Re: Re: [CH] Re: Devil Curry ?? (AND more than you want to know about vinegar)
Art Pierce (pierces@cruzio.com)
Tue, 05 Jan 1999 17:24:08 -0800
>Date: Mon, 04 Jan 1999 13:52:21 -0500
>From: jim wolfe <yoda@clark.net>
>Subject: Re: [CH] Re: Devil Curry ??
>extra or strong vinegar can be gotten at most oriental
>food stores (at least around here)
~~~
>>Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 10:45:16 -0600
>>From: "Tom F. Bryant" <tfbxgp@neto.com>
>>Subject: Re: [CH] Re: Devil Curry ??
>Tom F. Bryant wrote:
>>
>> I know I'm pretty "ignernt", but I need some tutoring
>> on these ingredients.
>>
>> 1) serai (bruised)
>> 2) lengkuas
>> 3) babi panggang
>> 4) "extra" vinegar
>>
>> What the heck are they,
>> and where on the internet can I obtain them?
>>
>> Thanky,
>> Tom
~~~
Tom,
Hope this helps with the "What the heck are they?" part
of the recipe that Myron Menaker recommended at:
http://home1.pacific.net.sg/~troi/eurcurry.html
.
As to where to get them (other than your local Oriental markets
or large chain supermarkets) on the net, I don't know, but
I've included substitutions for 1) lemongrass and 2) galangal root
and you can make your own 3) BBQ pork.
~~~
A search at http://www.infind.com/
turns up
1) serai = sereh = lemongrass
(serai, or citronella, also the common name of lemongrass
Genus, Cymbopogon, of the Family, Gramineae.
Grass-like plant with a strong lemon flavor.
Sold fresh, dried and powdered.
Fresh: remove outer stalks and chop finely to be used in dish
or pound stalks to bruise them and cook with dish;
remove them before serving.
Dried: Use for cooking, then remove before serving.
Powdered: Use sparingly in cooking, will still give a wonderful flavor
to dishes.
As a substitute you can use zest of lemon, half a lemon or lemon juice.)
~~~
2) lengkaus = galangal root
Lengkuas is the Malay word for the root
known in English, Spanish, and German as galangal;
it is otherwise known as \fIlaos\fR (Indonesia),
\fIsouchet long\fR (Vietnam),
or \fIkha\fR (Thai and Laotian).
Of the same plant family as ginger. Darker in color
than ginger with distinct rings around root. Flesh has
a hint of pink. Sold fresh, dried and powdered.
Fresh: Slice before use and remove before serving.
If using dried Galangal, soak in water for ½ hour before use.
Powdered Galangal is known as Laos powder
and can be used in marinades and sauces.
As a substitute you can use a mixture of
4 parts ginger to 1 part cardamom.
~~~
3) babi (pork)
panggang (sweet & sour sauce, or your own barbeque sauce)
(Babi Panggang is roasted pork tenderloin with sweet and sour sauce,
a very tasty Indonesian dish of Chinese origin.)
~~~
4) The usual vinegar of Asian cooking is rice vinegar
which is typically diluted to around 4.0-4.5% acidity (40-45 grain),
so my guess is that the "extra vinegar" in this recipe
probably means any vinegar at or above 5 percent (50 grain).
If this assumption is wrong, any of the C-Hefs out there please correct
me.
~~~
[Everything beyond this point is a little off the subject unless you're
an (acetic) Acid-Head.]
Way more than you want to know about vinegar, from Epicurious, etc.
http://www.epicurious.com/
Vinegar [VIHN-ih-ger] Derived from the French vin aigre ,
"sour wine," vinegar is made by bacterial activity thats converts
fermented liquids such as wine, beer or cider into a weak
solution of acetic aid (the constituent that makes it sour).
Vinegar has been used for millenniums for everything from
beverages (like shrubs), to an odor-diminisher for strong foods
such as cabbage and onions, to a hair rinse and softener.
Quick process vinegar, which takes 2 to 3 days, is made by
recirculating the fermented liquid with sprayers down through
a stack of porous material, all in contact with forced air.
Slow process vinegar, which takes at least a year, is made in
containers of squeezed and fermented liquids from every fruit
or vegetable. The containers are vented to the air and kept
about 80% full. The alcohol in the fermented liquid has its natural
oxidation (to acetic acid) assisted by bacteria (bacterium xylinum).
