Unusual ingredients which are common in your cooking

[jfk]

Lea & Perrins has both anchovies and tamarind listed among the ingredients.

For those of you who've never used fresh tamarind paste, it can be a real treat. It pairs well with both pork and chicken. I often incorporate it in BBQ sauces. Tamarind has a uniquely sweet/sour taste which pops up in various drinks and candies in both Latin American and SE Asian cuisine.

Anchovies are a staple of fish sauce which is commonly used in SE Asian dishes. In this day and age fish sauce probably doesn't qualify as an "unusual" ingredient but if it isn't in your kitchen you may want to explore its uses.

[FeliciaLee]

Where do you live, to grow such exotic citrus?

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[DOMIT]

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We have Worcestershire sauce over here (WUH-stir-sher), is that the same thing? The other sauces I've never heard of.

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Yes that's it. It's also good as a few splashes on cheese on toast.

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Yeah, I've tried telling Felicia that it's good on toasted cheese, but she always gives this look and shakes like "no way" :-&

Who knows, maybe it's cause i pretty well drown it with the Worcestershire, LOL
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[jfk]

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Where do you live, to grow such exotic citrus?

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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California.

I imagine that you would be able to grow all of these in Arizona.

The majority of them are dwarves which I've grown in 24" terra cotta containers. Dwarf citrus containerizes very well, though they do better in the ground. Containers also gave me the additional benefit of bringing the trees with me when I moved last year.

When I (we) moved I had to leave behind a tangelo, Moro blood orange and a Madarinquat (kumquat and tangerine cross). There was also a pomegranate tree which was starting to do quite well. All these were in the ground.

In containers, in addition to what I listed in the first post, I also have a kumquat, Bearss lime and a kinnow tangerine.

In terms of use and beauty the Kalamansi and Rangpur lime are probably the two best trees. The Kalamansi is about three feet high but it gets covered in thousands of extraordinarily fragrant blossoms. The Rangpur lime puts out clusters of purple blossoms. I get a ton of use out of the Kaffir lime leaves as well though the tree isn't much to look at and the fruit isn't particularly good for juice or eating.

[FeliciaLee]

Wind is such a problem here that I'd probably have to grow in containers, too.

I love tangelos. They are my favorites of all fruits. I like pomegranate, but Glenn doesn't.

I'd love to grow some citrus. I feel up to my ears as it is, but I have a feeling that as I get all of my health and energy back, I'm going to be able to do a lot more.

You should post in the gardening thread, and include some pics. Man, I love pics, even though I never take them myself (isn't that selfish).

Have you tried Saffron? We planted some bulbs last year, but something dug them up and ate them. This year I'm going to try them in containers. I love Indian food, and Saffron is so expensive.

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Fishwhenican]

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Good God, I'm amazed anyone could drink a concoction like that.

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Yummmm. Called a Bloody Caesar!
Basically a Bloody Mary with Clamato instead of Tomato Juice!!!

[ACPlayer]

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Tanqueray has started running ads for their new Rangpur lime gin. I grow Rangpur limes and frequently use them in my cooking, though I've never seen them anywhere else. (Note: the add shows them as green. They are very, very orange, both peel and flesh as they as a sour Mandarin, not a true lime.)

As such, I was wondering what can be found in the various TLDR kitchens, pantries and gardens and the uses you have for the various items.

The Rangpur limes have an almost pithless peel, and is an excellent candidate to be used dried. The juice is very tart and is an excellent addition to many sauces. I frequently add thinly sliced Rangpur limes to a pot of black beans.

Other unusual citrus I grow and use in cooking include: Kalamansi, varigated pink lemons, Kaffir limes and Chinotto sour oranges.

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I think we get these limes in Honduras where I am living these days -- they call them limon mandarina (i think). We use them in salad dressings. The first time I saw them I could not get over having a lime that had orange flesh (the orange genesis makes sense!).

I will try to make some frijoles with these limes if I can get my fiance to be adventurous enough in her eating (they rever their beans down here!

I have been using mustard leaves (the ones here are very sharp) mixed with scrambled eggs for a different type of egg dish.

[FeliciaLee]

Happy Birthday!

[JJNJustin]

Black mustard seeds and curry leaves. I use these to sautee fresh vegetables in a South Indian style. The key to using black mustard seeds is heating up the oil with the seeds until they start popping and turn gray. Some chefs I have seen (even Bobby Flay on Food Network) have shown recipes where they just add the mustard seeds as a whole spice to simmering stew or whatever. I'm not sure, but I think this would result in a bitter taste and reck the dish. The oil has to be very hot to pop the seeds to give their unique nutty flavor and aroma to the oil. If you fry vegetables in oil without popping the seeds, the result is bitter and bad.

Curry leaves you can now buy fresh at some grocery stores and add another flavor dimension to vegetables. I sautee many vegetables for side dishes (beans, okra, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, collard greens, cabbage, potatoes, etc.) the following way:

Heat 1-3 tblespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add 1-2 tsp black mustard seeds. Cover with lid. Keep an eye on heat, when seeds start to pop, reduce heat, let continue to pop until they are mostly gray, reduce heat, add ginger root and garlic, whole red chilis, curry leaves, 1 tsp cumin seeds and/or 1/2 tsp turmeric (opt), let saute for 1 minute, add vegetable, sautee, add salt and pepper, add water if necessary to steam, cover, steam 5-10 minutes, uncover, turn heat up, refry, add fresh herbs (cilantro, parsley) serve.

-J