huiray

I like this. What was the darker dusting on top - just black pepper? It also looks like there is something else in the body of the frittata, from the appearance of the slice of it that you show - spinach? Something else? Or just the avocados "bleeding" into the frittata? Would you describe how you put this together a little more, please?

:-) Thanks for the compliment. It's a real simple dish, easily put together; and you should have all the ingredients available (or be able to get them) to make it.

Are you basing this on things such as the bak kut teh I posted about a few days ago, or on the overall stuff that I post? I do very light and simple things too. It just depends on my mood, the dish I'm making, what cuisine I am drawing on, what variation I feel like, and so on and so forth. It is a mistake to say that my dishes are all intense and complicated, if that is what you are implying. This recent post about BKT is a version of BKT, as I explained at length (did you read my response to Paul Bacino?), that is meant to be intense and richly flavored. Yes, personal preferences also enter into it as I indicated. (I'm sure you would use less stuff if you were to make it) In fact, if I had gone all the way I would have also added in shaved dried Chinese liquorice (甘草), sliced dried szechuan lovage (川芎), "luo han guo"/Momordica grosvenorii Swingle (羅漢果), dried Chinese jujubes, goji berries...all of which are also added into BKT in various versions including some full-on Klang versions...and all of which I left out. :-)

A late night meal. Fried rice – peanut oil, sliced scallions & chopped coriander leaves, sliced de-stringed celery (LOTS), three eggs scrambled in situ, 2-day-old white rice, salt. Accompanied by Lingham's Hot Sauce.

Pork spare ribs – marinated w/ and steamed w/ taucheo (this one), long hot green chillies, ginger, garlic, peanut oil. Asparagus & maitake mushroom in chicken stock. Baby bok choy hearts (raw). White rice.

Well, keep in mind that personal tastes come into play; also the relative flavors being blended (the Angelica sinensis, for example, would have a very pronounced taste and smell); also the proportions being used - the bowl of BKT shown in the post represented maybe a third to a quarter of the actual pot of stuff, where I had used a very meaty rack of baby back ribs -- about 2 1/2 lbs -- sliced up. The total volume of the simmering mixture was maybe 7-8 quarts. In fact, I used less cloves and star anise than I might have used on other past occasions. This version of BKT is also supposed to be a rich, deeply flavored and intense dish** -- at least in my preference. I have made much simpler versions where I use just cloves, star anise and cinnamon in light quantities; or made the Teochew version which is much, MUCH lighter on the herbal stuff and much more peppery and lighter in nature, with no dark soy sauce or oyster sauce being added as well. OTOH the true Klang version (which I don't particularly care for) reduces the heavily herbal & spicy broth to a thick sauce, almost...eh, I like my soup to drink, and having just a "sauce" is not as satisfying for me. (I have never shown a true Klang version here on eG) Insofar as spicing is concerned, in fact removing the cassia pieces from the mix when leaving the leftovers on the stovetop is not a bad idea because it is the cassia, not the cloves or star anise, that tends to "over-permeate" the BKT when left in for a long time and also imparts a distinct "woody" taste to it in that case. But of course if one is sensitive to the flavor/taste/aroma of cloves and star anise then by all means use the appropriate amount suitable for one's preference. For myself, in a general sense (there may be exceptions in specific cases) if I were to use just 1-2 cloves in a dish I were cooking I might as well not use any cloves at all. :-) ** and why this goes so well with rice, lots of it. Some folks in Western cuisine traditions who might eat stuff with at most a couple spoonfuls of rice (whether Thai or Indian curries or any other spiced/flavored stuff) and who frequently eat a plate of curry (or this BKT) alone by themselves might, indeed, think that the dish is overwhelming, or really hot, or super spicy etc - but that would be at least in part because they were eating such dishes under circumstances they were not designed for.¶¶ The corollary would be that if one were going for an "authentic" (I don't like that word) spicy dish but intended not to accompany it with the "normal" amount of rice or carbohydrate etc then it might be a good idea to scale back the spicing or chillies or whatnot used in the dish - which, of course, renders it not exactly "authentic" or at least not really "traditional" and which some folks might find upsetting. ;-) :-) ¶¶ Or by not having other accompaniments that were meant to ameliorate or act-in-symbiosis-with whatever one was eating

