Cooking with "Cradle of Flavor"

[Kim D]

Yesterday we made Acehnese Goat Curry ( Kare Kambing, page 314).

I have been wanting to cook goat for years.

The recipe says to cook this uncovered and I think covered would have made more sense. The goat never did get tender so we had to go to plan B (Cauliflower with Potatoes, Phool gobi aur aloo ki bhaji, page 98 of Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking). The goat curry is in the fridge and I'll braise it in the oven tonight. I think the dish has potential. It smelled awesome.

The recipe calls for toasted coconut. Last week I made Miang Kam (Mouthful of Tidbits Wrapped in a Leaf, page 202 of Kasma Loha-unchit's It Rains Fishes) using frozen shredded coconut and it just wouldn't brown properly. This time I bought a coconut, made my own coconut milk and shredded the coconut meat. Fresh coconut browns so much easier. You can see it in the picture above.

The picture below shows the goat curry with the homemade coconut milk in the background. I used the coconut juice when the sauce cooked down too far. I definitely got my money's worth out of that coconut.

I bought green mangoes. Green mango sambal just might be in the plan for tonight.

djyee100, Thanks for keeping up that list. Is there any way it can be moved to the first entry to make it easier to find?

[Prawncrackers]

Sorry folks i didn't do anything to cross off the list! Actually i'm not sorry because we had fantastic Chicken Satay with some peanut sauce and sambal oelek to go with it:

oh and there were some breaded prawns too

[crouching tyler]

Tonight we made another vegetable dish from Cradle of Flavor: Rohati’s crisp-fried potatoes with chile and shallot sambal (kentang balado). We used a mix of store-bought and home-grown chiles for the paste – maybe six Holland, two Anaheim, and four Kashmiri chiles. Grown from seed, the Kashmiri chiles added a lot of flavor while keeping the heat level manageable for the boys.

We have made this before, and it is one of my favorites. Frying the potato wedges a few at a time takes a while; otherwise, this comes together pretty quickly. The boys preferred the fried potato wedges without the sauce (“Tastes just like French fries!” ).

Kentang balado

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This sounds and looks so good. I might have to move it up in the rotation, leapfrogging past my planned eggplant extravaganza.

[crouching tyler]

djyee100: Wow, you have been busy, and your meals look so good! I need to try the Javanese sambal, the eggplant pickle, and the stir-fried bean sprouts – thanks for the nudge. You were smart to cut up the green beans in coconut milk. I left mine whole, and they were difficult to shove in my mouth at a suitable pace.

Prawncrackers: Isn’t beef rendang amazing stuff? The chicken and especially potato rendang are also indescribable – you just have to try them. Macadamia nuts are closely related to candlenuts, so you can substitute them if available.

Looking forward to more from both of you. And Robin, of course. Tap. Tap. Tap.

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Tap tap tap, indeed. Life has been distracting me from Cradle of Flavor, lately, and that is probably going to be the state of affairs for another couple of weeks. So, I will have to content myself with following along for a while.

I continue to appreciate the vibrant colors present in all these dishes. It really makes the food leap off the screen, so to speak. I notice quite a few of us seem to plate our dishes on platters with warm, rich yellow tones - it somehow conveys the warmth (both heat and spice) that I associate with the cuisine(s) quite well.

[snowangel]

Tonight we made another vegetable dish from Cradle of Flavor: Rohati’s crisp-fried potatoes with chile and shallot sambal (kentang balado). We used a mix of store-bought and home-grown chiles for the paste – maybe six Holland, two Anaheim, and four Kashmiri chiles. Grown from seed, the Kashmiri chiles added a lot of flavor while keeping the heat level manageable for the boys.

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This dish caught my eye the first time around, but a couple of questions. What did you serve with it?

Second has to do with the peppers. Did you grown the Hollands? If so, from whence the seeds? From whence the seeds for the Kashmiri peppers?

[C. sapidus]

Kim D: I would love to hear a follow-up report on your goat curry.

