trillium

Are we talking just about cocktail bitters that come out of a dropper bottle or are we talking about amari, the digestivo type drinks? Craig has an article on the big amari producers on the front page of egullet, but they rather sillily posted the announcement in the wine section since it's part of the "wine camp" series. It's pretty funny how medicinal stuff morphs into regular food/drink. When we talked about making homemade amari (I can't find the thread in the archives) Jim Dixon mentioned that you can buy most of the herbs/roots/random plant material at Chinese herbalist shops (where they're still being used for medicine). Back in Chicago at my favorite Thai grocery, the owner loved to tell us about how Thai food developed because of ways to make medicinal stuff (like galanga) palatable. regards, trillium

I think the key with Caiprinhas is the halved limes being mashed inside the glass so that some of the bitter oil comes from the skin. Its that bitterness that makes a Caiprinha, not just the lime juice. I don't think white rum is a good substitute for cachaca. Its too sweet and smooth, where what is exciting about cachaca is the raw, wild edge in the spirit. A cachaca made with white rum just tastes too sweet and syrupy to me. I'd rather go with vodka for a tamer drink which I've seen called a caipiroshka, but is also, I think, the same as a lemon drop. Wish it was easier to get cachaca though. India is far from Brazil, and while most of my friends coming from abroad have been trained in want to bring, even they don't seem to find it easy finding cachaca in London or NY. I have to end up making do with vodka, even though India has tons of sugar cane so should theoretically not find it hard to have cachaca. I have asked friends in the liquor industry about this, but got no good answer. Currently I am trying to get a Brazilian friend here to start doing some homebrewing, so lets see... Vikram Isn't there some moonshine type stuff made from sugarcane that's really cheap in India? How close is it to cachaca? I'd swear hearing about underage drinking shennagins involving this booze from a friend who grew up in Bombay. regards, trillium

I go to a Chinese restaurant for Chinese food, and the ones I go to don't serve cocktails. If I want a proper cocktail that I'm not making myself, I go to a bar. If you have something to say, please say it directly, but don't belittle the discussion with personal insults and condescension. That's boring and well, fruitless. If you refer to my original post, you'll see that I mentioned several drinks to make with the rum he didn't feel like drinking neat. The mai tai was mentioned last because of a comment the original poster made about them. Let me try one more time....and then I'm done. The usual thing that passes for a mai tai is full of canned fruit juices like pineapple, orange and guava. They even sometimes add Kahlua and other liqueurs to make the drink even sweeter and muddy tasting. My suggestion was intended to relay the idea that the original poster might appreciate a drink that I'll go ahead and be daring and call a mai tai if it were made more like cocktail with a balance of fresh citrus juice to counteract the sweetness and less like a punch TGIF type of drink full of fruit juices. Or he may not, but options are always a good thing, even if some of them are not something that I care to partake of on a weekly basis. regards, trillium

Real is a strong word, especially in the controversial world of tiki drinks. I've got my issues with Trader Vic, but I don't think there's any question it was invented inside his establishment. Here's the story, and recipes, on the company website. In a way I can see where this variation comes from, as long as you don't go for the grenadine, but without a unique flavor like the Martinique rum it ain't gonna work. This sounds like one I had in a Chinese restaurant in Wellesley, Mass. (But it was a Chinese restaurant known for it's good Mai Tais.) Would you be happier if I said a real cocktail instead of a real mai tai? That's more along the lines of what I meant. I guess I define a real cocktail as something that is balanced and not full of fruit juices. Vic himself suggested mixing dark and light rums to mimic the taste of the rum he ran out of for the original mai tais, didn't he? I'm not in the habit of drinking cocktails at the Chinese restaurants I frequent, so I make no claims of it's similiarity. I will say that I think using a nice innocent 17 year old rum along with Dekuyper orange curacao doesn't exactly lend a person the high moral ground when it comes to mixing! Of course, mai tais aren't exactly my favorite cocktails, so what do I know? I've had two in the last 11 years. One at Trader Vic's in SF (my first legal alcoholic beverage) and one more recently. I'll take a Daiquiri any day. regards, trillium

