Salty and Sweet

I've never been much of a fan of sweet and savory in the same dish. I have to admit though that this trip to South Asia is really developing that range of my palate. Yesterday, I had a tasty red curry with roasted duck (which I made in a Thai cooking class in Chiang Mai). In the curry was pieces of roast duck, small edamame sized eggplants (they were bitter), little globe eggplant, GRAPES and PINEAPPLE chunks.

The red curry in general is a little sweeter than I'm used to...but it was tasty, AND SPICY! Somehow the unexpected sweetness of the grapes and the pineapples, which I didn't cook very long added a nice coolness to the dish. Every time I thought the my tongue was about to catch on fire, I would take a bite with a grape or a piece of pineapple in it and it would cool it right off. It was surprisingly delicious.

I've also (gasp) developed a taste for dark meat and duck. Most of you know that I like white meat - turkey, chicken, fish...I'm a light meat kind of girl. I never used to like game or wild fowl. Somehow in the past few months (okay, that wood pigeon confit really had a lot to do with it) I've developed a liking for duck in certain dishes. Peking duck will still never really be a favorite, but I can see the appeal of a nicely roasted duck. (Yes - Shawn, you're right...I just had to have some good duck to truly appreciate it.) I also had a really nice duck and noodle dish on the Thai Airways flight from Vietnam to Bangkok of all places. The boneless duck was served in a 5 seasoning spiced gravy next to some chinese egg noodles (lightly stir fried in garlic and oil) with a side of stir fried mushrooms, carrots and bok choy. I was really pleasantly surprised at the flavor - I really enjoyed the dish (in my cramped little seat on the airplane).

Part of being a successful chef relies on having a good palate - my palate is certainly expanding as I have been traveling in South Asia. Let's see how I do in culinary school. =) Stay tuned! I start on the 15th of January...dunno when the wine classes will start. The were originally scheduled for the 29th of January, but they were postponed temporarily. We'll see when I get stateside when it's been rescheduled for.

p.s. I LOVE having my iPod with me as I've been traveling. I just caught the second season of Top Chef. I don't remember hearing good reviews about Season 2, but I really enjoyed it. I'm surprised at how well the girl from Vegas did. Looks like SF, LA, NYC and Vegas are the top 4 foodie cities. What a surprise! (NOT) Anyways - what WAS a surprise was how limited their palates were. I mean, several chefs really specialized in certain areas, which caused some difficulties during the challenges. Since I will soon be embarking on my culinary school adventure, I found it very interesting. Can't wait to download Season 3!