East Carolina Style. Way East.

When you’re in the mood for a pulled pork sandwich, nothing matches that beguiling combination of smoky, slightly tangy and majorly savory the east offers with such pride. East Carolina? Well, maybe there too, but even more evocative flavors are to be found in East Asia. In Thailand, specifically. Thus, when Food & Wine suggested…

Will It All Fit?

Maybe not. So much jostles in this week’s soup, it’s unlikely one stockpot will hold everything. What…in one bowl? Come on, you’ve got to be joking. Yet somehow, Tom Kha manages it. Here’s a Thai prawn and scallop soup which contains not only the titular seafood – two kinds at that – but power hitters…

“Something Wicked This Way Comes”

What is that?  A witch’s kettle of Thai green curry, perhaps, pieces of zucchini mysteriously bobbing to the surface.  How about pairing it with rice, blacker than midnight, and pulsing with cubed squash, colors of the spooky season?  This is a pairing Martha Stewart imagines and features on her website. (*1)  In keeping with the…

They Gave You Some Sauce, Right?

An important point, because Jaew dipping sauce is vital to vaulting Thai Grilled Pork Skewers (Moo Ping) past excellent all the way to legendary.  Already, the thinly sliced meat ribboned onto skewers allows the flavorful marinade to permeate every square millimeter.  Then, dunking it in the jaew after grilling enacts some new kind of magic. …

Malabar Coast

On India’s southwestern coast, the sun bejewels a sea washing tropical shores fragrant with flowering spices.  Can somewhere as lavishly endowed with vibrant vistas, aromas and colors produce anything other than an exuberant cuisine?  Definitely, the state of Kerala does, and one of its favorite creations, Chemmeen Moilee, Curried Shrimp and Coconut Soup, headlines today.…

So, That’s What They Taste Like

A dish boasting such vibrant colors is bound to be packed with effusive flavors too, and today’s entry excels in both regards.  In taste and in tone, this curry is off the charts.  Good thing it wasn’t featured on an old Technicolor television set, or the poor equipment wouldn’t have been able to keep pace…

A Bit Off the Curry Trail

Curries of varying sorts are prevalent in the Southeast Asian kitchen, testament to the cultural influence India has had in the region.  However, not so much in Vietnam, which borrows more heavily from the Chinese, before adding its own unique twist.  Every once in a while, though, curry finds its way into Vietnam’s kitchens. Today’s…

Where the Jungle Blankets the Andes

You’ll find Colombia, where the mountain chain’s northern end reaches to within miles of both the Pacific and the Caribbean.  Here the cuisine celebrates the broad availability of goods from the mountains (potatoes), the temperate valleys (corn, peas and bell peppers) and the tropical plains (annatto seeds and, of course, the coconut).  Combine these ingredients,…

Tan Is a Color Too

That’s why the milk cream that saturates today’s Chai Masala Tres Leches Cake is caramel-colored, not white as it is in more conventional varieties.  Black tea mixes with spices, including cinnamon, cardamom and allspice, and the combination in turn infuses sweetened evaporated milk and coconut milk with an ethereal hint of orange, and gives it…

Start of the Spice Road

Centuries before the outside world discovered chili peppers, traders devoted considerable time to bringing home peppercorns from Southeast Asia.  The journey was as arduous as it was lengthy, leading peppercorns, prized for their flavor and rarity, to be valued more than gold.  No matter whether peppercorns were loaded aboard a ship or transported by caravan…