Sloppy Joe Slider

This has been sitting in my draft for a long time but I made it last night with new photos so I thought I'd finally post it. But really, who doesn't like Sloppy Joe's?! It's the perfect balance of sweet and tangy rolled up in a bun. The combination of the sweet gherkins and the tangy pickled onions also helps enhance the flavor profile of this slider.

Ingredients:

3 lbs ground chuck

2 bell peppers (diced)

1 yellow or white onion (diced)

1 roma tomato (diced

1/8 cup pancetta (diced)

2-3 garlic gloves (minced)

4 cups ketchup

2 tablespoon yellow mustard

1/2 tablespoon black pepper

1 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 yellow or white onion (paper thin slices) for pickling 

3 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/4 cup water

3-4 baby gherkins for garnish

12 whole wheat slider buns

Directions:

Start by rendering the pancetta in a large skillet until it's brown and crispy. Next add the diced onions, bell peppers and garlic. Cook until garlic is translucent. Then add the ground chuck and continue cooking for 8-10 minutes on high heat or until meat is cooked through. At this time you should also drain most of the liquid from the pan. Next add the mustard, ketchup, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and tomatoes. Reduce heat to a simmer and let it cook for another 30 minutes so that all the flavors will come together. Stir every 5 minutes to keep the bottom from burning.

To pickle the onions, add the red wine vinegar, the other 1/2 tablespoon of salt, sugar and water to a bowl and add the thinly sliced onions. Mix well and let it sit for 20 minutes and then drain the liquid.

There's nothing left but to layer your buns with the Sloppy Joe, pickled onions, and gherkins! Enjoy!

 



Tom Yum Poached Chilean Sea bass

This is one of the ways I have combined one of my favorite soups (Tom Yum) with one of my favorite fish (Chilean Sea Bass) The concept is pretty simple - first you make the soup and then you slowly poach the fish until it's cooked through. Because I was making three dishes at the time I was making this one, I opted to make a very quick Tom Yum soup with easy ingredients.

Ingredients:

Chilean Sea Bass (4 ounce cut)
1 stalk lemongrass
2 inch piece of galangal thinly sliced
1 quart chick stock
4-6 kaffir lime leaves
4-6 Thai chili peppers (roughly chopped) or 2 tablespoon Nam Prik Pao (Thai chili paste consisting of fried garlic, shallots, chili peppers, and shrimp paste)
2-3 tablespoon tamarind powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3-5 tablespoon fish sauce
1 can straw mushrooms
3-4 Roma tomatoes (quartered)


Directions:

Add chicken stock, lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves in stock pot on high heat and bring to a boil. Once the ingredients have come to a boil, reduce the heat down to medium low and add salt, tamarind powder, chili peppers or nam prik pao, fish sauce, tomatoes and mushrooms. Adjust the tartness by adding or reducing the amount of tamarind powder. You can also adjust the spiciness by adding or reducing the chili peppers or nam prik pao. I suggest that you add half the amount listed above for both ingredients first and then add more later to please your palette.

This is the base of all Tom Yum soups, so if you decide to add shrimp, chicken, tofu, etc. this is the time to add it. Your final step is to reduce the soup down to a simmer and place the fish in the soup. Depending on the size of the fish it shouldn't take longer then 6-10 minutes for the fish to fully cook in the soup.

Lemon Butter Chilean Sea Bass w/ Creamy Crimini Risotto

First, I would like to thank everyone for following my blog last year. I would also like to apologize for not updating it in over 2 months.

However, no need to fear - I'm still cooking but I just haven't had the time to post any blogs. 2011 is going to be a big year for Bistro 331, I've already moved into a new place with new appliances! So hopefully I can do bigger and better things.

Chilean Sea Bass has always been my favorite fish ever since I had my first taste at Eddie V's. Eddie V's serves theirs Hong Kong style steamed in soy sauce and ginger - I'll prepare a variation of that dish in one of my upcoming blogs. The way I've prepare it today is very simple; where you can do this technique with just about any white fish. The risotto I've paired with this dish, pairs perfectly. Personally, I think it enhances the creaminess of the fish itself.

