Ruminations on a Day Off

Warning : This post might turn into keyboard diarrhea. I have some things I would like to talk about and I’m not entirely sure where my thoughts will take me by the time I’m down writing, and this post might not have any real theme tying it together.  Regardless, when words need to come out, I start typing, so bear with me.  If you’d like.

In my last two posts, I mentioned that I have finally gotten a kitchen mentor, which means a lot to me, and that I am trying to plan a trip to Oaxaca.  So here I will be discussing both of those concepts and my recent thoughts on them through the course of today, my day off.

My mentor told me that she wants to give me weekly challenges.  These will be a series of research projects, sometimes actually involving cooking things for her (maybe?).  In many ways, it is a structured way of going about one of my hobbies, as I really enjoy learning and reading about food.  Last night we were discussing it briefly in front of somebody else, who asked what we were talking about.  Her response was, “I am going to be giving Aaron weekly challenges to learn more about food and cooking that will make it so he knows more about food and becomes a better cook than …. anybody.”  That was an interesting revelation to me in some ways.  It shows that she sees a lot of potential in me.  I kind of felt like I have the blood of a good cook flowing through my veins ever since I finally stumbled on this career and that confirms that those who know more than I do agree.  In order to be a great chef, you have to love, appreciate, understand and know food to extremely minute detail.  These challenges will help me to do that.

This week’s challenge should be interesting.  “How many types of spring onions are there, and which four varieties are local to the Seattle area?”  Okay, I’ve heard of spring onions, and have seen them floating around at work.  In fact, I’ve read about a few recipes involving spring onions.  I’m not entirely sure what they are, though.  To the best of my knowledge, they are basically onions that are picked earlier than usual (obviously, in the spring), so are smaller and I would assume would have a different flavor.  I’m guessing milder, to say the least.  Never tried them, though.  By next Thursday, I will know a lot about them. 

One thing that my mentor might not realize, but will soon understand, is that when I am given a research project, I take it very seriously.  In culinary school, we were supposed to pick two of the five mother sauces of French cuisine, and two of the sauces that were derived from them.  At that point, it was required to write an “essay” about them, including how their made and how they were invented.  I put it in quotations because it didn’t feel like an essay to me : the length only had to be half a page.  I turned in a five page essay, because we were not given a MAXIMUM length.  I assume she’s expecting me to come back to her with a verbal response that includes a number, and then a list of four local varieties.  That’s not going to happen.  I will give her a written report consisting of a list of all the varieties, and the differences between all of them.  That’s just how I roll!

I sat down to start my research project, and as I was about to type out “spring onions” into the search bar, my fingers betrayed me.  Instead of doing my research project,  I found myself searching about Oaxacan cuisine.  For some reason, it just felt like even though my trip is in October, reading about Oaxaca was more pressing.  And when I research a destination, a vast majority of it involves reading about their food.  There are very few things more upsetting than getting home from a place I visited and hearing about an incredible dish that I hadn’t tried while I was there.  Also, it is the one aspect of a local culture that you can get a really good idea about before you get.  And while I only have a week to get back to Z about spring onions, there are still a lot of things I need to read about Oaxaca before I buy my tickets.  For instance, what part do I want to go to?  Is there a chance that maybe another part of Mexico might give me more of the experience I want to have?  When is the cheapest time to go?  All of these questions have to be answered before I pay for a flight.

I’m currently thinking about going in the period of September through November.  The trip will likely be for only a week, as that’s how long work is willing to let me go.  Otherwise, I will be forced to either re-apply there or find a new job after.  No thanks.   I love that job, and intend on keeping it until I finally have enough to move to India.  Airline tickets generally should be purchased at least three months in advance to get the best deal.  So, though the trip is kinda far away, I realistically have two weeks at the least or two and a half months at the most to have a clear decision.  Therefore, it seems my subconscious was right in having me look up Oaxacan cuisine.

The things I have read about Oaxacan food seem very compelling.  I’m still thinking that the regional traditions of eating there might be the most interesting for me in the whole country.  What’s great is that there are many dishes and drinks there that not only predate the Spanish conquest of Mexico, but have actually endured since before the time of the Mayans or Aztecs.  How often do you get the chance to taste history?  So one question is answered.  No, there is not another part of Mexico that I want to go to more than Oaxaca.  That is the place for me.  Now, what part should I go to?  That one will take a while and is not a question for today.  Fortunately, from my understanding, travel to anywhere in the Estada (State), is conducted through a flight to Ciudad de Oaxaca (Oaxaca City), and then moving on from there through local transport.  That means that after I have sated my appetite about the cuisine there, I can research spring onions.  Because the “When is the cheapest time to go” question can be answered in minutes!  After that it’s just a whole lot of price comparisons, and trying to figure out if there is an agent that can arrange discounts.