I think I've mentioned this before, but I call it a Dolores since it's based on a Delilah, and the first time I made it we drank it alongside Marcona almonds fried in olive oil for nibbles. The second time was with deep fried zucchini flowers, which work well too. La Dolores 1 3/4 oz gin 3/4 oz Seville/sour/bitter orange juice 3/4 oz Cointreau dash of Fee Bros. orange bitters Shake over cracked ice vigorously and pour into chilled cocktal glass. Garnish with a Seville orange twist. You could make it without the orange bitters if you can't find them. regards, trillium

Great overview of the big amari producers, but what is the discussion doing in wine??? regards, trillium

I should have known better then to bring that up, shouldn't I? I guess I think it's kind of funny to hear people call it boba cha and not know they're ordering nipple tea. For those I've scarred for life, apologies, please don't let it stop you from drinking 'em...just ignore the Beavis and Butthead peanut gallery.... regards, trillium

Like Tonkichi, I usually pick the bigger ones because I think the fu gua is born with all its bitter and it gets diluted with size. I like to cut them in half and scoop out the seeds, slice, and blanch in salted boiling water. They're still bitter, but not so bad. One of the favorites is to make black bean beef chow fun with slices of fu gua in addition to the bean sprouts. One of our frequent quick winter soups is a ton of winter melon covered with good chicken broth and simmered until it goes translucent and lets out a lot of liquid. Then we stir in a few peas, fresh bamboo and a beaten egg. I like to sprinkle a little sesame oil on the top right before eating. regards, trillium

In Taiwanese slang boba = nipple. They've cleaned it up in English and call it "bubble". Technically you're supposed to have one of those electric shakers or else people shaking it up by hand enough that it's frothy after you strain off the ice. I noticed as boba travels through n. america you don't see that so much anymore. I like the big black starch balls better then the clear ones. regards, trillium

How would a Ti punch and a Caipirinha be different if you made both with rum? Is a Ti punch light rum, a squeezed/muddled lime and simple or cane syrup with ice? Because the Caipirinhas I had were just that except cachaça instead of rum. regards, trillium

I didn't like Junipero in martinis either, but I did really like it in drinks that you mix with a fruity liqueur like Cointreau or Maraschino. It was good in things like Aviations, Delilahs and Pegus. Especially in Aviations that you garnish with one of those Italian wild cherries in syrup. I'll have to give Hendrick's a try. So many cocktails...so little time. regards, trillium

Daiquiris... No. Not. The. Frozen. Slushy. Kind. The cocktail. 2 parts light rum to one part fresh lime juice. Simple syrup or sugar to taste. Shake on ice, strain into chilled glass. Garnish with a lime wheel. If you want to get more complex you can do Hemingway or Floridita Daiquiris or venture into mojito land. I've found that if you use herba buena for your mint, you get a nice mint kick but can still really taste the rum in a mojito. A real mai tai is not a bad thing either, not those yucky juice things. I do 1 part golden rum, 1 part light rum, 1/2 part lime juice, 1/2 Cointrou, splash of almond syrup (or grenadine, but not too much). Shake on ice, strain into chilled glass. If you like you can float some dark rum on top, or not. Paper umbrella is optional. regards, trillium

Has anyone tried Hendrick's gin? It's on my list (along with Plymouth) to try when the Junipero runs dry. regards, trillium

I don't know if you can actually buy green walnuts...the best way is to get them straight from the tree. You're in Alaska, right? I don't know how your growing season is, but I'd say it's a bit too late here on the west coast to do this, they're best when you pick them in June. They're easier to quarter then, and you get the herbal from the green casing. It involves some dexterity and manual labor to bust 'dose nuts (sorry couldn't help it). We use a heavy French cleaver that is more like a small ax. That makes the job much easier. They do give a walnut stain (ha ha) to your cutting board and hands. I'm different then Jim in that I like to age it in a dark place for a longer time. He does his in the sun. We should have a taste off! regards, trillium

