Licensed to Grill

Last night, I had a barbecue with some friends.

The menu for seven was

1. Mango Cucumber Salsa
2. Spicy Pineapple Salsa
3. Cucumber Yogurt Dip
4. Mango Yogurt Dip
5. Grilled Eggplant Dip
6. Grilled Flank Steak Salad
7. Lamb
8. Burgers
9. Chicken with garlic seasoning (Mama Rap’s Hot N’ Spicy with Garlic from Gilroy, the Garlic Capital)
10. Otak Baguette
11. Cinnamon Pumpkin Slice
12. Grilled tomatoes with fried garlic
13. Asparagus, string beans and mushrom encased in streaky bacon
14. Pork Loin Ribs
15. Kaya Toast
16. Grilled Tapioca

And not forgetting the ice cream that we didn’t even get to.

I spend a lot of time thinking up new stuff that we can share and it’s good fun when an experiment turns out well.

This time, most of the dips were just thought up and we just went by taste. The dips are great not just as a starter, but they also complement any meat you’re willing to try it with. This evening, I learnt that yogurt goes well with meat.

When I thought of the dips, I planned that some would be hot and spicy, while others would cool the palate. And it worked reasonably well, I thought.

The plain garlic seasoning seemed to make the chicken drumstick and thigh dry. Perhaps I used too much of it.

This time, my burgers were drier. It could be a combination of a not-hot-enough grill (as I didn’t top up the coal frequently enough) and too little herb butter stuffed in the middle.

For the pork ribs, I cooked them in three ways – indirect heat with smoke, direct heat over charcoal and braising in the oven and finishing the ribs on the grill.

I put too much coals in the indirect heat method, so the ribs cooked too fast and I chucked them back in with the braising ones in the oven so they could get back some moisture. (They did, just a little) The direct grill ones had a charred flavour that the braisers did not have, but were noticeably drier and had more bite. Still, all types were enjoyable.

No one took to the grilled tapioca, though I thought it was pretty okay. Some compared it to eating a tree trunk. I told my friends that this was how it was eaten during the war, one replied “it would take a war for anyone to eat this.”

My friend brought a great thin sesame seed cracker that went great with all the dips and salsas.

She also gave me an apron that comes with a matching free stubby holder. Yes. You need to keep the cook cool and hydrated standing so near so much burning charcoal.

Those tongs can be lethal.

My other friend, seeing my digital weighing scale (in my bathroom, not next to the pit), decided to weigh herself before and after the barbecue. At 53.5kg before any eating, she rung in at 55kg after the barbecue, then lamented the fact that she did not weigh herself while she was eating to fully monitor her weight as she was eating.

The rest of us denied reality and stayed far far away from the weighing machine.

(My suddenly-weight-obsessed friend took the picture above with her Pentax waterproof camera. We were well above sea level at this time.)

Still no matter how good the food is, the best part is after the barbecue when the meats are fully consumed. When the embers slowly fade off and friends move away from the warmth of the fire to the cooler living room for a chat that goes on into the early hours of the morning. And tonight was no different. Good jokes and ramblings about all sorts of topics. Sweet.