This dish always brings back good memories. When I was teaching and traveling throughout Laos I couldn't wait to get back to Vientiane just so that I could hangout with family and head out to the restaurant Poisan and enjoy a night of eating and drinking. This restaurant is known for their Sin Dahd or Korean style barbecue. They serve it with an assortment of vegetables and your choice of protein (pork, beef, chicken, shrimp, etc.). What was unique was the dome shaped griddle that was heated with hot coals, I truly believe that once the fat drips and singes the coals the aroma it creates is incomparable.
Unfortunately, I live in an apartment and I don't have the dome shape griddle to mimic this experience. Here in the States we tend to just use a regular non-stick flat top griddle. Many of you who have had this during a family gathering know all too much about the electric griddle. I'm probably not alone when experiencing the power outages and blackouts this creates at home, especially when you have two or more griddles cooking at the same time.
For dinner last night I went with simple and very basic Sin Dat. The vegetables included red leaf lettuce, cilantro, scallions, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, chili peppers, and garlic. For the protein I opted for pork and lamb, both thinly sliced for quick cooking. I prepared a trio of sauces for dipping that included tamarind infused chili soybean, sweet and sour soy, and savory and spicy pineapple.
Wrapping Ingredients:
1 head red leaf lettuce (or any lettuce of your choice)
1 package rice paper (from wrapping)
Several sprigs of cilantro,
2 scallions (roughly chopped)
10-15 cherry tomatoes (halved)
1 large onion (quartered and thinly sliced)
1/2 cucumber (julienne cut)
5 chili peppers (thinly sliced)
4 garlic cloves (minced)
1 pound pork butt w/skin (it's actually the shoulder, paper thin slices)
1 pound lamb arm (thinly sliced)
Directions:
You'll want to separate the skin from the pork butt where the fat meets the actual meat. Save the skin and fat pieces, you'll be using this to cook you meat in. Set your griddle to 275 degrees and add your skin and fat pieces. Once the oil starts releasing from the fat start adding your proteins and onions. Cooking until done and being wrapping with your favorite ingredients and dip in your favorite sauce.
Tamarind Infused Chili Soybean Sauce:
4 tablespoon chili soybean paste
2 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 tablespoon tamarind paste (reconstituted)
Directions:
Mix all ingredients well and set aside for dipping. Because the chili soybean paste is fermented it has a very salty taste so use this sauce sparingly.
Sweet and Sour Soy Sauce:
1 large shallot (minced)
4 garlic cloves (minced)
1/2 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
4 tablespoon tamarind paste (reconstituted)
Directions:
Add oil, shallots, and garlic to a sauce pan on medium high heat. Saute until shallots are transparent. Add soy sauce, sugar, and tamarind paste to the same sauce pan. Mix all ingredients in the sauce pan well and set aside. You can either serve the sauce as is or you can opt to puree the mixture for a smoother and more well rounded taste. Add thinly sliced chili peppers and garlic for that extra kick.
Savory and Spicy Pineapple Sauce:
1 1/2 cup fresh pineapple (1-2 inch chunks)
1 large shallot (thinly sliced)
3 garlic cloves (roughly chopped)
2 Thai chili peppers
4-5 tablespoon fish sauce
Directions:
Add pineapples to a saute pan on medium high heat. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until pineapple starts to caramelize. Then add shallots, garlic, and chili peppers to the saute pan. Continue cooking all ingredients for about 3-5 minutes. Add the entire contents of the saute pan into a blender and puree. Add fish sauce for the added salty taste.
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