eG Foodblog: Laksa - Wild man of Borneo

[tryska]

that leaf looks like thai basil? yes?

and thanks for clarification trillium. i about exhausted my hindi vocabulary translating that word.

oh and laksa - maybe dessicated coconut soaked overnight in water?

Edited August 25, 2004 by tryska (log)

[tryska]

never mind i'm wrong on the thai basil - look what i found!

http://www.asiarecipe.com/asianherbs.html

[Ms Congeeniality]

maybe dessicated coconut soaked overnight in water?

My dad has been using that since the 80s and has been touting it to everybody he knows. Real time saver. Don't remember him soaking overnight, though. Could be because he uses it in "soupy" dishes and the coconut just get reconstituted that way??

[tryska]

that makes sense to me. does he simmer them long?

i know with the indian dishes i use them in tho, i tend to just have coconuts bits without actually having coconut flavor, so i'm wondering if soaking it would bring out more of the umm..coconutty essence of the stuff, so you could use it like coconut milk, you know what i mean?

Edited August 25, 2004 by tryska (log)

[Laksa]

My dad has been using that since the 80s and has been touting it to everybody he knows. Real time saver. Don't remember him soaking overnight, though. Could be because he uses it in "soupy" dishes and the coconut just get reconstituted that way??

Oh great! Thanks for sharing that with me only now! Right after I've made my crappy nasi lemak because I had to use canned coconut milk.

The nasi lemak is waiting for your return in the fridge. You're eating the rest of it.

[tryska]

oh great.

this is the 3rd domestic disturbance i've instigated in the last week.

Edited August 25, 2004 by tryska (log)

[Laksa]

this is the 3rd domestic disturbance i've instigated in the last week.

tryska, redeem yourself now by offering to eat my crappy nasi lemak.

The Asian herb site you found is a great reference.

Vietnamese mint = water pepper = Vietnamese coriander  Notes:  Vietnamese sprinkle this herb on their laksa soups.

Vietnamese laksa? I gotta try that!

[tryska]

i'll eat it. i don't know any better anyways. all i've got is takeout style, which has no fish or peanuts. only chicken curry, potato curry (same sauce as chicken) and glorious rice. oh and egg and cucumber, but the eggs fried. which i actually like better.

[SobaAddict70]

When your blog first started out, I was going to ask if those cone-shaped Indonesian rice dishes would make an appearance.

Ah well, one could only hope.

I've only seen pictures of them in cookbooks (specifically the Time-Life Foods of the World volume for Southeast Asia). I was wondering if you'd ever had them? Must be really a royal PITA to make.

Soba

[Ms Congeeniality]

Right after I've made my crappy nasi lemak because I had to use canned coconut milk.

Dessicated coconut consists of fine coconut strips. Conventional Nasi Lemak does not have these bits and therefore the santan (milk) would have been accurate, like the way you cooked it.

Dessicated coconut is excellent for adding texture to curries. Dad uses them for his assam (tamarind) fish too, which works well.

The nasi lemak is waiting for your return in the fridge. 

Gladly. Just try to stop me. Meanwhile, you can stay away from it.

[Laksa]

When your blog first started out, I was going to ask if those cone-shaped Indonesian rice dishes would make an appearance.

Hmm... I have no idea what you're referring to. Does cone-shaped rice have another name or is that it?

[SobaAddict70]

Nasi kuning, silly.

Behold my phat googling skillz.

Just the way I remember it!!!

Soba

[RSincere]

Thank you for your blog, especially for all the pictures. They were handy, since I didn't know what you were talking about 95% of the time! (It's that damn exotic Tuna Mornay that did me in!)

[Laksa]

Nasi kuning, silly.

Behold my phat googling skillz.

Just the way I remember it!!!

Ah! If you think that cone looks like a PITA to make, check out the picture in my link. The Indonesians have another name for it, apparently. Tumpeng.

Not surprisingly, it's for special occasions.

Edited August 25, 2004 by Laksa (log)

[Laksa]

I didn't know what you were talking about 95% of the time!

I get that a lot.

[trillium]

The Asian herb site you found is a great reference.

Vietnamese mint = water pepper = Vietnamese coriander  Notes:  Vietnamese sprinkle this herb on their laksa soups.

Vietnamese laksa? I gotta try that!

Actually, Gernot's web page kicks but in a major way for just about any sort of spice or herb you can imagine. You get the latin names, and the names of whatever it is in all the languages he can find. If you put polygonum in the search engine you'll get a link to what I've been calling laksa leaf with a really nice picture. While I'm at it, this thesis that lives at the Singapore Science Centre is a nice resource for latin, mandarin, cantonese and hokkien names of different plants too (but no laksa leaf).

And there is no Vietnamese laksa! That has to be the silliest thing I've ever read. It gets used in lots of other things though...

