Don't Try This at Home






Monday 13/6/2005

Back to noshblog site (click here)


Diary and Notes

Oh I can hear the chuckling, the shadenfeude, the delight in the suffering of others. How we all love to see the mighy fall, how you all wished that distaster would befall me and now it has. OK so I've cooked some things that weren't great, especially the curried mince durting 1970's week, but that was by design. Today's was different, I was hoping for something good and got something pretty crappy instead. Laugh and gloat, go on, you've been wanting to for months.

I suppose I should have known it was going to be a flop for two reasons. Firstly I've cooked with mangos before and it never quite works. In theory they should be a great ingredient but every time I use them something goes wrong. Secondly, the country really famous for mangos (India) doesn't, as far as I can recall, ever use them cooked. If they were a good thing in a stew the Indians would use them, but they don't and they don't because they're not. Don't cook with mangos, that's my advice, don't ever cook with mangos.

My dinner wasn't disgusting - that rarely happens, but it wasn't great either. The people I shared it with seemed to like it, but most people eat such awful food that anything fresh and different will seem tasty and wholesome. I thought it was pretty dire and said so. Conceptually it was great, it loked good, it was fresh and nutritious and it just didn't work. Don't try this at home, that's my advice. I think with a bit of tweaking it could work, though the tweaking would turn it into a Thai green chicken curry of a simple chicken and squash stew, either way it's not what I had for dinner and that's a shame.

And the squash didn't work either. I wont be using acorn again, I didn't like the texture.

Still, at least I'm honest.


Cake Blog

Lyons mini treacle tarts: Just pastry and treacle. Like a jam tart with treacle instead of jam. Not as sweet as you might think, thankfully.


Menu

  • Chicken and Acorn Squash wtih Mango and Coconut Sauce
  • Sticky Rice


    Ingredients*

    Chicken and Acorn Squash
    3 Large Chicken Breasts
    2 Acorn Squash
    Tbsp Groundnut Oil
    1 Ripe Mango (+1 for Garnish)
    1 Can Coconut Milk
    2 tsp Mild Curry Powder
    1 tsp Tamarind Paste
    2 tsp Thai Fish Sauce (Nam Pla)
    Little White Pepper



    Preparation

  • Chop the chicken into chunks and brown in a little groundnut oil. Finely chop the mango and add to the pan. Peel the squash, remove the seeds, cut into chunks and add also. Simmer gently until the mango is almost dissolved then add the curry powder, a little nam pla, the coconut milk, pepper and tamarind. Simmer gently for 20 minutes.

    *****************************************************





    *All quantities are very approximate and for three people





    JCBorresen@GMail.com