Robin: Potatoes would be a fine accompaniment to an eggplant extravaganza.

Tonight we made another vegetable dish from Cradle of Flavor: Rohati’s crisp-fried potatoes with chile and shallot sambal (kentang balado). We used a mix of store-bought and home-grown chiles for the paste – maybe six Holland, two Anaheim, and four Kashmiri chiles. Grown from seed, the Kashmiri chiles added a lot of flavor while keeping the heat level manageable for the boys.

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This dish caught my eye the first time around, but a couple of questions. What did you serve with it?

Once we served kentang balado with Malaysian pan-seared fish (chuan-chuan) and stir-fried bok choy with garlic and chiles (tumis sayar). More recently, Mrs. C was out of town so me ‘n da boyz had a very non WW-friendly meal of kentang balado and ribs.

Second has to do with the peppers.  Did you grown the Hollands?  If so, from whence the seeds?  From whence the seeds for the Kashmiri peppers?

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We can get Holland chiles from the regular grocery store, but we grew the Kashmiri peppers from seeds provided by a friend from India.

[Kim D]

Kim D: I would love to hear a follow-up report on your goat curry.

Thanks for the reminder.

I remember reading that the reason the pan should not be covered is that the coconut would curdle. Since my goat meat was still tough after two hour on top of the stove, I decided to bake it uncovered in the oven until it became tender. And that did the trick. Next time I'll just stick it in the oven right away. So much easier than watching and stirring.

The first time I made a dish, all I ask is that is have potential. And this dish does. It didn't get a fair tryout since I cooked it and cooked it and cooked ti some more. But the goat did have a very nice flavor.

- Kim

[snowangel]

Made the grilled coconut chicken with lemon basil last night, with stir-fried spinach as a side.

Wow. I loved the chicken -- in fact, I hit a home run with every member of the family! I wish I'd upped the heat a bit, but Peter loved it the way it was, so the compromise was worth it.

Unlike Bruce, I didn't toss any of the precious liquid -- I had it for breakfast over rice this morning!

[Dejah]

Kim D: I would love to hear a follow-up report on your goat curry.

Thanks for the reminder.

I remember reading that the reason the pan should not be covered is that the coconut would curdle. Since my goat meat was still tough after two hour on top of the stove, I decided to bake it uncovered in the oven until it became tender. And that did the trick. Next time I'll just stick it in the oven right away. So much easier than watching and stirring.

- Kim

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I am too impatient to stand watching and stirring, so anything that requires simmering, I've always put in the oven. I cover my pan when it is in the oven and the coconut milk has never curdled. I may take the cover off for the last hour if I feel more reduction is needed.

ETA: My little Asian grocery just got Thai basil in for me. The weather is fine for grilling, so I've got plans to make the coconut grilled chicken tomorrow! Will there much difference with using Thai basil instead of LEMON basil?

Edited October 26, 2007 by Dejah (log)

[Kim D]

I don't have an answer on the lemon basil as I've never bought it. Few things make me happier than finding a new ingredient to use so it's now on my shopping list.

Last night we made Opor Ayam (Javanese Chicken Curry, page 275) and Sambal Mangga Muda (Green Mango Sambal, page 123).

The chicken curry was wonderful. I don't think I've ever had a dish made with coconut milk that wasn't tasty.

I made the sambal because no one had made it and because I saw green mangoes at the Thai Grocery. Otherwise, I never would have bought a green mango and that would have been a shame. What a nice sour taste. According to my husband, the sambal was better today. The flavors evened out over night.

[C. sapidus]

ETA: My little Asian grocery just got Thai basil in for me. The weather is fine for grilling, so I've got plans to make the coconut grilled chicken tomorrow! Will there much difference with using Thai basil instead of LEMON basil?

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Dejah, I look forward to hearing about your coconut grilled chicken. Actually, I look forward to hearing about anything that you make. Anyway, Chris Amirault had some information about Thai basil versus lemon basil way back in Post #17 (click). Emphasis added below.

