Meat on a Stick: Panang Cocktail Meatballs!

I just had a very fun night with an awesome bunch of women—all affiliated with Portland’s vibrant food scene! When my neighbor asked me to join them, I felt a little intimidated because I was going to be in the company of café owners, restaurant owners, caterers, chefs and photographers—you know, professionals. Women who know their stuff. I have to say, though, I was put at easy very quickly. Everyone was so friendly and it was fascinating to hear their stories. I came away with a lot of great information. Thank you so much to my neighbor for inviting me!



There was another reason I was feeling intimidated. Two words: appetizer potluck. What does a food enthusiast (=amateur) bring to a potluck for a bunch of women who know their stuff? What else but meat on a stick and dipping sauce, of course! Because professionals or no, everyone likes meat on a stick. And what's the fun of eating meat on a stick if you can't dip it in something?


Panang Cocktail Meatballs
serves a crowd (8 to 10)

• 2 lbs ground beef
• ¼ cup panang curry paste
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbs cornstarch
• 1 to 2 tbs fish sauce
• ½ to 1 tbs sugar
• 5 to 10 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
• Thai cucumber relish or sweet chili sauce for serving

To begin, set a large pot of water to boil. You may be wondering why? Because you are going to boil these meatballs. Boil meatballs!? Yes! And then you’ll stir-fry fry them. Sounds convoluted, I know, but trust me on this. When have I lead you astray?

You may cook the curry paste by frying it over low-medium heat in about a tablespoon of oil for about 5 minutes. This is not necessary, but it helps to enhance the flavor of the curry paste.

In a large bowl, scramble the eggs, then slowly add in the cornstarch and whisk until it’s well incorporated. Add in the curry paste, fish sauce, sugar and chopped lime leaves. Mix until you get a uniform mass. Mix in the ground beef and make sure it’s thoroughly incorporated. Form into mini-meatballs and plop them into the boiling water. They conveniently float to the top when they are cooked. Fish them out, drain them and let them cool, at least until they stop steaming.

One last step before you’re done! In an ideal world, I would grill these babies over low heat, but trying to start a fire in the rain is just stupid. The second best option is to stir-fry the meatballs to get a nice caramelized outside, while the inside remains moist. During the last minute of stir-frying, I drizzled in some sweet-sour glaze (simple syrup + rice vinegar, to taste) and chopped Thai basil (optional). Alternatively, you could use Thai sweet chili sauce. If you don’t feel like stir-frying you could just as easily stick them under a broiler for a few minutes, turning every so often, until they start to brown.

Serve stuck on skewers with accompanying dipping sauce.

Pad Panang

Panang curry is unlike your typical red or green curry. It’s not like a stew, but a stir-fry, hence the name pad (=stir-fry) panang. I’ve also seen it called gang panang, even though the word gang brings to mind something soupy. Traditionally, it is made with beef, which is generally not a common protein found in Thai cooking. Of course, you can choose the protein of your choice. Flavorwise, panang is generally sweeter and less spicy than red or green curries, so for those of you who can’t tolerate heat, this one is for you. Also, panang should have peanuts in the paste, but I’ve noticed that not all brands include this (the popular Mae Ploy brand doesn't). In that case, you may decide to add in some toasted, ground peanuts to your paste.

Something else you may notice--there is nothing but beef in this dish. In general, Thai curries have very few ingredients, usually just a meat and maybe a vegetable. At some Thai restaurants curries will come jam packed with vegetables. Sometimes I find that annoying because there are too many distracting flavors and textures. Anyhow, if you want to serve this curry with something green, you may try making ajad, which is the cucumber relish often served with fish cakes, satay or massaman curry. Or just serve with sliced fresh vegetables, such as cucumber, tomato and/or sliced carrots.

