Asia - Retro Food For Modern Times

Category: Asia

24
Jan
2021

Pink Dawn Salad

categories: Prawns, Salad, ThaiLand, World Cooking

Hello friends! Today we are talking Thai. I love Thai food in general but I absolutely love Thai salads – my favourite is green papaya or green mango salad but a Thai beef salad or a banana blossom salad are also fine by me. I love their freshness and zing! So I had high hopes for a Thai inspired salad with a lovely name – Pink Dawn Salad. This comes from Good Housekeepings World Cookery (1972). Imagine this as a salad – the perfect mix of colours becoming the perfect Thai mix of sweet, salt, hot and sour!

Gorgeous huh? And now that I’ve set your expectations….let’s take a look at the salad. I mean, I knew from the ingredients that it was not going to be a typical Thai salad but it was definitely touted as such by the press back in the 1970’s. I found an article from back in 1978 in the Vancouver Sun that contains this same recipe which certainly implies if not downright states that this is an authentic Thai Salad. Anyway, here it is…

Hmm…not great is it?

There was nothing wrong with the Pink Dawn Salad. I like eggs, tomatoes and prawns. I’m not that keen on bananas but Holy likes them…

Between the two of us, we ate it all. It was just…meh. Boring…bland…not really cohesive. Not a bit Thai. And only marginally pink.

I’m calling a fail on the Pink Dawn Salad – the great name did not equate to great flavour. And I had to skin tomatoes which is something I find weirdly repulsive.

Pink Dawn Salad – The Recipe

Here it is…although I can’t recommend that you give it a try.

If you are looking for a good Thai salad, I made a Crisp Chilli Whitebait and Green Mango Salad from Australian Gourmet Traveller a few days ago and it was heaven!!!! It was actually this on a plate! Recipe here: https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/recipe/mains/crisp-chilli-whitebait-and-green-mango-salad-10838/

Have a great week!

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.

29
Oct
2020

Lord Mayor’s Mango Chutney

categories: Condiments, India, Mango

Over the next week or so election fever will hit many of us like a less lethal but possibly more pervasive version of the ‘rona. After all, the fate of many will ride on the outcome of this highly important and contentious race. I am, of course talking about our local Moonee Valley council elections! And yes, of course, there is another far more important election happening shortly. But today, we are keeping it local and going exotic with a recipe for the Lord Mayor’s Mango Chutney!

The recipe comes from the June 1991 issue of Vogue Entertaining Australia. It features in an article called “Banquet by The Billabong” which is all about posh dining outside

What that glamourous description doesn’t tell you is that the calls of the river life probably include crocodiles that will kill you quicker than you can blink and mosquitos carrying dengue fever, Ross River virus and Murray Valley Encephalitis . Then there’s the venomous snakes and the poisonous spiders and the drop bears. And the occasional serial killer to boot. That rustle of linen could well be the noose around your neck and the chink of silver the knife about to slit your throat!.

Come on, it’s Hallowe’en! if we’re not going to get dark at this time of year when are we????

Something a lot less Wolf Creeky is this recipe for Mango Chutney which comes from Alex Fong Lim who was Lord Mayor of Darwin from 1984-1990. This is a fabulous recipe too. I don’t like a lot of commercial mango chutneys because I find them too sweet. This however, has the perfect blend of sweet and spice and heat. And it is so pretty as well! The chunks of mango become almost translucent as they cook so they look like gorgeous bright jewels. This is the perfect accompaniment to a curry – the picture directly below had it paired beautifully with Nick Sharma’s Chicken Biryani Tagine and the one below that has it matched up with a Sri Lankan chicken curry badun.

Lord Mayor’s Chutney – The Recipe

You can, of course, adjust the amount of chilli to suit your taste. I only used 500g of mango and 2 birdseye chillies in my chutney. I also used fresh grated ginger and sultanas because I can’t abide raisins. Most importantly for those of you who cannot get ripe or under-ripe mangoes, or it is not mango season even if you can, I used a packet of chopped frozen mango for my chutney and I was very happy with the results!

I’m not entirely sure about what the other duties of a Lord Mayor are. I guess they are boss of the council? But if the quality of this recipe is anything to go by, then maybe part of their job description needs to be that they all have to share a recipe with their constituents!

I’d vote for that!

Have a great week!

17
Sep
2020

Chinese Pancake Rolls

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

Today I am sharing another recipe from the China chapter of Good Housekeeping’s World Cookery. Pancake Rolls (aka Chun Guin) are a version of a Spring roll. Originally a pancake filled with fresh spring vegetables, Spring Rolls were a welcome change from the preserved foods that people had to eat during the long Chinese winter. Well, it is spring in Australia now so I thought why not celebrate the change of season with some traditional fare?

In retrospect, I should have celebrated by ordering some proper Spring rolls from The Imperial Garden because, to be honest, these weren’t great!

These were a lot of work – make the pancakes, make the filling, wrap and roll and then deep fry. It all took a good few hours and for not much payoff. I considered using spring roll wrappers for these but the recipe said pancakes, so I made pancakes. The problem was, the pancakes did not really crisp up enough during the frying process. And surely one of the delights of the spring / egg roll is that great crunch you get when you bite into that crispy pastry – just before the boiling hot contents ooze out into your mouth!

The filling was also disappointing. Something containing chicken*, crabmeat, mushrooms and leeks should be bursting with flavour. These really didn’t taste of much at all. *You will note the recipe calls for pork. I do not like the taste of pork so I subbed in some chicken. Maybe this accounts for the blandness?

Pancake Rolls – The Recipe

It’s here if you want it… but seriously there are better ways to spend your time! And that’s coming from someone living under one of the strictest coronavirus lockdowns in the world. All I have is time and I wouldn’t spend it making these again.

All was not entirely lost though. Some members of the household really enjoyed the leftover Pancake Rolls!

One great recipe from this chapter and one meh….do I call it a draw or make one more as a decider?

Decisions, decisions!!!

Have a great week!