And the grilled coconut chicken with lemon basil (Ayam Panggang Sulawesi). Since this was the first time I'd braised before grilling I thought I'd document it. Three substitutions: a few peanuts instead of candenuts (can't find 'em here), Thai basil for lemon basil (required a bit more lime juice later), and ground dried turmeric for the fresh.

. . . and . . .

We squirted a bit of extra lime and sprinkled a bit of extra salt over each thigh, and then enjoyed them with the pickles, greens, and new crop jasmine rice.

The braise-then-grill method is pretty ingenious, particularly with such a rich braising liquid. The thighs soak up a ton of flavor and then the smoky char plays off of that really well. I have no clue about authenticity and realize the lemon basil would have helped, but the dish seemed to benefit from a bit of brightening (the lime), which made me wonder how it'd work with some fresh galangal.

[Dejah]

Dejah, I look forward to hearing about your coconut grilled chicken. Actually, I look forward to hearing about anything that you make.  Anyway, Chris Amirault had some information about Thai basil versus lemon basil way back in Post #17 (click). Emphasis added below.

Bruce: You're always so encouraging...gets me into a lot of trouble - on my bathroom scales!

You know how I'm addicted to the beef rendang. I've made it so many times now I can do it without referring to the book. I always make a huge batch as it's wonderful shredded on top of mixed field greens salad and mango vinegrette for lunches. It drives my collegues crazy, so I have to make sure I have some to share.

Now, there's coconut grilled chicken! I made it with nearly 5 lbs of thighs, breasts, and drumsticks and doubled the recipe. The flavour was wonderful, especially as I inhaled the aromas while grilling outside. Next time I'll use more chilis - didn't quite double the quantities indicated in the recipe. As well, I need more sauce!

There's lots left over, and I'll be taking it for lunch on Monday. I'll probably make more sauce tomorrow to throw on top. I did a stir-fry with coloured peppers, oyster and Chinese mushrooms, sugar snaps and shallots - cleaned out the veg. bin. There were also a few stalks of gai lan with a drizzle of oyster sauce. A seedless cucumber became pickles with a bit of carrot and crushed chilis. I didn't take much time with the pickle - just salted the slices for 15 minutes. rinse and added seasoned sushi vinegar. They were salty, sweet, hot, and crunchy. Then it was off to enjoy a blues concert.

This is about half of the chicken pieces I cooked.

Above is hubby's plate.

[Kim D]

I've been wanting to make Rendang Daging Sapi (Beef Rendang, page 304) but I haven't wanted to babysit the meat on top of the oven for 3 hours. That recipe is back on my list after reading this from Dejah:

I am too impatient to stand watching and stirring, so anything that requires simmering, I've always put in the oven. I cover my pan when it is in the oven and the coconut milk has never curdled. I may take the cover off for the last hour if I feel more reduction is needed.

Last night we made Sate Sapi (Beef Satay, page 144) for the second time. The first time, we sliced flank steak and I was amazed by how tender the meat was. Slicing on the bias made the difference. Yesterday we made a shopping trip out to the suburbs to Mitsuwa to pick up pre-sliced meats. We picked up beef sliced for Yakiniku and used that for the Sate Sapi. You can't get much easier than that.

We also made Nasi Uduk (Lemongrass-scented Coconut Rice, page 176) and Sos Kecap Rawit (Sweet Soy Sauce and Lime Dipping Sauce, page 125).

For the rice, I used three sad looking lemongrass that I bought at Whole Foods for $24.99/pound. I'm saving the beautiful lemongrass ($1/bunch) I bought at Thai Grocery for something else.

Edited October 28, 2007 by Kim D (log)

[Dejah]

I've been wanting to make Rendang Daging Sapi (Beef Rendang, page 304) but I haven't wanted to babysit the meat on top of the oven for 3 hours. That recipe is back on my list after reading this from Dejah:

I am too impatient to stand watching and stirring, so anything that requires simmering, I've always put in the oven. I cover my pan when it is in the oven and the coconut milk has never curdled. I may take the cover off for the last hour if I feel more reduction is needed.

