Week 20: Thailand

I don't know why it didn't occur to me that Thailand is some sort of monarchy (a constitutional monarchy to be specific) . Duh, "Anna and the King of Siam"? Thailand used to be called Siam up until about 1939? Hello!


Some additional fun facts we learned about Thailand:

• Thailand has never been taken over by a European power.
• The country is 95% Buddhist.
• Number of coups d'etat since 1932: eighteen.
• Thailand is the number one rice exporter in the world.

And speaking of carbo-liciousness, Thai noodley dishes are some of my favorite comfort foods. I can't decide whether I like the old standby of Pad Thai with all its fishy, limey, peanutty flavors, or Pad See Ew with its wide noodles swimming in thick, sweet soy sauce gravy. Please also give me some fresh rolls with fresh mint, crunchy veggies, and maybe some shrimps. I adore chicken satay with peanut sauce. In fact, I don't think I have met a Thai dish I didn't love.

I can't go too spicey, but my trusty glass of Thai iced tea, generously laced with cream, will help cool off any flavas that get too excited. [Insert David Carradine joke.]

Hands down my favorite curry in the entire world is a Thai coconut curry of any color liberally sprinkled with some fresh cilantro or Thai basil. This is what inspired this week's recipe, which I sort of half-assed made up and used prepackaged stuff.

I sautéd some onion and shiitake mushrooms, and some red and orange bell peppers. I simmered some coconut milk with some Thai red curry paste (from a jar). I added some shrimps, the sauted veggies, and voila! We topped it with basil and cilantro from the garden and ate it over white rice. Fantastic!

Week 19: Iran

The BBC has a great profile of Iran: "Persia, as Iran was known before 1935, was one of the greatest empires of the ancient world, and the country has long maintained a distinct cultural identity within the Islamic world by retaining its own language and adhering to the Shia interpretation of Islam."

Iran's primary exports are petroleum (who knew?), carpets (do you think they're Persian carpets?) and agricultural products.

Check out some hilarity and excellent banter on The Daily Show regarding Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It will be interesting to see if the results of the recent election in Iran will keep him in power. Sounds like there is a lot of unrest surrounding the results of the election, with quite some violence in Tehran.

Speaking of violence and crazy world leaders, this reminds us that thanks to former President Bush #43, Iran has the distinction of being our first Geography of the Delicious nation to also be a founding member of the prestigious Axis of Evil! Congratulations Iran! We thought you just belonged to the Axis of Deliciousness.

Chelo kebab

The internet seems to agree that this is the most popular and most famous Iranian dish.

1/2 lb ground lamb
1 egg
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp marjoram

Place ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Use your hands--it's funner than making mud pies because you actually get to eat the results of this. Once ingredients are thoroughly mixed, divide mixture into four portions and shape each portion into a long hotdoggity shape. Grill on your bbq until cooked through. Serve with buttery rice and grilled tomatoes.

We loved the flavor of the cinnamon with the marjoram in the lamb. Grilling the meat made it much less greasy than lamb tends to be, which I think was a plus. This is pretty much individually-sized Iranian meatloaf.

Week 18: Democratic Republic of The Congo

Hey, don't confuse the Democratic Republic of The Congo with the Republic of the Congo. Uhoh, my attention span is already at its limit.

But wait. We are francophiles (that means we like all things French, duh, that's my name) and the République démocratique du Congo (that's French) was formerly the Belgian colony from 1908 - 1960, the Belgian Congo (not to be confused with the unreleased 3rd installment of the Dirty Dancing trilogy, Dirty Dancing: Belgian Congo, staring Zach Efron).

Did someone say Belgian? Holy croissants, batman! Does this mean there might be some French influence in the cuisine? As much as this whole "geography of the delicious" thing is broadening my horizons, give me a goddamn baguette and some fricken fracken camembert, les bitches!

