Cooking
Last night I got to attend an Asia Society Off the Menu dinner, and what fun it was. This series explores favorite dishes that chefs have not been able to keep on their restaurant menus. A ticket to one of these events means you get to taste some very special dishes, no matter what the theme. My fellow Bay Area Bites blogger Thy Tran moderated a fascinating conversation between the chefs.
Each participating chef talked about curries from their home countries--India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand and dispelled some common misconceptions.
From India, Ruta Kahate made a beef curry, and shared that beef is eaten by some Indians and that not all curries have lots of ingredients, this one used only three spices.
From Indonesia chef Daniel Sudar made a spicy goat curry called Gulai Kambing that is usually only served once a year but that he plans on putting on the menu at his soon-to-be-opened Red Lantern restaurant.
Alex Ong from Betelnut restaurant made a Nonya style Korma curry with chicken that is normally made with lamb. It was served dry, but was full of flavor. Because the word curry is derived from the Tamil word for sauce, it is commonly believed that all curries are served with sauce, but that is not necessarily true.
One special chef was in fact not a restaurant chef but my friend, food blogger extraordinaire, Pim. She made a curry and didn't use a curry paste. Kanom Jeen Nam-prik is a rice noodle dish with a curry sauce served with shrimp. Pim's Thai restaurant pet peeve is the way curries are served mix-and-match where customers choose the color--red, green or yellow and the meat, usually chicken, beef or pork. In Thailand much care goes into the pairing of the curry and the meat.
Each dish was strikingly different in texture and flavor showing just a sampling of the wide range of curries in a few parts of Asia. I will try to give you a head's up when the next dinner is announced as they frequently sell out.
FOOD
- Favorite Things: Madras Curry Mustard
Last year at the Fancy Food Show I discovered Dulcet Cuisine's wonderful Madras Curry Sauce & Marinade. While it was the Lemon, Mustard & Dill Sauce that won an award, I really loved the tangy but not too spicy curry sauce, a product with...
- Dulcet Cuisine Madras Curry Sauce & Marinade
I can't remember the first time I had Indian food. But I do remember the time I had my first non-restaurant Indian meal. A friend of mine from Bhopal who was living in Europe made dinner for me. I watched eagerly to learn techniques that were completely...
- Thai For Veggies? Sure, Why Not?
Matt's a huge fan of Thai food. I'm...not so much. I've only started eating Thai over the last few years. Trust me, there weren't a lot of Asian-influenced dishes served where I grew up. In my tiny Northwestern Pennsylvanian hometown,...
- It's Almost Worth The Airfare
Oh, sure...I'm no where near a Sur La Table these days, and that's when they finally bring in someone I'd love to meet! (as opposed to say, Rachel Ray) Known as the 'Indian Julia Child,' Julie Sahni is a leading expert on Indian...
- Curried Eggs; Or The Headache That Wouldn't Die
Non-stop headache, so my sweet husband made dinner. Hooray for that. From a cookbook we don't use nearly often enough, The Cook's Encyclopedia of Vegetarian Cooking, Curried Eggs. Hard boiled eggs on a surprisingly sour curry; onion, ginger,...
Cooking
Off the Menu Curry Dinner
Last night I got to attend an Asia Society Off the Menu dinner, and what fun it was. This series explores favorite dishes that chefs have not been able to keep on their restaurant menus. A ticket to one of these events means you get to taste some very special dishes, no matter what the theme. My fellow Bay Area Bites blogger Thy Tran moderated a fascinating conversation between the chefs.
Each participating chef talked about curries from their home countries--India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand and dispelled some common misconceptions.
From India, Ruta Kahate made a beef curry, and shared that beef is eaten by some Indians and that not all curries have lots of ingredients, this one used only three spices.
From Indonesia chef Daniel Sudar made a spicy goat curry called Gulai Kambing that is usually only served once a year but that he plans on putting on the menu at his soon-to-be-opened Red Lantern restaurant.
Alex Ong from Betelnut restaurant made a Nonya style Korma curry with chicken that is normally made with lamb. It was served dry, but was full of flavor. Because the word curry is derived from the Tamil word for sauce, it is commonly believed that all curries are served with sauce, but that is not necessarily true.
One special chef was in fact not a restaurant chef but my friend, food blogger extraordinaire, Pim. She made a curry and didn't use a curry paste. Kanom Jeen Nam-prik is a rice noodle dish with a curry sauce served with shrimp. Pim's Thai restaurant pet peeve is the way curries are served mix-and-match where customers choose the color--red, green or yellow and the meat, usually chicken, beef or pork. In Thailand much care goes into the pairing of the curry and the meat.
Each dish was strikingly different in texture and flavor showing just a sampling of the wide range of curries in a few parts of Asia. I will try to give you a head's up when the next dinner is announced as they frequently sell out.
FOOD
- Favorite Things: Madras Curry Mustard
Last year at the Fancy Food Show I discovered Dulcet Cuisine's wonderful Madras Curry Sauce & Marinade. While it was the Lemon, Mustard & Dill Sauce that won an award, I really loved the tangy but not too spicy curry sauce, a product with...
- Dulcet Cuisine Madras Curry Sauce & Marinade
I can't remember the first time I had Indian food. But I do remember the time I had my first non-restaurant Indian meal. A friend of mine from Bhopal who was living in Europe made dinner for me. I watched eagerly to learn techniques that were completely...
- Thai For Veggies? Sure, Why Not?
Matt's a huge fan of Thai food. I'm...not so much. I've only started eating Thai over the last few years. Trust me, there weren't a lot of Asian-influenced dishes served where I grew up. In my tiny Northwestern Pennsylvanian hometown,...
- It's Almost Worth The Airfare
Oh, sure...I'm no where near a Sur La Table these days, and that's when they finally bring in someone I'd love to meet! (as opposed to say, Rachel Ray) Known as the 'Indian Julia Child,' Julie Sahni is a leading expert on Indian...
- Curried Eggs; Or The Headache That Wouldn't Die
Non-stop headache, so my sweet husband made dinner. Hooray for that. From a cookbook we don't use nearly often enough, The Cook's Encyclopedia of Vegetarian Cooking, Curried Eggs. Hard boiled eggs on a surprisingly sour curry; onion, ginger,...