Text 27854, 125 rader
Skriven 2009-08-24 21:36:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av GLEN JAMIESON
Ärende: TIN ROOFS  90824
========================
-=> Quoting Glen Jamieson to Bill Swisher <=-

 GJ> Replacement of asphalt shingles seems to be a
 GJ> regular necessity, so I wonder why they are used?  Even if they were
 GJ> cheaper than iron (OK, "mild steel", for DD), the labour costs of
 GJ> replacement would make them more expensive.

They tend to last 25-30 years. I just had a small (80 M2) place done
for $4000. Duracolour steel will last three times as long but costs
at least three times as much.

MMMMM-----Meal-Master - formatted by MMCONV  2.10

     Title: Thai Cucumber And Shrimp Salad (Yum Tang Gwa)
Categories: Thai, Shrimp, Salads
  Servings: 2

      2 lg cucumbers (about 2 cups)
    2/3 lb shrimp
    1/4 c  roughly chopped Vietnamese
           Perilla 
    1/4 c  cilantro leafs 
      1 c  shallots, cut into thin
           slices
    1/4 c  coconut flakes (desiccated
           coconut)
           For the dressing:
    1/4 c  fish sauce
      3 TB lime juice
      2 TB rice vinegar
      1 TB palm sugar or
    1/2 tb white sugar 
      5    to 10 Thai bird-eye chilli,
           chopped 

It's not exactly Thai, but the inspiration certainly is from that
general direction.  

The dressing here is a classic Thai blend of lime juice, fish sauce,
chilli, and a pinch of sugar.  I don't want the lime juice to be so
pronounced and to overpower the brightness of the cucumbers, so I
use a little less and temper it with a bit of rice vinegar.  If your
fish sauce is old and getting quite stinky, I suggest using a bit
less and adding some salt instead as well. You want the dressing to
be light, bright, and delicious, not stinky, sharp, and muddy, so be
careful.  A little bit of herb gives the salad a lovely complexity,
so I suggest Tia To or Vietnamese Perilla if you can find it
(regular Shiro leafs or just plain mint will do in a pinch), and
also a bit of cilantro.  Finish the salad with a generous sprinkle
of toasted coconut flakes and fried shallots, and there you have it.
The salad in the picture has some poached shrimp in it, since I had
that for lunch and thought I needed a little protein.  You can skip
it entirely, or use poached chicken torn into strips, or tofu, or
nothing at all.

In a small pot, add 1/2 cup of water and the shrimp. Place the pot
with the lid on over high heat, bring it to a boil. As soon as the
water comes to a full boil, turn the heat off and let the steam
finishes the cooking for a couple more minutes.  Drain the water and
let the shrimp rest until they are cool enough, then peel and devein
them and set aside.

Peel, seed, and cut the cucumbers into thin slices.

Place a dry wok over low heat, add the coconut flakes and stir
constantly until they are evenly brown.  Set aside.  Wipe the wok
clean, add 1 1/2 cup of frying oil into it and place it over medium
heat.  When the oil is hot, add the shallot slices and fry, stirring
occasionally, until brown and crisp.  Be careful not to over cook
them.  Fish out the fried shallots from the pan ontp a plate lined
with paper towel and set aside.  You can strain the oil and keep it
for another use.  The perfumed oil will be perfect for a stir-fry,
for example.

To make the dressing, first you nuke the palm sugar (in a bowl in
the microwave) for 20-30 seconds just to melt it and make it easier
to blend with the other ingredients.  Then add the fish sauce, stir
to blend.  Add the lime juice, then the rice vinegar.  Taste it and
see if you need more acidity, if so, add more rice vinegar to taste.
Add the chopped chilli.

In a salad bowl, add the shrimp and cucumber slices.  Reserve a bit
of the fried shallots, coconut, and the herbs for garnish.  Dump the
rest into the salad bowl.  Pour in about 2/3 of the dressing, toss
well.  Taste it and see if you'd like a bit more dressing, then add
more as needed.  Sprinkle the reserved shallots, coconut, and herbs
and serve.  

A great trick for egg lovers

I love to serve this salad with a boiled egg on the side.  I boil
the eggs just until the white is set but the egg is still somewhat
gooey.  This is a bit tricky to do, as it depends on how hot your
stove is and a lot of other factors, but generally what I do is
this: I put 4 eggs, cold right from the fridge, into a 2-3qt. pot.
Fill it with enough water just to cover the eggs.  Put the pot on
the stove over medium heat, lid off.  Set the timer to 11 minutes.
Just before the 11-minute mark, I fill a bowl with water and ice, to
wait for the eggs. As soon as the timer rings, remove the eggs from
the pot, put them into the ice water bath.  When the eggs are cooled
enough, peel them gently under running water.

I cut each egg into halves and serve 1 egg per serving 

Before I eat, I use the fork to crush the egg, then stir to mix into
the salad.  The partially cooked yolk basically dissolve into the
dressing and slightly thickens it.  It's beyond perfect, to me at
least. 


  From: Chez Pim                        
 
MMMMM-------------------------------------------------


Cheers

YK Jim


... Things you won't hear from rednecks: Trim the fat off that steak.

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