An East West Thanksgiving Meal

This year, for thanksgiving, I've decided to make turkey with an Asian twist. I made a paste with lime leaves, vietnamese mint, basil, olive oil and salt and rubbed it all over the outside and inside of the turkey. I used a turkey bag to cook the turkey for the first hour. Then I opened it out completely and browned the bird for one and a half hours on a bed of vegetables and potatoes. Instead of stuffing, I made Middle Eastern rice with saffron, pistachios and barberries.

I also made Yemenite soup (a staple in our household) This is the amount of beef that went into the soup. Shank, hind shank, beef neck bone and oxtail went into the soup. The spice is purchased from the market in Tel Aviv. Typically, Hawaij spice, is made up of cumin, black pepper, tumeric, cardamon.  There are more elaborate versions which include extra ingredients like cloves, coriander, nutmeg and saffron.   

Thailand - The Cookbook, by Jean-Pierre Gabriel

I love Thai cuisine and I was searching high and low for an authentic Thai recipe book. Thailand, The Cookbook, by Jean-Pierre Gabriel is a comprehensive collection with recipes from all the main regions. The author travelled 16,000 miles across Thailand to document the different dishes around the country, prepared by Thai cooks. You will find typical Thai recipes known to Westerners (pad thai, tom yum soup, green papaya salad) but you will also find many atypical dishes; some, I'm sure you'll never try out - like fried crickets with herbs and spicy red ant egg salad. The main thing is that the dishes are authentic and the pictures in the book are beautifully photographed.  

 I remember frequenting a Thai restaurant in Singapore called Thanying. It was very good in the 90s. The chef of the restaurant used to work in the palace kitchen. There was a dish that I loved very much and I found it in this cookbook. It is spicy dip with rice crackers. The dip is actually made of prawns and minced pork, cooked in fragrant coconut milk. I made it successfully and it really reminded me of that dish in Thanying. 

I also made the red curry paste, which is a good base to learn as it can be used for multiple dishes. From the red curry paste, I did a stir fry pork curry (right) and steamed seafood in banana leaves. The first dish had to be adjusted a little bit as it was pretty strong in flavor. The second dish was fun to make and simply delicious. 

Seafood at Half Moon Bay (this weekend is the start of the dungeness crab season)

Make a nice field trip to Half Moon Bay. Enjoy the beach and a seafood lunch at the ever-popular Sam's Chowder House and then, visit Pillar Point Harbor (1 Johnson Pier) to get fresh seafood off the boats. Mornings are best. You may get lucky and spot a friendly seal swimming amongst the fishing boats, pleading for fish. 

Find the fresh catch of the day advertised on white boards on the pier. This weekend (15th Nov) is dungeness crab season. 

Can't find anything you want on the boats? Head down to Princeton Seafood Co for a selection of seafood. 
Half Moon Bay Fish Market (99 San Mateo Road) has a better selection of seafood. We bought Prawns at $16 a pound, a dozen fresh oysters at $12 flat and freshly caught sea bass. It's not the cheapest but it's fresh!

Enjoy the sunset at Crystal Lake, near Half Moon Bay

Take a stroll at Half Moon Bay state beach. Parking is $10 but you can always find street parking and walk in. 

What to do with pumpkins

So you're just finished with halloween and you have an enormous amount of pumpkins in your pantry. What do you do? Besides making pumpkin soup, here's another way to use up the orange squash. 

Steamed Fish with pumpkins

1-2 big banana leaves (you can get this frozen in the asian supermarket)
1 Trout, cleaned and descaled
2 Shallots
2 cloves garlic chopped
3 cilantro roots, chopped
1Tbsp soya sauce
2 lemongrass stalks, halved crosswise and crushed
8 thin slices galangal
200g pumpkin, cut into wedges
1 handful of basil to garnish

1/ Rinse the fish and rub the inside and outside with salt

2/ Coarsely pound shallots, garlic, cilantro root in motar and pestle

3/ Add soya sauce and stuff mixture in fish cavity

4/ Lay banana leaves in a shallow bowl and place the bowl in a steamer

5/ Put lemongrass and galangal on the banana leaf. Lay the fish over and arrange pumpkin around it

6/ Steam for 20 mins

Recipe adapted from Thailand, the Cookbook, by Jean-Pierre Gabriel)

Stir fry tips

Stir fry tip: To save time, pre-cut your vegetables and keep it in the fridge. When you come back from work, you just have to stir fry (just 5 minutes) and you have a piping hot meal.

Black pepper beef stir fry anyone? Make sure the beef is still pink inside and loads of cracked black pepper! 

My Wok

Time to maintain my cast iron wok. Put in a tablespoon of oil, heat over high heat, throw in some fragrant chives and fry for a few minutes, pressing the chives against the surface of the wok. I usually throw away the first batch of chives and throw in another handful, so I can add it to my laoganmama noodles (godmother noodles) and that's my lunch! What you have left in the wok, is a nice brownish black patina, which will build up over years of cooking. Just add another protective coat of oil and store until next stir fry session.

Bruschetta Breakfast

This simple assembly brings to mind my travels in Andalusia, spain. It's super-easy to whip up, for a quick snack. 

Here's how:

Take two slices of bread and spray with olive oil. I used to use store-bought olive oil spray until I had enough of the packaging waste. Now, I use my Misto spray a lot. Place toasts in broiler and toast till brown on the edges.

Take one tomato...and yes, I'm using a bread knife. Apparently, bread knives are good for cutting tomatoes. Slice tomato in half

Place one half tomato facing down on chopping board so it is does not move about. Carefully place your fingers on top and firmly hold down tomato; and slice across (making about 4 slices)

Slice the same tomato horizontally and then, vertically across. 

Slice a small piece of garlic and rub it on the surface of the toast (I observed this technique in the coffee shops in Andalusia)

Drizzle (good quality olive oil) on top of chopped tomatoes and sprinkle some fresh cracked pepper and salt. Assemble your bruschetta and sprinkle with some chopped parsley

Pomegranate Season

It's the pomegranate season and these ruby jewels are filled with vitamins. Scoop it into anything - your granola, yoghurt, salad and blended drinks. How do you pick these tiny jewels without staining your clothes? Cut the fruit carefully and immerse the segments into a bowl of water. Then, continue to pick the fruit within the water. The juice will stain the water pink leaving your clothes pink-free.