Great job on the blog, very entertaining.

regards,

trillium

[helenjp]

QUOTE (helenjp @ Aug 24 2004, 11:54 PM)

I've heard that they came to Southeast Asia from South America via Portuguese ships. I wonder if they really were that recently introduced.

FAO postulates that taro originates from southern or south-east Asia.

Sorry for confusion...I meant that ipomea batatas sweet potatoes are thought to have (maybe) reached Southeast Asia on Portuguese ships (which I seriously doubt, because if ipomea could make it to NZ nearly 1000 years ago, it could surely get itself to Borneo before the Portuguese turned up), not the taro (calocasia) or yam (dioscorea spp.) Sorrryyy!

I'm curious about root crops in "Island Asia" (including Japan) and Southeast Asia before the introduction of rice cultivation. Japanese historians say that prehistoric (pre-continential immigration) people ate acorns and nuts, but I can't help thinking that might have been a more northern thing, because even now, the southern half of Japan eats a lot more taro, sweet potatoes, and yams than the northern half.

Also wonder why Borneo rice is traditionally mainly upland rather than paddy-grown? But I guess that's another topic for another day.

Thanks to both Laksa and Ms. Congeeniality for an interesting look at such a tasty part of Southeast Asia!

[Laksa]

In the beginning, there was promise and hope. I had wanted to make a hamburger. I thought it'd be nice to add a little twist - an Aussie burger with the lot. There's nothing unusual about that. Millions of Aussies eat it every day.

Again, the ingredients are duly assembled. Nothing you haven't seen before. Granted, Americans may find the beetroot and egg a little odd, but it's a "ha ha, those crazy Aussies", and life goes on. Note that in Australia, ketchup is called tomato sauce.

I browned the beef patty in the pan with butter and threw on a couple of slices of a nicely aged English cheddar and left it in a warm oven. I then sauteed the onions and then fried the egg. Got some lettuce and tomato. Those go in a burger right? Instead of a bun, I cut two slices off a loaf of "Italian" bread. Got a few slices of beetroot and I was ready to assemble the burger.

After putting all the pieces together, I found this on my plate:

Oh Lord, what monstrosity have I created this time?

I don't know whether to eat it or lock it in the belfry. Not being able to find a belfry in my village, the only honorable thing left for me to do is to devour it. By my twisted mind this beast is spawned, so into my dark gullet it must descend.

Aussie burger with the lot with thick cut fried potatoes and salad:

Edited August 26, 2004 by Laksa (log)

[Abra]

Thanks for a really fun blog, Laksa and Ms. Congee. Next time I go over to our Asian supermarket I'll look for some of the products you pictured. I don't think we have a lot of Malaysian stuff here, but we do have the very popular Malay Satay Hut, so there's gotta be some.

[Laksa]

It's last call at Pub Laksa. I've had a wild time sharing our week with you all. Thanks for tuning in. Here's to your health! Slainte! 乾杯！and good night.

[Ms Congeeniality]

Fellow eG members, hope everybody had as much a good time as we had doing this. I made my debut in eG right in this foodblog not a week ago, but certainly we'll see more of each other in the regular forums. For now, I'll do some more cramming for an interview tomorrow, and looking forward to flying home to NY on Friday to taste some of the food that Laksa cooked up. Thanks for being so great & goodnight from Kalamazoo....

[misgabi]

Thanks for the great blog - I was glad to see the aussie burger made an appearance was worried you would run out of time.

Does the beetroot taste the same as here?

BTW - outstanding looking burger, my husband couldn't do any better and he makes a mean burger.

Thanks to both of you for taking the time to make this so interesting, now if my asian food only looked half as gorgeous as yours I would be happy.

[Squeat Mungry]

Well, Laksa, if I wasn't out of the Macallan 12, I'd lift a toast to yer blog. Oh, wait, I'll do that anyway!

Thanks so much to both of you,

Squeat

Edit: Duh.

Edited August 26, 2004 by Squeat Mungry (log)

[spaghetttti]

Laksa & Ms. Congeeniality,

A brilliant, witty and vibrant blog. How generous of you both for sharing your week of food and fun, bugs and all! My personal thanks go out to you for highlighting the cuisine from our part of the world.

Wild Man of Borneo, ya done good!

(Ms. Congee, good luck & success on your interview tomorrow.)

Terima kasih and selamat!

Hidup Asia Tenggara!

Yetty

Edited August 26, 2004 by spaghetttti (log)

[smallworld]

Again, the ingredients are duly assembled. Nothing you haven't seen before. Granted, Americans may find the beetroot and egg a little odd, but it's a "ha ha, those crazy Aussies", and life goes on. Note that in Australia, ketchup is called tomato sauce.

OK, so what do Australians call tomato sauce?

Great blog, and sorry for the crab chip thing. Should have just assumed you were joking (what with the little pictures of crabs on the package and all) and kept my big mouth shut...