Ingredients:

Chilean Sea Bass
1 1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 lemon (juice and zest)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 cup Arborio rice
3-4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup Crimini mushrooms (chopped)
3-4 tablespoon heavy cream
Parsley (for garnish)
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese (grated and a few thin slices for garnish)

Directions:

You may want to start on your risotto first as it takes 15-20 minutes to prepare. To see how to prepare the risotto follow the link to a previous post.

Now onto the main event - the succulent Chilean Sea Bass. Dry rub your fish by sprinkling a little salt and pepper on all sides. Next, melt 1 stick of butter into the skillet that you will be using to cook the fish. Once the butter has melted, add the lemon juice and zest to the skillet. Place the fish on the skillet - do not try to flip it too soon or it'll break on you. With a metal spoon, take some of the butter from the skillet and begin bathing the top of the fish, you'll continue to do so until the fish is ready to be flipped. To test if your fish is ready to flip or not, take the spatula and gently try to lift the edge of the fish, if it lifts easily, it's ready to be flipped if it's still sticking to the pan then it's not quite ready yet. Depending on the thickness of the fish (this one was about 2 inches thick) you should cook each side for about 4-5 minutes. Once the fish has been cook, you'll want to drain some of the excess butter from the fish by holding the fish on a spatula for a minute or two over the skillet.

Once the fish has cooked, all you need to do now is plate your fish on top of the risotto that you prepared beforehand. Garnish with some fresh curly leaf parsley and a few strips of Parmesan cheese. This is one of my favorite dishes so I hope you'll give it a try.

Yam Neua (Thai Beef Salad)

Normally you would see this beef salad tossed with all the vegetables to incorporate the meat and the sauce. However, I prefer to eat this as an appetizer and have displayed it as such in the above picture. I don't go to Thai restaurants very often but when I do, this is one of my favorite dishes. The thinly sliced beef and pungent vegetables pair perfectly with the spicy sesame vinaigrette.

Steak Ingredients:

1 pound beef (skirt steak, rump roast, or sirloin)
2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoon lemongrass (finely ground)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients above and let the beef marinate for at least 2 hours. You then have different choices of cooking methods; obviously grilling is preferred but if you live in an apartment like me, using the broiler in the oven isn't a bad option. You'll want to cook the beef to your desired doneness (rare, medium-rare, medium, etc.) I would recommend to not cook this cut of meat well done; as this will definitely dry out and become tough to chew and eat. Unfortunately, it’s hard to determine the time to cook the beef since the cut and thickness of the beef may be different. When the meat is at your desired doneness; let the meat rest for at least 5-10 minutes before cutting - as all the juices will run out if you cut the meat without resting. To cut: slice the beef as thin as possible against the bias.

The best way to check for your desired doneness of the meat is with a thermometer. Here is the temperature range:

(Temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit)
Rare 120 - 125
Medium-Rare 130 - 135
Medium 140 - 145
Medium-Well 150 - 155
Well Done 160 - above

Spicy Sesame Vinaigrette Ingredients:

2 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
2 tablespoon palm sugar
2 tablespoon sesame oil
4 Thai chili peppers (finely chopped)
2 garlic cloves

Sauce Directions:

Combine the lime juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, and palm sugar and mix well. Next, slowly drizzle the sesame oil into the mixture while whisking. Lastly, mix in the chili peppers and garlic.

Salad Ingredients:

5-7 green leaf lettuce leaves (roughly chopped)
1/2 white onion (thinly sliced)
1/2 red onion (thinly sliced)
1 tomato (thinly sliced)
1/2 cucumber (halved and thinly sliced)
1 scallion (roughly chopped)
8-10 sprigs cilantro (roughly chopped).
2 jalapenos (thinly sliced)
Handful Vietnamese coriander (just the leaves)

Plating:

Add the salad mixture to the bottom of your serving vessel (plate, bowl, etc.) and place the thin slices of beef on top of the salad. Now drizzle the dressing on top of the beef. This dish can be served warm or cold. However, if you are serving warm, try not to place the hot beef on top of the salad as this will wilt the vegetables.

