Jamaicans love bread, it’s a staple of our diet, and we have several types. Our hardo bread (hard dough) goes with everything from condensed milk to bully beef, and creamy Anchor butter. The soft, buttery coco bread seems even tastier when it’s enveloping a hot and highly spiced patty.
Peg bread does well with a mug of tea; duck bread is a must at Christmas time, and bammy (cassava bread) and gratto bread aren’t complete unless they’re accompanied by fried fish – especially sprat with the gratto.
When my aunt visited us a few Christmases ago, she brought a list of the foods she had to have while she was home. It included otaheiti apples, gratto bread and fried sprat.
Freshly baked gratto bread
I hadn’t seen gratto bread in many years and when my aunt mentioned it, I thought immediately of my childhood and my grandmother who would buy gratto from a bread van that passed by her house with breads and other freshly baked goods a few times a week. But I wasn’t sure where I’d find gratto so I checked with my neighbor.
You’ll have to go to a bakery (rather than the supermarket), she said. It took us a few days and a few bakeries before we found one that sold gratto bread. (One of my aunt’s friends brought her otaheiti apples from her garden but we didn’t find sprat until the evening before we drove her to her next destination.)
What’s Gratto Bread?
The word gratto (sometimes gatto), according to the Dictionary of Jamaican English (Cassidy and LePage), is from the French, gateau. I haven’t been able to find out more about the French connection or the origins of this bread, which the dictionary says “is rolled out flat, folded over, then folded again to produce four layers which are then boiled (or usually) baked.” It seems only a few bakeries still make it.
When the gratto finally arrived, it didn’t look familiar and no matter how much I searched my brain, I couldn’t retrieve an image of the one my grandmother used to buy. This was square, the size and shape of a small sheet cake. There were holes on the edges and in the center, likely to vent it while it baked.
It didn’t look familiar to my aunt either. The gratto bread she remembers had a cornmeal filling. Goes to show that even on an island the size of Jamaica, foods can vary between regions. Despite not recognizing the gratto bread, my aunt was so excited to try it, I barely had time to take a photo before she cut a piece off.
It tasted slightly sweet but the texture was similar to the dense, hardo bread that we normally eat. Although it didn’t have the cornmeal filling that she remembered and she didn’t fried sprat to go with it, my aunt enjoyed her gratto bread and I felt very happy that she was able to cross that off her list.
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Traveling through Jamaica’s rural areas is something I look forward with as much anticipation and excitement as a child waiting for a birthday or Christmas. It’s always a treat because I never know what I’ll see.
Several months ago, I was driving with three of my neighbors from Clarendon on the south central coast back to Montego Bay on the north west coast. Our trip took us through parts of Trelawny, St. Ann and Manchester – all well-known for different types of produce.
This particular Friday afternoon was bathed in the warm, golden glow of the setting sun as, at almost every turn, we saw farmers bringing their produce on donkeys and in small carts from the fields to the side of the road. Pickup trucks would take it the rest of the way to market.
Bringing yams from the field
There were mounds of yellow yams, mostly. But there were also otaheiti apples, Scotch Bonnet peppers, scallion, and thyme.
Most times we’d slow down just long enough for someone to stick their head out the window and ask, “How much a pound is the yellow yam?” or “Do you have any sweet peppers?”
Usually, price dictated whether we’d stop but when we saw this man with his son, something about him made us decide to buy. As soon as we found a good spot to park, all four of us jumped out of the car and ran across the road to choose a piece of yellow yam.
Yams for the market
They were weighing and sorting the freshly dug yam, the soil stubbornly clinging to each piece. They looked so delicious, it was difficult to know which to choose. So we let him decide.
