Childhood Tidbits by edibee

 

CNY : Citrus 柑

柑一直都同农历新年挂钩。没有柑的农历新年就是少了那么一点点喜气，而柑就是年年赶在农历新年出场。

以前只有芦柑和焦柑两种。

焦柑来时是一箱一箱的。几片粗板钉成长箱，里面装了满满的元气。卸了柑，余下的木箱即被弃在一旁，没了利用价值。

当年在农大混日子时，手头还算蛮紧。除了填饱肚子、还房租等日常费用，完全没有预算买机票回乡过年。当然没有闲钱买书橱存书。

每每经过水果摊，看那被丢弃的芦柑木箱，实在不符合环保意识。脑经转下，便顺手拿了几个像样的回宿舍，稍微清洗后边塔起来变书橱了。虽然不能登大雅之堂，但是就有那寒酸书生的气质。二十年后的今天，肯定添加了一些古早味。

20年来，芦柑的价钱上上下下，最便宜时一盒S果大概8令吉，约共60余粒。L果大概30余粒。十分廉宜。难怪当时盛行抛柑。

这么样的贱价，柑农吃什么呀！

现在哪，什么碰柑、蜜柑都有。又大、又美、又甜!

加上商家刻意包装，山鸡变凤凰。美美的礼盒，才放那几粒柑，价钱可给脸咯！

CNY : Tidbits by edibee

 

Exotic Foodstuff @ Malaya

 Rice Paper

Edible rice paper ( bánh tráng ) is used for making fresh salad rolls or fried spring rolls in Vietnamese cuisine.  Ingredients of the food rice paper include white rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, and water. The tapioca powder makes the rice paper glutinous and smooth. It is usually sold dried in thin, crisp, translucent round sheets that are wrapped in cellophane. The sheets are dipped briefly in hot water to soften them, then wrapped around savoury or sweet ingredients.

Pappad

Pappad is a  thin, crisp, round flatbread from India.  It is typically served as an accompaniment to a meal or as an appetizer or snack, sometimes with toppings such as chutneys.

Pappad can be prepared from different ingredients, such as lentils, checkpeas, black gram, rice, flour etc, flavoured with black pepper, chili powder, asafetida, cumin powder.  The mixture is kneaded with salt and vegetable, then flattened into very thin rounds, and dried for later preparation and consumption.

Asam Jawa

 

Asam Jawa is the fleshy, acidic pulp of Tamarind fruit.

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is a leguminous tree (family Fabaceae) bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species.  Yet, Tamarind has been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent for so long that it is sometimes reported to be indigenous there.

Asam Jawa has many culinary uses including as flavoring for curry, acar, sources, picking agent etc.  Sweeter matured Tamarind can be consumed fresh, or made into syrup drink.

Belacan

 

Belacan, a Malay variety of shrimp paste, is prepared from small shrimp from the Acetes species, known as geragau in Malaysia. In Malaysia, normally the krill are steamed first and after that are mashed into a paste and stored for several months. The fermented shrimp are then prepared, fried and hard-pressed into cakes. 

Belacan is used as an ingredient in many dishes. A common preparation is sambal belacan, made by mixing toasted belacan with chilli peppers, minced garlic, shallot paste and sugar and then fried. Sometimes it is toasted to bring out the flavour, usually creating a strong, distinctive odour.

Kerisik

Kerisik is grated, toasted, and grounded coconut.  It is used in Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean cooking, such as kerabu and rending.  Although it is common in Malesia region, it should be almost impossible to be found outside the region.

Omum Water

Omum water is made with the distilled oil of the ajwain herb, known as Trachyspermum ammi.  It is well-known digestive aid in Ayurvedic medicine.  

Ajwain  is mainly cultivated in Iran and India.   Both the leaves and the seeds-like fruits are consumed by humans.  Ajwain's small, oval-shaped, seed-like fruits are pale brown schizocarps, which in appearance and taste resemble the seeds of other plants in the family Apiaceae such as caraway, cumin and fennel. 

The fruits are commonly used in Indian cuisine.  it is also sold as a dietary supplement n capsules, liquids or powders.

Covid-19 Man Shopping - Petola

Petola may refer to Petola Segi ( Luffa acutangula ) , Petola Bantal ( Luffa cylindrical )  or Petola Ular ( Trichosanthes cucumerina ).

As the botanical names suggested, Petola Segi & Bantal are not of the same Genus with Petola Ular although they are of the same Family.  After skinned and cooked, they may looks similar, but the taste and texture are definitely different.  

Petola Segi & Bantal tends to be fibrous as they grew older.  In the end, the dried fibrous Petola is used as kitchen or bath scrub.

Petola Segi

Luffa acutangula

 

Petola Ular

Trichosanthes cucumeria

The Star : How to Order Malaysian Coffee

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