U235

2 hours ago, wayned said:

I cure and cook my own ham and corned beef. 

Which cut do you use for the ham? Have been thinking about making my own ham too, but there is no way to put a 7 kg pork leg for weeks in my fridge. So I'm looking for something smaller 

5 hours ago, meatboy said:

thanks for your reply PDAZ,i wish i could go home a few times every yr.but my traveling days are over.

i too love nz.lamb,but welsh salt marsh is the best in the world,i have been a meat eater all my life and there is nothing better than a juicy steak, hereford blacks are exceptional,but i have had,ausi,argentina,brazilian,plenty of thai[pon -yang-kham] which is very good.

this yrs.treet is a 16oz. wagu steak this will be the first time and more than likely the last.my pension dont go that far.

as for thai food i love curries,green,red, masman and make my own indian.

same for beef and pork pies,i buy a lot of local beef flank,and striploin when i can get it cooked slow sealed in a dish it comes out well.

when living in bkk.we did a lot of shopping at food land that was 25yrs.ago,well tomorrow they open in korat so the wife is all excited.

so lets see what has changed or will it be the same quality or not. 

I also moved from a tourist area (with a lot of falang stuff for sale) to the country side and obvious also face the lack of products over here.

My solution:

Set up a life line with the civilized world: ask a friend (in BKK, Pattaya, Phuket,....) to ship a couple of times a year some  boxes with the stuff you can not find in the boonies. Shipment can be done by bus to the next city and is really not that expensive. Had a delivery last week from Phuket and paid thb 1500 for 75 kg. Just had to pick up the goods in the bus station and take them back home. 

Take products with a long shelf life like hard cheeses, can's, dried foods. Don't order them in Villa or another overpriced falang supermarket, but find yourself a supplier who caters to hotels. You will need to buy a lot, but you will save tons of money at the end of the day (expect prices to be 50% from what you pay now). Only drawback: I had to install a second fridge only for my falang food ;-) If packet well, you can even ship your favorite steaks or seafood this way.

Learn to cook: sound obvious, but most people seem to have no idea what you can make by yourself with local ingredients. Before I often bough 'Rillettes du Mans' (some French pate like meat, available from Casino in Big C). Now I make it by myself. Same goes for a lot of thing you normally buy in the supermarket (pickled gherkins, onions, vegetables, mustard, sauerkraut, ricotta, sausages, pies, breads, fresh pasta, etc etc etc)

At the end of the day there are only two products left which stay out of my reach: soft cheeses and ham. The cheeses because of their short shelf life, the ham because of their weight (5-7 kg, really too much for me but if you live in an area with other falang, maybe you can share?)

In short: I don't have a problem with availability of falang products and I'm absolutely not moaning about their price. Adapting myself a bit and be creative is the small price I have to pay to live here.

19 hours ago, Tarteso said:

Try to make our "your Falang cake" with double of sugar for them ! It Work for me
 

Strange enough, my family often complains that my food is too sweet. The birthday cake was a good example.

16 hours ago, CLW said:

For cake, you could try angel or chiffon cake recipes. They have a very light and fluffy texture.
Any cheesecake was also liked.
Especially fluffy Japanese cheesecake (sure, everything from Japan or Korea is popular here 555)
 

Thanks, I will give the angel cake a try, but it will have to wait a bit 'cause I will need to buy cream of tartar first in the Big City.

Bread isn't a big problem: they eat only my hamburger buns and they passed the test. 

That Thangzong thing sounds curious. Right now, I'm waiting till the 'biga' for a batch of Ciabata is ready. Will mix a bit of that roux in one loaf; let see what it gives. Found an article on the www from a guy who claims it improves it a lot, however 'soft dough Japanese style' and 'crispy Italian style' looks a bit like a controversy to me. Wait and see...

15 hours ago, CLW said:

What exactly they don't like?
And what kind of cake did you do already and what kind of cake your family wants to eat?

I would think a well done European style cake should also be liked from Thais.

It is difficult to describe in words what they don't like, but is seems my cakes are not 'airy' enough.

Look at the pics of the breads you posted here and compare with a Farmhouse bread you can buy in 7/11: they would prefer Farmhouse for the same reason.

I'm talking about 'muffin and biscuit' style' cakes.

Normally, I don't care if they like it or not, but at birthdays I'm always asked to deliver the cake, and it is very frustrating that I have to trow away half of it.

A couple of weeks ago, I tried to outsmart them and made an Italian 'torta di riso a miele'. Main ingredients are rice and honey (not light and airy at all, but rice should be something they like I supposed) Even substituted the carnaloni  rice with jasmine rice to be sure to obtain the 'Thai taste'. Do you think they liked it? Nope! (but they loved the red jellies...)