Jamaica grows about eighteen varieties of yams, including yellow yam, St. Vincent, white, Lucy, and Negro. Yellow yam is by far the most popular. Trelawny, the parish we were in when we stopped to buy, accounts for up to 60% of the yams grown in Jamaica and almost half of what is exported — mostly to supply the growing demand in West Indian communities in the UK, US and Canada. (I was surprised to discover that Amazon sells yellow yam. [simpleazon-link asin=”B00I12V9IQ” locale=”us”]Roundleaf Yellow Yam imported from Jamaica (5 lb)[/simpleazon-link])
Yam adds potassium, protein, vitamins and folic acid to the diet and because it is packed with soluble fiber, it is suitable even for young children. Yams are also great for people with diabetes as it slows down the release of sugar into the cells.
Yams are denser in texture than the potato and can be eaten boiled (and mashed with butter, my favorite) or roasted. One of the things I look forward to on road trips is buying roasted yellow yam and saltfish from roadside vendors.
Most Jamaicans love yellow yam and have it at breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is even the title of a popular folk song, When wiroas di yellow yam. Take a listen here.
When Olympic champion, Usain Bolt, won gold in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, his father was reported as saying his speed was due to his diet, specifically the yellow yam. Not surprising as Bolt is from yam country, Trelawny.
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I heard about jackass corn when I was younger but I don’t remember seeing let alone trying it. Lacking any context, I imagined it was a variety of corn – one that jackasses liked to eat. I know that’s pretty literal but what else could I think?
I hadn’t thought of or heard about jackass corn until sometime last year when my friend, Sandra, and I walked into 14 Parish Restaurant, a small take out spot in Hackensack, NJ. The typical assortment of sweets – rock buns, gizzadas, grater cakes – sat on display in a glass case on the counter but there was one item I didn’t recognize. Curious, I asked what it was.
J
I chided the young cashier for not knowing and he went back to the kitchen to ask.
“It’s jackass corn,” he said when he returned, his face still wearing a puzzled look.
Jackass (or donkey) corn is a hard biscuit made of flour, water, coconut milk, and nutmeg. It is rolled flat, cut into rectangles and baked. According to the Dictionary of Jamaican English, it’s called jackass corn because when you eat it, it sounds like the sound a donkey makes when it’s eating corn.
Preheat the oven to 375F. In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, sugar, nutmeg and salt. Stir in the coconut. Add the water and mix, forming a very stiff dough that will not crumble.
Roll out the dough on a floured board to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut the dough into small rectangles. Place the pieces onto a greased cookie sheet and prick each one with a fork. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to a plate to cool.
By Lucinda Scala Quinn
Adapted from Lucinda's Authentic Jamaican Kitchen
Adapted from Lucinda's Authentic Jamaican Kitchen
InsideJourneys https://insidejourneys.com/
Jackass corn used to be a popular snack enjoyed by school children as well as adults. It fell out of favor perhaps because it’s likely seen as irrelevant, or unsophisticated next to prepared snacks like potato chips and Cheese Trix.
But one of the unforeseen and unintended impacts of migration is that Jamaicans, like other immigrant communities, cling to the traditions that keep them connected to home. One of the many food items they hold on to is jackass corn, which explains why it would be available for sale in a small restaurant in New Jersey.
As I expected, the owner said he sells mostly to people of a certain age. Since I’d never tried them, I handed over $2 for two biscuits which came wrapped tightly in plastic. My aunt couldn’t believe it when I told her what I had found.
I couldn’t bring myself to eat my treat right away and kept the jackass corn for almost a week before finally ripping off the plastic. I tried the first one. It was slightly sweet, with a hint of nutmeg, crisp but not as hard as I expected. I made a cup of tea, fresh mint, and had the second one. You can also have jackass corn on its own as a snack.
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For more recipes, check out Lucinda Scala Quinn’s cookbook, Lucinda’s Authentic Jamaican Kitchen
I’ve been curious about cheeseberries since I saw them last summer at Holywell Recreational Park in Jamaica’s Blue and John Crow Mountains.
