fish sauce – Notes From a Messy Kitchen

Indonesia: Gado Gado

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Asia

Indonesia

When I first started this journey, I figured my Indonesian dish would be a homage to Bali where we spent our honeymoon. I’ve long intended to recreate the dishes we made in our cooking class using the cook book they sent us home with as a souvenir. I’ve also always...

Johanna

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Chilled Silken Tofu with Garlic Ginger Green Beans

Cooking Time: 30

Uncategorized

I have a new food crush, and an unlikely one at that: silken tofu (also known as “soft” or “Japanese-style” tofu). In the past, my only experience cooking with it was in sauces or vegan desserts – usually to make something creamy without the use of dairy. Recently, I found myself eating...

Johanna

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Senegal: Thiéboudienne

Cooking Time: 2 hours

Africa

Senegal

Thiéboudienne (pronounced CHEH bu JEN) is the national dish of Senegal. The name of the dish is the French transcription of the Wolof words ceebu jën meaning “rice” (ceeb) and “fish” (jën). Wolof is a language of Senegal, but not the official language – that’s French. Senegal was a colony of France until 1960....

Johanna

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Thailand: Yam Neua Yang

Cooking Time: 30 minutes + 30 to marinate

Thailand

After a weekend of heavy eating and drinking, I was craving something light on Monday night. So logically, I chose steak. While this may sound facetious, this dish is actually very light and summery – especially when compared to pad thai! Served cold, this would be a great dish for a...

Johanna

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The Philippines: Chicken Adobo

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

The Philippines

The Philippines is a large archipelago with more than 7,000 islands, each with its own regional flavors. Filipino cuisine represents a cultural crossroads, with Malay, Hindu, Arab, Chinese and Spaniard influence. One dish that is fairly ubiquitous in Filipino households is adobo, a cooking style that involves a marinade of vinegar, soy,...

Johanna

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Myanmar: Mohinga

Cooking Time: 45

Myanmar (Burma)

Mohinga is the national dish of Myanmar (formerly Burma), and apparently was traditionally most commonly eaten as a breakfast food. Burmese cuisine is not as well known as that of some of it’s neighbors, thanks to the military junta that has kept the country on lockdown since 1962. According to an...

Johanna

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Laos: Laab / Larb

Cooking Time: 30

Laotian

Laab – sometimes spelled larb, but pronounced without the ‘r’ – is said to be the national dish of Laos. It’s also common in Northeast Thailand. All sorts of meats can be used to make laab including beef, pork, chicken, duck, fish – I’ve even had an alligator version from the...

Johanna

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Vietnam: Pho Ga

Cooking Time: 2.5 hours

Vietnam

Pho (pronounced “fuh”) is one of the best known Vietnamese dishes outside of Vietnam, and also one of the most commonly eaten dishes within. According to my cookbook, “bowls of pho are the hamburgers of Vietnam: incredible popular, eaten every day by a majority of the population, young and old.”...

Johanna

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Ingredient: fish sauce