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Kim: The only other suggestion I have is make a DOUBLE PORTION! This rendang is addictive especially after sitting for a day or two. The flavour intensifies, and it's great in joongzi as suggested by eGulleteer Tepee. I'd also make more sauce and pull some out before the dish is finished.

Have a trip to the big city coming up, so I'll be able to load up on fresh lemongrass. As of yesterday's coconnut grilled chicken, I'm out and will have to resort to frozen chopped lemongrass. It's ok, but I miss the fresh scent as I soften the stalk before tying the knot.

[C. sapidus]

I did a stir-fry with coloured peppers, oyster and Chinese mushrooms, sugar snaps and shallots - cleaned out the veg. bin. There were also a few stalks of gai lan with a drizzle of oyster sauce. . . .Then it was off to enjoy a blues concert.

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Dejah – What a beautiful dinner, and what lovely golden-brown chicken. Do you use a charcoal or gas grill? Also, great suggestion to make more of the highly addictive sauce for rendang. By the way, my clean-out-the-fridge stir-fries never look that good.

A blues concert sounds like a great way to end the evening.

[Dejah]

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Dejah – What a beautiful dinner, and what lovely golden-brown chicken. Do you use a charcoal or gas grill?

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Thanks, C. I was happy with the way the chicken turned out. I used a gas BBQ and almost wished I had my old charcoal grill. I remember my sister saying that the best BBQ steaks or whatever she had were done on my old charcoal BBQ in the 70s. Maybe I should dig out my old hibachi.

[Kim D]

For the past year, I've been cooking from Hot Sour Salty Sweet, It Rains Fishes, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, Breath of a Wok and most recently Cradle of Flavor. So far, in only fourteen days, I've made 12 recipes from this book and three of those twice. And that just amazes me. I've never cooked so many recipes from one book in such a short amount of time.

So, why have I tried so many recipes? I think it's because I like the ingredients. Tamarind, curry leaves, fresh turmeric, ginger, galangal, Thai chiles. I've had shrimp paste in my fridge for over a year and never used it much. But I like toasting it. And I love making flavoring pastes. I get to use up a whole bunch of stuff that usually languishes in my crisper drawer until I have to throw it out. And I hate to waste.

James Oseland uses weight measurements and I especially like that. I don't have to wonder just what 6 shallots means. Are they 6 of those teeny tiny ones or 6 of the golf ball sized ones? Six shallots is 140 grams. My scale is finally getting some use.

If my husband had his way however, I would stop making any recipe that has coconut milk in it. And that's ok. I have Tofu and I'll soon be making Tahu Goreng Bacem (Twice-Cooked Tofu with Coriander, page 330).

[Kim D]

Beef rendang is in the oven. I can't wait to see how it turns out. I love making flavoring pastes.

[Dejah]

Beef rendang is in the oven. I can't wait to see how it turns out. I love making flavoring pastes.

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Anticipation!

I'm tempted to make it again this weekend. It works so well for lunches.

[crouching tyler]

Beef rendang is in the oven. I can't wait to see how it turns out. I love making flavoring pastes.

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I can't wait either!

I like making the flavoring pastes too - It is so satisfying - measuring and adding each ingredient in turn. For some reason, making flavoring pastes feels scientific, but with the benefit of intoxicating aromas.

[crouching tyler]

For the past year, I've been cooking from Hot Sour Salty Sweet, It Rains Fishes, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, Breath of a Wok and most recently Cradle of Flavor. So far, in only fourteen days, I've made 12 recipes from this book and three of those twice. And that just amazes me. I've never cooked so many recipes from one book in such a short amount of time.

