Easy Asian Cooking, Part 1 ~ China, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam ~ with Gastronaut Skiz Fernando

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  DC/MD/VA! I’m back at the Hill Center in the nation’s capital, once again, promoting something I truly love, which is Asian food. You thought I was all about rice & curry, but I’m venturing out of my comfort zone a little, and exploring some dishes from China, Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand, which I cook on a daily basis. Ever seen my cooking show, “Pan Asian?” Well, these are all dishes that I have made before, and I love to show people how quick and easy it really is to make some very complex and flavorful food that you only thought you could get in a restaurant. So please join me as we take a trip to foreign lands and fantastic flavors without even leaving the kitchen! Here are the details:

  Register Here »

  When: Sat, 05/04/2013 - 11:00am to 1:00pm

  Cost: $75
  Category: Food and Garden
  Location: Lorinda “Annie” Hooks Demo Kitchen

  Skiz Fernando returns to Hill Center to take you on a culinary tour of the Far East without ever leaving the kitchen. In this two-hour, hands-on class, Skiz seeks to demystify Asian ingredients and techniques as he instructs you in the preparation of such simple, delicious and healthy dishes as Steamed Fish with Soy Sauce (Hong Kong), Basil Chicken (Thailand), Summer Rolls (Vietnam), and Spicy Stir Fry Squid (Korea). Afterwards, you’re invited for lunch. Skiz is the author of RICE & CURRY: Sri Lankan Home Cooking, a 2011 New York Times Notable Book of the Year. He hosts his own cooking series on YouTube called Pan Asian, in which he cooks dishes from all over Asia and the world.

  Skiz is a second generation Sri Lankan-American and graduate of Harvard University and the Columbia School of Journalism. In 2009 he was featured on Travel Channel’s No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain where he led the crew to Sri Lanka’s hot spots. Check out his blog Rice & Curry and Pan Asian online cooking series.

  Cookbooks will be available for purchase for $19.95.

  

http://youtu.be/qnIRaUoAHxk

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Rice & Curry at Bazaar Spices @ Union Market DC, April 11th

On Thursday, April 11th at 6:30pm at Bazaar Spices in Union Market, we welcome author and gastronaut Skiz Fernando as he discusses the practical and health benefits of using spices in your cooking as well as demystifying some of these “exotic” ingredients often found in Sri Lankan cuisine.  For your sampling pleasure, he will also offer a demonstration and tasting of his famous chicken curry from his recent cookbook, Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking (Hippocrene Books, 2011),  a New York Times notable cookbook, which put Sri Lankan food on the map. Skiz also creates his Original Sri Lankan Roasted Curry powder, a unique blend of 13 different ingredients, which forms the basis of most Sri Lankan curries. He also produces a cooking show on YouTube called “Pan Asian,” which features simple, healthy, and delicious dishes from all over Asia. Hope you will join us for this exciting and delicious event!

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Easy Asian Cooking, Part 1 ~ China, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam ~ with Gastronaut Skiz Fernando

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• When: Sat, 05/04/2013 - 11:00am to 1:00pm

  Cost: $75
  Category: Food and Garden
  Location: Lorinda “Annie” Hooks Demo Kitchen @ The Capitol Hill Center

  Skiz Fernando returns to Hill Center to take you on a culinary tour of the Far East without ever leaving the kitchen. In this two-hour, hands-on class, Skiz seeks to demystify Asian ingredients and techniques as he instructs you in the preparation of such simple, delicious and healthy dishes as Steamed Fish with Soy Sauce (Hong Kong), Basil Chicken (Thailand), Summer Rolls (Vietnam), and Spicy Stir Fry Squid (Korea). Afterwards, you’re invited for lunch. Skiz is the author of RICE & CURRY: Sri Lankan Home Cooking, a 2011 New York Times Notable Book of the Year. He hosts his own cooking series on YouTube called Pan Asian, in which he cooks dishes from all over Asia and the world.

  Skiz is a second generation Sri Lankan-American and graduate of Harvard University and the Columbia School of Journalism. In 2009 he was featured on Travel Channel’s No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain where he led the crew to Sri Lanka’s hot spots. Check out his blog Rice & Curry and Pan Asian online cooking series.

