shiokadelicious!

Oh Fudge!

One persistent thought filled my mind yesterday. I needed a chocolate fix. Well, alright, one doesn’t need chocolate, in fact, one doesn’t need many things in life. One needs food for sustenance and shelter for protection maybe, but one doesn’t need chocolate. Okay, so I wanted a chocolate fix… really wanted. The thought wouldn’t go away. So, a quick dig around my collection of un-tried recipes later… voila! This was the result… an incredibly chocolatey, fudgey cake, and best of all… pretty healthy too. Now, does it get any better than this?

Yes, I am still on my continuing quest to find healthy and utterly indulgent food. I’m all for indulgence. I love desserts, I love cakes and cookies… the richer the better. I want to indulge, not once a week or once every couple of weeks, no, I want to be able to indulge everyday as and how my desires strike. But I also enjoy being healthy and (hopefully) vibrant…

Okay, okay, enough of the rambling already. The cake, the cake…

Fudgy Chocolate Cake

1 cup Flour
1/3 cup Cocoa [I prefer European-style Dutch Processed Cocoa for a smoother taste]
1 ½ tsps Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
¼ tsp Salt
1 ¼ cups Packed Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
3 tbsps Oil
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Lite Sour Cream
½ cup Mini Chocolate Chips

Sieve the dry ingredients together. Place brown sugar, eggs and oil into a bowl and beat together with electric mixer on medium speed. Add vanilla and sour cream, and beat on low speed until well blended. Add the flour mixture, using low speed to combine, then beating on medium. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 8” square pan. Bake at 175C / 350F for 40-45 minutes. The key is not to overbake the cake. Mine was done in 35 minutes. Cool in pan for about 15 minutes before cutting.

[note: I only had ½ cup of sour cream, so I had to improvise for the remaining ½ cup. I used equal portions of natural low fat yogurt and lite cream cheese, and it seemed to work just fine].

It was quick, it was easy, and… it was good!

Happy chocolate caking!

Night Scenes

After dinner, we decided to take a leisurely stroll around the food street, and stumbled upon the Winter Solstice Street Market.

Traditionally, the Chinese marked the Winter Solstice (22 December) as the start of New Year preparations. In ancient times, this time of the year meant that the harvest has been completed, and all family members that have left the ancestral home to work in other provinces would travel home to reunite with their families in preparation for the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year celebrations. The Winter Solstice would be celebrated with a family reunion dinner, and the eating of “tang yuen” (literal translation: soup dumplings) – round glutinous rice dumplings boiled in a ginger syrup soup. The modern versions of these dumplings now have fillings of peanut, black sesame or red bean.

Here are some sights (minus the sounds and smells) of the night market…

There was a mini open-air concert going on…

There were food stalls selling fruits, snacks and other traditional tid-bits. I love the smell of the chestnuts being coal-roasted (in the metal drum seen in the right hand corner)…

Fruits painstakingly and neatly arranged and displayed… it is the season for rambutans, persimmons, starfruits and Chinese fragrant pears!

We bought more durians! Yum! The aromas were so strong that they filled the car on the drive home even though the durians were in the boot!

Herbal teas to quench your thirst and to relieve “heatiness” from the body…

Traditional Teochew rice dumplings…

Dried scallops, dried sea cucumbers and dried oysters… all essential ingredients in Chinese New Year celebratory dishes…

Beautiful large (very large, I might add), plump dried oysters or “hou si” (meaning “good tidings”)…

The sky was clear, the weather cool… a beautiful end to a very pleasant evening!

HomeTown

Had dinner at a new (2-month old) SzeChuan restaurant in Chinatown tonight. Decorated in a simple, rustic traditional eating-house style, the outlet was small and cosy with a sitting capacity of only about 8 tables. The boss, Jonathan Ren was very friendly, polite, professional and humble. He is himself a professional chef, hailing from Sze Chuan province in China.

The food was good – with all the intense flavors of traditional Sze Chuan cuisine: spiciness or mala (literally translated as “numbness and chilli heat”), sweetness, sourness and saltiness. Certain flavors were a little too intense for our Singaporean palate, but it does show the authenticity of the dishes. The food certainly left our taste buds alive and tingling!

We ordered a lot of dishes! (Most of the dishes did not have English names, so the below are translations or interpretations of the Chinese names).