Pork baby back ribs, in the night's version of Canto-Hoklo type Bak Kut Teh. The baby back ribs were cut into riblets, given a fei sui (飛水) treatment (blanched/parboiled, starting from cold water), rinsed under the tap and placed into a pot of fresh clean water and cooking continued. Brought to a simmer, some very minimal skimming done (most of the scum and blood etc were taken care of with the fei sui); Herbs & roots & spices added (staggered additions), then a mixture of double-fermented soy sauce + dark soy sauce + oyster sauce, and sliced aburaage towards the end. Eaten w/ Chinese spinach (菠菜) (like these) flash stir-fried w/ lightly crushed garlic cloves & peanut oil, quenched w/ diluted oyster sauce. Plus a couple bowls of white rice. The herbs and roots and spices etc used. These were the materials that actually went into the pot. Starting from the top left, going clockwise: white peppercorns, whole cloves, dried tangerine peel, dried Longan flesh/"meat", garlic heads, dried sliced Polygonatum odoratum rhizome, dried Codonopsis pilosula root sections & (below it) a couple of black cardamom pods/Amomum costatum (cracked before adding to the pot), dried sliced Angelica sinensis roots & star anise pods, and cassia bark sticks. Edited to correct a link

Late at night... 薑蔥牛河: "Ginger – scallions – beef – hor fun". (a.k.a. 幹炒牛河: "dry – stir-fried – beef – hor fun") Sort-of similar to this recipe, with proportions adjusted amongst other things. The amount of ginger was greatly ramped up, for one. IMO there needs to be a lot of ginger in this dish. I used ribeye, sliced against the grain.

Pork spare ribs, cut into ~3-inch lengths; sautéed w/ smashed garlic (lots) & peanut oil, salted, water added, simmered; rehydrated snow fungus added, simmered; angled loofah (ridges shaved) sliced diagonally added, seasoning adjusted, brought back to simmer for just a couple of minutes.

Kangkong belacan. Siew Yoke. (made w/ 五花肉; store bought). White rice. -------------------- Pork wontons. Filling made w/ nicely fatty minced pork, finely chopped wood-ear fungus (rehydrated), chopped scallions, a bit of double-fermented soy sauce, splash of fish sauce, a shot of sesame oil, a very good grind of white pepper, and a dash of sea salt. Thin Hong Kong style wonton wrappers. Simply cooked in simmering water. Soup was from chicken stock simmered w/ smashed garlic & small "stock fish" (a form of small dried anchovies), filtered. Serving #1 – w/ blanched baby bok choy & a half portion of skinny wonton noodles. Chopped scallions, coriander leaves. Serving #2 – (later) w/ asparagus briefly blanched in the soup. Chopped scallions, coriander leaves.

Ranz, thanks for the compliment. ---------------- Several recent meals. Fuzzy squash w/ dried shrimps & cellophane noodles. (Oil, garlic, salt) A hybrid btw Harm Choy Tong & Itek Tim. Marinated chicken steamed w/ shiitake mushrooms & Prosciutto de Rosa. Plated on a bed of blanched trimmed kai-lan. Dressed w/ the steaming juices. Cantonese-style steamed black sea bass. Flash "stir-fried" hearts of large mustard greens (kai choy). White rice.

Pork hocks browned in peanut oil w/ smashed garlic (lots), cubes of fermented chili bean curd [Wangzhihe] (lots, smushed up), chili in oil [Laoganma]; then water added and slow-braised w/ daikon, rehydrated "Japanese tea flower mushrooms" (日本茶花菇) and the seasoning adjusted. White rice. Flash "stir-fried" snow peas.

The author of the WaPo article took liberties with the terms used and examples, conflating Thai curries ("green curry", "red curry") with any curry from India. The paper itself (http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1502/1502.03815.pdf) looks fine. The authors (Jain et al.) of the actual paper used the term "cayenne". The ingredient is also used in South Asian cooking, maybe in combination with Indian chillies, but perhaps the authors may be using the term in a general sense for fruit of Capsicum species?. See here for one example listing the ingredient as one that is used in Indian cuisine. The "conclusions" are not new, insofar as it applies to "Asian" food (note double quotes). Jain et al. also refer to an earlier paper (from 2011) which was much more detailed and broader in scope but which concentrated on E (and SE) Asian cuisines versus European/Western cuisines. This earlier paper in html (http://www.nature.com/srep/2011/111215/srep00196/full/srep00196.html) and as a more-readable pdf (http://www.nature.com/srep/2011/111215/srep00196/pdf/srep00196.pdf) I've previously referenced this earlier paper a few times here on eG. A side-note on Thai curries versus Indian curries: From what I read elsewhere Indians by-and-large seem to like Thai curries a lot; but Thai folks frequently (if not generally) dislike Indian curries. My understanding is that there is something about how an Indian curry "smells" that is very off-putting to many Thais, but there may be various other factors.