On 12/14/2016 at 9:19 PM, CLW said:

Passed the Thai test 555
Even GF likes it, so it must be soft.

Anyone has an idea how to make the most horrible cake in the world?

The problem is: I make nice cakes (at least I think so) but my family doesn't like them at all. If I ask what is wrong with them. the answer is always "you should make them more Thai style".

I figured out that 'Thai Style' means a very light, artificial cake, full of chemicals. If possible in all the colors of the rainbow. The kind you buy in 7/11

But how to make them? I suppose one of these cake mixes in the supermarket will do, but I prefer to mix my poison by myself. It became a real challenge for me... Already tried overdoses of baking powder an to substitute the butter with palm oil, but still 'too falang'. Even the nice green colour I added to the dough could not convince them 

So anyone has an idea how I can win a Thai baking contest?

Still one of my favorite appetizers: cheese croquettes (edam, mozarella & parmazan cheese)

22 hours ago, RabC said:

I just want to say I made some yesterday and was very happy with the result, thanks.

Nice to hear it worked well for you. Bon appétit!

5 hours ago, Naam said:

if the fish is properly smoked i don't see a problem to store it in the fridge for a couple of weeks or even longer

Oops, looks that we are talking about different products, the 'Dutch style'

herrings are not smoked at all...

Maatje (Matje)

Rollmops

7 hours ago, tutsiwarrior said:

plenty of good hummous and feta cheese in the arab countries but none of the above...

 

Yeah, the secret ingredient of my pâté is pork, you know... Might be some kind of a problem for these guys 

25 minutes ago, Naam said:

that's something i miss. Matjes and Rollmops are sold in Foodland and Best but of a deplorable quality. overcooked to near mash and sour as if vinegar essence was used for the marinade. another shortcoming is the lack of properly cured and smoked fish not coated with some sweet sh1tty paste. i even got tricked buying smoked eel imported from Japan in Tops which turned out to be the same yuckish style.

 

recently i found smoked red snapper filet of acceptable quality in Villa Market. but that's no substitute for a delicious fat smoked mackerel (not too big that the skin is still tender and edible).

+1

I know where they sell them but you need to buy a pail of 4 kg. Too risky and too many herring for one falang anyway 

1 hour ago, Naam said:

made based on my specifications (reduced fat content) and delivered from Germany in tins every three months by my brother. what i am doing here is heating it up slightly, spice it up a lot (rough ground black pepper, mashed marinated green pepper, paprika and red chili powder), also add a wee bit of artificial smoke and it becomes dé-<deleted>-licieux!

Looks like you have more work with it as I do 

2 hours ago, CLW said:

You ever had issues with the raw egg?

Several people warned me to consume raw Thai eggs...

Never had a problem with it. But if you feel safer with it, you can always pasteurize the eggs before using them. Never tried, but if done well, it should not have an impact on the mayonnaise. Or you add a tbs whey to the mayo and wait an hour or so before putting it in the fridge.

1 hour ago, RabC said:

One quick question, I assume your "spoon" is a teaspoon and not tablespoon?

Tablespoons for the water and the lime. The mustard is optional, but I always use a tablespoon as well.

Not really gourmet but more the Dutch/Belgian version of Mac Donalds. 

In my country fried snacks are very popular; we even have some kind of snackbars which sell nothing else (frituur)

A typical meal consist of some kind of meat (frikandel, berepoot,....) which is fried and served with fries and a sauce based on mayonaise. Very healthy indeed!

Personally, I have never been a big fan of it but after so many years in Thailand, I guess I became a bit homesick and decided to give it a try.

This is the most famous snack of all, the Frikandel. It is a fried skinless sausage made from chicken, beef and pork (ok, in my Thai version; the beef is a substitute for horse meat because I was unable to find a horse willing to cooperate...)

Served with fries and an overdose of mayonaise. Yummy! Will make it again.

2 hours ago, tutsiwarrior said:

 

thanks fer that...but I'm not gonna tell the granddaughter where I got the recipe so that she shall later revere her grandpa tutsi and the pizza from heaven...

Did I mention that for that specific Napolitan taste, you should also add 3 big spoons of Dijon mustard and a dash of Tabasco? 

11 hours ago, tutsiwarrior said:

 

looks good...what's a good recipe for the crust? the kids like pizza...the 4 y.o. granddaughter hasn't yet decided whether she likes me or not (tutsi was away at work for a long time) but with a good pizza I shall become endeared forever...

 

Normally, it would cost you a couple of beers for my pizza recipe, but for your granddaughter I will make an exemption 

For years, I made my pizza using a biga (Italian starter dough) a couple of days in advance. One  day I cleaned up my fridge and found a forgotten package.

Instead of throwing it away, I gave it a try and it turned out that it made an excellent pizza. So this is how I do it now.

