Posts Tagged “spice”
Modern Thai Food is a large-format volume with some of the most stunning food photography I have ever seen. Jeremy Simons takes advantage of full pages to present the most exquisite close-ups. A simple Ginger Martini is beautiful in its organic whiteness, and the Egg Net Rolls with Pork and Shrimp bursts with colour and…
John Gregory-Smith has penned a unique and fascinating volume. It considers the spices themselves rather than focusing on a particular culinary tradition. So many countries have cuisines that showcase spices. Chilli is common across the globe but was unknown outside the Americas before that continent was discovered; these days we could not consider making an…
A few years ago Thai restaurants were rare but that’s changed, and some lucky folks even get to have holidays in Thailand. They return home and search for those exotic and evocative tastes of Bangkok. Whilst it’s true that one can find some authentic dishes in those aforementioned restaurants, one can’t eat out very often…
The author of Thailand – A World of Flavours is Christine Watson. The name doesn’t sound very Thai or even Asian but, in fact, Christine grew up in South-East Asia and so has been well placed to select dishes from Thailand that are certainly authentic but are also appealing to the western palate. Christine trained…
Street food is comfort. We in the UK might be drawn to the smell of fried onions wafting from a burger cart outside the local DIY store. Americans will think of potato knishes and hot Italian sausages with sweet peppers, and Thailand has enough street food to fill a book the size of the car…
We in Britain have long had a love for spice. That might be a surprising fact to many who believe that our food is bland and uninteresting. Look at our history, though, and you will find that so much of our sea-faring and globe-trotting has had other people’s spices as the target. There have been…
Mexico already has many of its monuments on UNESCO’s list of protected sites. Now it has gained international recognition for the country’s unique cuisine. London has a restaurant which is recognised by the Mexican Embassy as providing authentic dishes. Mestizo near Euston Station will provide a vibrant introduction to Mexico’s culinary heritage. UNESCO officials have…
I had my first little peek at Mestizo last year. Just a cocktail and some nibbles but it was enough to give an indication that this was a spot to linger over and enjoy. A real meal was in order so off I went with guest in tow to see if that first impression was…
Levi Roots (his real name is Keith Graham) was brought up till the age of eleven by his grandparents in Jamaica. He lived in a house full of extended family where cooking was a continual process. He moved to London to live with his parents and eventually had a successful career as a musician, and…
The history of pepper, and there’s 3000 years of it, is as romantic and bloody as any work of fiction. Pepper has been used in medicine, in embalming when the medicine didn’t work, as currency, and as a status symbol. It’s one of the few spices that has continually graced the British cruet since cruets…
I spend much of my life reading and reviewing cookbooks and indeed anything relating to food. I truly appreciate the hard work and passion that results in a published volume, but Spice Market is exceptional. It’s big, sumptuous, colourful and rich, and a book that I find myself dipping into for no particular reason other…
No, dear reader, this isn’t another chilli-laden recipe book but rather a book about us British – how our food has developed over the last 150 years and what that development says about us as a nation. Panikos Panayi has written a well-researched and absorbing book that explains the progression from traditional to Tikka Masala….