khao tom mud

Khao tom mud RECIPE is on my new blog - Sunberry Jam

Di ćeš nego tajlandsko nakon tajlandskog...

Mnoge kulture koje u pripremi hrane koriste listove banane imaju neku verziju deserta od riže ili neke druge žitarice zamotanog u list banane. Ovaj tip deserta nije specifičan samo za Tajland, već za većinu jugoistočne Azije, ali i dio Srednje i Južne Amerike i dijelove Afrike. Meni je u posebno dobrom sjećanju ostao onaj iz Chiang Maia - tamo smo bili smješteni kod divne gazdarice Chaibutir koja bi nas svako jutro dočekala sa spremnim domaćim doručkom na stolu. Najčešće je to bio upravo khao tom s bananom ili tarom u sredini. U njezinom smo dvorištu imali na raspolaganju i jako slatku kuhinju na otvorenom, opremljenu svime što nam je srce moglo poželjeti. Tamo smo si svaki dan radili ručak, a ona nas je učila kako na tajlandski način pravilno skuhati ljepljivu rižu - za slatka i za slana jela. Sigurno ću još dugo pamtiti mirna sunčana jutra u tom dvorištu i slatki khao tom uz jutarnju kavu. Pamtit ću, doduše, i onaj prvi u Vijetnamu, po noći, za nešto malo tisuća vijetnamskih dongova, nakon 35 (trideset pet) vijugavih sati vožnje u skučenom autobusu i deset sati na granici zbog švercanja duhana iz Laosa, ali ovaj kod Chaibutir će mi svakako ostati u puno slađem sjećanju.

Domaći recepti za khao tom su raznoliki, a većina ih uključuje kuhanje na pari nakon što je riža umotana u list banane. Budući da nisam imala ništa za kuhati na pari u našem norveškom stanu, čak niti kakvu cjediljku za improvizaciju, odlučila sam ih "opariti" u pećnici. Ispali su slično kao kada se kuhaju na pari i dovoljno uvjerljivo da nas barem na trenutak odvede u toplije krajeve. Tako sirovo iz glave kako se dogodilo ću vam i opisati.

P. S. Sada sam zabrijala na namirnice koje kupujemo u malom dućanu kod Vijetnamaca, ali uskoro ću objaviti i malo više europski izvedive varijacije za sve one SVE koji možda nemaju gdje kupiti list banane. Ljepljiva riža je nezamjenjiva u ovom desertu, ali nju je lakše nabaviti, barem preko nekog webshopa.

što/
1 šalica ljepljive riže
1 šalica kokosovog mlijeka
1 prstohvat himalajske soli
1 stabljika limunske trave
3 jušne žlice sirupa agave ili šećera kokosovog cvijeta
1-2 banane
1-2 lista banane

kako/
Namočite ljepljivu rižu u vodi preko noći. Ocijedite i stavite u lonac s kokosovim mlijekom u koje ste prethodno umiješali sol i agavin sirup ili kokosov šećer. Dodajte limunsku travu uzdužno prerezanu napola, poklopite lonac i stavite na laganu vatru. Ne otvarajte lonac i ne miješajte, već strpljivo ostavite da se polako kuha dok riža ne upije svu tekućinu. Maknite s vatre i ostavite da se malo ohladi (izvadite limunsku travu). Pripremite narezane listove banane - ako imate dovoljno, možete ih staviti duplo, vanjski sjajnom stranom prema van, a unutarnji prema unutra. Stavite oko 2 jušne žlice riže na sredinu lista, u sredinu riže stavite komad banane i zamotajte. Zagrijte pećnicu na 175 °C i na dno stavite posudu punu vode (ja sam koristila kalup za kruh). Stavite smotuljke od riže na rešetku i pecite 10-15 minuta. Najbolje ih je ostaviti da se ohlade jer će biti kompaktniji. Meni su čak ukusniji ako odstoje jedan dan, jer dobiju još okusa od lista banane.

