Nuts for Cashews

Piles of ripe, unprocessed cashews in the market in Nam Cat Dien, Vietnam.

These nuts (technically seeds) grow beneath a dupe or false fruit.  The false fruit falls off and the cashews are harvested, the skins and shells mechanically removed due to toxins and then the seed itself undergoes some heat treatment to get rid of the poison ivy-like chemicals (yes, even the ones sold as raw.)

In some countries the cashew apple is used as a fruit (it is astringent and can irritate some folks).  In others it is fermented into a wine or made into a liquor.  I saw it as a fruit in Vietnam and tasted some vile liquor made from it when I was in southern India.

Vietnam was the world's largest grower of cashews in 2012. I also show plantations of the plants with their colorful cashew apples in northern Cambodia, where they (and rubber trees) were being planted to reforest the deforested jungle and forest areas.

A note: due to Google Blogger mobile inadequacies photos aren't laid out exactly how I'd like them and you, the raeader, are used to, but once I return home I'll clean everything up.

Crisps (or Chips) Ahoy -- Lobster and Other Flavored Potato Snacks

The availability of snack food, or processed ones in general, varies throughout Southeast Asia. But one junk food seen almost everywhere is the potato chip (called crisps in much of the world). While they have the standard salt, salt and vinegar and barbecue flavors the ones in SE Asia also feature lots of seafood seasoning such as shrimp, squid, and lobster (shown above).

Other flavors I've seen are chili, seaweed, and rosemary. Friends tell me of one in Thailand with two flavors mixed in one bag -- lobster and cheese.  

Leave a comment below with any exotic chip flavors you may have spotted on your travels.

Together for the For the First but Not the Last Time

I keep getting press releases that announce sirarcha (chili paste sauce) with mayonnaise is the new taste sensation of 2015.  While I don't disagree that sirarcha mayonnaise (or wasabi mayo or chipotle mayo) is seriously good, my new love is ketchup mixed with the chili sauce.

I first tried this as a dip for fries in Banlung, Cambodia, and I've been mixing globs of ketchup and the sauce on the side of my plate to accompany all kinds of dishes from noodles to sandwiches to fried rice since.

Sometimes I make it spicy, sometimes the chili is just a hint but the combo's sassy sweet-hot-acid taste is always a nice addition. 

Try it yourself. Always practice safe condiments and don't double dip if you are sharing.

How Sweet They Were

These fried dough treats are from the market in Banlung, Cambodia.  The provincial and commercial capital of Ratanakiri Province, a remote region near the Vietnamese and Laotian borders with a large ethnic minority population and beautiful jungle and nature preserves, it is also where guest houses, hostels, hotels and restaurants cluster for the locals and the increasing number of foreign visitors who mostly come to trek and see a wild area before more deforestation takes place and the once mighty mahogany forest is totally replaced by cashew and rubber tree plantations.

To get back to the fritters, these are made of rice four as near as I could ascertain and covered in sugar.  The ones with the sticky brown topping are frosted with palm sugar syrup, which is sweet without being cloying and has a strong taste of its own, perhaps a bit vegetal, that I found very pleasant.

Conveniently, these pastries were located right next to my favorite coffee vendor in Southeast Asia, but that's a post for another day.

Beef on a Stick in Siem Reap

Let others ooh and ahh over the monuments at Angkor Wat; plenty of folks have brought home amazing photos and insights of these temples.  I want to sing the praises of a local restaurant not featured in Tripadvisor or Lonely Planet in a humble neighborhood just minutes away from the night market and Pub Alley but worlds away in terms of style, intent and customers. 

Near the Wat Damnak was a small stall with a charcoal grill out front, a child's artwork on the walls, small plastic chairs, low tables and the best lemongrass marinated grilled beef you can imagine, served with a side of tart salad papaya salad and cool green tea.

This is one of the recipes I plan on developing when I get home, so watch for more info and directions.  Meanwhile the memory of this meal is one of my favorite souvenirs.

A Grinding New Obsession -- Fresh Green Peppercorns

Look closely.  See those little green nuggets mixed in with the crab and seasoning?  They are fresh green peppercorns.  They are used whole, usually attached in grape-like bunches to a bit of stem.

