So it is getting into mid-semester, where my university workload is starting to increase as well as it's severity. But before I become completely unhinged and set myself on fire due to stress, I decided that during mid-semester break I would take 2 weeks off for a little holiday. Then I could come back recharged and tackle all my exams with renewed vigour.
Chadstone and Gustopher had been in discussions to take a trip over the Timor Sea to the archipelago nation of Indonesia, and whilst drinking with them one night I decided that I wanted to come with. Now I haven't got a real desire to visit much of South East Asia, I'm more of a Western culture kind of tourist. (In fact one of places I didn't see when I visited Europe but am DYING to is Prague! Renowned for it's stunning architecture, beautiful landscapes, and of course refreshing beer!) Gus had been to Bali a few times and Chad to Thailand, and they sold me on the relaxing and the drinking whilst relaxing. Not to mention that with the meager spending money I had we could get our own private villas with all the mod cons that one would need.
To top this off, all throughout high school I took Indonesian, though on further reflection I'm not entirely sure why I stuck with it. Thanks to my superior intellect and advanced memory skills (I'm totes modest I know!) I was always really good at languages, and always got high marks in Indonesian. Having said this, it had been 8 years since I had used any, so I was a little skeptical if any useful words had been retained. Of course I still remembered some important phrases like: "Wah! Terlalu mahal untuk anda!" (Wow! That's too expensive for you!) and "Mencuci pakaian sekarang!" (Wash my clothes now!) These would certainly come in handy, no?
And I felt it would be remiss of me not to use any remaining language skills and knowledge about Indonesian culture that I could. I did have a stipulation though that we travel across to Java for a hike up a dormant volcano and for some jungle time, but also to get away from the normal tourist traps. Southern Bali could be mistaken as a part of Australia, what with all the bogan Australians that visit. Thankfully Gus and Chad gladly accepted my conditions.
We got together to plan and book the trip, and needed some dinner. Since it was in the middle of winter, I decided to make some sort of roast. And after viewing the interesting national dish of the Czech Republic, I knew this roast pork would be a winner. Vepřo - Knedlo - Zelo is roast pork and yeast dumplings with sauerkraut. There is many variations in recipes, but they all contain similar ingredients. Also they possess simple processes, which make it quick and easy to make for a delicious hearty family dinner. So that clinched it, the trip is booked, and the boys are off to Indonesia in a few weeks!
Enjoy, or as they say in the Czech Republic, Dobrou chuť!
To make this 3 piece national dish, follow here: http://www.my-prague-sights.com/czech-recipes.html
Difficulty: 3
Appearance: 4
Taste: 4
TOTAL: 11
Note: Difficulty is scaled in reverse to the other categories, where 1 = was extremely difficult to make, and 5 = was easy to make.
Note: Difficulty is scaled in reverse to the other categories, where 1 = was extremely difficult to make, and 5 = was easy to make.
This recipe was broken up into three pieces, none of which were that difficult to complete. Although the dumplings were the most time consuming and fiddly. And I'm not a big fan of dishes that force me to use dry yeast, cause that thing smells no good! The marinade was simple to mix together, and coating the pork and slapping it in the oven was a piece of cake (or roast!) If I had more time I would have made sauerkraut from scratch, but I didn't, so it too was an easy concoction.
Each individual element didn't look all that appetising (except the roast pork of course), but when thrown together (or should I say plated elegantly) it looks like a veritable feast! The sauerkraut with it's enticing vinegar aroma that mixes intoxicatingly with the bacon. The pork looked succulent, but their big draw card was their aroma. The caraway seeds marinade gave off a waft that was all kinds of amazing. And the dumplings.....well they looked white and much like piles of dough.
And delicious it was! I drizzled over the top some gravy made from the pan juices and that enhanced the flavour of the pork. The caraway seed marinade was amazing, I'm gonna have to remember that one for future roast pork adventures. And I do love me some sauerkraut! Not entirely sure why, maybe I was German in a past life. But this version had bacon in it so how could you not think it would be delicious. And the dumpling were also a surprise hit. They weren't extremely doughy, which I thought they might have been, so I obviously cooked them long enough. And the added gravy gave them a helping hand in the flavour department. All of this exquisite food was washed down with another marvelous Czech invention....Pilsner Urquell!
(For those playing at home the Czech Republic has only participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 3 times (2007-2009). Unfortunately they haven't had a good run of things with never reaching the semi-finals, and in fact coming last in two of their semi-finals. This has led them to withdraw from the ESC since 2009. Hopefully they wish to compete in 2012!)
"I'm running a little without time tonight" - haha oh the hilarity - were you spending too much time in the shop a da front? Awesome video as always! PS- I think you need to add Friday to the credits - he's leading a secret life as a kitchen hand!
ReplyDelete