A visit to Tita Bebet

Tita Jit (Tita of Jing) from Bangkok is in Manila at the moment.  She cooks really good Thai food, we would even talk long distance on the phone when I need to ask her about a recipe or cooking tips.  We visited Tita Bebet (Mom of Jing) today and brought food.

Curry Crab

Lia's Simple Paella

Tita Jit made her own version of curry crab and I made my Simple Paella (April 17, 2010 post).  The curry crab was like our version of Ginataang Alimango but she used evaporated milk instead of coconut milk with curry and other spices..  I had 2 BIG servings!  A bit embarrassing because they were all done eating and I still wasn't finished.  Sometimes, I don't know if I eat quite slow or I eat a lot.  Hahahaha  But I bet the answer is the latter.

Tita Jit also gave me lime, kaffir lime leaves, galangal and gherkins.  My mind was overwhelmed with ideas on how to use the ingredients.

I couldn't wait anymore for tomorrow, so as soon as I got home, I already made a salad using the lime and the gherkins!  The gherkins are like baby cucumber but crunchier!  Sweeter, even, it was like eating pears, sometimes if you are unlucky, the pears would be so sour.

I added pomelo and tuyo flakes to complement the tartness of the lime dressing with Thai fish sauce, a quarter teaspoon of brown sugar, shallots and chili flakes.

Gherkins and Lime

Galangal

I wonder what I'm going to cook tomorrow with my new ingredients .... Hmmmm... Tom yum soup?  Galangal chicken soup? Cereal prawns with kaffir lime leaves???  The possibilities are endless!