There is an old Indian saying that “a good cook uses his spices similar to how a painter uses his colour palette”. A little more of this and a little less of that do make a huge difference. The importance to know the correct blend of spices in a particular curry requires research, guidance and experience. Also, in Indian cooking, there is a special emphasis to the process called bhunno or bhoona. This is the process in which spices are added to the hot oil and cooked with the main ingredients until the raw taste and smell of the spices is gone and essential oils are released from each of the spices. This part of cooking requires careful control over the flame, as the amount of heat from time to time also determines the taste of the final dish.

Now let’s understand what the word dum means. Dum is a slow-cooking method practiced in India since the beginning of time, but gained greater significance during the Mughal period, when dum aloo (potatoes simmered in gravy) and dum pukht (chicken simmered in gravy) dishes came to exist. These dishes required patience and tasted amazingly delicious and succulent – a result of slow-cooking method. Actually, any dum curry tastes its best if cooked in a special vessel called hundi or handi, which is almost a ball-shaped utensil with an opening at the top. Appropriate amount of water is added along with other par-cooked or bhoona ingredients. The lid of the hundi is tightly sealed with wheat flour dough and cooked on charcoal fire. This is the traditional method.

Back in my Mumbai home, I do have a beautiful hundi, but due to storage constraints in small kitchens in Hong Kong, I did not bring it here. So I decided to go on with a modern non-stick skillet with a proper-fitting lid. My dum pukht came out perfectly succulent and the taste of the spices reached the innermost layers of the chicken delicately. Do give this a try and you will fall in love with this scrumptious culinary obsession!

Murgh Dum Pukht (Simmered Indian Chicken Curry)

[Dum means to breathe and pukht means to cook. Please use chicken with bones for this recipe, since the juices from the bone marrow intensify the flavour of this dish.]

Ingredients:
1 kg chicken (with bones, cut into medium-sized pieces)
3 medium-sized purple onions (sliced)
1 cup hung curd (thick, unsweetened yogurt)
2 TB ginger paste
3 TB garlic paste
1.5 tsp red chilli powder
10 almonds
5 cashew nuts
2 dried bay leaves
3 green cardamon pods
5 cloves
1 black cardamom (big) pod
12 whole peppercorns
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
2 blades mace (optional)
1/4 cup coriander leaves (paste)
4 red or green fresh chillies
1.5 tsp salt to taste (plus extra 1 tsp for the gravy)
7 TB oil
1 tsp Ghee (Indian clarified butter)
2 cups water

Directions:
1. Marinate the chicken overnight with yogurt, 1.5 tsp salt, ginger-garlic paste and red chilli powder. Heat 3 tbsp oil till it starts to smoke. Reduce the heat to medium and fry onions (cut lengthwise and thin) till these become golden brown. Remove the fried onions from oil, cool at room temperature and make a fine paste.

2. Soak the nuts in a little water (just enough to immerse them) overnight as well. Next morning, make a fine paste.

3. Heat the rest of the oil to its smoking point and then reduce the flame to medium once again. Add the dried bay leaves, green cardamon pods, cloves, black cardamom and whole peppercorns to this. After the bay leaves turn a little darker (not black, but dark brown), add the marinated chicken along with the marinade. Increase the flame to high and toss the chicken pieces continuously, so that the chicken becomes well-coated with the spices and the marinade becomes almost dry. This takes around 15 min.

4. Reduce the flame to medium now. Add the fried onion paste, mace (optional), turmeric powder, black pepper powder and the nut paste to the skillet and toss well for 15 min.

5. Add the coriander leaf paste and the red or green fresh chillies (whole) to this. Cook till the chicken is almost dry and oil starts leaving from the the spices and the chicken. Now is the time to add the ghee.

6. Add water and stir well. Check the salt and add more, if needed. Simmer the flame and put a well-fitting lid on the skillet. For best results, seal the edges with wheat flour dough to ensure that the steam can’t escape from the skillet. Let this cook on a low flame for 30 more minutes. This slow-cooking called dum is a great way to cook some of the popular Indian dishes such as this one!

Where I was brought up in The South, etiquette is a way of life and the standard of good living. This is not a matter of being stuffy and old-fashioned; well-understood and constantly practiced etiquette sets the stage for life’s most pleasant social interactions. Once everyone knows the rules, we can begin to have fun with the game.

