| Asian Glossary~ To assist you with some of the Asian recipes, this glossary is provided. Many times I am asked "why doesn't my recipe come out like the one at the Asian/Chinese restaurant?" The basic answer is, you are not using the same ingredients. agar-agar A seaweed gelatin. Available in strand or string form. It must be soaked in water for about an hour before use. Angled luffa The young fruit is a vegetable with tender seeds. Peel before use. ajad - Indonesia - cucumber salad (recipe) anchovy sauce - (see bagoong below) A fish sauce made from fermented anchovies and other fish such as gourami (the three-spot-gourami common name "kissing fish" are found in aquariums in the U.S.) As with shrimp paste, use sparingly. This sauce has an unpleasant smell during the cooking process. Available in Asian markets. aleurites moluccana - see candle nuts Asian condiments recipes for various Asian condiments asam gelugor - Indonesia - Dried slices are used to give a sour taste to the food, tamarind is used as a substitute. asam jawa - see tamarind bagoong - ( bah-goong ) - Filipino condiment. Bagoong is made from shrimp or small fish that have been salted, cured and fermented for several weeks. bahoc or prahoc - Cambodian - see bagoong above (pronounced bah-hok, pra- hoc) bhajis or bhajiyas- India - a popular appetizer. Many variations (see gram flour) bangkwang - see jicama basil - there are three types used: 1. bai kra pow - Thai - the strong one, good in fish dishes. 2. bai horapa - Thai - like the Italian basil - substitute with mint leaves. 3. bai mangluk - Thai - known in Indonesia as kemangi. bay leaf - used often in Indonesian and Filipino recipes. bean cake - Made from soy beans and come in several consistencies. Also known as bean curd. This may come in rolls or small blocks. bean sprouts - the fresh bean sprouts found in Asian/Oriental markets are made from mung beans. bean curd - see bean cake betuca - Filipino - Dish made with hog maws (stomach) and pig ears (spelling variation: petuca - bitoka). In Cambodia it is called phat lo. (pronounced pot-low). bi-hoon (bihon) - Filipino - rice noodle or rice vermicelli - see rice noodle blacan - see shrimp paste buah keras - see candle nuts candle nuts - Asia - also buah keras, kemiri, aleurites moluccana. Popular in Southeast Asian kitchens. Often used to thicken, doesn't carry a strong distinct taste and could often be replaced ( not always! ) with other nuts such as macademia. cassia bark English = Chinese cassia or Chinese cinnamon | Vietnamese = Que thanh, Que don, Que quang Laotian = Sa chouang, Sa chwang | Spanish = Casia, Canela de la China | Indonesian = Kayu manis cina | Thailand = Ob choey, Kaeng chekor - Asia - also known as fragrant ginger, krachai, lesser ginger it has a distinct aromatic flavor used throughout Southeast Asia and India. char siu - China - Roast pork, these are the red strips of pork seen hanging in Cantonese markets and restaurants. Chinese turnip - see jicama citronella - see lemon grass cocoyam - see taro curry leaves - from curry tree, fresh leaves has a strong fragrant that's not present in the dried leaves. dried shrimp - see bagoong daun kesom - see laksa leaves durian - a delicacy; odorous Asian fruit (see mangosteen) egg rolls - Asian/Oriental - There are many versions of egg rolls also called spring rolls and in the Philippines are known as lumpia. The main difference between egg rolls and lumpia is the wrapper. Lumpia uses rice paper for the roll and egg rolls are made from an egg batter and flour or using egg roll wrapper or skins. fish sauce - The most commonly used flavoring in Asia. Made from salted anchovies or other types of fish. fragrant lime leaf - see magrood gado gado - Indonesia - Indonesian salad with peanut sauce galangal - a root somewhat in appearance to ginger root. Native to Malaysia. It is aromatic but spicy with a pungent taste, used together with lemon grass. garam masala - India - An India spice mixture: Ingredients: Cardamon, Cinnamon, Cloves, Black Pepper, and Coriander ginger - ginger root, available in most US markets ginger, fragrant - see chekor ginger, lesser - see chekor ginger, yellow - see turmeric gram flour - (also known as besan flour) is a fine yellow flour made from garbonzo beans. Available in Asian markets. gula melaka - see palm sugar gula merah - see palm sugar jackfruit - also known as, jakfruit, jaca, nangka. Native to India jicama - Spanish - pronounced (hee-kam-ah) jicama, bangkwang, sengkuang, Chinese turnip, yam bean, Mexican turnip, Central American in origin. Somewhat similar to radish in texture and taste...only sweeter, eaten cooked or raw in salads. jujube - tropical fruit ~ Trees grown in pots and fields. Known as Dai Chu in Korean. A small tree and shrub up to thirty feet tall that bears edible fruit, which are cherry to plumb size and very sweet. Can be eaten fresh, dried or used in place of raisins. kaffir - fragrant lime - see magrood kaffir leaves - see magrood kemangi - Indonesia - see basil kemiri - see candle nuts kang kung (kangkong) - Thai - see water convolvulus kapi - see shrimp paste kha - also known as lengkuas or laos - see galangal khanun - Thai - see jackfruit krachai - see chekor krupuk udang - Indonesia - see shrimp crackers kunyit basah - Indonesia - see turmeric laksa - Malay - see rice noodle (there is a dish called laksa penang) laksa leaves - polygonum hydropiper, Vietnam = rau ram, Malay = daun kesom. A herb with a strong fragrant used only for a special curry noodle dish in Singapore and used in Asam dishes such as laksa penang and