Today seems to be the first step in re-awakening a passion in me.  Researching food is something that I once did almost fanatically, but I have done extremely little of it since my life changed drastically a year ago.  Between having challenges, and finally planning a trip, I feel like something has clicked in me that has been dormant for a long time,  I welcome it’s awakening.  Although, I still just can’t wait for the future and wish it would come quicker.

Why I Love Being a Cook

I have the best job in the world, for many, many reasons.  Let me explain them to you.  Obviously, this line of work isn’t for everyone, but these are the things that make me happy to be a cook on a daily basis.

1. Every day is different : There is always something new and unique going on, in one way or another.  Sometimes, this comes in the form of walking into work to discover some surprise.  Maybe I have to drain and clean the ice cream freezer.  Maybe I’ll get two orders for a particular item right off the bat and discover that I’m missing one of the ingredients.  Perhaps it will be that for whatever reason, 80% of the people who come in are all interested in ordering the same dish and I run out of the prep for it early on and have to make it in mid-rush.  Whatever it is, it’s always a unique day.  Sometimes it can get frustrating, but I really appreciate the diversity of my days.

2. I get paid to play with food : I love food.  Like, ridiculously so.  The list of food items I don’t like eating is extremely small : horseradish.  That’s it.  Everything else is great.  I have been known to read the driest, most boring (to other people) books about food from cover to cover like it’s a compelling novel.  Actually, that is something I can do with travel guides as well, I guess it’s my superpower – reading dry, boring books as if they’re interesting!  Anyways, what could be better for a food lover than to have a job where they make, cook and prepare food all day?

3. Free food : I get a free shift meal every day that I work.  The portions are large enough that I usually end up with leftovers.  That feeds me twice in the day.  As somebody who doesn’t usually eat breakfast (yes, I know I should and that it’s supposedly the most important meal of the day bla bla bla whatever, don’t care), that usually does it for the day.  I have managed to cut my grocery spending in insane amounts.  At the time that I wrote the tips on how to save money through your grocery trip, I was spending $40 a month of groceries.  Now that I’m working full time at a real restaurant that does things normally, I honestly think that I have gotten it down to ten bucks.  Though to be fair, I haven’t actually been tracking it recently, because I know that it’s ridiculously low.

4. The coworkers : Anthony Bourdain in “Kitchen Confidential” states that the people working with him are basically a “pirate crew”, and in many ways, that is an accurate way to put it.  Working in a kitchen, my coworkers are some strange, hilarious, amazing, fun and cool people to have around you.  The folks who tend to choose to cook for a living are generally some form of social outcast, and often have a very different way of looking at and living life.  It makes for some endlessly entertaining conversation.  As somebody who himself doesn’t really feel like he really fits in, this is the perfect work environment for me.  It’s cool to be a part of a group of people that I can actually identify with in some way or another.  That is sometimes a rare opportunity for me.

5. I can let my hair down : There are very few taboos on the line.  You can tell the most offensive gay and racist jokes, behave like a dolt, and swear like a sailor, and none of that matters as long as you can cook food.  Nobody gives any fucks.  One of the best things about that concept is that cooks actually tend to not hold a lot of prejudices.  It’s not as if anybody is actually homophobic or racist, it’s just that they choose to refuse to get offended by things.  The thing is that it requires a really tough skin to handle this job on the daily, and we have all learned to take things in stride.  If you want to make it in this industry, you have to be able to put up with people accusing you of being gay, insulting you, and just generally being extremely offensive.  It can be off-putting at first, but after a while, you come to realize that all of these behaviors are happening simply for shock value.  It’s a bit like being in the punk scene.  Everybody is accepted for who they are, and they are loved, but that won’t stop somebody from giving you shit, all with the best intentions, in that they just want you to realize that you are just as welcome as everybody else!

My Best Meal … EVER!

It was my last day in South Korea, and it was also coincidentally National Day.  Most people had the day off, and Koreans were busy traveling all over the country to spend time with family.  The only option for traveling from Ulsan where I was staying to Incheon involved taking a limo bus leaving at 5:30 am, and the flight wasn’t until 3:00 pm.  Arriving at the Incheon airport, M and I found a place to stash our bags, and asked somebody at the information counter if she had any ideas about something fun to do and see in the city while we waited for our flight.

She suggested that we take a bus to the nearest beach.  The beach was absolutely gorgeous, and it was packed with families enjoying the water and the local sea life.  People were excited about the holiday, and the excitement was palpable, creating a very energetic atmosphere. 

