Like Two Peas in a Pod

No two people are alike, or atleast, not in the generic term. I am left flabbergasted when people, strangers, associates, colleagues, friends, extended family etc. compare my brother and me when we are together and fawn over how different we are. Infact, at the gym, in a restaurant, at business meetings, while traveling, at family get-togethers purportedly anywhere, whenever we introduce each other to acquaintances (Hey, this is my brother!), the first reaction is “Really” or “Are you sure”? Ok, I am not the brother from another mother nor are we twins and there is a good four year gap between us, but still it amazes people that we are brothers and don’t look anywhere close to being one. As for a comeback for “Are you sure”? Well, I think I need to keep a DNA test certificate ready with me for every time someone throws that line.

I remember, as a kid, I was quite cruel to the sibling. When things got heated up (as always, a worldwide phenomenon with siblings) I used to fog his mind with quotes such as “don’t you know you were adopted, see you don’t look like any of us” (I do bear an uncanny resemblance to Mom, so that was passable) and he would be so distraught that I would never hear the end of it from the parents. Today, I look back and wished he did bear some resemblance to me or had some family trait. We are as different as chalk and cheese, in layman language ‘North Pole – South Pole’. Some say he resembles my grandmother and to an extent he physically does but mentally – well he has the temperament of some forefather we never had the liberty to have interacted with.

Not surprisingly the connection is powerful when you look at it from the blood point of view. The term blood brothers do tread the well-known path of understanding when it comes to looking out for each other. Though our approach might be different when dealing with situations, misunderstandings, disagreements or designs of life – the fact that the ultimate solution or agreement is co-joined with a positive outcome, it is enough to seal the fact that we are like two peas in a pod.

I had a recent experience which I brought upon myself. I was entertaining some house guests; out of towners i.e. and as usual the Mumbai life attracts you to a night of revelry and drinking at the very many hotspots. I, usually never drive when am out on a night like this, but this time thought it would be convenient to drive around and paint the town red. The night flew by rapturously, with much merriment and binging, the sibling had not accompanied and things were going good. The drive back home after was quite a breeze till the two shining beacons of my car highlighted the inevitable – a cop roadblock. I immediately swerved my car into the nearest parking spot and shut off engines, panting at the thought of entering the lion’s lair. Though I was only two beers down, the prospect of being checked with faulty breathalyzers, whisked away to a seedy Government Hospital for the unbearable blood test, spending a long night with our friends the law-keepers at the station and, god-forbid, innumerable visits to the court if found guilty of D.U.I., I did not have the guts to try and wangle my way through this barricade.

Much to the disdain and bewildered stares from the co-passengers, I was mentally calculating my way out of here. No way was I going to attempt a feeble get-away, I was not gutsy to make a run for it, no way could I reverse the car to the nearest break in the road before I had a fleet of the law-keepers on bikes chasing after me – my mind was numbed into a fast paced action movie and the palpitating heart was not doing it any good. Well, who else to call at this unearthly hour but the sibling. He slurred while answering the phone; bollocks – of all the nights, today is the night he decides to sleep in; and he knew, before I could utter a word, that something was wrong and he had to get me out of a sticky situation. After much confused explaining and cuss words thrown around for good measure, he hangs up with a “do what you want, I aint coming to get you”. The funny part expectedly comes a second later with a text message voicing my stupidity for a few lines and a “give location” at the sign off. Within a span of ten minutes I can hear the loud jarring beats of house music playing in a speeding car, which screeches right in front of me positively ensuring that the cops, who may have not yet noticed that I was scheming a way to vamoose, heard this commotion happening a few meters from the roadblock. With not a word, he scoots us all into the car, zooms right past the roadblock blaring music and all (and to add salt to the wounds, the cops don’t even blink an eye towards this din) screeches a little ahead, asks me to handover the other car keys and pretty much expects me to take lead and go home while he brings the other car – all unscathed.

