laocook

I remember when I was younger (many moons ago), I used to visit one of the local Chinese Take Aways on the way home from school and order a portion of Prawn Crackers (Shrimp Crackers for our cousins across the Atlantic). Back in those times, for 50 pence you could get a greasy brown paper bag full of crunchy crisp Crackers.

Depending on what shop I visited, sometimes the Crackers came in a range of bright colours, however, they tasted all the same, but when you were younger and munching away on the road, you really didn´t mind. (Yes, it was the days of Moon-boots and when you knew the profound meaning of “Wax on, Wax off”) :)

A few years later (during a visit to a Chinatown shop) I actually got to see what they looked like in their uncooked status.

Round, almost transparent discs, when fried they would swell in size, become crunchy and quite addictive. The funniest thing was that the price of the 200g package was only 89 pence, and after cooking them at home, I realised that I could get about 7 or 8 “portions” from the Crackers from the dried discs. Seemed that our local Take Away shop was making a small fortune on these things.

A few more years later, when I had gone off (grown out of) the greasy bag of Crackers and started on the Marlboro´s (a bad day for me, but a good one for Philippe Morris :shock: ), I was invited to a Thai Restaurant by some college friends. On the table when we arrived was a wooden bowl of Prawn Crackers, though this time they looked different. They were a little more thick, and had a light spicy finish. These I would later learn where known as Thai Prawn Crackers (which cost a little bit more than their Chinese counterparts). It was funny to see how times had moved on, and that some places were “giving them away for free”.

(Saying that, it didn´t stop Mr. Chan from buying a Mercedes Benz with the Cracker Money).

Nowadays a lot of Asian restaurants give you the Crackers for free, something to nibble on whilst the cooks get your orders ready.

The humble discs have been demoted to free titbits. Their reputation for “something exotic” diminished due to popularity.

But what if I could make them? Perhaps something different? Who knows, perhaps I can buy a Lexus with my Cracker Money! (Okay, I´m kidding, slightly)

No, really. Back to the present (what Sam Becket always wanted). After reading on the side of a box of mass produced crackers, I saw that the Prawn content was seriously low, that made me wonder why they decided to call them “Prawn Crackers” in the first place (Let´s face it, they never really tasted of Prawns anyway).

After days and days of research, I found out that many cultures produce these Crackers, made from Fish, Crab and a whole host of other Seafoods. The fact that the Chinese were perhaps the first to mass produce them, doesn´t really mean that they invented them.

Through my research I found out that these Crackers have many names and origins. I wont bore you with the details, but after going through endless hours of reading, I decided to adopt the Malaysian origins (Keropok), and use that as a base for my version.

So, it was time to spend some quality time in the Laocook Kitchens and start the process.

Now, most commercial producers of Prawn Crackers use less than 5% of actual Prawns :shock: in their Crackers. The majority ingredient is Starch.

I knew that would have to rectify that if I wanted to make something worthwhile. I decided on an experiment using 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80% of Prawns. Then came the question of using Fresh, Frozen or Dry Prawns.

I knew that the starch would have to be Tapioca Flour, the majority of recipes I encountered called for it.

Some recipes also called for Prawn Heads and Shells to be boiled then added to the flour, but that seemed too time consuming for me.

I tried roasting the Shells, grinding them in to a fine powder, but that didn´t really make a difference (I think, though I may change my mind).

I tried various recipes, doctoring them, adding and removing ingredients.

It was one lunch time that the idea came to me. The rest of the team had arrived and we heated up some Sticky Rice and ate it with some Jéow Padek, yes, Fermented Fish, Laotian style. The intense flavour of the Padek was the key. You only needed a little of the Jéow to flavour the Sticky Rice.

I rushed to my Prawn and Flour Mix and added a dollop of Jéow. The end result was okay, perhaps I got the ratios wrong, it was a bit on the Spicy side, but that can be fixed. However, the Prawn flavour was more pronounced. Will I have to change the recipe and use Fish or continue with Prawns? Why has the Prawn flavour become more apparent with the addition of Fish?

As this is really a “work in progress”, I cannot give any answers right now.

One of the key factors is “drying” the Crackers. Sadly at the moment, the Sun is hiding, and I cannot wait until she decides to show herself, so I have been using our oven, set to 60º, then 70º, then 80º. (Actually I have a batch of about 20 Crackers-in-waiting, being dried with different temperatures, for 2, 3, 4, 5 hours, each cut to different thickness).

Three of the many different recipes waiting to be cooked (for different times). Each varies in the amount of ingredients. They are wrapped up in cling film to “hold the shape” of the finished product.

A first look at the Padek Crackers. Puffed up, they have the “crunch”. These are cut by hand, which makes them a little thicker, but at the same time, it gives them that “homemade look”.

These have been made using a 60-40% ratio of Prawns and Starch and a healthy 40g of Jéow Padek, they don´t look it, but they “pack a punch”, ideal to munch on with a cold beer.

Other ingredients that are up for consideration and testing are Lobster, Scarlet Prawns and Crab meat.

