Blazing Hot Wok

A Tasty Meal for Under $10!

2008-10-08T13:42:00.000-07:00

Citymama’s $10 food challenge has been quite eye opening. I knew that I could make a delicious dinner for my family within that budget, but I was curious to see how far that would really take me. Would I be able to squeeze in more than just an entrée? Would I have to cut out the meat? I was surprised at what I found.

The dish I decided to make was pan-fried udon noodles. I made this dish a couple of weeks ago using beef, shitake mushrooms and broccoli, but of course I didn’t calculate how much it cost. I assumed it would put me over the $10 limit, so I decided to do it with tofu this time. We’re trying to eat less meat anyways. As it turns out, made with tofu, broccoli and carrots, the dish came in at $5.64, well under the $10 limit. With over $4 left over, I could squeeze in a simple salad (lettuce and cucumber sprinkled with sesame seeds) with nice a miso dressing. A balanced, tasty meal for $10!

Since I came in far under budget with the vegetarian version, I wondered how much it would cost to do it with beef. My preference is to use grass-fed beef (chuck steak), which cost $5.99/ lb at Whole Foods. The same cut of conventional beef at Safeway was $5.29 / lb. I expected the difference to be bigger. The big surprise, though, was Safeway’s price for stir-fry cut beef, over $7/ lb!!! It definitely pays to cut it yourself. Besides, they use a machine to cut the beef, rather than purposely cutting against the grain. Big no no, unless you like tough meat. Long story short—using 10 ounces of grass-fed beef still kept the price under $10 ($8.24 to be exact). Not enough left over to squeeze in the salad, but as Hubby pointed out, enough for a beer with his meal.

One way I keep costs down is to shop around. Whole Foods and Safeway are convenient for me, so that’s where I end up the most. I’ll make a trip to a big Asian supermarket (usually Fubonn or Uwajimaya) every couple of weeks or so. I could get a lot of my Asian sauces at the other two, but I rarely do. Asian products are cheaper at an Asian market. Here is an example. Mirin costs $3.58 for a 17-oz bottle at Fubonn. At Safeway and Whole Foods it’s $5.49 and $8.99 for only 10.5 ounces, respectively. I once saw Sriracha for $5.99 for a 28oz bottle at a local supermarket, but it’s only $2.58 for the same size at Fubonn. It’s smart to get to familiar with your local ethnic markets, no?

If you 're interested to see the cost breakdown, click on the file link 10dollarchallenge.doc.
You'll see the prices I paid, the amounts I used and where I got the item.

If you want more $10 meal ideas, check out Citymama’s site in the next couple of days to see the round-up.

Are you up for a food challenge?

2008-10-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

Citymama is doing a $10 challenge and I’m going to play along. The idea is to make a nutritious meal for a family of 4 for $10 or less. I want to make something that is reflective of the food we eat, rather than making just anything that I know will come in under $10. Not completely decided yet, but it will probably be some kind of stir-fry with either rice or noodles.

Think you can do it? Great! Check out her post for details.

This food challenge has got me thinking about the price of food these days. I have definitely been watching what we spend on groceries. I watch for specials and buy the store brands more often. A couple of weeks back, one of my local grocery stores (I have 4 within 2 miles of my home) had my favorite brand of pasta on special, $0.99 per box, down from $2.49. They put a limit of six, so I went back twice that week and bought six boxes each time. I think I was being smart, but you may think I’m crazy. Either way, I saved $27!

I was in another one of my local stores yesterday. One of the items on my list was bagels, but I just flat out refused when I saw they were $4.99 for a bag of six. Just plain ol’ bagels. Nothing fancy. Not organic. Talk about highway robbery! I ended up not buying them. I would rather wait until I visit one of the other stores, where I knew they’d be at least a dollar less.

What about you? Do you watch what you spend on food? How? Are there foods you don’t buy as often or have stopped buying because of price? I’d love to know.

Succulent Pineapple Chicken

2008-10-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

If you thought I agonized over getting a gas grill, you haven’t heard me go on about getting a pressure cooker. On the one hand, I know that using a pressure cooker is a lot more green than having my stove turned on for 3 hours to braise pork shank. Could you imagine, pork shank done in less than 1 hour? Think of all the extra time I'd have to waste!

