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"Cooking, in effect, took part of the work of chewing and digestion and performed it for us outside of the body, using outside sources of energy. Also, since cooking detoxifies many potential sources of food, the new technology cracked open a treasure trove of calories unavailable to other animals. Freed from the necessity of spending our days gathering large quantities of raw food and then chewing (and chewing) it, humans could now devote their time, and their metabolic resources, to other purposes, like creating a culture."

Michael Pollan

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Entries in ketjap manis (1)

Wednesday
May062020

Recipes for lockdown: Nasi Goreng

DateWednesday, May 6, 2020 at 11:51AM

Early in lockdown I went to the mahussive Asian supermarket near me, Wing Yip, and was surprised to find everything fully stocked and no one in there. This was when chicken breasts and thighs were hard to come by. You could get enough chicken to feed all of Joe Exotic's big cats at Wing Yip, and then some.

I wondered whether this was a sign of COVID-induced racism. I heard horrible stories about Chinese restaurants closing down in Sydney because people were afraid to eat there. I mean, really? How stupid are the general public? A Chinese Australian is just as likely to spread the virus as any other Australian, no more, no less. It’s about contact. But you know all that...

Anyway, I didn’t buy any chicken, cause I didn’t need 10 kilos, but I did stock up on all sorts of delicious condiments and sauces to get my Asian cook on. 

One thing I had been wanting to make for ages was nasi goreng, but the two key ingredients aren’t always easy to come by in London: ketjap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) and properly stinky shrimp paste. Yes, really. The version you can get in Tesco or Sainsbury's isn’t quite right. It's been dulled down for Western palates. I don't understand this – if you are buying shrimp paste it is surely because you have eaten good Asian food and want to make something similar. When I found properly stinky shrimp paste it transformed my dishes. They tasted like the real deal. If you don't have an Asian store near you, then you can order a decent one online; this is the one that I found at Wing Yip and I'd recommend it.  

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AuthorVix | Comment11 Comments |
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