Cheeseberries look like orange raspberries and are about the same size but they are sweet, a bit like tangerine. They thrive in higher elevations so you’ll find them growing wild in the Blue Mountain area. As far as I’ve been able to find out, that’s where they’re mostly found.
Cheeseberries
Cheeseberries, as well as wild raspberries, are popular snacks with hikers who climb the Blue Mountains or hike any of the trails.
Wild raspberries
Cheeseberries and wild raspberries are not native to Jamaica. Interestingly, cheeseberries are listed as one of the world’s worst invasive alien species.
Wild raspberry plant
Would you try fruits that grow wild?
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A few days after I arrived home, Michael knocked on my backdoor. A reddish fruit sat cushioned on the palm of his outstretched hand. I had not idea what it was and I was hoping he hadn’t noticed the slight look of ambivalence on my face.
The skin was smooth, almost velvety to the touch but it had a few marks that made me wonder if a little fruit fly had built a home in it.
Custard Apple
It’s a custard apple, my cousin said when she dropped by later and I felt silly about my initial ambivalence. Still, I searched my memory trying to recall if I’d ever seen or eaten one before.
The skin gave way easily as I pressed it and a fragrant and familiar scent greeted me when I broke the fruit open. The pulp looked exactly like the fruit we call sweetsop, with the same granular, custardy consistency (probably how it got its name) and just as sugar-sweet. Like the sweetsop, it had small sacs covering black seeds.
So what’s the custard apple? The custard apple (annona reticulata) is from the same family as the fruit we call sweetsop in Jamaica. In fact, when I searched for custard apple, I found several sites that described the sweetsop instead.
Custard Apple or Sweetsop?
I was confused and curious. Did I have the right fruit? I emailed a copy of the photo to my aunt. She confirmed that it was the custard apple. I also asked a friend from Trinidad. Many of the fruits we have in Jamaica are found in other parts of the Caribbean but usually called by different names.
Sweetsop (photo from toptropicals.com)
I thought Leesha was describing the custard apple until she printed a photo from the Internet and showed it to me. It was the sweetsop (annona squamosa), which is also called sugar apple. I added Jamaica to my search parameters and found one photo that looked like the fruit we call custard apple but she didn’t recognize it. Neither did my friend, Delma, who’s from Grenada.
The custard apple is known by many names including Jamaica apple, netted custard apple, bullock’s heart and bull’s heart (some think it’s shaped like a heart). A native of the Caribbean, it is found in Central and South America, Africa and Asia.
It is full of vitamins, iron, fiber, protein, magnesium, potassium, and other minerals.
Like the naseberry I wrote about in last week’s FoodieTuesday, the custard apple is in season now. So if you’re headed to Jamaica, see if you can find it and give it a try. I think you’ll like it.
On a recent trip from Jamaica to New York, my friend and neighbor asked if I could take some frozen naseberries for a relative of hers who, she explained loves naseberries.
She drove around town until she found a vendor selling the delicious fruit at about $2.50 for a half-dozen. She returned home, flush with a feeling of accomplishment and prepared the naseberries for me to take. Sadly, after all that effort, the Customs Department didn’t allow me to bring the naseberries into the country.
I was disappointed, especially for my friend’s uncle who, I knew, would be anticipating his absolute favorite fruit – the naseberry.
Peeled Naseberry
Also called sapodilla, the naseberry is a small, slightly round fruit that has the same brown color as a kiwi. The flesh is light brown or rust colored, tastes a bit like cinnamon and is sugar-sweet with small, black seeds. The naseberry is high in fiber and rich in antioxidents.
When ripe, the fruit is firm but pliable so you can just break it apart with the fingers and eat it. Some people also eat the skin but I’ve never tried it.
It’s unclear when this native of Mexico and Central America made it to the Caribbean where it is a perennial favorite. The trees can grow quite tall — up to a 100 feet — but you’ll find at least one in the backyard gardens of many Jamaicans.
