Fried Chili Eggs (Sambal Goreng Telur) are a delicious introduction to Indonsian cuisine as they entail many ingredients used in Indonesia and are savory, spicy, a little sour with a touch of sweetness. They are easy to prepare and absolutely delicious over rice.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 3 teaspoons sambal olek or chili powder (sambal olek (or ulek) is available in most grocery stores in the Asian section)
• 1/2 teaspoon roasted shrimp paste (aka trasi)*
• 1/2 teaspoon laos powder*
• 3 kemiri or Brazil kernels, finely grated*
• 2 teaspoons palm sugar or substitute*
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• lemon juice to taste

* These ingredients are available at 99 Ranch Market and other Asian grocery stores.

Preparation:

1. Hard boil the eggs, stirring them gently for the first 3 or 4 minutes of cooking so that the yolks are centered.
2. Heat oil and fry onion and garlic until onion is soft and golden.
3. Add trasi, sambal olek, laos powder and grated nuts and fry for a few seconds, crushing the trasi with the spoon.
4. Add salt, sugar, coconut milk and lemon juice and simmer gently, stirring constantly, until thick and oily in appearance.
5. Add the shelled and halved eggs, spooning the sauce over them.

Serve with rice either hot or at room temperature.

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds of chicken; cut into 1-inch cubes (may substitute lamb or shrimp)
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon mustard oil; for marinade
• 5 cloves garlic; minced
• 1 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• Fresh red chilies; julienned
• 1 cup green peas
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup green onions; sliced
• 4 tablespoon (1/4 cup) mustard oil (for cooking)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

• In a large bowl combine chicken, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, one tablespoon of mustard oil, cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper. Toss well to coat thoroughly.
• Marinate chicken for two at least two hours.
• In a non-stick pan warm 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of mustard oil over medium-high heat. Saute fenugreek seeds in the oil until they turn dark. Add cloves and saute for an additional 15 seconds.
• Transfer the coated chicken to the pan, stir well, and brown over medium-high heat.
• Add garlic, ginger and red chilies to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Stir-fry chicken until cooked through. Add water to moisten, if necessary.
• Add green peas, green onions, and cinnamon, and stir for two minutes.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Drain off any excess oil. Serve with stir-fried vegetables and rice or Roti.

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First, a little background on Yucatecan food.

Yucatecan cuisine, derived from traditionally Mayan fare, differs somewhat from what most people consider to be Mexican food. While some of the ingredients are common to other parts of Mexico, Yucatan cooking makes heavy use of turkey, venison, sour oranges (used in many dishes), and a predominance of frijoles negro, (black beans) refried or whole, pickled onions, annatto spice and the slightly toxic and utterly unique epazote leaves.

Corn, corn tortillas, hot chillies (incendiary habanero and the milder Jalapeno and other peppers), coriander (leaves and seeds), tomatoes, avocado are used as they are elsewhere in Mexico. Chicken, Beef, pork, capers, olives, rice, black pepper, plantains and vinegar are perhaps post-Columbian colonial imports.

Signature Yucatecan dishes include:

Panuchos: a tostada made with corn tortillas stuffed with refried black beans topped with shredded white meat chicken or turkey that has been marinated in annatto spiced sour orange juice. Other toppings include sliced avocado, sour-orange pickled onions, tomatoes, and jalapeno peppers.

Salbutes: a tostada made with shredded chicken or turkey, lettuce, pickled onions, tomatoes, avocado and jalapeno pepper slices.
Papadzules: Rolled corn tortillas with eggs and covered in pumpkin and tomato sauces. Oddly enough considering the rather common ingredients, somewhat of an acquired taste.

Cochinita Pibil: A marinated (in sour-orange and annatto) pork dish that is cooked in banana leaves, most authentically in a pit.

Poc Chuc: Pork marinated in sour-orange juice and garlic and grilled over charcoal. Typically served with tomato and white onion salsa, roasted onion and fresh salsa.
Pavo en Relleno Negro: Turkey in black bean stuffing and sauce. A rather complex list of ingredients go into this dish including "black condiment", epazote, tomatoes, white onions. The stuffing includes pork, beef, onion, sweet green peppers, hard boiled eggs, black condiment and epazote leaves.
And . . .
Soupa de Lima ("Lime Soup"): can be prepared in the following manner:
(serves 8 and can be used as a light meal).

Ingredients:

• 1 pound shredded turkey or chicken breast (sometimes more, sometimes less)
• 1 head of garlic
• Pinch of oregano
• 1 Sprig of fresh coriander
• 1 pound white onions
• 14 oz green sweet pepper
• 7 onces of tomatoes
• Oil (corn or canola if you are health-conscious)
• 6 fresh limes
• 2 quarts of chicken broth. (or water with a couple of bullion cubes)
• A cup of tortilla chips (not Fritos!). (note: the more authentic way is to take four corn tortillas, cut then into 1 inch strips and fry them in oil)

Preparation:

1. Cook the chicken along with garlic, oregano, coriander and salt in two quarts of water. When the chicken is cooked, remove the chicken from the broth and shred it with a fork or your fingers (by pinching off pieces with your fingers).
2. Strain broth and set aside.
3. Chop onions, pepper and tomatoes and sauté in a small amount of oil over a low heat until the onions are translucent.
4. Add all of the ingredients above, plus the juice of four limes (more or less to taste) to a pot and cook for 10 minutes.

