Coconut palm juice
Hot?
It’s been humid, still and hot here in Cairns. All the rain we should be getting seems to be landing on flood-battered South East Queensland. So we’re all hot, and some wetter than others.
I thought I’d mention this drink because it is the BEST thirst quencher. I’ve encountered several brands and they all seem to taste similar, with the big tip being to go for the ones bottled in brown glass, not plastic or cans.
Serve with ice and a good squeeze of lime juice
Coconut palm juice is 100% coconut palm syrup from the flowers of the coconut palm.
It has a flavour somewhere between pandan and hazelnuts. Serve it super-chilled over some ice with a good squeeze of fresh lime juice (about 1 tablespoon or a little more). The lime helps to balance the sweetness and the slightly earthy pandan edge to it’s flavour and really accentuates the hazelnut flavour.
A friend remarked when tasting it for the first time that he thought it was Frangelico, the Italian hazelnut liqueur.
Look for it in your local Asian grocery store.
For an extra kick at sundown, add a dash of quality mellow rum to see in the (hopefully!) balmy night…
(C) Clare Richards 2012
I thought it might be of interest to some readers to see the main items that will be covered in the Produce Glossary of Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen. As you may already know this cookbook is the first of what will be several volumes, and in each one a new set of produce will be featured. You may also know that in the produce glossary I am focusing on featuring produce which is available in markets and quality retailers, and/or grows easily at home, but with which many people are not so familiar. One aim of Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen is to provide information that assists people to experiment or make greater use of the fantastic array of produce we have available in tropical Australia. Continue reading 'Produce glossary'»
Posts, Produce
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Abiu, Acacia spp., Aibika or New Guinea Spinach, Allspice, Alpinia galanga, Alternanthera sissoo, Amaranth, Amaranthus spp., Annatto, Annona atemoya, Annona muricata, Artocarpus altilis, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Averrhoa carambola, Backhousia citriodora, Bamboo shoots, Bambusa spp., Basella alba, Bitter melon, Bixa orellana, black sapote, Boesenbergia rotunda, Brazilian Spinach or Sambu Lettuce, breadfruit, C. terminalis, Canistel, Carambola, Cardamom, Carica papaya, Cassava, Ceylon spinach, Chinese Keys, Choko, Chrysophyllum caimito, Cinnamomum zeylandicum, Cinnamon, Citrus Aurantifolia, Citrus grandis, Citrus hystrix, Citrus Latifolia, Cocoa, Coconut, Cocos nucifera, Coffea Arabica, Coffee, Colocasia esculenta, Cordyline fruticosa, Cordyline or Ti leaves, Coriander, cuban, Curcuma longa, Curry leaf, Custard Apple, Daikon, Davidson plum, Davidsonia pruriens, Dendrocalamus spp., Dimocarpus longan, Diospyros digyna, Drumstick tree, durian, Durio zibethinus, Elettaria cardamomum, Eryngium foetidum, galangal, Garcinia mangostana, Ginger, Granadilla, Guanabana, Hibiscus manihot, Hylocereus spp., Illicium verum, Ipomoea aquatica, Ipomoea batatas, Jaboticaba, Jackfruit, Jicama, Kaffir, Kankong or Water Spinach, Lemon Myrtle, lime, Litchi chinensis, long leaf, Longan, lychee, Macadamia, Macadamia integrifolia, Mamey sapote, Mangifera indica, mango, Mangosteen, Manihot esculenta, Manilkara zapota, Mint, Momordica charantia, Moringa oleifera, Murraya koenigii, Musa spp., Mushroom plant, Myrciaria cauliflora, Myristica fragrans, Nephelium lappaceum, Nutmeg, Oregano, Pachyrhizus erosus, Pandan, Pandanus amaryllifolius, papaya, Passiflora quadrangularis, Pepper, Persicaria odorata, Pimenta dioica, Piper nigrum, Piper sarmentosum, Pitaya, Plantain, Plectranthus amboinicus, Pouteria caimito, Pouteria campechiana, Pouteria sapota, Psophocarpus tetragonolobus, Pummelo, Radish, Rambutan, Raphanus sativus, Rollinia, Rollinia deliciosa, Rungia klossii, Sapodilla, Sauropus androgynus, Sechium edule, Snake Beans, Star Anise, Star Apple, Sweet leaf, Sweet potatoes, Tahitian, tamarind, Tamarindus indica, Taro root & leaves, Theobroma cacao, Turmeric, Vanilla, Vanilla planifolia, vietnamese, Vigna unguiculata ssp. sesquipedalis, Wattle seed, West Indian, Wild Pepper leaves, Wing bean, Zingiber officinale, Zingiberaceae
When Tropical Cusine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen comes out I imagine that some readers might presume I am a complete soak from the number of mixed drink and cocktail recipes it will contain. However, coming up with these recipes is more about playfulness than ensuring a regular alcoholic intake. They are like a liquid and simple version of a dessert, which is another satisfying realm of recipe testing because of the ease with which one can find and combine flavours and textures. Ironic really given that I rarely eat desserts myself, although that pattern changed for a while during the recipe testing when I was working mostly on dessert recipes (and my waistline paid the price).