BUT...I’m scared of freak explosions. Please don’t roll your eyes! It could happen.

HOWEVER...I shoved my fear aside and just did it. Bought a pressure cooker. Yes, I did!

AND...I love it! I’ve made carnitas and a stewed pineapple chicken. The pork took less than 1 hour and the chicken took a little more than half an hour from prep to table. And no freak explosions! Seriously folks, this is the way to go!

This stewed chicken was so delicious. The chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender and the sauce had just the right amount of heat, sweetness and saltiness. Our family really enjoyed this dish and I think yours will too.

Succulent Pineapple Chicken
Feeds 3 or 4 adults

6 skinless chicken drumsticks or thighs (also works well with 1.5 lbs pork butt or country ribs)
½ cup fresh pineapple, chopped or crushed (canned pineapple in juice is also fine!)
1 healthy knob ginger, grated
5 to 10 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, finely sliced
1 tbs brown sugar
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce (or 3 tbs regular soy)
1 ½ cup chicken stock (water is also fine)
whole jalapeno(s) sliced lengthwise, to taste (optional)
salt, to taste

Rub a little oil on the chicken. Brown it well on a very hot pan. Once the chicken is browned, transfer it to the pressure cooker. Add the other ingredients. Give it a quick stir, lock the lid and following your manufacturer’s instructions for cooking. For my cooker, I ended up cooking for 13 minutes (after pressure built up) and let the pressure release itself, about 10 minutes. If you use pork chunks, the cooking time will increase. Follow your manufacturer’s guidelines.

You can achieve the same results by braising on your stovetop or in your oven (325 to 350F), but it will probably take over an hour.

To serve, I removed the meat from the bone into a deep serving dish. I concentrated the sauce a bit by simply reducing it over high heat, then poured it over the chicken.

Perfect served with steamed rice (and extra sambal oelek on the side!).

A Quick Dip into the Political Arena

2008-09-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

This is a food blog and I usually stick to food-related posts, but with all the election hoopla and commentary on the debates, I just can’t leave it be. I’m not particularly political. From the very beginning, I knew who my guy was. Yes, the issues are always important, but the fact is, I’ve just always liked the guy. I like the way he carries himself. He seems genuinely genuine. I could never articulate this gut feeling about Obama, but after reading Citymama’s post on the Momocrats site, I was thinking yes yes yes! She hit the nail on the head. Definitely check it out, if you want a unique perspective.

If I was Stranded on a Desert Island...

2008-09-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

Alex of Just Cook It! did a fun post asking people to list the 5 foods they'd want with them on a desert island. Check it out! It'll be fun to see people's responses.

Here's my list:

1. Fish sauce. Even though he said there'd be unlimited fish and sea salt, I couldn't be bother to make my own.

2. Rice. I'd go into shock if I went without for more than a couple of days.

3. Limes. Goes great with fish.

4. Cilantro. My favorite fresh herb.

5. Garlic. It won out over chili, but just barely.

Weekend Wokking: Pumpkin Coconut Creme Brulee

2008-09-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

There’s really nothing to say about this dessert, except that it’s absolutely fabulous! Everybody who tastes it will sing your praises. They’ll tell you that you’re a genius. They’ll tell you that your pumpkin coconut crème brulee is probably the best they’ve ever tasted. You’ll even have the die-hard-vanilla-only-crème-brulee purists wrapped around your finger. It’s that good.

Note: I used garam masala because this dessert was destined for an Indian food potluck. You may choose the more traditional spices found in pumpkin pie or Emeril's suggestions.

Pumpkin Coconut Crème Brulee
adapted from Emeril’s recipe

1 cup coconut milk
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ tsp garam masala
1 cup mashed pumpkin
8 egg yolks
approx 2 tbs raw sugar for the top (I hear granulated works fine too)

In a medium saucepan, heat the coconut milk, heavy cream, sugars and garam masala just to the boiling point, stirring frequently.