pad thai

I osam mjeseci kasnije, Tajland je još uvijek postojan u našem tjednom meniju... Barem dva ili tri puta tjedno kuhamo nešto tajlandsko, ali barem! Moja omiljena jela su većinom juhe, pa kada ja kuham uglavnom jedemo razne verzije tom yama i tom kha, ili neki jušnati curry s kokosovim mlijekom i tofuom. Oko pad thaia smo se davno razišli i više ga niti ne kuhamo zajedno jer svatko ima svoj stil (i to spada u taj romantični suživot dvaju kuhara pod istim krovom). On voli da to bude malo jače i zasitnije, ja volim minimalno, svježe i lagano. Obje verzije su super i pojedemo ih s podjednakom slašću, ali naravno da je svakome svoja maaalo draža. Već se neko vrijeme lijenim i odgađam raspisati taj pad thai na blogu, ali upiti i obećanja se gomilaju i malo mi postaje neugodno pisati "evo budem uskoro". Danas me mama pitala za recept, pa u to ime iskačem iz lijenosti i napokon vam predstavljam jedno od mojih sto omiljenih jela.

Pad thai je nastao tek u dvadesetom stoljeću pa nije ono pravo "tradicionalna hrana" (iako tradicija nastaje svakom sekundom ljudskog postojanja na ovom planetu, fluidna je i nema neke stroge granice, i zapravo je sve što stvaramo na neki način tradicija), ali je brzo postao poznat širom svijeta kao tajlandsko nacionalno jelo. U Tajlandu smo naišli na različite verzije pad thaia, a gotovo svima su bile zajedničke neke osnovne karakteristike: ugodno izbalansirana kombinacija slanog, slatkog, kiselog i ljutog - najčešće dobivena upotrebom soja sosa, ribljeg sosa (kada jedeš uličnu hranu, ne možeš uvijek računati da je nešto vegansko samo zato što su ti rekli da je), palminog šećera, tamarinda, limete i chili papričica. Na tanjuru su uvijek bili i pečeni kikiriki, mladi češnjak, klice mungo graha i barem jedna kriška limete. Meni već samo rižini rezanci uz dobar omjer navedenih namirnica čine pad thai, a ostali sastojci mogu biti stvar ukusa, raspoloženja, sezone... Ovdje u Norveškoj je hrana iz raznih dijelova svijeta dosta lako dostupna, "naši" Vijetnamci iz male trgovine su nam vjerojatno među dražim licima Kristiansanda, a imaju i hrpu svježih namirnica iz Tajlanda i Vijetnama koje mi redovito i rado koristimo. U Hrvatskoj je isto moguće nabaviti većinu sastojaka koji će vam trebati za ovo jelo, ali ako i ne nađete, možete malo improvizirati.

što/

{za 2 osobe}

200 g rižinih rezanaca

100 g svježeg polutvrdog tofua

3-4 jušne žlice veganskog morskog sosa*

1 jušna žlica kokosovog šećera

1 limeta

1-2 cm dugačak komadić pulpe tamarinda

1 mala chili paprika ili prema ukusu

5-6 izdanaka mladog azijskog češnjaka (Alium tuberosum) ili 2 europska mlada češnjaka (Allium sativum)

200 g klica mungo graha

1 svježa stabljika limunske trave

150 g pečenog kikirikija

1 manja mrkva ili neko drugo povrće koje nema prejaki okus i neće preuzeti jelo (opcija)

*stavite malu šaku sušenih algi u 150 ml prirodno fermentiranog soja sosa i ostavite da odstoji barem 12 sati (slobodno ostavite i dulje). Procijedite i koristite umjesto ribljeg umaka u jelima. Ja najčešće koristim kombu ili wakame, ali možete koristiti i druge alge - najvažnije je da postignete okus morske hrane.

