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eCuisine! Newsletter - Edition #1
16th July 1999 : www.siamstall.com
email: editor@siamstall.com
to unsubscribe to eCuisine!: unsubscribe@siamstall.com
Contents
*From the Editor
*Siam Silk and Spice Updates
*Surfer of the Month
*eCuisine! Feature: The Chinese Banquet
*Net-Dish of the Month
From the Editor
Welcome to the very first edition of eCuisine! This exciting email
newsletter offers you heaps of Asian recipes, truly authentic banquet menus, tips on
Asian-entertaining, gift ideas and much, much more. We guarantee a monthly update rich
with menu ideas for combination-dishes that spell entertaining success. eCuisine!
does the work for you. Each month we do the research and provide you with instant
click-thru links to great cuisine sites, discussion groups and message boards.
In this edition, our surfer of the month, Jill McQuown offers a great
authentic Steamed Dumpling recipe passed down by her mother. The eCuisine! feature
focuses on Chinese philosophies useful when considering chinese-style entertaining as well
as giving you a truly authentic four-course Chinese banquet. Finally, the hot net info of
the month offers you direct links to an Asian cooking message board on iVillage.com and a
cool Singaporean site that's full of great Asian recipes. Happy reading!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Siam Silk and Spice
New recipes and entertaining hints have been added to our site. So don't forget to click
to www.siamstall.com
and check it out. Updates include the wonderful thai soup Tom Yum Gung, a new Chinese
Sesame Sauce and a great new recipe for Chinese Lemon Chicken. As well, the site now
offers advice on serving wines and spirits with Asian dishes - truly a must for those
interested in stylish and sophisticated Asian-style entertaining at home.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surfer of the Month
Jill McQuown of New York sent me this great thai-style recipe for Steamed
Dumplings. She says ".... as far as this recipe is concerned, feel free to put it in
the newsletter.
(And add me to your newsletter list!) When giving credit, please
acknowledge my mother Christina. Like many other military wives, she
followed her husband all over the world without complaint and picked up new
recipes and customs along the way." It looks yummy - so do enjoy!!
Steamed Dumplings
3 oz. flaked crabmeat / 6 oz. ground pork / 6 large shrimp, minced / 1 Tbs. water /
1/4 tsp. garlic salt / 1-1/2 Tbs. cornstarch / 1 egg / 1-1/2 Tbs. light soy sauce / 1 Tbs.
peanut oil / 1/2 tsp. pepper / 1 pkg. wonton wrappers
Place shrimp, crabmeat and pork in mixing bowl. Blend in remaining
ingredients except wonton wrappers and mix together until firm. Hold a
wonton wrapper in one hand. Place 1 Tbs. filling in the center. Fold the
corners in to meet in the middle, squeezing to close the top. Moisten
fingers with water and gently seal. Place in a steamer basket. Steam over
simmering water about 25 minutes. Serve with sauce.
Sauce:
4 Tbs. white wine vinegar / 2 Tbs. hot water / 1 tsp. sugar / 2 Tbs. dark soy sauce / 2
Tbs. thinly sliced ginger root
Blend all ingredients together. Let stand about 30 minutes. Use as a
dipping sauce for dumplings.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
eCuisine! Feature - A Great Chinese Banquet Menu
This first edition of eCuisine! offers a 'flash-in-the-pan' intro to chinese culture and
food that is the very minimum you need to know. Then we give you a banquet menu to die
for!
The key to choosing a successful menu is to coordinate dishes and tastes which will
work in 'synergy' to complement each other. There are three ideas that are most important
here. Number One: ensure that each dish incorporates very different elements e.g. colors,
textures, spices and 'weight' (I'm speaking here of the heaviness or lightness of
particular recipes in your menu). Decide on courses with taste sensations that don't
duplicate each other; especially in key taste areas like spicy-ness or richness. Number
Two: consider carefully the wines that accompany each course. Its important to ensure that
wines don't compete with the essential taste of each course. For more info on wines click
to www.siamstall.com
where detailed info is provided. Number Three: an essential element of successful Asian
entertaining is to understand something of the culture of the particular country, its
impact on food and the culinary arts. If nothing else it makes great table conversation!
