| Aug-Sep,
2003 |
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Dear
Food +Travel Lovers |
|
Globetrotting
Gourmet® Robert Carmack, author of
Thai Home Cooking launched a slew of new recipes in a cooking
demonstration at Books Kinokuniya this past weekend, from
chilli jam to sweet chili relish, and other delicious dishes from
his book. Signed copies are now available at Books Kinokuniya,
along with Robert's other book, Fondue -- which has now been
translated into four languages! Thai Home Cooking has just
been released in French as well. Keep an eye out for Robert's October
release of companion volume Vietnamese Home Cooking. Books
Kinokuniya, located in Galleries Victoria on Sydney's George
Street is the southern hemisphere's largest bookstore (tel 02-9262
7996).
With
record summer temperatures at full swing in North America
and Europe, Robert's and partner Morrison Polkinghorne's thoughts
traveled to summertime drinks, sleuthing the perfect one. They report...
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| Caipirovska
is a refreshing cocktail of fresh lime mulled with sugar, glasses
packed full of crushed ice, and doused with copious quantities
of vodka. The best one we have ever chanced upon is at Bali's
ultra-smart Alila Manggus resort on the island's Southeast
coast near Candidasa. It was love at first gulp, especially
as they make it here using tiny "Bali limes" or calamansi
-- about the size of a large olive.
We loved the drink as much as the resort's digs, so we've confirmed
two sumptuous nights here during our September tour to this
island of Hindu Gods. |
| On
return home, we tried replicating this summertime stunner, varying
brown sugar, palm sugar, and our preference, white cane sugar.
Even added triple sec and crusted the cocktail rim with crystalline
sugar as well. But alas… |
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| click
here |
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| As luck
would have it, Morrison and Robert were invited to present at this
year's Masterclass Weekend in Brisbane. We bee-lined
to another presenter there, Marcus Motteram of Melbourne's
ffour, a high profile cocktail bar in that city's central business
district (or "CBD" as they abbreviate it in the Antipodes).
Last year's Bartender of the Year from the Australian Liquor
Industry, Marcus gave us clues on the perfect Caipirovska --
plus its sister drink Caipirinha made with the local Brazilian
limon subtiel plus pisco-like cachaca; and Caipirissima
which substitutes white rum. Fresh lime definitely needs squeezing
at the last minute, lest the rind and zest go bitter. Also, mixing
juice with sugar syrup gives the citrus longevity, but it's cheating
a bit. But hey, if it works… Surprisingly, Marcus makes his caipriovska
with brown sugar. |
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The
Weekend
Masterclass is Brisbane's most prestigious annual food
event. Overseas chefs included Sunitha Divakaran from
the the Brunton Boatyard Hotel in Fort Cochin, India;
Eric Chavot from the Michelin 2-star The Capital
Restaurant in London; and Anton Hobbs of Lanson
champagne in France. So obviously, we were a bit chuffed with
ourselves for teaching amongst the overseas mighty!
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| While
preparing for our soy sauce and fish sauce workshop
in Brisbane, we traveled to our favorite holiday destination: Thailand.
This year we've scouted out some superb new locations for our upcoming
November tour, which begins in Bangkok on Friday 31 Oct. We
cover the regional foods of this very special kingdom, and this year's
tour coincides with the beautiful loi krathong holiday where
flickering lanterns float down the kingdom's waterways -- seen from
the vantage of 13th century temples in imperial Sukhothai.
Even better, we visit spectactular 1000-year old Khmer ruins in remote
Isan province, during the annual Phimai festival! That's
two festivals, two holidays all in two weeks! Both are not to
be missed occasions. As an added incentive
to book immediately, we're offering an August special savings of $100US/$150AUD
per person if you pay your deposit this month. (click
here) Make your reservations NOW to avoid disappointment.
Last year's tour was completely sold out, and with a waiting list.
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| A
vertical tasting of some 17 different fish sauces and
soy sauces were the focus of Robert and Morrison's presentation
at the Masterclass workshop, moderated by Good Life editor
Kylie Lang of the Courier Mail, and Anna Last,
food editor of Vogue Entertaining + Travel magazine.
