Stomachs on legs are proud to present

It's rice harvest time here in Southeast Asia, and courtesy of Hock's Sous Chef who just returned from his holidays back home to Isaan (aka Esarn, Isan, Isarn), we received around 25 kgs of fresh hom malis rice, commonly known as jasmin. Similar to freshly dug potatoes, it is so fresh it requires far less water and time for cooking than your common-all-supermarket-rice.



He told Hock that the rice is "organic" but given that it arrived in a fertiliser bag I have my doubts. The term "organic" in Thailand is generally used in a far more flexible sense. A lot of products here are labelled "organic" when they would not necessarily meet European or American organic standards. Hock's Sous Chef is rather pragmatic about the whole issue. He says that he grows "organic" whenever he can, but if the crop is likely to fail or be severely diminished by unfavourable weather conditions he'll give it a little man-made push along. It's a topic that Nalika may like to expound on further at a later date, given that its the subject of some research she is doing.

If you're one of the few brave souls who've been following this blog for while you'll know that some Gut Feelings contributors spend quite a lot of time around musicians. Meanwhile others amongst us just really enjoy having the noodle-blues.

Even Gut Feelings muse Robert Sietsema started out his career making a food zine which he distributed to musicians and chefs, and he played in a band called, I think, Mofongu (a misspelled version of the Dominican dish).

Today I found a fun post by Hugh Powell on the Smithsonian Food & Think blog. Inspired by two somewhat similar books about indie bands and their favourite dishes, he posted a list of song-inspired dishes that he'd like to sample.
As you might be aware, no music lover can resist a themed top ten.. so below are six more.

The books Powell refers to include offerings from a few decent bands like Black Dice, They Might Be Giants and Animal Collective. And, as I would have totally guessed, many of the offerings are of the 'vegetarian while on tour' ilk. Being on the road seems to preclude fancy preparations. So what you end up with is much ado about a little bit of french fries, peanut butter, and if you're lucky, vege hotdogs.

Although vegetarian hotdogs and other fake meats are the international language of indie rock, most touring American hip hop artists will eat nothing but chicken (preferably with rice) or lamb, and if you go to an Italian restaurant they will take pizza or try to order Pasta Alfredo, though in some rare cases they may be brave enough to try the penne alla salsiccia.

English musicians can be quite adventurous. Almost as a rule, though, when it's very late at night they are very happy if confronted with a plate of chips, a curry (korma or vindaloo) or a döner kebab. And of course endless cups of tea.

Italian electronic musicians are not impressed with Asian-style noodles, in fact they will become restless and perturbed if served soba. They are quite willing to try new things, and in a few cases even enjoy sushi, but after two days they will secretly be craving spaghetti carbonara or Sicilian pesto with almonds. If you serve soft ricciarelli marzipan cookies, they will intone 'bene' (good) a few times as they chew.

In other words, in my experience, musicians conform to national stereotypes just like everyone else.

So anyway, here are my additions to Hugh Powell's top ten: things we'd like bands to cook for us.

11. die Goldenen Zitronen's soup, even though they won't eat it ("Meine Suppe Ess Ich Nicht")
12: Cat Steven's doughnut (as long as it's not made of dog)
13. Fela Kuti's Palm Wine
14. Milton Nasicmento's spicy christmas cookies (with "cloves and cinnamon")
15. Any baked goods by the Stranglers (if they turn out "Golden Brown")
16. Bernard Wright's "Bread Sandwiches" (especially if he spreads the love on them)

At a music event in Barcelona in October, I picked up a couple of tea tips from the English music makers who were also working there.

Above you can see a picture of tea guru & drum 'n' bass icon DJ Zinc, as photographed by UK MC/producer GoldieLocks.

Now, I'm not a fan of bucket-sized coffees: but unlike the typical milky Starbucks, tea stays hot (though it's best gulped down quick), it doesn't put your teeth on edge or fill you up in a sickening manner, and it is very refreshing. Zinc and BBC 1xtra presenter and globetrotting DJ Benji B pioneered this tea trend late at night in the Barcelona studios.
Since then, I admit I've taken to drinking massive teas in the afternoon, instead of coffee.

The second tip comes from Amsterdam-based British music writer and producer Moxo Tengu. This is a tip that everyone should find useful, which applies to tea bags that come in single serve paper pockets. Simply do not rip out the small paper square from the Twinings pocket that holds each tea-bag. Instead, let the whole paper pocket hang over the side of the cup. By using this simple method you will be far less likely to lose the tea string in the cup, due to the extra paper as an added counterweight.

Moxo recommends drinking Earl Grey tea black with a little bit of honey.

Final English music & tea anecdote: dubstep pioneer Mala (DMZ) is known to have a marvelous selection of teas at home, which he buys from a Belgian supplier.
The Belgian's real name is Badman.