Make a normal pizza dough from flour, water, yeast, salt and olive oil BUT just use a symbolic pinch of yeast (lets's say 1/10 of a tsp)

Put the dough in a plastic bag, take out the air, close well but make sure there is plenty of room for expansion. Put the bag in the fridge.

The first couple of days, not much will happen, but after a while the yeast will become active and the bag will expand. Wait.

After minimum 10 days, the dough is ready to use. The older it becomes, the better the taste (more 'chewy' - how can I describe). I mostly use it after 14 days. Keep in mind that old dough becomes very soft and fragile to handle. 10 days old dough acts more as one you made the same day (elastic, the ones that you can trow in the air if you are an Italian pizza guy)

Remove it from the bag, cover it with some flour and form portions (around 250 gr) Cover it with a towel and let sit for a couple of hours to warm up and expand. Form the pizza's by hand (avoid a pin roll). Heat oven and prebake the pizza's for a minute or 5. You will see that big bubble's form. This way, your pizza will have the typical layered structure. Take out from the oven and put your toppings on it.

13 hours ago, CLW said:

Laugen rolls with camembert cheese spread
(Laugenstangen mit angemachtem Camembert / Obatzter)

Didn't know this one - had to google it...., but, bierfeste mit Phuket Lager????

Prefer the real thing 

7 hours ago, Naam said:

please have mercy mate! one time "blue" is acceptable. but in future it should be "bleu" (French word pronounced like the German "ö" which sounds like the vocal in the english words "word, fur, blur, occur, Sir, stir).

 

signed "beancounter" 

Vous avez raison. Entschuldigung.... 

Want some pizza?  

12 hours ago, CLW said:

Looks delicious, though for my personal taste your Cordon Bleu is a bit pale.

How you make the croquettes?
I was going to make mashed potatoes but I could not find the floury type ones.
Or does it work with any type?

Yeah, you are right.I put the cordon blue on the grill and it didn't brown well. Guess it needs some butter, so next time I will trow them in the pan again.

So far, I didn't encounter any problems with the potato's. 

Boil one kg, drain the water, and continue heating to so they become as dry as possible.

Mash them well

Add pepper, salt, nutmeg, 2 yolks and 40-50 grams butter, mix well

Form the croquettes, roll them into flour, then beaten egg and finally breadcrumbs. Make sure they are covered well.

Fry or freeze them

Cordon Blue with potato croquettes and green pepper sauce.

A couple of weeks ago I made my wife proud when I saw frozen croquettes at Tops:

Me: Darling, look: they have these potato things the kids love so much. Guess how much they cost?

Wife: ????? 200 Baht?

Me: No, closer to 400 Baht/kg. I make them for around 45/kg...

Wife: Falang food... Can you not sell them?

Me: Over my dead body.

1 minute ago, CLW said:

I will try soon, and if successful, post the recipe here

I'm curious. Just worried that the agar will bind with the water of the bread, and your nice bun will have the feeling of a perfect silicone tit. Don't want you to have issues with the missus....

45 minutes ago, Khunchai Tong said:

If you get fresh casings from the market you will have to turn them inside out and scrape the interior mucus out with a table knife.Then what you are left with is the membrane . It is easier to buy the salted frozen ones that have already been scraped ,cleaned and salted.

They are cut into meter lengths which I find does about a kilo of plain pork snarler.I usally soak all in the pack and rinse them out thoroughly and then put them into little plastic bags and refreeze them. Then I can  take out a little pack of 2 lengths ,soak and rinse again and pak up a couple of kilos of sausage. It costs about 240 to 270 baht a pack and there is about 30 meters in a pack. Easy-peasy.

 

Still hoping that the OP comes back and reveals his source for collagen casings in Thailand 

In the mean time I keep ordering them over the internet (need just a few)

1 hour ago, CLW said:

Anyone tried Agar to improve texture of soft bread?

Actually I looked for a recipe to copy Subway bread that requires wheat gluten.
Knowing that it might be not available here I searched for substitutes and came to the Agar.

You mean that stuff from Japanese algue? I sometimes use it in desserts instead of gelatine, but in bread? 

But in Makro they sell a bread improver (Imperial brand I believe), maybe that helps. If I make soft breads, I mix approx 10% butter of in the dough, that improves a lot, but honestly I haven't been in a subway in years, so I'm not sure this is what you mean.

1 hour ago, CLW said:

Mandarin Cheesecake





No bashing, but Thai's have no sense of good taste 555
The base of the cake is a yeast dough which is of course maybe only a bit dense and compact but still soft.
My Girlfriend said, don't like, it's to hard

Looks nice, which cheese did you use? If the Mrs doesn't like it most likely means it is excellent   (and more cake for you!)