Balut, Khai Luk, Hột Vịt Lộn (Steamed Fertilized Egg)

This item has many name and you can call it whatever you want; most people would probably call it disgusting. However, these eggs are a delicacy to some and an everyday item for others. All I know is that I woke up this morning and had a craving for it. Everyone knows that Sunday is normally my lazy day; where I don't leave my place at all, but in order to satisfy my craving I had to pay a visit to the local Asian market. After searching for a few minutes and not being able to locate these eggs, I reluctantly asked the Asian lady behind the counter. I asked for the duck eggs and she responded by telling me that she had some but they were too far in development and that she didn't want to sell them to me. But, she said she had the chicken eggs available and guaranteed me that they were just as good and if not, even better. Most people would eat these eggs plain. But I love wrap it in various Asian herbs and dip it in jeow som (see previous posting for Laotian Chimichurri).

Ingredients:

Dozen fertilized chicken/duck eggs

2 whole scallions (roughly chopped)

10-12 sprigs cilantro

10-12 sprigs fish mint

Handful sawtooth herb

Handful Vietnamese coriander

Laotian Chimichurri (Jeow Som)

Directions:

Steam the eggs for approximately 12-15 minutes. Crack the egg open on the larger side carefully. You'll want to keep all the juices in the egg so you can slurp it. Trust me, the juice inside is very flavorful. Then, crack open the rest of the egg and discard the hard white part - it has no taste and has a very rubbery consistency. You can eat the yellow (yolk) part and the young chick/duckling at the same time. I like to savor mine and divide the two and eat them one at a time. I like to shred all of the herbs and veggies on top of each portion and drizzle some sauce on top of that.

If your afraid or disgusted by this dish, you shouldn't be. As I stated before, this is a common everyday dish in other cultures plus it tastes good.

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.

Carolina Style Pulled Pork Sandwich

The previous job I had sent me to many places around the U.S. and the world. But I'll never forget my first project; I was on in North Carolina in the middle of Nowheres-ville and about the only highlight of that trip was the barbecue I sampled there. Different regions of the U.S. specialize in different types of barbecue; for example, Texas is known for brisket and North Carolina is known for pork. Since I still live in an apartment I couldn't smoke the pork shoulder but the dry rub still remains the same. The sauce I created was an apple cider barbecue sauce, much like the one I had in North Carolina. I also made spicy aioli coleslaw from the aioli leftover from yesterdays dinner.

Pulled Pork Ingredients:

1 1/2 - 2 pound pork shoulder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large shallot (roughly chopped)
4 garlic cloves (roughly chopped)
1 teaspoon all spice
1 cup water


Directions:

Mix all the dry ingredients, except for the all spice, together in a bowl. Then generously sprinkle the dry rub on the pork and pat down at the end to ensure the rub stays on. In a skillet, add the olive oil and turn the heat to high. You'll want to sear in the flavors by browning the entire pork. I used a pressure cooker to save some time in cooking the pork but you can use a roasting pan and an oven as well.

If you're using a pressure cooker, add the water, shallots, garlic, and all spice to the pot. Do the same if you're using a roasting pan. Before putting your pork in the pot or roasting pan you'll want to elevate it to keep it away from most of the liquid. I used a foldable stainless steamer basket for the pressure cooker. For the roasting pan, you can use the rack that comes with the roasting pan. Set you pressure cooker on high pressure and cook for 1 hour, in the roasting pan set your oven to 275 degrees and cook for 3-4 hours. I normally, cover the roasting pan when I cook in the oven to seal in the steam and create a little pressure to help the meat cook and tenderize a little faster. This will also keep it moist. After the the is cooked you can test to see if your meat is tender by pulling on it - if it pulls apart easily, then you're ready to remove it from the pressure cooker/oven and let it cool for at least 15 minutes. After it has cooled, use your hand to separate the meat into smaller edible pieces.