Perhaps the first thing to remember about chinese culture and cuisine is that
homeopathy and herbalism originated from China. The Chinese strongly believe that
particular foods have healing and preventative properties and have been utilising foods
for this purpose now for countless centuries. (Just think of ginseng for your sex drive
that became a craze in the '80's in most western countries). This belief influences the
chinese approach to the culinary arts. Perhaps because of the influence of Buddhism and
Taoism on chinese society there is a strong emphasis on 'balance' and food is an integral
factor in achieving balance. This philosophy is perhaps best personified by the principles
of 'yin' and 'yang' - that there are positive and negative influences which affect the
world. The purpose of life then is to maintain a balance between the two. The foods that
one eats can heavily affect this balance.
There are five basic tastes all of which affect a particular part of the human body -
sweetness (associated with the spleen), sourness (the liver), hotness (the lungs),
bitterness (the heart) and saltiness (the kidneys). Too much of any one taste may damage
the organ its associated with.
Here is a wonderfully authentic Chinese banquet menu which attempts to adhere to some
of the philosophies discussed. I've presented this menu a number of times and it seems
quite popular with guests. The banquet assumes about 6-8 dinner guests (any more and you
will simply not enjoy it and your guests will never see you out of an apron) and should
only require you spending a lot of time in the kitchen for the preparation of the second
course. I've added a fourth course dish because many hostesses/hosts forget this very
important aspect of entertaining. I find that most guests stay on after the meal, drink
wine and often want something to nibble on. This is also the time when your work is done
and you and guests get to spend some 'quality time'. In order to ensure that even at this
point you're providing truly authentic Asian food I've provided a recipe for a
pre-prepared snack that's very tasty.
1st Course
Asparagus Soup
Ingredients: 5-6 cups of vegetable stock / 1 pound asparagus / 1 egg / salt and
pepper to taste / 1 tablespoon of dry sherry or some rice wine / 1 tablespoon of
cornstarch / small palm-full of ginger (minced) / 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
Begin preparation by separating the top section of the asparagus from the bottom (but hang
on to them). Pop the vegetable stock in a large pot and bring to boil. Pop in the
asparagus-bottoms and stir, letting them boil lightly and covered for a half-hour. This
should soften the asparagus-bottoms and once softened, lift them out with a slotted spoon
or strain (but keep the stock and return it to flame). Let it simmer. Cut the
asparagus-tops into 1 inch pieces and stir these into the stock. Also pop in the ginger,
sherry/wine and soy sauce. Let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Beat the egg and stir it
into the pot very slowly while stirring the soup. Dissolve the cornstarch in small amount
of cold water and add this to the soup also. Keep the soup simmering for about two minutes
or until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
2nd Course
BBQ Chicken
Ingredients: 2 chickens / 2 tablespoons of sherry / 1 teaspoon honey / 1/2 cup of soy
sauce / 1/4 cup peanut oil / 1/4 teaspoon paprika
Mix all the ingredients (except chicken) together into a marinade. Wash the chicken and
dry it with paper towels before cutting into pieces and marinate for at least one hour.
Grill the chicken for about thirty minutes at 250 degrees turning at least once. (The
timing can vary so keep an eye on it).
Fresh Snow Pea Salad
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons of peanut oil / 2 garlic cloves, minced / 1/2 pound snow
peas, stems and strings removed. Dressing: 1/2 cup light soy sauce /
3 tablespoons rice vinegar / 3 tablespoons sesame oil / 2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
/ 1/2 teaspoon hot oil /
celery stalks, in 1/2 inch diagonal slices / 1/2 red bell pepper, in 1/2 inch strips
Heat a wok over medium heat with peanut oil. When the oil begins smoking add the garlic.
Stir-fry for fifteen seconds.Add the snow peas, stir-fry for perhaps thirty seconds and
remove the wok from the heat. Transfer the snow peas and garlic to a small salad bowl.