There was a line of small shops, restaurants and cafes that lined the entire beach, so we wandered around these shops after we were done beach combing.  The first several blocks were restaurants that appeared to be almost identical in terms of what they served, but each with their own unique personality.  Every one had a series of tanks outside with all manner of fresh fish, shellfish and crabs.  Each spot had somebody standing outside who would try to lure you in to eat there.  For whatever reason, one of them seemed to just call to me.  I pointed at the crab tank and said I wanted to eat that.  He explained to me that they specialize in seafood barbeque and that I could get a combination for $40.

We were led up the stairs into the above eating area, which didn’t have as many people as downstairs, and was surprisingly peaceful considering how crowded the area was.  The server came up and got the barbeque in the middle of the table going, and brought us our bancha (Korean side dishes) while it heated up.  Most of the bancha were the standard fare : kim chee, bean curd, daikon and whatnot.  Included in it though was an interesting bug thing we had already tried the day before, which seems to be a special National Day food.  I think they were cicada pupa, and actually aren’t half bad.

Our bugs (this was taken the day before)

 

Next our seafood began arriving on the table.  It was a wide assortment of shellfish.  There were mussels, several types of clams (my favorite were the razor clams), whelk, abalone, oysters and king scallops.  The scallops were one of the coolest things, because it still had the roe sack intact, which is always removed in the US, so that was a cool eating experience.  They were all absolutely fresh (and alive) when they got to our table. 

As is fairly common practice in east Asia, it was assumed that since we are white people, we couldn’t possibly know how to cook our barbeque ourselves, and so the server did all the cooking for us.  She produced a foil bowl, which she placed on the barbeque next to the shellfish.  Whenever something was ready, she would open it up and pour the liquid from the shell into the bowl.  Every third piece of fish or so also went into the bowl, where it just stewed away.  When all the shellfish was cooked, she added some of the ubiquitous Korean chili paste to the bowl and stirred it around.  It was the most incredible soup I had ever had, and so simple!

The casualties

 

Funny thing is I didn’t even catch the name of the restaurant! 

Eat This for Meals on the Cheap 2

My specialty is curry, especially Indian style.  When I make curry, I don’t use any recipes, and I usually just make something up as I go along.  This is one that I felt turned out particularly well, so I decided to post it.

Coconut Beet Curry

3 Tbsp butter or ghee

2 Tbsp whole cumin seeds

2 Tbsp black mustard seeds1 medium sized beet, small diced

1 small onion, small dice

1 orange

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp ginger, minced

5-10 Thai chilis, to your taste

1 Tbsp turmeric

2 Tbsp Madras Masala

1 medium sized beet, small dice

3 cups water

1/2 cup coconut milk

1. Melt the butter in a small pot on medium low.  Add the cumin and mustard seeds until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2. Roll the orange on the cutting board to soften it.  Cut into quarters

3. Add the onions and 1 tsp of salt.  Cook onions until they are well caramelized.  Add the chilis, ginger and garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

4. Add the turmeric and Madras masala until fragrant.

5. Add the beets and water.  Juice the orange into the pot.  Bring to a boil.

6. Reduce the heat to medium, and allow to simmer for 30 minutes or until the beets are soft.  Stir in the coconut milk.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve with basmati rice.

Here are a couple tips to make this dish and others cheaper to prepare :

1. It is almost always less expensive to purchase vegetables in the large bags that they have at the store.

2. As for the beets, look for the ones that are wrapped up in a bunch that still have their greens attached.  These are less expensive than the bulk ones.  Coincidentally, they are also usually smaller, and smaller beets have a stronger flavor.  You can use the beet greens to cook some really amazing stuff. I usually like to cook them with lemongrass, lime leaves, garlic, ginger, coconut milk and allspice.

4. Purchase your garlic, ginger and coconut milk at a Chinese market if you have one nearby.  This is a far better value than at the local grocery store.  These stores usually have a packages of garlic that contain 3-5 heads for somewhere around $.99 – $1.149.

5. Spices are best bought at an Indian store, where they tend to be really low price and high quality.  If you don’t have one, you can usually get these at the Chinese store as well.

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My Thanksgiving

This year, Thanksgiving was epic for me.  I attended three different celebrations, ate three dinners and was able to spend time with good friends, family, extended family, and make new friends!  Who could possibly ask for more?

The very first dinner was with my mother, her boyfriend, my brothers and my grandmother.  As a professional cook, it is generally my job at family parties and functions to prepare the meal.  Frankly, I love to do it, it’s not an obligation.  One of the great benefits is that my mother is willing to fund the dinners, and I can pretty much cook whatever I want.

