Feasting on Art

I first tried out this corn recipe on my Thanksgiving menu this year. The spicy corn, brightened with a squirt of lime, proved to be the perfect foil to the buttery and rich dishes I tend to make. I adapted the recipe from the food blog Orangette which recommends eating with cheddar and toast, which I did and thoroughly enjoyed. For me, the dish recalled happy memories of summers in England where I would purchase corn cobs on a stick and eat them on green and white chairs hired in London parks. The corn was sweet and the butter would drip down my chin. The sweetness of the corn is enhanced by carmelising the kernels in the pan and the chili with the lime makes for not only a wonderful side dish, but a really interesting relish to top a grilled hot dog or as a salsa in a taco. The corn will keep for up to a week in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Charles Ethan Porter, Still Life with Corn, 1885
watercolour on paper, 25.5 x 43cm, Private collection

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From fried oysters to cendol, I consumed a number of delectables while travelling in Malaysia in late October. Our restaurants ranged from street food in Penang to a private beach BBQ on Redang Island. Malaysian food is an exciting blend of Indian, Chinese and Malay cuisines with regional curries and fried noodle courses. I tried a number of new dishes including sea cucumber and overly indulged a few old favorites, especially roti canai. One of the stand-out meals was in Penang at a small Indian restaurant consisting of a few varieties of murtabak (pictured below on the left) along with a table full of curries. Paired with the murtabak was a small bowl of thinly sliced, pickled red onion that brightened the dish and gave it a punch of flavour. This dish can be found in hawker markets around the city, mingling with an assortment of goods from beautiful batik prints to every tropical fruit imaginable.

Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi, façade stone carving (detail right), c.1906
Cannon Street, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia

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