Pork Belly Stew (Thom Kem/Thit Kho)

Nothing reminds me more of my mom's cooking than this dish, this is true Southeast Asian comfort food. The pork belly itself pretty much melts in your mouth before you can even swallow it and the egg yolks just asks you to slurp down the the sweet and savory broth. After dieting last weekend by eating nothing but lettuce wraps for 5 days, I surpassed my goal of losing 7 pounds by an extra pound, I felt like I deserved a gift. No one should ever try to figure out how unhealthy this dish is, instead just save it for one special guilty pleasure day like myself, we all deserve one every so often.

Ingredients:

1-1.5 pound pork belly (cut into 2-3 inch pieces)

7 eggs (boiled and peeled)

8 tablespoon fish sauce

4 tablespoon oyster sauce

6 tablespoon sugar

4-6 garlic cloves (minced)

1 large shallot (minced)

3 inch piece galangal root (1/4 slices)

5 whole star anise pods

1 can bamboo shoot (thinly sliced)

6 cups of water

Directions:

In a large stock pot or dutch oven, caramelize the sugar on medium high heat. Then add garlic and shallots until they are candied. Add water and all other ingredients immediately. Cover the pot and continue cooking for 2-3 hours on medium low heat. Serve over Jasmin rice and allow rice to soak the broth a bit and enjoy this sweet and savory dish.

Lemongrass Brisket with Laotian Chimichurri and Spicy Bitter Fish Sauce

This dish is the most common dish prepared when you attend a Laotian barbecue. Growing up, our parents never took us to any barbecue restaurants so we weren't familiar with the slow smoked style that we're familiar with now. Quite honestly, I'm not sure of why we chose the brisket cut of meat. Maybe because it was cheap and fed a lot of people or maybe because of its fat content that bares its true flavor once grilled. Many Americans would probably shun the way we cook the brisket. They prefer the low and slow method and we grill it just like any other cut of meat. I know one thing, no one has ever complained once they've tasted it.

The two sauces I prepared are the most commonly used with this dish. The Laotian "chimichurri" for lack of a better description contains garlic, chili peppers, ginger, scallions, and cilantro. Because it lacks oil, I'm not sure you can really call it a chimichurri, but it's close enough for my comfort. For my baker friend who came to dinner last night, this sauce is for you. The second sauce I prepared is not for the faint of heart or stomach. It's a combination of unfiltered homemade fish sauce, bottled fish sauce, and beef bile. Yes I know, gross right. Well it's definitely an acquired taste but you'll love it if you like the incomparable bitterness that makes one lost for words trying to describe it.

Of course, no Laotian meal is complete without sticky rice. It's been brought to my attention that just because you have the equipment and the correct grain of rice doesn't mean you actually no how to cook it. To my former roommate, I told you to pay attention when I cook instead of just watching television the whole time.

Brisket ingredients:

10 pounds brisket (cut into 10 inch steak pieces along the grain)
3 stalks lemongrass (pureed)
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 tablespoon kosher salt
6 tablespoon hoisin sauce
6 tablespoon oyster sauce
4 tablespoon light soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar

Directions:

Marinate your brisket for at least 3-4 hours if possible, overnight is even better. Set your oven to broil and place the rack on the upper middle section. Cook the brisket on a baking sheet layered with aluminum foil. Cook for 10 minutes on each side for medium rare or to your preferred temperature. Let it rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.

Chimichurri ingredients:

10 Thai chili peppers
1/2 cup ginger (loosely packed)
4 garlic cloves
Juice of 3 limes (approximately 1/2 cup)
8 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup cilantro (loosely packed, roughly chopped)
1/8 cup scallions (loosely packed, finely chopped

Directions:

In a mortar and pestle, combine garlic, chili peppers, ginger, and salt. Mash into a paste and then add all other ingredients and mix well. Add more lime juice or fish sauce to adjust tartness or saltiness.


Bitter fish sauce ingredients:

3 tablespoon unfiltered fish sauce
6 tablespoon bottled fish sauce
Juice of 2 limes (a little more than 1/4 cup)
1 tablespoon dried crush Thai chili peppers (more or less depending on how spicy you want it to be)
2 teaspoon edible beef bile
1/8 cup cilantro (loosely packed, roughly chopped)
1/8 cup scallions (loosely packed, finely chopped)

Directions:

Combine the two fish sauces and mix well. Then add lime juice and edible beef bile. Incorporate all wet ingredients well before adding dry ingredients.