Wine, like most nooks and niches of culture, comes with its own specific etiquette. Those of us who love to share wine understand an unspoken code of behavior, decorum, and speech surrounding the subject of all-things-vinous. From the outside, this can seem intimidating. From the inside, how people speak and act around wine is a clue to their larger philosophy. Just as a loud, abrasive, burping person is immediately unwelcome in polite conversation, so too is the know-it-all jerk who has loud opinions on why the stuff in his glass is more aromatic and special than the stuff in yours.

One of my favourite descriptions of etiquette is this: the classiest person in the room is the one who makes the least number of other people feel uncomfortable. Thus let me give you the secret to fitting in with even the most well-read, knowledgeable, experienced wine experts in the world: be polite!

Gracious Wine Service at The Lane Vineyard Adelaide Hills South Australia

I am often asked by my wine-curious friends, “how do I taste wine properly?” or “what wine is best with such-and-such dish?” or “what is your favourite wine?”
“I know nothing about wine!” they tell me.

That simply is not true. Whether you’ve tasted two wines or two thousand, you have a right to an opinion and another sip if you so choose. That said, here are some simple rules, adapted from my Southern hospitality boot-camp upbringing, that can help you navigate happily among any wine-drinking group, no matter your knowledge, their knowledge, or anyone’s “super taster” abilities.

1. Do not overindulge. There’s no such thing as a classy drunk.

2. Want to share your opinion of the wine? Ask your neighbour his/her opinion first, and let everyone else take a turn in the conversation before you speak… it’s a good way to learn, and no one will be the wiser if your initial opinion was actually quite dumb.

3. Keep the talk interesting and light. The moment you start to throw around terminology like “malolactic fermentation” or “phenolic,” you better have a winemaking qualification. No matter how right you are, everyone else’s eyes will glaze over, some will grow irritated at your know-it-all-ness, and others will pick apart your mistakes.

4. In conjunction with the above, I quote Mark Twain, “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.”

Tasting room conversation at Warramate Yarra Valley Victoria, Australia

5. Never embarrass the host/hostess. Whoever opens the bottle sets the tone. If they want to get nerdy and discuss the wine, go for it. If they remain quiet, strike up some chit chat about the weather.

6. Never ask what a wine costs. Never tell how much you pay for your wine. Do not, under any circumstances, brag about your cellar at home. No one is impressed.

7. Do not name drop about winemakers you met or wine regions you visited or wine brands you buy or restaurants where the sommelier gives you special service. These are topic under the heading, “need to know,” and very few people at parties need to know how special you really are.

8. Be sincere with compliments, and mum with complaints. If you enjoy a wine, say so, and say why (without using big words!). If you do not enjoy the wine or the style, comment on how well it accompanies the food.

9. For Heavens’ sake, do not correct other people’s errors. Tasting notes and wine conversation are not tests, but a way for people to verbalise and therefore remember what they’ve tasted, i.e., “Grenache always reminds me of cherries… so when I smell cherries, I think maybe the wine is has some Grenache in the blend!”

Architectural comfort at Yarra Yering Yarra Valley, Victoria

10. Honesty is important. Listening and respect more so.

11. Compromise. Wine is not about achieving the perfect food match, or impressing everyone with the prestige of the bottle. It is not a game to be won.

12. Relax, enjoy yourself! Help others enjoy themselves too. There is nothing more pleasant than the person who makes an event fun and memorable for everyone involved.
Of course if you want to be invited back to the party, it’s best to remember Rule #12 in conjunction with Rule #1.

Finally, and this is the Golden Rule from which all others stem: Treat wine as a pleasure, a gift, and an experience to share. If you get that rule of wine etiquette down, I guarantee you’ll be welcomed by the most wine-intelligent around.

Korean food is amazing! Based in Hong Kong, I have eaten Korean food quite a number of times and every time I order a main course, a delicious side of kimchi is served as well. For those who are wondering what kimchi is, it is a spicy, fermented pickle made with vegetables or with a mixture of vegetables, seafood and meat. For a Korean, it means a lot more than being just an indispensable part of the meal. It is a part of Korean culture and the pride of Korean cuisine! In fact, a Korean woman’s culinary skills are judged by the quality of her kimchi!

Why should you eat kimchi?

There are so many different types of pickles available all over the world. The Indians are happy with a spoonful of tangy achaar, the Chinese savour humchoy and the Japanese love zukemono: all being different kinds of pickles. So why focus on kimchi today?

