All Things Edible
March 15, 2007
Did you know that our community has an incredible resource at CVU called Access
to CVU? Billed as "classes for everyone: all ages and all
learners from all towns" we can participate in a rich curriculum ranging
from awesome arts to dance to all things digital and everything in between.
The Spring 2007 catalog arrived last week (see it at www.cvuhs.org/access/)
and I immediately went to the 'All things Edible' section to see what's
cooking for classes. I always drool over the myriad of choices, especially
the Pan–Asian menus of The Nomadic Chef, Lauren Gammon. The Nomadic
Chef Catering Co. specializes in gourmet ethnic cuisine; Lauren sources
ingredients from specialty markets and local organic farms to create unusually
fresh and inspired food that explodes with flavor.
Lauren lived in Southeast Asia as a child and traveled extensively throughout
Indonesia, Thailand, Nepal, Japan and Malaysia. Her food epiphany occurred in
2002 when she found herself reunited with her culinary roots while traveling
the river valleys of Laos and Thailand. According to her website biography (www.nomadicchef.com) "Lauren
literally followed her senses from stall to stall vigorously writing down the
flavors and textures she experienced and using her minimal Thai/Lao vocabulary
to decipher ingredients." She then immersed herself in a test kitchen
and created gorgeous recipes that fuse ethnic trends and local ingredients.
Are you in the mood for Spinach Cashew Indian Dumplings with Yogurt and a Spicy
Chipotle Corn Dumpling with avocado? Sign up for the Dim Sum Fusion Class May
9th. How about Vietnamese Mint Chicken and Savory Coconut Crepes with Scallion
and Shrimp? See you in the Vietnamese Fare class May 16th. My stomach is growling
so loud now that it's painful to mention the Balinese Food From the Gods or the
spicy Southwestern Cuisine classes, they're so far away. I'm going to run into
the kitchen and whip a batch of Lauren's luscious Coconut Shrimp with Chili Orange
Sauce to hold me over until classes begin!
Tail and de–vein 25 medium shrimp; sprinkle 2 teaspoons of salt over raw shrimp. Coat each shrimp body with rice flour; then dip into a bowl with 2 egg whites; then coat fully in a bowl filled with 2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut. Heat 3 cups of oil in a wok until it ripples with heat but is not smoking. Drop 1 to 2 shrimp into oil and fry until golden. Adjust heat if necessary. Place cooked shrimp on a bed of paper towel.
Chili Orange Sauce:
Dissolve 2 tablespoons of rice
flour into 1 cup of orange juice;
add one–half cup commercial sweet chili sauce. Warm over medium
high heat until barely boiling. Continue to stir until sauce thickens
and coats a spoon.
Kim Dannies is a graduate of La Varenne Cooking School in France. She lives in Williston, VT with her husband, Jeff, and three college–aged daughters who come and go. ©2008