Name: Nan (Julia) Zhu
Class Year: 2014
Country of Residence: Hong Kong SAR, China
Tag Archives: Pork
Pork in Sweet Soy Sauce (Be Celeng Base Manis)
Name: Silvia Maulini*
Class Year: 1980
Country of Residence: The Netherlands
* Silvia is one of this competition’s judges, so this recipe will not be considered – it’s simply delicious, and needs to be shared!
Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory?
For the past decade I have been spending a month a year on the wonderful island of Bali, in Indonesia. Local food is absolutely amazing and after following a few cooking classes there and buying several cookbooks I started experimenting at home. The house smells wonderful when I cook Indonesian and I feel I am back in Bali, at least for a few hours. This recipe is easy and very satisfying. I tasted this stew for the first time at “Bumbu Bali”, a fantastic restaurant owned by Swiss chef Heinz van Holzen, who has been living on the island for four decades and who is considered a master of Balinese cuisine.
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Bulgarian Meatballs
Name: Vennie Muenzen
Class Year: 2010
Country of Residence: USA
Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory?
Growing up in Bulgaria, I eagerly anticipated summers in the countryside with my grandparents once the school year was over. I loved helping my grandma in the garden and enjoyed learning about the herbs and spices we grew and the bees we kept. My grandpa had eclectic interests and experience. A war veteran who worked as wholesaler of textiles, he also took pride in his beehives, garden, orchard, and vineyard. He was knowledgeable about plants and shared with me his books. Our Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, published in 1949, was one of my favorite books.
Pork-and-Paprika Stew (Leskovaccka Muchkalica)
Name: Anita Pion Selec
Class Year: 1988
Country of Residence: Bosnia Herzegovina
Why is this recipe great? What’s its backstory?
This is the Serbian answer to the French comfort stew of ratouille. Like most Serbian dishes, the focus is MEAT, specifically pork. This is the ultimate fall comfort food, traditionally eaten in the late summer or fall when peppers are in season. Thanks to the modern food supply chain, I love it in the winter. The prep requires some time, but don’t cut out the steps, esp. cutting the onion into thin rings, somehow this makes it work better than just dicing an onion and throwing the pieces in. This is a specialty from the Serbian town of Leskovac. You can eat this dish anywhere, from fine restaurants to truck stops. (The name of the dish is pronounced MOOCH-kah-leet-sa.)
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