I’m not sure who had more fun at the first Si Fang Cai (Secret Supper) – me or the guests. The menu was based (mostly) on Asian hawker food – or “street” food.

The weather cooperated, allowing for drinks and cooking outdoors, before moving inside for an intimate dinner peppered with great conversation.

Hawker Menu

Cocktail
Basil Watermelon Caiparinha *

1st Course
Bulgogi Wan-ja with Tamarind Ssamjang (Korea)
Butabara Kushiyaki – Shio & Tare (Japan)
Xinjiang Chuanr (China)

2nd Course
Dan Dan Mein (China)

3rd Course
Gado Gado (Indonesia)

4th Course
Gang Ga-ree (Thailand)

Dessert
Turon w/Macapuno Fozen Custard (Philippines)

Beverages
Cha Yen (Thailand)

Beer
Tsingtao (China)
Chang, Singha (Thailand)
Kingfisher (India)
Kierin (Japan)

* The basil-watermelon caipirinha is from No Recipes.

Korean Drummer

Vegitarian

Fruit Carving

Thai

Japanese

Bau Ga-Prow (Bangkok Cabin)

Dough Figures (Taiwan)

Steamed Banana Leaves

Shaolin sifu giving marching orders…

Just a random selection of photos from the last couple of months. Detailed posts may follow on some…

Taqueria Los Rayos

Get Coffee

Get Coffee

Beef Shanks

Pesto-stuffed Pork Chops with Caramelized Onions and Kale

Pho Bac

Sop Buntut – Waroeng Corner

Waroeng Corner

Oxtails

Warm weather is coming – no more practicing track stands in the basement!

FINALLY – mangosteens in the US! As far as I knew, I was going to have to wait for a return trip to Thailand. But no more – I found mangosteens (also known as Thai Fruit Crack) on Buford Highway (beware – at $6.99/lb, a small bag cost me $15). Mangosteens don’t have a long shelf life, so between shipping and quarantine the trip is hard on them. Couple that with the fact that it has been illegal to import them for years (fruit flies) and you can see why they are notoriously difficult come by.

Mangosteens are know as the “queen of fruits”. Considering that durian is the “king of fruits”, you’d be forgiven for thinking that mangosteens are skanks – but you’d be wrong.

Actually, go ahead and think that – more for me. In fact, I’m not going to write anything else – I’ve got fruit to eat.

There are as many places to get bahn mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) along Buford Highway as there are places to get pho, some better than others. Lee’s Bakery has long been considered among the best, with Saigon Deli following close behind. Nhu Y Deli is one to avoid. After trying Quốc Hương (in Asian Square – directly across from Saigon Deli) this weekend, it could be the new favorite.

I’ve been trying to figure out what it was that made the bahn mi thit heo nuong so appealing. Typically, it would be the grilled pork, but I really think in this case it’s the generous and liberal serving of vegetables (pickled daikon, carrots and cucumber). I’ve heard good things about the bahn mi ga here, so now I’ve got an excuse to go back – that, and they have a full menu of pho and bun dishes. Pricing is typical of the other Vietnamese shops – $2.50/sandwich, buy 5, get one free. One of the best deals in town.

Quốc Hương
5150 Buford Hwy NE
Doraville, GA 30340

To the best of my recollection, this is what was ordered – I think there were one or two other dishes, but I can’t recall:

• Satay Tofu – fried tofu with stuffed with cucumber and bean sprouts
• Pandan Ayam – chicken wings wrapped with pandanus leaves and deep fried
• Penang Kari Mee – lemongrass/coconut curry with chicken and tofu
• Beef Chow Fun – a milder version of char kway teow
• Hainanese Chicken Rice – I’ve written about this dish before here
• Nasi Lemak – coconut rice with cloves and pandanus, chili-anchovy chicken and fried egg
• Lady Finger Belacan – Okra with belacan (spicy shrimp paste)

(Again, no pictures – Penang is a bit dark and my phone’s camera just doesn’t do a good job in low light.)

Overall, the food was excellent, with generous portions. I do, however, think that some of those new to Malaysian food were a bit challenged by the use of belacan in a few of the dishes.

Penang
4897 Buford Highway
Suite 113
Chamblee, GA 30341

For some reason lot of people still seem to have hang ups about the ethnic markets along Buford Highway. Regardless, BFM is still one of my favorites. The sheer volume of produce, meats and fish that move through this place ensure that you can usually find almost any ingredient you can think of, fresh and of good quality.

Produce Section – huge and crowded

Seasonal – and not in a can

Miles of meat

You do need to be aware that the butchers produce the cuts demanded by their customers, so while you will find T-bones and pork chops – they’re good – but usually not of the best trim. If you’re looking for flanken short ribs, sukiyaki beef, tongue, offal, ox-tail – this is the place to go.