Naseberries are now in season so if you’re headed to Jamaica before April or May when the season ends, you might see it at the breakfast buffet table at your hotel. If it isn’t, you can always ask for it.
We typically eat naseberries as I’ve described above but I found this recipe for Pork Adobo with Pineapple-Naseberry Salsa in one of our local papers, the Jamaica Gleaner, that I can’t wait to try. The combination of the pineapple and naseberry is already making my mouth water.
The ortanique looks much like an orange and could easily be mistaken for one. The difference is in its shape — it’s typically a bit flat on top and bottom.
Ortanique
This native of Jamaica, a hybrid of the orange and tangerine, gets its name from orange (or), tangerine (tan) and unique (ique). A deliciously sweet fruit, with a hint of tang, the ortanique is a favorite with Jamaicans.
But there’s a bit of confusion about its origin – at least in some circles. Several sites list Charles Jackson as the creator of the fruit, a few others list David Daniel Phillips and still another mentions a Mr. Swaby.
Digging a bit further, I found a post on Facebook that credits David Daniel Phillips as the originator of the ortanique. According to Danielle-Beverley Phillips, a descendant of Phillips, Jackson, Swaby and others got their seedlings and plants from the Phillips nursery, and in 1939, the Jamaica Agricultural Society recognized Phillips as the creator of the ortanique plant and fruit.
Although there is confusion surrounding the origin of the ortanique, there is none about its popularity. The ortanique has been one of Jamaica’s major export products since the 1930s, when it was shipped primarily to Panama, the UK, New Zealand and Australia. Today, the ortanique can be found in supermarkets in the US and Canada.
Boxed and ready to go
Ortaniques are grown mainly in Manchester which, because if its particular soil combination, produces a special type of fruit. However, there are farms in other parishes.
The ortanique in the photo above comes from Good Hope Plantation in Trelawny. Good Hope grows ortaniques along with other citrus fruits, and packages them on site for export. The boxed fruits above were headed to Canada.
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I had never heard the term cellar restaurant until Liz of Ahoy New York mentioned it during our walking tour of Little Italy and Chinatown a few weekends ago.
Cellar restaurants are located in the basement of a building. There are two in Manhattan’s Chinatown – Hop Kee at 21 Mott Street and Wo Hop at 17 Mott Street.
Neither was a stop on our tour but I was curious to find out whether there was more to them than their location. After the tour, my friend Joan and I returned to Chinatown. Walking from Canal Street, we arrived first at Hop Kee and decided to try it.
As we descended the steps and entered the restaurant, my eyes landed on a photo of chef and television personality, Anthony Bourdain. Good enough for Bourdain, good enough for me, I thought. My eyes barely scanned the other celebrity photos.
Entrance to Hop Kee
A handful of people occupied a few of the twenty or so tables and the waiter pointed us in the direction of several empty ones. Vinyl covered chairs matched honey-colored laminate wall panels that likely have been there since the restaurant opened in 1962.
I selected a beef with noodle dish. Joan wasn’t very hungry so she ordered a bowl of soup. That’s when our waiter pointed out the required $8 minimum order per diner and we realized we had overlooked the note on the menu.
It wouldn’t have been a problem but like a lot of restaurants in Chinatown, Hop Kee is a cash-only operation and the closest ATM was at least a ten-minute walk away.
Our waiter didn’t look too happy when we decided on one entree but we couldn’t be sure as he wore the same pained expression the entire time he served us. An older guy, he looked as if he’s been working at the restaurant since it opened.
Even with the minimum, when the entrée was ready, he brought two plates. I wasn’t very impressed with the noodles but the portion was so generous, I took most of it home.
As we left Hop Kee, we noticed a line of people leading from street level down to the entrance to Wo Hop, the other cellar restaurant. One couple we talked with said of the two restaurants, the food at Wo Hop was better.
Wo Hop actually has two restaurants on Mott Street, the cellar restaurant and another one at street level. The female of the couple stressed that the upstairs restaurant was for visitors, the downstairs for those in the know.
