I finally made it to Thai Orchid.
The restaurant is located in one of the classic downtown buildings. The high ceilings and open space give a relaxed, welcoming feel.
I started with a fragrant pot of tea.
The lamb masaman was superb, the best masaman I have ever eaten. The flavors are deep and complex: savory, coconut, a hint of sweet, and a bouquet of spices. I used my rice to wipe the bowl clean.
I did leave room for a taste of dessert. My coconut cake was also superb: rich coconut flavor with a very fresh coconut topping, very moist cake. I ate some and took the rest back to my room for breakfast. This was a truly outstanding meal.
I made candied ginger a few years ago. It's not something I would do every day but I had a lot of fun doing it. I recently acquired a pressure cooker and it inspired an interesting idea to me: why not make candied ginger in the pressure cooker? It should be very soft and flavorful. Here is the result. I peeled two large ginger roots, cut them into small cubes, and put them in the pressure cooker with heavily sugared water. The traditional method first boils the ginger in plain water to soften it and then again in sugar water to candy it. The resulting candy was very tender but still with the characteristic ginger texture. It was also sweet without being overpowering. The traditional method leaves a lot of sugar crystallized around the ginger. The pressure cooker gives a much more subtle result. The ginger stays moist even after it cools but you can dry it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. That inspired me to dip it in chocolate. While I was in the b...





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