The first dish to arrive was the famous “zhang cha ya” or tea-smoked duck (S$16 for half duck) (US$9.50). We had been slightly wary of ordering this dish as usually ducks served in restaurants are very fatty. However, Jonathan promised that his ducks, all imported especially from China, have only the thinnest layer of fat under the skin. And true to his word, the duck was very well done, with barely any fat, and yet the meat was tender and moist. And unlike the normal red-colored zhang cha ya usually served in other restaurants, this was a natural color. Very yummy duck, albeit a touch too salty for our palates.

The “yu xiang ji ding” or fish-flavored diced chicken (S$10) (US$6) was also a flavor intense dish. Diced chicken sautéed with vegetables, wood-ear fungus, chillies and mala chilli oil.

The SzeChuan Sweet Sour Fish (S$30 @ S$5 per 100g) (US$18) was another sensory stimulating dish! The Soon Hock fish was not fried but braised with a mala, sweet and sour sauce.

Of course we couldn’t miss out on the signature Sze Chuan vegetable dish of “gan bian si ji dou” or dry-fried four seasons beans (S$8) (US$5). This is a dish of deep fried long beans deep fried sautéed with dried red chillies and garlic. Very spicy but absolutely delicious! This was one of the better versions we have tasted in Singapore. The chef’s skill was evident in the way the beans were cooked. Very often, this dish is served with beans that have been fried so long they have turned limp and blackish. Here, the beans were still a beautiful bright green, with nice texture and bite, and not too oily.

Whilst not a Sze Chuan dish, the “shang tang dou miao” or bean shoots sautéed in broth (S$8) was also beautifully done. The broth was key here and it was nice and flavorful. The dou miao was tender and sweet. Very nice!

We also ordered a bowl of the Sze Chuan beef noodles (S$6) (US$3.50) to share, just to have a taste. It comes in three versions: mala (numbing spiciness), suan-la (sour spiciness) or non-spicy. After all the other spicy and flavor-intense dishes, we opted for the non-spicy version to help cleanse our palate a little. This version was still very flavorful. Fresh Northern-China style handmade noodles were served in a tasty beef broth flavored with five-spice. The beef was also flavorful and tender, with a nice sprinkling of some tendon.

The wonderful meal was rounded off with some deep fried pumpkin pastry, with the compliments of Jonathan. This tasted sort of like a sweet, chewy version of ham chim peng (literally translated as “salty fried dough”). A sweet ending to an enjoyable meal.

Update: sorry, made a mistake... Hometown also has sitting upstairs... for around 60+ as they also do functions, catering etc...

Hometown Restaurant
9 Smith Street
Singapore 058923
Tel: 6372 1602

Food: 4 / 5
Service: 4 / 5
Ambience: 3 / 5
Price: $$

(no GST nor service charge)

S$15 & below : $
S$16-30 : $$
S$31-50 : $$$
S$51-75 : $$$$
> S$75 : $$$$$

Dad On The Loose

Two days ago, my dad made a surprising announcement. He was going to cook for the family! Now that is news indeed! My father doesn’t cook. The only time he can be found helping in the kitchen is during Chinese New Year, when he gets “enlisted” by my mum to squeeze out the juices from the radishes, carrots and all the sweet preserved vegetables and dry them out for the “yu shang loh hei”. He declared he was going to cook “dong bo ruo”. I’ve never heard of the dish, at least not by that name. He said it was a pork belly dish...

Ah… I see… I was beginning to understand. I think he’s been craving pork belly – something my mum avoids cooking nowadays, for health reasons – fat, cholesterol etc. Maybe he figured the only way he was going to get to eat some was to cook it himself!

So today was “D-day”. And he asked if I wanted to document the event for my blog. So, I stood with camera in hand as he manned the stove…

It’s actually a very simple dish to cook – all of 5 ingredients only: pork belly meat, lots of ginger, spring onions, dark soy sauce and ShaoXing Hua Tiao Jiu (Chinese wine).

