Sam's Jambalay from a dream - in memory of Anthony Bourdain

One time I had found a great chorizo from my closest shopping mall (Ravattulan Citymarket in Turku). When I started to imagine, how to make something from it, I started to remember a vision, where this chorizo was in a tomato stew. I started to wonder, had I seen it in a dream, or was it in some Anthony Bourdain's series (like The Layover or Parts Unknown). I thought that it was a recent dream, that I had. But I have watched quite many of Anthony's series and they have influenced my way of cooking - "in a good way, I hope" - can you hear, how Anthony pronounces that? ;-) ].
Then I made this stew (first version was with sliced beet root cubes and corn from a can, instead of a summer squash and mushrooms). My wife and me, both enjoyed it and I have made it several times since. Not ever has it failed me so far. ;-)
After couple of times doing it, I got a thought, that I need to check if this is Jambalaya and started to check those Anthony's series, if I can find it from them, but no, I did not. So if someone knows, that this recipe is similar to any recipe in Anthony's series, then let me know. But until then, I still stick with my memory, that I saw this in a dream.

Because of Anthony's recent passing, I am publishing this recipe to my blog and hope it does honor to this great host, whom I miss a lot.

Ingredients:
Sri Lankan Chili
Cheese cumin
White pepper (very little)
Sichuan pepper (quite much)
Black pepper (a lot)
Premium Chorizo
Chantarelle mushrooms ("kantarelli" in Finnish)
Fresh chili
Summer squash
Waffle potatoes

Steps:
1.  Slice pepper (preferably red) ("Paprika" in finnish), slice chilies, slice summer squash
2. Peel and slice Chorizo (premium quality)
3. Take two pans (common and sauce pan ("kasari" in finnish), use sauce pan for final stew and common pan to fry food)
4. Put extra virgin oil to both pans and put them on stove
5. Heat the common pan and put the sweet pepper there,
6. Put spices to sauce pan and start heating them (always keep lid on the sauce pan)
7. Fry sweet pepper so that their colour changes (to a bit orange) and they are ready
8. Put sweet pepper slices to sauce pan (remember to put the lid on)
9. Fry mushrooms in common pan (just a bit) and put them to sauce pan (remember to put the lid on)
10. Fry summer squash slices and add them to the sauce pan, when they are ready (remember to put the lid on)
11. Mix everything in sauce pan and put the lid on
12. The main ingredient is the Chorizo, fry the chorizo slices a bit from both sides in the common pan
13. When chorizo slices have a bit of colour change (but no black), they are ready to be put to sauce pan - so do it!
14.  Add two packages of tomato sauce into the sauce pan and mix well
15. This is a special version: melted some superior Finnish blue cheese ("aurajuusto" in finnish) and added it to the sauce pan (half package)
16. Then boil the stew very well for a little while and then lower the heat
17. After that, add the chili slices (I used Manzano Orange and I have used Manzano Red and several other chilies, most of them have been 7+ in heat level)
18. Add more black pepper and mix well again
19. Let the sauce pan simmer for a 20 minutes
20. Put the waffle potatoes into the oven and heat them for 15 to 20 minutes (or as long as your potatoes require :-) )
21. When potatoes are ready, put them into a soup bowls (deep plates) and then serve the stew on top of them

Variations:
- Original one, use beet root cubes and corn, instead of a summer squash and mushroom (in steps 1, 9 and 10)
- Use chipotle sauce instead of fresh chili (this will make it very spicy) (in step 17)
- Fry slices of beef and put them into the stew (in step 18) (this is actually my most common version of this)

In memory of great food show host and storyteller, Anthony Bourdain.

HCMC-20180406: Driving a scooter in Vietnam

Driving a scooter here is not that hard, as it sounds. And it is very rewarding.
Of course it depends on, where you drive. And it also depends in your attitude.

