It has become a standing joke in our home that whenever my wife changes the dishwashing sponge, I will cook a dish with fresh turmeric root in it.

For those of you who have not used it, turmeric root will stain anything and everything it comes in contact with as soon as it is peeled or cut. Think saffron yellow as in monk’s robes and you get an idea.

So, hands, knives, cutting boards, blender, etc all get stained, and of course the sponge when you wash it. The stain on hands goes after a day or two of regular washing, the plastic blender container gets permanently discoloured and of course, the sponge never recovers.

So, when she changed the sponge, I got a special request to not cook anything with turmeric root in it this week. Today is Sunday, so from tomorrow I am free to cook whatever I please once again. Now it’s not deliberate mind, and I am in no hurry to use turmeric root; it’s just that so many South-East Asian dishes need it.

Well, I finally got around to grilling the great cuts of pork that I bought a while back.

As promised, you can see the photograph in the latest article, Cooking Methods and Cuts - Beef, Pork, Lamb, Chicken.

Now, I can think of Moo Ping and other great uses for it.

When I was a kid, lean pork was definitely an oxymoron. Had I even said it in school, there would have been shrieks of derision at the stupid kid. About as intelligent as saying giraffes have short necks.

As a kid, pork meant fat. In fact my father would ask for the cuts with a ‘decent’ amount of fat because he liked eating it. If you wanted lean meat, you bought beef.

For me as an 8 year old (pre-historic times, I know) fat meant this chunk of rubbery meat that did not break up no matter how long I chewed on it. Having not yet learnt the trick of a tissue to the mouth, I would finally stop chewing and try and swallow the damned thing. Gag! Face turning pale, quick sip of water to steady the gag reflexes. Deep breath, then a big swig of water to wash it down in one swallow. Phew, that was close. Damn pigs!

So, as soon as I was old enough to assert my independence, pork disappeared from my vocabulary. Well into my adult life, I hated pork, to the point where people would enquire whether my aversion was for religious reasons.

The only pork I would eat was char siew, and woe betide the vendor if there was too much fat despite my explicit request for lean meat. Actually, woe betide me, because I just did not eat it, preferring to leave the table still hungry rather than eat the stuff.

Fast forward, and somewhere in recent times, lean pigs became a reality. (What next, short-necked giraffes?)

Anyway, the kid in me said “Great, now I can use pork in all sorts of dishes I cook”; except slow-cooking for example. Forget the blarney about slow, moist heat and succulent meat. Lean pork in a slow-cooker comes out too dry for my liking. OK if you like meat well done I guess.
And grilling? I could fall off the chair laughing if you suggested it.

So imagine my surprise when I was shopping in the Villa Market on Soi Thong Lo and I saw these individually packed cuts of pork marked “Pork for Grilling”. Unmistakable from a distance were the streaks of fat. Fat as in marbling that is, not yukky chunks on the side. Beautiful, even, fine streaks, like a meteor shower………pinch me, I must be dreaming.

I picked up a pack, looking at it like it was manna from heaven, or like a South Seas islander would look at a pig he was about to cook maybe?

Seriously though, these were things of beauty. I picked two of fairly similar size and popped them in the cart, not quite believing my eyes.

I really should have taken a photograph before sticking them in the freezer, but I will make up for it when I thaw them out.

What am I going to cook with them? Haven’t a clue yet, though I’m sure I’ll come up with some appropriate recipe and a bottle of wine to go with them.

Lean pigs indeed. Sez who?

Last night I cooked my usual Pork Vindaloo, but thought I’d give it a bit of a tweak for a change.

Nothing dramatic, just cut back on the dried chillies from 20 to 12, and added 1 heaped teaspoon of Garam Masala.

It turned out quite nicely, mellower due to the reduction of the chillies and with a deeper flavour due to the addition of the Garam Masala.

 It will be interesting to see how it freezes (I froze 4 portions), as typically the chilli heat diminishes in the freezer and a richer flavour develops.

Time will tell.