And once you cut through the to-ing and fro-ing of conversation between my mum and dad, the cooking procedure is equally simple...

dad finishes pounding ginger with pestle and is about to place it in the pot with the wine and dark soy sauce...
mum: "I think you should fry the ginger first, without oil, then will be more fragrant..."
dad: gives mum a "I'm the chef here" kind of look, and proceeds to put ginger into pot.
mum: "the pork also, fry it first in the wok without oil, then it will taste better, more fragrant and tasty..."
dad: "ya, there are 2 ways to cook this - one is to deep fry the pork first before braising... then there is this way..."
and proceeds to put pork belly into stock pot.
mum: "no, you should fry the pork first, will taste better..."
dad: "hai-ya, I know what I'm doing..."
and after 35 years of marriage, mum knows better than to say more... she waits patiently to enjoy the dish...

And in plain English... quickly blanch the pork belly in boiling water to rid it of smells and any gaminess. Optional but a good idea: pat the meat dry and place in a “dry” wok (i.e. no oil) and saute briefly to bring out the flavors of the pork. “Smash” the ginger with a pestle. Optional but also a good idea: briefly “dry saute” in a wok (separate from the pork). Next, pour a whole bottle of the Chinese wine into a stock pot. Add enough dark soy sauce to taste. Add the ginger. View image Bring to a light boil, and add the pork belly. Leave to simmer and braise for about 2 ½ hours to 3 hours, or until the meat reaches that “melt-in-your-mouth” texture, yet not losing its shape and bite.

We served it today with braised mui choy (wind-dried chinese cabbage).

I can’t comment on the taste of the pork as I’m very queasy about pork bellies and all fatty meats in general. The mui choy was good though! The family certainly looked as though they thoroughly enjoyed the pork belly – especially my dad.

Of Drunken Fruits and Pitted “Skin”

I had made up my mind that I would start my Christmas baking today – by hook or by crook. I had even arranged my schedule to try to ensure I could have an afternoon of leisurely indulgence in the kitchen. Alas! It was not to be… murphy’s law proves itself once more… And so, as it is said: “the best laid plans of mice and men…”

As I prepared to make my fruitcake, so it was that 2 clients and a supplier decided that my life was just a little too stress-free today, and thought they would help “spice it up” a little for me! The hazards of working from home! And the stress definitely came through in my poor fruit cake. I think I unconsciously (or was it consciously ) took my frustration out on the eggs!

I was way too vigorous in wielding the whisk and so the cake baked out with dozens of small “pits” on the surface, from the bubbles baking through to the top! Not a pretty sight at all.

I had also probably “over-dosed” the raisins on the brandy! Yesterday, I had searched around in the liquor cabinet and found a bottle of Courvoisier Cognac. Now, I don’t drink hard liquor at all. So, I’m the last person to know the value or quality of such things. I was just thinking: “oh, cognac… that’s brandy, right?… that’ll work…” And proceeded to pour a good half bottle into the raisins to soak them overnight in preparation for the baking today!! That definitely did not make someone too happy! It was like: “hey, that’s my bottle of Courvoisier Cognac!” Uh-oh… And now I know… cognac is pretty expensive stuff… and by the end of today’s baking, I had used up a good ¾ of a bottle of the cognac on just one (rather unsuccessful, I might add) fruitcake… oops!

The near ½ bottle to soak the raisins together with another ½ cup of cognac that I poured into the batter plus more brushed onto the cake, ensured that the final cake result turned out to be fairly heady stuff! Haha… kids could potentially get drunk on this cake! LoL! Might have to put an age 18 warning on the cake!

The results were not what I was looking for – aesthetically at least. Taste-wise, it was pretty good. Yeah, we decided not to let the cake sit and “feed” it anymore (besides, it was already probably way “over-fed” in the alcohol department), and so we had some for dessert at dinner tonight.

Well, it was my first attempt at this recipe… so I can be forgiven right? But I think the next time I try this again, I’ll have to go get some (cheaper?) brandy.

Here’s the original recipe which my mum got off an aunt, with some notations of my observations.
(don’t ask me why it’s called “boiled fruit cake”, I haven’t a clue)

Favorite Boiled Fruit Cake

500g raisins
brandy
½ c. mixed peel
250g butter
1 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
½ c. brandy
5 eggs
1 ¾ c. plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1) Rinse the raisins twice with hot water, and drain well. Soak in brandy for one full day and night. Drain well.
[note: I think one day & night is a little too long – probably 4-6 hours would be sufficient]

2) Melt the butter and sugar together on a low heat. Once melted, add the brandy-soaked raisins and the mixed peel. Stir and heat through. Then add the ½ cup of brandy to the butter mixture and allow to simmer for a short while. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

3) Line an 8” square cake pan with two layers of greaseproof paper on the bottom and sides of the cake tin. Spray the lining with cooking spray.