  Cook books will be available for purchase for $19.95.

  Space is limited so please reserve your spot asap!

  Register Here »

  

  

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The 2012 World’s of Flavor Conference, Part 4: Food Porn

The CIA World’s of Flavor was literally the best place to eat on planet Earth for those three days of the conference as premiere chefs from everywhere were cooking up a storm for the daily World marketplace, which is presented in the video. So I couldn’t leave you folks without some good ole food porn to get your stomach juices churning and your tongues suitably lubricated for that impending Thanksgiving feed! Enjoy!

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The 2012 World’s of Flavor Conference, Part 3: The Chefs

Chefs from across the Arc of Flavor–defined by the conference as the swathe of territory spanning Spain in the West and the Spice Islands of Indonesia in the East–shared their cultures and cuisines during various demo sessions and seminars, which varied in size from an audience of 20 to 500. For our small session on Sri Lankan cuisine, Chef Koluu made fish ambul thiyal (sour fish curry), hoppers, and the popular Sri Lankan condiment, pol (coconut) sambol. On the mainstage, we presented Sri Lankan biriyani, which was part of the “One-Pot Meals” seminar. This video presents a sample of some of the other chefs who cooked before the entire conference.

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The 2012 World’s of Flavor Conference, Part 2: Sri Lankan Biriyani

When Chef Koluu and I discovered that we were to take part in the One Pot Meal seminar to be held on the main stage of the conference, we were a bit puzzled about what to do since there are no one pot dishes in Sri Lanka. So we decided to make biriyani–a dish that does not originate in Sri Lanka, but is none-the-less a huge favorite there.

 

Chef Koluu and myself outside CIA Greystone

A combination of rice, meat and vegetables all cooked together, biriyani can be traced back to the Mughals, a Muslim dynasty that ruled most of the Indian subcontinent from the early 16^th to the early 18^th century. Direct descendants of Genghis Khan, they are known for their very rich cuisine, embodied by a dish like biriyani, which involves expensive spices like saffron and is often garnished with gold and silver foil. While there are many versions of the dish across the Middle East and India, biriyani was introduced to Sri Lanka by the Muslim community, who make up roughly 7% of the population, and they, too, have their own spin on this popular dish.

 

Signing books at the World’s of Flavor conference

The recipe we used for our demo, however, came from my book, Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking (Hippocrene Books, 2011), and it is actually more like a biriyani that you would find in Pakistan–with the exception of cashews, shredded coconut, and, of course, Sri Lankan roasted curry powder, which is a spice blend like no other. In Sri Lanka, the biriyani is also usually served with several side dishes including cashew curry, pineapple curry, a mint sambol, and mixed pickle. If you ever have the chance to attend a Muslim wedding there, this will be on the menu, along with a lot of other tantalizing treats such as faluda, a sweet drink made of rose water and ice cream, and, of course, the rich, decadent wattalapam or coconut flan for dessert. That is if you have enough room after putting away a dish as dangerously delicious as biriyani!

 

The Recipe

Chicken Buriyani

 

Meat:                                                    Rice:

2 lbs. (1 kg) chicken parts                      1 lb. (500 g) basmati rice

1 tsp. black pepper                                3 tbsp. ghee

1 tsp. curry powder                               1 onion, chopped

1 tsp. cayenne powder or paprika         2  cardamoms

1/4 cup (65 ml) plain yogurt                  2 cloves

1/4 cup (65 ml) tomato puree                 2 bay leaves

2 tbsp. cashews, chopped                      1 inch (2.5 cm) stick cinnamon

2 tbsp. desiccated coconut                      pinch of saffron

1 cardamom                                            1 1/2- 2 cups (375 ml) stock

1 clove                                                    1 1/2 tsp salt

2 bay leaves

2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. ghee

1 onion, chopped

2 Serrano chilies, chopped

 

Meat:

1.)            Wash, cut and dry meat. Season with black pepper, curry powder, and cayenne.

2.)            In a food processor, blend yogurt, tomato puree, cashews, and coconut.

3.)            Combine blended ingredients, cardamom, clove, bay leaves, and salt with chicken and marinate for 30 minutes. (meanwhile skip to rice prep).

