eG Foodblog: torakris/snowangel - When Pocky meets pad thai....

[prasantrin]

mini tomatoes also work nicely for color but the stores always jack up the prices the weekend of sports day (about $2.50 for 10) so I no longer buy them.

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Ah, so that's why my local Daiei had bags of mini tomatoes on sale for Y100 yesterday--it was after sports day! My school has Sports Day in June, so we don't have to worry about those Sports Day price hikes.

Was the non-cilantro salsa for you friends' kids, and the cilantro salsa for yours? Many of my friends have the same reaction to cilantro that they do to root beer....

[torakris]

It is nice to know Hide is not alone in putting things where they don't belong....

I am getting worried about this pasta tonight as the last time (the disaster) was also on a rainy day.

Today is a antional holiday but my husband has to work, so I am thinking of taking the kids to Carrefour (a French supermarket that was recently sold to a Japanese company--only the Japan stores not the whole company). The kids are going stir crazy already and they are out of school until Thursday for their fall break...

The house is also a mess but I see no point in cleaning if the kids are going to be home for the next 3 days.

[torakris]

Was the non-cilantro salsa for you friends' kids, and the cilantro salsa for yours?  Many of my friends have the same reaction to cilantro that they do to root beer....

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the non-cilantro one was for all of the kids, mine included they still don't enjoy the taste..

Of course I disn't like cilantro until I was 25.

[torakris]

Kris, for the bento boxes, did you make the onigiri and the minced chicken loaf?

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Yes, I made everything. The minced chicken loaf was actually leftover from when I minced chicken thighs in the food processor to make laab. I normally use ground chicken but it was really expensive!

[torakris]

And, yes, I use a mortar and pestle.

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I use the Japanese suribachi for my pastes but a nice mortar and pestle is on my 'things I must buy in Bali' list when we visit this Christmas.

[snowangel]

Dinner tonight was wonderful

From Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet the silky pumpkin/coconut soup, stir-fried chinese broccoli and jungle curry. I was very dubious about the soup when I made it after I got home from the store, but an extra glug of fish sauce and a bit more cilanto helped. I do think they are right on this one when they say flavors develop as it sits for a while.

The jungle curry could have been a hell of a lot hotter for all of us (except Peter). I upped the peppers from 8 to 10, and I'd go another 4-6 next time. I ended up slicing some birds and putting them in a dish on the table. However, it is an outstanding curry. Oh, and the recipe calls for sliced pork. I read that recipe two or three times, and just figured (show's how carefully I read the recipe; reminded to self to always put reading glasses on first) they'd want us to chop it up. But, I did have ground pork. And, when I think about all of the jungle-style curries I had in Thailand with long beans, they always featured ground pork. I was happy. There was a ton leftover, but Heidi would not eat it and since Peter is sick, he wasn't very hungry.

I should add that I often make a dish very similar to this using

My WebpageMaesri Prrik King Curry Paste

One of the reasons I use this is the time factor. Making your own curry paste takes a long time. It took me about 45 minutes. Opening a can is really simple. And, I've learned to agument with some lime leaves, etc.

I should add that my Asian market has that krachai stuff -- frozen. It is great if you can find it. I think it can be a difficult to find ingredient.

The broccoli dish is one of my all time favorites. I could probably eat this dish almost every night of the week. My kitchen disaster of the day came with that fermented bean stuff. It comes in a bottle. There always seems to be a plug of dried stuff at the top of the bottle, which needs to be removed so you can shake it up. I'd advice removing the plug with a chopstick or something, not by just shaking it upside down and missing the sink! I made 2 pounds of broccoli worth, and there is none left.

Upthread someone asked about particular brands. The two I'm really married to are Maesri for curry paste and Tiparos because when I was growing up in Thailand, that's what everyone I knew bought!

[snowangel]

I am getting worried about this pasta tonight as the last time (the disaster) was also on a rainy day.

You're not the only one! I spent hours cleaning before and after the party last night. Dinner tonight was pretty labor intensive, and my floor is littered with bits of cilantro, Thai basil and the stray bits of minced this and that.

Do I mop now or after there is flour everywhere tomorrow?

