Look What Was Under the Tree!

Today’s entry started its way to us Christmas morning, when gift cards were among the presents.  Over the couple months that followed, those cards produced mail-order merchandise, including King Crab legs and tamarind paste.  Their selection had a purpose, as they’re the headliners in Kdam Char Umpey, or Cambodian Tamarind Crab. As with so many…

Little Tropical Packets

Winter’s here now, like it or not, though the cold was with us far before the new season’s “official” arrival a couple days ago.  Wouldn’t it be nice to open a steaming bundle of tropical goodness, the intriguing currents of coconut, ginger and limes washing over you, making you forget for a moment just where…

What Is It with Baguettes?

For the second week running, the local bakery has supplied an ingredient crucial to the weekly entry, namely, a loaf of crusty French bread.  Last week, baguette slices were instrumental to completing a savory bouillabaisse, and today they’re  even more central, forming the crunchy foundation for Shrimp Toast. Specifically, this is the Cambodian version of…

Don’t Let the Picture Mislead You

Other dishes we’ve seen, most actually, have been more colorful, their vibrancy advertising the intense tastes waiting to be unleashed.  Every once in a while, though, something comes along that gives no warning of the flavorful journey that’s ahead.  Such a surprise is today’s entry, Cambodian Spicy Lemongrass Chicken. You likely guessed that this is…

Cambodian Sunrise

Colors play a crucial part in most creative efforts, cooking primary among them.  Vivid hues catch the eye, inspire the imagination and, above all, whet the appetite.  This is particularly true of a tropical cuisine such as Cambodia’s, which draws on vibrant local ingredients to fill its flavor palette. Take as an example today’s entry,…

Harvest Time! (Sigh)

Sentiment is a dangerous thing, you know.  It burdens even the simplest gesture with all sorts of emotional baggage, lending what should be routine a curious mixture of excitement and sadness, hope and regret. This became all too much of a factor this weekend, when it was necessary to collect some of the herbs that…

Pineapple, Multitasking

Not only does it look good, adding bright flashes of color to the dish, but pineapple also completes the taste profile, simultaneously balancing the other flavors and enhancing them.   The fruit even works on a chemical level, its enzymes tenderizing the meat, which is one of the reasons it’s included in so many Asian and Pacific…

Coconut Experiment #58

This could be the fifty-eighth recipe featuring coconut, though its precedence on these pages is far less established.  Prior to this, there have been fleeting glimpses – one or two (maybe),  but you’re here for the first time an entire entry is devoted to coconut.  Not only that, in cupcakes no less! Of  course, credit where it’s due – the idea…

Hope You Like Ginger

Of course, if you’re among the half of this page’s readers (myself included) who’s overcoming a chest cold, the ginger will clear your airways in addition to making this dish delicious.  If you’re fortunate enough not to be afflicted, just enjoy ginger’s sweet, fragrant bite. This recipe comes from Cambodia, a tropical land of perpetual summer,…

A Vibrant Thread in Our Tapestry

Another southeast Asian inspiration, this one Cambodian, by way of Boston of all places.  There you’ll find one of our country’s most sizable Cambodian-American communities and the recipes they brought with them and adapted to their new home. One such dish is the chicken creation you see above, lively with tropical flavors such as lemongrass, yet including a quintessentially…