Friday the 13th

I like the number 13. I’ve been keeping my eye on the water level in the creek. We had rain these few days but nothing major to cause it to rise too much. Gas prices went over the $4/gal mark. It’s $4.15 yesterday when I got gas for the lawnmower. Well, my hobby became a tad more expensive now – since I use premium gas for my flying machine. Come to think of it – many things that I like have become slightly more  expensive! Then I remembered reading that cocoa prices have risen as well. I love chocolate, especially dark chocolate and they too are slightly more expensive in stores these days. Sure it’s inflation but looking broadly, corn, wheat, rice prices has increased, so has soybeans. I also like Yeo’s brand of soy milk but they are expensive if and when I do find them here locally. So that got me to think about sugar. I used loads of sugar for my coffee – like 4-5 big teaspoons heap of it for 1 regular size cup, that is why I also use and love condensed milk which is FAR sweeter.  Condensed milk price has also increased in the store. I have not seen Sugar cane drinks here but I love to drink sugar cane juice fresh from the cane itself. They will run the cane through a mill-like tabletop machine which squeezes the juice into the cup – foamy and sweet – yum! So..figures show sugar prices hasn’t exactly increased as much as some of the other commodites, relatively speaking – but it would, wouldn’t it? I’ve not heard much of ethanol derived from sugar here but it’s in place in other countries. If oil and corn prices keep going up as they do now, surely, they’d look to sugar as an alternative and I’m sure I’ll hear more about it. I’m (and most other people) not getting much for the same amount of money these days. It’s depressing and we in the Midwest are still under threat for more flooding. But it’s Friday (rainy and dark) and I’m happy that the week is over. I am looking forward to going to Yorktown, IN for their Summer Heat event this weekend which includes hot air balloons; maybe I can fly with the balloons – that would be so awesome!

 

Vegetarian Tom Yum curry/Laksa lunch

This afternoon I had another craving for hot spicy tom yum curry or Laksa. More and more, I’m really missing the authentic real thing I’ve experienced in Singapore. “Necessity  is the mother of inventions” so I cooked this up as a good substitute for the real thing.

I don’t know what my then favorite stall’s recipe is for the dish and probably don’t want to know, lest the surprise and “mystic” is gone…but now that I miss what I have always taken for granted (since you can get the dish almost everyday anytime in Singapore) it’s time to take action and get some sort of a relief for this withdrawal. What makes the laksa so great in Singapore is the clams they put in the dish, which for health reason, alas, is no longer available for the dish. Luckily, the last time I visited the city-state some 4 years ago, I was delighted that the stall asked me if I wanted clams or not! I do!!

My recipe-no exact measurement , just an aggregate and then add as and when with tasting. My main ingredients vary between eggs and tofu or combination of both, sometimes, fish balls if I can find them!

Ingredients: 2 cubes of Knorr Tom yum for broth, 1 can of coconut milk, 1-2 tbsp of soy sauce, any brand of hot spicy chilli paste of your liking (for me I prefer the chilli paste with shrimp) or Yeo’s Singapore Curry paste 4 hard boiled eggs (or however many you feel like having), 1 bag of store bought bean sprouts, bean thread noodles or chinese vermicelli (optional), cilantro for ganish. If I want to have a more hearty mean – I add tofu (bean curd) to the broth.

Method: In a 2-3 qrt pot, boil 1 cup of water to dissolve 2 cubes of knorr tom yum; add coconut milk stir till mixture is nicely combined, add soy sauce, 2-3 BIG spoons of chilli paste and Yeo Singapore curry paste; stir till the ingredients are nice integrated in the broth – taste and add more of the soy sauce, chilli and/or curry paste if needed. Simmer for 20-25 mins. Add the hard boil eggs, bean sprouts to combine. If I add bean thread noodles as well, I will need to cook the bean thread, which is about 3-4 mins , bearing in mind the bean thread will still be “cooking” in the broth after the heat’s turned off.  Don’t over cook the bean thread noodles as they become really “pasty” and lose the elasticity of the noodles as becomes glob-like. (Hey just realized glob is blog spelled backwards!…) OK back to the method – if I only add hard boiled eggs and bean sprouts, I switch off the heat then add the eggs are already cooked and I want to have crunchy bean sprouts so it’s just to “marry” the ingredients with the broth.  Garnish with fresh cilatnro and if fresh chilli peppers are available in the season, I’ll cut them and add to the dishfor the extra “oomph”.

Voila, less than an hour and I have my piping hot meal. I am running out the shrimp paste so I have to pace myself lest I can’t do this dish.