kako/

Skuhajte rezance i ohladite ih pod tekućom vodom. Ako ih nećete upotrijebiti odmah, možete ih ostaviti u hladnoj vodi da se ne zalijepe. Narežite tofu na kockice. Zamiješajte umak od veganskog morskog sosa, kokosovog šećera, soka pola limete i sitno nasjeckane pulpe tamarinda. Narežite chili na što sitnije. Limunsku travu narežite na sasvim tanke kolutiće, a zeleni dio lišća mladog češnjaka na komadiće od oko 2 cm duljine (nešto manje za europski češnjak). Donje, svijetlije dijelove češnjaka ostavite u komadu. Ako koristite mrkvu, narežite ju na tanke trake. Narežite kikiriki na sitnije komade. Ispecite tofu na malo kokosovog ulja, uz malo soja sosa za okus. Ostavite pečeni tofu sa strane i stavite na tavu pola narezane limunske trave, mrkvu i sav chili. Prodinstajte sasvim kratko, pa ulijte u tavu umak koji ste zamiješali. Dodajte rezance i miješajte oko minutu-dvije, dok rezanci ne budu ravnomjerno prekriveni umakom. Maknite s vatre i dodajte tofu, ostatak limunske trave, narezani češnjak i klice mungo graha. Poslužite uz kriške limete, nasjeckani kikiriki i donje dijelove stabljika mladog češnjaka.

Dobar tek!

[ENG]

pad thai

Eight months later and Thailand is still steadily present on our weekly plates. We cook some kind of Thai food at least two or three times in a week, i mean at least! My favourite dishes are usually soups, so if I'm cooking, we will usually eat some kind of tom yam, tom kha or a soup-like coconut milk curry with tofu and vegetables. We separated in the pad thai story a long time ago and we no longer cook it together because each of us has their own style (that is also a part of this romantic coexistence of two chefs under the same roof). He likes it stronger, a bit heavier and more fulfilling, while I prefer it as a fresher and lighter meal. Both versions are delicious and we eat them with similar amount of joy, but of course each of us slightly prefers their own version. I've been a bit lazy or occupied with other things and just kept promising this recipe but postponing the writing. Today my mom asked me for it, so I finally collected some motivation to type it - I now present you one of my probably hundred favourite dishes.

Pad thai was created only in twentieth century so it is maybe not a "real traditional dish" (although tradition is created with every second of human existence on this planet, it is fluid and doesn't have some strict boundaries, so everything we create can be considered tradition in a sense), but it quickly became famous all around the world as Thai national dish. We tried many different versions of pad thai in Thailand and most of them were really delicious. Some of the main characteristics they all had in common were a good balance of savoury, sweet, sour and spicy notes - usually achieved by the use of soy sauce, fish sauce (when you eat street food, you can't always count on something being vegan just because you were told it was), palm sugar, tamarind fruit, lime and chili peppers. Baked or roasted peanuts, garlic chives, mung bean sprouts and at least one slice of lime were also an important part of a pad thai plate. For me, only rice noodles and a good ratio of the mentioned ingredients make a pad thai, and the other foodstuffs are optional and can depend on a personal taste, mood or season. Here in Norway where we live at the moment, we are lucky to have so many various fresh and packaged Thai foodstuffs (as well as foods from other parts of the world) easily available. Even if you can't get all of them where you live, you can probably still improvise with the ingredients that you can get.

what/

{for 2 persons}
200 g rice noodles
100 g fresh semi-soft tofu
3-4 tbsp vegan mermaid sauce
1 tbsp coconut blossom sugar
1 lime
1-2 cm long piece of tamarind fruit pulp
1 small chili, or up to taste
5-6 Asian garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) or 2 European young garlic shoots (Allium sativum)
200 g mung bean sprouts
1 fresh lemongrass stalk
150 g baked peanuts
1 small carrot or some other vegetables that don't have very strong taste (optional)

*put a small handful of algae into 150 ml of naturally brewed soy sauce and let it soak for at least 12 hours (you can leave for even longer). Strain the liquid and you can use it instead of fish sauce in the recipes. I usually use kombu or walame algae, but you can use other species - the most important thing is to achieve the seafood flavour.

how/
Cook the rice noodles and cool them under running water. If you are not going to use them right away, you can leave them in cold water to stay separated. Cut the tofu into cubes. Prepare the sauce by mixing vegan mermaid sauce, coconut sugar, juice of half a lime and minced tamarind pulp. Mince the chili as finely as possible. Slice the lemongrass into very thin rings; cut the darker green parts of chives into 2 cm long pieces (or a bit shorter if you are using European garlic) and leave the bottom part whole for serving. If you are using the carrot, slice it into thin stripes. Dip tofu cubes shortly in soy sauce and pan fry them on just a little bit of coconut oil. Put them aside to stay crispy on the outside. Shorty sauté the chili, carrot and half of all the lemongrass, add the sauce and the noodles and cook for a minute or two, until all the noodles equally soak up the sauce. Turn the heat off and add the tofu, sliced garlic chives, sprouts and the rest of the lemongrass. Serve with lime slices, chopped peanuts and bottom parts of garlic chives.
Bon appétit!

