The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Posted: 25 Oct 2013 04:00 PM PDT

BY EU HOOI KHAW
October 26, 2013

The stacks of blue enamel pots in front of the food stall at Lai Thai that are used to serve the noodles.Sometimes you feel like having a bowl of noodles with the zing of chilli, or something hot and sour like in a som tam, a Thai papaya salad, or in Larb Moo, a Thai pork salad.

Som Tam or Thai Papaya Salad.You can have all these at the Lai Thai Mini Market in Section 17, Petaling Jaya. There's a menu pasted up on the stall, with pictures of the dishes and names in English for them. On my many visits there, I have been strangely attracted to that stack of blue enamel pots by the side of the stall. I have never had the chance to eat out of one until last week when we stopped by at tea time.

We just had to get rid of the taste of some awful dimsum we had at lunch, and Lai Thai was the place to be. Here I had a blue pot of noodles in hot and sour soup, with spring onion, fresh coriander, cabbage, slivers of salted vegetables and bits of pork in it, and a squeeze of lime for that tinge of sourness. That was light, fresh and nice.

Pork Noodles in front, and Green Curry Noodles.We had also ordered the Larb Moo, which was minced pork, liver and pork skin tossed with lime juice, fish sauce, Thai chilli peppers, sweet basil and onions and heaped upon some shredded cabbage. The sharp, tart dressing and the hot chilli sent shivers down my tongue which were soothed by the sticky rice and the raw cabbage. It was delicious.

Thai Red Rice with Braised Pork.We had an early lunch at Lai Thai on another occasion, and had the Thai Red Rice with Braised Pork Knuckle, and Red Rice with Pork Fried with Basil. We washed these down with a bottle of chilled coconut nectar.

The minced pork fried with basil has punches of flavour, with enough chilli to numb your palate. But you can't resist going back to it and eating it with the rice and the fried egg on top of it.

There is a huge basin of stewed pork knuckle on the food counter, as with most street food stalls in Thailand. We had slices of this stewed meat spiced with star anise and cloves, and half a stewed egg as well. The gravy is a little sweet, but have it with some chilli pickled in vinegar and it's just right.

The Noodles with Green Curry is delightful here, as the fragrant curry is not too rich, and is generous with eggplant and long beans. Most people like the Pork Noodles here which are in a clear, tasty soup, with pork balls, pork slices and liver, and garnished with toong choy or preserved vegetables, spring onions and fresh coriander. This is one noodle dish you can spice up with chilli flakes and other condiments on the table. I prefer them with the pickled chillies which give them a perky lift.

Rice with Pork fried with Basil.I had the Som Tam here last week and it had all the right nuances - lightly sweet, hot and sour. I liked this a lot. We watched as the crunchy papaya strips were pounded in a wooden mortar with a pestle with tomato, long beans, chilli, peanuts, and with the sauces added.

Mango Sticky Rice.Lunch time is when desserts like Mango Sticky Rice, Tab Tim Krob and Tako are ready, packed in boxes and displayed on the counter. We had a Mango Sticky Rice once, adding carefully the sweet coconut sauce to the rice (too much and it can be too sweet!). It was just the right dessert at the end of a hot, zesty meal. You pay coffeeshop prices here, and they range from RM5 to RM7 for a pot of noodles or rice with meat.

Lai Thai is also a mini market where you can buy Thai snacks, drinks, sauces, curry pastes, pickles, preserves, instant noodles, glutinous rice, vegetables and fruits. I have brought home boxes of peeled Thai pomelo, curry sauces and chilli flakes.

Lai Thai Mini Market is located at AG-3, Block A, Happy Mansion, Jalan 17/13, Section 17, Petaling Jaya. It's open every day from 10am to 5pm. – 26 October, 2013.

Scientist comes up with mathematical equation for perfect pizza

Posted: 25 Oct 2013 04:00 PM PDT

October 26, 2013

A mathematician in the UK has come up with a scientific formula that claims to decode the secret to making the perfect pizza pie.

The key, says Dr. Eugenia Cheng of the University of Sheffield, is the topping-to-base ratio and the thickness of the crust.

In other words, baking a pie with a crispy crust and the right balance of toppings. The formula uses variables such as "d" to designate the volume of dough and "t" for the volume of topping.

The study, released earlier this month, was commissioned by British restaurant chain Pizza Express in a bid to understand why their larger 14-inch (36 cm) pies were outselling the classic 11-inch (28 cm) pizzas.

The overarching conclusion? Smaller pies tend to have thicker, breadier crusts which increase the odds of turning soggy under the weight of sauce and toppings, Cheng told Co.Design.

Larger pizzas with larger surface area, however, allow for more even distribution of toppings while a thinner dough makes for a crispier crust.

If you're willing to risk a soggy crust for the sake of more pepperoni, however, opt for smaller pizza, as Cheng's calculations show that a median bite from an 11-inch pizza has 10 percent more topping than a 14-inch pie.

It's not the first time scientists have been recruited to come up with a mathematical equation for cooking the perfect food. According to the Royal Society of Chemists in the UK, the recipe for a perfect grilled cheese sandwich involves melting 50 g (1.8 ounces) of a hard cheese like cheddar on a slice of white bread, placed exactly 18 cm (7 inches) away from the heat source of the grill, at a temperature of 115C (239 F) for four minutes. – AFP/Relaxnews, October 26, 2013.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Jumaat, 25 Oktober 2013

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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