Gourmet Global

To get the most authentic Thai food in New York, Manhattanites are going to have to cross the bridge into Queens to reach Sripaphai. Here you will not get the muted flavors and spices apparent in so many Manhattan restaurants that are catering to bland, American palates.Here the food is cooked for Thai’s with spices and heat that leap into your mouth with every bite. More than Pad Thai, Green Chicken Curry and Basil Chicken, you are greeted with a 27 page binder that is your menu and this does not include the 2 page Vegetarian section in the back. With such a large selection, it would take a year of weekly visits to try everything on the menu, but everything we had was delicious - authentic Thai Iced Tea with black tapioca pearls and Coconot juice with slices of fresh young coconut meat.

We started with an appetizer of Roasted Duck Salad (pictured above) with a perfect balance of flavors - the heat of the chilis were muted by the cool refreshing taste of fresh mint and coriander. The sharpness of raw red onions were muted by green papaya and cucumbers. Next was an entree of flat noodes with chili, Thai Basil and any meat of your choice, for the same price (my choice was Shrimp). For a spicy dish like this, you can request it to be made mild. Again, a perfect balance of flavors and absolutely delicious. An incomparable seafood stew finished the impeccable culinary adventure to Bangkok!!

Too full to consider the refrigerator full of unique desserts as we entered, the desserts will have to wait until next time (and there certainly will be a next time). I haven’t been here in a few years and the renovation makes it a wonderful place to enjoy dinner in the summertime with a back courtyard, complete with fountain.

OH and you can’t beat the price - $37 for 2 people - 2 entrees, 2 specialty beverages and 1 appetizer (some food was taken home in a doggie bag also)!!!

If you want to try some delicious, authentic Thai food, hop on the 7 train and 30 minutes later you will be perusing over the expansive binder menu, ready to get your taste buds in gear!!!

Global Tastes & Travels Inc.
http://www.globaltastesinc.com
mireille@globaltastesinc.com
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Our unique Malaysia Culinary & Culture Tour Itinerary is a 14 day in-depth excursion into the fusion cuisine and myriad of cultures represented in Malaysia.

Just a few highlights:

3 days with the Iban people of Borneo

Cocoa and rice plantations
Kuala Lampur’s night markets
Cameron Highlands
Penang’s Hawker Cuisine
Two Hands on Cooking Classes

Our All-Inclusive Tours include:
Roundtrip Airfare from NYC
Inland Flights
Lodging
Meals
Hands On Cooking Classes
Ground Transportation
All Tours
24/7 Available Guide

Our escorted tours are a combination of cuisine, culture, adventure, relaxation and variety. $4000 all inclusive gives you a lot of bang for your buck!!
Please email culinarytours@globaltastesinc.com today to receive the detailed itinerary and feel free to call with any questions at 347-419-3206.
Global Tastes & Travels Inc.
http://www.globaltastesinc.com
mireille@globaltastesinc.com
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Since we are in the throws of planning our Malaysian Culinary Tour ( the itinerary will be posted tomorrow), Malaysian food is on the mind of Global Tastes & Travels.

Here is a delicious Malaysian Fish Curry - with lots of coconut in it, this is a deliciously sweet curry.
1 1/2 lb monkfish
salt, to taste
3 tablespoons freshly grated coconut
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 in galangal, thinly sliced (galangal can be purchased at Bangkok Center Grocery on Mosco Street in NYC Chinatown, but you can substitute ginger if you can’t find it)
2 small red chillies, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon lemongrass powder
1 tablespoon fish sauce
14 oz coconut milk
2 1/2 cups fish or chicken stock
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tablespoon sugar
juice of 1 lime

1. Cut the fish into large chunks, season with salt and set aside.

2. Dry fry the coconut in a large wok until evenly brown. Add the vegetable oil, galangal, chillies, garlic and fry briefly. Stir in the fish sauce. Add the coconut milk and chicken stock.

3. Add the turmeric, lemongrass powder, sugar, a little salt and the lime juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Add the fish and simmer for 6 - 8 minutes. Garnish with coriander and lime slices and serve with rice, if liked.
Serve with coconut sambal (recipe below) and steamed rice. This is a curry with a lot of sauce - roti will also go great with it.

Mix together 2 skinned and chopped tomatoes, 1 finely chopped onion, 1 finely chopped green chilli and 2 tablespoonslime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add 2 tablespoons grated coconut.

Enjoy!!

Corn is natural sweetness. To us Americans, nothing says summer like the smell of fresh roasting corn on a barbecue. You can be creative by using different flavored butters. My favorite is to add about 1 tablespoon of chili paste to 1 stick of butter - Absolutely delicious!!

But Southeast Asia has some different ways of using corn and one of my favorites in Corn Fritters. Here is a recipe for Thai Corn Fritters. To make them Indonesian Corn Fritters, just add some chopped shrimp to the batter.

