Season Two, Fall 2007
The King and I
This week we cook three dishes that celebrate the crossing of cultures in the musical classic The King and I. A British widow goes to the King of Siam's palace as an English teacher and learns as much as she teaches. The recipes this week are classic British dishes spruced up by Thai flavors.
COOKING SHOW
This is our version of Bangers and Mash, a typical British dish of Sausages and Mashed Potatoes. Here we make our "bangers" with ginger, chillies, and scallions, and our mash with some coconut milk. This is a fun way to add flavor to a typical weeknight dinner.
COOKING SHOW
Pies in England are both sweet and savory mixtures, covered with pastry dough. This pie features halibut, or any cold water fish of your fancy, along with coconut milk and some aromatic spices of Thailand including ginger, lemongrass, and basil. Thai basil is not quite like the basil that we have here, but in this case, regular basil still adds a nice touch.
COOKING SHOW
Parkin is a dense ginger cake that originates in Yorkshire, England. We love it because of its dense texture made by using whole wheat and only, which is only slightly sweetened by honey. Traditionally it was made with dried ginger that came to England from the Caribbean, but we use fresh ginger which gives it a stronger flavor.
