Alford/Duguid Travelogues/Cookbooks

I really enjoy the series of travelogues/cookboods by Jeff Alford and Naomi Duguid. The couple met in Tibet and have spent many years traveling, at first on their own, then with two sons. They are writers, photographers and foodies so their books are beautiful accounts of their trips and the food they ate. They gathered recipes by searching out remote areas, trying all kinds of foods and prying the recipes out of the locals. I love food (obviously), travel an cookbooks. So, I've accumulated many of their cookbooks including Flatbreads and Flavors, Beyond the Great Wall (focused on China), Hot Sour Salty Sweet (travels through SE asia), Mango and Curry Leaves (India, Sri Lanka). Mostly, I enjoy their books as eye candy. But I have to say, I've been very impressed from the recipes I've used. They have a great eggplant recipe (the modestly named 'Best Ever Eggplant') in Hot Sour.... I've tried many of the flatbreads (I posted on the batia roti), used their recipe for bahn xeo. This morning, I was browsing through Mango and Curry Leaves and decided to try the Cumin-flecked skillet breads (similar to a paratha), tomato chutney and mint sambol. I've had atta flour in my pantry for a while but I've never used it and this type of bread is pretty quick to make.
Anyone have any favorites from these books?
I'm thinking about making the Sri Lankan hoppers and coconut sambol for breakfast tomorrow.

I've been a big fan of their books for over a decade. The newer books are glitzier, but I think I prefer the older ones - Seductions of Rice and Flatbreads and Other Flavors are two of my favorites. I have been particularly impressed with their chutneys and condiments. Each one I have tried has been flavorful and fresh tasting.

Jyoti

"Seductions of Rice" has been a well used favorite here for years.
The Persian pilafs are a special favorites.

I made Sri Lankan hoppers from the Mango and Curry Leaves cookbook this morning for breakfast. Hoppers are (apparently) a bowl shaped crepe/bread from Sri Lanka. Alford and Duguid compare them to injera--they are similar in that both have a pleasantly sour taste. The batter is made with yeast, wheat/rice flour and coconut milk. The batter has to sit for a few hours. You are supposed to swirl the batter around in a hot hopper pan or small wok, then cover for a few minutes to steam them. One side ends up soft, the other crispy. I don't have a small wok so I used a well-seasoned flat-bottom wok. They were delicious, though flat. I also made Sri Lankan Seeni Sambol--a sambol of slow cooked shallots, ginger, garlic, coconut milk with curry leaves, cinnamon, cardamon, cloves and lime. I have no idea how these are supposed to taste but I loved the ones I made. I'm going to have to experiment with other pans to see if I get them bowl shaped (I may get in trouble at home if I order another pan, I've already been asked to thin out my collection...and yet, who doesn't NEED a hopper pan?)

Swirled hopper batter in the wok


Finished product (showing crispy side and soft side)

Sounds (and looks) fantastic! Need any guinea pigs?

Another breakfast a la Alford/Duguid. It was one of those 'you know you're an LTHer when...' moments when I realized I had urad dal, semolina, and frozen coconut in my pantry and freezer, but I was a little low on yogurt. Really great (and not bad cold for a Sunday afternoon snack, I might add).

Rava dosa (semolina crepes with cilantro, ginger and chilis)



Served with coconut chutney

Frozen Malaysian Parathas, though no substitute for homemade flatbreads, make a nice breakfast with some tomato chutney and coconut sambal.

Not from the Alford/Duguid cookbooks, but along the same lines, I've made the scallion pancakes from Serious Eatsa few times. They are fun and easy to make--I stay pretty true to the recipe though I cut down on the scallions so they don't explode out of the dough quite so much. Basically a 2:1 ratio of AP flour to boiling water (1/2 cup flour per pancake), with some sesame oil brushed on and scallions sprinkled on during the rolling process. They make a nice accompaniment to Thai curries.

Christopher Gordan gave a 'shout out' to Naomi Duguid's new Burma cookbook. I've been enjoying it as well. The format's a little different than previous cookbooks. I haven't made much from it but the photos are gorgeous.

I've made a few staples: Tart-sweet chile garlic sauce (fairly ubiquitous SE asian staple), toasted chick-pea flour and fried shallots (well, I've been making fried shallots for a long time but I really like her method of starting them in low temp oil and cooking them slowly).

Toasting chickpea flour ('besan')


toasted chickpea flour and chile garlic sauce


Easy grilled chicken with sticky rice (mix of black and white) and grapefruit salad



I liked the chicken a lot but it's not going to replace Thai gai yang as my go-to grilled chicken dish. Also, the marinade was not quite enough for the amount of chicken specified. I love the idea of mixing black rice into white sticky rice for color/flavor.

I'm also a fan, both of the Duguid's and Alford's recipes and of the ethnographic information and history they share.

This past year, I have been enthralled with Beyond the Great Wall, especially since our March visit to Yunnan. Seeing this, my husband bought me Burma: Rivers of Flavor for Xmas. So far, I have made fried shallots and shallot oil, long-bean salad with roasted peanuts, and Kachin chicken curry. I varied the technique for the chicken somewhat, preparing it in a Rommertopf clay pot (soaked and set into a cold oven, as per Rommertopf instructions.) This method seemed easier than the suggested bowl set in a steamer or covered pot, and it yielded an excellent result.

I particularly recommend the Kachin chicken curry for its unexpectedly complex flavors. I am not certain how, but the combination of ginger, garlic, chiles, coriander seed and turmeric yielded a subtle impression of lemongrass and coconut. Most unusual.

Thinking back on our Yunnan trip, it occurred to me that I might have a picture of what Duguid refers to in the Burma book as "Pale Yellow Shan Tofu." Duguid writes that Shan tofu is a "dense, savory, pale yellow jelly made of chickpea flour cooked in water and allowed to set." Duguid also writes, "The Shan live in the large, hilly region that stretches from southwestern Yunnan into Kachin state and across the whole of Shan state and into the northern hills of Thailand." This noodle vendor was in the market at Dali in Yunnan. Of course, she may not be from the Shan or Dai ethnic group. Her embroidered clothing may suggest that she is from the Bai ethnic group. No group owns a recipe, and there is much overlap where cooking is concerned.


Untitled by Josephine2004, on Flickr

A bowl of Shan tofu. Notice the cheese-grater-like tool lying on the darker yellow left side of the basket holding the tofu. Also notice the striations, indicating the place where noodles are grated from the top of the tofu. Duguid mentions this in a post-script to the recipe: "Some Shan cooks use a kind of cheese slice to make long shavings of the tofu, rather like noodles."

Untitled by Josephine2004, on Flickr

Dressing the "noodles"

Untitled by Josephine2004, on Flickr

This dish was part of the post-market lunch. Perhaps it is shan or chickpea tofu, but the color suggests it may be another sort of handcut bean noodle.


Untitled by Josephine2004, on Flickr