Hot and Crunchy Shrimp and Chicken with Avocado Cone

I believe that if you wanted to call something a cone it should be more than a gimmick. The cone should be more than just a paper snow cone cup; it should enhance the character of the dish itself.

So the first thing I decided to do differently was to deep fry the flour tortilla into a cone shape that could be utilized as a serving vessel itself. The cone was dusted with chili powder and paprika to help impart an extra level of spice and flavor.


Instead of making cole slaw and a spicy aioli, I combined the two elements and created a Sriracha aioli slaw. This consisted of shredded cabbage, carrots, and Sriracha ailoi.


I also did away with breading the avocado and deep frying it, I left it in its natural form to ensure that the rich and creamy flavor doesn't get masked.


The last element of this dish consists of using corn flakes as breading for the shrimp and chicken. I didn't change the use of the corn flakes but I did eliminate the sesame seeds and added roasted ancho chili flakes to add a touch of heat along with your basic salt, pepper, and sugar to help boost the flavor. The chicken and shrimp were marinated in salt, pepper, garlic, powder, cayenne pepper and paprika before being coated in the egg wash and battered.


Ingredients:


Large flour tortillas (10 inch diameter)
Canola oil (for deep frying)
1 chicken breast (halved and then cut into long strips)
12 shrimp (peeled)
1 cup corn flakes (processed and ground)
2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoon roasted ancho chili flakes
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 eggs (beaten)
1 cup shredded cabbage (loosely packed)
1/2 cup shredded carrot (loosely packed)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 garlic cloves
1 - 2 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce


Directions:


Start by making the slaw first so that the cabbage and carrots get a chance to absorb some flavor before the dish is assembled. Shred your cabbage and carrots and set aside in a large bowl. In a food processor add the 2 garlic cloves and begin processing. Next, add your mayonnaise and Sriracha and continue processing for about 10 - 15 seconds. Your aioli is now complete and should have an orange coloring. Add your aioli to the cabbage and carrots and mix well. Set this aside in your refrigerator until you're ready to assemble your cone.


The next step in creating this dish is to create the cone itself. Heat the canola oil in a deep pan to 350 degrees. Fold the tortilla so that the bottom portion is smaller than the top portion. This will create your cone shape. Now take some egg wash and brush it on the inside of the top part of the tortilla that overlaps. Gently squeeze this area so that the egg wash works as a glue to hold the tortilla together while frying. Place the side with the egg wash into the fryer first. This will seal the tortilla and ensure that it will not open during the frying process. Continue cooking this side for about 2-3 minutes and then rotate the cone and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Repeat until the entire cone has been evenly fried. Immediately after removing the cone from the fryer dust it with 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of chili powder and paprika. Set this aside on a towel to cool and drain.

Marinate the chicken and shrimp separately by adding the following to each: 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Mix well and let this rest for at least 10-15 minutes.

To create the breading, add the corn flakes to the food processor and blend until the grains are semi-fine (a few large chunks won't hurt either). Process enough corn flakes until you get about 1 full cup after processing. Add this to a deep dish along with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 2 teaspoons ancho chili flakes, and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar. Mix these ingredients well and set aside.

Now that you have everything ready, it's time to setup your breading and frying station. Start by dipping the proteins in the egg wash and then the breading and directly into the fryer. The shrimp should be done in less than a minute and then chicken takes anywhere from 2-3 minutes. Remove the fried proteins and set it on some paper towels to cool and drain.


To build this cone, I stuffed it with the Sriracha slaw first since this contains the sauce for the cone. Then the chicken strips and shrimps were stuffed on top of the slaw. Next, layer the avocado delicately on top of the proteins and add another layer of the slaw.


Click here to go back to the review of "The Mighty Cone"

Rice-Tapioca Noodle Soup (Kow Piek Sehn)

I thought this dish was perfect for the current weather conditions outside. If you're stuck inside the house and want something to warm you up, you should definitely try this.

