Gut feeling:
Sheepish.
His head on a plate
Magnetic images
Missing.
Dashed home last night to watch the
Roti episode broadcast and somehow missed my food scene. It’s like when you’re at the ball
game and you’ve been sitting through six innings and no one has come close to home plate
so you decide you need a hotdog but by the time you get back, the score has
jumped to 4-0 and you missed all the action while you were deciding if gravy goes with spicy fries.
Never mind. The whole episode had been going sideways for me from the very beginning when I first read the production draft script:
INT. HANNIBAL’S HOME – DINING ROOM – NIGHT 1
Hannibal ENTERS carrying GALLINEJAS, corkscrew shaped
battered morsels, lovingly displayed on a platter.
Hmmm Gallinejas. Chickens in rubber boots? Small female gondoliers? I just don’t
know enough (any, actually) Spanish to go much further in my menu-planning for this episode.
Just ask Chef Google
Good for Google. She always has an answer – or more
like two thousand answers – you decide which one is the right one. Scrolling
multiple pages tells me that Gallinejas are sheep’s entrails prepared in the
Spanish manner -- deep fried and served with with fried potatoes. Well, you
lost me at “entrails” but got me back at “deep-fried”. Is there anything on earth that doesn’t taste
better deep-fried?
Galenejas |
Pasta? It looks like sheep intestines to me. |
Chef Google also gives me recipes with cheerful remarks such
as
“Be very careful to wash the intestines thoroughly because the contents of
the gut can be toxic.”
and
and
“Preparing Gallenejas is quite labor-intensive but
the results, although not to everyone taste, can be very good.”
But I am not discouraged until I read Chef G’s helpful hint, “Don’t be put off by the smell when
you are boiling the sheep gut -- a bit of airing-out and your kitchen will
smell fresh as before.”
Uncle.
I call my pal at Torito, a great tapas place in
Kensington and he offers to make me a big batch for the shoot. I'll just pick them up.
Great. Like a big bucket of Take-out.
I love
Take-out. I think it was invented by Chinese-Americans so it is actually my right by heritage and tradition to employ it.
So I’m set with the Gallinejas. Until I get a call from Jose
Andres. We can’t use Gallinejas because it’s a Spanish dish and we did Spanish
in the previous episode. Too much Spanish! His intrepid assistant, Robyn Stern
emails me her suggestions of unSpanish sheep gut dishes. How about Chitterlings? (No, if this was for
Blind Lemon Hannibal, it would be OK, but this is Dr H Lecter. No chitlin circuit for him.) Wugen Chang Wang – Taiwanese Stew of
pig intestines and blood? (No, we need to keep the sheep metaphor in the
script.) Lamb Fries or Rocky Mountain Oysters? (No. Just say No to balls on a platter.)
Jose suggests a refined dish of intestines in dashi broth
with delicately sliced daikon and Bryan Fuller loves it! Done.
Or are we?
Sketch of revised Chitlins for Chilton |
No final decisions yet because we can’t shoot the food scene. It will have to be picked up later because Raul Esparza who
plays Dr Chilton has to go back to New York to shoot an episode of Law &
Order.
By the time the food scene can be rescheduled we’ve moved on and shot all of Episode 11. It’s got a Chinese Herbal Medicine soup. So now, Japanese soup is out. Midnight decisions on what sheep gut dish to make.
By the time the food scene can be rescheduled we’ve moved on and shot all of Episode 11. It’s got a Chinese Herbal Medicine soup. So now, Japanese soup is out. Midnight decisions on what sheep gut dish to make.
Kudal in a banana leaf bowl - a riff on Sri Lankan Lumpries - decorated with a young Protea flower that hasn't developed its hard thistles...yet. |
I suggest a nice curry. We haven’t done South Asian food yet
and there is a lovely coconutty sheep gut curry called Aatu Kudal Kulambu (or “Kudal” for short). It would be a great opportunity to showcase that wonderful
cuisine.
As I prep for the scene, no one on the crew wants to sample my curry, even though I reassure them I have used the pasta pictured at the top of this post which I coloured and snipped to look like sheep intestines.
People, it's not people....it's not even sheep's intestines. Sometimes pasta is just pasta!
People, it's not people....it's not even sheep's intestines. Sometimes pasta is just pasta!
Plate of banana leaf bowl of curried "sheep intestine" pasta, rice, pomegranate pani puri, purple sweet potato crisps on a cupped banana leaf decorated with a banana flower. |
A platter of baby samosas and bindi bhaji, decorated with ladyfingers, baby eggplant and slivered onions |
On set, we were debating the best wine to serve with the
Kudal and Mads suggested a frosty glass of Hannibal’s homebrewed People Beer.
Perfect!
Cauliflower brains - one rubbed with tumeric and the other tandoori spice garnished with a banana flower |
Time to get cooking!
