Cooking

Thanksgiving (a holiday not normally celebrated here) is this week, so naturally our thoughts turn to cooking.  I like to cook. I can remember as a youngster daydreaming about becoming a chef someday. I started cooking big meals as theme dates when Kristine and I were first going out. In the last 10 years I've had the pleasure of knowing and being inspired by some phenomenal cooks (e.g. Suzy Clive, Heather Camp, Tony Gregor (who's now gone pro)). So, a few words on cooking here.

The first challenge with cooking here was shopping for ingredients.  I've got a pretty good handle on food words now, at least for the basics.  I mean, I still spend an inordinate amount of time reading labels (even with words I know the meaning of the symbols does not jump off the package), but I can usually get what I want.

Pork (which constitutes 2/3 of the meat section in stores) and chicken are fairly cheap, beef much more expensive.  I can get duck anywhere, and some places have geese and turkeys and rabbit.  The basic vegetables are available. 

There are some things they just don't have...

• Vanilla Extract - thanks to a tip from Tony Gregor of Token BBQ we are made our own
• Peanut Butter - okay they do have it in some stores but it's incredibly expensive and I've only seen the hydrogenated oiled, sweetened variety (Jif or Skippy), so for all practical purposes, they don't have PB
  
• Root Beer - not like I miss it or anything, but most folks here think it tastes like medicine (think old fashioned creosote based cough syrup)
• Corn starch
• Cumin - fortunately, Kristine's sister Becky sent us a bunch
• Turmeric
• Sweet Potatoes - I could have sworn I saw some in a store once, but no luck since.
• Cheddar cheese - well, they have it, but it is super expensive.  We use Eidam instead.
• Cranberries - they do have lingonberries (a fine substitute and reasonably priced)

Things I have been delighted or intrigued to find:

• Fish sauce - in some stores in little bottles, but I found the big bottle of Squid brand in a little corner store run by Vietnamese immigrants.
• Jasmine rice - again, you can spend a lot as a specialty food in stores, but I was happy to find the 10 pound bag for cheap
• Pumpkin - more common now as a decoration, some places have the varieties meant as food, but expensive (we paid $6 for one)
  
• Creamy ice cream - I was afraid they would just have the watery kind.
  
• Pizza - it used to be flat bread with ketchup on it, but now there are a lot of pizzerias with pictures (we have yet to partake) of real pizza.  They also have frozen ones in the store.  We'll find out how it is because the congregation has a tradition of getting pizzas from a pizzeria for the annual Christmas party.
  

Once you find what you need, you have to get it home.  Lots of folks have cars now, but we have chosen to rely on walking, biking, and public transportation.  Fortunately, there are a lot of small grocery stores all over the place so flour, sugar, milk, butter, eggs, veggies, meat, cheese, and bread can be had very easily.  If you want better prices or more exotic ingredients, you have to go to the bigger stores.  The photo below shows what I carried home in my backpack on my bike one day.

From Sept 09

We have a gas stove - which I really appreciate for cooking.  We also have an electric oven.  When we got here the oven didn't work, so they brought in a new one.  The fellow who delivered it said that the owners had originally said they want a small one like what was here already.  He told them, no they are Americans and have a big family so they need a big oven to make a big turkey.  A big oven here is still small compared to what we are used to, but it provides enough space.

The apartment has some of the tools I am used to.  Others I have been making do without or have purchased.  We have an incredible set of knives - I think I will buy some good ones when we return to the states. 

Our first batch of cookies didn't go so well.  They came out a little crisp.  I don't understand, I put them in at 350 degrees just like the directions said.

We've made really good roast ducks, geese and chickens, Vietnamese bun, Thai curry, fruit dumplings, and a chocolate cream pie.  We find recipes on the web or get tips from people here, or just experiment.  It's fun.

So, we will celebrate Thanksgiving on Sunday with the two sets of missionaries.  We'll roast a turkey and have stuffing, potatoes, a vegetable, gravy and, if I can find a pumpkin that looks good, I'll bring it home on the bus and Kristine will make a pie.

We wish you all a very good Thanksgiving. 

Peter