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csw
Apr 29, 2007 09:50 PM
When I was a kid, I used to chew on it to get the juices out. Major sugar high.
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re: csw
liu
Apr 29, 2007 10:22 PM
"Major sugar high." Really? Whenever I can order sugar cane juice, I do, and I never have had such a reaction. I know the feeling -- all too often! -- but never from anything related to sugar cane. Perhaps as a child you were more sensitive? Do you still get that high from sugar cane?
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I think I'd get some long thin wood skewers and thread chunks of cane with shrimp (both on the skewer itself). Or could use the cane (if it's still stiff enough having been in the syrup) to wrap things around. If you got huge gulf shrimp, you could thread them onto a fresh stick of cane, but smaller stuff probably not.
Those would make a nice caipirinha I bet - and would make great use of the sweetness, syrup etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CaipirinhaI also wouldn't overlook the simple flavor benefits of the cane. Great for some drinks involving rum as a fresher kind of simple syrup. And probably would be a lovely complement to some kind of light greeny Asian cuisine that needs a tiny spike of sweetness... some Vietnamese recipe maybe? Would expect to treat the cane itself like lemongrass or galanga and remove after cooking - at least, not expect to eat. Fun to chew on though.
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Think Vietnamese... what would one do with some sliced sections of sugar cane that were about 6 inches long and you had some shrimp pounded into a paste with some other savory ingredients mixed in... Okay - now that you're mouth is watering, get the bbq ready for some great chao tom! I know that it's not intuitive at first - hmmm - what kind of dessert would use canned sugar cane in it? I went down the same path until I had chao tom at the Tet festival in Westminster...
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re: liu
No no - thank YOU! I think canned sugar cane is appealing for two reasons. One, it's convenient. Unlike Southeast Asia and other areas with tropical climates, sugar cane isn't always readily available here and elsewhere. And even if fresh cane is available, you can't beat the ease of opening up a can with the sliced canes just about ready to go.
Second, the canning of the canes maximizes hydration, making them ideal for grilling. :>
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re: bulavinaka
liu
Apr 25, 2007 10:47 PM
Again, thanks for continuing to take-on my inquiry. Your information has been quite helpful. I like the grilling idea. With your assistance, at least now I'm not afraid to open the can and "play" with it Vietnamese style.
I have seen skewers at Surfas and elsewhere (in plastic shrink-wrap) made from sugar cane; some have added flavors, but all are canes. So, placing them on the BBQ makes a lot of sense now!
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re: bulavinaka
liu
Apr 26, 2007 10:55 PM
I don't remember the flavors; I vaguely remember that there are three different ones. I think grilling shrimp is the most common advertised use, but I know YOU, bulavinaka, will come up with other creative suggestions.
Keep in mind that the cane skewers are chubby, so they will only work with something that will hold together. If you pre-"drill" a hole, perhaps you could string some veggies on one.
These are the ones that I have seen: http://www.amazon.com/Melissas-Sugar-...
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re: liu
Outside of getting out a DeWalt 3/8" power drill with 1/4" auger bit, your suggestion about things that hold together sounds like it's on the mark. I can easily see going to a Chinese or Vietnamese market, picking up various ground proteins, seasoning them and working those on to the sugar cane. I wonder if some fruit (that is akin to grilling) can be either slid onto the canes (I would think something like ground shrimp or fish would have a similar cook time) between balls of the formed protein, or grilled on their own canes seperately, then plated together? Maybe pineapple which readily available, or even peaches or melons (a little more summer-ish)? Just for aesthetics I'm seeing honeydew melon balls contrasting incredibly well with the slight blush of shrimp meat. I just don't know how well honeydew holds up to grilling...
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re: bulavinaka
After thinking about fresh pineapple, the core is stringy and fibrous. Can this possibly be used like a sugar cane stick? I have had some disasterous results using pineapple too heavyhandedly with protein - I think it might either contain some enzyme or possibly the high-acid content disolves delicate proteins. But there must be some use for the core... anyway...
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re: bulavinaka
Candy
Apr 28, 2007 09:34 AM
I use it for the same dish and have found that when I have been forced to buy a really large can that the extra freezes well it the syrup. This response was to the answer about chao tom. Grilled shrimp on sugar cane. i don't know why the post was sent to the bottom of the thread where it makes no sense at all.
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paulj
Apr 20, 2007 08:54 PM
I can't tell you about canned, but I can say that raw sugar cane is chewable, but not edible. That is, you can chew the inner part to extract the juices, and then spit out the fibers.
paulj
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re: paulj
liu
Apr 20, 2007 10:51 PM
Thanks, paulj. I have enjoyed raw sugar cane -- just as you describe, and I have also enjoyed sugar cane juice more times than I can count!
However, on a whim, we purchased a large can of sugar cane stalks in light syrup. I think I'd better find out what to do with it before I open it.
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re: liu
paulj
Apr 20, 2007 11:53 PM
I wonder why they would can it. When I've seen it in a produce area it does not require any special handling. However that last stuff I bought was peeled and shrink wrapped. Maybe the canned is a younger, more perishable form.
The only recipes that I've seen that uses it in any quantity are Vietnamese.
paulj
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