Sometimes in your travels, you come across a great dish that you cannot forget. Trying to re-create it at home can be a challenge, but it is worth the effort.I first came across the dish on one of my regular business trips to Jakarta. Staying at a hotel that was popular with the locals and not tourists meant that the food there was pretty authentic. I quickly developed a selection of favourite dishes from the menu that became dinner must-haves.

One trip, I noticed the menu had changed and on it was Ikan Bakar Colo Colo. I decided to try it, and was struck by how simple it was and the great taste. They used a nice thick seabass fillet in that hotel, though they did say that restaurants outside would grill whole fish, rather than a single portion fillet. One of the things that made it special was the colo colo sauce, some call it a sambal, which because it was served in a small quantity, did not overwhelm the fish.

So, the dish went onto my list of must-haves. Some trips it was not so good, I suspect because the chef who got it onto the menu was the expert and if he was off, then another chefs efforts did not quite measure up.

Re-Creating The Recipe.

When I got back to Thailand, I searched the net and downloaded a recipe. I tried it as is, and it was a veritable disaster.

So, I had to content myself with having the dish whenever business took me to Jakarta. One day, waiting for a flight at an airport out in the provinces, I came across a cookbook at the airport bookstore. In it was a recipe for Ikan Bakar Colo Colo, so I bought the book on the spot.

Soon after, I tried the recipe as is. It was good, but not exactly what I had in the hotel. So, the next trip when I got to eat the dish, I made a careful comparison of ingredients and taste, to the best that one can tell by looking at and tasting the finished dish.

The difference came from the green chillies, which have a unique taste, addition of bird chillies which give a ‘kick’ to it, a little garlic and I believe the Indonesian kecap manis, or sweet soy sauce, which has a taste rather different from Chinese Sweet Soy Sauce.

And so, all set, I cooked the dish back in Thailand. It was wonderful!

As I no longer travel to Indonesia on business, I cannot readily get kecap manis, but I do intend to ask anyone who travels there to bring back a bottle.

Article / Recipe

Of all the fish that I buy and cook, the most versatile for me is mackerel steak. It has great texture, reasonable taste and it freezes well, qualities that give me a range of choices for when and how I will cook it.

A mackerel steak will go well in many Asian curries. I have for example used it in fish-head curry; no cheeks, but a lot more flesh than an actual fish-head. In Malay cuisine, it is good deep-fried then sautéed in a spicy sambal paste. And it goes well in Indian curries.

Thirty years ago when I was in Kuala Lumpur, there was an Indian restaurant in Brickfields that did a roaring trade in deep-fried fish at lunchtime. Essentially, it had a spice rub applied, then was deep fried and served piping hot. If you use mackerel steak for this, it makes sense to have it sliced thinner.

Mackerel steak takes well to western style preparations, though here of course I would want thicker slices. Any dish that calls for firm-fleshed fish will be pretty OK with mackerel. And for simple weeknight meals, a basic western preparation of mackerel steak is hard to beat for simplicity and goodness.

This is an example of a broiled mackerel steak that I do. Originally inspired by a Mark Bittman recipe, I have since added minced garlic and minced chilli to the mustard. In moderation, I might add, but enough to give a little extra dimension to the taste. Total time to broil was 17 minutes. Seven minutes on the first side, turn and dress with mustard mixture, then broil for another 7 minutes. Top with the chopped honey tomatoes and broil for another 3 minutes. The rack is placed 13 cm / 5 in. from the element, and I do not put it closer to finish as that is not necessary.

This is one main course that takes less time to cook than the potatoes. In this instance, as the main has plenty of flavour, I paired it with a simple Italian style potato salad. Boil the potatoes skin on, peel and slice, allow to cool, then sprinkle with minced garlic and parsley. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and you’re all set.

With a green salad on the side, it makes a good meal.

Want more on mackerel steaks? See Article and Recipe

Moving for the Third Time.

By 2006, the condo / apartment market in Bangkok was booming, rentals increased and our dear landlord smacked us with a 16.67% increase in rent when the lease expired.

Ouch! Since everyone owning an apartment had dreams of getting rich quick, at the tenant’s expense, moving to a house in the suburbs seemed to be the logical thing to do.

