Chocolate

Chocolate Grinders, Oaxaca, Mexico

There really is no good substitute for chocolate—but you couldn’t tell that to the creative Aztec forgers who found a way to create a cacao alternative at a time when the beans were a form of money. Fake cacao beans might have been harder to keep in circulation than forged paper money, however.

Theobroma cacao (and who would disagree with the name—Theobroma means “drink of the gods”) was used by Aztecs in ways that would not seem familiar or even appealing to most of us today. While the pre-Columbian practice of grinding chocolate and chilies together is still reflected in Mexico’s mole sauce, and has re-emerged in a few daring, high-end confections, the chocolate preparations of the Aztecs were generally designed for impact rather than taste. The two forms for consumption were pastes and drinks. Cocoa pastes might include (in addition to chilies) corn, fruit, or hallucinogenic mushrooms. Beverages, which also incorporated hot chilies, were unsweetened and beaten until frothy. Only the ruling class could afford (or were permitted) chocolate, but they consumed it in large amounts. The emperor Moctezuma in particular was a fan. He drank his chocolate from golden goblets—some say as many as 40 servings a day—because it was reputed to be an aphrodisiac.

Larb Nua

The recipe below is for a Thai dish called larb nua. This is the first Thai dish I ever had, though it has now been a couple of decades since my brother first took me to the Thai Room on Western for my birthday—back when there were only a few Thai restaurants in Chicago. He ordered, as he was already familiar with the cuisine, and larb was our starter. I loved it, and still do. I have, since then, enjoyed it often, both at the growing number of Thai restaurants over here and during two trips to Thailand.

As is common in Asia, though this is called a salad, lettuce plays only a supporting role. This dish can also be made with ground chicken, in which case it is larb kai. Enjoy.

Larb Nua
(Spicy Thai Beef Salad/Appetizer)

1/4 cup uncooked white rice
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 cup lime juice*
2 Tbs. Thai fish sauce
1/2 tsp. galangal powder
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
6–8 scallions, thinly sliced
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbs. chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tsp. crushed red pepper*
Lettuce (about 1 head iceberg or 3 heads butter lettuce)
Mint sprigs for garnish, if desired

In a small pan, cook the rice over medium heat, shaking the pan frequently, until the rice is a nice golden brown, about 4 to 8 minutes. Grind the rice fine in a blender or coffee grinder, and set aside. (Alternatively, if you have a good Asian grocery store, you can just buy toasted ground rice. But this is so easy to make, I don’t bother, since I need so little for this recipe.)

Lettuce

Ancient Greeks and Romans were the people most responsible for what we in the West view as “what’s for dinner.” They were the ones who added lettuce-based salads and desserts to a menu that had previously focused on just getting enough calories to survive. I’ve actually noticed in my travels that, in areas outside the cultural influence of Greece and Rome, these things—lettuce salads and dessert—don’t really exist. In Asia, servers will put out a sliced orange at the end of a meal, because they’ve learned that American and European tourists expect something sweet, but it’s not part of the culture, and a nice tossed green salad is just not something you’re going to find on a traditional Oriental menu. (This is not to say they don’t have sweets; they just don’t have dessert. Sweets are snacks.)

Evidence from Egyptian tomb paintings indicates that lettuce was being cultivated in Egypt before 4500 BC, though the first writings were Assyrian documents from around 800 BC, when lettuce was identified as being among the 250 plants growing in the gardens of King Merodach-Baladan in Babylon. The Greek historian Herodotus tells us that lettuce appeared on royal tables in Persia by about 550 BC, but it was a delicacy reserved for kings. These civilizations all bordered on the likely point of origin of lettuce: inner Asia Minor, trans-Caucasus, Iran, and Turkistan.

Cebollas Encuridas

In Mexico’s Yucatan, pickled red onions—cebollas encuridas— are served at almost every meal, appearing as soon as you sit down, along with the salsa. They are a delightful and delicious way to enhance foods, from simply piling them on tortilla chips to using them to enhance a dish. I came to be fairly addicted to them when I toured the Yucatan a few years ago, and I now make them regularly.

You must use sour orange juice. It’s completely different from sweet orange juice—more like lime juice. Straight vinegar would be better than using sweet orange juice, but look for sour orange in the Hispanic- or Mexican-foods aisle of your grocery store, or check at a Hispanic grocery store. It’s worth the effort, because the flavor really is different if you try substitutes for the sour orange.

And just so you know, these are good with more than just Mexican food. Almost anywhere you’d use pickles, relish, or onions can be enhanced with this flavorful condiment. Enjoy.

Cebollas Encuridas
Yucatecan Pickled Onions

1 large red onion, thinly sliced
boiling water, to cover
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup sour orange juice, or to cover
1/2 tsp dried oregano, preferably Mexican oregano

Onions

Onion

The Allium genus includes some of my favorite purveyors of flavor, including garlic, shallots, leeks, scallions, and onions. It is hard to imagine cooking without these fragrant, vibrant plants. And in fact, no one has ever really had to, because wild members of the allium genus grow worldwide. That’s why, even though onions as we know them arrived in the Americas with European explorers, we still ended up with Native American words that refer to a place where wild onions were causing a stink: the Potawatomi word checagou, which means “place that stinks of wild onions,” and the Menominee word shika’ko, which means “skunk place,” which actually referred to the smell of the wild onions. We’re not sure which of these words was the derivation of Chicago, but the point is, there were a lot of wild onions growing here long before domesticated onions made it over with European settlers.