kuglice od badema i marelica

Moram priznati da se u Norveškoj osjećam kao doma i da mi ne nedostaje Hrvatska niti malo. I inače imam takav osjećaj kada se na neko vrijeme preselim negdje, jednostavno je prekrasno i zanimljivo istraživati novo tlo, običaje, različite detalje koji čine neko mjesto posebnim, i promatrati kako sve to svakim danom sve više postaje dio tvojeg svijeta. Ljudi u jutarnjem autobusu, ulični svirači, rozo večernje nebo, miris zraka uz more, šuštanje jasike uz potok, svaki dan drugačija ista šuma i svaki dan nova ja. Iako vjerojatno zauvijek zaljubljena u jasiku uz potok, sinoć sam sanjala bademe iz Dalmacije i sjetila se hrvatskih tržnica i sve sile domaćih proizvoda, nečega što posebno volim na Balkanu i drugim krajevima svijeta južnije od ovog gdje smo sada. Svako je mjesto na svoj način čarobno, pa tako recimo ovdje umjesto odlaska na plac bereš bobice i gljive u šumi i kupaš se u jezerima; ovdje klima ne dopušta toliko obilje domaćeg voća i povrća, a tržnice slične onima u Hrvatskoj nisu baš u kulturi. Razmišljajući tako o bademima i tržnicama, sjetila sam se da sam još u proljeće bila složila jedan slatki i jednostavni recept koji nikad nisam objavila.

što/
1 i 1/4 šalice badema
1 šalica sušenih marelica*
1/2 šalice datulja (ja sam koristila sortu deglet nour)
1/4 čajne žličice mljevene vanilije

*preporučam prirodno sušene marelice koje nisu sumporene; one nisu izrazito narančaste niti kiselkaste, već smeđe, mekane i slatke, s laganom notom karamele

kako/
Narežite marelice i datulje na manje komade i stavite u sjeckalicu zajedno s ostalim sastojcima. Preradite u kompaktnu masu koju je lako moguće oblikovati rukama. Oblikujte kuglice i zavaljajte ih u mljevene bademe.
Dobar tek!

almond and apricot energy balls

I have to admit that Norway really feels like home and I haven't missed Croatia at all so far. That is actually a usual feeling that I get when I temporarily move somewhere. It is just so beautiful and interesting to explore a new ground, customs, various details that make a certain place special and observe as it all slowly becomes a part of your world. People in the morning bus, street musicians, pink evening skies, smell of the salty air, trembling of the aspen leaves near a water stream, the same forest that is different each day, each day a new me. Although I will probably be forever in love with aspen trees by the stream, last night I dreamt about almonds from Dalmatia and all their familiar sweetness and tastiness. I remembered all the Croatian farmers' markets and their abundance of fresh produce - something that is not really customary here. It is simply because this cold climate doesn't provide such abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables and other crops. It does provide wonderful hiking, swimming in lakes and lots of wild foraging adventures with berries, mushrooms and herbs, so you cannot even feel sad that farmers' markets are not a part of the culture in the same way as they are in the Balkan countries. Anyway, all this thinking of markets and almonds made me realize that I had written a simple sweet recipe this spring and never published it. So, here it is!

what/
1 + 1/4 cup almonds
1 cup organic raw sun-dried apricots*
1/2 cup dates (i used deglet nour veriety)
1/4 tsp ground vanilla

* I never emphasize that something should be organic, completely raw or sun-dried, but here I wanted to specify that you should use the darker orange / brownish apricots that were not treated with sulfur dioxide to preserve colour. You can actually feel the difference in their taste; the untreated ones have a deeper and less fruity flavour

how/
Chop the dried fruits into smaller pieces and put all the ingredients in a food processor. Process until you get a compact mass that is easily shaped with hands. Roll the balls and (optionally) cover them with ground almonds.
Bon appétit!