Reheat the wok over medium-high heat. Add all the ingredients for the dressing. Bring just
to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and allow it to
cool. Arrange the celery and red peppers over the snow peas.Pour over the dressing just
before serving.
Fried Rice
Ingredients: 5 tablespoons peanut oil / 1 tablespoon light soy sauce / 6 cups cold
cooked rice / 2 tablespoons of cold water / 1 tablespoon brown bean sauce / 1 tablespoon
of sherry / 2 eggs / 6 spring onions (chopped) / 1 slice ginger (minced) / (Some people
also like to add other western ingredients such as broccoli, peas and beans, carrots etc.
This certainly is the modern western approach to fried rice and there's nothing stopping
you using whatever ingredients you have to hand if you wish it!)
The preparation for this dish needs to occur in stages: 1. beat the eggs and fry them with
the peanut oil, mixing carefully until the eggs set. Then set this aside. 2. Give some
attention to your rice, mixing it up and adding some water if you need to. 3. Mix the soy,
sherry and brown bean sauce together and set it aside. You should now have three separate
ingredient bowls ready to cook with. Put 3 tablespoons peanut oil in a wok and bring to a
high heat. Add the rice and stir fry for a few minutes. Add mixture '3' and stir fry for
at least one minute. Add the eggs and stir fry, then add 3 spring onions and the ginger.
Stir-fry well for about thirty second and serve garnished with the other 3 spring onions.
3rd Course
Lychees, Mandarin & Oranges
Ingredients: 6 oranges / 3 mandarins / 2 cans of lychees
Peel and cut up the mandarins and oranges into petite but chunky pieces. Put them in a
bowl and add the canned lychees and the syrup. You may need to add water or remove some
syrup dependent on the look of the dish and size of the cans. Some people also add a sugar
and water syrup that's dissolved in a frying pan and added to the mixture. I tend to think
this is a bit too much so don't do it. Of course, this dish can be served with a fruit ice
cream like mango ice cream and, as this particular ice cream is Asian tradition, you don't
risk undermining the authenticity of your banquet menu. Serve this dish very well chilled.
4th Course
Apricot Puffs
Ingredients: 1/2 cup of apricot jam / 36 round dumplings or won ton wrappers / 3 cups of
peanut oil / 1 beaten egg / 1/4 cup of chopped roasted nuts (but not salted!) / 1/2 cup
grated and sweetened coconut
Mix together in a bowl the apricot jam, coconut and peanuts then brush the surface of each
won ton wrapper with the egg. Put a teaspoon of the mixture in the center of each wrapper.
Fold the wrapper in half or play with the shape if you wish and press them gently to seal
the edges. Put the filled wrappers aside and cover with a cloth while shaping the
remainder (this will stop them drying out). Heat the peanut oil in a deep fryer to 350
degrees. Gently add several puffs to the hot oil and fry until deliciously golden (I wont
give you a time - use your senses: smell and site in particular). Turn and fry the second
side. Remove carefully and drain them on paper towels. Continue this process until all
pastries have been completed. Serve at room temperature.
Well, I hope this menu serves you well. If you have any questions in the preparation of
it please don't hesitate to contact me on editor@siamstall.com
Happy Entertaining!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net-Dish of the month
I lifted this site from an Asian cooking newsgroup so can't claim to have found it
myself. Its really quite incredible and provides a range of South-East Asian recipes
including some thai recipes I think you'll love. A real find! http://www.sinfercom.org/makan/recipe03/htm
iVillage.com is a great online community that also includes the Women's Network. I am
really very impressed with this online community and its commitment to women on the net
and encourage you to have a look. The Asian Cooking newsgroup isn't a fabulous store of
Asian recipes but there can be some interesting discussion about Asian cuisine. You don't
need to join ivillage to check out the message board but if you want to leave messages you
do need to join. http://board2.ivillage.com/messages/get/fdasiancooking2.html
Find us at:
www.siamstall.com
eCuisine! Newsletter - Edition #1
16th July 1999 : www.siamstall.com
email: editor@siamstall.com
to unsubscribe to eCuisine!: unsubscribe@siamstall.com
Contents
*From the Editor
*Siam Silk and Spice Updates
*Surfer of the Month
*eCuisine! Feature: The Chinese Banquet
*Net-Dish of the Month
From the Editor
Welcome to the very first edition of eCuisine! This exciting email newsletter
offers you heaps of Asian recipes, truly authentic banquet menus, tips on
Asian-entertaining, gift ideas and much, much more. We guarantee a monthly update rich
with menu ideas for combination-dishes that spell entertaining success. eCuisine!