4) In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs.

5) Add the dried fruit and butter mixture to the eggs and mix well.

6) Add the flour and baking soda to the batter and mix well.

7) Pour batter into prepared cake pan and cover with aluminium foil.

8) Bake at 160C for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 150C and bake for another 1 hour. Remove the foil covering, and bake for another 30 minutes (at 150C). Brush the cake with more brandy, and return to oven and bake another 10 minutes.

9) Switch off the oven, and brush more brandy on to the still hot cake. Leave cake in oven to cool.

10) Once completely cool, remove from cake pan and store. It would be best to brush some brandy on the cake once every 3-4 days for 1-2 weeks before eating. Cake will keep for up to 3 months.

Satiated At Last!

About 2 weeks (?) ago, I blogged about my craving for Malaysian-style konlo mee / wantan mee. Well, today I finally got to eat the noodles from the said stall. My mum ta-powed it as lunch for me (isn’t she sweet?). Am satiated now.

Cooked an Indian-style yogurt chicken for dinner tonight, but will post about it some other time… am tired now… it has been a very long day. G’nite! Happy konlo mee-ing!

Update: Just found out from my mum today that the food centre at Redhill Close Market will be closing on Monday (8/12), and moving to temporary premises next to Redhill MRT station (where the old HDB blocks have been torn down). They'll be there for a year whilst existing premises are upgraded. But I think some stall-owners may be choosing to take a break for a year, so won't be around during that time. : (

What to cook? What to cook?

It’s December! Only 3½ more weeks to Christmas… the Christmas lights are twinkling along Orchard Road, and all the shopping malls and supermarkets are playing Christmas carols ad nauseam… but I still haven’t planned the Christmas menu for all the family and friends gatherings that will be happening. Sigh! I’m out of inspiration. What to cook? What to cook?

I’m not keen on turkey. Actually, I’ve never been keen on turkey. No matter what method is used – brining, roasting, deep frying, tandoori baking etc – I’ve yet to taste a piece of truly moist, juicy, succulent turkey. Have you? In previous years, we’ve done roasted capon, which is near turkey-sized (a small turkey that is) but way tastier (in my opinion). Served it with an Asian/Chinese stuffing of glutinous rice with Yunnan ham, Chinese sausage, Chinese mushrooms, chestnuts etc. Our family’s favorite stuffing. We’ve also done braised duck with this stuffing. Very yummylicious!

We’ve somehow always had a sort of “East meets West” food theme in our family Christmas dinners. Not intentionally. We’ve always just cooked whatever we enjoyed eating, and incorporated “Christmas elements” into the dishes – or tried, at least. So, I’m thinking… how about a braised or simmered leg of lamb rather than the traditional roast leg of lamb. And the gravy from the braised lamb would go rather well, I think, with biscuits (thanks for the inspiration, Deb) – Southern or otherwise. I’ve never baked biscuits before – English scones, yes, but not biscuits. But the ones Deb made looked really good. Or, maybe serve the lamb with candied sweet potatoes?

I’m also thinking… let’s just skip the bird altogether this year. And have a German-style crispy pork trotter, to go with the lamb. The idea of serving ham seems rather stale. When I raised the suggestions of the lamb and pork trotters earlier this evening, the slightly aghast reaction was: what’s the preoccupation with the extremities of animals?! Ha ha ha… I didn’t see it like that until it was pointed out to me! How’s that for a theme for Christmas dinner! LoL!

I’m really curious, what does everyone have for their Christmas dinners?

I'm thinking of skipping the Christmas pudding as dessert. The store- or hotel-bought ones are so tooth-droppingly sweet, it’s not even funny. And I’m not inclined to make my own. Hmmm… I came across a recipe for a cranberry jello-kind of dessert on MSN the other day. But didn’t think to save or print it. And now I can’t find it again. I think that would make a nice, refreshing change for dessert.