krema od badema sa želeom od jarebike

In the last post I wrote a bit about rowan (Sorbus aucuparia L.) and how to use its fruits in cooking. As anything made with a lot of rowanberries will be pretty intense, it is not very likely that you will be eating rowanberry jelly on a slice of bread for breakfast. But adding just a little amount to some sweet or savoury dishes will enrich their flavour and add a special note to them. Here is an idea for a creamy and tasty dessert with rowanberry jelly (you can use the jam instead if you prefer it). The bitter and sweet notes of rowan jelly will go perfectly with sweet almond flavours.

what/
3/4 cup cashews
1/2 cup sweet almonds
3/4 cup rice milk
5 tbsp maple syrup
juice of 1 lime
1 pinch ground vanilla
4 tbsp rowanberry jelly

how/
Blend everything except the jelly into a smooth cream. Pour it into dessert glasses and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours to thicken. Add just a little bit of rowanberry jelly on top of the cream in each glass.
Bon appétit!

cooking with rowan berries

Sorbus aucuparia, rowan or mountain ash (jarebika in Croatian) is a tree with a long history in European folklore and mythology. It was believed to have magical powers and protect against evil spirits; it was also called "traveller's tree" because it was said to prevent travellers from getting lost on their journey. In Norse mythology, it was said to have helped god Thor save himself from drowning in a running river. It was considered a sacred tree in Celtic traditions, where it was, amongst other things, a symbol of death and rebirth.

Rowan can be found in cooler climate and mountain forests of the Northern Hemisphere, where it is one of the winter foods for some bird species. It has been used by humans too, as a medicinal plant as well as a culinary delicacy. If you ever roamed cooler temperate forests of Europe or some parts of Asia, you might have noticed these beautiful trees that have bunches of small red fruits hanging from their branches from late summer till after the first frosts. They naturally occur in the forests, but are often planted near houses as well. In Europe, rowan berries have traditionally been used mostly to make jams and compotes that are usually served with savoury dishes, fermented into a wine called diodgriafel or pickled in vinegar.

Rowan berries are not edible raw and can even be poisonous for humans if consumed raw in higher quantities because of their parasorbic acid content. To make them perfectly safe for eating, we need to cook or (freeze and) ferment them. This kind of processing converts parasorbic acid into sorbic acid which is benign to human body and is actually used as a preservative in food industry.

If you are not very keen on bitter foods, you might want to skip this whole rowan berry culinary experience. Most of rowan varieties give really bitter fruits, and although the bitterness level reduces a bit after the frost, they still taste pretty bitter and intense. If, however, you like to enjoy some bitter notes in your sweet or savoury meals, this could indeed be a true culinary delicacy. Intense as they are, you will only need a small amount of rowan berries to enrich your food experience. I like to make only a jar or two of rowan berry jam or jelly in the autumn and they will last for a pretty long time since you really need just a little bit at a time.

/rowanberry jelly/

Put rowan berries into a pot and pour cold pressed apple juice over them, a bit more than you need to cover all the berries. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes over a low heat. Let it cool down and strain through a kitchen cloth. If the cloth is fine enough, the liquid will come out translucent and bright red in colour (even though the cooked berries often look completely orange). Add some lime juice and coconut sugar to taste. If you want to keep the translucent red jelly look, you can use light agave syrup instead of coconut sugar. Add enough agar to thicken the liquid (anything between one and two teaspoons of agar flakes per 250 ml liquid is ok, depending on how thick you want it to be) and put it back to heat. Let it simmer while stirring until all the agar is dissolved. Let it cool down just a bit before pouring it into the jar(s) that you previously warmed up in hot water.

/apple and rowanberry jam/

Put 1/2 cup rowan berries and 2 cups chopped apples in a pot. Pour just enough water to cover the bottom and let it simmer on low heat until the fruits soften. Process the softened fruits a bit in a food processor and put them back to the pot. Add 2/3 cup coconut blossom sugar, 1/4 tsp ground vanilla and 1/2 tsp ceylon cinnamon and cook on low heat for 15 minutes (stir regularly). Put the jam in clean heated jars; for a longer shelf-life, you can also put the filled and loosely closed jars in an oven on 80 °C for around five minutes and then seal them properly.

You can find a recipe for a creamy almond dessert with rowanberry jelly [here].