Lastly, let me touch on the cooking method, because that’s an important factor in the success of this dish. I’ve already discussed the need to fry the curry paste with the coconut cream. If you are unfamiliar with the method, you can read about it in my previous post and see a couple pictures of what it looks like. Of equal importance is the stir-frying bit. Every recipe I’ve come across calls for stir-frying the beef in the curry paste and then adding the coconut milk, allowing it to thicken a bit and adjusting the seasonings. After all the cooking and adjusting, the total cooking time may be 10 minutes or more, which I think is far too long. I have not had much luck stir-frying beef if it has to be in a hot wok for more than about 5 minutes. So here’s my solution: make the curry sauce first, stir-fry the beef and then add the sauce toward the end. Doing it this way allows me to get a good sear on the beef and cuts down the cooking time so the meat won’t overcook.

I know it may seem like a lot of information, but hopefully it has been helpful. Now, on to the recipe!

Pad Panang
Adapted from The Food of Thailand (see right sidebar)
Feeds 2 t0 3

• ¾ pound beef, sliced for stir-frying
• 7 kaffir lime leaves (2 will be finely sliced and used for garnishing)
• 5 oz coconut cream + 10 oz can lite coconut milk (NOT TJ's brand!!) or just one can of regular coconut milk, cream and milk separated
• 2 to 3 tbs panang curry paste
• sugar (palm sugar if you can find it), to taste
• fish sauce, to taste

In a large frying pan (nonstick not recommend) over medium heat, cook the coconut cream with the curry paste and kaffir lime leaves until the oil begins to separate out. Stir frequently and watch the heat to prevent burning. When the oil has separated out, the mixture will change in texture and move more as a mass. Be patient, as this may take a few minutes. Then slowly add the coconut milk and stir well. Allow to simmer until thickened slightly. Add sugar and fish sauce to taste. Don’t be too shy about it because the flavor will have to hold up when you add it to the beef. Set the sauce aside until needed. Also, you probably won’t need this entire portion. I think I used only half of it. Freeze the rest to use at another time.

Heat a wok over high heat. When it’s really (really!) hot, add couple tablespoons of oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and let it sear. This means don’t move it around for 20 to 30 seconds, then move it around only occasionally. When the beef is just about done, drizzle about half of the curry sauce down the sides of the wok. This will further caramelize the sauce, concentrating the flavors. Add more sauce if it seems too dry. Toss the meat in the sauce and quickly taste, adjusting if required. Once the meat is done, remove to a serving dish and garnish with sliced lime leaves.

Serve with steamed jasmine rice.


This is my submission to Weekend Wokking, a blogging event created by Wandering Chopsticks that focuses on a theme ingredient and the different ways to prepare it. This month we’re doing beef and the host is Palachinka. If you want to play along, send your submissions to palachinkablog(at)gmail(dot)com by March 29th.

Healthier Peanut Curry Sauce

Last week I had lunch at one those trendy cafes that touts fresh, healthy meals. You know the kind. Most of the meals are vegetarian and organic. The menu is comprised of salads, wraps, burritos and brown rice bowls. Everything is grilled or steamed; nothing is fried. The staff is heavily tattooed and/or pierced, with dreadlocks to complete the dirty hippy look. Don't get me wrong. I've got nothing against dirty hippies and steamed vegetables, as long as they taste good. The vegetables, not the hippies.



One of the menu offerings was steamed vegetables and brown rice with Thai peanut curry sauce. I'm no purist. I am always drawn to Thai curry, even if it’s not served in a traditional way. Well, traditional it was not. I expected something spicy and savory-sweet with a little coconut milk and peanut, but what I got didn't resemble anything Thai. It tasted like curry powder and peanut butter in yogurt or sour cream or some other tangy base. Yuck.

Anyhow, the whole episode got me thinking about Thai food, particularly curries, and what’s considered healthy. If there is any doubt, let me tell you that Thai curries would be close to the bottom of the “good for you” list. Blame it on the coconut milk. Lite coconut milk will cut out some of the fat, but I have a hard time enjoying curries made with the lite milk. To me the curries taste and feel too diluted. I crave the artery-clogging richness of regular coconut milk. However, in the interest of proving that healthy can be tasty, I wanted to try making a curry sauce using lite coconut milk. I can imagine mom rolling her eyes at that one.