Ooh… just thought of something… s’mores for dessert. Ok, we’re in the tropics, so we can’t exactly roast marshmallows at the fireplace. But how about dipping marshmallows into warm melted bittersweet chocolate (sort of fondue style I guess) to get slightly melted, chocolate covered marshmallows, and then sandwiching them between graham crackers like the traditional s’mores. Sounds good! Would it work?

And then there’s the Christmas baking to think about… I really have to start my Christmas baking this week. The fruit cake will need at least 2-3 weeks of “feeding” before it can be eaten. My parents have made a special request for a “not sweet” fruitcake, with just raisins/sultanas, no candied cherries but LOTS of brandy! “None of the cloyingly sweet ready-made ones, please” was the request. My mum even passed me an aunt’s recipe that she had tasted last year and liked. So, I’ll be trying that out.

Don’t think I’ll be making mince pies… will just settle for the ones from Marks and Spencer. They’re actually pretty good – only the classic ones though, which are less sweet. The other versions such as the Deluxe etc are really very sweet – too sweet. I wish the Marks and Spencer in Singapore would carry the full range of Christmas goodies as in the UK, but the range is fairly decent I guess. Where else in Singapore can I get good mince pies? I love mince pies!

Christmas means family, friends, food… joy, love, warmth, happiness! Christmas is coming indeed!

Mustard Vegetable with Salted Duck’s Egg

We had another family favorite for dinner tonight – mustard vegetable (“gai choy” in Cantonese) topped with a salted egg sauce. It’s a popular dish in Cantonese restaurants, and it’s real easy to make at home too.

Gai choy generally has a slight bitterness, and I think it is probably an acquired taste. Whilst many people love this vegetable precisely for its slight bitterness and unique flavor, it took me a long, long time before I was even willing to eat it! The gai choy is first boiled in water that has had a little sugar, salt and oil added to it. Once the vegetables are at the crunchiness or softness that is preferred, drain well and place on serving platter.

The sauce: combine in a small bowl 2 tbsps of light soy sauce, ½ tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine, pepper and sugar (again, the measurements are only estimates based what it looked like as I poured the ingredients from their bottles!), and set aside.

Dice the hard-boiled salted duck’s egg and set aside.

In hot oil, sauté some minced garlic. Add the above sauce mixture. A quick stir, then add a little cornstarch solution to thicken the gravy. Allow the gravy to thicken before cracking in one fresh egg. Stir the egg so that it forms nice “strands” in the gravy as it cooks. When the gravy is ready, add the diced salted egg, and allow to heat through. Pour sauce over the boiled vegetable and serve.

Happy gai-choying!

Beef with SzeChuan Vegetable

Received compliments for this dish tonight. It’s stir-fried tenderloin slices with SzeChuan preserved vegetable (“tzar cai” in Mandarin) – a slightly spicy, salty vegetable.

After trimming all excess fat off the beef tenderloin, cut it into thin slices, and marinade with light soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil.

Take a combination of some young ginger that has been julienned, 1 large onion cut into strips and some red chilli (seeded and de-veined if prefer a less spicy dish), and sauté quickly in hot oil. Once fragrant, add the preserved vegetable (cut into fairly thick slices). Saute for a couple of minutes, before adding the beef slices. These cook real quick. So, as soon as they start to brown, add the seasonings: dark soy sauce, oyster sauce and light soy sauce. A quick sauté, then add a little water to form a little gravy. Next add just a touch of cornstarch water (a little cornstarch dissolved in some water) to thicken the gravy.

Remove from heat. Add some spring onions, and toss to wilt in the residual heat.

Yum!

A Cook’s Tour in Singapore

Just watched the Singapore episode of A Cook’s Tour on Discovery Travel & Adventure Channel. Really enjoyed it. It was so funny to watch Tony Bourdain’s expressions as he tried our local food. Loved the part when he had the deer penis wine at the Imperial Herbal Restaurant, and he said something about maybe having to walk out of the restaurant with a tablecloth tied around his waist.

And it’s the first time I’ve seen Seetoh (of Makansutra fame) speak proper English! LoL! And I enjoy watching the guy when he’s not trying so hard to ham it up for the camera. He’s quite a humorous and funny guy! I think he should do the Makansutra shows as his “real self”.

Hmmm…. The nasi padang (Malay mixed rice) place that Tony ate at… it looked really good. Missed the name of the restaurant though. I think it’s in Geylang Serai? Not sure. But the beef rendang looks really good!

