The Food Canon

Fillets being poached in the pan

It is interesting to note the colorful names which Thais give to some of their curries. Literally. Red Curry, Yellow Curry, Green Curry. This is mirrored in their politics- red, yellow...

I had some bottles in my larder for some time, coming in red and green. Since I had to cook a dish at a coming Alpha Course, salmon lightly poached in Thai red curry came to mind.(I have since then posted another Thai recipe - Roast Duck in Red Curry Sauce which contains more info on good Thai paste which you can get here...)

This is a recipe inspired by my favorite Thai cookbook by Chef McDang, with of course, some home and local adaptation. If you want to begin to understand Thai cuisine, this book is a good place to start with. 

This dish looks great, and you can get it cooked in less than 30 minutes, including preparation time. Salmon is readily available, and you can get them at super-marts, filleted and individually packed. This should be an easy dish for most.

This food blog has been a long time in coming. I have always wanted to write one in memory of my late Mum, or Auntie Ruby, as she was affectionately known to many. Many have asked me to share this Char Siew recipe. I thought I might as well begin with this Cantonese dish as I have one nice photo of her with hers. I have since posted the recipe with a pictorial format here. 

Woking the Char Siew Out

In Cantonese, "char" refers to the skewered pork (or fork) and "siew" is to roast them. And that is how Char Siew is traditionally and commercially done: strips of pork skewered and stuck into a vertical oven to roast them.

My mum always used the wok, whether at home or in her commercial kitchen. I have never seen her grill them in an oven. Some find it hard to believe that the wok can "char" the pork. Think honey, sugar or maltose, and as the marinade dries, the fat burns and caramelization does it's work.

After all, haven't you burned food in the wok before?