Allegheny Almanac

Spicy Chicken a sure cure for rainy day

by Lee Rahman

 

RAINY DAYS ARE HAPPY DAYS.

Rainy days back in Malaysia were happy days for me and my two brothers for as long as I can remember. Those were the days when our Mom knew what dish to fix for us boys to warm us up from the inside out while listening to our silly conversations that she could never understand. Having no sisters, we were allowed to be as goofy as we could be. My older brother, Zali, and I loved telling ghost stories to our younger brother, Zul, during those rainy days. Zul loved listening to our stories but hated having to go to the bathroom alone after that. So, to see him eating Mom's spicy food and avoiding drinking water so that he would not have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night was simply priceless!

Now that I am here and my two brothers are still there, the one thing that continues to keep us boys together in spirit is our Mom's home cooking. Here is one of my Mom's favorite recipes:



GULAI AYAM REBUNG     goo lie a(r) yum ru(r) bong
(Spicy chicken curry with bamboo shoots)

Ingredients:
2 pieces of chicken breasts, diced.
1 small can of bamboo shoots (available at the Asian aisle)
3 tablespoons of chili paste (available at the Asian aisle)
1 medium yellow onion, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1/3 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1/2 can of coconut milk, diluted with 1.5 can of water
1 teaspoon of sliced lemon grass (available at the Asian aisle)
A pinch of sugar
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (not olive oil)

Method:
Heat oil in a deep pot with your oven fan on over medium fire. Saute in the onion, garlic, chili paste and turmeric until onion is tender but not burnt. Add in the chicken, mix well and let cook over lower the fire for 2 minutes. Stir occasionally to allow the chicken to absorb the aphrodisiac ingredients..."Yeah, baby!"

Add in the bamboo shoots, the lemon grass and the diluted coconut milk and mix well. Add in the salt. If you are a beginner cook, start with 1 teaspoon of salt first and only add half a teaspoon more towards the end upon tasting. Let simmer over medium fire with the lid off.

Caution! If you put the lid on while the mixture is simmering, your pot will convulse as if there were no tomorrow!

Once the chicken is cooked (white inside and tender), add in the sugar (optional). If the sauce is watery, add in a teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of tap water. If the sauce is too thick, add water and mix well. Let simmer for another 5 minutes over low fire and then turn off the heat.

"If you are not a fan of bamboo shoots, use peeled and sliced medium ripe mango instead."

 

Writer, Lee Rahman, is a self trained cook of ethnic Malay food and an enthusiast of international cultures and cuisines. He is currently a Warren, Pennsylvania resident.

 

Copyright 2010 Lee Rahman. All rights reserved.

Art family Davis

Through Saturday, December 26 at the Warren Public Library, 205 Market Street, Warren, PA (2nd Floor Wetmore Gallery) Images Copyright by the Davis Family.

Sometimes just walking through Warren can be a treat. You never know what you might stumble upon. I accidentally wandered into the fabulous architecture of the Wetmore Gallery that overlooks the main reading room at the WPL yesterday and found a family that paints, right here in Warren.

Mark Davis (Self Portrait in oil, top image) and Karen Davis (Breakfast in the Sun Room in oil, next painting) are retired educators who are married. Their two children, Elissa Davis (Audubon Society in acrylic, third from top) and Chris Davis (The Post in oil and pen on paper, last image) also paint.
The family theme seems to fit well to this time of year. Holidays are about family aren't they?

If you are reading this today, Christmas Eve, then you only have one more chance to see these and about 30 others by The Art Family Davis, on Saturday, Dec. 26. The library is open on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It's closed tomorrow, merry Christmas.

Hopefully people will complain that they didn't get a chance to see these in person and the Davises will have another show soon, or even a reprise at the library. Or how about a holdover? Such a great place to exhibit.

Hey, I don't know anything about art, but the self portrait at top is reminiscent of Grant Wood. The second image, the still life, summons up a genuine zen quality. I wish I could afford to buy it. It's got "decor" all over it. The Audubon Society (yes, it's the one in Jamestown) reminds me of Richard Estes (Elissa Davis also has some great photography in the show).

 The last image, The Post, struck me as the most unusual. Like Edward Hopper's stark visions, there appears to be a story here, perhaps a very long one. The photo of it doesn't do it justice, so drop what you are doing and go look at it.

 You won't find anything else like these around. Comparisons are easy to make by fools like me, but none of this work by the Davises is derivative. It all looks like the real thing. Honest.


-- Chris Lareau