you know how to cook?

[Pomai]

Re: you know how to cook?

Lavagal's recipe brings up an important point regarding the subject of this thread, "you know how to cook?"

One of the biggest challenges in cooking is understanding ingredients, and most importantly, knowing where to buy it.

For instance, that recipe asks for Cucumber Yogurt Sauce. Where on earth do I get that? Well, obviously in South Africa, but where in Hawaii can you buy that?

Chung Choi is another good example. If I wasn't guided properly on what and where to get that, my Jook would have eternally suffered the proper flavor.

Many foreign recipes are bound to ask for ingredients that are unfamiliar and sometimes unaccessible.

Food for thought (pun intended).

[Miulang]

Re: you know how to cook?

For instance, that recipe asks for Cucumber Yogurt Sauce. Where on earth do I get that? Well, obviously in South Africa, but where in Hawaii can you buy that?.

Cucumber yogurt sauce is called "raita". It's easy to make. Raita and curry are East Indian dishes, and were probably brought over to South Africa by the East Indian servants of Boer South Africa. It goes especially well with any spicy curry.

Miulang

[AbsolutChaos]

Re: you know how to cook?

Cucumber yogurt sauce is called "raita". It's easy to make. Raita and curry are East Indian dishes, and were probably brought over to South Africa by the East Indian servants of Boer South Africa. It goes especially well with any spicy curry.

Miulang

Yum...I love riata. I can't eat my Indian food without raita or at least yogurt. I make the Indian restaurants here dig that up for me or I can't eat what I order. Lucky for me, my boyfriend uses yogurt everyday for his breakfast shakes, so when he makes Indian food, I always have the yogurt available. The need for yogurt in food is a South Indian thing.

As to recipes, at least with Indian ones with so many ingredients, the food still won't turn out right if you don't add ingredients in just the right order and give it all the proper amount of time to simmer and cook so that the spices really have a chance to really soak into the food. Indian food can be tricky to make even if you manage to find all the right spices.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: you know how to cook?

"No, I don't even know how long to boil my corn flakes in the morning."

Oh, jeez, LikaNui --- everyone KNOWS you don't boil corn flakes! They should be GRILLED! And on your engine block, too.

[LikaNui]

Re: you know how to cook?

Oh, jeez, LikaNui --- everyone KNOWS you don't boil corn flakes! They should be GRILLED!

Geez, now you tell me. I tried the corn flakes in the rice cooker this morning. Not so good. Was gonna go buy a deep fryer tomorrow and try that, so you just saved me a bundle. Thanks!
So, to grill the corn flakes I guess I've gotta get real agressive with 'em and ask 'em some hard questions under some real bright lights?
Man, this cooking stuff is hard.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: you know how to cook?

Man, this cooking stuff is hard.

You're telling me! (Now, where did I put that ice-cube recipe...?)

[Pomai]

Re: you know how to cook?

So, to grill the corn flakes I guess I've gotta get real agressive with 'em and ask 'em some hard questions under some real bright lights? Man, this cooking stuff is hard.

Yeah, that would be tough.

At lease when you grill a big chunk of beef, if it doesn't give you the correct answer, you can give it a hard punch.

How can you punch out a bunch of corn flakes? They might gang up on you.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: you know how to cook?

At lease when you grill a big chunk of beef, if it doesn't give you the correct answer, you can give it a hard punch.

Before you punch it, do you ask "Eh, you like beef?"

[scrivener]

Re: you know how to cook?

How is riata different from tzatziki? Indian food is something I've always approached with some caution, mostly because of my formerly timid palate. Greek food makes me dance dance 'round in circles.

Tzatziki is so yummy, it is sometimes the reason I eat Greek food. If south-Indian food uses something similar, I'm going to have to make a few forays this weekend. I'm serious.

[Miulang]

Re: you know how to cook?

How is riata different from tzatziki? Indian food is something I've always approached with some caution, mostly because of my formerly timid palate. Greek food makes me dance dance 'round in circles.

Tzatziki is so yummy, it is sometimes the reason I eat Greek food. If south-Indian food uses something similar, I'm going to have to make a few forays this weekend. I'm serious.

Better find some good Indian restaurants in town, Scriv (ask AbsolutChaos for some suggestions)...tzaziki is exactly like raita, except it has olive oil and garlic in it (raita doesn't). And not all Indian food is spicy, depends on the region of India. If you start with tandoori and naan, that's not spicy at all. Oooh! And a mango lhassi (mango, yogurt yummy drink)!!!

Miulang

[Leo Lakio]

Re: you know how to cook?

Miulang (hau`oli la hanau, btw) - ever so slightly to the side of the topic, let me recommend a couple restaurants in the Queen Anne area, if you've not been:
Indian - try Banjara, at the top of the hill (corner of QA & Boston)
Greek - Panos Kleftiko, on 5th Ave. near Tower Records - AMAZING place; the entrees are exceptional, but you can make a meal out of several of the dozens of appetizer choices (Scrivener - come visit for the tzatziki, stay for the saganaki!)

[newroots]

Re: you know how to cook?

have you ever tried spam kelaguen? you probably have. try makin sometime. heres how...

get 1 can of spam , chop it up into small pieces..

(or you can just smash it up with your hands until its in a million bite size pieces)

get about half a cup of lemon , than put salt and peppers until it tastes good.. its mostly eaten with , of course , rice

[cezanne]

Re: you know how to cook?

Mmmmmm! Spam poke! jk

have you ever tried spam kelaguen? you probably have. try makin sometime. heres how...

get 1 can of spam , chop it up into small pieces..

(or you can just smash it up with your hands until its in a million bite size pieces)

get about half a cup of lemon , than put salt and peppers until it tastes good.. its mostly eaten with , of course , rice

[scrivener]

Re: you know how to cook?

Better find some good Indian restaurants in town, Scriv (ask AbsolutChaos for some suggestions)...tzaziki is exactly like raita, except it has olive oil and garlic in it (raita doesn't).

Well, I did. I never forgot this conversation, and when Spring Break kicked in, I knew I'd have to make a stop somewhere with the sole intention of trying stuff with raita.

Two friends and I went to Cafe Maharani on King Street (where one of my favorite cafes, Javarama, used to be) and we just WENT TO TOWN. We ordered the three-person combination special (appetizers, bread, rice, three entrees of our choice, and dessert for $54.99). My friends and I had lamb masala curry, shahi chicken korma, and beef saag ghosat (which was kinda like chicken luau, only with beef instead of chicken, and spinach instead of luau), with some naam bread and lots of raita and tamarind sauce.

I prefer tzatziki, but man...that raita is good stuff. It made everything better, and everything was very good to begin with! *sigh*

Renee Fleming and great Indian food in the same week...that's just too much beauty in too short a time for me. Thanks for the recommendation, AbsolutChaos and Miulang!

Oh yeah...dessert. We had gulab jamun (recommended by a reviewer at HawaiiDiner.com, which is described in the menu as "juicy cheese balls dipped in syrup," but were really like small, cold andagi soaked in honey-sugar syrup. It was okay. Maybe I should have put the raita on it!

[Adri]

Re: you know how to cook?

Oh, jeez, LikaNui --- everyone KNOWS you don't boil corn flakes! They should be GRILLED! And on your engine block, too.

LOL! I thought that Manifold Stew was the only thing you could cook with a car

http://soup.allrecipes.com/az/MnifldStw.asp

eta: I like to cook. If I have the time and am in the mood for it *g*