Our spread

This year, I chose to go a little bit outside of the bounds of the traditional turkey day dinner, and in fact didn’t even prepare a turkey.  I opted to go for a mix of various European dishes, mostly German.  The main dish was sauerbraten.   For those who aren’t familiar, it is a beef roast that is first pickled in red wine and vinegar, then braised.  The pickling liquid becomes the braising liquid, which is then made into a sauce after the addition of sugar, golden raisins and crushed gingersnaps as the thickener.  It also includes bacon in the final sauce.  I have been wanting to try it for a very long time.

Sauerbraten

Rotkohl

To go along with the sauerbraten, I had two more German dishes.  One was rotkohl, which is a common side for sauerbraten.  It is braised red cabbage.  I braised mine in red wine with apples, red onion and allspice.  The other was kasespatzle.  Spatzle is a German egg noodle, and kase means cheese.  So you layer the noodles with cheese and bake briefly in the oven.  I used a mix of Jarlsberg and Gruyere.

Kasespatzle

Gnocchi!

I prepared two other dishes, one which is traditionally Italian and one that is inspired by the flavors of Spanish cooking.  The Italian was a potato gnocchi (yes, I made the gnocchi, it was not store bought) with a rich butternut squash cream sauce.  Super simple (6 ingredients, including the spices), but really it doesn’t need anything else.  Next I roasted a red bell pepper (capsicum for my anglo readers) on an open flame, sauteed some green beans in garlic and shallot, mixed them together and added some orange juice.

My Spanish inspired green beans.

I was not the only one who made food.  My mother prepared a cornbread and an interesting dish consisting of mashed carrots, orange and mint.  I had suggested it might be nice with a bit of cumin, but she forgot.  Oh well.  One of my brothers made devilled eggs and the other was my kitchen helper for the day.  It was all washed down with a very nice sparkling white wine from France called Blanquette de Limoux.

After some hanging out, chatting, and a game of Cards Against Humanity, it was time to head to dinner #2.  This one was at my father’s house with his wife, her mother, and a family that they are friends with.  Besides my dad and I, everybody was Polish.  So I was a bit surprised when I arrived and discovered that dinner was a very traditional Yankee Thanksgiving spread.  There was a whole roasted turkey, and a turkey breast (they both tasted a bit different, due to the seasoning), some stuffing, roasted sweet potatoes, a delicious vegetable salad I couldn’t really identify (it had cabbage), spaghetti squash with goat cheese and a green salad with a garlic vinaegrette.

This was really cool for me for two reasons.  It has been many years since I’ve been able to spend time with my dad and family for Thanksgiving, and I am really glad I was able to this year.  Also, the family that was there were some really neat people.  Their grandmother was visiting from Poland.  The older daughter is sixteen and has an incredible wanderlust.  She is driven to see the world, and has a pretty neat goal of breaking the world record for the most citizenships (which is currently five).  Her more immediate goal after college is to teach English in China.  Needless to say, we had a lot of fun things to talk about with each other.  Apparently, I was the first person she had ever met that is as into travel as she is, though I’m sure I won’t be the first.  It was fun and inspirational for me to be able to encourage her and offer her advice.  I learned that there are a few countries out there that you can become a citizen after living there for only five years, including Argentina and New Zealand.  Perhaps after Russia I will begin work on becoming a dual citizen myself.

After that, I went to my third Thanksgiving dinner.  It was with my youngest brother’s best friend’s family.  They have a Southern background, so it was a mix of classic Southern Thanksgiving dishes.  They had a whole smoked turkey, cornbread stuffing, savoy cabbage cooked with pork, collard greens (simmered with ham hock, of course), corn casserole, green bean casserole.  There was more, but I’m afraid I can’t remember the rest.  It was all wonderful, but my favorite was the cabbage.  Those of you who have been reading me regularly are probably starting to get the idea that cabbage is quite an obsession of mine (In fact, I’m quite enamored with that entire family of vegetables, known as brassica : mustard, cabbage, bok choy, cauliflower, turnips, kale and many more)!  There were several pies available for dessert.  I noticed a pumpkin, sweet potato and a coconut cream.  At that point,  I just did not have room to be able to indulge in sweets.  By the time I arrived, everybody else was done eating and were just chilling around the house chatting and having a good time.  Almost everybody there had an extreme passion for cuisine, so we basically talked about food for the majority of the time I was there.  I made the comment at one point that the only thing as much fun as hanging out with food people is hanging out with travel people.  My hosts were both, which of course is the best of both worlds!  I was sent home with almost two gallons of homemade wine.

To add onto my list of things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving that I posted yesterday, I would like to say I am greatly pleased to have been able to spend my entire day with close friends, family and extended family, and especially to meet new friends as well!  Essentially, I am thankful for having the best Thanksgiving that I’ve had pretty much ever!

In a way, you could say that I took a few trips throughout the world this Thanksgiving.  I went to Germany through food, to Poland through discussion, and to the Southern part of the US through both food and hospitality!