While the cream is heating, in a large glass or non-reactive bowl, whip the egg yolks until they are pale, about 2 minutes.

Temper the eggs by adding about a cup of the hot cream slowly with vigorous whipping. Add the remaining cream and mashed pumpkin. Whisk well to mix thoroughly.

Strain the mixture through a semi-fine sieve. Don’t skip this step because the pumpkin may have some coarse or gritty bits in it. Divide the custard among eight ½ cup ramekins or a casserole dish that can hold about 4 cups. Place in a water bath (use boiling water), making sure the water goes at least halfway up the sides of the ramekins or casserole. Bake at 300F. The ramekins will take about an hour. It took me 1.5 hours for the larger casserole. These times are approximate. The custard will not be firm like a quiche, but it shouldn't appear runny either. It’s best to use your judgment. If it still looks too wobbly, leave it in for longer, checking every 10 minutes or so.

Once the custard is done, remove it from the oven and place it on a rack to cool to room temperature before sticking it in the fridge to set overnight.

To serve, put the custard in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before caramelizing the sugar on top. If you are going to use a broiler for the job, freeze the custard for 45 minutes to 1 hour, otherwise the custard will be warm and loose, rather than thick and creamy. Trust me, it won’t freeze through. Serve immediately after caramelizing the sugar.

This is my submission to Weekend Wokking (just in the nick of time!), created by Wandering Chopsticks. Precious Pea is hosting this month. Check out the round-up at her site this coming Wednesday to see the other submissions and to get the next secret ingredient. To find out who’s hosting or if you’re interesting in hosting, click here.

Regional Recipes

2008-09-18T22:36:00.001-07:00

My two favorite hobbies are food and traveling. When I’m preparing for a trip abroad, I’ll research the region to death. I want to know what I should see, but more importantly, what I should eat or what special ingredients I should try to get my hands on. The problem is, I don’t have the time or the resources to visit all the places on my list. And so, Regional Recipes is born*!

What's Regional Recipes?

It's a blogging event that celebrates food from all over the world! Each month a region will be selected and people should post a recipe originating from that area. Submissions should be for a particular dish or should spotlight a particular ingredient that is widely used and somewhat unique to that region. To make it really interesting, I think participants should give some background about the dish or ingredient. By background, I’m not thinking just facts, but maybe a little story. Give us some context. Why is this dish great? How did you come upon it? During your travels? Did a friend make it for you? Your mom taught it to you? That type of stuff.

All right then, let’s get started! For the Regional Recipes kick-off, I’ll start with a place that is a popular vacation and food destination: Greece!

Greece has been at the top of my list for as long as I can remember. I’m attracted by the rich history, the mythology, the promise of warm days and blue waters. And of course, there’s the food. If my family is reading this, they know where I think we should go on our next family vacation.

What do you think? Sound fun and challenging? Already have a dish in mind? Grand! Read the rules below to find out how to participate. I’m not very good at following rules myself, so I’ll keep it short. If things need to change, we can do it as we go. Please feel free to leave comments or advice. This is my first time starting an event, so any help is always appreciated.

*Thank you to Wandering Chopsticks for coming up with the name and for answering all of my *dumb* questions. Thanks also to my Hubby for helping me with the logo and other computer shit I don't know how to do.

_________________________________________________

The Rules:
1. Make a dish, write it up and include a picture. I really think pictures give people an idea of what the dish should look like and convince them why they should try it.

2. In your write-up, make sure you link to this page so other people can find the information on this event. As a courtesy, please include a link to the current host. Hosting a blogging event can be a time consuming task, so let’s give the hosts some recognition.

If you want a logo to include in your post you may use this one:

Simply copy and paste the following HTML

(If you are viewing this in a feed reader, you may not see the code. To get the code, you'll have to come to my site)

3. Submit your entry to the host. Include your name (or handle), your location, your blog’s name and URL, the permalink to the post and a picture that is about 200x200 pixels (give or take), unless a different size is requested by the host.

