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Learning Nonya Food
Julian is special and when it comes to food even more so. With a lot of intrigue I asked him where he learned to cook, seeing the great capacity he had to be able to control the times, the ingredients, the temperatures... I know how difficult it is to keep track of everything, having a deadline (we had to finish everything at 12:30 because the guests were arriving), making a 5 course tasting menu, cleaning, drying, smiling, and answering the dozens of questions I had... it's just incredible. The ability to organize and control was impressive, as was his story.
He told me that at the age of 18 he moved to Japan, because at that time everyone wanted to learn Japanese. And even though the Japanese fever was quite short-lived, it was what prompted this young man to learn to cook. They had always had good food at home, and he wanted to keep eating well, but excessive prices meant he had to learn from books how to cook from scratch to make it as cheap as possible.
It was also in Japan at a market in Tokyo, where many years later he would buy 2 of his favorite utensils: some elegant and well sharpened knives that he had to hold like a dog. "Every knife will tell you how to treat it, but mine if you don't feed them with oil, I assure you they will bark at you" - Julian told me.
We continued with another dish nonya, for this we had to use another precious instrument: the mortar. Every time I see one and of good quality, I smile and get excited: here it cooks well, that's the conclusion I always draw.
In spite of the fatigue, he put all the energy possible into making this delicious and spicy pasta. Shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, belachan, chilies... I'm sure you have an idea of the perfect mix of flavors.
Normally the recipe uses a dried fruit called candlenuts, with a Southeast Asian origin and with the peculiarity that it is toxic to eat it raw (I was teleported for a moment when I was on my trip in the Amazon and I was told the same thing about yucca). Unfortunately, it's not that easy to find, but instead we use macadamia nuts - one of my favorites - which have a similar flavor.
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Cooking with Julian
After a little bit of history we set out to make this dessert, composed of glutinous rice boiled with coconut milk, and a topping of green cream made with pandan juice.
Pandan is a very aromatic Asian plant, when used it gives off some aromas of vanilla, coconut or nuts. But what is really peculiar is its greenish color, capable of dyeing any food.
To steam it, he took out this incredible pot his mother had given him a few years ago, and of course I loved it. The design, the shape-- super nice.
While our dessert was cooking, we started to make a wonderful mystery soup as a starter.
The last time I made it was about 10 years ago, let's see if I can get the same taste as always,' he says.
Without a recipe and with an amazing memory, he explained that this recipe was from a #Chef who had a restaurant in #Melbourne. A worker, after seeing the success of the soup every time it was eaten, kept the recipe. And that's how it got into Julian's hands.
Every time it is served, they play a game: the diners have to guess the ingredients of this simple but delicious soup. I have to admit that when he told me the set of ingredients, I found it interesting, but I had my doubts.
Once it was half finished, Julian tried this more creamy soup, and a smile lit up his face and he said: "It's exactly as I remember it, it's perfect". When you eat it, it creates a super interesting mix of flavors, and the best part is that each spoonful is different from the next. Do you want the recipe for the soup? Write me and see if you get lucky :)
I couldn't believe my memory of this man, I can't remember eating yesterday and he was able to reproduce a recipe from almost a decade ago.
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Julian's Family
Julian's great-great-grandfather was a smart man who knew how to make his job a good business. He sold vegetables and fruit locally, but soon found a way to make more profit: buying directly from suppliers, moving around, to the point that he even decided to move to Thailand to get better prices and set up a floating market.
Once there, he maintained a close relationship with the king and governor of the area and together they decided to put a tax on the river that so many traders pass through every day. That way, he became rich. According to Julian, this man had one legal wife and about 49 concubines. It was common for those people who could not pay these taxes because of their precarious situation to give him a daughter, sister, or other person in exchange.
Well, Julian's mother comes from this man and the woman who was listed as legal. That's how his mother got that mixture of Chinese and Malaysian blood at the same time. She, a unique and courageous woman, who was not content to do what women usually do. So much so that she became the first woman to pilot/board a soldier plane in Singapore.
Impressive, isn't it? But now we are going to the other side of the family, the paternal side.
Her father was English, and instead of serving in the military, he joined the air force and worked in Egypt. And at 22 years of age and with only three weeks of experience, his boss, after turning down a job in Singapore, sent him instead, to be the Manager there.
And that's how his parents met, in the middle of the heights.
His father did many things in life, but one of them was to sell. He sold cars and cognac, his technique was to get his clients well drunk to get a signature more easily. "Today you need thousands of likes on Facebook to make a sale," Julian told me, but those were different times.
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My friend 'Santiago'
My friend Santiago is something special, he was born some years ago in Lima, Peru, but he knows what it is like to be and live in different countries.
For reasons of his work, he has asked me to remain anonymous. In fact, not even Santiago is his name, but I think it suits him quite a bit hehe.
For Santiago, huancaína is one of the best dishes Peru has to offer and it certainly brings back good memories of his childhood. What he most notices about this country is its diversity: "from the potatoes, to the dialects and even the microclimates. There is an immense variety of possibilities in every object that makes up its identity".
Santiago is unique, every time he invites me to his house for a meal I always know that three things will happen: the first is that there will be excellent food, the second is that there will be good music in the background and the third is that at some point during the evening we will laugh out loud. Because this charlatan, just like his dear wife, are happy people, who invest time in people creating a closeness that is palpable from the moment you enter the door and leave your shoes at the entrance.
This lover of Bill Evans claims to have one tooth too many, collect coins and bills, watch UFC fights to sleep well, and even claims to have met the Chilindrina of the Chavo del Ocho in person, as I told you, this man is unique.
Thank you 'Santiago'
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Enchilada de Mole Recipe
- To make the mole sauce, in a frying pan over medium heat cook the peanuts, garlic and onion.
- When the ingredients are toasted, remove the pan from the heat and set aside
- remove the stems and seeds from the chillies
- In a deep pot put the chilies, three glasses of water and the previously cooked garlic, onion and peanuts.
- Cook all the ingredients for about 15 or 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat when the chilies are soft.
- Blend the chilies, onion, garlic and peanuts and the chilies until a thick, smooth mixture is left
- Put the mixture back in a pot and add the other ingredients: the chocolate in pieces, the peanut butter, the unrefined sugar, the broth powder, the garlic powder.
- Add a little water to the pot with all the ingredients and stir from time to time.
- Cook for 20 minutes over a low heat.
- and finally we use 4 boiled corn pancakes, a chicken breast, boiled and shredded, 1 cup of mole , ¼ onion, cut in julienne, grated panela cheese, ¼ fresh cream
- enjoy!
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