If Auckland were Melbourne then Mexican Specialties Ltd would be overrun with food junkies and their insatiable appetites for "mom and pop" run food stores that mix ethnic authenticity with quirky service, cheap prices and hard to find locations. Food writers would be falling over themselves and arguments would probably ensue over who found out this quirky little Mexican Specialities store that is hidden deep in the suburbs , run by recent Mexican immigrants and only open for lunch Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. They would all however agree that Mexican Specialities was indeed special and worth supporting with continued patronage. If Auckland were Melbourne, high flying cashed up restaurant investors would probably have offered the proprietors a deal to move into renovated premises, closer to the city and open for lunch and dinner, as well as streamline the service, and the production and sales of all the homemade Mexican sauces and condiments made by the owner, and in a matter a months a new star would be born on the Melbourne food scene. People would sigh happily and proclaim...finally somewhere that makes 'proper' Mexican food

But as it happens, this is Auckland and not Melbourne and despite being open nigh on two years little has changed to this tiny hard to find Mexican store in Ellerslie...Aucklander's are not driving here in large numbers to eat the best Mexican they are ever likely to find this side of the Pacific.



Pictured above are the owners. Despite being under-appreciated by Auckland's cafe going crowds...they have expanded their business and now have their own line of fresh Mexican sauces and condiments which draws in regulars from Auckland's small Mexican and Spanish expat community.



in addition to the imported ingredients they sell from their deli/lunch bar



We went to buy some ingredients and have lunch....thankfully it was open because often and without notice they will close and pop back to Mexico

We started by ordering the chilli nogada....I had no idea what it was and Maria (behind the counter) explained that it is a dish traditionally served on Mexican independence day but at the store they seem to just serve it everyday because people like it so much. It is a grilled whole chili stuffed with slow cooked beef and covered in walnut sauce with pommegranites. I was sold....then we ordered the chicken mole. Maria shook her head and pronounced with her excellent Mexican accent "oh no...now you go too deep" meaning "you shouldn't order the mole as it is far too Mexican for you". Hock explained that he's been to Mexico and has and uncle that lives there, Maria relented and allowed us the chicken mole. We also ordered the chicken taco and beef burrito to share with Kinakojam and Erik and lastly K-jam ordered the tostada.

We were given a laminated tree sign and sat down at our table. Some fresh sauce arrived by a strange blond kiwi waitress who we never saw again


Dishes arrived one by one and intermittently....first was the tostada...covered in salad, dried fruits and nuts, it was light, crisp and refreshing


The chicken taco came next. It was simple, crispy and tasty, no cheese or sour cream here thank god...instead the side salad was sprinkled lightly with a yummy flavoured salt that the chef and owner (pictured above in the white shower cap) makes himself with salt, dried chilis and lemon powder. He said he plans to make it for sale in two months time


A bit later the beef burrito arrived, full of smoky flavours and mixed in with fried bacon


The mole was fantastic


But the highlight was definitely the nogada....my god......the sauce was amazing, not walnut tasting at all, just subtle and creamy.


Along side we had fresh lime juice that tastey lovely and grassy


There were no forks during our lunch experience, just knives and teaspoons. Maria popped out and said they were all dirty and that she must get round to cleaning some more. We nodded and continued to eat regardless. Hock, decided to let himself go and ordered one more things that never arrived because some Mexican patrons arrived and both the owners got caught up in a conversation. We were full anyway.



We went inside to buy some ingredients for a mexican chicken bbq and although we'd paid the bill before we sat down, the owners couldn't remember and we had to rejog their memory

No big deal though. We told them how much we loved their food and asked why they were only open 3 days a week for lunch. We were told that on Wednesday, they make the fresh sauces, they take Sunday off and on Monday and Tuesday they do the accounts. It seems like the perfect set up to me and probably a good thing that they're not in Melbourne. If you live in Auckland I recommend you go and order the chili nagado. It's on Celtic Cres in Ellerslie and it may be best to call before you go. The number is at the top of the post.

March marks the month where some of the Gut Feelings team members, including Kinakojam, Hock, Maytel and "the Hoff" will officially all be in New Zealand!!!

Hoff and Kinakojam are already kicking it in Welliwood, if I'm not mistaken, although they've been very quiet of late

Anyhoo, Hock and I arrive in Auckland on the 7th for some much deserved R&R, although I will be travelling with the books

What I am looking forward to most is hanging at my sister's house in the Waitakere ranges and having meals that look like this on her balcony nestled amongst the beautiful native bush.....ahhh sigh....the very thought of it relaxes me



and if the weather isn't too chully then heading down to the beach to go and pipi and cockle picking in the shallow waters (and be stared at by white locals who think we're veracious mainland Chinese coming to strip their beaches)

and.....

good smoked fish
pavlova
kumera
maybe a ponsonby pie
The French Cafe - dego menu
tamarillos and or feijoas
montheith's beer, emerson's beer, mac's beer
bluff oysters (season's just started)
Empress Garden Peking Duck meal
A good roast
Some great sushi and yakitori
Vogels!!!

and of course good wine and lovely company

Just as a small response to Hock's forthcoming menu, the nations that search for "wagyu" the most on Google (via Google Trends) are, to my surprise:

1. Hong Kong
2. Australia
3. Singapore
4. Chile
5. New Zealand

By city:

1. Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2. Sydney, Australia
3. Brisbane, Australia
4. Singapore, Singapore
5. Melbourne, Australia
6. Santiago, Chile
7. Adelaide, Australia
8. Perth, Australia
9. New York, NY, USA
10. Amsterdam, Netherlands

This only really begs more questions:

a. Why is wagyu beef bigger in Chile than in the US? I've got to start following Chilean food trends. Even when you factor in the US use of the term kobe beef, Chile comes out ahead. Plug in almost any other meat to the search, or cut of meat, and the USA comes out in front. Why not wagyu or Kobe beef?

b. How did Australians and New Zealanders become so wagyu-obsessed? When you take into account population, New Zealand would rocket to the top of the list.

c. Adelaide?

