Text 22723, 119 rader
Skriven 2007-11-14 14:03:02 av Glen Jamieson
     Kommentar till en text av Carol Shenkenberger
Ärende: AHHH 296  71114
=======================
 -=> Quoting Carol Shenkenberger to Glen Jamieson <=-

 CS> I went to a computer security school once that was held at the
 CS> riverwalk. That was fun!  Partied at the evening along it.

A good place for a party - and seminars.
 
 BM> That sounds interesting.  I didn't know there were so many varieties
 BM> of bananas; obviously, we can't get them here.
 CS> Only a few types get shipped about.

Shelf life of many types of bananas is very limited.  Also the way of
ripening is different.  For commercial purposes all bananas on the
bunch should ripen together, either naturally or when infused with the
appropriate "ripening" gas.  In the village life style it is quite
satisfactory to cut the bunch and hang it in the house (away from the
fruit bats) eating the bananas one by one as they ripen.
 
 GJ> I have been told that PNG has some 200 varieties, including the tiny
 GJ> wild bananas that the others descended from, but not all are edible.
 GJ> In fact, some may be poisonous.  One of my other favourites is pale
 CS> I believe so.  I recall once being warned not to eat 'wild ones'.

I was told once by an old Highlands man (in Pidgin), "You eat those
bananas, you die!"  I wasn't sure if they were poisonous, or just that
they were _his_ bananas!
 
 GJ> That is something difficult to describe, as there is nothing else like
 GJ> a banana fruit/flower combination.  The plant produces only one bunch,
 GJ> then dies.  The leaves are used a lot for wrapping meat or fish, to be

 CS> Not all types are like that. We had one in our backyard in Florida
 CS> that fruited year after year.  I seem to recall they were smaller ones,
 CS> but not really sure.  Mom took the plant out when I was about 7 or 8. 
 CS> It was getting in CS> the way of the well housing.

You are sort of right.  There is only one bunch per plant, but new
suckers grow up from the root end, alongside the original plant, which
dies.  Most people cut out the suckers and re-plant them in a square
hole.  (If you put them in a round hole the roots grow round and round
and don't get proper nourishment.)
 
 GJ> its fibres can be made into the traditional translucent Filipino
 GJ> shirts - the "barong Tagalog".  Recently a firm in Adelaide has begun

 CS> So thats what they make them of!  Never knew that.

Pineapple leaf fibre is also used, for the very best shirts.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
 
      Title: Otak Otak (Fish Mousse Grilled on a Banana Leaf) part 1
 Categories: Appetizers, Bbq, Fish, Ceideburg, Malaysian
      Yield: 24 Servings
 
           Rempah (see below)
  1 1/2 lb White fish filets
      2 ts Salt
      1 tb Sugar
    1/2 ts White pepper
      1 lg Egg, lightly beaten
      4    Fresh or frozen Kaffir lime
           -leaves (daun limau perut)*
     24    6-inch squares of fresh or
           -frozen banana leaf or
           -aluminum foil
     24 md Shrimp (about 1/2 pound),
           -peeled and deveined
           REMPAH (SPICE PASTE):
      8    Dried red chiles
      2    Stalks fresh lemongrass or
      1 tb Lemongrass powder or
           Zest of 1/2 lemon
      2 qt Slices fresh galangal or
      1 qt Slice dried galangal,
           -soaked in warm water for
           -30 minutes
      6 cn Nuts (buah kera) or
           -macadamia nuts
      2    Shallots
      4    Cloves garlic
    1/2 ts Turmeric
    3/4 ts Ground coriander seeds
    1/2 ts Shrimp paste or anchovy
           -paste
      1 c  Thick coconut milk
 
   * if available; or substitute fresh citrus leaves
  
  These banana leaf packets filled with a spicy fish mousse make great
  grill-it-yourself barbecued appetizers.  The banana jackets make them
  wonderfully easy to hold in your hand as picnic food.  Or, if you
  prefer, the filling may be spread on toast points for a more formal
  presentation.
  
  Otak Otak comes in many variations throughout Southeast Asia. Each
  version contains a rempah, the Malay name for the hand-pounded
  seasoning pastes which are the bouquet garni of Southeast Asian
  cooking. The traditional Singapore Nonya rempah includes chiles,
  garlic, shallots, lemongrass, turmeric, candle nuts, and shrimp
  paste, although other spices and herbs may be used to enhance a
  particular dish. Like curry pastes, rempahs are traditionally pounded
  in a mortar. Although a hand- pounded paste is better, it is
  time-consuming and laborious for the average American cook. I
  recommend starting the paste in a spice mill and/or a mini-food
  processor, switching to a mortar for a final pounding to smooth out
  the rough edges.
  
  In Singapore, Otak Otak is usually made with a Spanish mackerel called
  tenggiri, but this recipe was developed with milder white-fleshed
  fish.
 
MMMMM
 

___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30 [NR]

--- FLAME v2.0/b
 * Origin: Braintap BBS Adelaide Australia (3:800/449)