does the work for you. Each month we do the research and provide you with instant
click-thru links to great cuisine sites, discussion groups and message boards.
In this edition, our surfer of the month, Jill McQuown offers a great authentic Steamed
Dumpling recipe passed down by her mother. The eCuisine! feature focuses on Chinese
philosophies useful when considering chinese-style entertaining as well as giving you a
truly authentic four-course Chinese banquet. Finally, the hot net info of the month offers
you direct links to an Asian cooking message board on iVillage.com and a cool Singaporean
site that's full of great Asian recipes. Happy reading!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Siam Silk and Spice
New recipes and entertaining hints have been added to our site. So don't forget to click
to www.siamstall.com and check it out. Updates
include the wonderful thai soup Tom Yum Gung, a new Chinese Sesame Sauce and a great new
recipe for Chinese Lemon Chicken. As well, the site now offers advice on serving wines and
spirits with Asian dishes - truly a must for those interested in stylish and sophisticated
Asian-style entertaining at home.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surfer of the Month
Jill McQuown of New York sent me this great thai-style recipe for Steamed Dumplings. She
says ".... as far as this recipe is concerned, feel free to put it in the newsletter.
(And add me to your newsletter list!) When giving credit, please
acknowledge my mother Christina. Like many other military wives, she
followed her husband all over the world without complaint and picked up new
recipes and customs along the way." It looks yummy - so do enjoy!!
Steamed Dumplings
3 oz. flaked crabmeat / 6 oz. ground pork / 6 large shrimp, minced / 1 Tbs. water /
1/4 tsp. garlic salt / 1-1/2 Tbs. cornstarch / 1 egg / 1-1/2 Tbs. light soy sauce / 1 Tbs.
peanut oil / 1/2 tsp. pepper / 1 pkg. wonton wrappers
Place shrimp, crabmeat and pork in mixing bowl. Blend in remaining
ingredients except wonton wrappers and mix together until firm. Hold a
wonton wrapper in one hand. Place 1 Tbs. filling in the center. Fold the
corners in to meet in the middle, squeezing to close the top. Moisten
fingers with water and gently seal. Place in a steamer basket. Steam over
simmering water about 25 minutes. Serve with sauce.
Sauce:
4 Tbs. white wine vinegar / 2 Tbs. hot water / 1 tsp. sugar / 2 Tbs. dark soy sauce / 2
Tbs. thinly sliced ginger root
Blend all ingredients together. Let stand about 30 minutes. Use as a
dipping sauce for dumplings.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
eCuisine! Feature - A Great Chinese Banquet Menu
This first edition of eCuisine! offers a 'flash-in-the-pan' intro to chinese culture
and food that is the very minimum you need to know. Then we give you a banquet menu to die
for!
The key to choosing a successful menu is to coordinate dishes and tastes which will
work in 'synergy' to complement each other. There are three ideas that are most important
here. Number One: ensure that each dish incorporates very different elements e.g. colors,
textures, spices and 'weight' (I'm speaking here of the heaviness or lightness of
particular recipes in your menu). Decide on courses with taste sensations that don't
duplicate each other; especially in key taste areas like spicy-ness or richness. Number
Two: consider carefully the wines that accompany each course. Its important to ensure that
wines don't compete with the essential taste of each course. For more info on wines click
to www.siamstall.com where detailed info is
provided. Number Three: an essential element of successful Asian entertaining is to
understand something of the culture of the particular country, its impact on food and the
culinary arts. If nothing else it makes great table conversation!