Barbecue Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 cup water
1 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 large tomato (diced)
1 large shallot (diced)

Directions:

In a sauce pan, add the olive oil and turn the heat to medium high. Add your shallots and cook for about 4 minutes or until it is translucent. Then add your brown sugar and let it melt but not caramelized. Add water immediately after all of the sugar dissolves. Next add your paprika, cayenne pepper, and tomatoes. Bring the heat down to simmer and let it cook for 10 minutes. Now add your apple cider vinegar, kosher salt, and black pepper. Let this simmer for another 10 minutes. With an immersion blender, begin blending your sauce in the sauce pan. If you don't have an immersion blender, transfer your sauce to a regular blender and blend until all the large ingredients have broken down.

To assemble your sandwich, take two pieces of bread and layer that with your pulled pork and add about 1-2 tablespoons of your barbecue sauce on top.

The coleslaw is very easy to make. Slice 1/4 head of cabbage into thin strips and add to a large bowl. Now take the aioli we created yesterday and add that to the cabbage. Toss thoroughly to coat all of the cabbage.

This dish is a little time consuming but very worth it. Especially if you have a lot of mouths to feed or you just want to have some food leftover for the next day.

Sin Dahd (Korean Style Barbeque) with a Trio of Sauces

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.

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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Crème Brûlée with Raspberry Sauce

Crème brûlée is a simple dessert to make; it's actually one of the first desserts I can say I made successfully. However, this one was a bit disappointing to me because I didn't have whole vanilla beans; I'm not a big fan of vanilla extract- but you have to be resourceful at times.

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean)

Directions:

Gently heat the cream on medium low (do not let it boil) and add sugar. Once the sugar dissolves add vanilla extract (or a split vanilla bean) and refrigerate for about 10 minutes to let it cool. Whisk egg yolks in a separate bowl and set aside. Once the cream mixture cools, slowly pour the cream mixture into the eggs while stirring continually. Slowly add the mixture to the ramekins (4 ramekins that will hold approximately 1/2 cup). Place ramekins on a deep sheet pan and add 2-3 cups of water to the pan (this is called a water bath). In an oven preheated to 300°, bake for 45-50 minutes or before it starts to boil. Pull out ramekins immediately and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before serving. Before serving add a thin layer of sugar and with a torch begin to lightly melt the sugar until all the sugar melts. Your sugar should have a medium to dark brown color to it.

Raspberry sauce:

1 pint fresh raspberries
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a sauce pan and cook on medium heat until the water is reduced and the raspberries are thick and mushy. Let it cool and serve on top off the crème brûlée or a dessert of your choice.

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Fish Tacos with Kaffir Lime Aioli

The other day I saw one of my friend's post on Facebook that his wife made him fish tacos. I was a little disappointed that I wasn't invited but that just made me crave it even more. This dish is pretty simple but has a lot of components. I'll try to break it down as easy as possible.

Fish preparations:

2 pounds tilapia filets
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon cayenne peppery
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and mix well, let it marinate for at least 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and bake the fish for approximately for 15 minutes (be careful to not overcook, you want the fish to still look and taste moist).

Korean/Spanish rice:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 shallot thinly sliced
1 cup brown Korean rice
32 ounces chicken stock
2 Roma tomatoes (roughly chopped)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder

Directions:

In a deep sauce pan, sauté the shallots in butter and add rice once all the butter melts. Add tomatoes and all the dry ingredients. Then add 1/3 of the stock and cook rice in medium high heat and keep it covered. Once most of the liquid has reduce add another 1/3 of the stock. Repeat this again until all the stock is gone and the rice is cooked.

Cabbage aioli slaw:

1/2 head of red/purple cabbage (thinly sliced)
1 cup kaffir lime aioli

Directions:

Blanch the cabbage in a pot of boiling hot water for about 3 minutes. Strain and let cool. Add kaffir lime aioli (see previous post for this recipe) and toss.

Pico de gallo:

1/2 large onion (diced)
2 jalapenos (diced)
1/2 cup cilantro (roughly chopped)
1 medium tomato (diced)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Juice of 1 lime

Directions:

Mix all ingredients well and adjust salt and sour preference by adding salt or lime juice.

Assembling tacos:

You're going to need tortillas (I used flour) and lettuce. Simply layer the lettuce on top of the tortilla, and then just add the rice, slaw, and pico de gallo. Drizzle with extra ailoi and enjoy.