Ingredients:
3 corn cobs
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 red chili, finely chopped
1 scallion, finely chopped
1 small bunch cilantro (aka coriander), finely chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce

3/4 cup rice flour

1 teaspoon red curry paste
2 eggs
4 tablespoons water
salt and pepper, to taste
oil, for frying
Sweet Chili Sauce

Directions:
Using a sharp knife, slice the kernels from the cob and place in large bowl. Add all the other ingredients, except the oil and Chili Sauce. Stir well to mix thoroughly. The batter will be fairly loose.

In a large skillet, heat oil for shallow frying, about 1/2″ deep. Add spoonfools of corn batter. As you place the batter in the oil, flatten the fritters using the back of a spoon. Cook about 2 minutes on each side until cooked thoroughly and golden brown. If the fritters begin to brown too much before they are cooked, lower the flame.

Serve with Sweet Chili Sauce. If you do not live near a Chinatown or where you have access to International products, it can be purchased online here .

Enjoy!!!

Global Tastes & Travels Inc.
http://www.globaltastesinc.com
mireille@globaltastesinc.com
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Selamat Petang!!

We will be running a Culinary and Cultural tour to Malaysia in August.
14 days and you will have the vacation of a lifetime!

This tour will take you from the cocoa plantations and rice fields of Borneo to the night markets and Orchid Garden of Kuala Lampur to the rolling hills of the Cameron Highlands to the hawker cuisine of Penang and two days of cooking classes for the foodie in you!!

You can view some of the sights you’ll see and the foods you’ll taste on this amazing trip here.
For an introduction to Malaysian cuisine in order to whet your appetite for this amazing trip, try this delicious recipe:
Roast Sugar Cane Chicken
2 teaspoons galangal, chopped (you may substitute ginger, if you can’t find galangal)
2 tablespoons lemon grass, chopped, bottom 6 inches only
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
2 fresh red chiles, seeds removed, chopped
3 tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon fennel powder
3/4 teaspoon cumin
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 cup sugar cane juice
1 2-2 1/2 pound chicken

Pound or process the galangal, lemon grass, garlic, shallots and chiles to a smooth paste. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the paste mixture and stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes on moderate heat. Be careful not to allow the mixture to burn.

Add the turmeric, fennel, cumin, bay leaves, lime juice and sugar cane juice. Bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes to reduce the sauce by half, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Rub the chicken inside and out with the cooked sauce, reserving any extra sauce.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Place the chicken breast-side down on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast for 10 minutes. Brush the chicken with the sauce and turn the chicken over. Baste the breast with the sauce and roast for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F. Brush the chicken with the sauce. Cook the chicken for 15 minutes. Turn over the chicken and brush with the sauce. Continue cooking the chicken for another 15 minutes or until tender and juices run clear when the chicken is pierced by a fork.

Serve with steamed rice. (Jasmine rice would be ideal)

Practice your Malaysian and join us in August - Selamat Malam!!

Global Tastes & Travels Inc.
http://www.globaltastesinc.com
mireille@globaltastesinc.com
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With the price of food nowadays, it is always an advantage when food can do double duty.

The following two Thai recipes will need the following specialty ingredients:
lime leaves
lemongrass
galangal (use ginger if you cannot find galangal)
red chiles
Thai Basil (use cilantro if you cannot find Thai Basil)
Sweet Chili Sauce

Thai Mussels
1 stalk lemongrass
5 red chiles
7 slices galangal (or ginger)
3 stalks of Thai Basil ( or a good handful of cilantro)
6 lime leaves
6 cloves garlic
2 lbs. mussels

In 4 cups water, bring lemongrass, chiles (tips removed), galangal, basil and lime leaves to a boil. Add mussels, reduce flame and cover pot. Cook for about 5 minutes until mussels have opened. Add a little salt, to taste.
Serve in a bowl with a little of the cooking liquid. Pour a little sweet chili paste inside the mussel shells and serve extra, for dipping, if so desired.

Thai Chicken Soup
Strain the ingredients in the cooking liquid of the mussels, reserving the liquids. Place all the ingredients in a food processor with about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and process well until all ingredients form a paste, about 5 minutes.
In a large pot, bring paste and reserved cooking liquid to a boil. Add chicken pieces (whatever parts you desire). Cook about 5 minutes and then add whatever vegetables you happen to have in your refrigerator. Cook until vegetables are cooked. Add salt and sweet chili sauce (about 2 tablespoons) to taste.

A few specialty items can go a long way!!