4. Entries should be submitted by the 15th of the month so the round-up can be posted on the 20th.

I'll be hosting the inaugural event. Send your entries to blazinghotwok(at)gmail(dot)com by midnight on the 15th of October. If you’re interested in hosting future events, please let me know and I’ll get a list started.

Try These Spicy, Delicious Chicken Wings!

2008-09-11T22:54:00.000-07:00

I’ve really been having a tough time writing anything lately. There are a ton of things I want to share, but when I sit down to write, I can’t focus. Too much on my mind. The only thing I can think to say is, Try this dish! It’s delicious!

Can I get away with that just this once?

But really, try this dish! It is delicious! It’s chicken wings, for goodness sakes! Who wouldn’t like that?

I guess I should also mention the main flavor component, ground chilli with fried garlic paste. It has a bit of lemongrass, which gives it a nice herbal-ness, if you know what I mean. You can find it at your local Asian market or online. Or if you prefer to make something similar yourself, Wandering Chopsticks has a recipe for Vietnamese Lemongrass Chili Sauce that I highly recommend. Either one will do the job nicely here.

Chilli Garlic Chicken Wings

12-15 chicken wings, separated at the joint
1 bunch green onions, cut into 2-inch segments, white and greens separated
2 tbs ground chilli with fried garlic paste
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs lime juice
fish sauce to taste

To make this dish, I first cook the chicken wings in my oven then toss them in a wok with the sauce. This caramelizes the sauce and coats the wings nicely.

Start by seasoning the wings well with salt and pepper. Put them into a pre-heated 350° for about 20 minutes. I have a convection oven, but if you have a conventional oven maybe 375° is better for browning.

While the wings are cooking, prepare the sauce by mixing the chilli paste, sugar and lime juice. Feel free to change the proportions to your preference. Add fish sauce to taste. Set aside until needed.

When the wings are done, remove them from the oven and let them cool a little while you’re heating your wok over high heat. Once it’s hot, add a little oil and add the chicken wings with the whites of the onions. Stir-fry until the onions soften and brown a little, about 2-3 minutes. Add about 2/3 of the sauce mix to start then the greens of the onions. Toss vigorously, otherwise the sauce may burn due to the high sugar content. Turn down the heat a bit if you need to. Add more sauce if necessary to get a nice coating. Use any leftover sauce for dipping.

Creamy Indian Curry with Chicken

2008-09-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, I was walking around my local Whole Foods when I was suddenly hit with the most delicious aroma. It was like someone had put a big bowl of Indian curry right in front of my nose. I followed the aroma and was lead to a cooking demonstration being put on by the folks of Katmandu Foods. In front of the cook stood open jars of various Shiba's brand chutneys, pickles and curry pastes. “Here, dear. I know you want to taste this, “ she said, handing me a small paper cup with spiced rice. “Take a little of each and see what you like,” she said, pointing to the open jars in front of her. She didn’t have to convince me. I tried each and every one, some more than once. All the products I tried were delicious. It took a lot of will power to walk away with only one jar of curry paste and one jar of chutney.

Today I cracked open the curry paste. It was so aromatic. You know what I’m talking about-- that characteristic aroma of Indian spices. The paste tasted good coming right out of the jar—full of flavor and adequately salted. There were cooking suggestions on the label, but I wanted to do a little bit of experimenting myself. I was thinking something in the way of buttered chicken, just kicked up a notch. What I ended up with was so tasty and surprisingly easy. No elaborate doctoring, like is often the case with other store-bought pastes or simmer sauces. Even before the addition of cream, the curry was rich and well spiced (but not spicy hot). Even Sonny ate every morsel on his plate, despite early protestations that it looked gross*.

*Side note: Sonny is currently at the stage where everything that’s not pizza, burgers or mac-n-cheese looks gross. This basically means everything I put on the table. He starts by refusing to eat it; we threaten with consequences. He gives in and finally tastes it. Usually he ends up eating his entire serving without further incident. We go through this ritual almost every evening and it exasperates me to no end. Please tell me he will outgrow this stage very soon.

I know the paste can be found at Whole Foods in the Portland area as well as online at www.katmandufoods.com. The retail store is in Salem, OR.