[snowangel]

One more thing. I bought this

at the Asian market. Not, it is not carrots. What is it? Since I don't know what it is, I don't have any plans for it. How do I preserve it? Stick it in the freezer?

[snowangel]

One more question! I have over 1/2 this pumpkin leftover and sitting on the kitchen counter. What should I do with it?

[Megan Blocker]

One more question!  I have over 1/2 this pumpkin leftover and sitting on the kitchen counter.  What should I do with it?

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Pumpkin bread...pumpkin muffins...pumpkin souffle a la Chufi. Pumpkin pancakes?

[snowangel]

Should I stick the pumpkin in the oven? Wrapped in foil? Open?

[prasantrin]

Should I stick the pumpkin in the oven?  Wrapped in foil?  Open?

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You could wrap it in saran wrap and microwave it until tender. Then mash.

[Susan in FL]

My friend's mother makes fake foods that look good enough to eat, these are two examples

/img]

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Why does she do that? (I am imagining that it's her job, for restaurant displays or something...?)

Thanks for the link and info about bento.

...it is still considered an essential skill of a Japanese housewife to be able to prepare an appealing boxed lunch.

...I would say you have that "essential skill," Kris!

One more question for now: Is it a custom in Japan for people to separate like you did when families have dinner get-togethers -- a table for kids, a table for men, and a table for women? That would be unusual for us. When our kids were young and we got together with friends who had kids, we used to sometimes seat them together at a separate table or feed them first, but the men and the women never split up like that.

Again, great-looking food and a fine blog by both of you!

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

One more thing.  I bought this

at the Asian market.  Not, it is not carrots.  What is it?  Since I don't know what it is, I don't have any plans for it.  How do I preserve it?  Stick it in the freezer?

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I don't know what they are, but they look like fingers.

[Nathan P.]

One more thing.  I bought this

at the Asian market.  Not, it is not carrots.  What is it?  Since I don't know what it is, I don't have any plans for it.  How do I preserve it?  Stick it in the freezer?

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Looks like fresh turmeric. If so, watch your hands as it stains like mad. I think my mortar is now permanently yellow.

[snowangel]

Looks like fresh turmeric.  If so, watch your hands as it stains like mad.  I think my mortar is now permanently yellow.

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I think you are right. It is an unbelievably strong orange/yellow color. I'm thinking I'll freeze it, and when I use it, microplane it into a glass bowl. Strikes me this might be a good dye for Easter Eggs!

[snowangel]

Now, I'm starting to think ahead to tomorrow and pasta day. Again, I think both Kris and I need best wishes on this one!

So, as I mentioned way upthread, I bought some flour from a bin at the coop that was "duram seminola for pasta." Is this what I should use?

I've abandoned my quest for stuffed pasta, figuring that just getting pasta out of the maker is a good start.

So, when I look at what I have for sauce. I have roasted tomatoes. I have tons of garlic. I'd better check the basil plant, but I know that the tarragon, sage and rosemary are still going well. I also have leftover smoked brisket, but I'm wondering about that and pasta ().

But, first, advice on the flour. Naturally, nothing at the coop or the grocery store comes with any sort of note about protein.

[helenjp]

If it is fresh turmeric, it is wonderful with fish or chicken. It has a flowery fragrance that completely disappears from dried powdered turmeric.

[chardgirl]

I love this thread! I've been only lurking so far...

About the pumpkin: baking (foil and or oil to cover the cut part) or put the cut side down in water in pyrex, or saran wrap and microwave as is suggested, I've never tried that one since I don't use saran wrap much. If you've got a food processor around anyway (possibly for some of the pasta project? I've never made fresh pasta so I don't know...) you could puree the cooked pumpkin and freeze it for a future pie/bread/soup.

cg

Should I stick the pumpkin in the oven?  Wrapped in foil?  Open?

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[prasantrin]

Now, I'm starting to think ahead to tomorrow and pasta day.  Again, I think both Kris and I need best wishes on this one!

So, as I mentioned way upthread, I bought some flour from a bin at the coop that was "duram seminola for pasta."  Is this what I should use?

I've abandoned my quest for stuffed pasta, figuring that just getting pasta out of the maker is a good start.