After our experience at Hop Kee and the couple’s glowing review of Wo Hop, I jumped at the chance to try Wo Hop the following day when I returned for the Lunar Parade.
There were more wait staff than diners in the restaurant when I arrived. One diner, a female NYC police officer, looked like a regular. She sat in a corner with a good view of the door as well as the other diners, which included a party of six who was carrying on a lively discussion at two tables in the back.
The waiter showed me to a table and quickly brought me a menu. I ordered a small hot and sour soup and beef and broccoli entrée.
Wo Hop has been around for 74 years. A small restaurant, it holds about ten tables. The ceiling is low and most of the walls are covered in photos. Like Hop Kee, you wouldn’t find it on the cover of a restaurant décor magazine. But therein lies their charm.
It certainly wasn’t the food although it could have been my selection so I’m willing to give both another try. Wo Hop did not have a posted per diner minimum and they had an ATM machine.
Both Hop Kee and Wo Hop open late on the weekends and, as Liz mentioned, are favorites of college students and late night crowds. It isn’t difficult to see why with such healthy portions and attractive prices.
Wo Hop, at 17 Mott Street is open weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m., and to 7 a.m. on weekends. Hop Kee is open till 1:00 a.m. during the week, to 4:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
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A wine tasting was the last thing on my mind when I signed up for Ahoy New York’s Food Tasting and Cultural Walking Tour of Little Italy and Chinatown a few weekends ago.
However, several hours after our tour, my friend, Joan and I were back at DiPalo’s to buy some of the cheeses we had sampled.
A woman was standing at the counter next to us as Joan placed her order. Hearing the type of cheeses we were getting, she told us we needed to get a bottle of wine next door at Enoteca DiPalo (DiPalo’s Wine Bar). There’s a tasting going on now, she added.
Joan and I headed next door as soon as we got our order. About a dozen people were in the narrow space, which had bottles of wines positioned at various angles against an exposed brick wall. (an enoteca is a wine library).
Enoteca DiPalo
A small group of about seven stood in a loose circle towards the back of the enoteca as if they were at a private tasting. Everyone else milled around, glass in hand.
Enoteca DiPalo, DiPalo’s Selects’ latest venture, opened in 2008. While DiPalo’s Selects carries specialty foods from all of Italy’s twenty regions, Enoteca DiPalo carries wines and spirits. It also offers regular tastings to educate the community on Italian wines.
Sam DiPalo, a descendant of Savino DiPalo, the cheese maker who started DiPalo’s runs the enoteca. Sam spent several years studying Italian wines and food products at Italy’s University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenza.
Tabarrini Montefalco Rosso
We tasted Tabarrini’s Montefalco Rosso and Montefalco Sagrandino Colle Grimaldesco 2009. (Sorry, I didn’t make notes but I left with a bottle of the Rosso.)
The woman who’d told us about the tasting had said Giampaolo Tabarrini, the owner of Tabarinni Winery was at the tasting. We soon spotted him. I introduced myself and asked him about his wines. He spoke proudly and passionately about his family’s wines and the olive oil they produce and insisted that we should visit the vineyard. One person at the tasting had been and said it was worth the trip. I have no doubt.
Joan, Giampaolo and me
The Tabarrini family has been making wines for four generations in Montefalco, Umbria. They grow Sagrantino grapes on eleven of their twenty-two acre property and began bottling their wines towards the end of the 1990s. Giampaolo, who was in the US for a series of tastings, said they also make grappa.
Enoteca DiPalo is located at 200 Grand Street, next door to DiPalo’s Specialty Foods. Call 212-680-0545 for information on their next tasting.
I looked for a recipe that could be paired with one of Tabarrini’s wines but they were all in Italian. Here’s one from DiPalo’s. Enjoy!
