Southeast Asian Soiree
I adore theme parties. Since I also love to travel and do it quite a bit, a recurrent party theme in my household is the cuisine and culture of foreign lands. Two weeks ago my husband and I pulled together a world cultures shindig featuring high points from such countries as Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia a/k/a a Southeast Asian Soiree.
If I were geographically accurate, I would have included Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, the Philippines, East Timor and Singapore on the menu. However, since I’ve only visited three Southeast Asian countries, our friends got a taste of those plus a smidgen of India. Granted, India isn’t in Southeast Asia but it has had a tremendous influence on the cuisine and history of this region. Plus, I’ve mastered some darned good Indian recipes.
What can you anticipate from a night of Southeast Asian delights? Lots of fresh fruit such as mango, papaya, pineapple, coconut and melon and fresh vegetables and herbs such as basil, ginger, lemongrass, mint, chili pepper and potato. You can count on an interplay between spicy and sweet as coconut milk partners with chilies, ginger with pineapple, etc. For that matter, you can expect a bit of heat and saltiness as chili, soy and fish sauces are commonplace condiments in these countries.
Since seafood and poultry are the primary animal protein sources in these lands, shrimp and chicken made appearances on the buffet table. I featured the two in steamed dumplings, fried egg rolls, a curry and a spicy saute.
A staple of Southeast Asian cuisine, rice also played a prominent role on SEA night. On that evening it accompanied 12 quarts of curry chicken. Dressed with soy sauce or the hot chili sauce sriracha, it also served as a vegetarian option for the non-meat eaters in the bunch.
Along with food there was music, courtesy of Dengue Fever, the Clash and a variety of Vietnam War-era bands. There were decorations including statuettes of elephants, Ganesha and Buddha, printed tablecloths and vases acquired on our travels as well as Chinese-style lanterns bought in the East Village. For entertainment a friend gave origami lessons. Once again, it wasn’t strictly Southeast Asian but it was fun.
And now for a few requested recipes from the night.
CHINA BEACH
From Stephen Kittredge Cunningham’s The Bartender’s Black Book (The Wine Appreciation Guild, 2004)
Serves 1
ice
1 ounce vodka
1 ounce ginger liqueur
cranberry juice
Fill a glass with ice. Add the vodka and ginger liqueur. Fill the rest of the glass with cranberry juice. Stir and serve.
SESAME-SCALLION SOBA NOODLES
No, they’re not from Southeast Asia but they are delicious and easy to make. This tastes just as good with or without the scallions.
Serves 1
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 to 2 scallions, white and 1-inch of green part minced
1 individual package of soba noodles (found in Asian section of larger grocery stores)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
4 teaspoons lite soy sauce
Boil the soba noodles for about 6 minutes (or according to instructions on package), until they are tender. Drain and plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop from further cooking.
In a small bowl mix together the vinegar, soy sauce, honey and oil.
Drain the noodles. Place the noodles, sesame seeds and scallions in a serving bowl, pour the sauce over the top and toss to combine.