Kimchi is regarded as one of the best health foods in the world. This is because it is low in calories and cholesterol and is rich in healthy micro-organisms, vitamins (A, C and B-complex), calcium and other minerals. In Korea, during the harsh winters, kimchi is a delicious source of nutrition. The healthy micro-organisms and enzymes (produced as a result of fermentation) present in kimchi aid in metabolism and bowel movement. Research has proven that kimchi has anti-cancer properties – amazing!

Sometimes, salted shrimps, salted anchovies, baby octopuses, oysters or other seafood are also added to the kimchi. These provide additional proteins, amino acids, fats and extra calcium.

Common Ingredients and kinds of Kimchi

Kimchi is a harmony of different ingredients under the correct method of fermentation. There are more than 100 kinds of kimchis. Korean Napa cabbage kimchi (paech’u kimchi) is the most popular kimchi. In all forms of kimchis, red chilli peppers is used as it helps accelerate the fermentation process. Korean cabbage (nappa), spring onions, Indian mustard leaves, slender cucumbers, white radish, wild lettuce, watercress, wild leeks, Asian brown mushrooms (p’yogo), salted and fermented fish (chotkal), garlic, ginger and red chilli peppers are the most common ingredients.

Popular kimchis found in Hong Kong are cabbage and radish kimchis. If you happen to visit Korea, don’t forget to taste one of these kimchis:

• South-East Korean kimchis (hot): sesame leaf kimchi, soybean leaf kimchi and garlic stalk kimchi
• South-West Korean kimchis: kat kimchi (Indian lettuce leaf kimchi), yuja tongch’imi (special radish kimchi flavoured with citron)
• West Korean kimchis: kosu kimchi, squash kimchi
• Seoul: Royal chang kimchi, susam nabakchi (kimchi with ginseng)
• Central Korea: eggplant kimchi, spinach kimchi, pumpkin kimchi
• Eastern Korea: kkaktugi kimchi using salted fish
• Buddhist temple kimchis: these are mild kimchis and do not use animal products

Here is a popular Korean fried rice recipe using kimchi. It is delicious and mildly spicy. However, you can make it more spicy by increasing the amount of black pepper powder.

Kimchi Pokkumbap (Kimchi Fried Rice)

Ingredients:

Rice, steamed: 1.5 cup

Kimchi (I used a mixture of cabbage and radish kimchis): ¼ cup

Beef or pork (cut into very small cubes): ½ cup

Spring onion greens: ¼ cup

Shallots (chopped): 2 tbsp

Garlic (finely chopped): 3

Toasted white sesame seeds: 1.5 tsp

Soy sauce: 2 tbsp

Black pepper powder: 1 tsp (or according to taste)

Sesame oil: 1 tbsp

Light oil: 5 tbsp

Salt: ½ tsp

Method:

Marinate the pork with soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, chopped shallots, chopped spring onion greens and garlic for 30 min. Fry in 1.5 tbsp oil.

 Finely chop the kimchi and squeeze extra juice. Reserve the juice for the final step. Fry this chopped kimchi in 1 tbsp oil.

Finally, fry the rice with the rest of the oil, adding the salt. Mix the fried kimchi, kimchi juice and the fried pork to this rice and stir well until dry.

Serve with chopped spring onion greens. You can add some fresh kimchi over the rice as well!

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Stuffed omelet and Fanta in Ho Chi Minh City. YUM!

I just spent six days in Tasmania with my mom, and we were really amazed that a week was hardly enough time to take it all in. But we’ve had a think and come to consensus: there are at least four awesome attributes that make Tasmania special… markets, oysters, cheese, and sparkling wine.

Next time we know what we’ll be looking for:

Credit: Connie Overton

Markets
Tasmanians and tourists from near and far descend every Saturday onto the Salamanca Market in Hobart, just adjacent the wharf in the old atmospheric part of town. This is the largest regular street market in Australia, and it certainly draws a buoyant crowd. After nibbling samples from local purveyors of cheese, jams, honey, and dukkah, we made an elegant street-food lunch of tempura-ed mushrooms and a particularly stellar lamb gyro. Given the chance, we would have circled back several times for the curries, roasting pig, home-churned ice creams, and freshly made sausages.

One market is never enough! Sunday morning found us at the Elizabeth Street Farm Gate Market in North Hobart. We stocked up on cheese and perfectly ripe cherries, bought a crusty loaf of rosemary bread, and hit the road, fresh cappuccino in hand.