Anyway, todays offering is a take on the look of the Tequila Sunrise, and uses ingredients that are very much part of the identity of this part of the world – rum, red papaya, and the indigenous Davidsons plum. Here it is, the Sailors Delight:
Sailors Delight
1 tablespoon Davidsons plum syrup, plus 1 teaspoon extra to drizzle around glass
45ml dark rum
1/2 cup pureed ripe red papaya pulp
3/4 cup soda water Continue reading 'Playing at sundown'»
Lime golden syrup dumplings image © Catseye Productions 2009
This is a development of a childhood favourite, golden syrup dumplings. My sister Ness used to make a version that ramped up the lemon content as we all loved the balance of tart and sweet flavours. This is my current version, using the limes that we get all year up here in the north. It has a very distinct lime flavour thanks to the generous juice, and grated and zested lime rind:
Lime Golden Syrup Dumplings
2 cups self-raising flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg powder
grated rind of 3 – 4 limes
80g butter
milk
lime zest strips from 1 lime
1 cup lime juice (about 8 limes)
3 cups water
1/3 cup golden syrup
1/2 cup castor sugar
Choose a wide based casserole or baking dish that that has a lid or can be covered with foil and can take about 10 dumplings sitting snugly in one layer.
Add cinnamon, nutmeg and grated lime zest to the flour and thoroughly stir through. Rub butter into flour. Gradually add enough milk until the mix forms a moderately stiff dough then shape into balls of about 5cm diameter.
Heat water, golden syrup, sugar, grated rind and lime juice until mix comes to the boil. Pour some of this liquid into casserole or baking pan, place in dumplings, then pour the rest of the liquid over them. Cover and cook in a 170 C fan forced (180 C conventional) oven for 20 minutes, remove lid or foil and baste dumpling tops by dunking them gently under the syrup, then cook for another 20 minutes or until dumpling tops are golden brown. Serve with cream or sour cream.
Our family has been munching this banana bread since I remember, and like the rest of my family I’ve never been an immaculate cake maker. More often than not they end up like this one, so I have no interest in entering the Rosy Levy Berenbaum league. But it tastes great, and lasts well.
If you want to add some extra moisture and decadence, serve slices topped with butter or the lime cream cheese topping.
This recipe will be in my cookbook Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen.
- © Clare Richards 2009 Family banana bread
Family banana bread recipe
6 medium or 4 large bananas
60g butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp bicarb soda mixed into 1/2 cup milk
2 cups self-raising flour
pinch salt
Mix all ingredients together except flour until well incorporated. Sift flour then mix through batter. Pour into a greased medium sized bread or cake tin and cook in a preheated oven at 180oC for 40 minutes. Check with skewer to see if batter is set, and if not cover with foil and cook for up to another 20 minutes. If using fan forced oven the banana bread may be ready within 40-45 minutes. Serve with butter or lime cream cheese topping.
© Clare Richards 2009
- © Clare Richards 2009 Lime cream cheese topping
Lime cream cheese topping
250g cream cheese
juice of 2 limes
grated rind of 3 limes
1/3 to 1/2 cup of castor sugar
Mix above 4 ingredients together in a food processor until the mixture is smooth and light. Keep aside as much as you think you’ll need for this cake, and place the rest into portion sized containers and into the freezer for the next cake that comes along.
© Clare Richards 2009
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