Foodie Thoughts
Staring at the store of bak kwa on my roommate's shelf has left me with that strong urge to cook again. What would bak kwa - an essentially Chinese experience - be like when paired with pasta - a Western staple...?
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I suddenly feel excited about cooking again; I always do, when weird combinations and possibilities strike. But back to the issue at hand: how to pull off bak kwa pasta dish?!
Aglio Olio...?
The most immediate answer seemed to be to parallel bak kwa as bacon, after all both have similiar qualities - dominantly flavourful, salty and oily. If so, then perhaps aglio olio would be the safest way of preparation. This then begs the question of which herbs to go with it? The usual Italian Seasoning? Basil, dill weed, oregano, rosemary? What of chilli flakes or cayenne powder? Will the spiciness and saltiness clash? How about white wine, the usual medium used to bring out the flavours of seafood aglio olio? I think not, because the bakkwa is salty enough on its own without any medium; more likely that it will influence the taste of other ingredients. Should garlic - a necessity in aglio olio - be added? Will they clash? What can safely accompany bak kwa, and complement it even, the way leaves provide a green foil against which flowers bloom in beauty? Tomatoes, peas? Broccoli's no good unless in cream... Aha, perhaps long shavings of carrot, tossed in at the end to cook in the dish's own heat?
But wait, who wants the safe way?! Why not use...cream?! Or better still tomato sauce?! A mixture of both...?
Carbonara/Cream-based...?
Seeing how bacon is sinfully rich but wonderfully so in Carbonara, it makes me itch to see how bak kwa would perform in this preparation style too. My intuition says no, and since white wine was out as well, mirin suddenly pops into mind. I've never worked with mirin before, not very sure how it enhances taste but keeping it in mind doesn't hurt. Maybe... vodka? Just for a flambe perhaps... That presentation would be kickass for sure. Tomato sauce is really quite a no-no, since it would probably detract focus from the main actor. But what of tomato cream...? Or how about... a chinese-style broth?! Either fry the bak kwa, add in the broth to soak up some of its saltiness but not all; or even just cooking the pasta in small amounts of broth and sprinkling the bakkwa (finely chopped) on top. Let's try the extreme... broth + cream? What about cheese! Too salty maybe....? The choice of the cheese has to be right then, and definitely need to make sure what the purpose of the cheese is first, before determining the type and amount. A co-actor? Texturiser? A subtle hint on the palette?
---
Okay that's that. Enough. Now that I've hopefully gotten it somewhat off the mind, time to get that paper done. If only I dissected my work with half as much enthusiasm and thought ha.
The possibilities are endless; that's what I love about cooking...
Sigh =)
---
I suddenly feel excited about cooking again; I always do, when weird combinations and possibilities strike. But back to the issue at hand: how to pull off bak kwa pasta dish?!
Aglio Olio...?
The most immediate answer seemed to be to parallel bak kwa as bacon, after all both have similiar qualities - dominantly flavourful, salty and oily. If so, then perhaps aglio olio would be the safest way of preparation. This then begs the question of which herbs to go with it? The usual Italian Seasoning? Basil, dill weed, oregano, rosemary? What of chilli flakes or cayenne powder? Will the spiciness and saltiness clash? How about white wine, the usual medium used to bring out the flavours of seafood aglio olio? I think not, because the bakkwa is salty enough on its own without any medium; more likely that it will influence the taste of other ingredients. Should garlic - a necessity in aglio olio - be added? Will they clash? What can safely accompany bak kwa, and complement it even, the way leaves provide a green foil against which flowers bloom in beauty? Tomatoes, peas? Broccoli's no good unless in cream... Aha, perhaps long shavings of carrot, tossed in at the end to cook in the dish's own heat?
But wait, who wants the safe way?! Why not use...cream?! Or better still tomato sauce?! A mixture of both...?
Carbonara/Cream-based...?
Seeing how bacon is sinfully rich but wonderfully so in Carbonara, it makes me itch to see how bak kwa would perform in this preparation style too. My intuition says no, and since white wine was out as well, mirin suddenly pops into mind. I've never worked with mirin before, not very sure how it enhances taste but keeping it in mind doesn't hurt. Maybe... vodka? Just for a flambe perhaps... That presentation would be kickass for sure. Tomato sauce is really quite a no-no, since it would probably detract focus from the main actor. But what of tomato cream...? Or how about... a chinese-style broth?! Either fry the bak kwa, add in the broth to soak up some of its saltiness but not all; or even just cooking the pasta in small amounts of broth and sprinkling the bakkwa (finely chopped) on top. Let's try the extreme... broth + cream? What about cheese! Too salty maybe....? The choice of the cheese has to be right then, and definitely need to make sure what the purpose of the cheese is first, before determining the type and amount. A co-actor? Texturiser? A subtle hint on the palette?
---
Okay that's that. Enough. Now that I've hopefully gotten it somewhat off the mind, time to get that paper done. If only I dissected my work with half as much enthusiasm and thought ha.
The possibilities are endless; that's what I love about cooking...
Sigh =)
---
[edit] Oh my goodness, thank you for auto-saving functions! Blogger died on me just as I wanted to publish the post and I felt so dismayed when I couldn't seem to get back my post.
<3>
~ st*rcr*ss*d ~
posted by fallen star at 3:22 AM
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