Creamy Indian Curry with Chicken
serves 3

1 ½ tbs Shiba's Curry Paste
1 tbs tomato paste
3 tbs ghee (or half oil and butter is fine too)
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 stick cinnamon
4 chicken thighs, cut into chunks or slices
splash of heavy cream (maybe a tablespoon or two)
salt, to taste
sugar, to taste (I used a pinch to offset the tomato paste)

For this dish, use a heavy bottom pot with a lid. Melt the ghee over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the sliced onion and cinnamon stick. Fry the onion until it starts to brown. Turn down the heat if it’s burning or becoming too dry. You’re not trying to caramelize; the onions should be sort of crispy on the edges yet softened. It may take up to 10 minutes.

While the onions are browning, combine the curry paste with the tomato paste. Mix well.

When the onions are sufficiently browned/softened, turn down the heat a little and add the paste mix. Cook for about 30 seconds to a minute, stirring constantly to keep it from burning and sticking. You should smell a delicious aroma coming from the pot.

Turn the heat back up a little and add the chicken. Sauté until the chicken doesn’t appear raw, about 2 or 3 minutes. A little liquid will be released from the chicken and it should appear to be simmering robustly. Turn down the heat to low and simmer covered for about 30 minutes. You shouldn’t need to add any water, but if it appears too dry, just add a little water to prevent burning.

After about 30 minutes, remove the lid and add the cream. Stir and adjust flavor with salt and a little sugar if necessary. Give it a quick stir, and you’re done! Serve immediately with steamed basmati rice or naan bread.

Weekend Wokking with Eggplant

2008-08-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

Eggplant is one of those vegetables that I’m very particular about. I’m not a big fan of those oversized specimens often found in the grocery store. There are two reasons. First, they are usually tasteless. Second, the proportion of skin to pulp is wrong—there just isn’t enough skin. The pulp just cooks up to a pile of mush. That may be okay if I’m making a dip or baby food but completely useless when I’m trying to stir-fry. That’s why I stick to the small Thai or long Chinese varieties for Asian cooking.

This eggplant stir-fry is a very popular dish found in Thai restaurants across the US, but I don't remember mom ever making it at home. I'll have to ask her why that is because it turns out to be quite easy to throw together and packs a flavorful punch. And my version is far less oily than what's found in most restaurants.

The key to this dish is the Thai black soy sauce. And just to confuse you, it may also be called "dark soy sauce" or "dark thick soy sauce" or "dark sweet soy sauce". This "dark sweet soy sauce" should not be confused with the "real" sweet soy sauce, which is also dark. LOL

Anyhow, there are two popular brands, Healthy Boy or Dragonfly. I like the Healthy Boy brand. I was only familiar with their mushroom soy sauce, but I've recently discovered they have a whole line of soy sauces available and the ones I've tried are all good. Mom uses the Dragonfly brand. To me it tastes a little too strongly of molasses.

Note: In Martin Yan’s Chinatown Cooking (see right sidebar), he explains that the best way to prepare Chinese eggplant is to first oil blanch it, which results in an intense and concentrated eggplant flavor. This is a very common practice in Asian restaurants (and is often used with green beans), but I can’t be bothered to do it at home. I find briefly steaming the vegetable to be a little more manageable. Steaming will soften the vegetable a little and cuts back on the stir-frying time. You can decide which you prefer.

Thai Eggplant Stir-fry with Chicken
Serves 3-4

2 long Chinese eggplants, cut lengthwise into quarters and then into 2 to 3 inch segments
3 chicken thighs, roughly hand minced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
½ bunch Thai sweet basil, leaves only
chillies to taste, cut in half lengthwise (optional)
1 ½ tbs Thai black soy sauce
2 tbs thin soy sauce (or 1 tbs regular soy sauce, such as Kikkoman)
½ tsp brown sugar
½ tsp fish sauce + more to adjust flavor to taste

Start by preparing the eggplants. Prepare a steamer and steam the eggplants for about 5 minutes. They should begin to soften but still feel spongy. Remove them from the steamer to cool a bit. You could even steam them the day before and store them in the fridge until ready to use.