Same situation had I to handle and ponder over, would have been to leave the parked car at the spot, hail a taxi, go home – wake up next morning and get the car back. But well, maybe this was a better solution? Or did I get some guilty pleasure in asking for it and expecting the sibling to bail me out? And next time, using my discretion, no car on night outs like these.

As the Japanese saying goes: Kyǒdai wa ryǒte no gotoshi which means “Brother’s are like both hands. They should help each other in good times as well as in bad”, this was pretty much a reality check and hope it remains intact in blood relations around the world – like two peas in a pod, or should I say – like the Edamame Beans in their pods.

Edamame is a Japanese name for twig bean or a dish preparation of immature soybeans in the pod. It is commonly found in East Asia and is gaining popularity in Asian countries too. I came across this preparation at various instances in Mumbai including a Michelin star restaurant Hakkasan and also at Trikaya Farms, probably the only place it is cultivated. The preparation of this healthy bean is usually the whole pod boiled till the beans are tender in salted water and served either chilled or hot. They are to be eaten as is and make a delightful snack. For this post I have tweaked the recipe a bit to suit our palate (after all Hakkasan has introduced an interesting Dim Sum dish which is stuffed with Edamame, quite innovative). Though usually the pods are boiled whole in salted water, I have changed the preparation to boiling in plain water and salting it after. This process was explained to me by a Japanese Gentleman (a new friend visiting India who I met with at a formal dinner and with whom I co-incidentally had the pleasure of dining with at Hakkasan) his wife made Edamame this way – he said the dish was salted with Arajio a rich natural sea-salt bursting with minerals and ocean flavors and went perfectly with the Edamame. We do not get Arajio here, but our sea-salt is good enough. Next time you spot Edamame at your local grocers, definitely pick it up and enjoy this light and simple dish.

Sesame Edamame & Spring Rice

Ingredients

For the Spring Rice

• 1 cup Long Grained Rice (washed, pre-soaked for 15mins and boiled till just done)
• 2 stalks – Spring Onions (greens) – sliced into thin strands
• 1 small green chili – finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic – finely chopped
• White Pepper powder and Salt to taste
• 1 tablsp Toasted Sesame Oil

For the Edamame

• 150gms Edamame Beans in Pod
• 6 cups of Water
• 1½ tablsp of Sea Salt
• 1 tablsp of Sesame Seeds
• 1 tablsp of Toasted Sesame Oil

Boil the Edamame in the six cups of water. Squeeze one of the pods after 10 minutes to check the beans and see if they are cooked. They should be soft when bitten into.

Take a small wok and heat up the sesame oil. When hot, add the sesame seeds and lightly stir fry. Toss in the Edamame whole and toss for two minutes. Remove and salt. Serve hot with Spring Rice.

For the Rice: Heat a wok with the sesame oil and toss in the garlic. Stir till well browned and add the chili and spring onions. Stir till well mixed and add the rice followed by the seasonings. Stir well and serve hot with Edamame preparation and some Soy Sauce. You can add one of your favorite Chinese or Cantonese gravy preparations to go with the dish.

The sibling gets married next year in January, our home is a buzzing beehive of activity at the moment and I am looking forward to him getting hooked, atleast this way he moves out of my room and into his own. Time the peas took a pod of their own. Though I love him and cannot do without him, I beg to differ if he considers reading this post and expecting this to be an ode to him and all the sibling couplings on this planet.

Nonchalant Gourmand Tip:

The best way to enjoy Edamame is by squeezing the boiled and salted pods in your mouth and picking the bean out with your teeth, this way the salt is on the outside and the bean comes in at the same time, this makes a perfect marriage of taste. I have purposely kept the pods intact when preparing the Sesame Edamame as I do not want to mar the natural bean flavors by opening them up and cooking them with the other accompaniments. The real joy is in eating them the way its supposed to be with a hint of sesame and salt when plucking the bean between your teeth.