Aceh Style Chicken (Ayam Bumbu Tradisional Aceh)

1 chicken (about 1.5 kilo)
625ml coconut milk (from 2 coconuts)
2 stalks lemon grass (bruised)

Blend the following ingredients to a paste (with 125ml coconut milk) :

2 cloves garlic
4 shallots
1 tbsp ground coriander
5-7 red chilies (seeded)
3cm ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
2 tbsp lime juice

Devide chicken into 8 pieces or 12 pieces (as desired), broil the chicken for 3 minutes on each side.

Marinate the chicken in the blended paste for 15 minutes. Put the chicken in a large kuali (wok). Cook over moderate heat for 10 minutes uncovered.

Then add the remaining coconut milk and lemon grass. Bring to boil and cook for another 30 minutes, basting occasionally, till chicken is tender and almost all the liquid has evaporated. Best serve warm.

Aceh Style Chicken (Ayam Bumbu Tradisional Aceh)

1 chicken (about 1.5 kilo)
625ml coconut milk (from 2 coconuts)
2 stalks lemon grass (bruised)

Blend the following ingredients to a paste (with 125ml coconut milk) :

2 cloves garlic
4 shallots
1 tbsp ground coriander
5-7 red chilies (seeded)
3cm ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
2 tbsp lime juice

Devide chicken into 8 pieces or 12 pieces (as desired), broil the chicken for 3 minutes on each side.

Marinate the chicken in the blended paste for 15 minutes. Put the chicken in a large kuali (wok). Cook over moderate heat for 10 minutes uncovered.

Then add the remaining coconut milk and lemon grass. Bring to boil and cook for another 30 minutes, basting occasionally, till chicken is tender and almost all the liquid has evaporated. Best serve warm.

Multiculturalism and Medicine

Here is part of the Wikipedia definition of multiculturalism:

Multiculturalism has a number of different meanings. At one level the term means the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g. schools, businesses, neighborhoods, cities or nations. In this sense multiculturalism approximates to respect for diversity...

In a political context the term has come to mean the advocacy of extending equitable status to distinct ethnic and religious groups without promoting any specific ethnic, religious, and/or cultural community values as central. Multiculturalism as "cultural mosaic" is often contrasted with the concepts assimilationism and social integration and has been described as a "salad bowl" rather than a "melting pot."

Does this work for medicine as well? That is, do we respect and value Galen as much as we do Anton van Leeuwenhoek? Galen believed that our health was governed by humors in the body. Leeuwenhoek is considered the father of microbiology. As far as I can tell, no one of significance is suggesting that bleeding people with leeches or applying herbal enemas to bring a patient's humors into equilibrium is equivalent to examing tissue samples under a microscope to perform a diagnosis.

Why not?

Penicillin or leeches? Hey, it's all one to me, man.

Betcha Can't Eat Just One

As I mentioned in the last blog entry, I made drop biscuits to go along with that Broccoli Rabe, Black-Eyed Pea, White Bean and Sausage Soup. While I try to limit carbs around here during the week, that soup kept calling out for something “bread-ish.”

Soup and salad without bread just doesn’t sound right.

So, I caved. Since I was deep into perusing Lee Bailey’s “Soup Meals,” it didn’t take long to stumble upon his recipe for Mozzarella Biscuits. Since I didn’t have any mozzarella on hand, it didn’t take long to adapt the recipe to what I did have in my fridge.  Here is the delicious result:

CHEESE-Y AND PEPPER-Y DROP BISCUITS  (Adapted from Lee Bailey’s “Soup Meals”)

2 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne (or more to taste)
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cubed
1 ½ cups buttermilk
1 cup grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 450-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, black pepper and cayenne into a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or, better yet, your fingers until butter is incorporated and is the size of small peas. Add buttermilk and stir to make a thick dough. Stir in cheese. The dough should be thick enough so that it will just drop from a spoon with a little nudge (Lee’s words, not mine. Gotta love that).

Drop onto the baking sheet by the tablespoonful and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden. Remove to a baking rack to cool slightly before serving.

Yield: 20 – 40 biscuits, depending upon how big you make them

*  As usual, I used an ice cream scoop to drop these onto the baking sheet.  (Alright, I will admit to having a ridiculous assortment of the things).  For this recipe, I used the 1 1/2-inch scoop.  Worked like a charm!

Oy veh.  What's wrong with me that I have this many scoops, anyway?

How.  Ridiculous.

*  These are cheesy, savory little morsels that are crunchy on the bottom and absolutely addictive.  My no-carb scruples were totally thrown out the window once these biscuits came out of the oven.  Damn!

*  In fact, they are so good, they don't even need butter.  Can't believe I said that.

*  Lee says you can bake, then store these for a couple of days.  To reheat, place them directly on the oven rack so the bottoms stay crispy.  If it works for Lee, it works for me!

*  As I was about to close the book, I noticed Lee's recipe for Pecan Snickerdoodles with Mandarin Oranges.  What?????  Guess that's showing up soon on my recipe agenda......

Homemade Coconut Butter

I just love coconut. Adding coconut milk to any soups or curries immediately imparts a sweetness and fragrance. Apart from butter, I think this is one of my (not so) secret tricks to elevating any dish. And if you're worried about saturated fat, you really ought not to be, because our body needs saturated fat in order to be healthy. Coconut oil is also high in lauric acid, which is the only other source of which is found in mother's breast milk, and the medium-chain fatty acids actually BOOST your metabolism, so contrary to popular belief, coconut does not make you fat nor does it cause disease.

So, when I chanced upon Heather's recipe for coconut butter, I just had to try it! It's really easy and requires nothing that you can't get from the supermarket.

Homemade Coconut Butter

Ingredients

unsweetened dried coconut flakes (try to look for those without added preservatives or anti-caking agents)

Method

1. Blend until you get it to pouring consistency. Be patient.

If you have a food processor, just leave it on to do its work.

If you only have a hand blender like me, well, flex your thumb.

This is not going to work.

It's working, it's working..I think?

It worked, It worked!

Refrigerate for a few hours to let it set and solidify. Coconut butter will be solid at room temperature, you can warm it up a bit by running hot water over it (closed!), but it will never be like butter. It's more like...all-natural nut butters you get, which can be a bit dry. I might add some unrefined coconut oil the next time while blending, to get a smoother spread.

Oh and it's not for cooking. I thought at first I created virgin coconut oil that I can use for cooking with and save myself some money, but when I added it to a hot pan, it toasted (very very yummy smell though). So, think peanut butter vs peanut oil. Coconut butter has the oil plus the..actual body? fibre? of the coconut, so use it for spreads (albeit a rather tough one) instead, or you can blend it with dates etc to make desserts or bars. I just eat it straight from the jar (:

This is part of Monday Mania, Fightback Friday, Pennywise Platter Thursday and Real Food Wednesday.