Several years ago, I tried Malaysian food for the first time and I was hooked.  I was lucky that my first try was at a wonderful, authentic restaurant with excellent cooks - Nyonya.  It is located on Grand Street and Mulberry, on the borderlands between Chinatown and Little Italy, here in NYC!! Roti Canai, Green Beans with Shrimp Paste and Chili, Lychee Juice are my staples I get every time I go, along with my entree which changes every time until I try everything on the menu!  So when I was invited by a friend to dinner at a restaurant that features Malaysian and Indonesian (another favorite of mine) food, I did not have to think twice to accept.  Although I had never heard of Sanur, some of the best dining gems in this city are little hole in the walls that only a select few know about.

First of all, it is located behind God’s back (as my grandmother would say).  A good 10 minute walk from either East Broadway or Canal Street train station.  The bus does stop nearby, but the driver did not even know where Doyer Street was!  If you have to work this hard just to find the location, the food better be well worth it!  Unfortunately, I was sadly disappointed. 

I was looking forward to my Roti Canai which I had not had in a long time.  They overfried the bread.  It was crispy! The curry sauce did not have the depth of flavor that Nyonya’s has, nor did it have any chicken in it - just 1 piece of potato.  My shrimp entree tasted good enough, but it was so much work to eat.  It was covered in a flavorful sauce, which would have been fine if the shrimp had been shelled.  I had to dig in the sauce with my hands to remove the shells and not just the tail, but the shell of the entire shrimp.  Using a fork or chopsticks was pointless.  Two of my friends ordered crab.  The shells were not cracked and they did not have the utensils to crack them - the only utensil available to use was your teeth! One of my friends ordered the Indonesian Fried Chicken -  I have Indonesian family and this certainly is nothing that I would classify as Indonesian!!

Service did not improve the experience.  We had to practically beg for water at the table.

If you want to try really good Malaysian food, stay far away from Sanur, - Try Nyonya at 194 Grand Street and for really good Indonesian food, try Bali Nusa Indah at 651 9th Avenue.  If you make Sanur your first exploration into Malaysian cuisine, you are missing out on the best this cuisine has to offer.

Galangal, aka as Laos is a common ingredient used in Thai cooking, as
well as in other Southeast Asian cuisines like Indonesian and Malaysian.

It is very similar to ginger in appearance, but it is softer and can be
chopped and used in curries and stews, without peeling. It also has the
floral pungency of ginger, but to a lesser degree. This along with a
myriad of other flavors is what makes Thai cuisine so unique. Many
subtle flavors added together create this WOW in your mouth, that many
of us find so irresistible.

It is very difficult to find fresh galangal. There is only 2 places I
know of in New York City, the international food capital of the world,
that carries fresh galangal. They are both in Chinatown - Asia Market
Corporation at 71 1/2 Mulberry Street and Bangkok Center Grocery at 104
Mosco Street.

My Thai Spice Blend that I have developed is a wonderful mixture of all
the flavors that make Thai cuisine unique - Kaffir Lime Leaves,
Galangal, Lemongrass, Chiles, Peanuts and Coriander. Due to the
uniqueness of these products, this is the most costly one to produce and
therefore, it is the most expensive blend of the Global Tastes &
Travels’ spice blends. So now is the time to order it at the discount
rate!! Time is running out.

Thanks!!

Good Morning All:

Global Tastes & Travels Inc. Indonesian Spice Blend is the next one I am
going to give you some info about.

Among other herbs and spices, three of the main ingredients in it at
Chiles, Turmeric and Shrimp. It is made with dried Birds Eye’s chiles,
the most common chile used in Asian cooking. Shrimp is a main
ingredient in much Indonesian cooking. Even when vegetables and rice
are cooked, dried shrimp is also added to impart flavor. Turmeric is a
wonderful flavor and color additive. Fresh turmeric looks similar to
ginger, but has a much milder taste. Turmeric is a natural food
coloring used in many food products.

In addition to the wonderful marriage of flavors these products bring to
your table in the Indonesian Spice Blend, there are also great medicinal
values as well. In India, the art of Ayurvedic medicine is usually
handed down from generation to generation and there are studies done
where Ayurvedic medicine has shown to get rid of many life threatening
diseases such as cancer, using all natural products that the earth has
given us.

Turmeric is one of the most commonly used medicinal herbs in India.
There it is called haldi. Haldi is used as a preventitive course as
well as a curing agent in the following ailments: flatulence, jaundice,
bloody urine, menstrual pain, hemorrhage, toothaches, bruises, chest
pain, colic, childhood leukemia, cystic fribrosis, motion sickness,
nausea, colon cancer, Alzheimer’s disease. In some cases, parents have
exhausted all their $ going to traditional doctors who offered no help
and through the use of Ayurvedic medicine, cancers and other illnesses
have been cured in their children.

Chiles are rich in Vitamin C and also help to destroy bacteria and boost
metabolism.

So using this spice blend will not only add flavor to your grilled
meats, soups and stews, but it will also be doing your body some good as
well!!!

Remember, time is running out - the preview sale prices only last until
October 11th!!!!