The markets in Tasmania reflect a rural-minded way of life. There is a casual, easy relationship between people and countryside at work here. It isn’t about the “best” produce or the most “sustainable” way to live. Rather, the land is simply where food comes from. The farmers who sell their products in town on the weekend are working their families’ lands Monday-Friday. Those perfect nectarines and juicy red tomatoes of midsummer represent someone’s livelihood and pride… just as the kale and broccoli coming up in a few months will show off someone’s foresighted plantings.

Credit: Connie Overton

Oysters
Oysters have been a staple in the Tasmanian diet since the British showed up and began settling the island with both convicts and free settlers. I was hankering for some seafood when we happened across a tiny service station with a sign offering a dozen Bruny Island oysters for $9. Sold. I ate them out of a cardboard box on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Not a bad meal at all.

As we continued to drive along, I noticed: You hardly can go down a seaside road in southern Tasmania without passing an advertisement for oysters by the dozen. In the summertime, Bruny Island are the source for distinctive, large, creamy-textured oysters with a mellow brineyness to them. They’re fantastic with nothing but lemon.

For a steeper price, I got my next round of Bruny Island oysters at the lovely bistro at Home Hill Winery on the Huon Trail. This time they were au natural with lemon, and a yummy glass of 2007 Kelly’s Cuvee Sparkling White on the side. Not a bad pairing all.

I must admit, I prefer my oysters a bit firmer than the Bruny style, and for my taste, I’ll just have to come back to Tassie. There are many coastal sites around the island that come into season throughout the year: Pacific Oysters are most plentiful, others come from Freycinet, Cloudy Bay, Barrilla Bay, and Bouldan’s Bay. I prefer them natural, but an especially Aussie tradition is to serve oysters Kilpatrick. They come cooked firm, with bacon and Worcestershire sauce on top.

Credit: Connie Overton

Cheese
Tasmania knows its stuff when it comes to cheese of all varieties. Up north, we sampled goat’s milk cheeses near Lilydale at Yondover Farm. They’ve got a cute little café overlooking a dip in the hills, and baby goats are right outside the door in a tiny petting zoo. On the opposite side of the Tamar River Valley, near Deloraine, is the all-organic Elgaar Farm, owned by Josef and Antonia Gretschmann. They’ve been specializing in cow’s milk cheeses since 1986. Then of course there is King Island, just off the northeast corner of Tasmania. King Island cheeses are known throughout Australia… creamy brie and camembert-styles, brilliant bleus, lovely ashed rinds…

A real highlight of our trip was a stop at the Grandvewe Sheep Cheesery on the Huon Trail near Birchs Bay. Our host, Ryan, is son of owner Diane, and even late in the day, he had a big grin on his face as he expertly explained the differences between the vine-wrapped “Ewe Bewety” roblochon-style, the Birchs Bay Blonde’s pressed curd and earthy aroma, and the ashed Friesland Fog’s delicate creaminess. I was in love. Mom’s favorite was the “Blue by Ewe” (are we picking up on the sheep theme?). Aside from the spectacular product offerings, Grandvewe is well-set up as a tasting room and an farmstead attraction. There’s a café for casual dining, a daily sheep-milking demonstration, and plenty of dogs and ducks to entertain everyone. Fortunately, Grandvewe exports to the mainland (and Japan), so I’ll be on the lookout!

Credit: Connie Overton

Sparkling Wine
You can’t drive far in Australia without passing signs for wineries. Tasmania’s viticultural strength comes from the cool climate, and this means it can produce lighter styles of reds (ie. pinot noir) as well the as crisp whites that make brilliant sparkling wine.

Our first stop in the Tamar Valley, Bay of Fires Wines, is a highly-regarded rockstar of the Australian industry. Their non-vintage and vintage sparklings are all made in the traditional Champagne method, which imparts a rich, biscuity undertone to their clean crisp fruit flavors.

Down the road at Pipers Creek we found not only a nice assortment of whites and reds (highlight: 2008 Gewurzstraminer), but also a really spectacular tasting platter for lunch. Pipers Creek makes a second brand of wine called 9th Island, which is widely available, and a good representation of their more expensive house brand.

