchase anything that I might not have. I'm especially interested in main dishes that I could eat plain or with rice.
Most Indian dishes are eaten with rice or rotis, few
if any are eaten plain unless they're rice-based or something,
and even then there are the accompaniments....
Curry powder is not used by Indian cooks because it is
too generic - each specific dish has a specific name and needs its own customized
spice combination. You'll find the specific mixes in the Indian store
(e.g. sambar masala to make sambar, chana masala to make chana,
tandoori masala to marinade anything intended for the tandoor
oven, etc.)
The cardamom, fennel, garam masala etc. are useful.
Broccoli is not widely known in India -cauliflower is more common.
But cauliflower recipes can be broadly speaking, converted to
use broccoli (with a few major exceptions, eg. gobhi musallam).
And Indian cuisine has fantastic okra recipes - crisp and tangy -
these have converted many an okra-phobe.....
Lots of eggplant recipes however, from every region, so bon appetit!
If you decide on some recipe/s from any of the links provided or
from google, and have more questions, do say....
Milagai
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Cooking on stove top (don't know about rice cookers)
I find that it varies by type of rice.
1 rice : 2 water for Baasmati.
1 rice : 2.5 or even 3 water for Sona Masoori or other ordinary long grain white.
Milagai
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Here's a recipe for Kari leaf chutney:
http://creative.linux-delhi.org/?q=node/1206
Kari leaf and garlic chutney (search halfway down the page)
http://indian-recipies.blogspot.com/
Further down on the same page is
"Brinjals in mustard" (brinjals = eggplant)
which uses mustard oil
Milagai
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Nice topic.....
I've not used fresh bay leaves, but dry ones - what
are the fresh bay leaves used for?
I've realized that fenugreek leaves (not substitutable with fenugreek seed)
can be fresh - used as a vegetable similarly like spinach;
or dried - (kasoori methi) which becomes a powerful aromatic,
sprinkled sparingly on some dishes at the end of cooking.
Very different entities.
Dried cilantro OTOH is a total waste of time.
Milagai
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In Indian cooking, long grain vs. medium grain or other depends
on the use. There are dozens of varieties of rice in India depending
on traditional cultivars, new hybrids, now GMO's etc....
Agricultural scientists talk about length of time taken to
grow the crop, disease resistance, yields, etc. but don't
readily tell you whether it's short or long grain.
Cooks care about length of grain, fragrance, sticky or not, etc.
From the Indian cook's perspective, here's some
partial information:
Long grain rice is generally more prized, expensive, and used for
"fancier" cooking, baasmati is the best of these.
There's also cheaper long grains (e.g. Sona Masoori) that
are good for everyday cooking or spicy rice dishes where the delicate
baasmati perfume would be lost (e.g. vangi bhaat).
There are also the parboiled rices used to grind, and make
batter that ferments for idlis, dosais, aapams, etc.
Here, the rice is steamed before being husked.....
I think medium or short grain varieties are used for idli grinding.
Then there are short grain rices like Bhutan red rice,
and some Kerala and Andhra varieties. Used by different
peoples, with different recipes.
There are dozens of brand names for each of these varieties.
Moral: not all Indian rice is Baasmati, or even long grain.
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I am so often
astonished to find similarities between Dutch and Indian dishes -
two cuisines you'd never think together!
There is nothing surprising about it. The Dutch starting trading with India and other Asian countries beginning in the 15th century.
Here is more about the Dutch East India Company.
Swisskaese: did you really think I of all people
would need to be informed
about the East India companies and trade routes?
The overt similarities between Dutch cooking and Indian
cooking are not that great, compared to Indian and many
other cuisines.....Or Dutch and other cuisines.....
Plus, as we discussed a long time ago on Chufi's Dutch
cooking thread, despite the spice trade, Dutch cooking
pulled back on its use of spices in most dishes (e.g.
the arguments in Schama's "Embarrassment of Riches" which
someone pointed out to me) except desserts.
"Main" Dutch dishes seem very far from "main" Indian
dishes, etc.
The surprising thing is the similarity of *specific* dishes
from the two cuisines (recently Chufi mentioned the
Dutch drink that older Dutch men
are familiar with that's amazingly
similar to Indian 'masala chai".
Now this Shrikhand-like dessert.
Hmf.
Milagai
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Chervil soup!
Ow yay! Chervil soup! Followed by a plate of tender white asparagus topped with hard boiled eggs and new potatoes on the side. Drenched in melted butter. For desert one of my favourite Dutch puddings: hangop ('hangup'). This is made by draining buttermilk in a piece of cheesecloth, for about eight hours. You will end up with a very creamy yet light, fresh and slightly sour substance. Stir in some sugar, vanilla, a drop of cream, all to taste, or nothing at all. Classically served with strawberries.
If you don't have good buttermilk you could use yoghurt but the texture will be not as smooth and the flavour more acidic.
I am so often
astonished to find similarities between Dutch and Indian dishes -
two cuisines you'd never think together!
Your recipe just described Shrikhand (use yogurt instead of buttermilk
and cardamom instead of vanilla)!!
Add saffron if desired and it forms a delicate golden color,
which is rather spring-like.
For the main thread, the *cook* could get into the spring
party mood by glugging Thandai (sweet cold drink
of milk and crushed nuts) laced with Bhaang (cannabis slurry).
This is a traditional drink in the Indian spring festival of Holi....
http://www.thecolorsofindia.com/recipes/bh...ki-thandai.html
Milagai
Eggplants and Aubergines
in Cooking
Posted
In my grocery (big chain) store today,
lo and behold, large purple eggplants labeled
Produce of USA on sale at 99c / lb....
Hothouse? Other explanations?
Milagai