So everyday for the next thirty days I will post about food but, with an added element linked to myself. For example, some people started the Challenge with a post about a favourite song. But I might talk about a dish that makes me think about music. Just an idea.
Speaking of taste, here is Day 1:
So those who know me, and now you dear reader, are all aware that my music taste could be described as eccentric, unusual or, to the very few, just plain cheesy. Mainstream is all very well and good, but whenever I find myself liking mainstream music, it tends to be the mainstream of anther country :P My favourites can range from reggae, rocksteady and soca, to punk-rock, to J-Rock and Mando-pop (esp by Taiwanese artists). At the moment my favourite songs are So Exclusive by Japanese hip-hop group m-flo feat. Sowelu and Reeewind! by m-flo feat. Crystal Kay.
I loved m-flo as a teen, and I was raised on R&B, and rediscovering their music kinda reminded me how I like my music (as well as my food)...International, baby! And so maybe this, as well as being near a market and having a freezer full of fish from my Antiguan Grandma, is why today's meal is so...everywhere. Drawing from Caribbean, Asian and American cuisine:
Fried Tilapia in a Tomato Sauce, Sweet Potato and Raisin Mash, with Ginger Rice
So you must be scratching your head. How on earth do these fit together. Truth is, they're not suupposed to, but like any pacifist, I asked the question, "Can't we all just get along?" And they said "YES!"
So for the recipe:
The Ginger Rice was lifted from a chicken recipe book as a side-dish to sesame chicken strips. Although I substituted a few thing I didn't have. I'll put the original ingredients in brackets where they are different.
1 cup of Basmati rice - a short grain rice would work too, probably better
A knob of butter (sesame oil)
A can of ginger beer - 330ml - I must point out that I used D&G Old Jamaican, cause I'm patriotic like that.
1 spring onion
A thumb sized piece of ginger
Salt
- Chop off the very end of the spring onion, and chop the green of the onion into pieces. Keep the whole white/colourless end and tap with the end of your knife to release the juices.
- Fry the onion and the, peeled and chopped, ginger in the butter.
- Add the rice and stir in the butter, cooking over a high heat for a couple of minutes.
- Then add the ginger beer and cover, stirring occasionally until the ginger beer has mostly gone, leaving a slightly wet rice.
For the sweet potato and raisin mash, which is I think an American twist on a West Indian staple plant. This is probably the most basic recipe, and come nowhere near my New York-Jamaican Aunt's version. Usually I only have roasted sweet potato or boiled in soup at my Grandma's house.
- I peeled and chopped 1 average purple skinned sweet potato - marketed as Jamaican sweet potato by the grocer. (I panicked when I saw white liquid seeping from the veggie as I chopped, but that is apparently just starch.)
- Boil the chopped sweet potato in salted boiling water for 20-25 minutes, til. Use about half a tablespoon of salt. Meanwhile soak a couple loose handfuls of raisins in warm water.
- Mash the potato, adding a couple tablespoons of soft butter and a bit of cream.
- Now add some allspice (or cinnamon/nutmeg). Maybe a teaspoon.
- Add the drained raisins, and mix in.
The Tilapia I had cooked the day before.
- First I washed 2 Tilapia fillets with water and lemon juice, then seasoned the fillets with fish seasoning; 1/2 an onion; 1/2 a red pepper, finely sliced; thyme; salt; and black pepper. I left the fish overnight.
- Next I fried the onions on the fish in oil, then added the fish to the pan, frying on both sides until the fish was cooked through and completely white inside, breaking the fish apart to be sure.
- I added half a tin of chopped tomatoes to the pan, added parsley and thyme, then a dash of light soy sauce, and let the sauce cook down for 10 minutes or longer. If the tomatoes are sour, I add a half-teaspoon of sugar.
Tilapia is such a rich fish, has lots of valuable nutrients and vitamins, and when cooked by my Nana, is meaty enough that you don't always realise it's fish. China is apparently the largest source of tilapia for eating and it is eaten in most of East Asia, though maybe not in my way.
The funny thing about this meal, is that so many of the ingredients are cross-culture. Basmati rice is typically used by both Indians and West Indians (Caribbeans), ginger is universal, but again heavily used in East Asia and the Caribbean, sweet potato is a staple in the West Indies and South America and even North America and Africa.
So yes, when we share so much culture (at least the culture of food) why is it so hard for us to all get along? Ha, trust me to turn a meal into a philosophy blog. The philosophy of food... So there's my meal - an international melange of tastes and textures and cultures. Just like my music taste.
Peace, love, and happy eating,
student_gourmand
Phew this was a long one :D
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