djyee100

The Lime-Cordial Syrup is easy to make. You cook up a simple sugar syrup and add lime juice. Syrup mixed with water and ice makes a quick and easy limeade. A cup of hot water with some syrup in it is a pleasant and warming citrus drink. Both taste good with cookies (no surprise there).

Try this link. http://www.chowhound.com/topics/357969 good luck!

Acehnese Curry with Lamb. A very rich curry with sweet and hot spices (cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, and star anise) plus coconut milk and fresh coconut. There's quite a burn from the fresh ginger and chiles, too. I often don't like lamb because it tastes too gamy, but I like this dish. The complex sauce balances the strong taste of lamb. It's memorably good. No wonder they serve this curry at weddings and holiday feasts. I served the curry with Malaysian Spiced Pineapple Pickle, another delightful colorful pickle from C of F. The acidity of the pineapple helps cut the richness of the curry, and makes a good accompaniment.

A treat of Sweet Rice Dumplings with Palm Sugar and Coconut (Onde-Onde). The dumplings are flavored with pandanus and vanilla, stuffed with palm sugar and rolled in fresh coconut. They're sweet and chewy and you can't beat the taste of fresh coconut. To my surprise, I liked this recipe and found it fun to make. I thought it would be fuss fuss fuss. There are some tedious steps to it, mostly dealing with fresh coconut, but the recipe came together more easily than I anticipated. Below is my least favorite step, cracking a fresh coconut, draining it, and then prying the meat off the shell. On the left side are coconut pieces still on the shell, on the right side is the unshelled coconut meat. I used to go after fresh coconuts with brute force, but I've finally learned some finesse. If you can slip your knife blade between the meat and the shell, as far as it can go, you can give the knife a twist and the coconut meat will pop off the shell in a big piece. The book suggests a paring knife, but an ordinary dinner table knife (preferably one you're not too fond of) will do fine and IMO, it's safer for your fingers. The bowl contains pandanus-infused water, one of the optional ingredients. I was so proud of myself for bothering to make it, I had to show it to you. The coconut meat has a tan backing on it that is edible. People who feel motivated can scrape it off. (I never feel that motivated.) After the meat is off the shell, I like to grate it with a microplane. You can store any extra pieces of coconut meat in the freezer for later use. The little balls of palm sugar for stuffing the dumplings, and the dough. This was only a half-recipe that made over 20 dumplings. These dumplings are kinda heavy and people will eat maybe 1 or 2 at most when there are other foods around. I used a gelato scoop (1 3/4 tsp--I think) to apportion out the dough. The dough needed more water than the recipe stated. I kneaded in more water bit by bit until I had a soft moldable dough, slightly moist and tacky (like scotch tape). The dough was an attractive light green color from the pandanus water. It was easy to handle, moist but firm, not sticky or gooey at all. Poaching the dumplings. The dumplings rose to the surface of the water in 3 mins, but the sugar inside didn't begin to melt until after 4 mins of cooking. Even after 5 mins of cooking, the centers were still mostly hard. The next time I make this recipe, I will have to play more with cooking times. I used up all the little palm sugar balls, and I still had some dough left. So I stuck a couple chocolate chips in each of the remaining dumplings. The chocolate-coconut combination tasted great, but I'm less sure there's any future in chocolate and sticky rice dough. Also, the chocolate overwhelmed the pandanus flavor. Still, chocolate is chocolate. The dumplings were rolled in fresh coconut, and served as a snack with hot tea. The dough is tinted light green from the pandanus. Happy New Year!

The father of one of my friends, who was a great natural cook, used to make a dish with fish stomach. This is how my friend described it to me: Her father took five spice powder and soy sauce, and rubbed it on a duck. He then browned the duck all over, tied it in a cloth, and steamed it for hours. Then he deboned it and served it on fish stomach, which my friend describes as like pork rind. There was a simple soy and sesame sauce to go with it. My friend rolled her eyes as she talked about it. Obviously it was delicious! I'll have to ask my friend about this again. Maybe we can make the dish together and I can post about it here.