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Spicy Shrimp Salad (Lahb Goong)

Traditionally lahb is made of different varieties of protein such as chicken, beef, fish, pork, and shrimp. For the most part the vegetables and herbs remain the same. The key herb that makes the dish is mint (pak hom lahb). For this dish I've added fresh dill, which I believe is a perfect compliment to the shrimp. Also, many people will make this with raw shrimp but since I don't live near the coast and I don't know how fresh it really is, I've decided to quickly saute the shrimp instead. This is one of my favorite lahb dishes and also my friends from New York. To my friend in New York, I hope your wife will make this for you.

Ingredients:

1 pound peeled shrimp (roughly chopped)
2 scallions (thinly sliced)
1/4 cilantro (loosely packed)
1/4 mint leaves (loosely packed)
8-10 kaffir lime leaves (chiffonade cut)
1/4 dill (roughly chopped)
1 large shallot (thinly sliced)
6 fresh Thai chili peppers (thinly sliced)
3 teaspoon roasted rice powder
1 teaspoon dried crushed chili peppers
Juice of 1 1/2 lime (more or less, depending on how tart you like it)
3 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Quickly saute shrimp in canola oil on medium high heat. Try not to over cook the shrimp. Strain all the liquid and let the shrimp cool down. Toss all the shrimp in a mixing bowl and add all other ingredients and continue tossing until everything is mixed thoroughly.

Normally this dish is served with sticky rice and accompaniments of lettuce, cucumbers, and just about any other type of vegetables and herbs. If you have fresh bean sprouts don't forget to toss that into the salad as well, it'll give the dish a refreshing crunchy texture.

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Fried Tilapia with Asian Herb Papaya Salad

Finally, back from Houston where the dim sum was amazing and the traffic sucks. Earlier today I was craving seafood, particularly Dungeness crab, but apparently they're not in season yet. After pacing back and forth in the seafood section, I opted for a fresh, live tilapia. I think what I was really craving for was the spicy chili and ginger sauce that pairs perfectly with either the crab or the fish. The fresh herb salad was the perfect side dish.

Tilapia ingredients:

1 whole tilapia (scales removed and cleaned)
1 quart canola oil for frying
1/4 cup rice flour (to dust the fish)
Handful of rice patty herb
Handful of thinly sliced lemongrass (on bias)

Directions:

Preheat the oil to 350°. Cut 3 - 4 slits on the fish on both sides. Lightly coat the fish on both sides and gently place in the hot oil. Cook 5-7 minutes on both sides. Let fish rest on paper towels after frying to cool off and the residual oil on drain a bit.

Spicy chili, ginger sauce:

10 Thai chili peppers
3 garlic cloves
5-6 inch piece of garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoon fish sauce
Juice of 2-3 limes

Directions:

In a mortar and pestle combine chili peppers, garlic, ginger and salt. Pound into a paste. Add lime juice and fish sauce.

Finishing up:

Place the fish on a bed of rice patty herb and liberally add sauce on top of fish.

Asian herb salad:

1 cup fresh green papaya (shredded)
2 carrots (thinly sliced or shredded)
6 sprigs fish mint herb
6 sawtooth herb (roughly chopped)
1/4 jicama (julienne cut)
6 sprigs Vietnamese coriander
1 tablespoon crushed peanuts
1/4 nuoc mam (same sauce as the egg roll doing dipping sauce)
1 jalapeno (thinly sliced lengthwise)

Directions:

In a large bowl combine all ingredients except for peanuts and toss well. Let the veggies and herbs soak in the sauce before plating (3-5 minutes). Add peanuts as the finishing touch. You can add more fish sauce or lime juice to the salad if you prefer.

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Trio of Pizza Dough and Waffle Cut Parmesan Fries with Kaffir Lime Aioli

I'm heading Houston this weekend and still refuse to do any grocery shopping. I was going to just make pizza but that was too simple so I decided to utilize the pizza dough in 3 different ways. From left to right there's your standard margarita pizza with fresh tomatoes and basil, calzone stuff with mozzarella and pepperoni, and an open pizza roll stuffed with pineapples, mushrooms, basil, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. For an appetizer I made waffle cut fries topped with Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.