Dr. Congo, as I like to call this country, has both dense tropical rainforest and areas where drought is common. AIDS is a major issue here, as is human trafficking. Violence, famine, and disease are all very real threats for the Congolese people. It's heavy, heavy stuff.

Holy pain au chocolat, batman! The official language is French! But alas, the cuisine seems not to have retained any sort of Belgian or French influence. Even so, their national dish, Chicken Moambe*, looked like a winner to us. And indeed it was. It was very rich from all the peanutbuttery goodness, and the chicken was so tender it just fell apart.

Chicken Moambe

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper

pinch of red pepper
1 T butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/4 tsp nutmeg
10 oz tomato sauce
1/3 cup peanut butter, chunky style

Put chicken in a large pot. Add salt and pepper. Cover with water, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until tender 1 hour. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onions and sauté until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and nutmeg and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes. Remove a cup of the tomato sauce and reserve. Add the chicken and simmer over low heat, covered, for about 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine the reserved tomato sauce with the peanut butter until smooth and slightly liquified. Add the peanut butter mixture to the pan to thicken the sauce and simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes.

*Not to be confused with Chicken Moambe, national dish of the Republic of the Congo.

Week 17: Turkey

Istanbul was Constantinople

Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks

No, the country, not the bird. (Which is a shame, because we do love a roast turkey). But it turns out we also like Turkey the country, if only for the deliciousness. Once the home of the great Ottoman empire which spanned 3 continents, Turkish culture is a mix of eastern and western. It is a country with old traditions and seeking to modernize. Its people are 99.8% Muslim with Mormon missionaries making up the last 0.2% (just a guess).

Turkey is home to Mount Ararat which is the highest peak in Turkey and the birthplace of the world famous Nuh'un lezzetli egzotik et deposu (Noah's Tasty Exotic Meat Emporium, est. 2344 BC, try the Unicorn steaks, limit 2 per customer).

But let's not forget Oiled Wrestling. Invented in the 1300s because Dry Wrestling isn't greasy enough. (Go ahead and try holding on to a nubile Turkish boy slathered in oil. Or not.) Enough cannot be said about Oiled Wrestling.

I have said too much... Moving on!

Turkish Bread or "Ekmek"

Ekmek is a staple of the Turkish diet and is made fresh up to 3 times a day. Typically, it is made from a starter similar to sourdough bread. We made the starter 5 days ahead of time by mixing 1/2 cup of water and a 1/4 cup flour and leaving loosely covered on the counter. Every day we added a few more tablespoons flour and water. On the 4th day it really got lively and fluffed way up (that's what she said)--a sure sign that wild yeasts had made a home there.

• 1 1/4 cup starter (see above)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• teaspoon salt

Proof the dry yeast and sugar in the warm water. When fluffy and happy add the proof to the starter and mix well. Gradually, stir in 2 cups flour. Add salt. Add flour until the dough is a sticky ball but manageable. Use the remaining flour to knead the flour until it is a tacky ball. Cover and let rise in a warm spot until double. Punch down and let it rest. Then knead a few minute and finish in the shape of a rough oval loaf. Let rise until doubled. Bake at 425 for around 40 minutes or until it sounds hollow when the bottom is thumped. Eat it.

Cacik

This reminded us of Greek tzatziki. Mix together:
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1 finely chopped cuke
1 clove garlic, minced

Antalya Bean Salad

This dish is like chunky style hummus. We found it to be a tad too oniony. Still, quite a Turkish delight.

1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can northern beans
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped

In a bowl mix tahini, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and onion. Add beans and mix well. Add in parsley last. Enjoy!

Turkish Lamb Chops ( taken from Recipezaar )

• 1/3 Onion grated
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 2 lamb chops, approx. 1" thick
• lemon for garnish
  
• salt and pepper
  

Sprinkle the onion with salt, squeeze out any juice. Add the thyme and oil and mix. Rub the chops with the mixture and let sit for 1 hour. Grill or broil, season with lemon, salt and pepper.

And enjoy this photo of all of the above: