1970's food - Retro Food For Modern Times

07
Jan
2021

Barbecued Chicken with Spiced Ketchup

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Asia, Chicken, Chicken & Poultry, World Cooking

Hello friends! Today I am sharing a recipe for Barbecued Chicken with Spiced Ketchup which comes from the Malaya, Siam and Indonesia chapter of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery (1972). From the name, I thought this recipe was going to be for chicken in a spicy tomato sauce. Which would have been fine. This, however, was so much better! This. is ketchup, Jim but not as we know it!

This “ketchup” is made out of garlic, onions, sambal oelek (a chilli paste) soy sauce and lemon. Not a tomato in sight! Which lead me down a rabbit hole into the origins of ketchup. Turns out this may be closer to the original than what we commonly recognise today as ketchup or as we in Australia call it, tomato sauce. The tomato version has been around for a long time – just look at this ad from 1933!

And just to show that Heinz can patronise men as well as women, how about this ad for He-Ketchup.

The History of Ketchup

Fascinating as these ads are, let’s head even further back into the past to look at the history of ketchup. There are a few theories but ketchup most likely originated in Asia. The word either derives from the Hokkien word ke-tsiap or from the Malay word kecap. Kecap Manis is a Malysian sweet soy sauce which could be a distant relation to the original which was a fermented fish sauce. Possibly like the one still used in Vietnamese cooking.

And don’t let those ads from the 1930’s fool you. According to no less than history.com

The 18th century was a golden age for ketchup

Who knew? Anyway, the short version is the fermented fish sauce made its way to England. And the Brits went mad for all sorts of ketchups. Lemons, oysters, mushrooms, walnuts, fruit – you name it there was probably ketchup made out of it! And then in 1812 (somebody cue up that overture), James Mease from Philadelphia developed a recipe for tomato ketchup. And apart from a few artisan brands, all those other kinds of ketchup have gone the way of the dinosaur.

Barbecued Chicken with Spiced Ketchup – The Recipe

The Barbecued Chicken with Spiced Ketchup or to give it its non-English name Ajam Panggang Boemboe Ketjap was delicious and very easy to make! As you can see from the picture, I served it with plain boiled rice as the recipe suggested. If I was to add anything, I would have added a little tomato, red onion and coriander salad maybe with some fresh green chilli to add a fresh element but it was fine without. It would be very nice comfort food on a cold winter evening!

Also, I used chicken thighs for my recipe, not a whole chicken as suggested.

Have a wonderful week, friends, stay safe and look after yourselves and others!

22
Dec
2020

Salami on a Sushi Platter?

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Fish, Good Housekeeping World Cookery, Japan, Rice, Salami, World Cooking

Kon’nichiwa friends! Today we are making Sushi but not any old sushi. Today, I am using the recipe for O’Sushi contained in the Japanese chapter of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery (1972). It’s mostly sushi as we know it with one notable exception. Yes, that is salami in the middle of the plate!

For this recipe, I wanted to put myself into the shoes of a housewife from 1972 who had never tasted or seen sushi before. So, for the purposes of this post, this is me, using my new-fangled microwave to zip up some delightful treats for the kids.

And later tonight when they are in bed I am going to make some fancy pants Japanese food for date night with the hubby because we like walking on the wild side. Just look at the massive pocket on my denim overalls dress. If that doesn’t scream living on the edge, I don’t know what does. Except for maybe my cork platform sandals.

O-Sushi The Recipe.

Boil some rice in the usual fashion. Prepare a sauce of vinegar, sugar and salt whilst it is cooking, using 2 tsps sugar to 1 tbsp vinegar.

How much salt Good Housekeeping? And what do you mean boil rice in the usual fashion? I’ve never boiled rice in my life. Good lord, step one and already I need to phone a friend?

Sheila? I’m making the sushi…su….shi…It’s Japanese. Only I don’t know how to boil rice or how much salt to add to the sauce? What do you mean my hair, face, clothes and kitchen seem different? I’m not interested in continuity I’m interested in salt and getting laid tonight! This is date night sushi Sheila so quit with the comments and help me with the rice…oh…ok…thanks.

The rice should be dried and cooled quickly and the juice is shaken over it whilst it cools.