Perhaps the first thing to remember about chinese culture and cuisine is that
homeopathy and herbalism originated from China. The Chinese strongly believe that
particular foods have healing and preventative properties and have been utilising foods
for this purpose now for countless centuries. (Just think of ginseng for your sex drive
that became a craze in the '80's in most western countries). This belief influences the
chinese approach to the culinary arts. Perhaps because of the influence of Buddhism and
Taoism on chinese society there is a strong emphasis on 'balance' and food is an integral
factor in achieving balance. This philosophy is perhaps best personified by the principles
of 'yin' and 'yang' - that there are positive and negative influences which affect the
world. The purpose of life then is to maintain a balance between the two. The foods that
one eats can heavily affect this balance.
There are five basic tastes all of which affect a particular part of the human body -
sweetness (associated with the spleen), sourness (the liver), hotness (the lungs),
bitterness (the heart) and saltiness (the kidneys). Too much of any one taste may damage
the organ its associated with.
Here is a wonderfully authentic Chinese banquet menu which attempts to adhere to some
of the philosophies discussed. I've presented this menu a number of times and it seems
quite popular with guests. The banquet assumes about 6-8 dinner guests (any more and you
will simply not enjoy it and your guests will never see you out of an apron) and should
only require you spending a lot of time in the kitchen for the preparation of the second
course. I've added a fourth course dish because many hostesses/hosts forget this very
important aspect of entertaining. I find that most guests stay on after the meal, drink
wine and often want something to nibble on. This is also the time when your work is done
and you and guests get to spend some 'quality time'. In order to ensure that even at this
point you're providing truly authentic Asian food I've provided a recipe for a
pre-prepared snack that's very tasty.
1st Course
Asparagus Soup
Ingredients: 5-6 cups of vegetable stock / 1 pound asparagus / 1 egg / salt and
pepper to taste / 1 tablespoon of dry sherry or some rice wine / 1 tablespoon of
cornstarch / small palm-full of ginger (minced) / 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
Begin preparation by separating the top section of the asparagus from the bottom (but hang
on to them). Pop the vegetable stock in a large pot and bring to boil. Pop in the
asparagus-bottoms and stir, letting them boil lightly and covered for a half-hour. This
should soften the asparagus-bottoms and once softened, lift them out with a slotted spoon
or strain (but keep the stock and return it to flame). Let it simmer. Cut the
asparagus-tops into 1 inch pieces and stir these into the stock. Also pop in the ginger,
sherry/wine and soy sauce. Let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Beat the egg and stir it
into the pot very slowly while stirring the soup. Dissolve the cornstarch in small amount
of cold water and add this to the soup also. Keep the soup simmering for about two minutes
or until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
2nd Course
BBQ Chicken
Ingredients: 2 chickens / 2 tablespoons of sherry / 1 teaspoon honey / 1/2 cup of soy
sauce / 1/4 cup peanut oil / 1/4 teaspoon paprika
Mix all the ingredients (except chicken) together into a marinade. Wash the chicken and
dry it with paper towels before cutting into pieces and marinate for at least one hour.
Grill the chicken for about thirty minutes at 250 degrees turning at least once. (The
timing can vary so keep an eye on it).
Fresh Snow Pea Salad
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons of peanut oil / 2 garlic cloves, minced / 1/2 pound snow
peas, stems and strings removed. Dressing: 1/2 cup light soy sauce /
3 tablespoons rice vinegar / 3 tablespoons sesame oil / 2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
/ 1/2 teaspoon hot oil /
celery stalks, in 1/2 inch diagonal slices / 1/2 red bell pepper, in 1/2 inch strips
Heat a wok over medium heat with peanut oil. When the oil begins smoking add the garlic.
Stir-fry for fifteen seconds.Add the snow peas, stir-fry for perhaps thirty seconds and
remove the wok from the heat. Transfer the snow peas and garlic to a small salad bowl.