Making a Thai curry, whether it be a traditional red curry or a trendy peanut curry sauce, requires a special first step. All it entails is cooking the coconut cream with the curry paste until the oil begins to separate out. Can you skip this step? Sure, but the curry will never be as good as it can be. And therein lies the problem with using lite coconut milk. There generally isn’t enough cream and the milk is too watery to achieve that separation.

To settle it once and for all, I did a side-by-side comparison of 3 lite milks as well as a half-and-half mixture. The three lite brands were A Taste of Thai, Thai Kitchen and Trader Joe’s. My favorite as far as taste and texture was the Thai Kitchen brand. None of the three had the characteristic solidified cream, but Thai Kitchen had a distinct thickness the other two lacked. I put all three in the fridge before using them and I was able to scoop two or three tablespoons of thick milk from Thai Kitchen. That’s just enough for this recipe. The worst of the three was Trader Joe’s in both taste and texture. It tasted and felt like poor quality coconut flavored water. I recommend that you not use TJ’s lite coconut milk for anything. Ever.

The other alternative, and one I found to be a good middle ground in both taste and texture, is to use a mix of the regular and lite coconut milk. For this recipe, use about 3 or 4 oz of the solidified cream from regular coconut milk and one 14oz can of lite milk. Conveniently, Asian markets sell small cans (about 6 oz) of coconut milk and almost the entire can is solidified cream. Some regular supermarkets may also sell them. If you can't find any in the Asian foods section, try the Hispanic foods. Just make sure there aren't any added sweeteners. Any unused cream can be frozen.


Thai Peanut Curry Sauce
Makes about 1 1/4 cup

• 1 oz smooth peanut butter or chopped peanuts (to taste) if you're into chunky stuff (optional)
• 1 to 2 oz panang or massaman curry paste (use less for less heat)
• 14 oz can lite coconut milk, "cream" and milk separated (recommend Thai Kitchen brand)
  
• sugar (palm sugar if you can find it!), to taste
• fish sauce to taste
• tamarind paste or lime juice, to taste (optional, if you want a sour component)

In a small bowl, mix the peanut butter, curry paste and coconut cream to a uniform mixture. ( If you put the can of coconut milk in the fridge a few hours before, it will be easier to scoop the thick stuff off the top.) Pour the mixture into a wok or skillet over medium heat. Cook , stirring frequently, until the oil starts to separate out of the mixture.



You’ll start to notice the texture of the mixture change, pictured below. Be sure to watch the heat because it will burn.


At this point, slowly add the coconut milk while stirring to get a uniform sauce (you may want to switch to a whisk). Add sugar and fish sauce to taste. Add the lime juice or tamarind puree here too, if using. Allow the sauce to cook a little to thicken, about 10 or 15 minutes. The sauce will also thicken a little as it cools.

That’s it! Easy, right?

How could you use this sauce? How about drizzled atop vegetables and brown rice? Or as a dipping sauce for tasty fried things. Or for dipping raw carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, if you’re more health conscious.

Here are some other (relatively) healthy Thai dishes you may enjoy:
laab (ground pork or chicken with fresh herbs)
som tom (spicy papaya salad)
tom yum soup (hot and sour soup)
Thai beef salad
Spicy shrimp and pomelo salad

Go check it out!

The Regional Recipes Mexico round-up is now up and you should check it out. Really you should. There's lots of inspiration to be had.

Thanks to Wandering Chopsticks for hosting and to all the participants for their submissions. It's the best RR round-up yet.

WC has chosen America as the next region. This should be interesting. I'm particularly interested to see what our overseas friends come up with. If you'd like to participate, check out the guidelines and send submissions to [eatingclub] vancouver at email(at)eatingclubvancouver(dot)com by April 15th.

BTW, if you've participated in past RR and would like to host, please let me know!