WTF? Where am I supposed to get juice from? Oh…the vinegar sauce is the juice? Why did they suddenly decide to call it juice? And how quickly does this rice need to be dried and cooled? Maybe I’ll just pop it in the fridge and shake the juice / sauce over it from there? Will that work?

Ok, next step.

Form the rice into small flat rolls or cakes and garnish with any of the following: Boiled prawns

Smoked Salmon

Raw Fish

Tinned fish; Anchovy fillets; ham or any other cold meat thinly sliced;

A thin omelette seasoned with salt and sugar, edible seaweed, or any salad vegetable

Place the garnish on top of or around the rice cakes. Alternatively, cylindrical cakes can be made with a filling in the centre and and thin layer of egg, seaweed, etc around the outside.

Well, mercy sakes alive, it looks like I’ve just made proper some Japanese O’Sushi….I really hope hubby likes it!

The Following Day – The Sushi Wrap Up

Hello Sheila? I”m just calling to fill you in on date night last night. Yes, it went very well. The food was all very tasty but we both agree. Raw fish will never really catch on here…it’s just too out there for most people! The salami sushi though? That was the bomb! I can see people lining up in the streets for some of that! …. The sex? No, nothing, I caught a cold from standing in front of the open fridge for and hours and shaking juice on the rice and had to go to bed early.

Have a great week!

PS – For a real insight into the art of making sushi, watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

26
Oct
2020

Savoury Impossible Pie

categories: 1970's food, Books, Pie

This past week saw the 155th anniversary of the publication of Alice in Wonderland. It is one of my favourite books so I celebrated with a savoury impossible pie!

Alice laughed: “There’s no use trying,” she said; “one can’t believe impossible things.”

“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day.

Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

This recipe comes from my vast collection of clipped recipes. I think that this one came from the wrapping of the deviled egg plate that my friend Ali gave me for my birthday a few years ago.

Impossible Pie?

“Why it’s simply impassible!
Alice: Why, don’t you mean impossible?
Door: No, I do mean impassible.

(chuckles)

Nothing’s impossible!”

The Impossible Pie was invented by Bis-quick in the 1970s. The idea was that instead of making a filling and a crust you could mix everything together and magically, in the oven, the ingredients would separate out so you end up with a crusted pie.

The OG impossible pie was coconut but since then pretty much every flavour imaginable has been made. Yinzerella over at Dinner is Served 1972 has made a number of them both sweet and savoury so if you want a primer in them, head over there pronto! Then come back here for my try at Savoury Impossible Pie!

My pie had peeled tomatoes, bacon, parsley, corn, spring onions and cheese – someone cue Blink 182 singing “All the good things” please!

It also looked like some sort of Klimptesque art when I started to mix it through. So pretty!

However, the success of an impossible pie surely has to lie in whether or not that magical crust appears. So was this recipe a success?

Was there a crust? There was something. But a proper pie crust? No. So technically…cooking fail.

Having said that, it was absolutely delicious. It may not have turned out exactly as planned but it was still worth making and definitely one to put on the rotation list!

You know what? If it bugs you like it bugged me that it wasn’t impossible, leave out the flour and call it a Klimt Garden Frittata. I promise I won’t tell anyone and believe me, you and your friends will love it!

Savoury Impossible Pie – The Recipe

“I suppose I ought to eat or drink something or other; but the great question is ‘What?’”

And we’re done!

“Begin at the beginning,” the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end:

Then stop.”

15
Oct
2020

Asparagus and Bacon Tartlets

categories: 1970's food, Asparagus, Bacon, Pie

I’m not exactly sure where this recipe for Asparagus and Bacon Tartlets came from. It has obviously been clipped from a magazine and sticky taped to a piece of paper. But when? And by whom? It has been floating around in my collection of “Recipes to Cook” for as long as I can remember.

The recipe gives both imperial and metric measurements which would indicate it comes from some time after 1970 which is when Australia went metric but not too far after because people still understood imperial measures. So it likely was not me who clipped it but whether it was my mum or my nana or a complete stranger I do not know!

Well, whoever clipped it so it could fall into my hands deserves a round of applause because I thought these were really delicious. Emphasis on the” I” there. The fussiest eater in the world was not convinced. “What’s in these? It is cream? It’s not like the usual quiche you make.”