Sticky rice:

2 cups Glutinous/Sticky rice
Enough water to cover rice plus a few extra inches above (the rice will absorb some water)

Directions:

Rinse the rice thoroughly, approximately 3-4 times in cool running water. Then soak the rice in a large bowl for at least 2-3 hours or until the grains look completely translucent. You're also going to need some special equipment to cook sticky rice. These are cheap but may be hard to find (contact me if you need help finding it). You're going to need a concave boiler and an open face bamboo steamer (I'll post pics up later). Add enough water in the boiler (approximately 3-5 inches deep) and bring to a boil on high heat. Add rice from bowl to bamboo steamer and set in concave boiler. Cover the top of the steamer and cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, you'll want to get a wooden spatula and stir the rice around so that it cooks thoroughly from the inside out. Cook for another 8-10 minutes and then stir the rice again to release some of the steam. Remove rice and place in bamboo basket or a similar device to keep warm.

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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).

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Lemongrass Quail with Oyster-hoison Glaze (served with Cucumber Salad)

My last trip back home to Dallas yielded me a bounty of fresh lemongrass and chili peppers. The combination of the fresh ingredients and the fact that I'm playing the "let's cook with only the stuff I have available or cleaning out the pantry" brought this dish together. I love how my mom always has fresh produce picked, packed and ready to go every time I visit her. Last time I was there I came home with basil, chili peppers and Chinese long beans. You can also recreate this dish with almost any type of poultry.

Quail ingredients:

6 quails
1 stalk lemongrass (finely minced)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon Sriracha
2 tablespoon hoison sauce
2 tablespoon oyster sauce

Glaze ingredients:

In a separate bowl for the glaze combine same amount of oyster sauce, hoison sauce, Sriracha, black pepper, and sugar. You'll use this to glaze the quails right before they are almost done.

Directions:

Combine all ingredients well and let it marinate for about 30 minutes. Set oven to 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and lay quails down with the open side down (you're going to want the skin up and caramelize). Bake for 30 minutes and with a brush, thoroughly glaze the quails. Let it cook for another 15 minutes before turning the oven off and serving.

Cucumber salad ingredients:

1 large cucumber (do not peel), shredded (for shredding technique see the recipe for the papaya salad, it's the same methodology behind it)
2 garlic cloves
Pinch of salt (approximately 1/4 teaspoon)
2 Thai/birds eye chili peppers (or more if you like it spicier)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 - 3 tablespoon fish sauce (if you want to add crab paste or shrimp paste you should reduce the amount of fish sauce)
8 cherry tomatoes
Juice of half a lime

Directions:

This is the traditional Laotian mortar and pestle used.

Hint: See the spoon on the left? You want to use one

hand to stir the mixture with the spoon while you using

the pestle with the other hand.

In a mortar and pestle, combine chili peppers, garlic, and salt to create a paste. Add all other ingredients and with a spoon and pestle being mashing and stir at the same time until all ingredients are mix well (be careful with cucumbers, you don't want to over work it and make it too mushy). As with any Laotian style salads, you may need to adjust the flavor by adding more fish sauce, lime juice, or (if you're my sister) sugar. I'm not sure how many other families do this, but in our family we like to top off the salad with a little roasted rice powder (it definitely gives it an extra bit of kick).

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Nem Nuong

I actually made this dish the other day and decided to finally post it. My Vietnamese friends would probably disagree with some of the ingredients or even the techniques that I used to make this. My mom would probably disagree with me too, but I'm stubborn and I like to do things my way. I never knew how much I enjoyed this dish until I wasn't living at home anymore. I used to always request my mom to make it whenever I came back in town and it hit the spot every time. As my culinary knowledge grew I decided to try to make the homemade classics myself and this was one of the first ones I tried to recreate. I remember asking my mom for the recipe to her sauce but every time I asked she would just tell me to observe and by the time she was halfway done it was too late for me to even comprehend what she was doing. So this sauce I have listed below is my interpretation of the Nem Nuong dipping sauce.


Nem Nuong:

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground pork
6 cloves garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 table spoon hoison sauce
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together well, do not over work the meat.
Create balls approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inch diameter.
Place meatballs onto cooking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Cook meatballs in oven for 12-15 minutes or until meatballs turn dark brown.

Wrapping ingredients:

Romain lettuce
Rice paper
Vermicelli noodles
Green apples
Cilantro
Scallions
Plantains
Cherry tomatoes
Various mints and herbs will also work

Dipping sauce:

3 teaspoons chili oil
3 large garlic cloves
1 medium shallot
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 hoison sauce
1/4 cup light soy sauce
3 tablespoons tamarind paste (reconstituted)
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1/2 cup boiled sticky rice (1/8 cup actual grains)

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