There is a multitude of vinegar varieties available today.
In the United States, the most popular styles are the fruity
apple cider vinegar, made from fermented apple cider, and
the rather harsh-tasting distilled white vinegar, made from a
grain-alcohol mixture.
Su [SOO], Japanese rice vinegar, which is mild and slightly
sweet, is made from fermented rice, is widely used in
Asian cooking. Uses vary, such as for dressing sunomono
(vinegared food) and other foods, for seasoning,
for acidulated water to retain color in vegetables,
and in sushi meshi, the rice used for SUSHI dishes.
Su, natural, or seasoned (with sugar and salt), is available
in Asian markets and most larger supermakets.
In Britain the favorite is the mild, slightly bitter malt vinegar,
obtained from malted barley.
Glucose vinegar always has the taste of fermented flour.
The vinegar made from second or third squeezings,
or from the residue, of fruits and vegetables
has a very characteristic (musty) smell.
Herb vinegars are made by steeping fresh herbs such as
dill, mint, rosemary, oregano or tarragon in lighter-colored vinegars.
Spice vinegars are made by steeping spices such as cumin-,
fennel- and mustard-seeds, or peppercorns in darker-colored vinegars.
Fruit vinegars include those made with raspberries
and blueberries.
Cane vinegar is made from
sugarcane and has a rich, slightly sweet flavor.
The French and most Europeans prefer pleasantly pungent
wine vinegars, which can be made from either red or white
wine.
"The better the mother, the better the vinegar." All vinegar
is made by a slimy, gummy, fungus-like substance, which
is called mère de vinaigre in French and usually just the
"mother" in English. It tends to clog the porous material
in the quick process. The mother is made up of various
bacteria — specifically mycoderma aceti — that
cause fermentation, turning the sugar and alcohol into vinegar.
Its growth is best fostered in a medium-warm environment
(59°-86°F, 15°C-30°C ).
In the slow process, the mother makes its first appearance
in the form of a light veil, which penetrates the liquid
more and more, forming a thick, folded, sticky skin on and
near the surface (alcohol 'floats', acetic acid 'sinks').
The mother of particularly good tasting vinegars should be
transferred to a new batch (mixture) of fermented liquid
With vinegars that turn out less tasty, once all the fermented
liquid has turned to vinegar, simply discard the mother.
~~~
And then there's balsamico, a whole 'nother ballgame.
Sam Gugino writes:
True balsamic vinegar, or aceto balsamico tradizionale, isn't really
vinegar at all. It isn't made like vinegar, it doesn't taste like
vinegar, and it certainly doesn't cost the same as vinegar: A 100-ml
bottle of 1855 San Geminiano, for instance, costs $200 (around $60 per
ounce).
"It's not even referred to as vinegar but as a condimento," says
balsamico authority Lynne Rossetto Kasper, author of The Splendid Table.
Kasper likens the taste of true balsamico to a combination of old Port,
classic brown sauce and a well-aged Bordeaux - a universe away from "the
stuff that can take paint off walls and sells for $2.99 a bottle." The
latter is commonly referred to as commercial balsamic vinegar, or aceto
balsamico industriale.
Balsamico isn't poured; it's doled out by the thimble, sometimes even by
the eyedropper or perfume atomizer. If that makes balsamico sound like a
drug, that's because it almost is. The name "balsamic" is related to the
word "balm," and generations of Italians have used this condiment as
such. The Duke of Modena, for instance, allegedly carried balsamico with
him wherever he went to ward off the plague-filled air of 1630, and
Lucrezia Borgia said that it staved off the pain of childbirth.
Balsamico was created some 1,000 years ago in the provinces of Modena
and Reggio in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Legend has it that
around this time, invading Germans were bought off with a ransom of this
elixir; even today, balsamico is part of a highborn bride's dowry.
For most of the intervening time, balsamico was not sold commercially
but only shared among friends and coveted by nobility. Indeed, few
outside of Emilia-Romagna knew of its existence. After World War II,
consortia in Modena and Reggio were formed and got balsamico the same
status as wines under Italy's Denominazione di Origine Controllata
(DOC).