Oh, I've had it. Liked it, but it didn't blow me away. Great bottle, though. Really? I love it for mixing. I think it's much better then Punt Y Mes for Negronis, Manhattans and Bronxes (not sure of the proper way to make that plural!). Especially for the Bronx. Seville orange juice, Antica formula and Noilly Prat, plus your choice of gin (mine is usually Sapphire, I like aromatics)...nothing finer. If you're drinking it straight then I could see how you might not like it. I am very bitter that I can't find decent French vermouth here in Portland. I love the salty taste of Noilly Pratt in martinis, it's just not a martini without it. It irritated me that I had to mail order a $6 bottle of vermouth! As for the semantic argument of an amari vs. vermouth, I think certain amari (of which there are many styles) got lumped into the vermouth category. I would argue that all sweet/Italian vermouths are amari, but not all amari are vermouths! regards, trillium

When you make the Cantonese style, a nice granny trick is to mix some glutinous rice flour with water and stir it in and let it simmer for a few minutes right before eating. It gives the jook a nicer mouthfeel and texture. regards, trillium

Lavender is a better description of that shrimp paste then pinkish-grey... what else do you use it in? How is the taste compared to belecan or gkapi? What do you call it? When we couldn't find belecan in Portland the shopkeepers kept trying to get us to buy it but it looked too different from what we were used to using and the partner didn't go for it. We were told that mostly people from HK use it (but this was by a Hmong guy who ran the store). Is that true or is the use more widespread? regards, trillium

hi there First of all, there are several types of stuff that get translated as "shrimp paste" but they're not really the same thing. Well, some of them are close, some are not. Singaporeans, Malay and Indonesians all use something that goes by belecan (it gets spelled a lot of different ways) for Malaysia and S'pore and trasi for Indonesia. The best stuff in this country is the stuff from Malaysia. There are a few different brands, but it gets sold in blocks wrapped in paper. You can usually smell it before you get to it at the store. Good belecan should be kind of moist and oily when you slice it, but solid. When it's too old, it dries out and gets crumbly. It's never added to dishes raw, it's either wrapped in banana leaves or foil and cooked over a flame or put into pastes that get fried in oil. Cooking it mellows the flavor and makes it richer. Thais use something similiar, but in a different form, it goes by gkapi or kapi. It's very close to belecan (in a pinch you could substitute one for the other, I suppose) but it's more of a paste, not a solid. It's less dry and in my experience has a slightly more pungent, fermenty taste but isn't as strong. It gets sold in little (about 1/4 c) tubs. My favorite brand is Tra Chang (red label with a scale on it) but it's hard to find on the west coast. Another good one is Klong Kone. Gkapi gets treated the same way (cooked before use). There is another thing that HK folks buy that is a grey-pinkish color and it gets called shrimp paste too. It's a very different animal and I don't have any experience cooking with it. I know it gets used in stir-fried seafood dishes like squid or clams. The last thing I can think of that gets labelled shrimp paste is a molassy type of stuff that use use for salads like rojak, it's not so pungent and very sweet and black colored. It's also sold in little tubs. I know it by it's Hokkien name, hae kor. At our house we don't use it for kangkung, but the parnter says it does get used for that too, in different regions. You don't need to cook this one first. I don't know anything about the Filipino shrimp paste, maybe someone else does. If you're curious I can email a friend who is half Thai and half Filipina, I bet she'll know. None of these things should be very pricey (all under $3 or so), but in general for this stuff, the more you pay, the better the quality. The Thai products tend to be the most expensive, but not by much. As for kangkung, it is different then what you can get abroad. A friend of mine from western China says it's lacking fragrance. The S'porean in the house just thinks they're picked a little too old or get too wilted waiting around in the shops. Your best bet is to pick ones that look perky and not wilted. Then you break off pieces around two inches or so until you get the last leaves. Discard the stem that follows the last leaves, it's too tough. We wash ours and then spin it dry in a salad spinner and cook it over really high heat only briefly. The leaves will wilt, get a little darker, and the stems should stay crunchy. Maybe you'll like the crunchy stems better when they're in smaller pieces. Long pieces are really hard to eat and can even get the gag reflex going! Last night we ate kangkung with sambal belecan (a hot "sauce" made from chillies, shallots, garlic and belecan paste) and garlic. Sometimes we eat it with fish sauce, yellow beans and chillies. It's a pretty flexible veggie and you can flavor it any way you like, really. Hope this helps, and welcome. regards, trillium