malacca. These are not used to make rice noodles. lam yai - Thai - see longan lemon grass - also known as citronella and Melissa Grass lengkuas - Indonesia - see galangal lin chi - Thai - see lychee longan - a small brown fruit loofah - Asia - A delicious vegetable of Indian origin common in Southeast Asia, needs to be peeled. lumpia - Filipino - see egg rolls lychee - Chinese - a sweet (slightly tart) fruit. Available fresh in spring and also canned. magrood - fragrant lime this is not the same as the lime you will find in your local supermarket. The leaves are available in Asian markets. mahdeng - Cambodia - see galangal mah-jong - Chinese - taken from the dominos like game pieces and game played by many Asian people. When the term is used in a recipe it is meant for you to cut the food item in mahjong (the size of a mahjong tile or double- mahjong...two tiles). Mahjong is about 1½-inches squared or cubed. About three pieces to a chicken drumstick, two pieces for double-mahjong. ma jong - Chinese - see mah-jong or mahjong makham wan - Thai - see tamarind sweet mang khut - Thai - see mangosteen mangosteen - a sweet fruit ~ Durian & mangosteen are regarded as the King and Queen of all tropical fruit. Few would fault the (purple) mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), except that the rind leaves an indelible stain. Not so the durian (Durio zibethinus). Lovers of the fruit have mortgaged their possessions to gorge themselves. martabak - Indonesia - Pronounced (mah-ta-bah). Ground beef egg roll or "omelete". Popular with street vendors. Served with a cucumber salad Ajad Monosodium Glutamate - MSG a high priced brand name is Ac'cent ™. MSG is much cheaper in Asian markets or as a store brand in supermarkets. MSG - see Monosodium Glutamate mutasa - Filipino - mustard leaves commonly used in a Filipino dish called sinigang sa miso nam pla - Thailand - see fish sauce ngo - Thai - see rambutan palm sugar - A hard brown sugar made from the sap of a palm. Known as gula melaka or gula merah. Soft brown sugar can be substituted. pandan - Asia - also known as bandan or screwpine. Long thin fragrant leaves used extensively in desserts, soups and rice. It gives food that special fragrance that you'll never do without once you get to know it. patis - Filipino - see fish sauce paht lo - Cambodian - see betuca (bitoka) pot lo - Cambodian - see betuca phak bung - Thai - see water convolvulus phutsa - see jujube pla ra - Thailand - see anchovy sauce and bagoong. poh pia - Thailand - see egg rolls ( poh pia tod) polygonum hydropiper - see laksa leaves prahoc - Cambodian - see anchovy sauce and bagoong. rambutan - tropical fruit ~ also known as ngor rau ram - see laksa leaves rice noodle - These noodles are very thin, white threads made from rice flour. A larger noodle used in Malay is called laksa. A wider noodle in Thai is called sen chan. rice vermicelli - see rice noodles roti - Thailand - see Martabak samosas - India - stuffed and fried pastry sen chan - Thailand - see rice noodle sengkuang - Indonesia - see jicama serah - lemon grass shrimp crackers - these are bought in packages they are thin measuring about 2 1/2-inch by 3-inch; before serving you must first deep fry (350 degrees) them. They will puff up to more than twice their size. Also found pre-cooked and sold as a snack. shrimp paste and dried shrimp - Shrimp paste is a fermented (odorous) paste that should be used sparingly. In Thai = kapi, Indonesia= terasi or trasi. The dried shrimp as called for in Laksa is also known as blacan. Generally if a recipe calls for more than an 1/8 tsp of shrimp paste, then you should consider using the small dried shrimp. somen - Japan - buckwheat noodles so-un - Indonesian - bean thread, also known as glass noodles and cellophane noodles. spring rolls - see egg rolls swamp cabbage - see water convolvulus tahini dip - Dip made with sesame seed paste, yogurt, and spices tahu - Indonesia - see bean cake ta-koo-ahn - Cambodian - see water convolvulus (spelling shown here is for pronounciation) tamarind - English - Available in a pulp form without the shell. Soak in warm water and work it through with your fingers and strain to extract the juice. The sour type is used for cooking. tamarind, sweet - normally eaten fresh after being peeled. After boiling it is made into a refreshing drink tamarindo - Spanish - see tamarind tapioca - "saku" available in Oriental and Asian markets. tapioca starch - used in much the same way as cornstarch. taro - when choosing yam, pick the lighter ones, but not the dried out ones. Frozen yam is also available. Sometimes the sap may cause allergic reactions to skin. tek-tri (tek-thry) - Cambodian - see fish sauce terasi - Indonesia - see shrimp paste thurian - see durian tofu - Japan - see bean cake trassi or trasi - Indonesia - see terasi - see bagoong tumeric - yellow ginger, kunyit basah - widely used in Indian and Southeast Asian cooking, it's used also as a dye, your fingers will turn yellow from handling. vetsin - Filipino - see Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) Vietnamese mint - see laksa leaves water convolvulus - Called phak bung in Thailand, in Cambodia it is known as ta-koo-anh. Member of the morning glory family. water chestnut - Asia - Flesh should be white. The peeled skin (boiled) with a little sugar added makes a wonderful cooling tea. Freshly peeled water chestnuts is crunchy and juicy and are often eaten as a fruit. water spinach - see water convolvulus yam - Asian - see taro yam bean - see jicama |
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