MINT

The Tame Adventures of an Urban ‘Gardener’

Common name         Mint

Latin name                Mentha spicata

Native names            Daun pudina

Related plants          Peppermint, Spearmint.

After needing to purchase small bundles of herbs from the markets whenever I had a product shoot, it dawned to me (Aahhh… finally, the gray matter is stirring…) that I could plant some of these herbs on my window stills and have fresh, perfect plants to use at any time. Looking for herbs in the markets like mint in mint condition (Oops… pardon the pun) is not easy as the fragile leaves easily get withered or bruised during packing, handling and transportation; damaged sprigs of herbs are so unsuitable for photography purposes. Many times, they were simply not available due to the lack of demand and supply in this quiet corner of the country and they delayed the product shoot.

So for my last purchase of fresh mint I chanced upon in the marketplace, I prepared a small pot with soil partially mixed with sawdust, inserted one of the stems into it and moistened the planting media. The plant was kept in the cool shade for a few weeks to allow it to recover. Once the barren sprig of mint started to wing out small sprouts of leaves, it was a sign that the plant had stabilized and ready to be put outside. I prepared a small wire tray and secured it so that strong winds will not knock it off. A liner made from a discarded food container will collect water to keep the soil moist; I placed it in the wire tray and the pot of mint in it. Now it’s ready to take on the world.

This image was taken against a black background in my studio after it had been placed on the ledge for a few days. Water droplets on the plant make it look even more appealing. This is one of my favorite images and sits on my desktop screen for the month. It looks so cooling and refreshing.

The position of the ledge is in cool shade for the first part of the day and gets a strong bath of sunlight during the latter part of the day. The plant seems to love the few hours of strong light as there is a profuse growth of leaves. However, the plant will slightly wilt during these hours if it has been stressed but it will fully recover in the cool evening.

A weak oil-free nutrition solution made from fish emulsion (water that has been used to clean and wash seafood) is used to water the plant every day where possible. Where given quality compost, the leaves can reach a length of 4-5cm and a width of 3-4cm. Mint has a much better visual appeal than peppermint. The plant releases a very nice, minty perfume when the leaves are brushed against.

A bonus for me is that the small plant has grown quite well and I have a truly organic herb also to garnish my meals and teas. I can also use the whole plant as a interesting background subject. It is not very difficult to grow this herb and I would recommend that every passionate gardener, cook, food lover and photographer should have this herb grown in your garden; as I do not have one in the studio, it certain does well on my window ledge.

Several days later, the healthy growth of the mint plant can be seen in the background of this food shot. This image features the Chinese Fried Red Bean Buns. A Studio Produced Image

Now I have added other herbs such as Indian Dill and Chinese Leeks to the window ledge garden; I am now thinking of adding Sweet Basil as well because my window ledge light conditions are suitable for it.

Asian Desserts

A few of my Asian Sweets

Many Asian pastries and desserts are in their very own special class which sets them apart from many classical European desserts. While many European desserts have a strong identity like cakes and muffins with a key ingredient based either on fruits, nuts, custards, caramels, cream or chocolate, many of our local desserts do not fit into that profile. Key ingredients can be seeds, beans, lentils or or even an ingredient by itself like rice. One such example is the Teochew Rice-Within-Rice Cake.

Fried Red Bean Sesame Puffs.

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A favorite dim sum sweet of Teochew Chinese origins. Best consumed just out from the wok and slightly cooled. The medium thin crust made from glutinous rice flour is crispy with a sweetened red bean paste or mash filling inside. Sometimes, a variation made with mash taro or yam is used instead of the red bean filling. It is fried in hot oil until golden brown. The sesame seeds makes it very aromatic. I could eat this all day long.

 

For the majority of people be it Europeans or Asians; mentioned a dessert such as a Black Forest Cake and the image comes to mind easily. Mention a Blueberry muffin and again, it bridges many cultures easily.

Now mention a 5-spice Fried Cruller (Ham Chee Peng) to a European and chances are, you’ll get a blank stare. Try a different name and call it “Fried Devil” (Yau Chow Kway; fried cake in Oil in Cantonese which also sounds like Fry the Devil) and his confusion is compounded. Recently a well-known American photographer was shown an image of an Indian ‘Murukku’ snack and his reaction was “What the heck is that?!”

Kuih Penyaram or 'Mexican Hats'

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A fried sweet dough made with brown palm sugar of Malay origin. The sticky thick batter is spooned with a well-oiled scoop into a miniature wok filled with hot oil. Leavening agents creates the typical dome in the middle and a skewer is inserted into the dome to fish out the pastry once it is golden brown. A very sweet snack that goes well with Teh Tarik or the local coffee brew.

Fried Plantains or Goreng Pisang Rajah.

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Ripe Plantains or Elephant Tusk Bananas are sliced into thick discs and coated with a batter and deep-fried until golden brown. The crust seals the fruit, prevents steam from escaping and cooks the bananas from within. Very ripe plantains makes for a naturally sweet snack. Very popular for a afternoon snack. Best when eaten hot from the wok. What cares about the diet? Fruit is healthy!

Another culture shock to Europeans and Americans is the usage of chopsticks or fingers to consume desserts. How about another shocker like having a condiment like chili sauces to go with that? Many desserts are also not consumed at the end of a meal but rather as in-between-meal snacks. Typical in-between snacks periods are brunch and late afternoon and of course, the weekends where the diet angel regularly gets banished to the sulk corner and she is welcome back on Mondays.

Bottom line is that Asian desserts are so different in many ways from European desserts and that is a cause to celebrate and eat!

So I would like to start a page(s) to showcase some simple but yummy Asian pastries with the hope that it may create more awareness to the European and American public. This page is on Asian fried or deep fried pastries.

For calories watchers, I’m sorry… this isn’t your page ,;-P

Ham Chee Peng or

5-Spiced Fried Cruller with Honey and Sesame Seeds

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A chewy, aromatic leavened deep-fried bread of Chinese origins with an inside 5-spices coating and rolled up like a Swiss roll, sliced into thick discs and deep-fried. Very popular for breakfast and snacks especially with the Chinese and Asian communities.

Fried Radish Cake

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Made from grated white radishes and flour, it is blended into a dough and steamed. Once cooked, the dough is sliced into manageable pieces and fried until brown and crispy.