Well, he tells stories/folklore about the characters (to help you remember them) and dishes with cool names (like A Delicacy for Aging Men or No Contest Between Fish and a Bear With Eight Legs) and tries to teach you the characters you need to read Chinese menus. He is really witty and not boring. The book is kind of a blend of philosophy, food, fables and language (even some poetry about food). To tell you the truth, I need to replace my copy, my friend went to Hong Kong to visit her grandmother and stole my copy because she wanted to bone up on stuff. I noticed they've come out with a second printing, which was great because it was out of print for quite a while. Anyway, I remember that he said he would consider the book a success if it confounded librarians and booksellers when it came to catagorize it. I was surprised to find it in the China section instead of the culinary section at Powell's here in Portland. regards, trillium

For books in that vein, I really enjoy A. Zee's Swallowing Clouds: A Playful Journey Through Chinese Culture, Language, and Cuisine (ISBN: 0295981911). regards, trillium

Tong ho choy is also part of the traditional bah ku teh (pork rib and herbal soup) breakfast in Singapore anyways. regards, trillium

Actually, if you look at the menu for Chez Panisse this week, they're currently using Masumoto's Sun Crest peaches. I buy 'em at my local grocery store for $2 - 3 / lb. I have no trouble paying $2 for a perfect peach. People have no problem paying that much and more for a pint of ice cream and I enjoy the peach a lot more then Ben and Jerry's. The ones I'm buying are good but not as great as the peaches I used to buy directly from a Michegan farmer at the Evanston farmer's market. I can't find a local peach grower who picks the peaches ripe enough at the Portland farmer's market. I've found that the less people that are between you and your peach makes a bigger difference then the type if they're picked ripe (though I have a soft spot for the clingstone peaches, any type, I find them more flavorful but a lot harder to find). Some of Masumoto's early peaches (the produce guy didn't know what kind they were but they were softball sized) were dreadful, mealy and disgusting. I made the store refund my money. Consistant his weren't! regards, trillium

We grow mostly herbs because we're limited to growing things in containers. We grow sweet Asian basil, Holy basil, lemon basil, gau choy, Chinese celery, 3 mints and laksa leaf (aka polygonum or rau ram). The basils and laksa leaf need constant trimming to stay nice and bushy and lush. The celery needs damp soil. The gau choy needs a very warm spot and plenty of fertilizer. We also grow chillies, 2 or three kinds (sky-pointing, long and a scotch bonnet) and eggplants (a miniature Japanese variety because the season is so short here). If we only grew one thing (like last summer when we just moved) it would be chillies. The partner doesn't feel right if we don't have at least 3 different kinds of sambal in the freezer, dried red chillies, frozen green and red short ones and frozen long red chillies, by autumn's end. Chillies need lots and lots of heat and enough calcium so they don't get blossom end rot. Eggplants (at least the ones I'm growing) seem idiot proof...they just need to be big and sturdy and the night temps over 50 F before you put them out. This summer we're trying long beans in containers with a trellis made from 3 bean poles with a cross-hatch which is bungee-corded to a post on the porch. So far it's working well. I swear that you can see the vines growing. In the fall I'm going to plant gai lan. I recommend the book _The Bountiful Container_ which is filled with growing tips for quite a lot of Asian veggies (even gau choy) in containers. regards, trillium

oh yeah... I forgot about Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen. I loved that book so much I gave it as gifts to 3 different 2nd G Cantonese friends. One of them liked it so much that she bought it for her sister. It's great for its homestyle dishes, things you don't really find in restaurants. The things I make out of it have the partner sighing wistfully about his dearly departed Hokkian granny. regards, trillium

Thank you... when someone on Chowhound said that Typhoon was the most authentic Thai restaurant in Portland all I could think about was that appalling portabella mushroom peanut thing and the grapes in the curry. Blech. regards, trillium