I wouldn't use top round for this dish. It's too lean a cut of meat. But the beef chuck for 3 hrs should do the trick. So I'm a little flummoxed by your problem. Here are some thoughts: - Did you use a fatty cut of beef chuck? I realize that sounds like a strange question. But some stores, like my local Whole Foods, emphasize lean meats and mercilessly trim the fat off their meats. (That's why I buy my meat at a less enlightened store.) The fat helps keep the meat moist as it cooks. - The cooking temperature too high or too low? Too high, and the meat may toughen. Too low, and you're not dissolving the tough tissues in the meat that make it tender. More discussion about pot roast cuts and temperatures: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/344485 - Out of curiosity, what brand of coconut milk are you using? I assume you are adding the 20 oz called for in the recipe. "Dry braising" may be something of a misnomer. You're not frying, except at the very end when the meat (and sauce) is cooking in its own fat. I think of the cooking process as "less wet" braising. You're still simmering the meat in a small amount of liquid, as with conventional braising, but you're letting the liquid simmer down very slowly until it totally evaporates. It takes as long as it takes. When I made beef rendang I kept the temperature at a slow simmer. It looks like the fish bubbles in a fish tank. The meat will tell you when it's done because it will start to sizzle in its fat and brown. That's when the braising turns into frying. Make sense?

Do you have Paula Wolfert's Slow Mediterranean Kitchen? Make the Pot-Roasted Club Steak with Piquillo Peppers. One of my all-time favorite recipes, so easy and it tastes fantastic. I make this recipe with ribeye steaks, which is a related cut to the club steak. When you add the piquillo peppers to the pan, watch out for spatters.

A couple recipes from the Indian side of Indonesian cooking, Indian-Style Fish Stew with Okra, and Sauteed Cabbage with Ginger and Crispy Indian Yellow Lentils. Like many Indian recipes, the toughest part may be assembling all the ingredients. I had to make a special trip to the Indian grocery store. Some unusual ingredients in these recipes: fresh coconut (dried coconut in the recipe is also OK); black or dark brown mustard seeds, I can't tell which they're supposed to be; thuvar dal, called toor dal at my market, which are like yellow split lentils; fenugreek seeds; and curry leaves. The ingredients for these recipes only cost a few dollars, but while at the store I saw so many other tempting supplies and ingredients. My total at checkout was over $34. So there were hidden costs to making these recipes, folks. The Indian-Style Fish Stew with Okra is mildly spicy with a tart-sweet fruitiness to it. The fruitiness is from the tamarind, which is a dominant flavor in this dish. Other spices are coriander, fennel, cumin, black peppercorn, dried red chiles, mustard seed and fenugreek. The spiciness in both the stew and the cabbage dish is not so much fiery (like Thai cooking) but the deep slow burn of Indian food. Overspending at the grocery store notwithstanding, it's worth it to make this dish if you like Indian food (I sure do). The fish stew smells great while it's cooking. Tastes good, too! (Note to okraphobes:The okra pods stay whole, so the okra is not gooey when it's cooked.) The Sauteed Cabbage with Ginger and Crispy Indian Yellow Lentils is very spicy from turmeric, ginger, and dried red chiles. I've tasted other Indian braised and spiced cabbage dishes, and this is one of the good ones. But I didn't like the thuvar dal. The dal added a bitter note to the spice mix, which I liked, but it cooked up hard and crunchy and unpleasant to eat. The next time I make this recipe, I will omit it. Served with steamed rice. Ho-hum. Another tasty, beautiful, aromatic plate of food from C of F.