Seeing the history of war presented as stop-motion animated hamburgers does not in any way make it more palatable.

Above you see one very fine Portuguese Pastel de nata, bought from the Venezia Bakery on Ossington St, Toronto (absolutely & completely different to Chinese or English egg tarts). I've never tried one of these before, let alone the version from Belem in Portugal which was invented by nuns. But its combo of light, eggy sweet custard (which prefers low temperatures) and a very thin, crispy, fine, not-sweet pastry shell (which paradoxically requires very hot temperatures, hotter than a conventional home oven) is addictive: a little bit caramelised on top, soft and gloopy, with the delicate crunch of biting through the shell. Buy three and eat them in the time it takes to cross the road to Babel Books. You'll be so high on custard that the dog-eared paperbacks of The Stranger or Sodome et Gomorrhe look like a laugh riot. Side effects may also include buying some strange remixed 12" of No Mercy by the Stranglers and 2 Divine records from Babel's 4 dollar bin without listening first. Then you will then (in all likelihood) leave the store trying to balance 7 hard backed volumes of Proust on your head.



Recipe for Pastéis de nata

My sister's husband is Canadian, and on their recent trip to Canada she wrote me about the foods which they particularly enjoyed feasting on.

"Breakfast pitas (a wholegrains, fruit and cinnamon pita bread, best toasted with honey or jam), poutine (Quebec speciality- hot chips, melted cheese curds and gravy), perogies (a Ukranian dumpling filled with cheese and mash, and fried with onions and bacon, and served with sour cream), beaver tails (kind of a hot pastry oval covered in sugar and lemon), Doritos (the perfect junk food spicey corn chip), Montreal bagels (chewy like no other), pickled eggplant (spicy and salty and sort of chewy crunchy, usually eaten in a bagel sandwich), wild blueberries (tiny and tasty, and best eaten seconds after picking from an island in the lake, only reachable by canoe)."

We're coming up to our 5th week in Toronto, and we only ate a couple of things on that list. The breakfast pitas are indeed dope, while the poutine was pretty good but undoubtedly better in Quebec.

Still, Toronto is a city of many cultures and thus the list of foods one could or should try is very long.

The airport in Toronto is rather grey and shabby, and one's first impression upon being downtown is of a city that continually knocks down and rebuilds, so that the Financial district and the more conservative (east) end of Queen West is peppered with Gap, Zara, HMV and countless shiny new fusion restaurants with names like 'Spring Roll'. Very 'New World'. But interesting in that it has all the towering buildings and wide avenues of a huge city, but lacks the underlying anxiety of big cities in the States.

As Torsten Schmidt put it: "it's certainly a mash-up of post-colonial, imperial, British-empire city, you get a lot of that, and then definitely it's a city on the North American continent. And a lot of those elements are juxtaposed and funnily... can you say "inter-diced?" And this whole thing about the grid system, you think you've got it all worked out, and then sneakily those grids sometimes change lanes, and you're like, hang on we were just here...but now we're over there.

But what I can't put my finger on is... obviously the quality of life is pretty high here. And it seems like the whole multicultural thing is true - every city with over 500 inhabitants claims to be multicultural because they've got a kebab stand and a Chinese take-away - but you do really see a nice, diverse mix of people here. And they all seem to get along, at least on the surface level. There's no underlying tension like, say, in London. But that can be a good thing as well. Toronto seems very middle-class, very safe, and it's like you're at school. You know the really pretty girl with the really nice haircut and the nice clothes - is this really the girl you'd like to ask to dance? I hope that in the next few weeks we're gonna find the moles and the freckles and a bit of cross-eyedness."

The story of Toronto is largely one of immigrants, and it's when you venture into the culturally-infused neighbourhoods that you find the quirks you were looking for, as well as the quaint little stores that are more than fifty years old. With the largest number of foreign-language speaking residents of any city besides Miami (don't ask me how they figured that out), the West Indian and Portuguese communities have had a particularly big influence on the cultural development of the city, and there are quite a few streets devoted to Chinatown, Little India, Greektown, Little Italy, Koreatown, and Cabbagetown (home of original Irish settlers) too.

So what dishes are specially typical of Toronto then? As part of the event we're working at in Toronto, some local writers made "A Jaywalker's Guide to Toronto". In the "Snack Attack" section, Graham Duncan wrote "If Toronto had a signature dish, it must be the Italian sandwich."