Alternatively, the eggplant can be oil blanched. Heat enough oil to deep fry the eggplant. The oil should be hot enough for deep frying, about 350º. Make sure the eggplant is completely dry before introducing them to the oil and do not crowd them. Fry until they get a bit soft (not mushy!), about 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Drain them well.

Mix the minced garlic and minced chicken in a small bowl and set aside. Make the sauce by combining the black soy sauce, thin soy sauce, fish sauce and brown sugar. Stir to dissolve.

Heat a wok over high heat. When it’s hot, add about 2 tbs oil (peanut, grapeseed, or vegetable). When the oil begins to smoke, add the chicken and chillies, if using, and stir-fry until almost done, about 2 minutes. Do not over stir the meat; give it about 20 to 30 seconds between each stir to get a proper sear. Add the eggplant and basil. Again, don’t over stir. Let the eggplant sear a little as well. Add the sauce mix and stir to coat the meat and vegetables. When it’s all heated through, it’s done. Transfer immediately to a serving bowl or plate and serve with steamed jasmine rice.

This is my submission for this month's Weekend Wokking hosted by Palachinka. If you're interested in hosting or want to see who's hosting in the future, check out this page.

SE Asian Pilaf

2008-08-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

Hey, guess what?! I like delicious food and I bet you do too, right? I don’t care if it’s *authentic* or not. I’ll be the first to admit, I don't cook authentic food. It's not that I can't, I just like experimenting (I'm a woman of science, didn't you know?). As long as it tastes good, I’m happy. I guess this must really drive the purists out there crazy (hi, mom!).

This picture really doesn't do this rice justice. The herbs make it so fragrant and the shrimp paste gives it so much flavor. You'll just have to try it for yourself to see.

Since I’m in a bit of a mood, I’m going to make those purists really nuts with this recipe for SE Asian rice pilaf. It’s not really a classic Thai dish, but has classic Thai flavors. I could have called it fried rice, but when I think of fried rice, I think one-wok meal, complete with protein and vegetables. This is more of a side dish— a pilaf to accompany grilled fish or chicken. It’s also good for breakfast served with a fried egg on top and a couple squirts of fish sauce. And yes, I’m completely serious about the breakfast thing. So there you go, something that’s not authentic but totally delicious anyways.

SE Asian Rice Pilaf
Serves 4

1 stalk lemongrass, white part only, finely sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, smashed
3 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
1 to 2 tbs shrimp paste in soy bean oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
½ tsp brown sugar
24 oz cooked, cold rice (about 5 cups)
fish sauce, to taste

Note: Shrimp paste in soy bean oil can be found at any Asian market that has SE Asian items. Or you can order it online. It's not fermented, which means it's not stinky, but the oil has a way of leaking out and staining stuff red-orange, so be sure to store it in a plastic Ziploc bag or similar. Don't let the fact that it contains the "buttery substance in shrimp heads" turn you off. You wouldn't have known if no one had mentioned it. :-)

In a mortar, combine the lemongrass, garlic and kaffir lime leaves and pound until you get a uniform paste. Put some elbow grease into it, otherwise the lemongrass won't break down enough and it'll be unpleasant to chew and swallow. Transfer the paste to a bowl and mix in the shrimp paste.

Heat a wok on medium-high heat. Add about 2 tbs oil for stir-frying. When hot, but not smoking, add the seasoning paste and the shallots. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds to release the flavor of the herbs. Be careful not to let the paste burn. Add the brown sugar and incorporate. Add the rice and stir-fry until well coated with the seasoning paste and heated through. Add fish sauce to taste. Serve as a side dish with simple grilled fish or chicken.

Daddy's Got Skilz

2008-08-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

My in-laws are visiting for a few days. They wanted an extended summer, but what they are getting is hell. Literally. It's been 90+ degrees inside the house for the last two days and even I, the one who grew up in Las Vegas, am feeling uncomfortable. Just imagine how miserable the Vikings are feeling. Oh well, nothing to do but drink more beer!