Kow piek sehn is a very traditional Laotian dish that's known to cure the common cold and hangovers. At least that's what we Laotians believe. I think it's kind of strange that we love to eat this when it's cold outside but back in the homeland this dish is enjoyed in 100 plus degrees temperature with 100 percent humidity. I guess that means this dish is good no matter the weather or temperature.

Because these noodles are made from scratch many people tend to think that it's complicated to make. In actuality, the noodles consist of only 3 ingredients: rice flour (non-glutinous), tapioca starch, and scorching hot water. The soup/broth itself is merely chicken itself. So the next time you're craving this dish, try making it yourself and enjoy the fruits of your labor. You, your friends, and family will love you more for it.

The recipe below will yield 2-3 servings, so do the math to determine your desired yield for your guests.

Ingredients:

Noodles:

1/2 cup rice flour (non-glutinous)
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 cup boiling hot water

Soup:

3 quarts chicken broth
1/2 chicken (bone-in)
1 tablespoon kosher salt (sea salt is fine too)
2 inch piece of galangal root (thinly sliced)

Accompaniments:

Cilantro (roughly chopped)
Scallions (roughly chopped)
Red or white onions (thinly sliced)
Chili oil or dried crushed chili peppers
Fried shallots
Jalapenos (fresh or pickled)
Soy sauce
Sriracha
Hoison sauce
Limes (cut for juicing)

Directions:

Noodles:

Combine the flour and starch and mix well. Now, slowly add the boiling hot water. Begin kneading the dough but be very careful as it can give you a 1st degree burn. To avoid this try wearing latex gloves, wait for it to cool just slightly (but not too much, just enough to where it feels like your hands won't burn), or use a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment.

You can add a little flour or water to the dough if it feels to wet or dry. Once you have a nice and consistent dough, flour your working surface and begin rolling out the dough as you would do with pasta. You'll want to roll it out to about 1/8 of an inch or as thick or thin as you like it. I like mine as thin as possible since they'll thicken during the cooking process.

With a knife begin cutting thin strips of the rolled out dough and you'll see your noodles taking form. While cutting your noodles remember to lightly dust with flour to keep the noodles from sticking. Keep the noodles in a sealed container until they are ready to be cooked.

Soup:

Add the chicken broth to a stock pot on high heat. Then add the chicken and galangal root. Add 1/2 tablespoon of the salt and more if needed later. Lower the heat to medium and cook for an additional hour or until the chicken starts to fall off the bone.

Remove the chicken and begin to shred the meat away from the bones. Keep the two separated and set the meat aside. You can discard the bones now or you can add it back to the soup for more flavor.

Assembly:

Now that you have everything prepared you can now begin putting all the ingredients together. There's one last step before you can do all of that, cooking the noodles. You can choose to cook the noodles in a separate pot or add it to the pot with the soup already prepared.

If you choose to cook in a separate pot then add a few ladles of your soup to a new pot on high heat and add a few handful of noodles. Stir for about 2 minutes and pour entire contents into a serving bowl.

If you choose to add all the noodles to the large soup pot then make sure you remove the bones and roots first. Cook the noodles until it turns slightly translucent.

Now you're ready to add all the accompaniments that you'll enjoy. Don't forget to add your shredded chicken. The herbs and vegetables will add freshness to your dish. The soy sauce will add saltiness, while the hoison will add sweetness. The jalapenos, crushed chili peppers, chili oil and sriracha will all add different levels of heat. Balance out the saltiness, sweetness, and spiciness with some lime juice for some tart. As with any Laotian dish, the perfect balance of all these flavors makes the perfect dish.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.6

Pad Kapow Gai (Thai Chicken Basil)

This past weekend I attended the Gypsy Picnic here in Austin, Texas. This was a celebration of the Austin food culture – the growing popularity of food trucks and carts.

If you've been to downtown Austin lately you'll know what I'm talking about. I’m assuming the event turned out better than expected and caught the promoters and vendors off guard; as it was one of the most chaotic things I've ever witness. Vendors were running out of food and there were no formal lines to visit each vendor; as they zig zagged and crossed each other throughout all of Auditorium Shores. However, we were able to visit a few vendors and sample what they had to offer but my group grew tired of waiting in the lines and the food running out.