Pizza dough ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup warm water

Directions:

Add yeast to warm water and let it rest for 5 minutes. Then add yeast and water mixture along with salt, sugar, and olive oil to flour. Knead dough well and let it rest for an hour.

Pizza sauce ingredients:

14 ounce San Marzano tomatoes

1 large shallot diced
2 garlic cloves diced
2 sprigs fresh basil
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a sauce pan and cook on medium high heat. With an immersion blender blend mixture until it is all the same consistency. Set aside and keep on simmer until ready to use.

Margarita pizza ingredients:

1/3 of pizza dough

Pizza sauce

Roma tomatoes sliced

Fresh basil
Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Cut 1/3 of pizza dough, create a ball and begin rolling out the dough into a circular shape (you can make it as thin as you like it). Add pizza sauce with a ladle on top of the pizza in a circular motion. Then add your toppings, for this application simply add mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and basil. Bake for approximately 10 minutes at super high heat (500 plus degrees).

Calzone ingredients:

1/3 of the pizza dough

Pizza sauce

Pepperoni

Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Roll out pizza dough into a circle. On one half of the dough add, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. Fold the empty side of the dough over the top of the filled side. With a fork seal the edges of the dough and brush with olive oil. Cook at 500 degrees for 10 minutes. Serve with a side of pizza sauce.

Open pizza roll ingredients:

1/3 pizza dough

Pizza sauce

Pineapples

Mushrooms

Basil

Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

This one is a little tricky. I was trying to find a way to roll the pizza dough into a cone shape and the only thing I could find was an empty tomato sauce can that I split in half and roll into a cone. Roll out the pizza dough and then cut it in half. Then wrap the dough around the metal cone and brush with olive oil. Cook in a 500 degree oven for 5 minutes. Retrieve the crust and let it cool down before pulling it off of the metal cone. Stuff crust with ingredients other than the pizza sauce and place in oven for another 3 minutes. Add pizza sauce into the roll prior to serving.

Waffle Cut Parmesan Fries:

1 russet potato

Grated Parmesan cheese
Parsley finely chopped
Canola oil

Directions:

Cut your potatoes with the waffle fry insert into a bowl of cold water. Heat oil to 375 degrees while drying potatoes on a towel; when oil is ready, cook potatoes for approximately 5 minutes. Immediately after you pull fries out of the oil add cheese and parsley and mix well.

Kaffir lime aioli ingredients:

1 cup mayonnaise (store bought or homemade)
7 large kaffir lime leaves (spine removed)
2 garlic cloves

Directions:

In a food processor add garlic and kaffir lime leaves. Blend to very fine consistency and add mayonnaise. Continue blending until all ingredients are incorporated.

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Sour Soup "Canh Chua"

This is just a very basic version of this refreshing dish. I was very limited in ingredients while making this dish but no need to worry I'll tell you what other goodies you can add to this dish. After a long labor day weekend I'm still too lazy to go to the grocery store. Thanks to Tropical Storm Hermine and the constant downpour I'm definitely not heading to the store today. Actually, it doesn't make any sense to do so since I'll be heading out of town again this weekend. I did manage to purchase a fresh whole pineapple the last time I was at the market though. Every time I'm getting ready to carve up a pineapple it always reminds me of my mother since she's the one who taught me how to properly spiral cut a whole pineapple. I'm willing to past that on to anyone who cares to learn.

Ingredients:

5 cups water
1 cube Knorr chicken bouillon
1 tablespoon tamarind powder
1 fresh jalapeno (sliced)
1 cup fresh pineapples (cubed)
2 small Roma tomatoes (quartered)
8-10 shrimp (shell on)
1 cup roughly chopped cabbage


Directions:

Bring water to a boil in a stock pot and then add chicken bouillon and tamarind powder. Reduce heat to medium low and add all other ingredients except for the shrimp (add the shrimp 3-5 minutes prior to serving to prevent over cooking).