4.)            Heat ghee in a pan. Fry onions and chilies until onions are translucent.

5.)            Add chicken pieces and stir-fry for 5-10 minutes.

6.)            Add a little water to blended mixture and pour over chicken. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

7.)            Place chicken pieces in casserole dish.

 

Rice:

8.)            Wash and drain rice.

9.)            Heat ghee in pan. Fry onions until translucent. Add  cardamoms, cloves, bay leaves, and cinnamon.

10.)         Add rice and fry for a few minutes until rice starts to crackle. Add pinch of saffron and mix well.

11.)         Pour over stock and cook until partially done (about 15 minutes). Add salt.

12.)         Place rice on top of chicken in casserole dish. Cover with tin foil and cook in oven until moisture evaporates, about 25-30 minutes at 300 F (150 C).

 

Makes 6 servings

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The 2012 World’s of Flavor Conference, Part 1: Inside the CIA

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the picturesque Napa Valley for the CIA’s 15^th Annual World’s of Flavor Conference. No, I’m not a spy, and I’m not talking about that CIA, but rather The Culinary Institute of America, one of the country’s most well regarded cooking schools. Each year they assemble top chefs and culinary professionals from around the world at their beautiful campus in St. Helena, CA for a summit on food without parallel. This year’s theme was “Arc of Flavor: Re-imagining culinary exchange from the Mediterranean and Middle East to Asia.”

The teaching kitchens at CIA

It was no small honor to attend the conference, and to represent Sri Lankan food for the very first time here, joined by my esteemed colleague, Chef Koluu, who traveled all the way from Colombo for the event.  Koluu was extremely helpful when I went to Sri Lanka to research my cookbook, and I made sure he was featured when I returned to shoot No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain. As one of Sri Lanka’s most well-known and respected chefs, his attendance at the conference was a must.

 

Chef Koluu outside CIA Greystone, St. Helena, CA

Having just barely escaped the east coast and the wrath of Hurricane Sandy, I arrived in the Bay Area at night, so it was not until morning that I got a good look at the CIA itself. Occupying the former hilltop mansion of The Christian Brothers’ winery and overlooking acres of quaint vineyards, the school’s substantial facilities cut quite an impressive sight. The third floor teaching kitchens alone occupy a space about half the size of a football field, filled with every modern convenience you can imagine. What a joy it must be going to school in such an environment, much less cooking there for three days. This massive kitchen is where all the action was happening as chefs from across the arc of flavor prepared countless dishes for the various seminars, demo sessions, lunch, and, of course, the formidable World Marketplace, probably the best food court going on planet earth.

It was encouraging and inspiring to see so many foreign chefs interacting with CIA staff and students, and introducing so many new ingredients and techniques. Koluu made his famous pork kalupol or “black” pork curry, fish ambul thiyal, and crab curry, along with other Sri Lankan specialties like hoppers, sambol, and coconut roti. Like the other chefs, we had a whole crew of students working with us–none of whom had ever even tried Sri Lankan food before. But they picked things up very quickly as they took care of most of the prep. For everyone involved, however, the opening day proved to be an exchange of cultures, ingredients, ideas, and good vibes.

 

 

baby back ribs

 

 

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DC! Learn to Make Rice & Curry With Me April 14th!!

 

The Hill Center, housed in the beautifully renovated historic Old Naval Hospital on Capitol Hill, blocks from the U.S. Capitol, serves as a cultural, educational and community center. The 11 program rooms include a professionally outfitted demonstration kitchen. Beginning in 2012 Hill Center will host a monthly series of master cooking classes with notable DC chefs, sommeliers, mixologists and the farmers who source their food. Format is flexible and fresh ideas are welcome (mini-series; spin offs, etc). The objective is fun, educational, and delicious. Target audience beginners to accomplished home cooks; children to adults.

 

The demonstration kitchen comfortably seats 12-14. State-of-the-art kitchen with 6-burner KitchenAid commercial gas cooktop and double built-in ovens; Electrolux Wearwashing dishwasher/dryer; overhead camera with multiple view points of cooktop that displays on a flatscreen for enhanced demonstration.

Sign up today! Only 14 slots.

http://hillcenterdc.org/home/programs/178

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