Javanese Spiced Stew with Beef Shortribs. A humble beef stew dressed up for company. The stew is flavored with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, then garnished with fried shallots and garlic, chopped celery leaves and scallions. Like the Malaccan Beef and Veg Stew, the veg and potatoes are cooked separately and folded in before serving. You'll do yourself a favor if you cook the meat the day ahead. Even with the meat finished, there's still a fair amount of prep to do for the garnishes. The recipe calls for oxtails, and mentions shortribs as an alternative. Since my nearest market doesn't carry oxtails (and I wasn't about to drive farther in holiday traffic), I made this stew with shortribs. The recipe says to substitute 1 1/2 lbs of shortribs for the 1 1/2 lbs of oxtails. At the market that didn't look like much meat to me. So I added another shortrib, and the weight of the meat came to about 2 1/2 lbs. I didn't scale up the rest of the recipe to account for the extra meat, and the recipe turned out OK anyway. Also I forgot to cover the pot during cooking, per the recipe instructions, so I ended up with a very concentrated broth. About half the liquid evaporated. But I prefer the concentrated broth. The recipe doesn't have you brown the meat, and after the meat was simmered and cooked, it was a pale, grayish-brown color. (The boiled beef look.) I thought that was unattractive. So I poured off most of the broth from the pot into a bowl, and stuck the meat (still in the pot) into a 450 degree oven, and let it brown for about 10 mins. (If you do this, pls check the meat regularly so it doesn't burn.) Meanwhile, I used a fine sieve to strain the gunk and spices out of the broth. The browned meat after it came out of the oven. The recipe says to cut the scallions into 1" lengths, but that's too much raw scallion for me (or anybody else I know). I sliced the scallions into 1/8" rounds. I also sprinkled on some chopped cilantro, in addition to the other herbs, because I like it. Served with a condiment of Javanese Sambal and steamed rice. Very tasty, and a showstopper at the table.. This is one of my favorite recipes from C of F so far.

Robin, your food looks gorgeous, so appetizing. Isn't holiday cooking fun? Tepee, thanks for the compliment, and good luck with your party. Your menu sounds wonderful. Second! And I'll add that the Menu Suggestions in this book are so helpful, and a great feature in this cookbook. I find myself cooking more out of this book because I know what to serve as sides to the entrees. The Menu Suggestions for each recipe are included in the Index, so you can find all the matches in the book for a particular recipe, not just the suggestions listed after that particular recipe. I wish more cookbooks were so well-organized and helpful for menu planning.

Javanese Chicken Curry. This is a mild but opulent coconut milk curry (only one Fresno chile) with coriander, ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and cinnamon. Delicious and straightforward to cook, but you do have to make a flavoring paste. For me the toughest step was to brown the chicken in the flavoring paste. I turned the heat up too high, scorched the paste, and had to start over. (New Year's Resolution: Be more patient. ) I served the curry with Tempeh Sambal with Basil. This dish is basically a Javanese sambal (my favorite sambal) with Garlic-Marinated Tempeh and fresh basil leaves mixed in just before serving. The recipe is a little lengthy, since you're making two recipes, the sambal and the subrecipe for Garlic-Marinated Tempeh. But I think it's worth it. The tempeh sambal is delicious--fiery and crunchy with accents of basil--and the colors are dramatic. The curry and the tempeh sambal also paired off well together. I know I'll be making this combination again. I cut the tempeh into 1/4" strips (as in the Caramelized Tempeh with Chiles recipe) rather than in 2" squares as the Garlic-Marinated Tempeh recipe calls for. I prefer thin little crispy pieces of tempeh.

For the gelatinous parts, just stick 'em in your mouth and move everything around in there to pull off the good stuff, then spit out the bones. No one I knew ever ate the eyes, though I once ate a fish eyeball on a dare. It tastes very bland, like cartilage. When I was growing up the conventional (Chinese) wisdom said that the head is the best part of the fish. I don't agree, but it's worth trying to see if you like it.

I wish I had your problem. I love fresh eggs. My suggestions: - Definitely frittatas, all kinds with veg and cooked potatoes in them. - pickled eggs & beets - French toast - pasta carbonara, or any pasta dish with an eggy sauce - souffles - sabayon or zabaglione, especially with poached pears - an Indian dish called Eggs in Spicy Tomato Sauce. Here's one recipe: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/dining/041mrex.html - and if you're feeling very adventurous, caneles de bordeaux, a recipe developed by nuns who were overwhelmed with donated egg yolks (the whites were used in winemaking). http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2005/10/caneles.php

You can also wet your hands, pat a stale tortilla on both sides, then heat up the tortilla in a hot skillet. At some point, turn the tortilla over to dry out the other side. This method is quick. You can have one tortilla heating in the skillet as you wet another one. A technique taught to me by a couple Mexican grandmothers, who thought I was crazy when I wrapped the tortillas in foil and then waited around for the oven to heat up.

How about ethnic markets, such as Asian or Hispanic markets? Around here skirt steak is always available in Hispanic markets to make fajitas. If no skirt steak, how about flank steak?

