Who Doesn't Love Pad Thai?

Actually, I know one person who doesn’t love it, and he’s married to my mom. He’s never tasted it, but he’s sure he doesn’t like it. In fact, he doesn’t like ANY Asian food. What a waste.

Everyone else I know who’s tried Pad Thai loves it. It’s not hard to make, despite the seemingly long list of ingredients. The version I make is simplified. I omit the dried shrimp, bean sprouts and preserved turnip. I also use vacuum packed fresh noodles, which gives me one less thing to get ready. They just need to be quickly separated when they come out of the plastic.

Simplifed Pad Thai:

• 1 lbs vacuum packed thin rice noodles
• ¼ lbs raw shrimp, deveined
• ½ block firm tofu
• 4 tbs tamarind puree (explained below)
• 2 ½ tbs fish sauce
• 2 tbs packed brown sugar
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 eggs
• 5 scallions, sliced thinly on diagonal
• 1 cup bean sprouts (optional)
• 1-2 tbs dried shrimp, pounded (optional)
• 2 tbs preserved turnips, thinly sliced (optional)
• ¼ tsp chilli powder
• 3 tbs chopped dry roasted, unsalted peanuts
• 1 handful cilantro leaves, roughly chopped for garnish
• lime wedges for garnish

For the tamarind puree, use about 2-3oz from a block of tamarind, which can be purchased at your local Thai-Viet store. To soften it, put it into 1/3 to ½ cup of boiling water. Using a fork, work it until you get a slurry, then put it through a strainer to remove the pits and skins. It should be relatively thick. Store the big block in the fridge; it will keep for months in a Ziplock bag.

Combine the strained tamarind with the fish sauce and packed brown sugar (I always make more in case I have to adjust the seasonings). In a hot wok with about 2 tbs oil, fry the tofu for about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and chilli powder and sautee for another 1 minute. Remove both (the shrimp won’t be done). If you need to, add another 1 tbs oil to the wok and fry the garlic and eggs, scrambling them until barely set. Add the noodles, scallions, tamarind mixture. Stir fry for about 2 minutes, then return the shrimp and tofu back to the wok. If using, add bean sprouts, dried shrimp and preserved turnips at this point. Stir fry until the noodles are tender. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve garnished with the chopped peanuts, cilantro and lime wedges.

Green Curry

Green curry is my favorite Thai curry. Whenever I visit my parents, I request it. In fact, mom will usually have a pot waiting for me. Interestingly, I rarely order it when I eat at Thai restaurants because it’s usually served too sweet and thick for my taste.

To buy or to make curry paste, that is the question. Mom usually buys it. I make my own, for a couple reasons. 1) It really doesn’t take much time because I usually have all the ingredients on hand. I make a big enough batch to last a month or so. 2) I know what’s going into it and how old it is. This might just be me, but it’s a little unsettling when the manufacturers have to say “processed under the strictest hygienic conditions.” I would recommend trying to make your own at least once.

Green curry paste:

• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 8-10 small green chillies, seeded
• 2 lemon grass stalks, whites only and finely sliced
• 1x1/4 inch (or there abouts) piece of galangal finely chopped
• 5 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
• 5 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
• 4 Asian shallots or the equivalent amount of regular shallot
• 5 coriander roots or 1 bunch of coriander stems, finely chopped
• handful of Thai basil leaves or sweet basil leaves
• 2 tsp shrimp paste in oil or 1 tsp concentrated shrimp paste

Keep in mind: 1)Despite what people say, ginger can not really be substituted for galangal, which has a slight lemony flavor. I suppose you could use ginger and up the amount of lemon grass by 1 stalk or add an additional 2-3 lime leaves. I’ve never done this, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Thai-Viet grocers usually carry fresh galangal, and they will definitely have dried galangal. You can reconstitute it in water before chopping. If you can get fresh, then I would buy a bunch, slice it and freeze it in portions. I also do this with my lemon grass, chillies, and lime leaves. 2) It’s hard to find coriander roots. I once found it at New Seasons (local to Portland), and I think they may have it at Whole Foods. It is definitely worth finding, but I just use the coriander stalks instead. 3) If you are afraid of the shrimp paste, start with only 1 or half a tsp (depending on the type you’re using). It’s like cooking with anchovies, which some people are afraid to use for fear of a fishy taste. 4)Asian shallots are the size of pearl onions.