Generous ½ cup prosciutto that has been cut into strips 1 to 1½-inches long
3 tablespoons white wine
About 5 ounces Spinosini pasta
½ to 1 cup pasta cooking liquid
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
Additional cheese and Italian parsley leaves for garnish
Instructions
Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the prosciutto to the skillet and cook until heated through but not browned and crisp. Add the wine and keep warm.
When the water boils, drop in the pasta. Cook 2 minutes. Lift out the pasta and place in the skillet with the prosciutto.
Measure 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Add ½ cup to the skillet, stir gently and cook 1 minute. Add the lemon zest, cheese and parsley. Toss gently and cook 1 minute longer. If the pasta seems dry, add more of the pasta cooking liquid and a dash of olive oil.
Divide between two heated plates. Garnish each serving with additional cheese and parsley leaves.
Notes
Makes 2 main dish servings or 4 appetizer servings.
InsideJourneys https://insidejourneys.com/
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One of the perks of living in a city the size of New York is the diversity it offers, not only in things to do but also in culinary offerings. Food from almost every nation is represented here.
Last weekend, my friend Joan and I joined Ahoy New York for their Food Tasting and Cultural Walking Tour of Chinatown and Little Italy. We started in Little Italy and ended the tour in Chinatown.
New York City’s Chinatown is a bustling neighborhood that is home to the largest population of Chinese outside of China – approximately 100,000. The neighborhood now occupies an area of about 2 miles stretching south roughly to Chambers Street, east to the Lower East Side, north to Little Italy and west to Broadway/Tribeca.
A Short History of Chinatown
In the mid-1800s, Chinese immigrants, men mostly, headed west to California, Gold Mountain as they called it, lured by dreams of striking it rich. Instead of gold, they found limited opportunities for work. Their dreams evaporated and with no money to return home or to send for their families their dreams they moved east.
Arriving in New York City, these former residents of Canton, settled in the area around Mott, Pell and Doyers Streets and worked as cooks and launderers, jobs usually done by women. They brought their language, culture and culinary traditions like dim sum, bite-sized foods served steamed or fried. Dim Sum has its origins in the famous Silk Road when tea houses opened to accommodate weary travelers.
Liz pointing out pastries in a store on Mott Street
Our first stop was Pongrsi Thai Restaurant on Bayard Street, the oldest family-run and operated Thai restaurant in New York City. Started by Khun Pongrsi and her husband Khun Prasit Tangchakkrachai, Pongrsi has been serving authentic Thai food in the same place since 1972. It is credited with popularizing Thai food in the city.
Thai Orange Chicken
Pad Thai
Chicken with Peanuts
After walking around for the better part of the morning, the chance to sit and enjoy the meal was quite welcome. We sampled Orange Chicken, Chicken Pra Ramm (peanut sauce/curry dish) and a Pad See Ew.
My favorite, the Orange Chicken, was unlike any I’ve had. The orange was subtle enough to provide a delicious balance to the chicken. By the time the plate got to me, though, only a few pieces were left – it was that good. I really love Thai food so you can bet I’ll be back to Pongsri very soon.
Leaving Pongsri, we walked through Columbus Park, and made a brief stop on Mulberry in the Five Points section of Lower Manhattan. You might remember Five Points, that notorious section of the city that was the setting for the movie, [simpleazon-link asin=”B004SIP7TE” locale=”us”]Gangs Of New York[/simpleazon-link].
Five Points got its name from the five-pointed intersection created by Orange now Baxter Street, Cross now Mosco Street, Anthony now Worth Street and Little Water Street, which or no longer exists. Today, that part of Mulberry Street is lined with funeral homes that serve the community.
Soon we arrive at Tasty Dumpling, 54 Mulberry, for our first Chinese tasting. Can you guess what we sampled at Tasty Dumpling?Why, dumplings, of course!
Dig in!
Preparing dumplings for steaming
Stuffing the dumplings
Tasty Dumpling’s dumplings get rated consistently as the best dumplings in Chinatown – and at 5 for $1.25, are a tasty bargain. That probably explains why nearly all the tables in this small eatery were occupied when we arrived so we crowded into the only free space – at the left of the counter.