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Some Words on Thanksgiving

I wanted to post this yesterday, but by the time I got home, I was deep in a food coma.  The idea wasn’t firmly solidified in my head at that point, and I needed some more time to cement the concepts I wanted to write about, so here goes.

To start this post off, I would like to give some background on what Thanksgiving is to those of you who are reading from other countries and are not sure what this holiday means.  Thanksgiving is one of eleven federal holidays (our equivalent of a national holiday), and arguably one of the most culturally important.  The way we celebrate the day is to get together with our family and closest friends and share a great big feast.  The foods involved can be different depending on which part of the country you live in, but there are many universal elements as well.  Some of the constants are roasted turkey (though some people will choose to have a ham or prime rib), cranberry sauce, stuffing,  sweet potatoes, green bean casserole among others.  Dessert is generally some type of pie, especially one made of apple, pumpkin, pecans or sweet potatoes.

The historical background for Thanksgiving is actually fairly racist and represents an era in my country’s history that I am not particularly proud of.  In school, we are taught a very pretty story about how the first European settlers (known as Pilgrims) in what would later become the United States, sat down to a large three day celebratory feast with a large contingent of Native Americans.  This occurred in celebration of the the natives teaching the settlers how to grow food in an environment that was utterly new to them, and in which they were previously starving.  Most historians agree that this did actually happen, but it is not actually the origin of our Thanksgiving holiday and the real story, is much more sinister.  Suffice it to say that it was originally a way of celebrating the massacre of indigenous cultures.  I will include some more links on the bottom to give a few more interesting perspectives on this subject for those who are interested.

Despite the unhappy origins of Thanksgiving, it has evolved into something that today is quite wonderful and has some great ideas behind it.  It is a time to relax with the people that mean the most to you, enjoy their company, and think about things that you are thankful for.  A vast majority of people do not have to work on this day, and so it is a time that you are almost guaranteed to be able to set aside for your family and friends.  Oftentimes, instead of just reflecting on what they’re thankful for, families will also take some time to share their thoughts with each other.  It can be a time of great unity, and excellent inner reflection.

So here are some of the things that I am thankful for :

My friends and family.  This year has been rather difficult for me, and I have gone through many tough life changes.  I am eternally grateful to all my friends and family who have really come through for me, and have been there for me when I needed them.  There were many occasions when I was happily surprised at just how much those close to me are willing and able to help me.  For the sake of anonymity, I won’t give any names, but you all know who you are!

My new-found devotion to travel and having new experiences.  This is an interest that I have had for quite awhile, but never with the fervor and commitment that I do now.  Without the life changes I have experienced this year, I likely would not be so driven to actually accomplish my dream of seeing the world.  Even though I haven’t left yet, I am well on my way, and the goal just keeps getting closer.  This is an extremely exciting period in my life.

New social connections.  I have had the privilege of connecting to two whole new social groups which are both highly supportive, friendly and caring.  One of them is NSPP and the other is the loose family of travelers, bloggers, vagabonds and expats scattered around the world.  Getting involved with these groups has been a slow process, and it will likely be a long time until I am truly at home with them, especially the second.  Also, I have made some very good friends online this year that I can’t wait to meet in real life.  They live in France, Holland and Iran respectively.

This blog.  Seriously, this is no joke.  Writing this blog has been a great experience for me.  It makes me very happy, and gives me something to look forward to every day.  It warms my heart to realize that there are people out there I have never met who are interested in reading things I have to say.  Also, the start of this blog was the chance to discover a new hobby I never imagined I would have.  At a time when I really needed something so refreshing, too!

My readers.  I don’t need to go into details on this one.  Thank you all for reading my words, it means a lot.

Tomorrow I will tell you what I did to celebrate yesterday.  For those who are interested in seeing even more information on the real story of Thanksgiving, here are a few links to check out :

1. The True Story of Thanksgiving

2. The Real Story of Thanksgiving (video)

3. Thanksgiving Day – The True History

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12 Can’t Miss Foods in Goa

Let’s start off with a quick word about Goan cuisine for those who are not familiar.  From 1510 until 1961, Goa was a Portuguese colony, and was in fact the last part of the country to come back into Indian control.  The Portuguese had a major influence on the food of the region.  For one thing, they brought in a lot of fruits and vegetables that had never been seen in that area before, such as pineapples, tomatoes, potatoes and chiles, to name a few.  They also brought a love of wine, vinegar, and pork.  Goa is pretty much the only place in India that you can regularly find and eat pork.  Many traditional Portuguese dishes have also been adapted to fit into the Indian diet, as well as influence from other colonies that Portugal controlled.