So we thought the best option was to go across the street to other food vendors that weren't part of the festival. Smart plan right? WRONG! When we showed up we thought we did the right thing - until we placed our order. The Thai food vendor we ordered from stated that our food would be ready in 20 - 25 minutes from the time we ordered. That's quite a long time to wait for Thai food but we decided to do so. One person from my group ordered the Pad Kapow and I ordered the spicy beef tacos. I was really excited to see what was in the tacos. About an hour later, the vendor never called my name to pick up the food and when I approached the vendor, he stated that they haven't even started on our order yet. Mind you, we’ve already waited an hour. To put an end to this story, we didn't get our food. I was both disappointed and hungry.

Since I paid a visit to the Asian grocery store this past weekend I decided that I would make the Pad Kapow dish that we didn't get to sample. Also, an old college buddy has been harassing me to post this recipe since I prepared it for her the last time she was over for dinner.

Ingredients:

1 to 1 1/2 pounds chicken (breast and/or boneless thighs) cut into 2 x 1/8 inch pieces
Ginger that has been cut to 1 x 2 x 3 inch piece (julienne cut)
2 scallions (roughly chopped)
6-8 kaffir lime leaves
6-8 sprigs Thai basil (leaves only)
3-4 garlic cloves (roughly chopped)
1 medium shallot (thinly sliced)
4 Thai chili peppers (roughly chopped)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
3 tablespoon soy sauce (soy sauce with mushroom is even better)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Directions:

Add oil to wok or deep pan and set to high heat. When oil is ready, add garlic and shallots. As soon as the shallots become translucent, toss in all of the chicken. Cook for approximately 2 minutes then add: the hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar and cook for another 2 minutes. Next, add the ginger, kaffir lime leaves, and chili peppers and cook for another 2 minutes. Finally, turn off the heat and add the basil and scallions and toss well in the wok/pan. Serve with steamed Jasmine rice or pan fried noodles.

Game Day Wings with a Creamy Sriracha Dip

With the World Series coming to an end last night,I thought it would be appropriate to put together a simple dish that reminds us all of bar food. Most of us are familiar with Buffalo wings served with either blue cheese or ranch dressing. While Buffalo wings are spiced with Tabasco sauce, these wings are spiced with freshly ground black pepper and Sriracha chili sauce. While 10 years ago, you could only find Sriracha at specialty Asian stores and restaurants, it is now probably the most common Asian condiment found in almost every store and restaurant around the country. The creamy dipping sauce I paired with the wings and carrots is also infused with Sriracha.

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken wings
1/8 cup oyster sauce
1/8 cup hoisin sauce
3 tablespoon Sriracha (for the chicken)
1 teaspoon Sriracha (for the dip)
1 tablespoon black peppercorns (roughly crushed)
2 tablespoon garlic powder (for the chicken)
1 teaspoon garlic powder (for the dip)
1/4 cup heavy cream
Juice 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Marinate the wings with the oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, Sriracha, peppercorns. and garlic powder. Let this marinate for at least 2 hours (overnight is even better).

Deep-fry the wings in canola oil that has been preheated to 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes or until it is dark brown and the ends are crisp. Remove the wings from the oil and place on a sheet pan lined with paper towels to drain the oil and cool down.
For the dip, add the heavy cream and lemon juice to a mixing bowl. Lightly whisk the mixture until it beings to thicken. Add kosher salt and garlic powder and mix well. Finally, add the Sriracha and mix well or until the dip is a consistent pastel orange color. Garnish the dip with finely minced chives and serve along side the wings and veggies.

Remember that if you're planning to cook for game day or a party, preparing anything you can the night before such as marinating the chicken or cutting the vegetables will save you time in the kitchen and will make it a more enjoyable game you can actually watch.