Optional/alternative ingredients:

Fresh okra (I normally always have okra in my soup) thickly sliced on bias
Rice patty herb "Ngo Om"
Elephant ear stalks "Bac Ha" peeled and cut into 3 inch french fry shapes
Catfish (peeled and chopped into 3-4 steaks)

Bonus:

If you're reading this post and would like a free 1 year subscription to Bon Appetit magazine let me know. The first person that responds will win this prize. You can respond in the comments section, thanks!

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Spicy Beef Noodle Soup

I used shredded cabbage here since I served all of the
bok choy and mustard greens to the guests.

This is one of those dishes that tend to work like magic on a Saturday or Sunday morning after drinking heavily the night before. With the knowledge that I would be hosting guests this past weekend I actually started this dish on Thursday so that it'll be ready for Friday night and Saturday morning. The true cook time of this dish is about 3-4 hours. I was first introduced to this dish at an Austin downtown restaurant, Chinatown. At that time my friend was a bartender there and after bar hopping all night long, this was the perfect dish to cure the hungriness that was a result of too much alcohol consumption.  There are many variations of this dish that use different noodles and vegetables, the Vietnamese have Bun Bo Hue and the Laotians have Kow Poon (both use vermicelli noodles). The variation that's presented here is closer to the Chinese version.

Ingredients:


2 1/2 pounds boneless beef shank (you can also use beef shanks with bones) (2-3 inch cubes)
1 large yellow onion (diced)
4 tablespoon granulated sugar
6 tablespoon chili soybean paste
6 garlic cloves (crushed)
12 cups water
2 tablespoon sea salt
4 tablespoon soy sauce
6 whole star anise
2 scallions (chopped)
5 Roma tomatoes (quartered)
1 tablespoon crushed peppercorns
3 tablespoon canola oil
1 package Shandong noodles

Directions:         

Add oil to a stock pot on high heat. Add meat and brown on all sides. Add
onions and garlic and half of the chili soybean paste. Cook until onions become
translucent. Add water and bring soup to a boil. Now add all other ingredients
and wait for water to boil again. Reduce heat to low to medium low and continue
cooking soup for another 2-3 hours or until meat becomes tender. Feel free to
adjust your soup with fish sauce for extra saltiness, sugar for sweetness,
chili soybean paste for spiciness, or lime juice for tartness. You'll also want
to precook the noodles in a separate pot of boiling water for 5-8 minutes prior
to building your bowl.

Accompaniments:

You can add almost any type of vegetables and herbs to compliment this
soup. I've listed the basic accompaniments and some other options as well and don't be afraid of using your own imagination to match with your palette preference.

Basic accompaniments:

Baby bok choy (blanched)
Pickled mustard greens (roughly chopped)
Scallions (sliced on bias)

Optional/alternative accompaniments:

Cilantro (roughly chopped)
Purple or green cabbage (paper thin slices)
Red or white onions (thinly sliced)

Cubed steak salad

Day 3 of cleaning out the fridge... I emailed my cousin Ava today to see how she was doing. After a brief exchange in messages she asked for a recipe that involved beef. I asked her if she liked the Vietnamese cubed steak salad or Bo Luc Lac and she answered yes of course. I fell in love with this dish about 10 years ago while dining with friends at Thanh Thanh in Arlington. I never asked for the recipe while I was there so I came up with my own variation of it.

Ingredients:

1 pound beef (I used sirloin tips here, but you can use almost anything especially tenderloins, try to stay away from the less tender cuts) cut in 1-1 1/2 inch cubes
4 tablespoon oyster sauce
4 tablespoon hoison sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
2 tablespoon canola oil

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except oil in a bowl and mix well. In a hot wok or pan, heat oil on high heat. Once oil has a slight sheen add sauce from bowl and stir well (be very careful combining anything with hot oil will cause it to fly everywhere). After the sauce is heated up (about 20-30 seconds) add beef and stir constantly until sauce thickens and forms a glaze on the beef (about 4-5 minutes). Serve this directly over a bed of lettuce, pickled onions, and tomatoes (I didn't have any tomatoes in the fridge so I substituted with green apples).

