Achar is the name in India for “pickle relishes.” Just as there are many different types of pickle relishes in the West, so there are many different types of Achar made in India. Many families have their own prized recipes. Achars are spicy relishes, though some will be hotter and some will be milder. Some…
Asian Food
Bamboo Shoots
Bamboo Shoots are the ivory-white coloured young leaves of water bamboo, harvested when the leaves rise about 6 inches (15 cm) above the surface of the water. They are used as a vegetable. You only eat the peeled centre part of the shoot, which is white and hairless. They have a crisp texture with a…
Banana Buds
Banana Buds © Denzil Green Banana Buds are flower buds gathered from the banana plant. Not just any banana bud is harvested though: only the one that is at the very tip of a bunch of developing flowers. The buds are about 25 cm (10 inches) long, and purple or maroon in colour. The colouring…
Banana Shoots
Banana shoots are green shoots that are the start of banana plants. They are cut just before they open up and start developing leaves. They are sold fresh markets in South-East Asia; elsewhere, mostly canned in brine. Cooking Tips They are prepared as a vegetable. Language Notes In Malaysia, they are called “jantung pisang”; in…
Bean Starch Sheets
Bean Starch Sheets are made from Mung Bean Flour. The flour is wet, rolled out into thin, round sheets and put on bamboo mats to dry. They look a bit like flour tortillas, though they are very brittle. They are sold in packages. Cooking Tips To use, soak in hot water for 20 to 30…
Black Bean Sauce
Black Bean Sauce is a sort of condiment, but one used as an ingredient in cooking, rather than one that you would splodge on your plate. Black soybeans are allowed to ferment and then salted. Sometimes a rice wine vinegar and flavourings such as garlic or ginger are added. The resultant sauce has a pungent,…
Black Soybeans
Black Soybeans are soybeans that have a black seed coat on the outside of the bean. Inside, they are the same colour as regular yellow soybeans. They are smaller, though, than yellow soybeans. A variety called “Tamba” grown in Japan is somewhat larger. Though they look somewhat like Black Turtle Beans, they are rounder, and…
Bok Choy
Bok Choy © Denzil Green Bok Choy has roundish, dark green leaves that look like crinkled spinach, and crunchy, white stalks. When cooked, it has a sweet flavour and its stalks are firm. It is a member of cabbage family. There are several sub-varieties of Bok Choy. “Regular” Bok Choy has white or greenish white…
Bok Choy Sum
Bok Choy Sum is closely related to Bok Choy, but its stems are narrower, the leaves are more oval than broad-spoon shaped, and it produces small yellow flowers. Looking at it reminds you of Rapini (which it is milder than.) There is a slightly bitter tang to the stalks and leaves, and an almost sweet…
Branched Oyster Fungus
Branched Oyster Fungus is a buff-coloured fungus that grows through the summer on dead Beech and Elm trees. It’s a variety of Oyster Mushroom, and is edible, but is not as popular as other Oyster Mushrooms.
Brown Rice Flour
Brown rice flour is a flour that is ground from brown rice. Its flavour is slightly sweeter than that of white rice flour. Cooking Tips You can use it alone as a thickener, for coating or deep-frying, or you can combine it with wheat flours for baked goods. Nutrition Gluten-free Storage Hints Will go rancid…
Chinese Cabbage
Chinese Cabbage, Chinese Broccoli and Chinese Mustard are vague terms that were no doubt coined with the best of intentions. They were probably originally meant to describe particular variants of Bok Choy, but then one term meant for one variant got applied to seven others, and it’s all such a muddle now that the terms…
Chinese Long Bean
Chinese Long Beans grow on a climbing plant that will grow anywhere from 2.7 to 3.7 metres ( 9 to 12 feet.) It puts out large flowers that are yellow or violet coloured, depending on the variety. Once the flowers have finished and the beans start growing, the beans will be ready to pick in…
Chinese White Cabbage
Chinese White Cabbage has flat, dark, dull-green leaves on white stalks that are very thick, wide and prominent at the bottom. The leaves have a slightly mustardy taste. There are many different varieties sold under many different names. Some varieties only grow about 6 inches (15 cm) tall. The better-known Bok Choy is a variety…
Coconut Cream
Coconut Cream © Denzil Green Coconut Cream is a thicker version of Coconut Milk. It is unsweetened, but heat treated, then packaged and sold in cans or cartons. Shake before opening. If you’re looking for a sweetened version to use in mixed drinks, you’re after Cream of Coconut. Coconut Cream is different from Creamed Coconut….
Coconut Oil
Coconut Oil © Denzil Green Coconut Oil is oil extract from coconut. To make it, the flesh from inside a coconut (“coconut meat”) is dried, then the oil is extracted from it. Coconut Butter and Coconut Oil are both the same thing: when the oil is solid, (below 25 C / 78 F), it’s referred…
Coconut Water
Coconut Water © Denzil Green Coconut Water is the thin juice that comes out of the inside of coconuts. It’s somewhat pale and opaque, and slightly syrupy and sweet. It is usually used as a beverage, drunk as is. It’s best drunk chilled, but can be drunk straight out of the coconut via a straw…
Coriander Root
Coriander Root © Denzil Green Many Asian cuisines, such as Thai, use the root of the coriander plant in their cooking. In some Asian cuisines, it’s the roots that cooks are after, and the leaves are just decoration. Cooking Tips The root is minced or ground and mixed into the recipe. Leave the “fine” roots…
Crosne
Crosne is a root vegetable native to Northern China. Crosne’s texture is sort of like water chestnuts, with a mild refreshing crunch. It has a nutty flavour somewhere between scorzonera and artichokes. A member of the mint family, it is a perennial plant that grows about 1 1/2 feet tall (45 cm) above the ground….
Durians
Durian Fruit © Denzil Green Durian Fruit is produced by a tropical tree that can grown 100 feet tall (40 metres.) Though there are many varieties, the fruit is generally about the size of a soccer ball, with a thick, brownish-green spiky skin (it look a bit like a hedgehog curled up.) The trees are…
Finadene Sauce
Finadene Sauce is a sauce made in Guam. It is made from equal parts of soy sauce and lemon juice with chopped hot pepper and onion. It is meant to be fiery. Some versions for fish leave out the soy sauce. It is used as a condiment sauce to dip things in or to sprinkle…
Five Spice Powder
Five Spice Powder © Denzil Green Five Spice Powder is used in Chinese cooking as a spice mix. The following makes 5 teaspoons: 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon; 1 tsp Ground Cloves; 1 tsp Fennel Seed; 1 tsp Star Anise; 1 tsp Szechwan Peppercorns Sometimes, ginger, galanga and black cardamom are added.
Fuji Apples
Fuji Apples © Denzil Green Fuji are all-purpose apples. The skin is a dull, reddish-orange with occasional russetting. The yellowish-green flesh is dense, crisp, crunchy and very juicy. The flavour is mild, but sweet with a hint of tartness. Storage Hints Stores well. Retains flavour well even when stored at room temperature. History Notes Developed…
Gai Choy
Gai Choy is a green, leafy plant that is a member of the cabbage family. It has a peppery, pungent taste, though the taste is less fiery than mustard greens. Very young leaves will have a milder taste, and can be used as a salad green. Otherwise, the leaves are cooked, or pickled in brine….