I haven't been able to find any explanation online of why exactly this must be so (Graham says it's basically because the Italian community here was the largest influx of sandwich-creating immigrants), nor could I find any tales of why the Italian Canadian sandwich involves breaded, deep-fried cutlets of veal, beef or chicken, hot & spicy tomato sauce and a chilli or roasted green capsicum or two on a soft kaiser roll. (Somewhat different to the typical Italian American sandwich, which looks more like your regular Subway fare on a split baguette).

We got ours (a chicken one) from San Francesco on Clinton St in Little Italy, which also sells Italian pear nectar at a very reasonable price. It was good, but very junk foody. Fat pieces of fried chicken. Tasty sauce, almost but not quite unbearably spicy. Certainly not the most delicious thing we've eaten in Toronto, but I can imagine that if you grew up eating them they'd be a nice comfort food...
The best thing was the location, a quiet corner of Little Italy, with crickets singing in the trees and the glow of Bitondo's pizzeria across the street and Italian people pulling up in cars for their takeaways. (Bitondo's, despite the authentic mobster-looking staff, is not so good: the sausage tastes faintly of fennel but the pizza is thick and ungainly).

Regrets, I've had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do, and saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway
But more, much more than this, I did it my way

OK, when it comes to our dining choices in NY I pretty much did it Sietsema's way. And in one particular case, it may not have been the BEST way. There was a tinge of regret when I made the mistake of checking up on Oversea Asian on Chowhound.com. On that website, the legions seem to prefer another Manhattan Malaysian joint. Which lead me to wonder for a moment, if I should've done it Skyway.

But then I thought back on the delicious sweet-sour mango chicken, the flaky, buttery roti canai (so it probably is pre-frozen, so what?), and the melange of nasi lemak flavours and I was at peace.



It IS still a lingering regret that we didn't have time to explore Sietsema's recommendations of Malaysian and other 'asian cuisines in the outer boroughs. I have a certain stubborn idea (similiar to Maytel and Hock's) that restaurants should be humble and obscure, that the 'real' and best Asian food would be found only in Queens or even New Jersey and never in Manhattan. (I have Sietsema to thank for this prejudice, too). So I have shovelled all regrets aside, since i figure Skyway is just another Manhattan joint, after all...

Must admit, I do find it bewildering and somehow irritating to broach the seething mass of conflicting ideas on Chowhound about which restaurant is 'best'... most of them write in a way that is so earnest and humourless and often seems so ill-informed.

Still, one is inclined to think that some of them must have a good idea about what's good to eat.

The brave legions of Chowhound posters have quite a task on their hands. In NYC (as in Tokyo) there are SO many places that are good to eat. Some of them are only good for one or two dishes, and some of them decline in quality within months while new ones pop up every day.

To try to define what is 'best' is a virtual impossibility, because when there are so many options, 'best' depends on what you feel like that day, doesn't it?

I found this blog whereby a person spent a year eating their way around the world, and then summed up their top fives in various categories. Some of the places and dishes sound worth trying out, but the lack of scientific approach and the profusion of locations and cuisines makes it all seem rather random. Since it could take decades of living in a certain country to become an expert on a cuisine, it is bewildering to see someone try to come off like an expert on Napolitano pizza just from having passed through there for a week or two. This, dear friends, is the nature of our day & age. Foodism, dear friends, is at work everywhere you look.

Anyways. No matter how you get your info, the main point is to find delicious meals.

There are two options in a big city like NYC. You could spend two weeks blocking out all the eateries from a certain cuisine and eating your way through all of them. Or you could make a virtual career out of trialing places that you've seen recommended on the web. For instance, I found this site by an enthusiastic eater who made a shortlist of places she wanted to try out in NYC culled from Sietsema's recommendations - and then cross-referenced with Chowhound and a cabbie food-blogger. I must say that we enjoyed every single meal recommended by Sietsema. But I suspect - foodism irritations aside - that if I lived in NYC I would resort to a similar strategy.

OK, so enough rambling. I am NOT an expert on Malaysian food. For some reason there is a lot of really good Malaysian food in Wellington, NZ, where I grew up. As take out it's more of a tradition among people I knew than Thai or even Chinese, so it reminds me of being 16 and eating searing egg sambal.

One of the things that impressed me about Oversea Asian was the freshness and tastiness of the vegetables that were involved. Mango chicken:





I wished the Nasi Lemak had been a bit less dry & a bit more coconutty (like the superb coconut rice we had at Village Mingala the night before - but that was a Burmese restaurant so I shouldn't confuse the matter! The achat (sweet/spicy/sour pickled veges) that came with it were great and the general confluence of tastes and textures was very satisying.