Serve in soup bowls over a sparse layer of tortilla chips and garnish the top of the soup with a couple of thin round slices of lime.

Feel free to experiment with ingredient proportions as in our experience, while the basic ingredients were similar in the several places we visited, proportions, savory-ness, relative abundance of broth vs. chicken varied quite a bit. If any of our vegetarian readers wishes to attempt a meatless version of this dish, we would be delighted to append it to this article!

Enjoy!

Cultural Notes: One unique dining experience in the Yucatan is to find restaurants or cantinas that offer botanas meals. Such establishments offer numerous free tapas-sized plates of many of the dishes mentioned here (and many more not mentioned) if you buy a beer, cocktail or some alcoholic beverage, however, one might even get by in some places with just an ice-tea or a soft drink. The amount of food served can be quite substantial, more than a meal.

Many Yucatecan eateries also offer live music ranging from Mariachi bands, pop bands to exquisitely beautiful romantic serenades that feature great vocal harmonies and outstanding guitar work. The capital city of the Yucatan, Merida closes down between 11am to 4pm, just about the only places that remain open are tourist shops, museums, restaurants and cafes. As the midday sun can be quite oppressive, it is perhaps entirely wise to do as the locals do, take a nap or enjoy a long relaxed lunch.

Presently, the US dollar is so weak that eating in restaurants can quite often be more expensive that a similar type meal in the U.S. Exceptions are botanas eateries, cocina ecomonica or the stalls that sell salbutes, panuchos and poc chuc or pulled-pork sandwiches (tortas) in the large outdoor and indoor markets. There can easily be a 10 to 1 price difference between food served in more mainstream restaurants and essentially the same (and in our experience sometimes better tasting) food found in the more humble and atmospheric market stalls.

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Paella is a Spanish rice dish that contains a mixture of ingredients which depending on the recipe might contain meat, seafood and vegetables. The most important ingredient in paella (other the rice and olive oil) is saffron, the world's most expensive spice which is also used in Middle-eastern and Indian cooking. Paella is traditionally cooked in a wide flat-bottomed steel pan over an open flame. A wood fire is most authentic, but a wide propane burner works well too.

Paella is thought to have originated in Albufera region in Valencia Spain and may date back to Moorish times. Unlike the paella found in most restaurants around the world, paella from Valencia typically does not include seafood. Below are two recipes, one a traditional Valencian version and the other is a more widely known seafood version. Paella is very adaptable and many different sorts of meats, seafood and vegetables can be used, one can even make completely vegetarian paella. Be creative! It is a dish that if favored for spring or summer picnics in Spain. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 leveled cups bomba or calasparra rice (short to medium-grain white rice)
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 3/4 cup olive oil (Spanish is best)
• 1 pound chicken - cut into small pieces
• 1 pound rabbit - cut into small pieces (or double chicken)
• 1 cup diced tomato
• 3/4 pound green flat beans - stem ends cut off, and cut into 1.5 inch pieces
• 1/2 pound shelled tavella beans - shelled.
• 1/2 pound garrofó beans - similar to flat whitebutter beans
• ½ teaspoon saffron
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• Salt

Preparation:

1. Heat the olive oil in a paella pan and brown the chicken and rabbit pieces until they become golden.
2. Add the green beans, the garrofó and the tavella beans, and stir all ingredients. Sofry or caramelize-fry for 5 minutes.
3. Add the grated tomato and cook at least 5 minutes.
4. Add the bomba rice and stir briefly. Distribute the rice uniformly over the paella pan bottom. At this point the fire should be at its strongest or the heat source high.
5. Immediately add the sweet paprika and the saffron. Add the boiling chicken broth and salt to taste. From now on, you shouldn't stir the paella any more. Cook for 16-18 minutes.
6. Remove pan from heat, let it rest 5 minutes and then enjoy!

Seafood Paella

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup olive oil
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 cups bomba or calasparra rice
• 1.5 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 2 chorizo sausages, cooked and cut into chunks
• 10 mussels (scrubbed)
• 10 clams (scrubbed)
• ½ lb squid rings
• 1 lb uncooked medium large shrimp in their shells
• ½ lb frozen peas
• 1 large onion chopped
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 cup medium diced tomatoes
• 2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into thin strips
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed saffron threads
• 1 tablespoon capers
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Lemon wedges and parsley, to garnish

Preparation:

1. In a small saucepan, bring the broth to a boil and stir in the saffron. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for one minute.
2. In the paella pan add olive oil and lightly brown chicken and chorizo pieces.
3. Add onion, garlic and bell pepper and cook until just softened, about 3 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes and spices.
5. Stir in the rice, add the wine and the simmering broth.
6. Bring to a boil
7. Scatter the chorizo, shrimp, clams, mussels and squid on the rice, cover and cook until the rice is tender and the seafood is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
8. Add peas and capers during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
9. Discard any shellfish that does not open.
10. Remove the paella from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes.
11. Garnish with the lemon wedges and parsley.

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