My trip to the Chinese supermarket was a pleasant eye-opener, and even with my man-flu-ebola-dengue-fever virus (it would have killed a lesser man if you could have found one) it was a joy to smell the spices permeating the various rooms. For the austerity cook it showed that shopping around is worth it - noodles were about half the price of Sainsbury's for example, tins of bamboo shoots maybe 20% cheaper, and so on.
But for any cook interested in new stuff it was brilliant. I bought some tinned mushrooms that will add a touch of authenticity to a dish or two; dried chillis that I now thanks to Norman Musa at Ning know how to use correctly; shrimp paste; sweetened soy sauce; proper milky coconut milk; cassia bark; palm sugar...
So this evening's meal will be a Malay/Chinese mini-feast, trying to repeat what I did under careful supervision on Saturday. My hope is that the house smells a little like Ning after my efforts. And that the dishes tonight are as delicious as Saturday's.
Showing posts with label Malaysian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Malaysian. Show all posts
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
Malaysian Cooking
As part of my day job last Saturday I attended the Ning cookery school in Manchester's trendy Northern Quarter. For full details if anyone is interested check out Lancashire Life's April edition, and maybe their website in the fullness of time, but a couple of things were of particular interest to the austerity cook so I'll include them in this blog.
Firstly was how to use lemon grass. I had always thought that trimming and then bashing the moist core with the flat of a knife was the way, removing the fibrous bits after they had given up their flavour: not so as Norman Musa demonstrated. We trimmed the pieces are I had previously done, then cut them in short lengths and zapped them with water in a food processor. Wonderful smell, maximum flavour and fragrance, most bang for your ringgit.
The other was the power of toasted spice. I sometimes do this, in a hot dry pan with one whole spice. Norman had us measure decent quantities of several: cumin, pepper, cinnamon bark, cardamom and star anise (broken into small bits), then got us toasting them gently for a couple of minutes before grinding them finely. The mixture of spices again filled the room, and there was certainly more flavour imparted to the food because of this technique.
I'm off to my local Chinese supermarket tonight to buy some supplies. Fresh and relatively simple street food (this was for beginners) it was nonetheless delicious, and even in the Far East in my previous career I never smelled anything so mouth-watering.
Firstly was how to use lemon grass. I had always thought that trimming and then bashing the moist core with the flat of a knife was the way, removing the fibrous bits after they had given up their flavour: not so as Norman Musa demonstrated. We trimmed the pieces are I had previously done, then cut them in short lengths and zapped them with water in a food processor. Wonderful smell, maximum flavour and fragrance, most bang for your ringgit.
The other was the power of toasted spice. I sometimes do this, in a hot dry pan with one whole spice. Norman had us measure decent quantities of several: cumin, pepper, cinnamon bark, cardamom and star anise (broken into small bits), then got us toasting them gently for a couple of minutes before grinding them finely. The mixture of spices again filled the room, and there was certainly more flavour imparted to the food because of this technique.
I'm off to my local Chinese supermarket tonight to buy some supplies. Fresh and relatively simple street food (this was for beginners) it was nonetheless delicious, and even in the Far East in my previous career I never smelled anything so mouth-watering.
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