So, why have I tried so many recipes? I think it's because I like the ingredients. Tamarind, curry leaves, fresh turmeric, ginger, galangal, Thai chiles.    I've had shrimp paste in my fridge for over a year and never used it much. But I like toasting it. And I love making flavoring pastes. I get to use up a whole bunch of stuff that usually languishes in my crisper drawer until I have to throw it out. And I hate to waste.

James Oseland uses weight measurements and I especially like that. I don't have to wonder just what 6 shallots means. Are they 6 of those teeny tiny ones or 6 of the golf ball sized ones? Six shallots is 140 grams. My scale is finally getting some use.

If my husband had his way however, I would stop making any recipe that has coconut milk in it. And that's ok. I have Tofu and I'll soon be making Tahu Goreng Bacem (Twice-Cooked Tofu with Coriander, page 330).

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Holy Cow! 12 recipes in 14 days - I think you deserve the CoF Lemongrass Star Award (newly created by me, just now - take some of the outer leaves of the lemongrass and weave them together in the shape of star - now hang it on your refrigerator (or nestle into a pot of coconut rice).

That is some strong work!

[Dejah]

It's the "intoxicating aromas" that call to me ...Then it's the flavours infused into every shred of beef that pulls me in ...

My mouth is watering as I write this...

[Kim D]

We had friends over for dinner last night and didn't take any pictures. And we really should have.

I think I over cooked the rendang. By the end, the meat was falling apart. It was in the oven for 3 hours at 325 before I decided that enough was enough. I took it out of the oven and finished cooking it on the stove for another 30 minutes or more. It never did get that roasted coffee bean color but the oil did separate and foam. I cooked it in my Le Creusset buffet pan. Perhaps I should have transferred it to my 12" nonstick after taking it out of the oven.

Dejah, if you have any pointers on making rendang, I'm all ears. I don't know what it's supposed to taste like so I don't know how close I came to making it right. But I can tell you that there are no leftovers. We loved how the flavors and spiciness snuck up on you after you swallowed and not as much while you were chewing.

Anyway, we made three new recipes from Cradle of Flavor -- Sate Ayam (Chicken Satay, page 147), Saus Kacang Tanah (Javanese Peanut Sauce, page 128) and Acar Timun (Javanese Cucumber and Carrot Pickle, page 132).

It would have been four recipes but my husband used a different recipe for Singapore Slings.

So far, Sate Sapi (Beef Satay, page 144) is our favorite recipe from this book.

Holy Cow! 12 recipes in 14 days - I think you deserve the CoF Lemongrass Star Award (newly created by me, just now - take some of the outer leaves of the lemongrass and weave them together in the shape of star - now hang it on your refrigerator (or nestle into a pot of coconut rice).

Thank you very much. We're now at 15 recipes in 18 days. Amazing since I'm not trying to see how many recipes I can make. It's just been that that many recipes have piqued my interest.

[FoodMan]

After reading through this wonderful book for a month, and it is a very good and informative read, I finally joined the party here and made a couple of dishes.

Beef Rendang

Steamed Jasmin rice

Javanese Carrot and Cucumber pickle

I made a double batch of the Rendang based on the comments I've read here. I sure am glad I did. This stuff is addictive and utterly delicious. I cooked it maybe 2 hours on the stove top , then due to time constraints (I needed to go to bed on a Teusday night) I stuck it in the oven at 320 for another 2 hours. The next day all I had to do was finish it off in a nonstick pan on the stove top.

The pickle worked great with the spicy rich beef dish. I added some cilantro I had lying around to this pickle as well. Good addition.

[djyee100]

djyee100, Thanks for keeping up that list. Is there any way it can be moved to the first entry to make it easier to find?

I don't know of any way to move entries to the top of the message board, and I suspect the computer would have a hissy fit if someone tried. Not to worry, I will keep the recipes list updated periodically, so all you have to do is back up a bit on the message board to find it.

Kim D, that was some cooking you did, all those recipes in 2 weeks.

Kim D, Dejah, and Foodman, your food looks so tasty. Delish!