While ancient roman garum or liquamen sounds particularly
unappealing -- it is made from the putrid extract of salted
fish guts -- Southeast Asian fish sauce is surprisingly similar
in manufacture. Thai Tiparos brand is always popular,
and it now sports awards of quality on its export label, which
helps you separate the good quality from the mediocre. Some
Vietnamese brands are identified as nuoc man nhi -- or
the finest grade, usually reserved as a table condiment, unlike
nuoc mam kho, which is used like cooking sherry. Nuoc
mam means fish sauce, while nhi is the key word here
to spot. Unfortunately, most Vietnamese export brands fail to
list these designations. The coastal city of Nha Trang
in the south is reputed to make that country's finest fish sauce,
while the far southern island of Phu Quoc exports larger
quantities. Take heed and read the fine print, however, as some
bottles prominently labeled Phu Quoc are actually made in Thailand
or Hong Kong (and chemical/hydrolized to boot (vs. naturally
fermented). |
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Much
of this is explained in Robert's book Thai Home Cooking,
as well as in Robert's next book, Vietnamese Home Cooking,
which is due for publication later this year. Coinciding with
his new book, Robert
and Morrison lead a FoodTOUR of the regional foods of Vietnam
in March, 2004, plus two optional side trips: to the hilltribe
markets of Sapa and Bac Ha north of Hanoi and
near the Chinese border, plus to Cambodia's capital of Phnom
Penh and the famed Khmer ruins of Angkor Wat in
Siem Reap. (click
here)
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| Through
the good graces of Kikkoman, Ayam, Shoda, Jun-Pacific,
and Yamasa, our Brisbane workshop was blessed with an
abundance of truly ambrosial soy sauces -- most of which were
air-flown in from Japan especially for this tasting. Personally,
we often use the light Chinese-style soy sauces of Malaysia,
particularly Ayam plus Teen Song Teen (or "Elephant brand"
as they know it locally) but the two true popular highlights
were Marudaizu Nidanjukusei Saishikomi from Shoda, plus
Goyogura (pictured), which Kikkoman
brews exclusively for the imperial family. Both
styles are saltier than normal -- with Goyogura reaching 18%
as opposed to standard soy sauce levels of 14-16%. |
| Saishikomi,
by the way, means twice brewed. In other words, they use previously
brewed soy sauce instead of plain salt water to make each new
batch. It is extremely rare to find outside of Japan, but incredibly
delicious with the freshest sashimi. For further information,
see Robert's article on Japanese soy sauce in the Feb. 2001
issue of Wingspan, the in-flight magazine for All Nippon Airlines
(ANA), pages 26-31. |
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| Another
highlight at this year's Brisbane masterclass was a vertical goat
milk cheese tasting from Kris Lloyd of the boutique Woodside
Cheese Wrights in South Australia's McLaren Vale. Kris compared
chalky immature chevre, to fully matured, over-runny and even dried
specimens of the same variety. It's the type of tasting you only experience
at a rare Masterclass -- and never in a retail store itself. Her presentation
was paired with fellow cheesemaker Julie Cameron of Meredith,
who all too briefly skimmed over the fascinating topic of shrink-plastic
wrapping, or cryovac. We'd love to see a future masterclass comparing
packaging -- variously, waxing, shrink wrap, wax paper, foil, perforated
paper, etc. There would sure be some controversial findings. |
| During
our last visit to America's Pacific Northwest we discovered that leading
alder-smoked salmon producers there were shrink wrapping
all their hard smoked salmon -- even when sold directly at factory
outlets! It prevents moisture loss, was their explanation, while unfortunately
resulting in a too-smooth plastic exterior texture. And it doesn't
breathe. Our strong feeling is that perishable foods for shipment
-- whether cheese or salmon -- require different packing treatment,
depending on the duration and contingencies of its travel. We wouldn't
expect foods sold at the factory outlet to be need the same sort of
protection packaging as those shipped across the continent -- especially
as many foods need air to mature and reach full flavor (or conversely,
to desiccate). It reminds us of the perennial controversy about picking
tomatoes green, and breeding mangoes tough for shipment. Consumers'
flavor is the goal -- not producers' convenience. |
| A
sell-out at the Brisbane Masterclass was restaurateurs Christine
Manfield and Cath Claringbold joining forces in The
Spice Secrets of the Moors. While the duo focused largely
on North African, Middle Eastern and Indian spices, many of
these seasonings also permeate the cooking of Southeast Asia.
The wet curry pastes of Thailand, for example, consist of pounded
rhizomes, stalks and leaves, plus myriad dry spices -- usually
toasted first to release their exquisite aromas. Khao Soi
is one of our favorite curry dishes in Thailand -- more a one-dish
soup than a true curry -- its flavours exemplify the cross cultures
of The Golden Triangle where Thailand, Burma (or Myanmar) and
China converge. We will be tasting this typical northern Thai
specialty in its home city of Chiang Mai in November
this year, so if you want to learn more about this dish and
other Thai regional favourites, come join us on our small group
FoodTOUR to the Kingdom of Smiles. |
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We
are also organising a small side trip to the famed Khmer ruins
of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, 16-20 Nov, including air fare
ex Bangkok directly to Siem Reap.
Our maximum number on all tours is 15, so you are ensured a
small group, with very personal attention. And by the way, the
recipe for Khao Soi is in Robert's book Thai Home Cooking,
page 86. |
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(click
here) |
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| June
through August is mid winter in Australia. The days prove brisk and
clear, and rarely a drop from the sky. Surprisingly, with much of
this southern continent being sub-tropical, this is the driest season
for visiting. Sydney temperatures usually hover in the high 60sF (15-20C)
with nights never plunging to freezing levels. The lack of central
heating in most homes, however, means that overseas visitors might
prefer staying in heated hotels, rather than with Aussie friends in
their frigid homes! So it was a warm respite to head north to sunny
Brisbane -- slightly warmer than Sydney, and decidedly so compared
to Adelaide and Melbourne in the south. Surprisingly, winter strawberries
are at their best in Queensland. Australia is currently in
the throes of hammering out a free trade agreement with the
United States, so if successfully accomplished, it means that fruit
and vegetables will never truly be out of season in either hemisphere.
Now, as for how they package for shipping, that's another issue… |
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| Finally,
For those who overlooked the profile on Robert in the May-June issue
of Silkwinds,
the in-flight magazine for Silk Air, here is a chance to catch up!
If you are travelling to Bali in August, don't miss the July
issue of Hello
Bali magazine. There is a centrefold(!!!) feature on
Robert's and Morrison's Globetrotting Gourmet®
FoodTOURS. Planning any travels to the land-locked mountainous country
of Laos? Then be sure to get the September issue of Good
Taste, sold in all Woolworth's grocery stores throughout Australia.
Robert writes about its delightfully remote royal capital of Luang
Prabang in a travel/food feature illustrated with Morrison's colourful
photos. |
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