Above you can see Yeong Tofu, the dish that enticed us to Oversea Asian in the first place. Here is the description by Sietsema:
"It might be the name of a prime-time soap, set in an organic supermarket and featuring a cast of glib twentysomethings: Young Tofu. Instead, it designates a clay pot that sits steaming in front of you, a collection of stuffed objects in a curried coconut broth ($5.25). Bulging with shrimp-laced tofu paste, the okra, eggplant, and long green chiles sink to the bottom, while Venetian barges of fried and unfried tofu float lazily by. This liquid museum of curd would have made a complete meal in itself, had the bewildering, 150-item menu not tempted you to stick your neck out further."
(Read the full review here: it's from '04, mind)

The crispy fried tofu skin with the creamy broth was superb. (We chose half chicken broth and half laksa-style curry mixed). 'Yeong' in cantonese means to stuff. So Yeong Tofu means veges stuffed with tofu, and the dish also included pieces of eggplant welded with fishpaste that tasted a little musty like the back of the shelf in an old chinese supermarket: but in a good way.



The roti canai was very good, the accompanying curry with hunks of meat very tasty.

Overall, it was a delicious and over-the-top lunch (so much food!) washed down with plenty of tea and nice before strolling to Alife so Erik could buy a purple sweater.

It may not have been THE best Malaysian NYC has to offer, but it was very good, and it made me wish there were more Overseas Asians in Germany. I would be very happy if this restaurant existed in Cologne.

As a point of consolation for those of us who don't have the option of being in close proximity to the Italian food of the Bronx, the Asian spots in Queens and the Latin American food of Jackson Heights simultaneously, I just read the following inspiring comment by one Malaysian blogger:
"I used to drive 5 hours to find good Chinese or Singaporean or Malaysian food. Now I prefer to spend 5 hours preparing it myself."

If you, too, feel a dearth of Malaysian food in your life, this is a recipe for Yeong Tofu. Give it a shot!

A customer contemplates the qualities of a good nasi lemak:

While browsing through this site's tracked google referrals for the first time, I came across this essay on the bubbling resentment of straight-up Korean kimchi makers towards Japanese manufacturers, who apparently now dominate global kimchi exports.

I became quite taken with the Japanese version of kimchi when I lived there – it's very easy to eat, very more-ish. It is more likely to resemble the milder forms of Korean kimchi, and often has a slight sweetness, which seems to be taken as an affront to Kimchi purists. Now I discover from the above article that Japanese kimchi is often (shock) not fermented!

Koreans want to impose an international Kimchi standard, which in line with the national Korean saying, should perhaps entail stickers saying "tastes like your mother's fingertips".

Explosive Attributes

Exporting large volumes of such a volatile substance as Kimchi must be dangerous though: we sometimes buy aluminium bags of white kimchi from a korean/Japanese market in Duesseldorf, which contain sachets of a fume-absorbing substance. Once one of these sachets malfunctioned and with trepidation we decided to pierce the dangerously ballooning aluminium bag, taut from all those fermentation gases. Luckily the bag did not explode all over the kitchen, but you can imagine the wonderful odor that clung to us for the rest of the day: "she must be wearing Impulse". Inner energy aptly describes a contained kimchi gaseous cloud.

Like other pickles/preserves, Korean-style Kimchi can be eaten at varying degrees of fermentation (for example, it can be eaten within hours or even seconds after first salting it). However, the longer you leave it alone, the more it is going to ferment – which means that any contained vessel of true Kimchi will attain explosive attributes if it sits on the shelf for long enough.

Recently I've been experimenting with making my own Kimchi - it's quite miraculous how such a simple preparation can yield such complex flavours. I've found that I enjoy quite a mild preparation with a shitload of garlic and spring onions, eaten while still at the crunchier end of the sliminess spectrum.

You can make kimchi with all kinds of vegetables, from cucumbers to soy bean sprouts to radish, turnip etc.

Kimchi Lineage

The fermentation process is important though, to produce the probiotic qualities of true kimchi. Kimchi, like German sauerkraut, is descended from Chinese kimchi, which was cabbage fermented in rice wine. According to one site, it was eaten about 2000 years ago by the men who were building the Great Wall of China.

According to some sources, sauerkraut owes its origins to Genghis Kahn, who after plundering the Chinese brought the recipe for Ji or Kimchi to Eastern Europe. The Europeans eliminated the rice wine and used salt to ferment. A century or two later, the introduction of red pepper to Korea by Spanish and Portuguese traders (at roughly the same time it was introduced to China and Japan), in the 17th century, brought a major innovation to kimchi and to the Korean diet in general. Maybe we should put down our weapons and accept that it's one big global kimchi party.

Rotten Probiotics

Most store-bought sauerkraut I've eaten in Germany does not have the riper fermented attributes of store-bought korean kimchi, so one would assume, it contains less probiotic substances.

Of course, one could make kimchi at home and eat it before it ferments. In general though, korean kimchi made from cabbage seems to be more volatile than Sauerkraut when packaged on the supermarket shelves.