So, after 5 years in a pot, in 2 different apartments, our curry leaf plant finally found a home in the ground. I carefully studied the ‘movement’ of the sun, and picked a place with a decent amount of sunlight, albeit near 2 large trees.

I got the gardener to dig a very large hole, filled it with good quality top-soil and left it to settle for a couple of weeks. Then, in went the plant. Joy, a home at last!

Oh No, Moving Again?

The plant, not us, because unfortunately the story does not end there. After several months, it was clear that the plant was not doing well. Pale, speckled leaves, no new growth, it looked as if it was about to give up the ghost. You can see a bit of the problem in the photo at left - leaf edges drying up, as is the branch itself.

So, I decided to move it to the side of the house near the kitchen window. Yes, it would mean far less sunlight for it, but another flowering plant I had there, of a related family, was doing very well.

Uncertain if digging up the plant meant I would kill it, I cut off one of the off-shoots and potted it. Only when that gave out new growth, a sign of it thriving, did I move the mother plant.

I then got to see the source of the problem. One of the nearby large trees had sent out roots that were smothering the root system of the curry leaf plant, doubtless attracted by the fertilizers I was applying there.

My New Home is Nice.

Anyway, after a few months in the new location, the plant is thriving. The old stems (a little too small to be called trunks, though they should be) are too weak and whippy to support the abundant growth of new branches and leaves, so I have had to plant 3 stakes to support it at various points. The poor thing positively flops over when it rains and the leaves are heavy.

But, it is now growing taller than the wall, so it will get more sun and hopefully harden accordingly.

And as you can see from the photograph, it is sprouting many little off-shoots. I have not separated any of them, though I could. I have given the off-shoot that I potted to my buddy - he’ll love having curry leaves to cook with.

I hope that someday, our plant will be as big as the one we had in our garden when I was a kid - we could climb it, so it was a decent size.

I see from the web that the seeds can be grown. Perhaps I might try that - I might wind up as Thailand’s curry leaf version of Apple Seed John.

If anyone reading this in Europe or the States wants to get a plant, just Google “murraya koenigii in [your country]”. I’ve tried it and know it is available in the States, Canada and UK, and I am sure in many other countries. Try getting it, you’ll have a steady supply of the leaves for your own use, and you could even give some to your friends.

 The Search for a Curry Leaf Plant.

I have written a couple of articles and recipes in the last 2 weeks in which I have mentioned using curry leaves, Murraya koenigii.

This plant is easily found in India, Sri Lanka, and of course Malaysia where it is used extensively in South Indian based dishes.

I had enormous difficulty getting a plant in Thailand, mainly because it is not used in Thai cuisine at all. None of the local markets had the leaves for sale.

So, even though we were living in an apartment at the time, my thoughts turned to growing a plant on the balcony. Easier said than done. If the local markets had not heard of the leaves, the plant nurseries had never heard of the plant. Despite lots of research getting local names, photographs off the net, etc, we drew a complete blank.

Finally, a friend whose aunt hails from the South turned out to have a plant. We were promised an off-shoot. Yes, minor miracle!!!

Then the baby arrived - all 8cm / 3 in of it, in a tiny little container. OK, I thought to myself, we’ll have curry leaves in a year or so, if the little tyke survives.

Living on a Balcony.

So, lots of TLC on a balcony that only gave it about 1 hours direct sun a day, and in a year it was about 60 cm / 2 feet tall. At that point, I dared to cut off 2 small sprigs for a curry dish I was cooking; but would not do so again for at least a couple of months, as I wanted the leaves to be replaced at the very least.

After a year plus at that apartment, we had to move to another one. That had a larger balcony, but facing north as it did, I could only give the plant a couple of hours of early morning direct sunlight.

In those conditions, it basically had 1 stem, but did throw up an off-shoot that looked promising. Nonetheless, it was soon time to re-pot our curry leaf plant into a larger and deeper pot.

When I did that, I realized why the plant was so slow growing. It had a taproot system, and the main root could not go down deep enough, even though I was using a pot that was about 3 times deeper than it was wide. There was simply very little lateral root growth, and the taproot just curled and bunched at the bottom of the pot. Well, no options, as the balcony was all we had.

Note: Unfortunately, I lost the photos for this stage, when my hard-disk crashed.

