Food Focus: Caruru de Camarão

Country Of Origin: Brazil

Caruru de Camarão is an okra (ladyfinger) and prawn stew that is commonly eaten as a condiment in the state of Bahia. Which is in north-east Brazil. Caruru de Camarão can be eaten most deliciously with plain white rice. However, the most popular way of eating it is to consume it with Acarajé, which is fritter made from mashed black-eyed peas.

We made Caruru de Camarão once for a Brazilian-themed birthday dinner. It was a simple dish with a strong seafood taste. Some of the original ingredients like manioc (tapioca meal) cannot be easily found in Singapore. Therefore we chose to use breadcrumbs to create a dish of similar consistency.

Caruru de Camarão is usually thickened with either manioc meal or roasted peanuts (or both). It is a matter of personal taste, and also which part of Brazil you are in. We chose to thicken our stew solely with breadcrumbs as it is way faster than having to roast and crush peanuts.

Caruru de Camarão

Ingredients:
-750g to 1kg frozen raw prawns (shrimps), defrosted
-750g to 1kg okra (ladyfinger)
-4 cups hot water mixed with 4 fish or ikan bilis stock cubes (Knorr is the preferred brand)
-2 large onions, finely chopped
-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
-5 tablespoons vegetable oil
-4 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs
-salt and black pepper to taste

Cut the okra into thick slices and cook in boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain immediately and wash off the excess slime from the okra. Pat dry and set aside. The okra will have excreted so much slime that the drained liquid will look like glue. In a small pot, stir the breadcrumbs into the hot fish stock. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat and allow to cook for about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir the mixture every now and then to prevent clumping. In a deep-dished non stick pan, fry the onions and garlic with the vegetable oil over medium heat until the onions are soft and golden. Pour the stock and breadcrumb mixture into the pan of onions and garlic Bring to the boil and continue stirring until the mixture thickens. Then add in the okra and shrimp and bring to the boil again. Cook over high heat until the prawns turn pink. Take care not to overcook the prawns. Taste the stew and season with salt and black pepper accordingly. Remove from heat and serve immediately with white rice or if you are lucky to obtain, with Acarajé.

Colombian-Style Spaghetti: Spaghetti con Salsa Criolla

We were planning a dinner with some friends a few months ago. And it turns out, one of them is not much of a rice eater and prefers bread and pasta. Being asian, bread is nice as a side but not as the main carbohydrate. Especially for dinner (it is still alright if it were to be for breakfast or lunch).

Therefore, along with a few other dishes, we decided to cook a colombian-style spaghetti. There are many different types of south american pasta variations. But we decided on this one as it was easy and cheap to prepare. We made a mistake by using instant spaghetti though (as the normal one was out of stock). This made the dish a little sticky as instant spaghetti cooks faster than normal spaghetti. We recommend using normal spaghetti for this dish.

Spaghetti con Salsa Criolla is a one dish meal that is refreshing and light on the palate. It is the heavy tasting grated cheese that you put on top that makes the difference. Paired up together, its taste is deliciously smooth as the cheese provides a good zing on the rather neutral tasting spaghetti.

Spaghetti con Salsa Criolla

Ingredients:
-5 red bell peppers (capsicums), deseeded and roughly chopped
-5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
-2 large onions, roughly chopped
-1 teaspoon ground cumin
-1 teaspoon dried oregano (we prefer Mexican oregano but the European one is fine too)
-2 teaspoons salt
-2 teaspoons black pepper
-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
-500g spaghetti
-500g (or more, up to you) shredded hard cheese such as Parmesan or Romano

In a deep dished non-stick pan, fry the bell peppers, garlic, onions and vegetable oil over medium high heat for about 20 minutes to half an hour. The mixture should be soft by then. Add the cumin, oregano, salt and black pepper. Stir for another 10 minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool. Pulse till smooth in a blender or food processor and set aside. Give the pan a good wipe.

Cook the spaghetti according to the package's instructions. But remember to keep it al-dente. Drain the pasta and RINSE IT. This sauce accentuates the starch in the pasta so this step is crucial if you do not want an overly starchy dish. Return the sauce to the pan and pour the drained pasta over it. Toss the pasta and allow it to sizzle a little on high heat. Turn off the heat and transfer the spaghetti into a large casserole dish. Sprinkle liberally with cheese and serve. We recommend a little more cheese than you think is adequate. Do not be fooled by our picture. It was not enough cheese.

Pabellón Criollo, A General Insight

Pabellón Criollo is a Venezuelan dish that contains white rice, pulled beef (Carne Mechada) and seasoned black beans. Many people recognise this as the national dish of Venezuela. From our own personal point of view, it is a simple dish. Yet it bursts with so much flavour, all the way down to the white rice. The secret for making a simple dish such as white rice flavourful is to pre fry the dry grains of rice with salt, oil, onions, garlic and strips of yellow and red pepper. Boil the mixture till its cooked, then pick out all the bell peppers and onions.