Here's what thenibble.com says about the probiotic qualities of pickled cabbage – as you'll see, there's also some controversy over what consitutes real sauerkraut:

"Whether it’s sauerkraut in Germany, kimchi in Asia (especially Korea), cortido or curtido in Central America, or choucroute in France, fermented cabbage is consumed wherever cabbage itself can be grown. A head of cabbage can be sliced before fermentation, but it may also be left whole. Unlike probiotic-containing foods that start from a dairy base, cabbage does not need bacteria added to it to begin the fermentation process. All you need to add, in fact, is salt (the addition of vinegar is looked upon with contempt by makers of “true” sauerkraut, who declare that it’s used only by those who don’t take the time to go through a full fermentation process and want a cheap and quick way to achieve acidity). With the correct level of salinity (about 1.5%) and at a proper temperature (temperature is important to every fermentation process–just ask your local brewer!), the cabbage will ferment. Several different bacteria will be at work during this process, as you might expect, and those bacteria change as the acidity of the brine surrounding the cabbage increases. The most commonly cited probiotic associated with sauerkraut is Lactobacillus plantarum. Many fermented cabbage products commercially available have been pasteurized; such treatment with heat will destroy any friendly bacteria.

If fermentation was not halted, the sauerkraut containers would swell or explode; (...) any active fermentation process will produce gases. The preservative sodium benzoate, often added to sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables, will also kill friendly bacteria. Any of these brands (or any others) must be in refrigerated form if you’re looking for live cultures, and check the label to make sure no sodium benzoate has been added."

I have checked out the supermarket-available brands of sauerkraut here in Germany and most do contain additives. We have had a foil package of sauerkraut (the own-brand from the organic store Biomarkt) in the bottom of our fridge - and the ingredients are listed as only white cabbage and salt. But that packet has been sitting in our fridge forever and it has not swollen, even a little bit. In fact the date stamp says it will be good until March 2009...which means a shelf life of approximately 2 years?? That organic sauerkraut simply must've been pasteurised in some way shape or form...

Sleeping with the enemy

Getting back to the taste of kimchi, rather than the funkiness- or healthiness-quotient: when a trip to Duesseldorf for a dangerous, smelly pottle of store-bought fermented kimchi is not possible, and I haven't had the time to chop up soya sprouts, daikon, cabbage leaves and salt them and mix them with chilli powder and garlic, we rely on a gas-free Japanese brand of 'kimchi base' sauce. Rather like the 'Heinz ketchup' variety of kimchi, it keeps well in the fridge and can be utilised to make instant kimchi-flavoured chopped cucumbers, crunchy but pungent and delicious when eaten with good short grain rice. A very satisfying meal in itself, and also excellent with Japanese-style burgers. The base of course is also great added to hot pots and so on.

Turns out I quite like the flavour of artificial food additives, citric acid and xanthan gum.

I pity the fool who fucks with the mouse.

I have a can of golden syrup in my cupboards which I have been wondering what to do with, so I looked in my trusty
Edmonds Cookbook and found a recipe for russian fudge.


Russian fudge is a quintessentially New Zealand candy. I remember I used to eat it when I was little at school. It's a bit of a sad story, in fact when I told Hock he almost cried. But anyway, there was a little girl at my school who used to bring russian fudge to school in order to make friends. She was a bit of a social outcast. The school I went to was a bit hoity toity - Titirangi Primary School - in the midst of West Coast leafy green native bush and replete with BMW driving mums, who were the wives of lawyers and architects, and thought the sun shined out of their children's behinds. Now I wasn't the most popular girl in school but there were two poor girls who were complete social rejects, one was a Maori girl and the other was a poor white girl with a Maori name. She always smelled like wees and maybe that's why no one wanted to be her friend. Except that is on the days when she would bring russian fudge to school and then everyone would want to be her friend. Her overflowing tuperware container full of russian fudge would cause a frenzy in the playground and boys and girls who normally shunned and teased her would crowd around her begging for a sugar fix.

Her popularity would last all of ten minutes as she handed out russian fudge slices to all those kids who sucked up to her the most. The next day she wouldn't have any friends again.

Yes kids are mean.

Maybe I will make some russian fudge and try and bribe someone to be my friend...no I don't smell like wees. Hock has decided its time for a russian fudge revival and is going to put russian fudge on his petits four menu

Russian Fudge

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups White Sugar
125 g butter
3 tablespoons Golden Syrup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
200 g sweetened condensed milk (half a standard tin)
2 teaspoons vanilla essence

Method

Place all the ingredients except the vanilla, into a medium-heavy saucepan. Warm over a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for about 15 — 20 minutes, until it reaches the soft ball stage (120°C).

Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Beat (I use an electric mixer) until the fudge is creamy and thick and has lost its gloss. Pour into a greased 20 cm cake pan. Score the top and break into pieces when cold.

Makes: 36 pieces (i.e. friends)

I've been pondering the notion of food racism lately....

Given Brillat Savarin's quote "tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are" it only bares to reason that food in many senses becomes symbolic of difference, similarities and cross cultural miscommunication

Michael Pollen wrote that colonisation of one country over another starts with diet.

I still think back to the stifled work lunches and dinners between foreigners and Cambodians, where foreigners would pick at the Khmer food on the plate in a way that was symptomatic of more than just a reluctance to "break bread" with their dining companions.

So I was thinking of all the racist slurs for the "other" based on food such as:

Kraut
Curry muncher
Dog eater
Limey
Twinkie
Bounty Bar
coconut
frog eater

And it occured to me to take a look at what wiki considers to be the national dishes of various countries.

