True Blue Austral-Asian BBQ
Monday, 19 November 2007 by Dr Maytel
On Sunday I went to my first Aussie BBQ in a very long time. The weather was a balmy 30 degrees, I had spent the morning mowing the lawn and doing washing (just like neighbours) and at 3 pm I hitched a ride with some friends to the party with my 6 pack of grolsch and a melon
As to be expected, men grilled meat and others played cricket on the street
All the Southeast Asian girls had prearranged to buy all the ingredients for som tum and set about making it in the garden, sadly there is no green papaya to be found in Canberra so they made do with carrot instead.
As they busied themselves with pounding and chopping, I couldn't help but make the snide remark "spot the southeast asians", at which point I was promptly handed the mortar and pestle and instructed to squat and pound.
Carrot Som Tum Recipe
In a deep wooden mortar in pestle, must be deep otherwise it splashes everywhere
Pound a fist full of chilis
a few whole garlic cloves
a fist an a bit full of peanuts
2 fist fulls of chopped green beans
fist full of dried shrimps
1 to 2 chopped tomatos
a couple of cups of grated carrots
add lime
tamarind sauce
and palm sugar or brown sugar
an fish sauce of course
serve
They also had the foresight to make a crate of punch
As the day wore on, people peeled off home and me and som tum preparation leader Amporn were left drinking Chivas and arguing about Thai politics
Its Monday morning and I'm at home nursing a hangover
As to be expected, men grilled meat and others played cricket on the street
All the Southeast Asian girls had prearranged to buy all the ingredients for som tum and set about making it in the garden, sadly there is no green papaya to be found in Canberra so they made do with carrot instead.
As they busied themselves with pounding and chopping, I couldn't help but make the snide remark "spot the southeast asians", at which point I was promptly handed the mortar and pestle and instructed to squat and pound.
Carrot Som Tum Recipe
In a deep wooden mortar in pestle, must be deep otherwise it splashes everywhere
Pound a fist full of chilis
a few whole garlic cloves
a fist an a bit full of peanuts
2 fist fulls of chopped green beans
fist full of dried shrimps
1 to 2 chopped tomatos
a couple of cups of grated carrots
add lime
tamarind sauce
and palm sugar or brown sugar
an fish sauce of course
serve
They also had the foresight to make a crate of punch
As the day wore on, people peeled off home and me and som tum preparation leader Amporn were left drinking Chivas and arguing about Thai politics
Its Monday morning and I'm at home nursing a hangover
looks like bloody good fun