I like to start by chopping up all the ingredients very finely. The old fashion way to make the paste is to pound the ingredients until you have something that resembles the consistency of Elmer’s white glue paste. Honestly that will take forever, and I’ve never ever been able to achieve this by pounding (which I did for about 20 minutes!). What I do is throw everything into a food processor and add about ¼ cup of peanut oil (or vegetable oil), then puree until I get something that resembles thick pesto. If you’re going to use a processor, you don’t have to go through the trouble of chopping everything meticulously, except maybe the galangal, lemon grass and lime leaves. These things are quite fibrous and may cause some food processors to stall or you’ll get a chunky half-paste. Don’t stress if your paste doesn’t resemble the store bought stuff. What you should strive for is something that resembles the consistency of thick pesto. Usually this recipe makes enough paste for 3 or 4 uses. I freeze the stuff in 2-3 tbs portions.

If you want to use it for marinading, start with one portion (about 2-3 tbs) paste and add 2 tbs brown sugar, 3 tbs coconut milk (optional) and about ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce. I allow chicken pieces (with bone and skin) to marinade for as little as 2 hours up to 8 hours for a whole bird.

Before you attempt this recipe for green curry, please read the following disclaimer (and the editor’s letter on page 14 in the March 2007 issue of Saveur). I have never measured any of the ingredients before. I tried really hard to get a working recipe, but really it’s a guideline. You may like it sweeter or saltier. Let your taste buds lead you.

Green curry (serves 4):

• 2 ½ cups coconut milk (not low fat, you’ll need at least 2/3 cup cream)
• 2 tbs green curry paste (homemade or store bought)
• 1tsp brown sugar
• 2 tbs fish sauce
• 1 tbs sliced galangal
• 5 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken thigh, sliced (pork is also commonly used)
• bamboo shoots, well rinsed and drained
• other veggies such as sliced red bell pepper, green beans, etc
• ½ cup half and half
• Handful of basil leaves, roughly torn.

In a heavy bottom large pot on medium heat, cook 1 cup coconut cream/milk until it separates. This may take 15 minutes. Then continue to cook for about 5 more minutes with frequent stirring to prevent burning. The volume of the liquid will be greatly reduced. Add the curry paste and fry for about 2 minutes. Stir as needed to prevent burning. Add the rest of the coconut milk, sugar, fish sauce, lime leaves, galangal and chicken stock. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes, then check seasonings. Add more sugar or fish sauce to taste. When you’re happy with the taste, add the bamboo shoots and any veggies that may take longer to cook (like green beans). After a couple minutes, add the chicken and remaining veggies, spreading the chicken out in the sauce. Close the lid for 7 minutes to let the chicken cook. If the chicken needs more time, give it a gentle stir and let it cook until done. My mom is convinced that too much stirring will dry out the meat. After you turn off the heat, add the half and half and basil leaves, and give it a gentle stir. Let the curry sit for 5-10 minutes to let the flavors develop, then readjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve with jasmine rice.

Can't Have Thai Food Every Night

During the winter Friday night is pizza night. This has been a long-standing tradition in our household. Even before we had sonny, we usually had pizza night once a week, and we often made it ourselves. Then came the munchkin, and let’s just say time management became an issue. I simply didn’t have time to watch dough rise. If we wanted to eat as a family, we had to eat before sonny’s bedtime, so homemade was replaced with pick-up.

Recently, we’ve gone back to homemade. I still don’t have time to watch dough rise, though. Instead, I make it Thursday night and let it rise in the fridge. Same with the sauce. I’ve even prepared some of the toppings. It usually takes 30 minutes, tops. Come Friday evening, I just roll out the dough and throw on the toppings.

The dough recipe is from Mollie Katzen’s Moosewood CookbookI always use kosher salt and brown sugar, but regular is fine. It’s good for thin or thick crust, as well as calzones.