The process, like most of our “New” work will take some time, but I am determined to come up with “Padek Crackers“.

Have you ever seen those pictures or photos that are really Mosaics?

You know the ones, when you look (very) closely, you realise that the actual picture is made up of 100´s or 1000´s of smaller pictures.

Well, there is a nifty programme (Foto-Mosaik) by Germany based Steffen Schirmer that you can download for free that enables your PC to make such pictures. (Well, it´s almost free, all Steffen asks for the 820KB programme is that you mail him a postcard of your hometown) :)

It is really easy to use, you just have to tell Foto-Mosaik what photos or images it should use to make your Mosaic, then you choose a pic that you want to turn in to a mosaic, and your PC does all the rest.

The more images that you give it, the better it can arrange the colours, making the end result even more, well, better. There is also an option of using video footage, frame by frame, though that process can be quite time consuming.

You really have to play around with it, some of my Mosaics range from 25Mb to 253MB (dunno where I would be able to print those out!)

The Mosaic. Scaled down for posting here is actually made up from my 800 holiday photos. You can tell the programme how many times it can use a specific image, and how big the images should be, the smaller the size and more times you use the image, the better the end result (and larger file size).

The original. Beerlao, cool.

The staff at our restaurant organised a “New Year Dinner”, a chance for all of us to sit down and relax after the long festive season.

It not uncommon for people to have their “Company” dinner after the festivities, especially if they have to work through them.

It was nice to go out and unwind, and be on the receiving end of the kitchens. ;)

Seeing as we live in “Sherry Country”, our first drink of the evening was a fine Fino.

Eagerly waiting for the food… :)

Saki spends some quality time with his cigar.

It was a great evening, which went on in to the early hours. It was also a good time to spend with Saki and Sen before they head off to Thailand and Laos for their holidays.

The next day…back in the kitchens…

Shallots and Garlic just out of the oven.

Hot steam releasing the aroma of the roasted bulbs is truly inviting. The flavour completely changes when roasted, the strong flavours are toned down, and the natural sweetness is released.

Tomatoes are roasted to get the same effect.

When cool enough to handle, they will be added to the Shallots and Garlic and a few other ingredients and be turned in to our “Jéow Mhak Lhen”, or Tomato Chutney, which will be used as a garnish for one of our new additions to our menu. “Ping Gai”. :)

For our Amuse Bouche we decided to use Foie Gras, covered with a Smoked Duck Larb-Tartare. The Larb-Tartare is made with Home Smoked Duck Breast, so it is not raw. It is mixed with traditional Tartare ingredients (minus the raw yolk), plus some shredded Lime Leaves, Shallots, Coriander and Roasted Rice. Served on top of toast, it should be eaten in one mouthful, so that the ingredients get a chance to “get to know each other”.

We had previously served Frog Legs in “Amuse Bouche” form with a Quartet of Sauces (Sun Dried Cherry Tomato and Ginger, Peanut and Red Spice, Miso and Sesame and Yakitori sauces), or as a Main Course in the shape of an “Aw” or “Stew” as seen on LCTV.

For our latest Amuse Gueule, we decided to to use a simple creamy Avocado base.

Frog Legs with Coriander Gaucamole and “Siracha” Mayo.

As you know, Guacamole is of a South American decent. It is traditionally prepared in a Molcajete, which is very similar to our Pestle and Mortar.

What is important is that you use ripe Avocados. We buy ours a little unripe, leave them at room temperature and put them in the fridge when they have ripened enough to our liking (our Sushi cooks take care of that seeing as they use Avocados the most).

Some recipes call for Garlic, but we omit it because we think that raw Garlic is too strong. Instead we use Shallots, lots and lots of Coriander, Lime Juice, Maldon Salt, and Tomatoes.

It is served with 2 Frog Legs, cleaned (so they can be picked up buy the bone) and Battered twice, Tempura Style. The end result reminded us of “Popcorn”, and I am sure that we will continue this and produce a Frog Leg Popcorn soon… (It would be much easier to eat).

It is funny “how ideas come to you”. ;)

The “Siracha Mayo” is simply made with Homemade Mayonnaise with a dash of “Oro de Parma” Tomato Concentrate, and a healthy dollop of “Siracha Chilli Sauce”.

***

I often stare at wonder at the Asiatic restaurants that present their roasts in the shop-front windows, stalls or trailers. The hanging Ducks, Soy Steamed Chickens and Red Roast Pork always look inviting.

What I love the most is the Crispy Pork.

Good Crispy Pork should have a balanced amount of meat and fat, not too much of either. Too much fat and the pork taste too heavy, too much meat and the pork taste too dry.

What is important is the Crispiness. Hard enough to crunch, but not hard enough to break a tooth!

It should also be served at room temperature, on top of hot steamed Rice, or with a Tangy Chilli Dip. It should never be reheated, that would just make the fat run out and give the pork that “unnatural fatty after-taste”.

Khamhoung´s recipe was enjoyed by all, with loads of specially made “Extra Spicy Jéow Bong” which was kindly made by Suri´s mother. :)