Will Blog for Free Toffee

A week or so ago, I was contacted by a marketer from See’s Candies asking if I’d like to receive a free sample of my choice to use in a dessert. In return, they asked that I mention their Easter candy is now available. I know that some bloggers may feel uncomfortable with this type of solicitation, but I’m not having a hard time with this one. My policy is if I like the product or find it useful I will put it out there. I’ve always done this, even though, up till now, I never got anything in exchange.



I have to say, it’s pretty funny that a chocolate candy company would offer to send me a free sample. To use in a dessert, no less. I’m not much of a chocolate fan and I tend to stay out of the sweet kitchen. So I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that I chose the Victoria Toffee. When I got it, the first thing I did was crush some up to sprinkle on top of homemade vanilla ice cream. Not quite the most creative way to use it, but it tasted simply fantastic. I am planning on using some of it in a cake/torte of some type. And if the stars line up right, I’ll be able to post about that soon.




Got any other good ideas? They sent me a pound of the toffee, so I've got a bit to work with. Let me know quick, because I have a feeling that I won’t be able to keep the candy monsters away for very long.

Mexican Adobo Braised Beef

If there’s one thing I miss about living in California it’s the Mexican food. And the Indian food. And the Chinese food. And the sunny weather. Okay, that’s 4 things, but other than those, I love it here in Portland!

May not look fancy, but it's totally satisfying!

In San Francisco, our apartment was only a couple of blocks from the vibrant Mission district (where it was ALWAYS sunny, even if the rest of the city was cloudy or covered in fog). Whenever we had a hankering for Mexican, we’d just walk down the street and pick up anything our hearts desired. Like a plate of chicken mole with rice. Or a fat juicy burrito stuffed with carnitas, beans and extra hot salsa. If we weren’t in the mood for the 2-block walk, we could just go across the street to the taco truck and score $1.50 pork al pastor tacos. Those were the days!

It’s not like there isn’t Mexican food here in the Portland metro area. It’s just not anything to write home about. I’d just as soon make it myself and one ingredient I love using are the Mexican dried chilies. For years I walked past them at the grocery store, never really noticing they where even there. But now that we regularly make Mexican food, various dried chilies have become a staple in my pantry.

A simple and straightforward way to use Mexican dried chilies is to make an adobo sauce, which I like to use for stewing or braising meat. Mexican-style adobo is easy to make and will impart a complex flavor to the meat, especially if a combination of chilies are used. I always throw in chipotles, because I love the subtle smoky flavor they impart. Feel free to use your favorite type of chili and tailor the flavor after your own tastes.




Basic adobo:
Makes about 2 cups

• 2 oz dried Mexican dried chilies (if possible use a combination, including chipotle)
• 1 onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• ½ can tomato paste (about 3 oz)
• 2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
• 2 to 3 tbs cider vinegar or lime juice
• 1 tsp kosher salt

To make the adobo, remove the seeds from the chilies if less heat is desired, and rehydrate the chilies by letting them steep in boiled water until soft. Once the chilies are soft enough, add them to a blender or food processor with the other ingredients and about ½ cup of water. I don’t like to use the chili soaking liquid because it’s sometimes too bitter. Process until you get a smooth mixture. It’s always nice to let the paste sit for a little time to allow the flavors to meld, but it’s not necessary. If you taste the mixture, it will taste raw. Don’t worry, it changes during the cooking process.


Mexican adobo braised beef
Serves 3

• 1.5 to 2 lbs beef chuck, cut for stewing
• half portion basic adobo (about 1 cup, freezer the remainder for another time!)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• a few springs fresh oregano
• salt, pepper and sugar (or agave nectar) to taste

Season the beef well with salt and pepper. In a heavy bottom pot with a lid, brown the beef, in batches if necessary. Remove and set aside. Add the adobo to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the paste from sticking to the pot (lower the heat a bit if necessary). Add the beef back in and turn to coat. Add about 1 ½ cups of water to thin it out a bit (like the consistency of spaghetti sauce). Add the cinnamon stick, bay leaves and oregano. Bring it up to a boil, lower the heat to barely a simmer, cover and cook until the beef is tender. This is probably a good time to taste it and add some salt and sugar, if desired. It may still taste a bit weak, but the flavor will enhance once it’s cooked with the beef. Alternatively, you could braise in the oven at 300° until tender.