I must mention too a tiny little family-owned place down south near Richmond: Puddle Duck Vineyard. The wine highlight for me was a pinot noir rosé, but we’re talking bubbles here, and the “Bubbleduck” sparkling was an exceptionally yummy pink number. As is often the case when I visit wineries, the vibe of the place stays with me much longer than the flavors of the wines. Here it was the winery dogs that really won me over… Polly the Welsh Corgy demanded as much attention as the wine, and as a brand ambassador, she really made the little winery by the lack feel like place I’d like to call home.

Credit: Connie Overton

I heard you could drive across Tasmania in a day. After one all too short week wandering the twists and turns of Tasmania’s pretty roads, I wholly disagree. I think we did a decent job with some of the highlights, but a return trip is in order!

One of the joys of being on the road: finding some of the best dim sum ever to eat in the car. From Capital Seafood in Irvine, CA.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Baskets and sausage for sale at a Siem Reap market in Cambodia.

Each passing day, I learn more and more about the food culture in Hong Kong. Since I am learning basic Cantonese now, I can communicate more comfortably with the local fish mongers in the seafood markets in Hong Kong. For instance, I recently learned from an old Chinese lady that garoupa or lung den fish and cuttlefish are the best for making Asian fishballs. Congee tastes awesome with a special kind of fish, called nai mang, and sha koon fish is one of the preferred ones for clear fish soups!

Chinese fishballs are made by pulverising the fish meat to a smooth consistency and turning the mixture into balls around two inches in diameter. The taste is unique and quite unlike the Western fishballs, these are low in fat.

Carp (lei) is a very popular fish in Hong Kong and the locals buy a lot of this fish (the word “lei” means abundance) as they believe that eating a lot of this fish will bring prosperity in their lives.

Visited Hong Kong and didn’t eat fishballs and meatballs? You missed on one of the most popular staples here!

Another local suggested that one should try stewed and minced pork balls with brown sauce, traditionally cooked in a clay pot. There is a fancy name for this dish: “lion head” balls! These are cooked with Shanghai pak choi (bok choi) to create a flavor that lingers! Fuzhou fishballs are worth a mention here: made with eel on the exterior and a juicy pork meatball inside, it is a culinary experience in its own right!

Undoubtedly, fishballs and meatballs are very popular in Hong Kong. There are a number of variations found here. The meatballs, usually beef balls, are brownish balls in which minced meat is pounded together with other ingredients to produce balls which taste awesome in soups, noodles and stir-fries.

Fishballs are among the most popular street foods in Hong Kong! These differ in color, texture and shape. Even fish blocks are available here, which are often sold fried. Interesting variations in fishballs include lobster balls, cuttlefish balls, octopus balls, fish siu mai, etc. There are interesting color variations, too. The most interesting ones include those with alternating color and white stripes!

Beef balls and lobster balls sell like hot cakes in Hong Kong!

For those of you with an adventurous spirit and an interest in these fishballs, try this recipe below!

Asian fishball soup with flat rice noodles

Ingredients:

Asian cuttlefish balls: 12

Asian lobster balls: 12

Pak choi (or any other Chinese green vegetable): handful

Chinese brown mushrooms (chopped): 10

Broccoli florets: 8–10

Chopped spring onion greens: ¼ cup

Carrots (chopped): ½

Finely chopped garlic: 4 tbsp

Chinese onion (roughly chopped): ½ cup

Fish sauce (nam pla): 3 tbsp

Chicken broth: 7 cups

Warm water: 1 cup

Chicken powder: 1 tbsp

Mung bean sprouts: handful

Salt: according to taste

Crisp-fried garlic (store-bought): for garnishing

Boiled and drained flat rice noodles (to be boiled with little salt and oil)

Sesame oil: 1.5 tbsp

Boneless chicken cubes (marinated in 1 tbsp dark soy sauce): 1 cup

Method:

Heat the pan and add the sesame oil. When the oil smokes, add the onion and sauté for 2 min. Add the garlic and sauté again for 1 min.

Now add the chicken and sauté till the chicken is almost cooked. Add the first seven ingredients and sauté for five more minutes.

Now add the chicken broth, chicken powder mixed in warm water and the fish sauce. Let this simmer for 25 min. Add the salt now, if required.

In the U.S., it would be hard-pressed to find someone who has never had Chinese Food. Jennifer 8. Lee, author of the Fortune Cookie Chronicles, does some impressive and extensive research. For a great history and view of Chinese food around the world, check out her TedX video – it’s super informative and full of humor. If you have any eaten or been curious about Chinese food, this is worth your time. I know I learned a lot!

Nepal

Holiday meal with the family in Nepal.