So don’t just sit there watching everyone else eat, cook
your own delicious curry noodles!
Panthe Kow Swey
This gently spiced chicken noodle stew is the national dish
of Burma and my recipe is from actor Sandra O”Neill, national treasure. Besan
(black chick pea flour) is called for in her recipe but it’s optional.
If you want to go Hannibalistic, substitute thin strips of cooked tripe for half
of the chicken. Tummylicious!
serves 4
one-half chicken, boned and cut
in pieces about 1” x .5” x .5”
2 Tbsp crushed
garlic
1 Tbsp grated
ginger
1 large onion,
finely chopped
¼ tsp
chili powder
2 tsp
turmeric
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup oil
1 cup
coconut milk
½ cup
chicken cooking liquid or water with ½ tsp Besan mixed in (or not)
2 cups warm, cooked, drained thick rice noodles or egg noodles
- Pre-heat oven to 350°
- In a bowl, mix together chicken, garlic, ginger, onion, chili, turmeric, salt and oil. Heat a large heavy pot over high heat. Add chicken mixture and fry, stirring lightly (do not brown). Remove from heat and add enough water to cover meat. Bake uncovered in pre-heated oven for 30 min. Remove chicken from cooking liquid, strain cooking liquid and reserve 3/4 cup, adding water if necessary.
- Combine chicken, reserved cooking liquid and coconut milk in a large saucepan and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. When ready to serve, place a portion of noodles in four large soup bowls, add chicken pieces, spoon liquid over that and serve. Place the small bowls of accompaniments in the centre of the table, encouraging guests to generously sprinkle accompaniments on top of their Kow Swey as they eat it.
Accompaniments:
1 small bowl chopped tomatoes
1 small bowl chopped green onion
1 small bowl chopped coriander leaves
1 small bowl boiled egg, diced
1 small bowl lime wedges
1 small bowl pan-fried dried whole chillies
1 small bowl crisp-fried onion bits
1 small bowl crisp-fried garlic bits
I hope you try this dish. It is easy to make and really really
really good.
This blog is fascinating on so many different levels! Thanks for your insights and behind-the-scenes info from a foodie, a newly graduated production and design theater grad, and a fan of any well-crafted television show. Keep up the amazing work.
ReplyDeleteGreat career choice! Theatre is a challenging and rewarding place to be. All the best for a stellar future!
DeleteGenial, amo la serie hannibal y las comidas...puertoarial.
ReplyDeleteGracias - mucho más por venir, vamos a empezar a filmar de nuevo en agosto!
DeleteI am making the Panthe Kow Swey tonight, I really look forward to every post on here!
ReplyDeletePlus it always makes me laugh out loud.
I really hope you liked the Panthe Kow Swey. And thanks for getting my jokes.
DeleteYes it turned out fantastic! I am for sure going to make it again :) thank you for sharing!
DeleteSend me photos of your Panthe Kow Swey if you have any so I can post them on my new page I'm compiling of Hannibal food that readers/viewers have made. Send to janicepoon8@gmail.com
DeleteYou changed my lunch plans! I read this last week just before going out to get a sandwich, then changed my mind halfway there and went to the Asian place across the street from the sandwich shop for a coconut curry. And it wasn't until I got home that I realized why.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny!!!! Hannibal is on your mind...don't let him get at your brain! He'll scramble it - with eggs.
DeleteOn the other hand, I think we all need to eat more coconut curry. Yum.
ReplyDeleteindex:obathammer.id
index:obatkuatcialis.id
index:jualmaxman.com
index:obathammerofthor.id
google 1933
ReplyDeletegoogle 1934
google 1935
google 1936
google 1937
อนุชา
ReplyDeleteslotxo-เว็บตรง-เว็บดี
wajik777 เว็บไซต์สล็อตออนไลน์สมาชิกใหม่ 2023 คัดสรรเกม ชั้นแนวหน้าให้ลูกค้า pg slot เลือกสนุกสนานได้ในเว็บไซต์เดียวพนันง่ายด้วยระบบการเล่นที่มีความยั่งยืนมั่นคง ภาพ เสียง
ReplyDeletew69bet ยินดีต้อนรับนักพนันจากทั่วทุกมุมโลก มิติใหม่ที่การพนันออนไลน์ pgslot ด้วยเกมพนันออนไลน์มาตรฐานที่พวกเราพร้อมมอบประสบการณ์เล่นใหม่ๆให้แก่ทุกคนเว็บไซต์พนันทั้งเอเชีย
ReplyDeleteCulinary delight alert! Roti with curried chitterlings - a fusion of flavors that promises a unique and savory experience. Ready to indulge in this delicious adventure!
ReplyDeleteFor social media marketing agency in delhi Visit:- https://www.artattackk.com/