food cravings...

i've been suffering yummy-food-withdrawal symptoms since returning from NY... just like i did when i returned from my visit back to singapore... you see (or perhaps you don't unless you are there and sampled some of the food i tried)... even takeaways in NY boast great taste quality and are actually slightly cheaper than they cost in Edinburgh (which on top of the price difference, they also don't taste terribly authentic, which is why i rarely eat out in asian/chinese restos)... i think my enthusiasm with how efficient and tasty takeaways are really amused my hosts... it must be such a norm... such lucky peeps!

you won't believe it but you can get really authentic "Mee-pok tah" (i.e. cooked flat-egg-noodles served dry with sesame oil and magical sauce seasoning (magical because i still haven't quite figure it out what it actually consists of), garnished with sliced and minced pork and spring onions and a separate bowl of soup) in NY's Chinatown... boy was i chuffed (i had to snap a pic for remembrance!)... i didn't even know how deprived i've been... oh the joys of re-discovering food you grew up eating... jubilation!

i also tried this Primadeli curry pre-mix thingy that my brother has been raving about... i didn't even know it exists! i've been relying on Asian Home Gourmet in times of desperate home-food cravings... which seems rather authentic but perhaps not quite as good as prima-taste?! darn... one fine day... i'd love to actually learn the proper recipes to all the fantastic scrumptious delectable cuisine of asia... that way... i'll get to enjoy them wherever i might be!

right now... i am still reliant on my random sprees of cooking creativity and my sketchy food memories in re-creating some tastes of home... sometimes it does get close enough... sometimes i end up with interesting fusion dishes... sometimes they end up in the bin... ! oh well... heee.

ahh... it's so hard to get motivated sometimes... you almost need to want to eat something particular to be able to conjure some enthusiasm and then try to accommodate the idea based on what ingredients you have or can possibly find...

well, last weekend i decided that feeling sorry for myself is rubbish... and i should try to re-create some of the dishes i miss... with this new-found inspiration, i went food shopping... i brought home some nice ingredients from the asian and local supermarkets: some frozen raw large tiger prawns (something i hardly get because it's rather dear), a few new saucy sauces, chinese vegies and fresh tofu among other things...

with some of the exciting ingredients, i made Chicken Rice with the help of Asian Home Gourmet's Hainanese Chicken Rice ground spices which did the job quite well... but i don't have the nice ginger dip nor the chilli sauce which i should try to find out how they are prepared... anyone out there who knows the secret, please please share!!! i simply adore chicken rice...

yesterday, i prepared some mangetout with the lovely prawns and tofu by stir-fying them in a lovely sticky eggy sauce and had that with rice... i was surprised it actually worked but i was so hungry i forgot to take a wee picture of it as proof. oh well.

today... i was ransacking my food cupboard for inspiration and discovered that i do have a bottle of Orient Laksa sauce (spicy shrimpy paste for a noodle-y curry dish that is well-known in Penang. Malaysia and well-loved in Singapore too!)... it was screaming "use-me" when i found it... so i'll try to fix something up with that... it's good that i also have some fried beancurd (tau-pok) and more prawnies... and some thick rice noodles and coconut milk that i can use... how exciting... lala lalala... let's see how it'll turn out! (fingers crossed!)

[UPDATE: a little later...]

it was a coincidence that N had also prepared something from home... chicken in a spicey (read 'lethal') Mexican sauce... and offered me some to try in exchange for a taste of my silly concoction... boy was it formidable... this stuff is much hotter than the hottest green vindaloo curry i've tasted (i.e. London city's Kahn's) but it's rather interesting... the spiciness doesn't manifest itself with your first bite... it comes only slowly... the taste itself is subtle and earthy... and has a tinge of 'tomatoey' flavour even though she didn't add any tomatoes... really intriguing... and very incredible... it worked a good sweat out of me!

i later pestered N to show me her WMD... lethal chillies... my golly... they can be found in huge sizes... but don't be fooled, it's the little ones that are the most powerful... ha.

... having had the hot vorspeise... the laksa tasted sweet and mild... with particular sprightliness when you get a bit of the cilantro/corriander... absolutely divine...

how will i ever cope without these pre-mixed/prepared pastes and spices?! hmmmm.

posted by ~overacuppa~ on Tuesday, 26 April, 2005 at 19:56 hrs