All the food here sure looks good. Yes, I will have to make the Shrimp Sambal, too. I've been eyeing that recipe for awhile, but I haven't cooked it yet. Tepee, I like that brussels sprouts and pork ribs combination. I also like your addition of bean threads to sayur lodeh.

Wow, Tepee, that Fern Curry looks fantastic. Now I want to make it. But fresh ferns are rarely available here. Sometimes I see them in the market for a couple weeks in May, but that's it. I've never cooked with ferns because I didn't know what to do with them. Now I do. This coming spring I'll have to make a special effort to go to the farmer's market to look for them.

A couple wks ago I considered cooking the Hot and Sour Fish Stew myself, because the recipe sounded like it would taste good, but I don't like canned bamboo shoots. I thought about cooking the stew with eggplant, which I like, but then I couldn't decide whether you throw in the raw eggplant, or saute it first before adding it to the stew. What do you think? Would this stew taste good with eggplant? Anyway, I guess you took one for the team on this recipe.

Japan appears to be the major market force on the buying side. But look at the chart as to who's selling bluefin. http://www.globefish.org/index.php?id=3546 I thought this was a good, concise overview of the situation. http://www.dbc.uci.edu/~sustain/global/sensem/bluefin.htm

I made the Fragrant Fish Stew with Lime and Basil yesterday (for the second time), and ran into a similar problem. Sometimes complex mixtures need more salt to bring out the flavors and balance them. Once you've added as much salt as you think the dish needs, and it still doesn't taste quite right, you can add a little sugar or butter to round off and harmonize flavors. Yesterday I added about twice as much salt as the recipe required, and then a few pinches of sugar. Then the stew tasted good. If you have visions of adding too much salt to the pot and ruining the dish, you can put a small portion in a bowl, salt that portion as much as you want (even oversalt it) until you find the taste you like best. Then you can salt the remainder in the pot and bring it to that point. That Hot & Sour Fish Stew looks beautiful, despite your problems with it. So did the Shrimp Satay. Thanks for the photos.

Welcome, Mike! If you look at the recipes list (post #241), you can tell by the number of entries which dishes so far have been favorites. But some recipes have been cooked only once or twice, and they are great too. Have fun with your new book.

Prawncrackers, Too bad about the Black Pepper Crab. Is there anything you would do to adjust the recipe more to your taste?

Robin, all your food looks great. Lucky guests! The "morning glory" eaten as a veg in SE Asia and water spinach sound like the same plant. A Thai dish featuring zillions of hot chiles with stir-fried "morning glory," or water spinach, is called "Red-flamed morning glory." This is what Wikipedia says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipomoea_aquatica Apparently this plant is easy to grow and is actually an environmental problem in Florida and Texas. (Not in California, as far as I know. I bet we eat all of ours.) Bruce, take heart. Someday water spinach may be growing prolifically near you.

A vintage recipe for Chex Mix, and the secret is out about the foodies who are eating it: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate...6&entry_id=8106