Dough ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 ½ tsp dry active yeast (fast rising is fine)
• 1 tbs honey or brown sugar
• 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
• 2 ½ to 3 cups flour

In a bowl big enough to knead the dough in, stir the yeast, sugar and water together. When the yeast is dissolved, use a whisk or large wooden spoon to stir in the flour and salt. When the dough gets thick, use your hand to knead it. If the dough remains sticky, add flour as needed to get an elastic dough. Brush the dough with oil and let it rise covered overnight in the fridge or covered for about an hour in a warm place. If you let it rise overnight, take it out and set it in a warm place for 10 minutes up to 1 hour before using. Punch down the dough and roll out.
We usually divide the dough in three and make a pizza for each person . This is more than enough for our family of three, and we always have leftovers for lunch the next day. Depending on the thickness of the crust, there is probably enough dough for 4 dinner-plate size pizzas. The original recipe can give six calzones (but I’ve never tried).

Pizza sauce should be thick, so you don’t get a soggy crust. Our family likes it fairly spicy, so a lot of garlic and fresh cracked black pepper goes into it. You’ll probably want to embellish the recipe to get the taste you like. And if you like your pizza completely covered with sauce, double the recipe.

Red sauce ingredients:

• 28oz can of whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tbs fresh chopped herbs such as basil and/or oregano (can use ½ tsp dried)
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• about 1 tbs olive oil

Start by fishing out the tomatoes and squeezing out the juice. You only want the pulp and as little liquid as possible. Then roughly chop the tomatoes. In a medium frying pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat. I recommend using a frying pan over a pot because the surface area of the pan will allow liquid to evaporate off faster. When the oil is hot, add the tomato and other ingredients and sauté until most of the liquid is gone, probably about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small food processor and quickly pulse until you get the texture you want. If you like it chunky (like we do), you may not need to process it at all.

The fun thing about homemade pizza is that you can experiment with different toppings. I like pancetta with carmelized onions and goat cheese. Sonny likes pepperoni and hubby likes olives and onions. Just make sure that the toppings are well drained or the pizza will be soggy. Don’t use anything that can’t cook within 10 minutes.

As you can see above, I bake my pizza on cast iron. I have used a pizza stone. Both give a great crust, but I find that it’s easier to work with the cast iron. The pizza stone has to be preheated with the oven, and I still haven’t figured out how to transfer a topped pizza to the hot stone. With the cast iron, I can roll out the dough and fit it to the size of the pan, then build the pizza in the cold pan. In a 475º oven, it takes about 7 minutes to bake. A thick crust pizza will take about 13 minutes.

*This cookbook is a classic, IMO. It doesn’t have the mouth-watering pictures found in most cookbooks today, but the recipes are keepers. Hummus, Black bean soup, marinara sauce…I still make these (and more) regularly.

Laab

Laab is a type of salad made from ground meat (usually pork, chicken, duck or even tripe) and fresh spices. Some Thai restaurants in America serve this dish semi-wet, but actually it’s supposed to be fairly dry, which makes it perfect for eating with sticky rice.

This dish was adapted from a Thai cookbook I purchased at Costco (of all places). The book has beautiful pictures, but I didn’t have high expectations for the recipes. That’s because it was cheap and I’m always comparing recipes with mom’s home cooking. However, the few recipes I’ve tried are very good and this is definitely a keeper.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbs jasmine rice
• 10 oz pork or chicken, coarsely ground*
• 3 tbs lime juice
• 1 tbs fish sauce
• 2 stalks lemon grass, whites only, finely sliced
• 5 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 2-3 tbs finely chopped mint
• ¼ tsp sugar
• salt, lime juice and fish sauce to taste

Toast the jasmine rice in a pan until it’s brown. Then use a mortar and pestle to grind it to the consistency of kosher salt, and set aside.

Combine the ground meat with the lime juice and fish sauce. Using a blazing hot pan (such as a cast iron wok), heat about 1 tbs vegetable oil and stir fry the meat until the juices are evaporated. I know this seems like a strange way to start, but it actually works to keep the dish dry. Remove from heat and let it sit for a few minutes to cool. Drain away any cooking liquid before mixing the cooked meat with the spices. Adjust seasoning with salt, lime juice and fish sauce if desired. Sprinkle with ground jasmine rice, to taste.

*I find that pre-ground meat is often too “wet” so when I cook it, even in a blazing hot wok, it will release juices and won’t brown properly. I prefer to grind the meat myself. That way I can use the cut of meat I want and I can get the texture I want. It’s easy to do; you’ll only need a super sharp kitchen knife. Dice the meat into small cubes, then chop like you would parsley. Stop when you get the desired texture. For this dish, pork tenderloin or skinless, boneless thigh meat are best.