Reheat the wok over medium-high heat. Add all the ingredients for the dressing. Bring just
to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and allow it to
cool. Arrange the celery and red peppers over the snow peas.Pour over the dressing just
before serving.
Fried Rice
Ingredients: 5 tablespoons peanut oil / 1 tablespoon light soy sauce / 6 cups cold
cooked rice / 2 tablespoons of cold water / 1 tablespoon brown bean sauce / 1 tablespoon
of sherry / 2 eggs / 6 spring onions (chopped) / 1 slice ginger (minced) / (Some people
also like to add other western ingredients such as broccoli, peas and beans, carrots etc.
This certainly is the modern western approach to fried rice and there's nothing stopping
you using whatever ingredients you have to hand if you wish it!)
The preparation for this dish needs to occur in stages: 1. beat the eggs and fry them with
the peanut oil, mixing carefully until the eggs set. Then set this aside. 2. Give some
attention to your rice, mixing it up and adding some water if you need to. 3. Mix the soy,
sherry and brown bean sauce together and set it aside. You should now have three separate
ingredient bowls ready to cook with. Put 3 tablespoons peanut oil in a wok and bring to a
high heat. Add the rice and stir fry for a few minutes. Add mixture '3' and stir fry for
at least one minute. Add the eggs and stir fry, then add 3 spring onions and the ginger.
Stir-fry well for about thirty second and serve garnished with the other 3 spring onions.
3rd Course
Lychees, Mandarin & Oranges
Ingredients: 6 oranges / 3 mandarins / 2 cans of lychees
Peel and cut up the mandarins and oranges into petite but chunky pieces. Put them in a
bowl and add the canned lychees and the syrup. You may need to add water or remove some
syrup dependent on the look of the dish and size of the cans. Some people also add a sugar
and water syrup that's dissolved in a frying pan and added to the mixture. I tend to think
this is a bit too much so don't do it. Of course, this dish can be served with a fruit ice
cream like mango ice cream and, as this particular ice cream is Asian tradition, you don't
risk undermining the authenticity of your banquet menu. Serve this dish very well chilled.
4th Course
Apricot Puffs
Ingredients: 1/2 cup of apricot jam / 36 round dumplings or won ton wrappers / 3 cups of
peanut oil / 1 beaten egg / 1/4 cup of chopped roasted nuts (but not salted!) / 1/2 cup
grated and sweetened coconut
Mix together in a bowl the apricot jam, coconut and peanuts then brush the surface of each
won ton wrapper with the egg. Put a teaspoon of the mixture in the center of each wrapper.
Fold the wrapper in half or play with the shape if you wish and press them gently to seal
the edges. Put the filled wrappers aside and cover with a cloth while shaping the
remainder (this will stop them drying out). Heat the peanut oil in a deep fryer to 350
degrees. Gently add several puffs to the hot oil and fry until deliciously golden (I wont
give you a time - use your senses: smell and site in particular). Turn and fry the second
side. Remove carefully and drain them on paper towels. Continue this process until all
pastries have been completed. Serve at room temperature.
Well, I hope this menu serves you well. If you have any questions in the preparation of
it please don't hesitate to contact me on editor@siamstall.com
Happy Entertaining!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net-Dish of the month
I lifted this site from an Asian cooking newsgroup so can't claim to have found it
myself. Its really quite incredible and provides a range of South-East Asian recipes
including some thai recipes I think you'll love. A real find! http://www.sinfercom.org/makan/recipe03/htm
iVillage.com is a great online community that also includes the Women's Network. I am
really very impressed with this online communities commitment to women on the net and
encourage you to have a look. The Asian Cooking newsgroup isn't a fabulous store of Asian
recipes but there can be some interesting discussion about Asian cuisine. You don't need
to join ivillage to check out the message board but if you want to leave messages you do
need to join. Check it out!. Click to www.ivillage.com
then choose 'food' or 'cooking' from the menu; then choose 'Asian Cooking' in the message
board listing.
Find us at:
www.siamstall.com
|