Traditional Food

Posts Tagged ‘Food’

Soul food recipes making a strong comeback? Yes, and not only with African Americans but also with Whites, Latino and other races discovering the deep south inspired menus.

The recipes handed down from slavery, and one of the true American creations continues to make a roaring come back in popularity. “It stays with you longer than most foods,” commented a diner at a popular restaurant.

“If you eat a lunch of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, black-eyed peas, candied yams, you’re full. Top that same meal off with peach cobbler for dessert, you’re still full at dinner”, chimed in another diner.

What has slowly brought back the popularity of this southern inspired fare? The updated cooking and preparation techniques. Long favored for it’s taste, but criticized for its health hazards, soul food cooking has taken on a healthier change. The change it’s going through continues to attract a larger crowd than before.

Gone are the lard, fatback and animal fat of the past in cooking and preparing soul dishes. Now cooks use peanut, olive oil and other healthier oils. Deep fat frying replaced with pan frying, steaming and baking. Salt replaced by natural herbs and spices. This all adds up to healthier recipe and menu choices.

For people watching their weight, this change continues to have a positive affect. They have more menu choices now than ever. They can enjoy some of their favorite southern dishes without cheating their diet goals with the new healthier menus.

The biggest concerns for adopting the healthy soul food change by leaving out the traditional high fat cooking ingredients? Was the taste left out also? But with natural herb seasoning such as garlic powder, tyme, basil, onion power, and other natural seasonings, the taste remains. The growing popularity of this southern cuisine proves the healthier changes have succeeded.

Because of the health based changes, soul food restaurants report an increase in business as healthier cooking improves. People, especially African Americans continue to have large amount of heart issues, high blood pressure and diabetes and obesity. That’s why more attention to the diet.

This is not your grandmothers soul food cooking. It’s much leaner, less oily and with less or even no salt. As the health concerns of people continue to grow, the health ingredients of recipes will grow as well.

Healthier menus will not only be a marketing slogan, but will reflect in the recipe ingredients, preparation and cooking techniques used. The cookbooks that will sell in the future will include healthy alternatives that don’t compromise taste and satisfaction.

The next frontier to conquer? Desserts, such as peach cobbler, sweet potato pie, sock-it-to me cake, 7-up cake, banana pudding and other favorites. The push is on to find ways to make them healthier too. Health conscious bakers will overcome this challenge like many soul food cooks have, but it will take time, determination and commitment.

There is nothing like going for some Indonesian Traditional Food. Once you have filled your week with enough local and fast food, or you have gone a month with eating European and world fairs from the many restaurants located island wide, it would be time to visit one of the authentic Indonesian Traditional Food restaurants in Singapore. I think the word I would use to describe the food would be ‘flavour’.

There is just a burst, and explosion of savoury taste that I experience whenever I bite into a well prepared Indonesian meal. I just cannot say no to a well prepared ‘rendang’ meal, there is nothing like the heavy coconut gravy and the almost melt in your mouth chunks of meat that accompany it, a perfect complement to the bowl of fragrant rice that accompanies it. The meat is tender and the servings are always known to be extremely generous. They are no slouch when it comes to their chicken either, roasted or grilled, they are liberated from their tasteless forms with a whole variety of spices and chillies that make for an excellent dining experience. The meat just melts of the bone and the spices and chilli that they use are simply exquisite, a burst of flavour at every bite. Then how can we forget the ‘tahu telur’, one of the signature dishes of traditional Indonesian dishes.

A skyscraper of tofu deep fired with egg batter, decorated with vegetables and spices and served with a sweet sauces. There is also the ‘Garang Asam’, which is a traditional seafood soup that is made with a collection of spices like lemongrass, chills and condiments like ginger and a whole host of select spices. Look out for the ‘Sate Bebek Bumbu and Babi’, essentially, the Indonesian version of the popular ‘satay’ found all over Singapore. I don’t think there is enough space in this article for me to list all the great Indonesian foods that you can try all in a single day.

From starters, main courses and even deserts like the ‘Kue Pepe’ and the ‘Lapis Surabaya’, there are so many choices for you to choose from. And the best thing is that in all the Indonesian restaurants that I have been to, the service has been impeccable, the staff friendly and attentive and I have had no bad experiences what so ever. If you are looking for a good Indonesian restaurant to go to for lunch or dinner, and want to experience a crash course in Indonesian culture and taste some of their fabulous food, I would recommend going to places in town and areas like Clarke Quay and the River Walk – you will find many traditional Indonesian Restaurants where you can start enjoying their delicacies almost immediately.

Price range starts at $20 a person and can go significantly higher, but you always will get value for your money. With their rich spices, generous helpings and range of foods, you will never be’ not satisfied’ when eating Indonesian traditional food.

Soul food recipes come from the earliest inhabitants of the Caribbean islands. They were the three Indian tribes of Arawak, Carib, and Taino. Their daily food comprised of vegetables and fruits. It was the Taino tribe that first started cooking meat and fish, using large clay vessels.
The Arawaks used a different method. They used thin strips of green wood to cook meat more slowly and allowing it to absorb the flavor of the wood. The wooden grate they used was called barbacoa. This is where the term barbeque comes from.
Not to be left behind, the Carib tribe made their fish and meat recipes really spicy by adding pepper sauces, lime, and lemons. In fact, the Caribs are credited with having cooked the first pepper pot stew. The last of the above three has had a tremendous impact on Caribbean food.
This should not be surprising because the Caribbean Sea was named after this tribe. Caribbean soul food recipes are still representative of the food that was originally eaten by the early inhabitants. It includes okra, fish cakes, callaloo, ackee, salt fish, pudding, souse, cassava, yams, sweet potatoes, plantains, and mangoes.
The concept of jerk cooking also originated in the Caribbean. Early African hunters would often leave their homes to go on long hunts. They would take with them pork cooked in a very spicy recipe over hot coals.
In the post slavery era, Indian cooking culture was introduced into Caribbean soul food recipes and still remains an active part of the Caribbean cuisine. Most of the curried meats and curry powder recipes that are found today are directly derived from original Indian cuisine.
Rice was introduced to the Caribbean by the Chinese and is now a staple. The Chinese also unleashed mustard on the islanders while the Portuguese sailors did the codfish. Most of the fruit trees that are familiar to the visitors to the island were actually brought here by the Spainish.
This included orange, ginger, lime, figs, plantains, sugar cane, tamarinds, grapes, and coconuts. America brought with it the various beans, squash, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and chili pepper. In fact, some of these foods spread to the rest of world through the Caribbean.
Caribbean cuisine is truly a mix of several cooking styles from all over the world. It retains much of the original culinary skills of the islands native inhabitants. If you are bored with what you eat daily Caribbean food will cure that.
If you do not have time to go on a lengthy Caribbean vacation then bring the beaches and the sunshine right into your home through your kitchen using a Caribbean recipe. These are but a few reasons why Caribbean food is so unique and creative. Flavors from all over the world have found a home in Caribbean food through countless generations and the flow of history.