Danes have a collective skill. They can open beer bottles with just about any object. Normally they just use lighters, but a fork, blunt knife, rock and as you can see, a hammer works well too.

Obviously, we haven't been cooking food inside. Tonight we grilled up chicken that was so delicious, it was snapped up before I could pull some aside to snap a proper picture. I marinated the chicken in a paste made by combining naam phrik phao with some garlic and Thai sweet basil. Can't go wrong with that combination, can you? So here you go!

Watch the master at work! And if you're following the gas vs coal saga, we still haven't done it.

Grilled Chicken Marinated in Naam Phrik Phao and Thai Sweet Basil

5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (breasts will work okay too)
2 cloves garlic
2 tbs naam phrik phao
2 handfuls Thai sweet basil (use the stem and flowers too!)
4 tbs thin soy sauce or about 2-3 tbs regular soy sauce

When I grill thighs, I like to pound them to get them to a uniform thickness. Breaking down the meat fibers a little also allows the marinade to penetrate better, which means less marinating time. I definitely recommend doing this.

Make the marinating paste by pounding the garlic and Thai sweet basil. Transfer to a bowl and add the naam phrik phao and soy sauce. Mix well.

Add the paste to the chicken and rub it around to coat the chicken. Marinate for at least 3 hours in the fridge. Pounded chicken breasts need less time. One to 2 hours is probably sufficient for them. Take the chicken out of the fridge about 30 to 45 minutes before grilling to take the chill off. Grill over direct heat.

I served the chicken with Thai sticky rice. I also put out some sambal oelek, naam phrik phao and soy sauce for dipping.

Here are some other recipes using naam phrik phao that you may enjoy: Beef and asparagus stir-fry, stir-fry with naam phrik phao, Thai basil and coconut milk, shrimp and pomelo salad, and Thai hot and sour soup.

Here's How We City Folk Do It

2008-08-10T17:57:00.000-07:00

Don't have the time or inclination to take your kid camping? Here's what you do:

1. Send your husband to the sporting goods store to buy the biggest, most obnoxious tent he can find.

2. Invite your kid's best friends, whose parents also happen to be your best friends, for an outdoor sleepover.

3. Get the kids all sugared up on smores and let them run around the backyard like a pack of wild animals. Your neighbors can live with the annoyance for just one night. (After all, you have to put up with their teenage kid and his garage band. Or the dog barking at all hours of the night. Or the girl next door, sitting out on the deck, recounting her *awesome* date last night. And it did sound awesome, if I was 24 again.)

4. Put the kids to sleep then let the adults drink lots of beer by the fire pit. Or if they prefer, play video games until the wee hours of the night.

5. Make the dads sleep outside with the kids while the mamas sleep on the cozy beds inside the house.

6. Make a hardy breakfast, preferably using cast iron skillets to get the full effect. Then send everyone home exhausted and declare the end of the camping season!

The instructions were basically useless. Or maybe they were wonderfully written and it was the user that was the problem?

It only took about an hour or so to put up the tent. And there was a minimum amount of cussing.

Just so you can get an idea how big our tent was. Everyone just ended up sleeping in ours.

Little angels. An hour earlier they were little devils.

No, that's not a woman with a beard! It's a tired daddy, who stayed up until 3:30AM playing video games. The first kid woke up at 6:15AM. HAHA.

Try getting 5 kids to sit still so you can take a picture. It is impossible.

Weekend Wokking Round-up is Here!

2008-08-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

I know you've all been anxiously awaiting the Weekend Wokking round-up featuring tomatoes. Well, it's here! The submissions this month came from all over the globe and were wonderfully varied. Caprese salad from the Philippines, anyone? Or how about tomato and pork stir-fry from Serbia? So without further ado, here are the submissions:

Tomato Bread Salad submitted by Where's the Bubbler? (I love the story behind the name!) from Southern California. Fresh tomatoes tossed with herbs, red onion, ciabatta cubes and a lemon dressing. Along with Caprese salad, this has to be one of the best ways to enjoy tomatoes at their peak!

Tomato and Cheese Bake submitted by Heart and Hearth. Melted cheese atop a delicious tomato? And they're perfect with cocktails? Yes please!

