photo by S x 2

There was a time when I regularly followed the New York Times Magazine's food column.  A friend that's a chef told me she would cook whatever they published each Sunday.  The column seems to have gone downhill over the last couple years.  These days, I barely read the food section and never seek it out.

The upside is the travel section.  Every couple weeks the Sunday Times publishes a great story about food on the road.  The stories are wonderfully written, with great photos and completely make up for the Magazine falling off my reading list.

Back in December there was a great article on street food in Bali.  I've never been there, but I've heard or read about the roasted pig.  I've also had Whole Food's terrible version of Bali chicken.  The article peaked my interest in how to do Bali chicken correctly.  After a few tries, this is what I came up with.

Maybe I am too heavily influenced by pollo asada, but I think this recipe should be grilled.  I think the grill adds the right amount of smoky flavor to the meat.  My proximity to Mexico influences the ingredients too - dried shrimp are a common ingredient on the border, so I used them to recreate the shrimp paste used in Bali.

These make for a fantastic appetizer or snack, and don't take long to make.  They are best as chicken wings, but a whole chicken would well too.

Ayam Taliwang

1 small whole chicken or 2 lbs chicken wings

Salt

3 Tbsp oil

2 shallots

4-5 cloves garlic

2 tsp red chili pepper or 2 small, hot green chilies.

2 tsp ground shrimp

1 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Juice from 1 lime

Directions

1. If using a whole chicken, cut into pieces.  Salt the chicken and set aside.  Pre-heat a broiler.

1. Grind the shallots, garlic, chilies, shrimp, sugar and salt into a paste.

1. Heat the oil over a medium heat.  Add the paste and cook for 3 minutes.  Add the lime juice and set aside.

1. Broil the chicken for 3 minutes under a hot broiler.  Turn once if the broiler is very hot.

1. Brush the chicken with the paste.  Be sure to cover it well.


2. Grill the chicken until cooked.

1. Brush the chicken with any remaining paste.

Table for Six: Cupid's Dinner Update and Jeff Smedstad's Elote Recipe -A fresh take on Elote.  Elote trucks are littered throughout my state.  [Phoenix New Times]

Curry Up Now - Another bay area Indian food truck.  I've seen this one mentioned before.  [curryupnow.com]

Spanish tapas & Jewish deli food trucks to roll into O.C. - Spanish tapas food truck.  That may be a bit much, but the paella sounds worth the trip  [fastfood.freedomblogging.com]

The short history of Indian Chinese food and where to breathe fire in Mumbai - Chinese food influences in India street food. [cnn.com]

Street vendor harassment in California - Harassment of street food vendors really is inevitable in high rent areas. [zenkimchi.com]

Generations of Malaysian street food families find tantalizing new home in 'heritage village' - I'm in Malaysia in a few weeks.  I've never tried a "food court" in a mall.  [startribune.com]

Homemade Tahô - A Filipino street food dessert - Taho  [panlasangpinoy.com]

FRIDAY’S RECIPE: PERFECT THAI FRIED RICE - A great recipe for Thai fried rice.  [newyorkstreetfood.com]

photo by craigemorsels

The first time I had roti canai, I recognized its source.  Without knowing the name, I knew I had been served something very similar in southern India.  At the time, I didn't realize just how important this would be to some of the things I started cooking from India.

Turns out Roti Canai is closely related to Kerala Porotta, which like most Indian breads, has been impossible for me to get right.  Kerala Porotta is particularly frustrating, as I have many friends that tell me how they or their family members make great Kerala Porotta, and here I am banging away my miserable attempts.  The last step of making Kerala Porotta is clapping the bread together between your hands to break the bread up.  Try as I might, I either couldn't get the breaking right or wasn't making the dough right.  Either way, what I ended up with never matched my memory or expectations.

