Text 12625, 174 rader
Skriven 2007-03-04 19:29:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
Kommentar till en text av BARBARA MCNAY
Ärende: chilies
===============
-=> Quoting Barbara Mcnay to Jim Weller <=-
> I find that the tolerance disappears not only after a hiatus but just
> by switching from one chile to another. Each one seems to affect a
> different receptor within the mouth and throat. After a week of daily
> use of a particular hot sauce I find myself using more and more but
> then I switch to cayenne powder or minced fresh jalapenos and I
> start all over again.
BM> How interesting. For all I've read in this echo over the years, I
BM> don't think that aspect has ever been addressed. Perhaps you are one of
BM> only a few who are able to discriminate in this manner?
I would be interested in hearing what other here have to say.
MMMMM-----Meal-Master - formatted by MMCONV 2.10
Title: Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Cari Ga) Pt 1
Categories: Vietnamese, chicken, Curry, Chilies
Servings: 8
1 stalk fresh lemon grass or
1 TB frozen, chopped
2 red Thai chiles, finely
-chopped
3 1/2 ts curry powder (Viet or Thai)
3 ts fresh ground black pepper
1 ts ordinary sugar
2 ts ordinary salt
2 lb boneless, skinless chicken
thighs & breast, fat trimmed
cut into 1-1/2 inch chunks
7 TB peanut or veg oil
3 md potatoes, peeled and cut
into uniform size chunks
4 cl garlic, finely chopped
2 bay leaves (optional)
1 lg onion, cut into wedges,
separated into individual
pieces
3 c chicken broth
5 carrots, peeled, cut into
2 inch long chunks
2 c full fat coconut milk
This recipe is as "authentic" as you want to imagine it to be. It will
not look very authentic when you serve it, it won't look like what
Grandmother makes or what you've had in restaurants. However, the only
people who will whine and complain about this version are old women.
People who whine about authenticity are, literally or figuratively, Old
Women.
The #1 issue is that when you serve cari ga to most Americans, you
should serve them a skinless, boneless version. A few good reasons for
that.
1) Lots of Americans are not nimble enough with chopsticks to
comfortably deal with chunks of very hot chicken on the bone - rotating
the pieces with the chopsticks so their teeth can pry the meat loose.
And at least one American is likely to end up with a sharp bone stuck in
the teeth or, worse, in the back of the throat. If a meal makes guests
feel awkward, your meal is a failure no matter how good it tastes, no
matter how authentic it is.
2) Inevitably, a big chunk of chopped chicken on the bone will slip
loose from the chopsticks, splash into the bowl or roll down someone's
chin, and at least one guest will be wearing hot curry sauce on face,
clothes, and tablecloth. And curry stains don't come out.
3) If you are having a nice sit-down dinner party, serving a boneless
version means you avoid that ugly Debris Field of bones and inedible
Ejecta spit out of the mouth and decorating the table.
4) Served as a party dish for a big group, this version can be eaten by
anyone standing around with just a bowl and a spoon and a chunk of bread
resting in the bowl; the on-the-bone version with lots of fatty skin and
sharp, broken bones really has to be eaten at a table and that's not
possible if there are 40 people.
5) A skinless version makes this a slightly less High Calorie
Extravaganza (you are already using coconut milk in this), and few
Americans are happy eating soft, fatty, stewed chicken skin.
"Authenticity" never did anything for me so bugger it, serve people cari
ga that tastes great and is more enjoyable to eat.
From: Simon Bao To: Internationaltable
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MMMMM-----Meal-Master - formatted by MMCONV 2.10
Title: Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Cari Ga) Pt 2
Categories: Vietnamese, chicken, Curry, Chilies
Servings: 8
con't
The dish is simple, really - chicken, coconut/curry sauce, and root
vegetables. It can be served with noodles, but I recommend bread. And
to me, the kind of bread is important. The perfect bread to accompany
this has a hard crispy-chewy crust, is soft inside with lots of air
pockets to soak up the sauce. Use a french baguette. Italian bread is
not as good, Philadelphia hoagie rolls don't even come close, and any
Vietnamese eating this dish might not enjoy it as much if you give them
sourdough breads. Serve this with a french baguette, heated in the oven
- not simply warmed a little, really heated through, then cut into 1-2
inch thick slices.
Choose whichever kind of potato you like most. Big red potatoes or any
kind that are "waxy" keep their shape better than a Idaho or baking
potato; any "mealy" potato breaks up too easily. Use either sweet
potatoes or yams if you prefer those and if you know they're fresh. When
those are old, they lose their sweetness and add nothing to your food.
Mix it up and use both white potatoes and yams, no problem. If someone
wanted this without any kind of potato, I'd probably replace them with
parsnips. This is one of those Chicken and Root Vegetable dishes found
all over the world, and when really fresh, parsnips are as sweet as
carrots. Someone will summon the Food Police at the idea of cari ga
with parsnips but they already have a file on me.
If you use fresh lemon grass, remove any dry nasty outer leaves and chop
off the top 2/3s of the stalk and the bottom root tip; chop the
remaining stalk into the finest tiny mince you can manage and set it
aside.
If you omit the red chiles, this dish is still excellent. If you want
the extra heat, use them but decide whether to omit the seeds (milder)
or include them (hotter). If you use Vietnamese peppercorns for the
ground black pepper, you probably won't need the chiles.
Mix together the lemon grass, curry powder, chiles, black pepper, sugar,
and salt. Rub it all over the chicken pieces and let it sort of
marinate like that for 1 hour.
Heat the oil in a large (preferably non-stick) pot and fry the potatoes
over high heat till their surfaces are browned. Don't worry about
trying to cook them all the way through at this point, just get the
surfaces well browned. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
Pour off most of the oil, all but 2 tablespoons and turn the heat up
high. Add the garlic. A Vietnamese woman will tell you to brown the
garlic; I won't. That makes the garlic bitter. When you add the
garlic, add just a pinch of salt to keep it from burning, stir it around
to flavor the oil, then add the onion and bay leaf (if using it). Stir
those around, just briefly, and add the chicken. Stir all that around
and let the meat sear a little bit on all sides. Do stir it though or
the sugar will cause it to burn.
When the meat is seared, add the 3 cups of chicken broth and carrot,
cover the pot and let it come to a boil. If for any reason the chicken
meat and carrot are not completely covered by liquid, add a little more
broth or water. Turn the heat down so it will just simmer and let it
cook for 5 minutes uncovered. Stir it, then continue cooking it now with
the cover on, for another 10 minutes. Lift the lid and add the fried
potatoes and the coconut milk. Let the coconut milk and the chicken
broth blend together and taste it. You may want to add a little water
if it's too rich. If you want it a little saltier, add some salt or
fish sauce. Cover the pot and simmer for another 15 minutes.
There's no need to garnish this with anything when you bring it to the
table, but if you must... sprinkle some chopped cilantro or mint on
top, or some finely chopped, seeded red chiles.
This can be served as an ordinary dinner entree to be eaten with steamed
rice.
From: Simon Bao To: Internationaltable
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