Tôm sốt cà chua. (Vietnamese-style shrimps in tomato sauce) White rice. On the way there: Stir-fried Taiwan Bok Choy. Dessert was half a large oroblanco, ripped apart by hand and eaten messily over the plate. :-)

Thanks, Patrick. Yes, adding clam juice in is nice. Especially when one loses (I am supposing) at least some of the "clammy flavor" due to loss of the clam liqueur from the clams after soaking them in cool brined water and letting them expel grit & black stuff & mucous-y stuff and exchanging liquids from the interior to the exterior of the shells.

Looks good. The BBQ book you refer to as "Global Grill" - could you identify it further? I did a google search for "global grill" cookbook and a specific book that came up was this one by Kathleen Sloan. There are various articles and NPR shows titled "Global Grill" as well... (If it is the Sloan book does it include recipes from, say, Italy or England or Poland etc as well? ("English", for example, is an ethnicity) :-) )

Linguine alle vongole. EV olive oil, chopped smashed garlic, hot red chili flakes, ground black pepper, soaked/cleaned littleneck clams, clam juice [bumble Bee], Sauvignon Blanc, a bit of salt, al dente linguine [Rustichella d'Abruzzo], generous chopped Italian parsley.

Simon, Thanks a bunch. Looks very nice indeed. I'd like a plate of that fried rice!

Large mustard greens (kai choy, 芥菜) stir-fried w/ garlic & peanut oil. Beef short ribs stewed w/ fresh "far koo" type Chinese mushrooms, jicama (sar kot/got), garlic (lots); seasoning included salt, some Maggi sauce, ryori-shu & etc. Eaten w/ mei fun (thin rice noodles).

Soup. Oil, smashed garlic, fresh "far koo" Chinese mushrooms, semi-firm tofu, snow peas, chicken stock. I had several portions. :-)

Simon, could you show us what the final sauce looks like "bottled", so to speak? Thanks for posting your recipe. If I find the energy to replicate it I shall label it "SL's XO Sauce". :-)

Forgot the ground pork. Stir-fried w/ the garlic & oil at the beginning.

Soup. Smashed garlic & oil, pork spare ribs, salt, water, (simmer), red-streaked edible amaranth (yin choy; 苋菜; jin6 coi3). Lotus root, fresh wood-ear fungus, winter bamboo shoots stir-fried w/ garlic & oil; seasoned; sauce generated; splash of Shaohsing wine, shot of fish sauce; simmer till done. Eaten w/ Fuzhou (Fookchow) type wheat noodles (麵線; min6 sin3) (misua) (this one).

Stir-fries. The variations and ingredients are infinite. Vegetable stir-fries. Meat + Veg stir fires. Meat + aromatics stir-fries. Noodle + etc etc etc stir-fries. Yes, make more soups too. :-) Mind you with various soups I prefer to use plain water rather than stock for what is called a more "ching" (clear/clean/pure) taste and texture. Pazzaglia mentioned making rice with stock. Don't forget congees!! Sipping broth alone is nice - one does not need to make it into "soup". Witness the current furor over drinking stock in the US of late, treated like the Newest Discovery, heh. (Something that has been done in some non-Western cuisines for a very long time) The broth does not need to be clear. In fact, having some "chewiness" to them is nice. jmacnaughtan commented that consommé and aspic were out because the stocks were not made classically (and very very clear, I presume) IMO I don't see why aspic, for one, can't be made with these stocks. OK so it wouldn't be a Classical French dish but it does not need to be a Classical French aspic. I've certainly made aspics with stocks that would make Escoffier turn over in his grave but, uh, I'm not making French aspics for one and certainly not old-school Classical French aspics at that.

Yee Sang (魚生). In honor of Yun Yat (人曰), which was on 25th Feb this year. After adding everything together and tossing ("lo hei")