Man’s best friend – Pork Bellies. Time to make pork belly confit again (per Brian Polcyn). I’ve already got the pink salt. BFM sells lard too…

Live tilapia and flounder

Fishmonger (this is about 1/4 of the main fish counter)

The seafood section is massive here, and the selection is, as with all of the departments here, huge. Whole fish can be cleaned and dressed any way you need. Where else in town can you buy live sea squirts?

Sushi grade tuna and octopus

40+ feet of shrimp, clams, octopus, snails, conch, sea squirts, mussels, blue crab, crayfish, eels – you get the idea.

Whole snapper

Whole tilapia

Miles of sauces

Semas (a Mexican sweet bread) – there’s a bakery here as well.

Buford Highway Farmer’s Market
5600 Buford Highway
Doraville, GA 30340

Just checking something on the blog and noticed this as one of the search strings used to find eatbufordhighway.com. That’s gonna take a lot of pho…

Speaking of which, don’t forget to join us Wednesday, May 28 @ 7PM – Pho Dai Loi #2. See “Who Wants to Eat?”

So I had a coconut – don’t ask me why. Now what? First thing is to crack it open and drink the water. Remember, the liquid inside a coconut is coconut water – not coconut milk (Too Much Information: Coconut water is the endosperm (albumin) of the coconut – think of it as the white of an egg, but tastier).

Next is to extract the meat. I took the hard way – I whacked it hard enough to loosen a good bit of the flesh, so I pried it out and peeled away the hard skin with a paring knife (There are easier ways – put it into a 300 degree oven for 10-15 minutes and the flesh will pull away from the shell…). Grating the flesh gives you a few options, including making coconut milk – not as hard as you might think.

Coconut Milk
Mix the grated coconut with a couple of cups hot water and let it soak for about 10 minutes. Squeeze through a strainer or cotton towel and you have thick milk. Set it aside. Repeat the above and you will get – that’s right – thin milk. These can be used separately or combined to vary the richness of your dishes.

So I made coconut milk, right? Well, no. While making fresh coconut milk is easy and the end result is really good, I was getting pretty tired of screwing around with this coconut. I was hungry, impatient, had a good can of Thai coconut milk on hand.

Time to cook.

Onions, galangal and scallions

Curry
Curries are amazingly simple dishes to cook. They invite experimentation and even if you don’t have everything you need, they’re pretty hard to screw up (just use common sense – don’t substitute Tic-tacs for garlic – stuff like that). So is this Indian, Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, Sri Lankan, British? Depends. Sometimes it depends on what you add to the dish. Sometimes it depends on what you decide it is.

The ingredient list is pretty simple, as you can see, nothing is set in stone – I’m not even including measurements (OK, I’ll come back and do it later…):

• 1 onion, peeled, quartered and sliced
• 1 inch pc of minced galangal (has lots of names: blue ginger, ka, etc. Related to ginger, but doesn’t really taste anything like it. But you can substitute ginger here, especially if you’re going for spicy)
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1-1/2 tsp curry paste or powder (either one, variations abound – I tend to use Madras curry and go a bit heavy on it)
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 1 14 oz can tomatoes (diced or crushed – canned seemed to work better, but anything will do)
• 1-2 green chilies, seeded & chopped (again, use your imagination and suit to your palate – I used sambal oelek this time – Indonesian chili paste)
• 1 can coconut milk (you can use half and half, or heavy cream if you’d like. Again, it’s up to you)
• 1/2 cup Water
• Salt (to taste)
• Protein (I really like to use shrimp, but chicken, fish, goat, anything with some semblance of a face will do. You could use vegetables as well. )

Mise for the coconut curry…

Start by sauteing the aromatics (onions, galangal, garlic, chilis) in a bit of oil. After a few minutes, add the spices. Cook a few more minutes, until the spices become fragrant. Add water and tomatoes. Simmer for about 10 minutes to blend the flavors.

Next, add the coconut milk, and simmer for about 5 more minutes. If you’re making ahead (a good idea, as it gives the flavors time to balance) – STOP NOW. Cool it down and refrigerate. Don’t add your protein until you’ve brought it up to temperature again and are getting ready to serve.

I had a pound of shrimp on hand (Atlanta Farmers Market – $4.50/lb for large, head-off – woot!). Just toss ‘em in and let them cook for about 2-3 minutes – you don’t want to over cook here. (Obviously, this needs to be modified if you’re using chicken, or any other meat that doesn’t cook in 2-3 minutes. Par-cook them before adding to the sauce. Same goes for vegetables.) Season with salt to taste and serve over rice (jasmine, basmati – same no rule principle applies). If you want a bit more color and aroma, add some julienned kafir lime leaves in the last phase of cooking. Garnish on the side with whatever you like – diced raw tomatoes, minced hard boiled eggs, lime wedges, additional sambal – or nothing at all. Simple.