Anyways, on to the list :

12. Kingfish Curry

Served with coleslaw and French fries.

Kingfish is the favorite fish in Goa, which is known for having exceptionally high quality seafood, and usually quite inexpensive, at that!  There are several common preparations for kingfish, including one that involves stuffing it with chiles, spices and vinegar (sadly, I couldn’t find this one).  Cooking local seafood in a basic masala is also very common, and this dish was delicious!  In the bottom right corner of the picture is a flier for a psytrance party I was handed soon after sitting down in the restaurant.

11. Vegetable Manchurian

I’m going to be honest with you.  This particular dish is not something that is specific to Goa, in fact it can be found all over South India.  But it is one of the most delicious things I ate during my trip, and if you find it on a menu, you should give it a try.  This is a breakfast dish, and is essentially a dense semolina (think cream of wheat, minus the processing) cake studded with curry leaves and mustard seeds.  Cover it with a thick layer of the coconut chutney it is served with, and you have something bordering on the sublime.

10.  The Seafood platter at Britto’s

Britto’s is a restaurant / beach shack on Baga beach in northern Goa.  It is rather famous, and therefore slightly overpriced.  However, for a chance to get a plate of all the famous Goan seafood, it might just be worth it.  At the time of my visit (the tail end of monsoon season), seafood was slightly hard to come by.  The standard seafood platter at Britto’s includes grilled mussels, squid, crab, fish and prawns.  As you can tell from my picture, my platter wasn’t nearly so great, but the quality of the seafood speaks for itself, and since I had a hard time coming across this kind of stuff, I don’t regret a thing!

9. Shrimp Balchao

The basis for this dish originally comes from Macau, though it has become thoroughly Indianized.  I really can’t imagine Chinese people eating something as spicy as this, and I ate some REALLY hot food in China.  Fish, prawns or pork is marinated in a mix of shrimp paste (such a popular condiment in China), chiles and spices, then cooked in a masala of the same flavors.  The original and most popular version is made with prawns, and that is what is pictured above.
When I first tried to order this, my server informed me that this dish was “not for me”.  He assumed that there was no way I could handle the heat on this.  It took me a full five minutes to convince him that I could handle it.  So if you have a low tolerance for spicy foods, perhaps you should skip this one.

8. Goan Chouriso

Goan Chouriso

I’m sure pretty much all of you have tried Chorizo before, whether it is the Mexican or Spanish version.   There are countless type of this sausage in the world, and anywhere in the world that has spent time as a Spanish or Portuguese colony have their own unique version.  Classicly, it consists of pork meat mixed with chile, paprika and garlic stuffed inside of pork casings.

In Goa, it takes on influences of Indian cuisine, and ginger, cumin and turmeric are added in.  It is also made to be quite a bit spicier than most other varieties of chorizo.  It is possible to buy these sausages at the local markets, especially the Anjuna and Mapusa markets.  It is available wet (aged for one month) or dry (aged for three months in the sun).  Another common way of finding Goan chouriso is cooked into a curry dish; check menus for this one!

7. Chai at Mango Tree

This one might seem silly at first.  I spent an entire month in India, and in that time I drank a lot of chai.  It is one of my favorite things to drink that has ever been invented, so I never missed a chance to drink a nice cuppa chai.  Of all the chais I drank in India, there is not a single one that can even come close to the chai at Mango Tree in Vagator!  No joke.  If you find yourself in Vagator, head to Mango Tree and order a chai.  It also serves as a bar and restaurant should you find yourself hungry or looking to drink.  Even if you’re not, don’t skip this chai!  Best in the country, no joke!

6. Bebinca

There are several places in the world that eat varieties of this wonderful dessert, made with flour, plentiful eggs and coconut milk.  M, my companion on this trip is not particularly fond of coconut in any of it’s forms, but could not deny the draw or deliciousness of this particular dish.  I can’t wait until the next time I get to eat Bebinca.

5. Faloodeh

This is another dish that is not specific to Goa.  In my personal experience, though, it also is very difficult to come across.  I managed to find it in Panjim, Goa, but did not see it anywhere else.  So for now it is stuck in my mind as a Goan dish, despite the fact that I realize it is not really.

Faloodeh evolved out a traditional Persian dessert of sweet vermicelli noodles, but in India it has spiraled pretty much out of control into something so much more.  There are many varieties of faloodeh in India, but this particular one is a smoothie of mango flavored ice cream, with basil seeds, fruit flavored jellies, vermicelli noodles and rose syrup.

The only reason that this is where it is, and not in the number one spot is that it made me sick as a dog the next day.  I assume that is because of the fact that it was made with unfiltered water.  If I had spent more time in Panjim, I would have gone back and eaten this again, despite the fact that I knew it would make me sick again.  THAT is how delicious this dessert dish is.  I highly recommend that if you see faloodeh on a menu you ask your server about the water/ice used in it, to make sure you’re not miserable the next day.  Or maybe you don’t care, like I didn’t.