Making Roti Canai is different for a couple reasons - the dough is sweeter, and more importantly, easier to finish.  This recipe makes a bunch of breads - probably too many if you are having a small meal.  The dough keeps for a couple days in the fridge if you decide to make it all.

There is of course a more authentic way of flattening the dough than using a roller.  There are some great videos on YouTube that show the process in detail.  I've tried them, but to be honest, they make a bit of a mess.  Using a roller is not that difficult, so I just stick with that method.

This recipe helped me learn how to make Kerala Porotta, so eventually I will post that recipe too...

Roti Canai

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1 cup warm water

1 egg

olive or vegetable oil (I use olive oil)

Directions

1. Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.

1. Beat the egg with the water and add to the flour mixture.

1. Knead the dough until it is smooth.


2. Oil your hands and divide the dough into balls.  This will leave the dough balls covered in oil.


3. Let the dough balls rest overnight or for a couple hours.


4. When ready to make the breads, oil a roller and roll each ball out until it is very thin, about 1/8". 


5. Cook the breads on a hot flat iron skillet until light brown.


6. Take each bread as it comes off the skillet and crunch it together in your hands, which will lighten the bread.

An Indian Palate Meets A California Street Corner - NPR covers a street food stand in Berkeley and the relationship of diners to the food in India. [NPR.org]

A street-food serenade to Mexico City's fresh flavors - a great set of recipes for carnitas, a Mexican street food favorite. [star telegram]

LA Street Food Fest attracts thousands - Los Angeles Street Food Festival happened to long lines and frustrated "epicures".  Hard to imagine folks eating at a food truck would wear that badge. [LA Times]

A new app and web site to track street food - cool idea - a street food aggregator. [Roaming Hunger]

An iPhone app for tracking street food - personally, I use Yelp, but its interesting to see an actual app. [Taco Loco]

Street vendors stir food debate in Castro district - conflict with their bricks and mortar neighbors in San Francisco. [SF Examiner]

photo by Wha'ppen

As I've mentioned in other posts, I've spent a little time travelling New Mexico and southern Colorado in search of snow.  Before Frontier Airlines started shuttling folks into Denver for a song, that meant driving around New Mexico.  Besides going out of my way to hit Las Vegas (the other one), distance driving included stopping at truck stops, roadside stands and any spot that didn't look like a chain.  Especially in northern New Mexico, you can get some excellent green chili just about anywhere.  After all - this is pretty much where those beautiful green chilies come from.

If you can avoid the digs of the Truck Stop Women, what you'll find is chili made for locals and served to travelers - a perfect bowl of green.  Green chili is not anything like its Texas peer - lots of variety and, if you're lucky, lots of vegetables.  Green chili is a cheap meal that warms you up and gets you back on the road.

There have been times I have made this recipe for no reason other than I wanted to make some stock, but for the most part, this rolls out when the chilies appear in September.  The chili harvest in Hatch, New Mexico is a big event.  Local grocery stores will set up propane burners and roast them on the spot.  When I am feeling organized I will buy some for freezing.  Then I can have a steady stream of green chili well into winter.

Admittedly, this recipe assumes you have a source of excellent smoked chicken.  If not, its time to break out the big green egg and get to work.

Green chili with smoked chicken

3-4 slices of thick cut bacon, diced

2 small onions (about 2 cups)

3 cloves garlic

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

2 cups chicken stock

2 Tbsp masa harina

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

6-8 green chilis, roasted, stems and seeds removed

1 whole smoked chicken, skin and bones removed, diced

Directions

1. Cook the bacon in a medium sized pot over medium heat until the bacon is cooked (brown)


2. Add onions and garlic.  Cook until the onions begin to soften and become translucent.


3. Add the tomatoes, stock, masa, salt, pepper and chilies.   Bring to boil, lower heat to a soft simmer, cover and cook for 2 hours.


4. Uncover and cook for another 10 minutes.  Thicken with more masa harina or thin with water.


5. Add chicken and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  Serve hot.