Chicken Fried Chicken

Fried...need I say more. Everyone knows everything tastes better fried. Living in the south, you get an abundance of fried food. If you don't believe me, go to the State Fair of Texas and you'll find fried Twinkies, beer, and butter just to name a few. I've always loved chicken fried steak, but always stayed away from chicken fried chicken just because restaurants usually use chicken breast. So how do you make chicken fried chicken more enjoyable? Chicken thighs! That's your answer. The darker meat of the chicken contains more fat and therefore more flavor. I also made a cream and chicken stock gravy to top off the chicken fried chicken. The strips you see on top of the gravy are fried chicken skin I had leftover from the chicken thighs. I also paired this with leftovers from last night's dinner; snow pea casserole.

Ingredients:

2 chicken thighs (deboned and pounded flat, save the skin)
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 large egg (beaten)
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoon all purpose flour

2 cups canola oil (for frying)

Directions:

The first thing you want to do is prep your chicken by deboning it and pounding it flat. To pound it flat, you'll need two pieces of plastic wrap - you will then place the chicken in between the two pieces of plastic wrap, with the smooth side of a meat tenderizer, pound the meat down and outward until it is about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Set aside.

In a large bowl add the cream, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Place the chicken in the marinade and let it sit and marinade while you are prepping the other ingredients.

In another large bowl, add your egg and beat well. Add 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Mix all ingredients well.

In a different bowl, add your panko breading, 1/2 teaspoon fine seal salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Mix well.

In a large skillet, add your oil and heat over medium high heat. Once the temperature hits 350° begin frying your chicken skin. Cook for 5 minutes or until cripsy, remove from pan and place on a paper towel to drain the excess oil. Once it cools slice it into thin strips.

Set up your dredging station by having the chicken mixture first, followed by the egg mixture, then the panko breading. Take your chicken and dip in the egg mixture and then the panko breading; to coat the chicken evenly. Gently place the chicken in your skillet and cook for about 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and delicious (GBD). Remove and place on paper towel.

Once you're done cooking the chicken remove all of the oil from the skillet but leave any crumbs behind. Add 2 tablespoon of all purpose flour and begin mixing with a whisk. Add 1/2 tablespoon butter and continue mixing until all the butter had melted. Now add 1 1/2 cup of chicken stock and continue mixing until it is well incorporated and add 1 cup of heavy cream and continue whisking. Once the gravy thickens (about a minute or so) add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper.

To finish, place the chicken fried chicken on a plate and top it off with the gravy and chicken skin strips.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.3

Snow Pea Casserole

It's fall and getting closer to Thanksgiving! This past weekend I was in Dallas discussing Thanksgiving plans with friends and family and hopefully our not so traditional holiday dinner will come to fruition. In the meantime, I've got some practicing to do since I came back home with 5 pounds of chili peppers and about a pound of snow peas and thought if you can make a casserole with green beans why not snow peas. The result came out a lot better than I thought; it was quite delicious!

Ingredients:

1 pound snow peas
1 large onion
3 garlic cloves (minced)
2 chicken thighs (deboned)
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Several cups canola oil for frying the onions
1 tablespoon olive oil to sauté the chicken

Directions:

Prep the snow peas by cutting the tips off both ends and discard. In a pot of boiling water add the coarse sea salt and blanch the snow peas for about a minute. Remove the snow peas with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain and set aside.

Prep the onions by slicing half the onions into thin rings and dice the remainder.

In a saucepan, add half a stick of butter on medium high heat when the butter has melted add the diced onions and garlic. Let the onions sweat for about 3-5 minutes or until it's translucent, then add 1/4 cup of the flour. Stir into a paste and slowly add the chicken broth, then add the cream while slowly stirring. Next, add  the kosher salt, Parmesan cheese, the remaining butter, and black pepper. Keep the saucepan on simmer while you prep the other ingredients.

You can keep it semi-vegetarian by leaving out the chicken but I think it adds the much needed protein to this dish, especially when it's the main course - like it is tonight. If you choose to use chicken, then simply cube the chicken and sauté in olive oil on medium high heat.