"A national dish is a dish, food or a drink that represents a particular country, nation or region. It is usually something that is naturally made or popular in that country.The concept is highly informal and vague, and in many, if not most cases the relationship between a given territory or people and certain typical foods is ambiguous. Typical dishes can vary from region to region, and the use of the term "national dish" does not always imply the existence of a "nation" in any legal sense...
Similarly, countries can share a national dish...National dishes also function as stereotypes. These can be either autostereotypes, describing a nation's self-image, or heterostereotypes associated with a nation in the outside world, or both. While most "national dish" stereotypes are positive to neutral, they can also acquire the status of ethnic slurs....In some cases, supposed national dishes are similar to urban legends, especially when relating to countries that are exotic from the perspective of another country. E.g., the popularity of fried spiders in Cambodia, dogs in Korea is largely overestimated in the West. Urban legend-like national dishes can also turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy, as demonstrated by the example of the Scottish deep-fried Mars bar, which is believed to have become at least moderately popular after English media circulated the story of its existence. For more on the stereotyped usage of foods and its political implications see Freedom fries."

Although Wiki's politically sensitive preamble quite rightly points out the pitfalls of having a "national dish", it still goes on to stereotype countries according to their food and it still lists fried spiders next to Cambodia.

Now I know that in some parts some Cambodians have been known to eat tarantulas but I'd hardly call it a national dish...when you go to Cambodia you will not find people wandering around snacking on big hairy spiders

For New Zealand, we have pavlova, fish and chips....ok....but what the F*&k is Colonial Goose?????

I'm sure that Canadians will be disappointed to be labelled as "Kraft Dinner Eaters" as much as the Taiwanese would dispute "stinky tofu" as their national dish

The list is the most detailed for English speaking countries, but pretty thin on the ground in terms of everyone else...which makes me think how little it is that we really know about the known edible world outside of our own distinct cultures.

It's a sad but true testament to the low levels of cross-cultural understanding in the world.....it's true, my Chinese aunties seem to believe that western food is primarily steak and chips

So in order to foster a greater sense of cross cultural understanding through food....we are inviting all non-contributing team members and anyone else who wants to, to compile and post a list of "must eats" from your home town....lest we continue to think of you solely as curry munching, colonial goose eating krauts


