"Voters don't decide issues, they decide who will decide issues."George Will
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Sweet & Sour Pork (Gu Lao Rou)
Sweet & Sour Pork is the most well known Chinese food abroad. According to a Cantonese chef, the primitive or the authentic cooking method of the dish is to add Cantonese pickled vegetables. When cooking, simply sauté the pickled vegetables along ...
The Return of the Green Fairy
THE RETURN OF THE GREEN FAIRY No, this isn't an article about a slightly camp environmentalist who's decided to come back home! The "green fairy" of the title is a translation of la fée verte, the alternative French name for absinthe, the ...
Vegetarian Cuisine
Rabbit food. That's what my dad calls vegetarian cooking and cuisine. Salads and vegetables - can't be anything more to it, can there? Oh, but there is. Vegetarian cooking is at least as varied as 'regular' cooking - and in some cases, far more ...
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Thai food is famous all over the world. Whether chilli-hot or comparatively bland, harmony and contrast are the guiding principles behind each dish. Thai cuisine is essentially a marriage of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something uniquely Thai. Characteristics of Thai food depend on who cooks it, for whom it is cooked, for what occasion, and where it is cooked. Dishes can be refined and adjusted to suit all tastes.
The 'Tai' people migrated from valley settlements in the mountainous region of Southwest China (now Yunnan province) between the sixth and thirteenth centuries, into what is now known as Thailand, Laos, the Shan States of upper Burma, and northwest Vietnam. Influenced by Chinese cooking techniques, Thai cuisine flourished with the rich biodiversity of the Thai peninsula. As a result, Thai dishes today have some similarities to Szechwan Chinese dishes.
Originally, Thai cooking reflected the characteristics of a waterborne lifestyle. Aquatic animals, plant and herbs were major ingredients. Subsequent influences introduced the use of sizeable chunks to Thai cooking. With their Buddhist background, Thais shunned the use of large animals in big chunks. Big cuts of meat were shredded and blended with herbs and spices. Traditional Thai cooking methods were stewing and baking, or grilling. Chinese influences saw the introduction of frying, stir-frying and deep-frying. Culinary influences from the 17th century onwards included Portuguese, Dutch, French and Japanese techniques. Chillies were introduced to Thai cooking during the late 1600s by Portuguese missionaries who had acquired a taste for them while serving in South America. Thais were very adapt at adapting foreign cooking methods, and substituting ingredients. The ghee used in Indian cooking was replaced by coconut oil, and coconut milk substituted for other dairy products.
Overpowering pure spices were toned down and enhanced by fresh herbs such as lemon grass and galanga. Eventually, fewer and less spices were used in Thai curries, while the use of fresh herbs increased. It is generally acknowledged that Thai curries burn intensely, but briefly, whereas other curries, with strong spices, burn for longer periods. Instead of serving dishes in courses, a Thai meal is served all at once, permitting diners to enjoy complementory combinations of different tastes.
A proper Thai meal should consist of a soup, a curry dish with condiments, a dip with accompanying fish and vegetables. A spiced salad may replace the curry dish. The soup can also be spicy, but the curry should be replaced by a non-spiced item. There must be harmony of tastes and textures within individual dishes and the entire meal.
Andrew Hall
http://www.all-free-recipes.com
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Find out 'what's cooking' at the farmSeacoastonline.comBy Aaron Davis STRATHAM — The Wiggin Memorial Library recently hosted resident Stella Scamman for the release of her new cookbook, "What's Cooking at Scamman Farm," a collection of farm-inspired recipes from the Scammans, friends and relatives and ...and more » |
Chicago Tribune |
Cooking with lavenderChicago TribuneI have always wanted to cook with lavender but my first attempt to infuse the flavors into a tart was a disappointment. Do you have a suggestion? —Andrew Maselli, Chicago A: I don't, but Beverly McClare does. I told her you had made a tea from the ... |
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Army cooks juggle time, chicken at cooking contestDVIDS“The hardest part is time management,” said Sgt. Tasha Matter, a food service specialist for the 542nd QM Company and head cook for the competition. “You've got to make sure everything gets done in the proper order and gets done properly. |
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