Tom Pepinsky

Author: tompepinsky

  • Mr. Burns would be proud

    This post has nothing to do with SE Asia, but we just have to share.  We feel sort of gipped by the fact that we went to colleges that didn’t have a real rivalry with another college.  You know, a rivalry in the sense of Cal-Stanford, USC-UCLA, Michigan-Ohio State, Duke-UNC, Banana Slugs-Horned Frogs, Hokies-Cocks, History Channel-Discovery Channel, Coke-Pepsi, Nike-Reebok, Boxers-Briefs, Jupiter-Saturn, or one of the other classics.

    Brown didn’t have a rival.  Oh sure, I (TP) guess that we liked to pretend sometimes that Brown-Harvard was a big hockey rivalry or something, but it wasn’t.  In fact, I’m pretty sure that most Brown students forgot that there were other colleges in Rhode Island, except for that one halfway down the hill with all the drugs and that other one where the guys who work at Mediterraneo went to college.

    (jm) As far as Oberlin, well take your pick of any of the small liberal arts colleges in Ohio.  I guess in order to really start a rivalry, things should be kind of equal between the two teams.  Seeing as we were undefeated in our defeat record,  nobody really got into sports.  Besides, who wants to have a rivalry with a Yeoman?

    So, at any rate, it is of some small consolation that our second alma mater (or in my–TP’s–case, eventual alma mater) can actually claim to have a real rivarly with someone, even if it is those big nerds up in Cambridge.  In fact, the Harvard game is something of a legend among Elis and Cantabs (what?  we don’t know either) for its debauchery, the ineffective attempts of school officials to keep students from falling off of trucks during the pre-game, and the fact that no one who doesn’t go to either school gives a crap.  At any rate, we have thoroughly enjoyed our two trips to The Game–one time we traded a stack of plastic cups for a handle of rum from some coed–when they were held in New Haven.  It’s always a sad year when we don’t get to go, but this year it was in Cambridge (not Boston, holler the Cantabs!), and we’re far away, so it’s not so bad.

    We must share with you, however, a prank that our alma mater played on our opponents this year.  Although we had nothing to do with it, we feel proud anyway, and have a strange feeling in our hearts that somehow resembles something like school spirit.  What makes this prank so genius is the fact that it involves no technology or money or anything illegal, just a brilliant idea, a hapless victim, and thirty daring students.  This serves Harvard right for beating us like seven times in a row in the actual game.  As Mr. Burns, a fellow Yalie, would say, "Excellent."

  • Ketoprak

    This is a kind of salad-ish dish most commonly identitied with Jakarta-style cooking.  Here’s a picture.  You notice in this recipe the fact that fresh vegetables are not eaten raw, even if they are served cold.  In many ways, it resembles gado-gado, but contains different ingredients.  Of course, as with any recipe that we’ve found, there are probably 50 different ways that you could make it, but this is the one that we tried, and it was excellent.

    You’ll also note the peanut sauce recipe here.  This is what peanut sauce is supposed to taste like.

    Salad Ingredients
    1 package dried cellophane noodles
    1 cup bean sprouts
    1 cup chopped green beans, chopped in half
    4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
    1 block firm tofu, cut into 1 cm cubes
    10 shallots, thinly sliced
    oil for frying

    Peanut Sauce
    3 tablespoons raw peanuts (no shells or skins; you can find these at natural food stores)
    3 cloves garlic, whole
    3 red chilies, chopped
    1 teaspoon white vinegar
    1 teaspoon palm sugar
    1 tablespoon kecap manis, or to taste
    salt
    water

    First, heat the oil in a deep skillet or wok until hot.  Add the tofu and deep fry until golden, then remove and drain.  Place the raw peanuts in the oil and deep fry until golden or golden brown (depending on your tastes), then remove and drain.  Then, fry the shallots until golden and crispy, and remove and drain.

    Heat a pot of water to boiling.  Add the peeled whole garlic and boil for one minute.  Remove and chop the garlic and combine with  the chilies, peanuts, and sugar in a mortar and pestle or food processor.  Process/mash until almost totally smooth, but not quite (you want a bit of texture).  Add kecap manis and vinegar, and then add water to form a thick but pourable sauce.  Add salt to taste.

    Return the water to boiling, then add green beans and boil for one minute.  Remove and drain.  Repeat with the bean sprouts, only boiling for five seconds or so.  Add the noodles to the water and cook until done.  Remove and drain.

    Arrange the noodles, sliced eggs, beans, tofu, and sprouts on a plate, and sprinkle with the fried shallots.  Serve with the peanut sauce on the side.