4. Crab Cafreal

One of the most memorably meals I had in Goa

Cafreal is a traditional marinade consisting of various green herbs, especially cilantro, and coconut milk.  A common use of cafreal is a marinade for chicken, which is then fried.  However, it is especially delicious for crab.  I spent an entire hour and a half eating this dish.   The cilantro and garlic serve as a perfect counter-point to the rich flavor of crab meat, which of course tastes so much more delicious due to the amount of work it takes to get the meat out of the shell.  This meal was eaten at a restaurant recommended to me by a taxi driver I had hired for the day the day before.  Always take your taxi driver’s advice for food, they know what they’re talking about!

3. Sorpotel

Guide books say that is dish is “not for the faint of heart” and this may or may not be true.  I think a more realistic way of saying it is that this dish is not for non-adventurous eaters.  Anybody who is willing to try it will find that it really is not that extreme.  Sorpotel is made up of various offal pieces of pork.  The organs included vary depending on the recipe and where you eat it.  Regardless, it is traditionally a dish made up of internal organs of a pig, usually heart and kidney, but it could include pretty much anything else.  Frankly, it was super delicious, with a nice mix of soft and crunchy.  It did not taste like it was made of organ meat, per se, because of it’s preparation.

It involves taking various organs that are marinated in vinegar, chilis and spices, than cooked.  Technique-wise it is almost identical to vindaloo except that it generally uses more chiles, and less vinegar, and is therefore more spicy, less tangy.

2. Xacuti

The most traditional way of eating Xacuti is with mutton, which is what I ordered.  The word mutton in India can mean mutton, lamb or goat, so it’s hard to know which meat you will actually be eating, but really, it doesn’t matter.  Xacuti can be made with any meat you specify, or done vegetarian.  The sauce is a mix of coconut and crushed cashews, and has a wonderful complexity that is difficult to come by anywhere.

1. Vindaloo

It might seem almost cliche to list Vindaloo as my favorite meal in Goa, since everybody talks about it, and it appears on the menu of every Indian restaurant in the US, but regardless, it still was the most memorable meal I had there.

Vindaloo in America isn’t REALLY vindaloo, though.  If you order it in the states, you are likely to receive a dish that is basically a slightly spicier Butter Chicken .  That is NOT what vindaloo is supposed to be.  The word vindaloo is a Hindu pronunciation of vin de alho, which means wine (or rather vinegar) and garlic.  The proper method of preparing this dish involves taking pork (the picture above is actually fish, but still ..) marinating it in a mixture of vinegar, chiles, spices and a generous portion of garlic overnight.  The next day, you take the pork and braise it for a few hours, and then arrive at what is pretty much the most delicious thing I have ever eaten.

The stereotype is that vindaloo is the spiciest dish available in all of India.  That isn’t actually accurate.  In fact, Sorpotel and Balchao are actually spicier, and that is just in Goa.  There are spicier dishes to be had in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.  Vindaloo IS hot as hell, but the vinegar helps out a lot, and bear in mind that in India, balance is very important.  If you order correctly, you will have a nice raita and lassi to balance out the heat of whatever you order.

This list is not meant to be exhaustive.  There is a multitude of traditional dishes in Goa that are worth trying, whether they are Catholic dishes inspired by Portuguese rule, or Hindu dishes that have been enjoyed since before the Europeans ever landed on the sub-continent.  This is just a list of some of my favorite meals that I had while I was there.  I highly encourage you to find your own favorites.

Also, a quick note.  Goa is one of the most highly visited areas in all of India, by both Indians and foreigners alike, think of it like Hawaii for the US.  As such, it can be extremely difficult to find traditional or classic Goan foods, and it might take a lot of work on your part.  The restaurants that serve traditional Goan dishes are few and far between, as most serve standard Northern or Southern Indian fare.  But don’t give up hope, it can be found.  If you are having trouble, ask the proprietor of your guest house, or your taxi driver.  It is there, it just might be hidden.

On another note, that could be said for many parts of the world.  Remember to dig deep, and don’t underestimate the power of somebody around you to point you in the direction you want to go!

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Tips for Saving Travel Money Pt 1

To start living your travel dreams,  you will need to learn, as I am currently learning, how to knock down your expenses.  DRASTICALLY!