A woman was at the stove loading freshly made dumplings into a huge steamer while in the back two others were adding the filling to the dough.
Our dumplings were still warm when they arrived. Liz added a soy-white vinegar sauce and passed them around. The wrapper was nice and firm and so translucent I could see the filling, and when I took a bite, it was moist and tasty, the dipping sauce adding a nice kick.
Leaving Tasty Dumpling, we crossed over to Mott Street then to Doyers to Nom Wah Tea Parlor, our last stop on the tour. Nom Wah, the oldest dim sum restaurant in Chinatown has been around and on the same block of Doyers Street since the 1920s.
Nom Wah’s Original Egg Roll
Nom Wah’s Original Egg Roll
Waiting for a table
The Choy family owned the restaurant until they sold it in 1974 to Wally Tang, a longtime employee. Mr. Tang started working at Nom Wah in the 1950s when he was 16 and began managing it when he was 20.
Little has changed to the exterior of Nom Wah but Wilson Tang, the new manager and the next generation of Tangs, has upgraded the interior. Wally and his team of dim sum experts still keep an eye on things though.
It was about 1:00 pm when we arrived and diners were clustered outside in groups of twos and threes waiting for tables. Someone from the restaurant would come to the door and call the next name on the list as tables became free. Good thing Liz had placed our order ahead of time so we didn’t have to wait.
Nom Wah’s original egg rolls are round and fat. Stuffed with chicken and vegetables, they are rolled in egg crêpe then fried in homemade batter which makes them crisp and flaky. Despite being fried, they aren’t greasy. Each egg roll was cut in two and each of us got half but after all the food we’d sampled, one piece of this delicious treat was enough.
We had come to the end of our three hour tour and it was time to say goodbye to Liz, our very enthusiastic tour guide. I’m sure all of Ahoy New York’s tour guides are knowledgeable, warm and sociable but Liz makes you feel like she’s giving a tour with long time friends.
To recap, we visited Alleva Diary, DiPalo’s Fine Foods, Grand Appetito and Ferrara Bakery & Cafe in Little Italy, and Pongsri Thai Restaurant, Tasty Dumpling and Nom Wah Tea Parlor in Chinatown. We did a quick stop at the Italian American Museum, which I’ll cover in another post.
Joan and I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in Chinatown. We had dinner at one of the cellar restaurants on Mott Street that Liz had pointed out then ended up at a wine tasting at Enoteca DiPalo’s. (More about these later.)
One thing I forgot to mention: my friend Joan has severe allergies to shellfish and Ahoy was able to arrange other dishes for her to sample on the Chinatown part of the tour.
Please note: I found this recipe for Thai Orange Chicken at Allrecipes.com.
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup peanuts
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir carrots, ginger, and garlic until carrots are slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer carrot mixture to a bowl. Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to the same skillet.
Cook and stir chicken in the hot olive oil until no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes. Add carrot mixture, water, peanuts, orange juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, and red pepper flakes to chicken; stir to combine. Cover and simmer until sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes.
Remove about 1/4 cup sauce from the skillet; whisk in cornstarch until dissolved and sauce is smooth. Pour cornstarch mixture back into chicken and sauce; cook until sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 more minutes.
InsideJourneys https://insidejourneys.com/
Disclosure: We were guests of Ahoy New York on this Chinatown and Little Italy Food Tasting and Cultural Walking Tour, but as usual, the opinions expressed here are our own. Thanks to Ray and Alana, and Liz, our very knowledgeable, very entertaining and very enthusiastic tour guide.
Recommended Reading
[simpleazon-link asin=”0738550183″ locale=”us”]New York City’s Chinese Community (Images of America: New York)[/simpleazon-link], Josephine Tsui Yueh Lee
Can you name one popular Chinese dish that you won’t find in China?
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