And is Sin Huat really that good? I’ve never tried the place. But the food looked absolutely sublime in the show. Well, I guess that place is now on my “to try” list. Imagine… learning about my local restaurants from an American eating show! LoL!

Was surprised though that Tony didn’t get round to eating so many of our “great” local dishes – eg char kuay teow, laksa and chicken rice (how could he come to Singapore and not eat Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice?!)

Anyway, it was an enjoyable show.

Update: Just found out the name of the nasi padang place featured in the show. It's Hjh Maimunah Restaurant (11 & 15 Jln Pisang, Singapore 199078, Tel: 6291 3132). Hope to try it out soon.

Smile!

Have you noticed my brand new animated smilies? Aren't they great? Thanks Wena! Three cheers for Wena!

Bacco

We had intended to dine at Da Paolo Il Giardino last night. But we had not made reservations, and after a couple of publicity mentions in the press lately, they were completely full and had no available table for us. So, we ended up having dinner at their next door neighbour, Bacco Italian Restaurant, which was, in contrast, very quiet with only about 5 tables occupied.

Very nice ambience – quiet and elegant. Food was very average.

Fegato – Duck Liver (S$22) (US$13). The outside was beautifully crispy, but the insides were a touch too underdone from what one would normally expect – a little too bloody for comfort. It came with a nice roasted fresh fig though.

Seafood Tagliatelle (S$20) (US$12). A very red dish! We’re talking bright red! They must have used extra red tomatoes. Only one small shrimp, half a scallop I think, a couple of small clam-like mollusks and the rest all squid.

Risotto Funghi a.k.a. “baby food” (S$20) (US$12). This looked really yellow and cheesy, but I was told it tasted very bland. It looked mushy on the outside but the center of all the rice were still hard and not cooked through. It was almost all rice with nary a mushroom.

Rack of Lamb (S$30) (US$18). Ok only.

Ossobuco (S$26) (US$15). Very, very fatty. After removing the obvious chunks of fat, only left with maybe ½ to 2/3 of the veal shank. Tasted very gamey.

Service left much to be desired. Most of the staff were fairly professional, however, one member was rather condescending and “uppity” with all the customers (not that there were many of these in the restaurant). I think we now know why.

Prices were high for the dining experience we got – the pricing still pretty much pre-Sars, pre-economic downturn prices. And I had thought that the days of restaurants “coercing” customers to pay S$8.00 for a bottle of mineral water, as the only water being offered, were long gone. Wrong! I had actually forgotten that such a practice existed!

There are many wonderful Italian restaurants in Singapore – a case in point would be the next door neighbor of this restaurant. Enuff said.

Bacco
501 Bukit Timah Road
#01-01 Cluny Court
Singapore 259760
Tel: 6465 5108

Food: 2½ / 5
Service: 1½ / 5
Ambience: 4 / 5
Price: $$$$$

S$15 & below : $
S$16-30 : $$
S$31-50 : $$$
S$51-75 : $$$$
> S$75 : $$$$$

Fresh Off the Tree

Over the last 2-3 weeks, we have been getting several bumper crops of mangoes off the mango tree in our garden. There’s nothing like biting into a sweet, juicy, tree-ripened mango, and have all the juices dripping down your chin! LoL. Real shiok! And invariably, organic fruits (without pesticides, fungicides etc) just taste sweeter – the flavors are so much more intense.

Fortunately, this time round, we managed to get quite a big bunch of fruits that were smooth-skinned and blemish free . You see… insects, birds, squirrels and even a parrot or two (yes, wild squirrels and parrots right in the midst of urban Singapore!) just LUUVVE pesticide-free fruits too. So, usually, we end up sharing part of all our fruit crops with them – and more often than not, they are quicker off the draw than we are! Spotting and snaring the ripened fruits before we get to them!

We’ve been trying to find ways to eat up all the mangoes as they become over-ripe very quickly. Hmmm… what recipes are there for ripe mangoes? They’re not really appropriate for Thai mango salads, are they? I think these salads require unripened green mangoes. Perhaps I should try making the Thai glutinous rice and mango dessert, or the Vietnamese broken rice and mango dessert (both fairly similar I think). Have to try and find some recipes for these. Would anyone have a recipe they would like to share?