Balsamico starts out, like vinegar, with the juice of grapes, primarily
Trebbiano but also Lambrusco, Occhio di Gatto, Berzemino and Spergola.
Instead of allowing that juice, or must, to become wine, it is simmered
24 to 30 hours to concentrate flavors and lightly caramelize the natural
sugars. The resulting mosto cotto (cooked must) is cooled, then put in
barrels where it ferments and goes through acetic oxidation, the same
process that creates vinegar.
The key to making balsamico is the way it is aged, a variation of the
Spanish solera system used for making Sherries. After acetic oxidation,
the balsamico is put into several progressively smaller barrels, each
made of a different wood (these barrels are collectively called a
batteria). Each wood--oak, chestnut, cherry, ash and mulberry--imparts
its own special quality. Barrels are so prized that when they begin to
disintegrate from wear, they are not discarded; instead, new barrels are
built around their remains. The conditions under which these barrels are
kept would send winemakers into cardiac arrest - the barrels are left
unprotected in attics called acetaia, giving the balsamico a kind of
shock therapy from the sultry summers and frigid winters in Modena and
Reggio.
After the balsamico reaches the last and smallest barrel, it is drained
off and stored in tiny casks or jugs to mellow for decades. It is not
uncommon for balsamicos to pass the century mark in age. Thus, the
Modenese saying, "One generation makes balsamic for the next."
A bottle of true, artisan-made balsamico must have the word tradizionale
on the label. Aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena (from Modena, the
larger producer of the two regions) comes in a small bulbous bottle.
Vecchio (12 to 24 years old) has a white cap, and extra vecchio (at
least 25 years old) has a gold cap. Aceto balsamico tradizionale di
Reggio Emilia (from Reggio) comes in a vase-shaped bottle with red
(tradizionale), silver (qualita superiore) or gold (extra vecchio)
labels, signifying ascending levels of quality.
In recent years there has been a rise in artisan-made, high-quality
balsamicos - usually called "condiment-quality" - that don't have DOC
certification. But without DOC certification, quality varies widely.
Meesha Halm, author of The Balsamic Vinegar Cookbook, warns: "The more
it boasts about age or that it's from Modena, the more I'd be wary. A
15-year-old balsamic doesn't have to have more than a drop of
15-year-old in the blend."
Halm suggests relying on reputable producers of condiment-quality
balsamicos such as Bertoni Sante, Cavalli, Sereni Pier Luigi and
Manicardi. Kasper adds the names of Hermes Malpighi and Noe from Emilio
Carandini. For industriale, Halm recommends Cattani, Fiorucci, Giusti,
Grosoli and Manicardi.
Recently, I tasted three types of tradizionale from Cavalli of Reggio,
along with its condiment-quality balsamico (called balsamic seasoning),
and Elsa, a condiment-quality balsamico from Modena. Elsa was nicely
viscous with a rich brown color and fruity flavor but a noticeable
acidic kick. The Cavalli balsamic seasoning wasn't as thick or as dark
but had attractive fall and dried-fruit flavors and was less acidic. The
red label was thick and rich with strong elements of brown sugar. The
silver was rich, herbal and wonderfully balanced. [And, IMHO, the best
value for the money - Art.] The gold was intensely brown, with an almost
spreadable texture and flavors of brown sugar, brown sauce and
mushrooms.
As with olive oil, the higher the quality of the balsamico, the less is
needed and the more it should be used without adulteration. For example,
commercial or lower-quality condiment balsamicos could be used in
marinades and salad dressings, whereas higher-quality condiment
balsamicos and tradizionale should be kept for the finish of a dish-- a
few drops on a roasted chicken, grilled meats, seafood or vegetables. In
The Splendid Table, Kasper recommends adding and dissolving small
pinches of brown sugar (to individual yaste) to slightly "improve"
lower-quality condiment balsamicos.
It's also not uncommon to mix a little of the higher-quality balsamicos
with lower-quality condiment or commercial balsamicos. Tradizionale can
even be drizzled on fresh fruit (especially oranges, melons and berries)
or desserts. Or you can drink your tradizionale straight, as a liqueur.
For the money you will spend on this treat, you want to enjoy every bit
of it.
~~~
Art