The Food Canon

Savour it hot.

(Note: I have updated the recipe - read this)

I have been hoping to write up a recipe on Tom Yum Soup, a thought which I had already mentioned in the first article of this blog.

Last Sunday, as usual, I was reading and enjoying Christopher Tan's "Ask a Foodie" column. I nodded in agreement when I read his article on making a good Tom Yum. You can find out more about Chris' work here. And this morning, I read in the papers that it is no 7 on CNN list of the world's 50 most delicious food.

I have always been fascinated by a good bowl of Tom Yum Soup. While on my honeymoon in Phuket 18 years ago, I enjoyed a bowl of Tom Yum Goong with steamed rice. That experience has never left me. The problem is that most of the variations of Tom Yum which I had since were less than satisfying. These variations always seem to have so much in them that they crowd out the real Tom Yum, leaving only faint echoes of the one I had.

I reckoned that I simply needed to demystify this dish myself if I want to have it on my table. When I was in Banchang last year (an hour's drive from Bangkok), I visited the local wet market. It was very clean and the herbs and spices were displayed neatly. I saw many packets of the "Tom Yum trio" and I bought a bagful. That began a series of experiments before I got it right. It would have helped if I had a copy of The Principles of Thai Cookery by Chef McDang then or read this article by Chris Tan.

Have you tried cooking without a recipe?

If you are fairly experienced as a cook, you may want to try doing this more regularly. You could be pleasantly surprised with what you could come out with.

My recent visit to Sydney did encourage me to cook this way. The kitchen at the serviced apartment was, as to be expected, not the most conducive for asian cooking. What was fun was to scout out the nearby markets and try to imagine what I could come up with.

We were in wintry Sydney for a conference. We enjoyed this working trip cum break immensely. There is a whole lot I would want to say from this trip (including about the influential Hillsong Church) but since this is a food blog, I will stick primarily to that here. This blog is not about the food that others cook but I will make this an exception since this is a rare Sydney visit.

This is my first time in this city. As we were busy with a conference, we did not get to explore a whole lot. We stayed downtown near Darling Harbour and we mostly explored with our feet. I managed to do some cooking but being in a service apartment, there was not much to work with. Walking to the conference venues took us daily through the Chinatown area. And when a group decision on food had to be made, we almost always default to Chinese. Or, sorta Chinese.   

We did have some 'wow' moments and I will blog some of these here.

I was told that Hakka folks (客家人)are a stubborn people.

"Hakka" literally means "guest people." They are migrants who travel in search of a better life or mostly, simply to survive. This migratory instinct also led many to migrate overseas.

This may explain their stubborn trait and resilience as a people.

Hakka deep fried pork ("Zhar Yoke") is one of my Mum's signature dishes which I eventually manage to replicate.  

I said eventually, as I could not get it right, even though I followed her written recipe to the tee. In fact, the last time I made it, it tasted so different. Out of sheer frustration, I almost called my Mum down from heaven.

And I suppose that bit of Hakka stubborn trait kept me from giving up.