Going to Goa

Portuguese Architecture in Old Goa

Before I mention what happened after I landed in Goa, it seems appropriate to mention our internal flights in India. The country’s Jet Airways is now one of my favorite airlines. They have spotlessly clean jets, offer lots of leg room, have a great on-time record, offer superb Indian food, and they feed you even on a one-hour flight (always with vegetarian and non-vegetarian options). The airports in India will make you crazy (at least three security points to pass through for every flight), but this airline, at least, makes internal travel a delight.

And now, Goa.

Goa was Portuguese until 1961, which means it was controlled by a European power after all the rest of India had gained independence from Britain. A few years later, Goa was invaded by hippies who didn’t want the ‘70s to end. Signs of both groups were abundant, from Portuguese cathedrals to hippy tie-dye and head shops.

The buildings in the photo above are the Church of St. Francis of Assisi on the left and Se Cathedral on the right. Se Cathedral is said to be the largest church in Asia, and is actually larger than its counterparts back in Portugal.

On to Karnataka

Mysore Country Road

We landed in Bangalore, where we were met by our next guide, Sudhakar. Bangalore, with 6 million people, is India’s “Silicon Valley.” Impressive buildings lined broad streets of the bustling city. But crowded, modern Bangalore was not our destination. Karnataka was once known as the State of Mysore, and it was into the Mysore district, the heart of the one-time Kingdom of Mysore, that we headed. Boulevards lined with jacaranda trees, mimosa, flame trees, and frangipani soon led us out into a lovely and constantly changing countryside. We passed the impressive, granite Ramanaga Hills, which were featured in the movie “Passage to India.” On all sides, there was much to delight the eye: markets, small villages, carts drawn by ponies or Indian cows, workers, children, temples, fields, and farms.

Kerala—the Spice State

Coconut and Waterways in Kerala

Spices For Sale

From Chennai in Tamil Nadu we flew to Cochin in Kerala. It is said of Kerala that there are more coconuts here than there are stars in the sky. However, despite all the coconuts, it is not the thing for which this state is famed. Kerala is India’s “Spice State.” It is from here that about 80 percent of India’s spices are shipped. It is among the most beautiful places in the world. It is also the state with the highest literacy rate in India (almost 100 percent) and a long history of multiculturalism (this is where traders have come for 3,000 years to obtain the fabulous spices that made India the goal of so many explorers—Kerala is the point of origin of pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger).

It would take days to describe everything we saw and experienced in Kerala, so I shall share only some of the highlights. We enjoyed an elaborate meal in a private home, then were delighted to see family members’ wedding albums. We had a cooking demonstration of Keralan cuisine at the splendid Coconut Lagoon, a resort built among waterways, palm trees, flowers, and butterflies, where one stays in traditional Kerala teak houses. (The photo across the top of this blog is from that cooking demonstration.)

Indian Odyssey – Tamil Nadu

Gathering Sun-Dried Rice in Tamil Nadu

A few years ago, I had the great pleasure of traveling through southern India with four other members of the Culinary Historians of Chicago. Our itinerary had been arranged by Culinary Historians president, Dr. Bruce Kraig, who had just finished filming a TV special on the foodways of southern India. This had the tremendous advantage of giving us access to chefs and learning opportunities we would otherwise not have had. Though there was a considerable focus on food, the tour also took in a wide range of non-culinary delights as well. We did far too much to include in one post, so I’ll break this up into the four states to which our travels took us: Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Goa.

Our first stop was Chennai, formerly known as Madras, in the state of Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu means “the state where they speak Tamil,” and Tamil is the local language.

When we landed in Chennai, I stepped outside the airport, took a deep breath of the warm, fragrant air, looked around, and instantly knew that I was going to fall in love with India—and I also knew that two weeks wouldn’t be nearly enough time. Our surroundings were enticingly exotic and beautiful beyond imaging. They were also bustling, crowded, and full of life.

Behind the Scenes

If you’re like me and enjoy going behind the scenes to get the whole story, to see the process, to meet the families and dig into histories, to understand why things are done, or how, or what led up to a dish, a restaurant, a philosophy, then Michael Gebert might be someone you want to know. I love getting the back story, so I have been delighted by Gebert’s wonderful video series, Sky Full of Bacon.

The videocasts introduce us to people who are making their mark, and sometimes making a difference, in the world of food. There are episodes on urban gardening and urban foraging, on Texas barbecue and Chinese duck, on processors and growers and farmers markets. The videos give you a more in-depth and thoughtful look at their topics than you’ll find elsewhere—and in at least a few cases, might inspire you to take action, whether that action is starting a rooftop garden or just going out for dinner.

I do advise you read the little write-up before watching any given video, because while most involve conversations with chefs or organic farmers about how they work and why, some take you into stories not everyone will enjoy, such as following free-range pigs from farm to plate. Of course, I think it’s good to recognize that meat doesn’t actually come into this world already wrapped in plastic, but the process is not necessarily something everyone wants to watch.

The series generally focuses on the Chicago area, though Texas and Wisconsin have been featured, so only time will tell how far afield Gebert will take us as the series continues to develop.

So, if you like meeting people who grow, forage, sell, process, cure, or cook the food that delights you, then check out Sky Full of Bacon.