Anyway, Part 2 on Monday (Tuesday in Asia). Have a nice weekend.

Having had no success with finding Black Pomfret in the supermarkets last week, we decided to go to one of the premier fresh markets in Bangkok this week, the Or Tor Kor market.

We found 2 stalls with Black Pomfret. The one we patronised was the one we have been buying crabs and prawns from for 6 or 7 years now. The lady recognised us as usual, and was pretty helpful.

The Black Pomfret she had on display was large enough for a family of 4, too large for the 2 of us. She dug into the ice and found a slighly smaller one. She opened up the gill cover to show us how fresh it was, the colour being a very nice deep red. She also ran a fingernail down one of the gills, and blood came out pretty readily, another sign of real freshness she said. We ended up buying the smaller one, which weighed in at 700 grams (25 ozs).

Left: 2 Black Pomfret, the smaller one above.

We took the opportunity to browse whatever else she had for sale. Some photos below.

Left: A tray of Silver Pomfret. Every stall had these in abundance, including larger specimens.

She had assorted fish for sale, of pretty good quality. Unfortunately, there were no Spanish Mackerel for sale at any of the stalls in the market.

A couple of mud crabs. These are usually sold live, so the fact that they were on ice probably meant that they had died. There were no live Blue Crabs available at all, the only ones being on ice, so any thoughts I had about cooking my signature crab curry went out the window.

A tank of live prawns (shrimp), the type that I usually buy for a barbecue. They go great with Thai seafood dipping sauce. I’m hungry just thinking of this.

These clams were very much alive, and you’d see them squirting up water every so often. I only had my point and shoot, so I didn’t try to get a photo of that happening.

 A tray of mussels, with some mud crabs at upper left. There is a great Thai starter which has steamed clams and mussels, in a broth of lemongrass, basil, shallots, kaffir lime leaves and a cup of wine. Haven’t done this in ages, so the next time we go there, it would make a nice starter for a barbecue!

After browsing her stall, we took the opportunity to buy some Thai Garlic, as this is not always available in the supermarkets.

As we were leaving, we saw some Rose Apples (Chompoo in Thai) of pretty outstanding quality, so we bought some as well.

Or Tor Kor market is not the cheapest market by any means, but it does have a reputation for good quality produce.

So, an interesting trip and I cooked a Black Pomfret Curry that night. One of my better efforts I was told, motivated no doubt by how much effort it took to get the fish. 

This was going to be an article about using chicken parts in chicken stews and curries, but somewhere along the line it became a bit more than that. A while back, I was reflecting on how we cooked chicken in the old days. We’d cut up a whole bird and cook it, bones and all.

Then supermarkets came into being, and we started to have the option of buying chicken parts. I thought that was great. I have always preferred breast meat, and being able to buy only this was a boon.

Today, it is almost difficult to find whole chicken in the supermarket. And yet, something has changed in the taste of the dishes I love. That wholesome, full-bodied flavour was gone. A curry or a stew with only breast meat just lacks something.

So, I have started mixing breast and boney pieces in chicken stews and curries. It would make no difference in a stir-fry or deep-fry, but when you simmer long enough, the bones make a difference. Try making a soup without stock, and you will know exactly what I mean. Sure, you’ll taste the vegetables and whatever else, but it will not be the same.

And so, Spicy Chinese Chicken Stew, a dish that I haven’t cooked in ages. The Chinese style sauces give it the base, the somewhat un-Chinese dried chillies give it the characteristic bite. The combination is heavenly, as the many Straits born cooks in Malaysia know very well.

The mix of sauces gives this chicken stew a sweet and salty flavour, the ginger adds a nice tang to it, whilst the dried chillies add spice. If you want more heat, by all means increase the dried chillies. Ten chillies give it a nice undertone, fifteen a more pronounced heat - by my standards at least, so please adjust to suit your palate.

The list of ingredients is short, and probably the most difficult part of cooking this dish is measuring out those ingredients. It needs so little attention when you cook it that I’d say it basically looks after itself.

The result? Everything I remembered about one of my childhood favourites.

Recipe : Spicy Chinese Chicken Stew