“I used cream cheese”

“It’s too much”

“Well…you did eat six of them….”

Both sides make a fair point here. The Asparagus and Bacon Tartlets are richer than a normal quiche, primarily due to the cream cheese filling. But you also don’t have to eat half a dozen of them in one sitting.

I made these twice recently which is something I rarely do with recipes for the blog. Usually, I make something, eat it, blog it and move on. However, the first time I made the tartlets I used fresh asparagus. I was going to post that version. But it felt like cheating. Of course a fresh asparagus and bacon tart was going to be amazing. It’s asparagus! And bacon! And for those of us who like a little bit of rich – cream cheese!. Would these taste as good using tinned asparagus?

They weren’t quite as good as the fresh version but they were still really good. And I am not being an asparagus snob here. I grew up on tinned asparagus. My nana’s asparagus rolls which only ever used tinned asparagus are one of my top ten things to eat ever! The only reason I have not posted that recipe here is that I honestly think I could not do nana’s memory justice as my version would never live up to hers!

Anyway…that’s given me some food for thought…maybe I will post that recipe one day. But as for the Asparagus and Bacon Tartlets? They’re really good. And if you find them too rich? Stop at four, or two or one.

These also reheat up well and I thought they were also quite nice to eat cold.

They are also perfect fare for a socially distanced picnic in the park!

The Recipe

Have a wonderful week!

25
Aug
2020

Almond Cookies

categories: 1970's food, 1970's recipes, Good Housekeeping World Cookery

These almond cookies come from the China section of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery (1972). Let me tell you right from the get-go, (and I could be totally wrong here) but to me, there is absolutely nothing Chinese about them. Not that I have a vast knowledge of Chinese cookies…the only ones I can think of are Fortune cookies which also have absolutely nothing authentically Chinese about them either!

Hmmm…I’m sensing a pattern here…

Having said that, can you imagine what fortune cookies for 2020 should have actually said?

It feels weird to be starting the recipes for a country with a sweet but it just so happened that I had all of the ingredients to make these cookies in the house already. I hate shopping (or doing anything really) while masked up so an excuse not to have to leave the house is a bonus! Another bonus is that these almond cookies are really easy to make. And delicious!

I used coconut oil as the oil for these because I thought it might make them taste more Asian. The slight coconut flavour alongside the more prominent almond was really nice. Using coconut oil made for a really crunchy cookie though, so if you like a chewy cookie, I recommend using a different oil.
Also, a pet hate of mine is recipes that use half an egg! I mean WTF!!!! What on earth are you meant to do with the other half? Luckily I have two sous chefs who are more than happy to solve those problems for me. But for everyone else, half an egg is a pain the neck! Happily, though, these are really good I think you can do no wrong by doubling the recipe!

Here’s the recipe!

I’ll flick through the book and find some more Chinese-y Chinese dishes over the next few days. Even if it means I have to brave the world out there to get some ingredients!

Stay safe friends and have a great week!

Almond Cookies4 — Having said that, can you imagine what fortune cookies for 2020 should have actually said?

It feels weird to be starting the recipes for a country with a sweet but it just so happened that I had all of the ingredients to make these cookies in the house already. I hate shopping (or doing anything really) while masked up so an excuse not to have to leave the house is a bonus! Another bonus is that these almond cookies are really easy to make. And delicious!

I used coconut oil as the oil for these because I thought it might make them taste more Asian. The slight coconut flavour alongside the more prominent almond was really nice. Using coconut oil made for a really crunchy cookie though, so if you like a chewy cookie, I recommend using a different oil.
Also, a pet hate of mine is recipes that use half an egg! I mean WTF!!!! What on earth are you meant to do with the other half? Luckily I have two sous chefs who are more than happy to solve those problems for me. But for everyone else, half an egg is a pain the neck! Happily, though, these are really good I think you can do no wrong by doubling the recipe!

Here’s the recipe!

I’ll flick through the book and find some more Chinese-y Chinese dishes over the next few days. Even if it means I have to brave the world out there to get some ingredients!

Stay safe friends and have a great week!

Category: 1970’s food