An old friend of mine is visiting from the East. Last night I made us a ( delicious) shrimp and veggie dish with white wine, and when I tasted it it lacked zing, somehow. As this particular pal does not do spicy foods, I was momentarily flummoxed as to the zing element required.
She asked me--"Well, back in the Belgian years, before chiles, what did you use? Thyme? Basil?"
Hmmm...
Meanwhile, I was rummaging. No fresh ginger in the house. Zut, alors!
In the end, a dash of soy sauce provided the zing I was looking for, but I was indeed wondering if I had spent umpteen years unaware of the joys ( zing effects) of the American hot pepper. Basil is my next favorite, but it is not zingish.
Ah well--This morning, as I was cooking up potato cakes for breakfast, I carefully avoided anything but black pepper and salt on my guest's fodder. My own cakes were well spiced with a cayenne blend my local store stocks.
Zing!
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Posted by: acai berry | December 07, 2009 at 01:47 AM
John--excellent!
Kathy F---"Older" though I may be, hmmm, it's a compelling question---I will explore my taste bud situation in depth and report back. I think I just plain LIKE zing, but I also love the mellow smooth flavours of miso soup, for example...
Posted by: Foodie | March 02, 2009 at 11:54 AM
It could be that as you get older, you lose your tastebuds, thus need more "zing".
Posted by: KathyF | March 02, 2009 at 12:57 AM
I've been meaning to tell you... We've finally been using a couple of those green chile spice blend/rubs you gave us long ago. The names elude me, but one is GREAT on porkchops and another is my new favorite addition to popcorn (along with the traditional salt & olive oil).
Posted by: John | February 28, 2009 at 12:03 PM
Cute, Rose--speaking of ingredients, but not food-just now I was hovering over 2 different chap sticks offered by the same maker, both 2 for 99 cents. I chose the one that had about 3 ingredients, as compared to the one with a list that wrapped around the entire "stick."
Posted by: Foodie | February 27, 2009 at 03:10 PM
In my very early Belgian days I was bereft because I could not get "chili con carne " spice I had regularily bought and used in the US, when living there. Everyone had to bring it from the States for me, and woe when it was finished and no new supply available.
I think it took me a long while to realize that I did not need the melange in the little jars, I could actually make it from scratch. All I did ( this was before the internet days ) was to read off the ingredients listed on the little bottle. Eureka!!!!!
Why am I saying this??? Err, your mention of Belgium and spices reminded me. And my ignorance.
Posted by: Rose | February 27, 2009 at 02:07 PM