Fish Tales

Last week a visitor from the US asked me what grocery store items I missed most.  Ahh… where to start? There are so many things. Here’s a short-list:

		Cherry Coke Technically it’s ‘Coca Cola Cherry’. But no matter what you call it, you aren’t finding it in Singapore. It’s been my sad story for a while now.
		Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese There’s no such thing as extra sharp cheese in Singapore. And, sharp is nearly impossible to find. Just plain old cheddar. And, it’s usually white… not orange. Isn’t cheddar supposed to be orange?
		Oregon Berries I know, I know. You can find berries at the store in Singapore. But, they are not great. I’ve mostly given up, because it usually ends in disappointment. Once you’ve eaten picked-that-morning berries in Oregon, nothing else tastes quite as good.
		Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups It’s only the best combination of peanut butter and chocolate ever. Even the 7-11 around the corner doesn’t stock it. And, no, I’m not counting the not-so-sweet Canadian export version occasionally available. Nope, not gonna cut it.
		Barbara’s Jalapeño Cheese Puffs All natural. No artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. And they’re my favorite snack not found in Singapore.
		USDA Prime Top Sirloin Australian beef is certainly better than no beef. And, for sure, it’s the best option in Asia. But, nothing beats an American USDA Prime Top Sirloin steak. Don’t mess with Texas. Or the Midwest. Or anywhere in the US for that matter. Best. Beef. In. The. World.
		Kellogg’s Low Fat Granola The real breakfast of champions. Oh, how I miss this granola. Without raisins, of course.
		Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips They struggle with tortilla chips in Asia. Makes sense – it’s only an ocean away from Mexico. Sometimes you can find Tostitos Restaurant-Style white chips. But, give me my YELLOW corn chips, please.
		Great Harvest Bread Nothing beats fresh bread straight out of the Great Harvest bread ovens. Either plain whole wheat or five-grain. And, on Saturdays, the cinnamon rolls are tough to pass up.
		Red Baron Singles – Deep Dish Mini Pizzas These used to be my guilty little pleasure. Not anymore.
		High-Country Teriyaki Beef Jerky Okay, so maybe this is only found in Montana grocery stores. But, at least the High Country online store ships anywhere in the continental US. But, not to Singapore.
		Cherries I’ve already written about buying cherries in Singapore. Yes, the stores have cherries and, they are good. But, they are expensive, expensive, expensive! So, they are getting filed under not available here.
		Skor Another candy bar makes the list, but this is my favorite of all time. Hard butter toffee with a milk chocolate coating. No one in Asia has heard of it. Sorry state of affairs.
		Crest Regular Toothpaste It’s not something anyone spends much time thinking about. What, maybe a few minues a day? That is, until it doesn’t taste right. Then you think about it more. And it bugs you everytime you’re at the grocery store and all they sell are Colgate products.
		Advil Who wants to mess around with unknown brands when it comes to getting rid of a headache? No one, that’s who. Singapore has a pain killer called Panadol. It isn’t as effective. I’ll take the advanced medicine for pain!

So, there you have it. The top 15 items missing from my Singapore grocery store. And, I’m craving every one of them right now. Except the Advil, of course. But, I probably would be if I ate all that.

P.S. I do get great things in my Singapore grocery store that are not available back home. Like the most excellent mangoes ever. And great Thai fragrant rice. And tasty curry spices. And, many more things. So, this post isn’t a complaint… just a summary of my homesickness for familiar foods.

Rolly-poly fish heads. Fish heads, fish heads. Eat them up, yum!

Okay, I don’t personally know about the “yum” part of that famous chorus. But, I do know one thing.

Many Singaporeans enjoy eating fish heads.

This delectable ingredient finds its way into soups, curries and other regional specialties. While this feels completely foreign to me, I’m told it’s quite delicious. And, people who discard the head actually waste the best tasting part of the fish.

I’m not making this up. Reliable sources tell me this.

Reliable sources.

Fish head restaurant near my condo

One of our Thailand trip highlights… Pum’s Cooking School. The Patong Beach location integrates a Thai cooking experience with the actual restaurant and you get to cook in the same kitchen as the chefs preparing food for patrons. For the class, several packages are available, but we settled on the “Little Shoes” class that included instruction for three dishes. I chose to learn to cook Mussman curry with chicken, Phad Phak Med Memaung, and Phad Thai. All some of my favorites.

To begin, Pum reviewed the most popular herbs, spices and vegetables commonly found in Thai cooking. What the difference between Thai basil and regular basil? Which chilies go in each variety of curry? Is it okay to substitute ginger for galangal? All things that Pum answered.

Making curry paste

She also taught a quick lesson on some basic Thai ingredient and cooking word translations. Sure makes it easier to read a Thai menu now:

• Gai = Chicken
• Nua = Beef
• Moo = Pork (why not beef?)
• Pia = Fish
• Goong = Prawns
• Pooh = Crab
• Khao = Rice
• Med Mamuang = Cashew nuts
• Prik = Chili
• Nam = Liquid or sauce

 

• Phad = Fry
• Tom = Boil
• Prio = Sour
• Wan = Sweet
• Gaeng = Curry
• Yum = Soup

 

Mussman curry with chicken

To prepare the curry paste, we mixed several ingredients together in the mortar: red chilies, galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, garlic, Thai shallot, salt, Thai sweet basil and vegetable oil. Next, we smashed all the ingredients together into a paste with the pestle. Pum instructed that it should make a sound like “Buk, buk”, not “Tuk, tuk”. Otherwise you are doing it wrong and not smashing the ingredients correctly.

Finally, to complete the curry recipie, the curry paste was mixed into a pot with sliced chicken, coconut milk, water, vegetable oil, fish sauce, sugar, green beans, and kaffir lime leaves. Stir until warm and serve.

It tasted so good!

Pum was a great instructor and really made cooking fun. She tries to make Thai food simple and easy, while using all-natural ingredients. We learned Thai cooking should be “happy and healthy”.

Oh ya, she also gave us a copy of her cookbook.

Phad Phak Med Memaung

Pum & Greg

Standing behind the steamer

Pum & Debra