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I call myself a British-Chinese New Yorker learning to be a southerner. Confused? Well, my parents are from Hong Kong. I was born and raised in England. I moved to America when I got married because my husband was already working in the U.S. I thought I was going to remain a New Yorker having lived in Albany, NY for eight years; that is before my husband got a job too good to refuse and we headed south to Nashville.
Now you know that I’m a British-Chinese New Yorker turned trainee southerner you’ll forgive me for my quirks. You’ll understand my whoops of joy as I stare at the international shelves of the grocery stores because I spotted familiar foods from home – bars of British chocolate, cans of British baked beans and real tea bags.
Now I understand why my American friends in London would drag me off to find real American hamburgers and French fries, and insist on barbeques or picnics on July 4th.
As it was for me when I first moved to Albany and as it is for me now getting to know my new home town, I yearn for the familiar, even if the familiar seems peculiar to others.
February 24 2009 is Shrove Tuesday, or you might know it as Fat Tuesday in the U.S. I simply call it “Pancake Day” as it’s popularly known in the UK.
Shrove Tuesday gets its name from “shriving” or confessing that English Christians had to do prior to the start of Lent. We make pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. It’s one of those things we do, like making pumpkin pie or green been casserole for Thanksgiving. Everyone makes pancakes; it’s a social tradition and not because you’re of certain Christian denominations.
I crave these familiar pancakes more so this year because everything is new, everything is unfamiliar to me in Nashville. When I say pancakes, forget the stack of fluffy pancakes you get for breakfast. These pancakes resemble crêpes, but maybe just a little thicker.
I remember Shrove Tuesdays at school or at girl scouts when we would have pancakes races. You literally run a race holding a skillet and continuously toss a pancake up into the air and catch it in the skillet. It’s a completely bizarre spectacle to the uninitiated, but a bizarre tradition I miss.
Historically, people used up the foods in their cupboards or pantries in preparation for fasting at Lent. Foods like flour, eggs, butter, milk and sugar – common ingredients are used to make a simple pouring batter. When each pancake is made, it’s sprinkled with sugar and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, or a nice big spoonful of jam or preserve, and rolled up and served immediately. It’s as basic as that and completely satisfying.
I’ll certainly make them in honor of “Pancake Day,” and here’s a recipe for you to try. I made the conversions from metric to American measures so please adjust the ingredients – if too thick, add more liquid, or too thin, add more flour. The batter should be a thin mixture that falls off the spoon. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes before you make the pancakes and give it a quick stir just before you use it. Make sure you heat the skillet and fat until hot and preferably use a non-stick pan.
Ingredients:
One cup of flour
A pinch of salt
One egg
One to one and a quarter cups of milk (or milk and water)
Fat to fry pancakes (I use a mix of butter and oil for taste and ease of use)
Superfine sugar, preferably, but regular white sugar will do
Fresh lemons or fresh oranges
Jam or preserve
Method:
Mix the flour and salt in a mixing bowl and make a hollow in the center, and drop in an egg.
Stir with a wooden spoon (or egg beater) and add the milk gradually, until all the flour is incorporated.
Beat well and add remaining liquid; make sure there are no lumps – it should be a smooth batter.
For each pancake, melt a small amount of fat in the frying pan. When the fat begins to smoke, stir the batter and put approx. 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter into the pan and swirl around pan. This should form a thin layer at the base of your pan. Then leave it to cook.
When golden brown underneath, loosen with a spatula and turn, or for those brave enough among you can toss the pancake and cook the other side. It takes a couple of goes before you get it right. The trick is to get the right amount of batter and fat, and the pan is hot enough.
Turn out the pancake on to a piece of parchment paper or plate, sprinkle with sugar and roll up.
Place the pancake on a hot dish and serve immediately with freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice sprinkled over the pancake.
Alternatively, a big spoonful of your favorite preserve is put in the middle of your pancake and the pancake is rolled up.
If you see a woman in your neighborhood tossing pancakes up and down in a skillet on Shrove Tuesday, don’t panic, that’s me. Please don’t call the cops and come out and join me.
By SUSAN S. CHEUNG
Susan is a freelance writer originally from London, England. She moved to Brentwood, Tenn. in July 2008 when her husband accepted a position at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The family relocated after eight years in Albany, New York.