I have done now couple trips on my own, with the scooter. I can also go and come back from Hoi An city, when ever I want to. This is a freedom to the vacation. If I would always need a taxi or I would use hotel's shuttle bus, I would be more bind to those. And I do see more. On my way to Hai Van Pass, I was able to stop all the nice places and scenery besides the road, on my way to the height of clouds.

I have not driven in Ho Chi Minh City or in Hanoi, but I have driven in Da Nang, on the beach and serpent roads and a bit at sand roads too (don't tell the renting family!).
Yesterday I did a trip to Hai Van Pass, from Hoi An. That made over 130 km (a bit of wondering, because I wanted to visit the Buddhist temple, which made something like 15 - 25 km side step.

Traffic in beach roads is quite easy and the traffic circles and crossroads are not that hard to handle. Well turning left can sometimes be a bit hazard, but using your turning signal helps (if it keeps beeping, even better ;).

Driving in cities is a totally another thing. The crowds of 30 to 40 scooters around you, slowing the speed to crawling speed (which did get a bit hard for me to keep the old two wheeler up, it might now be easier with new Honda Vision, that I am driving now) before the traffic lights. Knowing who will go to which direction and so on, should get your daily adrenaline dose, if you are looking for it. I know I would get used to it, if I would do it daily, but it's like 4 years ago, when I have been driving a scooter last time (it was at Greece with Riku).

I do drive fast also, but only on main roads and during day time. At night time I drive much slower. Not that roads would be so much safer on the day time, but I can react much better on day time. In the night time it's harder to see all cats, cows and crazy people running to the streets. And there are people driving without lights during night time.

Mutual respect is the key. Don't think you own the road - you won't - but road may own you.

I did see a situation, where the road from Cam An to Hoi An was partly blocked by road makers. Then a bus started to pass the whole line and when it couldn't pass anymore, it tried to come back to the line, which was already totally full and the line didn't move at all. So bus tried to make room for opposite traffic to pass the big bus and then hit a personal car so that it had a several damage. What the heck was the bus driver thinking? He could make it faster by bus, than people with scooters and cars do?

Dangers:

1. Passing buses (had several situations, where they are passing a car and driving on opposite lane, causing a lot of dangerous situations)
2. City traffic (slowing traffic to the lights and 30 to 40 scooters around you)
3. People backing their cars or scooters from parks or sideways to the road (or in worst case, backing in to the lights in a crossing)
4. People driving the wrong way (coming straight at you)
5. Animals (cats, dogs, cows, crab (not really dangerous, but they crawl surprisingly fast :))

HCMC-20180406: A perfect day

Laitappa taustalle soimaan Lou Reedin Perfect Day.

9.4.2018 - A perfect day

Heräät aamulla vaimon vierestä bungalowissa, mukavasti nukkuneena ja katsot ulos tähän maisemaan.
Otatte chillisti aamun kuviot ja talssitte kymmenisen metriä, uima-altaan ohi, ihanalle aamupalalle. Siellä nautitte kevyen lämpimästä aamusta, syöden omeletin, leipää, pannukakkuja, hedelmiä ja hieman myös vihreitäkin (doctor's orders).

Sopivasti lisää virtaa ahtaneena, suunnittelette päivän ohjelmaa ja päätätte ottaa hotellin spa-osastolla hieronnan. Suihkun kautta rannalle sijaitsevaan mökkiin. Siellä nautitaan tunnin hieronta. Nyt kun on pää ihan tokkurassa, loistavan hieronnan jälkeen, tulee hieman järjestää päätä rentouttavalla uinnilla. Otatte uimakamppeet ja tallustatte 5 metriä bungalowista altaalle. Siellä mukavaa uiskentelua altaassa ja lököttelyä aurinkotuolissa lähes tajuttomuuteen asti. Jottei nyt heti alkulomasta tule auringonpolttamia, pitää kuitenkin hieman varoa ja mennä sopivan köllöttelyn jälkeen bungalowiin sammumaan. Kunnon tehokkaat päikkärit, oman kullan kanssa, ilmastoidussa makkarissa - vieläpä päivän kuumimpaan aikaan, on kyllä paikallaan.

