I am not a food snob. I am as much a fan of American Chinese cuisine as I am of authentic Chinese cuisine. I bear no shame in liking the numerous sweet and sour like concoctions, love the just sweet and a bit savoury dishes and most of all the various wonton crisps all sorts. Hands down, my favourite is crab Rangoon. I love dumplings but this dumpling is one I'm very fond of.
When one speaks with flowery words, beating around the bush rather than zeroing in on the point of conversation, one is said to speak with too much "palabok". This Filipino term is also the name of a dish with so many accoutrements: the pancit palabok. The dish, unlike the saying, is outright delicious at the first mouthful.
The love of pork lies deep in a Filipino's heart. Words like lechon (roast pig or pork joint) and pritong baboy (fried pork) would tug at heartstrings. Lechon kawali would bring a double dose of happiness as it is basically a deep fried version of lechon.
The question is simple. What do you want to eat? The answer not so much. While one can come up with a one word answer such as Mexican, Thai or pizza, someone might go indecisive and complicated.
It is no surprise that tofu is now appreciated by more people outside Asia. This humble food, although a staple in the eastern countries, remains in the sidelines in the west. While others have grown to appreciate its subtle creamy taste, a lot still query why it should be eaten at all.
To most of us, sweet and sour pork is synonymous to Chinese food. I remember how it was always a part of family dinners at our favourite Chinese restaurant. The crispy pork pieces were topped with a perfectly balanced sweet and sour sauce mixed with crisp vegetables. It always comes as we expect it and never fails to satisfy.
My two kids always order Katsu Curry in Wagamama. The plate comes with a rather large (American) football shaped mound of rice, two crumbed chicken pieces flanking the rice and salad leaves. The brown curry sauce drapes the meat and the rice in a rather unappetising fashion. Nevertheless, the taste speaks for itself and it never fails to satisfy.
The love of pork makes me translate a lot of dishes into pork dishes. While meatballs would almost always equate to beef balls, I chose pork this time. The reason for this is that I want to flavour the meatballs with Asian seasonings and there is no better base for that than pork. The flavour of beef would not let the seasonings stand out as much. Having said that, any meat could be used for this dish and it would also work.
I was lucky to have a good health visitor when I was bringing up my babies. A health visitor, for those not in the UK, is a health professional who guides Mums on how to take care of their babies.
Roasts bring a sense of occasion comes once it's brought to the table. The mood changes at the mere sight of it. The anticipation of the first mouthful brings excitement.
You'd think that warm climes would equate to cooling food but it is quite the opposite. When in Asia, we eat hot food even in the sweltering heat.
Filipinos love barbecue and are lucky enough that the weather allows them to barbecue all year round. The two most popular have very generic names: barbecue chicken and barbecue pork. Everywhere, they are seasoned similarly unless otherwise stated.
For Chinese new year, cakes symbolize a rich and sweet life and layers signify rising abundance. Hence, this cake is the perfect offering at the beginning of the year.
My taste buds are honed to love eastern food. I usually cook Asian food at home so my children are accustomed to that taste, too.
One of the cuisines that has remained unexplored is Japanese cuisine. We love Japanese food but we usually have to eat it in restaurants. The only reason for that is Japanese ingredients are not readily available in our area. Sadly, there is only a small selection in our Oriental supermarket so I can only make a few basic recipes. I also have to forego of ingredients that I cannot use again or those that are too expensive.
Fish sauce is an ingredient that people either love or hate. The smell is a bit overpowering but the flavour, in tempered amounts, might just be the very thing that would wake up the flavour of any savoury dish. If you have yet to be converted, do read on.
The ubiquitous fish sauce is the tasty agent that sets these wings apart. Recipes that greatly vary from each other are popping up in a lot of food sites and I was just intrigued. After reading the recipe for Ike's Vietnamese fish sauce chicken wings (popularized by the Pok Pok Restaurant in Portland, Oregon), I just had to make it.
I know that I've said that making dim sum is best left to the experts. I have to say it again.
I just can't help but tinker with recipes that intrigue. These wu gok or taro croquettes, for example, I wonder how they burst into these flaky, almost feather-like crumbs.
Pancakes and bacon are a perfect team in any way it is interpreted. This pancake may sound like your usual breakfast grub and the addition of spring onions may raise some eyebrows.
My teenage daughter had dinner with some friends at a Thai restaurant recently. She loves Thai food and was looking forward to the meal as well as the company. She ordered Thai beef salad and thoroughly enjoyed but said it was a bit too hot for her taste. We are all fans of Thai food but can't hack the heat sometimes. It is the birds eye chillies that they use that can leave bit of sting on the tongue.
Some people plan their meals before heading to the shops. I, on the other hand, belong to the other group of "some people" who usually plan my meals according to what I have. My freezer is usually full of an assortment of meat cuts and joints among other things. Faced with a beef brisket joint, there are a lot of ideas that come to mind. Being of Asian origin, my inclinations tend to veer towards that direction.
Many, many years ago, my husband and I used to go to an Indonesian restaurant in London's West End called Bali. It was one of those cozy restaurants decorated in the style of the place the food comes from. That probably added a lot to its charms and made the food taste so exotic and delicious.
