the life aquatic
A trip to Jackson Heights scored us deliciously light jalebi, snacks for t&t’s Bollywood party, a brilliant new bhangra CD (Punjabi Vibes, for Promotional Use Only) for $1, and, randomly, a glass bottle of nam manglak – a Thai drink of honey, water and sugar with germinated basil seeds; I’ve always loved the look of it – think frog spawn – but never tried it before. It’s very sweet, and the texture of the seeds is wonderful. They pop if you can catch them between your teeth, followed by the tiniest crunch in the centre. But there’s no denying that visually it appeals to my inner six-year-old, and all I could think of was spring pond-hunting expeditions with nets and jelly jars. So I added rice vinegar, mirin and salt to make a sweet and sour dipping sauce perfect for spring rolls filled with watercress, pea shoots, cucumber, green onion, sweet lettuce and plenty of whole leaves of basil, mint and coriander. Fresh, delicious, simple…. and you can still torment your more squeamish friends. (If you try this, beware of cans of Golden King nuoc hot e, the Taiwanese version, which has banana flavoring in it. Now that’s squirm-inducing.)