So, when I look at what I have for sauce.  I have roasted tomatoes.  I have tons of garlic.  I'd better check the basil plant, but I know that the tarragon, sage and rosemary are still going well.  I also have leftover smoked brisket, but I'm wondering about that and pasta  ().

But, first, advice on the flour.  Naturally, nothing at the coop or the grocery store comes with any sort of note about protein.

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I was thinking...why not use some of your leftover pumpkin to make your pasta? I was thining specifically of gnocchi (does gnocchi fall under pasta?). I think it would be delicious!

[snowangel]

I'd mentioned the pumpkin pasta idea to my family tonight. They all rolled their eyes. (I think they are tired of the blog!).

But, Diana and I mused tonight that the meat on the point of that brisket is certainly reminicent of braised meat -- soft and sucullent, and the middle portions are not smokey.....

Meantime, I just put the pumpkin in plastic and it's resting nicely on my outdoor fridge. Once again, like Scarlett, I will think about that tomorrow.

[Pan]

Fresh turmeric is good to use to make Malaysian dishes. Use that mortar and pestle to make a Malaysian rempah (spicy paste) of turmeric, shallots, belacan (shrimp paste), garlic, fresh ginger, and hot peppers. I think our Malaysian members will have some recipes for you. There are also threads in the India forum about uses for fresh turmeric.

Kristin, naive question here, but what is the difference between onigiri and mochi? I looked further in Wikipedia and saw that whereas onigiri is a rice ball, mochi is a rice cake, but of course there are different meanings of "rice cake" in different places. Are both made from glutinous rice?

Edited October 10, 2005 by Pan (log)

[snowangel]

Fresh turmeric is good to use to make Malaysian dishes. Use that mortar and pestle to make a Malaysian rempah (spicy paste) of turmeric, shallots, belacan (shrimp paste), garlic, fresh ginger, and hot peppers. I think our Malaysian members will have some recipes for you. There are also threads in the India forum about uses for fresh turmeric.

Elaborate, please on uses for this paste (or direct me to a topic...). Would the Malaysian shrimp paste be similar to Thai shrimp paste which lists "shimp, fish and salt" as ingredients? It comes in a small hard plastic jar with a screw on lid. The paste-on nutrition label says that 1 tsp provides 72% of the DRA of sodium!

[torakris]

Dinner tonight was wonderful

From Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet the silky pumpkin/coconut soup, stir-fried chinese broccoli and jungle curry.  I was very dubious about the soup when I made it after I got home from the store, but an extra glug of fish sauce and a bit more cilanto helped. 

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The dinner looks and sounds wonderful!

there was nampla in the soup?

I just went back and looked and sure enough, 2 tablespoons! I don't know how I missed that...

I was thinking next time I would add the cilantro at the end, I didn't care for the dark color it turned and actually got very little cilantro taste.

[torakris]

My friend's mother makes fake foods that look good enough to eat, these are two examples

/img]

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Why does she do that? (I am imagining that it's her job, for restaurant displays or something...?)

One more question for now: Is it a custom in Japan for people to separate like you did when families have dinner get-togethers -- a table for kids, a table for men, and a table for women? That would be unusual for us. When our kids were young and we got together with friends who had kids, we used to sometimes seat them together at a separate table or feed them first, but the men and the women never split up like that.

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the fake foods she makes is actually just a hobby.

As to the separating of the guests...

Growing up with 7 brothers and sisters we always had a separate table for kids at parties. Japanese houses are just too small to have everyone at one table, I know very few people who have a table who can seat more than four. The initial separation wasn't on purpose the women were int he kitchen getting stuff ready for the kids and the men took some of the food and went by the tv to see a tape of a show that one of the sons of our host was on. As soon as the women started to eat the men joined us, by then the kids were done and playing upstairs.

When the boring sports talk started, the women started to clean up and the men decided to go outside to smoke, they didn't come back in for 4 hours... well only to get more wine. They did join us again inside for the last 2 hours. I don't think anyone thought anything about it.

We often get to together with just the hosts and our family and at those times we have never separated like that, but I have hosted or been to parties with larger groups and there is often some type of separation at some time.