Not only do they add a bit of heat and a lot of flavor to what they are cooked with, but you can eat the fresh peppercorns (and even the stems) for additional heat and deliciousness.

I first had this amazing seasoning, so different from the brined or dried green peppercorns we see in the USA, in Phnom Penh, when an Israeli expat who grows them brought some for the local Chabad to use in a beef and green peppercorn entree for Friday night dinner.

I next had them at Otress Beach 2 (near Sihanoukville), Cambodia, which is near the peppercorn growing region of Kampot.  The green peppercorns are the fresh unripened and undried fruit of the plant.  They are very perishable and hard to ship, which limits their availability.  Besides having this crab dish and a sautéed seafood dish with them in Otress, we had them on Koh Rong Salaem island off the Cambodian coast.  We also spotted them in a few markets in Cambodia.  Here's a link to a crab and peppercorn recipe .  Once I return home and see if I can find fresh green peppercorns I'll post my own recipes.

We Get a Kick from a Tabletop Grill

Ever hear of  sepak takraw or kick volleyball?  It's a sport my husband follows and he g0t introductions to the Cambodian national team before we headed out to Southeast Asia. After watching an informal practice the players took us out us to a bbq/grill restaurant where we cooked over a table top charcoal grill prawns, squid, beef and veggies. There were several sauces, of which the lime, pepper salt was our favorite. We also snacked on air-dried beef, crispy fried duck tongues and other local delicacies. We also had lots and lots of Cambodia brand beer (served with large ice cubes.)

Khmer and Get It: Banana Pancakes in Cambodia

I had these banana Khmer pancakes with chocolate and coconut caramel in Phnom Penh. I had Khmer or Cambodian pancakes throughout the country and they varied from something like we'd make in the USA to a crepe to something made in a special shaped pan,.  No matter what they looked like they were always delicious.

Spying inside the Russian Market

One of several markets we visited in Phnom Penh. I never figured out exactly why it was called the Russian Market.  There were no nesting dolls, caviar or vodka in sight.  Supposedly this became the market used by foreigners in Cambodia back in the 1980s when most foreigners there were ... Russian   The proper name for the market is Phsar Tuol Tom Pong. Like many of the markets I've been to in SE Asia, lighting in the market is very dim.

You Don't Know Jackfruit

I've become obsessed with jackfruit, shown here in a market in Cambodia.  There is a lot of waste since these nuggets of creamy tasting sweet tart goodness have quite extensive natural packaging (and each of them also contains a large seed).  I've had jackfruit before but never had access to so much with so little work on my part for so little money.  I may have overdone it a bit. 

Going Bananas for Cambodian Dessert

Another recipe from my Phnom Penh cooking class.  Sago (tapioca) noodles, coconut milk, bananas and  palm sugar. It thickens as it stands but stays a bit on the liquid side. Delicious, easy and satisfying with lots of texture but not at all too sweet or gooey. 

The Breakfast of Tourists

Rice porridge soup, or rice noodle soup when we can't find it, is our breakfast of choice when we are in Asia.  This is the first bowl of many this trip.  This one was slurped in a little noodle soup stand across from our hostel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  The stand was set up on the sidewalk with a low table and little plastic chairs.  After the breakfast trade was done, the Noodle Lady packed up and the sidewalk became a motorcycle parking lot. (Sidewalks are not for walking in Phnom Penh.)

Southeast Asia Photo of the Day

I can't promise every day, since I don't have wifi availability all the time, but I'll try to share some of the amazing (usually) food related pix of my current trip on a regular basis.  I'll mostly be keeping them in chronological order. I might also share some ideas or recipes.

First up this photo from Phonm Penh, Cambodia, is the Green Mango Salad I made at La Table Khmere Cooking School and Restaurant. A little sweet, a little tart, a little salty with a nice crunch and lightness, I'll be making this again when I get home.

Happy 2015

I'm traveling in Southeast Asia, but promise I'll find some time to catch up on some content, recipes, stories, etc.  here's wishing you a year of adventure, health, happiness and good things to eat and share.  The photo is of a dish of chicken amok steamed in banana leaf I made in a Phnom Penh cooking class.