Päikkärien jälkeen on aika valua lounaalle. Kävellen hiekkatietä kohti ravintoloita, samalla shoppaamalla postikortit ja ihmetellen erillaisia ruokavaihtoehtoja. Lounaalta tallustellen takaisin hotellille ja kirjoittamaan kortteja.

Keskustelua respan kanssa, mitä tulevina päivinä voitaisiin tehdä. Päätettiin buukata taxi pohjoiseen seuraavaksi päiväksi ja snorkkelireissu pohjoiseen päin sitä seuraavalle päivälle.

Myöhemmin illalla katsotaan TripAdvisorin "ennusteet" päivällisestä. Katsottiin paikkaa So True, joten lähdettiin kävelemään hiekkatietä uudestaan ja löydettiinkin paikka helposti. Tämä helmi tarjosi aivan upean päivällisen ja varsinkin "eggplant in claypot" oli fantastinen.
Mahtavan päivällisen jälkeen takaisin hotellille ja vähän Asian Food Channelin tuijottamisen jälkeen onkin taju jo lähdössä.

Sitten nukkumaan, kauniin vaimon viereen ja unelmoimaan mitä huominen tuo tullessaan.

HCMC-20180406: Second day

Sunday in Ho Chi Minh City and flight to Phu Quoc

This has been a fantastic day, even as it is only two o'clock so far.
We checked out from hotel, after a wonderful breakfast.

Concierge showed the Saigon Center shopping mall, ben thanh market and couple other locations on map. We strolled there and enjoyed this wonderful, but sweating weather. We almost made some negotiations at ben thanh market, but were mostly checking the offerings. Fish heads and pig brains in metal bowls always give a little shivering. :-)

We had a poshy moment in Runam Boutique for a tea moment with sweets. Sweetened ginger chip was quite a bite.
For a lunch we checked TripAdvisor's number 1 restaurant if Ho Chi Minh City - Poke Saigon. Certainly wasn't easy to find. A "secret", dark corridor and then stairs to the third floor. Small place, but so awesome! Lunch costed 340 000 dongs (about 13,5 €) for two with a coconut for a drink (and I took an extra scoop of fish for 30 000 dong).

It is so nice to walk here and just enjoy and relax.

Now we will go to hotel and then start a flight to Phu Quoc with Vietnam Airlines.

HCMC-20180406

Viet Nam - Ho Chi Minh City & Phu Quoc 6.4.2018

Reissua pukkaa! Ai että tätä on odotettu!!!! 2 vuoteen ei olla oltu missään kauempana ja lomat on lusittu kotinurkissa tai saaristossa.

Reissusuunnitelmaa

1. Lennetään HCMC:n ja vietetään siellä yksi yö ja osittaiset päivät 7.4 - 8.4.
2. Siitä Lennetään sisäisillä lennoilla Phu Quocin paratiisiin
3. Vietetään siellä vajaa viikko yhteistä lomailua, suunnitelmassa mm.
1. Snorklausta
2. Kalastetaan yöllä mustekaloja
3. Käydään tutustumassa vanhaan kalastajakylään
4. Kokkauskurssia
5. Hierontaa (joka toinen ilta :)
6. Vene ja rantareissuja etelän puoleisille saarille
7. Hotellina: Phu Quoc Eco Beach Resort
4. Palataan takaisin HCMC:n ja vietetään siellä yksi yö, kunnes vaimo joutuu palaamaan kotiin
5. Jään vielä yhdeksi yöksi HCMC:n, kunnes jatkan matkaa tuntemattomaan...
6. Seuraava viikko on vielä paljolti auki, mutta tällaista luolastoa olisi näillä näkymin tarjolla
1. Siispä tarjolla on 2 päivää ja 1 yötä viidakossa
2. Maksaa about saman kuin meidän sisäiset lennot, joten ei siitä kovin halpaa tuohon kestoon nähden tule... joten ans kattoo ny mihin luolaan tässä päätyy roikkumaan! ;)