Archive | South America RSS feed for this section
guide-to-mexican-food-2

Preparing my Guide to Mexican Food

by Jing on 2011/02/17 in Featured Article, South America

guide-to-mexican-food

(The above picture is a pretty dumb and funny guide to Mexican food.)

So I’m off to Mexico for a 7 days vacation to Playa del Carmen, a resort town just south of Cancun. As excited as I am to sit by the beach and drink my BRAINS OUT, I’m also looking forward to sampling some Mexican cuisine. Just recently, Mexican cuisine has been designated by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. That’s quiet the feat, though it’s been overshadowed by the much heralded French cuisine!

Doing some preliminary research, I was really impressed with the variety of fresh ingredients native to South America while fusing those brought in by the Spaniard conquistadors. While avoiding my preconceptions of Mexican food due to Taco Bell, I’ve made a list of a few things I’d like to search out for such as: chile rellenos, chiles en nogada, enchiladas, things made with mole sauce, and Mayan cuisine. I’m not sure how successful I’ll be since I’m in a tourist town, but I’ve read that there’s still an array of street food vendors in Playa Del Carmen. Until then, here’s a video courtesy of UNESCO to get your stomach juices and intrigue flowing:

[Picture courtesy of Flickr: Paul Hammond]

Comments { 0 }
Argentina Asado

The World’s Best Barbecue: Argentina’s Asado

by Jing on 2010/07/05 in South America

Argentina Asado

Summer is in full swing and nothing beats chilling outside with a fiery grill cooking burgers overtop. This sounds nice and dandy, but I hate to break it to you, our grilling adventures are put to shame by Argentina’s sizzling asado (barbecue grill) and their world famous beef. Don’t believe me? Venture into any traditional Argentine parrila (steak house) and you’ll see a car-sized asado sitting right upfront beckoning you to continue inside for a taste of barbecuing you’ve never dreamed possible.

Continue Reading →

Comments { 4 }

Coffee in Different Cultures

by Jing on 2010/06/28 in Asia, International, South America

I was waiting in line at a Starbucks recently and was stupefied by the orders coming through the counter.

Customer: “I’ll have a tall triple non-fat extra-hot caramel macchiato”
Teller: “Tall triple non-fat extra-hot caramel macchiato please”
Barrista: “Coming up, tall triple non-fat extra-hot caramel macchiato!”

We’re all familiar with this repetitive chorus from customer, teller, and barrista. Even I’m guilty of doing the same thing. By the time I got to the front of the line, the teller had to recompose after being corrected by the customer for a “non-fat, light-whipped, caramel frappuccino”. She was whiplashed and I was sick to my stomach. Breathing deeply, she prepared for another barrage of words as I asked “I’ll have a small coffee please”. Seriously, is this what coffee mixology turned itself into? Yes, yes it has. And this monster is spreading around the world, ruining the lives of many coffee drinkers and the unique coffee mixes countries have. These concoctions we’re creating are a travesty, useless complexities that “personalize” what we want. And just to bring into perspective how backwards we’ve become, let’s contrast three other countries and how they enjoy their mix of coffees. The verdict? I like my coffee dark, sometimes with cream and sugar. You?

Malaysia

flickr: botakeu

Malaysians love their coffee, served in an old-school cup and plate. Coffee is bold and slightly thick, often drank by itself (Kopi O) or mixed with evaporated milk and condensed milk (white coffee). As fresh milk wasn’t widely available, canned evaporated milk was used to prolong expiration and ease of transportation in the monsoon rains. Condensed milk was also used due to the ease of storage. You wouldn’t want a huge cockroach eating away at your sugar would you? Mixed together, this created a cup of coffee with a velvety thick texture that was both sweet and strong in flavor.
Continue Reading →

Comments { 2 }
carob-plant

Carob: Chocolate-y, Caramel-y, and Caffeine Free

by Wei Su on 2010/06/23 in International, South America, World Recipes and Ingredients

carob-plant

After a long day of class, I was tired, cranky, and really craved something that would satisfy my sweet tooth. I ventured into Kale on my way home, a macrobiotic/organic/vegan restaurant located north of Yonge/Eglinton, since they always have delicious baked goods and desserts like blueberry-tofu-spelt muffins (can’t taste the tofu!), coconut cookies, and carob-almond pudding. After taking a long look at my options (everything was calling out to me!), I finally settled on getting their banana-carob-coconut ball. They were ah-mazing, but at $1.50 per timbit sized piece, I decided to forgo buying them again and vowed to make them myself. And make them I did! Before I get into the recipe, let’s explore the origins and uses of the caramel-y and chocolate-y tasting pod called carob…

Continue Reading →

Comments { 6 }

MMmmmm Quinoa…

by Wei Su on 2010/06/02 in International, South America, World Recipes and Ingredients

Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah…or Keen-WAH! for those very enthusiastic about it) made its debut in my life in Spring of 2009. It was love at first bite and we have been inseparable since. For those of you who’ve never been introduced, it is with great pleasure that I would like you to meet Quinoa…

Although quinoa is cooked and eaten as a grain, it is technically a seed that is closely related to spinach, chard and beets. Quinoa’s slight nutty taste, fluffy and crunchy texture, is completely unique from any other grain you’ve tried. This versatile “grain” can be eaten many ways – warm (e.g. porridge, stews, substitute for rice) or cold (e.g. salad, cereal) and can even be ground and used in baking – often seen in gluten-free treats.

Continue Reading →

Comments { 3 }