There are many variations of Pabellón Criollo. With the addition of fried plantains (tajadas), they are colloquially known as 'pabellón con barandas'. Barandas means guard rail in Spanish. As it is usually joked that the fried plantains act as guards to prevent the food from falling off the plate (which is obviously not true as they will probably slide off along with everything else).

In Singapore, it is not easy to get plantains. Therefore we suggest using slightly unripe bananas (make sure they are quite firm to the touch) and frying (or grilling) them with a generous amount of vegetable oil.

Pabellón Criollo with the addition of a fried egg on top is known as 'pabellón a caballo'. A caballo means horseback riding in Spanish. And this term is used as the egg appears to ride on the dish as if riding on horseback.

A version containing both fried plantains and a fried egg is also common. The dish is then known as 'Pabellón con barandas y a caballo'.

As most Venezuelans are Roman Catholics, many do not consume meat during the weeks of Lent. This means about 6 weeks prior to Easter. Therefore, Carne Mechada is usually replaced with other substitutes such as freshwater fish, shredded capybara (a huge rodent related to guinea pigs) or shredded caiman (a relative of alligators).

Food Focus: Venezuelan Pulled Beef (Carne Mechada)

Country Of Origin: Venezuela.....

Carne Mechada is the Venezuelan way of preparing pulled beef. It is extremely fresh and yet tasty. Paired up with white rice and seasoned black beans, it becomes a dish called Pabellón Criollo. Which is recognised by many as the national dish of Venezuela. Carne Mechada can also be used as a filling for arepas (Venezuelan dough bread made from corn) and other pastries such as empanadas (think ang-moh curry puff pastry). Here is one of the simpler (but not inferior) recipes that we have experimented with in the kitchen for a simple Sunday family dinner.

Carne Mechada

Ingredients:
-1kg frozen beef stew cubes (thawed)
-enough water to cover beef
-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
-2 large onions, thinly sliced
-2 yellow bell peppers (capsicums), sliced thinly
-2 tomatoes, diced
-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
-1 bunch coriander, finely chopped
-2 beef stock cubes (Knorr is the preferred brand) dissolved in 1 cup hot water
-black pepper to taste
-1 to 2 teaspoons salt (go by taste)
-1 to 2 teaspoons sugar (again go by taste)

Place the thawed beef cubes and water in a large pot. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Or until the beef cubes are tender and easy to pierce with a fork. Drain the beef and transfer to a large plate. Shred the beef finely with 2 forks and set aside.

In a non-stick, deep-dished pan, fry the onions, garlic and bell peppers for 5 minutes on medium high heat. The mixture should be soft and tender.

Add the beef, tomatoes, black pepper, coriander and dissolved beef stock cubes with hot water. Increase the heat to high and fry the mixture until it dries up. Remove from heat and taste. Season with the necessary amount of salt and sugar. Mix well and serve.

What Are Sobarias?

Sobarias are basically brazilian noodle shops selling Okinawan soba. Opened by ethnic Japanese or/and Okinawan brazilians, Sobarias are quite popular in the city of Campo Grande. Which is in Mato Grosso do Sul. The irony is however, that most Japanese brazilians actually live in the states of São Paulo and Paraná. Sobarias sell the brazilian adaptation of Okinawan soba, which consists of toppings such as sliced meat and vegetables. Also available are other 'brazilianised' Japanese dishes such as yakisoba and generic ethnic dishes like beef kebabs and sausages.

Many Singaporeans do not know this, but Brazil has the largest group of ethnic Japanese living outside Japan in the world. Most of them are already third to fourth generation descendants. Many Japanese in Brazil have ancestors from Okinawa too, therefore it is not surprising to find Okinawan food in modern Brazilian culture. Okinawan soba is nothing like the usual Japanese cha-soba or zaru-soba found in Singapore. Okinawan Soba consists of thin or thick, whitish wheat noodles in a clear pork and seaweed broth. Common toppings for Okinawan soba are either thick cuts of pork belly or boneless pork ribs (known locally as soki) and sliced scallions. Sometimes one can find sliced kamaboko (japanese fishcake) included as a topping too. The final touch on this dish is an extremely red and deliciously strong and pungent ginger pickle known in Japan as Beni Shoga.

To have a brief idea about this fine example of latin-american asian culture, check out http://www.sobaria.com.br/ (the website is in Portuguese though)

The Gluttons Are Back

Dear readers (if there are any left), we are sorry that we went on a short hiatus. Basically most of us are either starting school or working now. So yes, not so 'aimless' anymore. But still aimless enough we assure you. After some discussion, we have agreed to continue with the blog and find time for it no matter how busy our schedules are. So.......hopefully we will be able to cough up more posts soon. It was created originally to keep us sane. And ironically, that is what it seems to be doing for all of us again. Work is a bitch, and so is school.....most of the time.