So let’s start with the thing we do everyday, something which most of us spend a majority of our money on.  Obviously, that is food.  First of all, stop eating out, like, at all, ever.  Okay, scratch that.  It’s important to have good social time with your friends and family, or maybe a fun date every now and then.  So if you eat out, limit it to about once a month.  Also, be careful where you go to eat.  Pick a nice little hole-in-the-wall mom & pop place (of a foreign cuisine you’ve been dying to try, remember what I said about always traveling!) that has cheap prices, and hopefully that you can get some leftovers to take home.  I recommend pho, or Vietnamese sandwiches, or a lunch special somewhere, your favorite taco truck.  Something cheap and filling.  I’m talking, keep this meal well under $10.

Obviously, since you’re now not eating out, you gotta figure out what you’re going to eat.  For some, this might require spending some research time on the internet learning to cook.  Others, it might require just changing the way you look at your cooking habits.  Here are some rules I’ve been learning that I would like to teach you.

1. Avoid packaged processed foods.  They look cheap, but in the long run, you’re going to get a lot more bang for your buck cooking from scratch.  The only time you should go down the inner aisles of the grocery store is if you’re buying the VERY occasional ice cream as a special treat to yourself for all the money you’re saving.  This might seem extreme, but I can explain.

2. Some of you might think that you have found a nasty little hole in my food budget plan.  What about spices you ask?  Don’t buy spices at the grocery store.  Find a nice little ethnic (I actually really hate this term, for a reason maybe I’ll explain in a later post) store around you.  It could be Indian, Chinese, Mexican, African, whatever.  It is a small store whose main clientele are an immigrant population that lives in your city.  Buy your spices there.  Not only are they going to be an extremely better value, they are likely to be of a higher quality as well.  While you’re there, take some time to travel to that country with the people working! What about rice, beans, pasta?  Again, ethnic store.

3. Eat more bacon.  I know this sounds ridiculous, who the hell tells people to eat more bacon?  Usually you’re told the opposite.  Hear me out, though.  Bacon is delicious, and a very cheap form of meat.  I know it seems pricey, but when compared to most other meats you can find at the store, it’s a better value.  Yeah, there’s chicken, but chicken is missing one important thing that bacon provides you quite well.  It doubles as a cooking oil, for all your vegetables.  You don’t have to buy oil again!!!  Just render down your bacon, pull it out, saute.  You’re getting meat and cooking oil (as well as delicious) from one ingredient.  Plus, you really only need a slice or two, so don’t worry about the fat content.

4. Now start using that same principle with other things you might buy.  Do you use wine for deglazing in your cooking?  Stop that.  Wine only serves one purpose in food.  Find something that can do more than one thing.  Try sauerkraut, the extra liquid is great for deglazing and then you get some wonderful pro-biotics to help your digestive system as well.  The same principle could be applied with pickles instead of sauerkraut.  Or you can just buy vinegar.  Plain ole white distilled vinegar.  If you do that, you can stop buying cleaning chemicals as well, but that’s another much longer story.  One which I’m not going to tell you, do a Google search! Need chicken stock?  Boil a whole chicken, which will provide you with several meals after you tear it apart, on top of leaving you with a great stock, for even more.

5. Buy fresh produce.  Fresh produce that is in season!  It is cheaper and more delicious in season.  If you’re not sure if something’s in season, look it up.  Right now, you should be looking for potatoes, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, squashes, beets, cabbage.  That’s the case in my area, you might have to do some research to find out what’s fresh and available to you now where you are.

6. When you’re buying your fresh produce, get the cheap stuff.  I don’t mean low quality, I mean inexpensive.  Cabbage, potatoes and beets are always good bets.  If you have the time to get to a farmer’s market, the prices there (as well as the flavor) are often better.  Think about all the things your parents tried to get you to eat as a kid.  Most of it is probably cheap, and it has a long shelf life so you can cut down on wastage.  Also think about what you would consider to be “peasant food”.  There’s a reason peasants eat it.  Think like a peasant!  That’s how you’re going to set cash aside.

7. Rice, rice, rice, beans, beans, lentils.  Avoid pasta, it’s a bad value.  Treat yourself to pasta sometimes if you want, but don’t make it your main starch.  Rice and beans, if eaten together create a perfect protein, so you don’t necessarily have to eat your bacon every night.  When you get tired of rice and beans, try polenta, grits, oatmeal, things like that.  Eggs are of course another good value protein source.

8. Don’t make these rules too hard and fast, to the point that you’ll feel the need to cheat.  Treat yourself from time to time.  Get a nice steak when it goes on sale, or have a nice pasta dinner.  Have a nice meal that makes you feel happy, as a treat for doing so well.  Just don’t overdo it, this is not foie gras and lobster time!

9. Okay, this is the last rule, and the least specific.  Be imaginative, and have fun.  Try getting 12 ingredients on one shopping trip and try to make yourself something different every meal.  With just those 12 ingredients.  Keep it interesting.

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