Wiki's National Dish List

• Argentina - locro, asado, dulce de leche, alfajor.
• Australia- Meat pie, hamburger with beetroot, Vegemite on toast, Pavlova
By state
Queensland - Moreton Bay bug
New South Wales - Balmain Bug
South Australia - Pie floater
• Austria - Sachertorte, wiener schnitzel (Vienna), apfelstrudel
• Bahrain - Machboos/Machbous, Muhammar
• Barbados - Cou-Cou and Flying fish
• Belgium - pommes frites, moules bruxellois (Brussels)
• Bhutan - ema datsi
• Brazil - Feijoada, rice and beans,pão de queijo,churrasco, coxinha, brigadeiro.
• Cambodia - ahmok, fried spider
• Canada - maple syrup, Kraft Dinner, Timbits, Pancakes.
"Cuisine is poorly defined in the national mythos, especially outside of Quebec. However, each region has a distinctive dish or in the case of Quebec, an entirely separate regional cuisine."
By Province or Region
Alberta - steak (beef or bison)
British Columbia - salmon steak, Nanaimo bar
Manitoba - Red River cereal
Newfoundland - fish and chips, flipper pie
Ontario - Pancakes
Quebec - poutine, pea soup, tourtière
• Chile - sea bass, palta (avocado), jaivas (food)
• Greater China
- The staple diets in Northern China are: mantou, bing (Chinese flatbread) and wheat noodles
- South: rice, rice noodles and rice congee.
By city/province:
Beijing - Peking duck, hot pot
Fujian - Popiah, Fotiaoqiang, Oyster omelette
Guangdong - Dim sum, slow cooked soup, Char siu, century egg
Hong Kong - egg tart, dim sum, BBQ pork with rice, wonton noodle soup, pineapple bun
Hunan - Orange chicken
Macau - Galinha à Portuguesa, baked pork chop bun
Shanghai - Xiaolongbao, ci fan tuan, red-cooked stews, Shanghai hairy crab
Sichuan - Szechuan hotpot, Kung Pao chicken, Twice Cooked Pork, Mapo doufu
• Colombia - Bandeja paisa, arepas
By Department:
Santander - Hormigas Culonas
Cundinamarca - Ajiaco
Valle - Sancocho
• Costa Rica - Gallo Pinto, Casados
• Cyprus - Halloumi
• Denmark – Pork Roast, Frikadeller, Smørrebrød
• Egypt - Ful medames, Kushari
• Ethiopia – doro wat (chicken stew) , injera
• Finland - Karelian pasties, mämmi, hernekeitto (Finnish yellow pea soup)
• France - Pot-au-feu, baguette (particularly Paris), cassoulet, truffles,
foie gras (declared part of the French cultural heritage by legislation in 2005)
By region
Alsace - Sauerkraut, tarte flambee
Bordeaux - Entrecôte with Bordelaise sauce
Brittany - Crepes
Burgundy - Coq au vin, beef bourguignon
Lorraine - Quiche lorraine
Normandy - Camembert
Provence - Bouillabaisse, salade nicoise, ratatouille
• Germany - Sauerbraten, sauerkraut, currywurst, doner kebab
• Greece - moussaka, fasolada, Greek salad
• Hungary – goulash
• Iceland - Þorramatur
• India - curry, samosas, naan, chapati, chutney, dal
By region
Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad Biryani, aavakaaya
Goa - Pork Vindaloo, Goan fish curry
Kashmir - Rogan Josh
Kerala- Sadhya
Punjab - Tandoori chicken, aloo gobi, raita
Tamil Nadu - Masala dosa, idli, appam
• Indonesia - Satay, gado-gado, nasi goreng, rijsttafel
• Iran - Chelow kabab
• Ireland – colcannon, Irish stew
• Israel - felafel, Chicken schnitzel
• Italy - pizza, pasta, minestrone, ciabatta, polenta (northern Italy)
By region
Bologna - tortellini, tagliatelle al ragù, mortadella, lasagne, Parmigiano Reggiano
Florence - Bistecca alla Fiorentina
Genoa - foccacia
Naples - Pizza Margherita, gelato
Milan - risotto, ossobuco with gremolata
Rome - porchetta, spaghetti carbonara, Stracciatella
Sardinia - pecorino, pane carasau
Sicily - arancini, caponata, ricotta
Torino - agnolotti, grissini, Gianduiotto
Venice - scampi
• Jamaica - saltfish and ackee
• Japan - sushi, Japanese noodles, tempura, donburi, curry rice
• Jordan - Mansaf
• Korea - kimchi, bulgogi, bibimbap, naengmyeon
• Laos - larb
• Lebanon - Kibbe, Tabbouleh
• Malaysia - nasi lemak, roti canai, char kway teow, satay, assam laksa
• Mexico - pozole, taco, mole, guacamole
• Morocco - couscous, tagine, pastilla, harira
• Myanmar - mohinga
• New Zealand – pavlova, fish and chips, Colonial Goose
• the Netherlands - stamppot, hutspot
• Nicaragua - Gallopinto
• Nigeria - Jolof rice
• Norway – lutefisk, fårikål, kjøttkaker
• Pakistan - Nihari
• Palestine - Musakhan
• Peru - ceviche, quinoa, maize
• Philippines - adobo, lumpia, sinigang, bistek, bangus
• Poland - bigos, barszcz, pierogi
• Portugal - Bacalhau, Feijoada, Pastel de Nata
• Romania - Mamaliga, Mititei, Cozonac, Fasole cu carnati
• Moldova – Grape-leaf Sarmale, Fermented wheat bran Borscht
• Russia – borscht
• Saint Kitts and Nevis - Coconut dumplings, Spicy plantain, saltfish, breadfruit
• Saint Lucia - green figs & saltfish
• Senegal - tiebou dieun
• Singapore - Hainanese chicken rice, curry laksa, chilli crab
• Slovakia - Bryndzové halušky
• Spain - cocido, tapas, paella, chocolate con churros
• Sri Lanka - rice and curry
• Sweden - pea soup, smörgåsbord, köttbullar, sill & surströmming
• Switzerland – rösti, fondue
• Taiwan - Suncake, Stinky tofu, Ba wan, Beef noodle soup
• Tanzania - ugali
• Zanzibar - octopus curry
• Thailand - Pad Thai, gaeng (Thai curry), jasmine rice, tom yam, tom kha gai
• Tunisia - Couscous, brik
• Turkey - döner kebab, pide, köfte, dolma, pilav
• Ukraine - pierogi
• United Kingdom
England – roast beef dinner, fish and chips, chicken tikka masala, English breakfast
Wales – laverbread, Welsh rarebit, Cawl
Scotland – haggis, deep-fried Mars bar
Northern Ireland – Ulster fry
Jersey – Jersey Royal potatoes
Isle of Man - kipper
• United States - apple pie, turkey and pumpkin pie (as part of Thanksgiving dinner), hamburger, hot dog, donut
New England - New England clam chowder, New England clam bake
The South - grits, corn bread, country fried steak, fried chicken, gumbo, barbecue
By state: See List of U.S. state foods for more
California - sourdough bread, hamburgers, fish taco
Hawaii - lau lau, Spam, poi, kalua pig
Illinois - Chicago-style deep dish pizza, Chicago hot dog
Louisiana - jambalaya, Gumbo, Crawfish, po'boy
Maine - lobster
Michigan - coney dog, Pasty
New York - buffalo wings, Manhattan clam chowder, pizza
Pennsylvania - Philly cheesesteak, hoagie
South Dakota - fry bread
Texas - chili con carne
• Uruguay - Chivito, asado
• Venezuela - pabellón criollo, hallaca, arepas
• Vietnam - bánh mì, phở
• Yemen - saltah