Bed ingredients:

5-6 romaine lettuce leaves (roughly chopped)
1/2 yellow or white onion (thinly sliced and pickled)
1 large tomato or 1/2 green apple thinly sliced
- Pickling ingredients:
     21 tablespoon water
     7 tablespoon white vinegar (3 to 1 parts water to vinegar)
     2 tablespoon sugar
     1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
     (Let this sit for at least an hour.)

It's also good to have a dipping sauce for the meat just in case you like it extra tart.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1/2 juice of lime

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in small sauce bowl and mix well.

Recap:

You will want to assemble the bed first and keep it in the refrigerator. This will keep the lettuce fresh and crisp. After the meat has been sauted you'll want to top off the bed of salad immediately. If there is extra sauce left in the pan don't net afraid to top off the salad with it as well.

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Papaya Salad (Tham Mak Hoong)

This is obviously a party size papaya salad, but I'll do my best to help you make a regular portion of this dish.
As I said yesterday, this was requested for my friend's birthday party (I think the Vietnamese people enjoy this dish a lot more than Laotians do these days, maybe we just take it for granted because we grew up eating this stuff). The hardest part about making a party platter is the transportation of it to the party. I never realized how many hills and ungulations there were in Austin (especially on one road) until I had to transport this. Everyone knows you DO NOT want to spill this in your car. Someone must have been watching over me (maybe the Papaya Salad Gods) because not even a drop spilled in my truck while transporting this tray.

This dish may require some extra tools such as a clay mortar and wooden pestle (I'll post a pic later). If you don't have this I can tell you where to pick up a set. I've also seen people use gloves (or even zip lock bags) and a large mixing bowl.

Ingredients (for average portion):

1/2 lbs (or two handfuls) shredded green papaya
3-4 garlic cloves
3-4 Thai chili peppers (less or more depending on how much heat you can handle, my aunt would put 20!)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon crab paste (you can leave this out, but I love the extra salty kick it gives)
1 teaspoon shrimp paste (again, you can leave this out as well, some people can handle the odor)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
4-7 tablespoon fish sauce
6-8 cherry tomatoes (halved or quartered)
1 lime
2-3 Thai eggplants (you can leave this out if you can't find it, but I love the extra crunchy texture it gives the salad) thick slices

Directions:

Preparing the green papaya:

First you'll need to peel the papaya of course, then give it a quick rinse and pat dry with a towel (this will help it from slipping out of your hands). I shred my papaya the old fashion way (doing it this way gives it a better overall texture and a slight crunch factor) by using only a sharp knife and then chopping down at the papaya creating 1/8 inch slits and rotating the papaya until the whole surface has an abundance of slits on it. Then with your knife angled ever so slightly (1-2 degrees) you'll want to thinly slice those slits away until you have a clear surface again, repeat until you get down to the core of the papaya. This may sound difficult (and to some it really it is) but with enough practice you'll get the hang of it and if you cut too big of a chunk out, don't worry about it, just cut that chunk into thin slices. For those of you who think you really can't do it, you can use a mandolin set a the 2nd lowest level or even and julienne hand slicer (Kiwi brand makes one and shame on you if you're Laotian and use this) to create thin slices.

Directions on preparing papaya salad:

In a mortar and pestle combine garlic, chili peppers, and salt. Mash ingredients well to create a paste, then add crab paste and shrimp paste and continue making a paste of all these ingredients. Once paste is done, add papaya, tomatoes, 1/2 of lime juice, sugar, fish sauce and eggplants. Continue mashing all ingredients in the mortar and pestle until the color consistency is uniform (you'll see it turn a darker color). Give it a taste and you can adjust the saltiness or tartness by adding more fish sauce or lime juice. You're papaya salad should be somewhat juicy (my mom used to tell me that if you're papaya salad is dry, it means that you're stingy) from the tomatoes, lime juice, and fish sauce.

Hint: Keep a little bit of the shredded papaya on the side just in case it is to salty for you, by adding more papaya it'll help drown out some of the salty taste.

Once you're satisfied with overall taste you can start devouring this addictive treat. I like to eat my with accompaniments such as water spinach, cabbage, vermicelli noodles, and even more Thai egg plants. Oh and remember that juice from the salad? Don't let that go to waste, pour some on steamed rice or get your sticky rice and start dipping.

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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.

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