Most people would buy fried onions in a can, but that is unlike me to go the easy shortcut route; but feel free to do so if you choose. If you want to make fried onions from scratch it's an easy process. Add 1/4 cup of all purpose flour and the fine sea salt to a bowl for dredging. Separate the onions that you previously diced into rings and toss in the flour mixture. In a deep fryer set at 350 degrees add 1/4 of the battered onions and fry for about 3 minutes or GBD (golden brown & delicious). Remove and set on paper towel to drain the excess oil and continue this process until all of the onions have been fried.

To make the casserole: Add the snow peas and the chicken to the sauce and mix well. Place the mixture in a casserole dish or iron cast skillet and top it off with the fried onions. Place the dish in a preheated 350 degrees oven and cook for 20 or until it starts to boil.

If you're looking for an alternative to a green bean casserole this dish would make a great one. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.3

Chicken en Papillote

Initially, I was just going to stir fry the chicken but I thought I would showcase another method of cooking. This dish is also call "mok gai" in Laotian cuisine. It is made by using an "en papillote" technique is which basically cooking your food by wrapping it in paper, leaves, foil, etc. I chose to steam the chicken so I chose foil since I forgot to get the banana leaves from my sister's house. This was served with a refreshing papaya salad (no not the super spicy Laotian style).

Ingredients:

3 chicken thighs (bone removed and discarded, meat sliced into 1/2 inch cuts)
1 pound Thai eggplants
1 cup fresh shiitake mushrooms (stems removed and discarded, tops sliced 1/4 inch)
1 cup fresh Thai basil (tightly packed)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon fish sauce
5 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 kaffir lime leaf per package
4 garlic cloves (minced)
1 shallot (thinly sliced)
4 Thai chili peppers (roughly chopped)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients except kaffir lime leaves in a large bowl and set aside to let it marinade for at least 10 minutes. Tear off a piece of foil paper about a foot long. Add about a cup of the chicken mixture to the bottom end of the foil and place 1 kaffir lime leaf on top. Starting from the bottom lift and fold the foil to cover the mixture. Then fold the sides in and continue folding the foil upwards to the top end of the foil. You're going to want to make sure it has a good seal so that all the juices stay in tack during steaming.

You are also going to need a steamer to complete cooking this dish. On high heat bring the water to a boil. Place each package in the steamer basket and cover. Cook for about 30 minutes.

To serve simply cut the top of the package diagonally from both ends (X marks the spot!). Open from the center and enjoy.

Serve with a bowl of steamed rice or a handful of sticky rice. As I mentioned earlier, I also served this dish with a refreshing papaya salad (See previous entry on making this).

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Chicken Curry

Tonight Bistro 331 had some last minute guests with last minute requests (Hey that rhymes..) One of my special guest loves quail eggs and one of my favorite things to do with quail eggs is to put them in curry. I also made a variation of the French cake, recently blogged, as well. Many prefer rice with curry but I love bread with mine. Thanks for doing the dishes ladies and thank you for signing on as followers and next time don't touch the remote control.

Curry ingredients:

6 chicken thighs (chopped and quartered)
6-8 garlic gloves (minced)
1 large shallot or small onion (diced)
2 stalks lemongrass
1 - 1 1/2 inch piece galangal root (sliced 1/8 inch thick)
2 inch piece ginger (julienne cut)
2 chili peppers (halved)
8-10 kaffir lime leaves
1 can straw mushrooms
1 can quail eggs (I used 2 here for my friend, yeah you know who you are)
2 large russet potatoes (cubed)
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon red curry paste (or more if you want to spice it up)
1 can (400ml) coconut milk
3 tablespoon fish sauce

Directions:

In a stock pot over medium high heat add chicken, garlic, and shallots. No need for oil here, there's more than enough oil from the chicken thighs. Continue stirring until chicken has browned and cook all around the outside (don't worry the chicken will continue stewing and cook completely). Add each of the above ingredients one at a time while stirring curry, except the quail eggs and potatoes (make sure these are last). After adding all of the ingredients continue cooking for another 20-30 minutes on medium-low heat with the lid on (this will tenderize the chicken and give time for the potatoes to cook properly). Finally, serve over a bed of rice or sliced french bread (toasted of course).