Here's an update. Cradle of Flavor Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore by James Oseland Recipe Index: (numbers refer to post #s on this thread) CONDIMENTS: SAMBALS, DIPPING SAUCES, DRESSINGS & PICKLES Javanese Sambal - 156 Nyonya Sambal - 10, 169 Lemongrass & Shallot Sambal - 51 Green Mango Sambal - 185 Sweet Soy Sauce & Lime Dipping Sauce - 40, 74, 116, 188 Nyonya Dipping Sauce - 136, 142 Soy Sauce, Chile & Lime Dipping Sauce - 202 Sweet & Sour Chile Dipping Sauce - 207 Javanese Peanut Sauce - 124, 198 Sweet & Sour Cucumber & Carrot Pickle w/Turmeric - 17, 40, 51, 112, 236 Javanese Cucumber & Carrot Pickle - 74, 97, 142, 158, 198, 199, 235 South Indian-Style Eggplant Pickle - 157 Malaysian Spiced Pineapple Pickle - 100 STREET FOODS Beef Satay - 10, 40, 45, 59, 112, 188 Chicken Satay- 74, 177, 198 Shrimp Satay Gado Gado - 124 Chopped Veg. Salad w/Coconut & Lime Leaf Dressing - 116 Crisp Jicama & Pineapple Salad - 45 Fried Sweet Plantains - 160 Bean Sprout & Potato Fritters - 207 RICE & NOODLES Steamed Rice - 74, 142, 199, 202 Lemongrass Scented Coconut Rice - 10, 40, 51, 97, 188 Celebration Yellow Rice - 83, 112, 144, 240 Spiced Nyonya Rice - 235 Javanese Fried Rice - 10, 116 Herbal Rice Salad Stir Fried Chinese Egg Noodle w/ Shrimp & Asian Greens - 210 Penang-Style Stir-Fried Kuey Teow Noodles - 154 Chicken Curry Noodle Soup, Kuala Lumpur Style - 67 VEGETABLES Stir Fried Asian Greens w/ Garlic & Chiles- 74, 134, 153, 217 Stir Fried Bean Sprouts w/ Chinese Chives or Scallions - 123, 157, 166 Sauteed Cabbage w/Ginger & Crispy Indian Lentils Braised Cabbage w/ Dried Shrimp - 149, 164 Stir Fried Water Spinach, Nyonya Style - 17, 129, 183, 229 Green Beans with Coconut Milk - 112, 144, 149, 156 Ching Lee's Braised Lemongrass Long Beans - 100, 119 Rohati's Crisp-Fried Potatoes w/Chile & Shallot Sambal - 10, 150 Potato Rendang - 32, 173 Fern Curry with Shrimp Asiah's Eggplant Curry - 36, 202 FISH & SHELLFISH Fragrant Fish Stew w/Lime & Lemon Basil - 229 Spice Braised Tuna - 10 Padang Fish Curry - 10 Hot & Sour Fish Stew w/Bamboo Shoots Indian-Style Fish Stew w/Okra Pan-Seared Mackerel w/Chiles & Garlic - 10, 134 Pan-Seared Tamarind Tuna - 51 Stir-fried Tamarind Shrimp - 130 Grilled Whole Fish w/Lemon Basil & Chiles Nyonya Shrimp Curry w/Fresh Pineapple & Tomatoes - 217 Stir-Fried Shrimp Sambal - 10, 173 Black Pepper Crab POULTRY The Soto King's Chicken Soup - 113 Javanese Chicken Curry - 120, 185 West Sumatran Chicken Curry - 106 Chicken Rendang w/Cinnamon & Star Anise - 10 Nyonya Chicken & Potato Stew - 110 Mien's Garlic Fried Chicken - 156 Nyonya-Style Spiced Fried Chicken - 136, 142 Kevin's Spiced Roast Chicken w/Potatoes, Penang Style - 112 Javanese Grilled Chicken - 83, 97, 112, 144 Grilled Coconut Chicken w/Lemon Basil - 17, 166, 183, 187 Nyonya Duck Soup w/Salted Mustard Greens - 169 BEEF, GOAT & PORK (FOODS OF CELEBRATION) Beef Rendang - 32, 90, 125, 158, 193, 198, 199, 234 Spiced Braised Nyonya Pork - 10, 100, 105, 157, 158 Malaccan Beef & Vegetable Stew - 236 Javanese Spice Oxtail Stew Achenese Goat Curry - 176, 182 TEMPEH, TOFU & EGGS Garlic-Marinated Tempeh - 201, 202 Tempeh Sambal w/Lemon Basil Carmelized Tempeh w/Chiles - 240 Tofu & Summer Vegetables in Coconut Milk Twice-Cooked Tofu w/Coriander - 224 Fried Eggs w/Garlic, Shallots, Chiles & Ginger - 16, 123 Kopi Tiam Soft-Boiled Eggs - 164 Chile Omelet - 153 SWEETS & BEVERAGES Indonesian Spice Cake - 152 Nutmeg Tea Cookies - 163, 165 Purple Rice Pudding w/Coconut Milk Sweet Spiced Mung Bean Porridge - 164 Plantains w/Coconut Milk & Palm Sugar - 236 Sweet Rice Dumplings w/Palm Sugar & Coconut Cinnamon Tea - 134 Hawker's Tea - 220 Warm Spiced Limeade - 162 Lime-Cordial Syrup Singapore Slings