Depending on my mood, I will shred the beef or leave it in chunks to serve. Either way, I like fish the beef out of the braising liquid and reduce the liquid to concentrate the flavors a bit and adjust the seasonings. I really recommend this step. It doesn’t take more than 15 extra minutes. Sometimes, if I’m feeling particularly ambitious, I’ll fry the beef in my cast-iron skillet to get bits of crispiness (a la carnitas) before returning it to the sauce. Serve with rice, tortillas, or tortilla chips, a healthy serving of beans and whatever other accompaniments you’d like.

If you like this dish, you may also like chicken mole, made with a combination of Mexican dried chilies and chocolate.

This is my submission to Regional Recipes, the blogging event that spotlights a regional/national cuisine. We've gone to Mexico this time. There's still time to get in on the action! Send your submissions to Wandering Chopsticks at wanderingchopsticks(at)gmail(dot)com by March 15th.

Weekend Wokking Round-up: the almond challenge!

As usual, this round of Weekend Wokking proved to be a challenge. Almonds were the theme ingredient, and I would guess they're not something most of use regularly in our cooking and baking. Kudos to the participants; they did a good job showing the versatility of this ingredient. There's a little bit of sweet, a little bit of savory and even a little bit of savory and sweet together. Enjoy!



Chocolate Almond Crunch submitted by Rita of Pink Bites in Seattle. I can't believe I forgot to include these tasties when I posted the round-up! My apologies to Rita. Can you guess what gives these chocolate almond clusters their crunch? It's not the almonds. You'll just have to click over to Rita's post to see her secret.




Almond Eggplant “Bisteeya” (Bastilla) submitted by [eatingclub] vancouver. Don’t let these girls fool you. They’re industrious and creative. They wanted to use almonds in its various forms , and they did just that with a result that was “ savory-sweet-eggy-nutty.”




Almond Coated Chicken Filet submitted by Pepsi’s life journal 1-2-3 in Norway. A great alternative to bread crumbs. I bet the almonds give a better texture to the crust as well as an extra layer of flavor.



Green Tea Soba Noodles with Almond Butter submitted by Wandering Chopsticks. It's quick, colorful and high in protein. Perfect match for miso-glazed salmon.




Cebollada con Almendras (Andalusian Onion and Almond Soup) submitted by Kits Chow in Vancouver. This is a savory soup with cumin, almond milk, and a touch of cinnamon. Based on a recipe that dates back to the 16th century and served to royalty!




Almond Stuffed Dates submitted by Yasmeen of Health Nut in Cleveland. Sweet Medjool dates stuffed with an almond paste cooked with a pinch of saffron. These tasty treats are a favored snack across the Middle East, but now you can make them at home no matter where you live!




Almond Orange Chicken and Veggies submitted by MomGateway. Chicken coated with finely chopped almonds tossed with seasonal vegetables in a soy-citrus sauce. Just give me a bowl of rice and a bottle of Sriracha and I'm ready for dinner!




Napoleonshatte with homemade marzipan submitted by me. Sugar cookies stuffed with marzipan and dipped in chocolate. This one was Hubby’s idea and I’m so glad he suggested it. The marzipan took less effort than I expected and the results were spectacular!




Again, thank you to the participants for the inspiration!

For the next secret ingredient, I choose BEEF! I went in on a quarter beef with a friend and we've got an assload of it, especially ground. So I'm looking for your best beef recipes. The host this time is Marija of Palachinka.(If you haven't checked out her blog, do head over there. It's got gorgeous photos and there's a recent whimsy post she did featuring Alice in Wonderland). Please read over the submission guidelines and send your submissions to palachinkablog(at)gmail(dot)com by Sunday, March 29th.