As I mentioned earlier, we also had desert. You can check out that recipe from a previous blog. I ditch the blueberries and almonds this time and went with kiwi instead. Also, instead of making 1 large cake I made 4 smaller cylinder shaped cakes (this was actually easier to manage). To cut the cake into round pieces I used and old tomato paste can that I cleaned and cut both ends out of (sometimes you have to be resourceful). The finish product can be seen above.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.8

Chicken Quesadillas with Fire Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

I'll be going out of town this weekend so no cooking for me. But I wanted to post a little something you can do with leftover tortillas. You might have to actually go but the tomatillos though, I'll be surprised if you had leftovers of that. Everyone enjoy your weekend and if you have questions, comments or request feel free to post a comment.

Chicken quesadilla with fire roasted tomatillo salsa

Salsa:

5 tomatillos
3 garlic cloves
1 large jalapeno
14 grape tomatoes
Several sprigs cilantro
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Place 1st 3 items on foil and underneath the broiler until charred. Flip until other side is charred as well. I even used a torch afterwards to ensure charredness (if that's a word). Add ingredients to food processor and blend until all items are thoroughly mixed. Add salt to desired taste. Add roughly chopped cilantro and thinly sliced tomatoes and mix well.

Chicken quesadilla:

3 chicken breast
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Tortillas
Cheddar cheese
Monterrey jack cheese

Directions:

Mix 1st 8 ingredients well and cook in oven at 375° for about 10 minutes or until chicken is done.

Place 1st type of cheese on tortilla, then add chicken (cut in strips), then add other cheese and place another tortilla on top and cook for 5-7 minutes at 375°. Cut into quarters or eighths and serve.

I also like to add sour cream on top as well, this will help to tone down the heat from the salsa. If you don't have any sour cream, you can do like me and make something similar it really is a "sour" cream.

1/2 lemon juice and zest
1/4 heavy cream
Pinch of salt

Mix well until it starts to thicken and then serve on top of quesadilla.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.2

Lahb Gai (Laotian Minced Chicken Salad)

I still don't understand why when you go to any Thai/Laotian restaurant they call this "larb", the mispronunciation of this word by everyone drives me nuts. So I'm spelling it more like how it sounds "lahb". This is probably the most classic dish in Lao cuisine and every one and anyone who knows a Laotian or Thai person has probably had different variations of this dish.

Side note:

I was having a late night dinner in downtown Austin so my friends and I went to Thai Passion since they opened up late. We ordered several dishes including their "Larb Gai" yes...that's how they spelled it there too. When it came out, you could barely notice what type of meat/protein they used for the dish. In all my times I've had this dish I don't think I've ever seen anyone use a blender to process the meat. Needless to say, that's very nontraditional and it takes away from the texture needed in this dish. My mom would've laughed and returned the dish as soon as she saw it (actually, she probably would've gone back to the kitchen to show them how to use a clever or a knife to minced the meat correctly). Anyway, I'm not saying stay away from this restaurant, but if you're looking for something more traditional and authentic, definitely don't order this dish there.

Lahb Gai (minced chicken salad):

Ingredients:

8 kaffir lime leaves

1 medium shallot

Mint leaves

1 large scallion

Cilantro

1-2 fresh chili pepper

2 limes

6 tablespoon fish sauce

1/2 tablespoon dried crushed chili pepper

1 tablespoon roasted rice powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 chicken breast, skin on

1 chicken quarter

6-8 chicken gizzards

6-8 chicken hearts

3-4 chicken liver

Directions:

Cut (chiffonade) the lime leaves and thinly slice the scallions, shallots and chili pepper. Rough chop the cilantro and set all vegetables aside.

Cut the gizzards, skin, hearts and liver into small thin pieces. Mince the rest of the chicken.

In saute pan begin to cook all of the chicken and chicken parts in medium high heat until done.

Drain fat from cook chicken meat and let cool for 5-10 minutes.

Start adding fish sauce, lime juice, rice powder, dried chili peppers and salt. Mix ingredients into chicken thoroughly. Then start adding 1 vegetable at a time and mix after each.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5