Category: Potables
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Bún Bò Huế
The city of Huế seated the last dynasty of Vietnam, the Nguyễn dynasty, until the country became a French colony. Feeding kings and lords, nobilities, commoners, and monks, Huế cuisine has become a class of its own, boasting around 1700 dishes, many being served in little plates and bowls, reminiscent of Hong Kong dim sum…
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Phở
Phở is considered the hallmark of Vietnamese cuisine. Yet it may surprise that it was only created about a century ago in the city of Nam Định, 50 miles south of Hà Nội, the capital city. In the 1950’s, phở migrated south of the country along with its people. Since then, it has traveled a…
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Stock & Broth
The difference between broth and stock is not apparent. Some say stock is made of the animal’s bones, while broth is made from its meat. Others say broth is a reduced stock with additional aromatics and seasonings. Call it a broth or a stock, it is an essential potable in the kitchen, whether as a…
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The Sake Way
Mashed fruits, left alone for some time, ferment themselves. Natural yeast already present in their juices consume readily available sugar to make alcohol and gas. Grains, unlike fruit juices however, lock their sugars in starches. In order to ferment grains, their starch chains need to be unpacked and then digested into sugars by enzymes. The…
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Pomegranate Wine
To have a pomegranate tree in the garden is to be delighted in its beauty all year. Among the first to bloom for summertime, the tree lades itself in bright red blossoms, as eye-catching as a fiery goblet upon the mantelpiece of the garden. By midsummer, flowers slowly swell into green orbs fattening up atop…
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Mead
Mead is fermented honey water. Because honey is mostly constituted of a supersaturated solution of sugar glucose and fructose, mead can have as much alcohol as wine or more. Unlike cider, mead already carries an overt honey tone. Fermentation coaxes out its other floral and fruity aromas, reminiscing the flower nectar that bees feed upon. …
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Grape Cider
One of the fascinating aspects about fermentation is how it transforms food. For certain food such as wine and cider, their flavors after fermentation represent even more of their essence than before. While grape juice tastes generically fruity, wine pushes floral and fruity aromas directly at the nose, exudes honey and caramel notes, and recalls…
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Kvas
The first time I tasted kvas was in the city of Yekaterinburg in Russia’s Siberia. It was a perfect thirst quencher for a sunny and moist summer day. How hot can it really get in Siberia at such high latitudes? -but that it is landlocked allows its summer temperatures to rise to a sizzling 90’s…
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Kombucha
This year, I signed myself into the pro-probiotics camp. As they are the bacteria intended to do amazing things for your gut, probiotics are the golden child of the wellness movement. Thanks to their supreme popularity of late, there is a plethora of fermented tea products, aka kombucha, available at your grocery store. Since all…
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