Ketchup Prawns submitted by NoobCook. A dish that combines one of my favorite condiments with one of my favorite proteins?! In a stir-fry? I will definitely be trying this one soon!

Chicken Tomato Curry submitted by Tigerfish of teczcape-an escape to food. The combination of curry powder, sweet onions and tomatoes give this dish the perfect flavor combination--spicy and tangy.

Insalata Caprese submitted by Manggy of No Special Effects from the Philippines. What a wonderfully simple yet elegant dish. This is the way everyone wants to eat tomatoes when they are in season.

Vietnamese Stuffed Tomatoes submitted by Wandering Chopsticks from Southern California. What a delicious twist on stuffed tomatoes! I can almost taste the savory stuffing contrasting beautifully with the sweetness of the tomato. And a beautiful presentation leaving the stems on!

Ravioli "Caprese" submitted by sisters TS and JS of [eatingclub] vancouver from Vancouver, Canada. Who wouldn't love homemade ravioli stuffed with roasted tomatoes, basil and boccocini topped with balsamic reduction and herb infused oil??? Oh my goodness, this decadent dish could certainly make a girl swoon!

Egg and tomato submitted by gaga in the kitchen (I love that name!). In case you weren't aware, fried eggs with tomatoes is a Chinese dish. And I always thought this was a Thai dish because it was a standard in our house too. LOL Served over steamed rice, there's nothing easier and more comforting!

Stuffed Tomatoes submitted by Giz of Equal Opportunity Kitchen from Canada. This is the most creative presentation I've encountered for stuffed tomatoes. A fresh tomato stuffed with chicken salad. This is perfect summer fare.

Tomato Pork submitted by Palachinka. This dish sounds and looks like my kind of comfort food. Pork stir-fried with seasonal vegetables in a sauce of douchi (aka fermented black beans), garlic and tomato puree. Sounds perfect served with a bowl of steaming rice.

Tomato and Thai Eggplant Stir-fry submitted by Blazing Hot Wok. Fresh tomatoes are always best IMO, but it wouldn't be too hard to convince me to take them in this spicy-sweet yet savory stir-fry!

Thanks to all the participants! Please remember to link the round-up to your post.

Now for next month's secret ingredient....

Are you ready???

I think we're doing so well with the Nightshade family, let's stick with it. First the potato, then the tomato, and now it's EGGPLANT!!

I know you all have a special eggplant dish you want to share so get to it! Palachinka is hosting this month. Submissions should be sent to palachinkablog(at)gmail(dot)com by Sunday, August 31.

Indonesian-style Egg Noodles

2008-08-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

A group of us at work have started an unofficial food club. The idea is to take turns “teaching” the others about any food-related topics in which we have experience. The topics can range from stir-frying, making cheese, canning, baking, using a pressure cooker—basically anything to do with food. It’s really fun because we get hands-on “demonstrations”, but it’s still very informal and social.

I volunteered to host the first meeting and the topic was stir-frying, of course! My goal was to cover technique as well as introduce some common Asian ingredients. I provided noodles, rice, tofu and all the sauces we were going to use. The attendees brought the other ingredients and their woks, if they had one. Bringing the woks worked out perfectly because we discussed the different materials and their advantages or disadvantages. I laid out a sample of all the sauces and special ingredients and allowed everyone to taste them. The only thing that scared the group a little was the fermented shrimp paste. Most of them passed on the taste test; the smell was quite enough!

Thai fermented shrimp paste. Some call it stinky. I prefer "odoriferous". It will keep indefinitely in the fridge. You may want to store it in a Ziploc bag for extra protection.LOL It's also used in Thai curry pastes. It's also a good substitute for Indonesian fermented shrimp paste.

The meeting turned out to be a success. Everyone enjoyed tasting the different sauces and how the flavors changed or complimented other ingredients in the final result. One person said she never tasted tofu before the meeting. She’d heard so many people say they didn’t like it, but she loved it. Yay! A convert! I love when that happens.

One of the dishes we prepared was Indonesian-style egg noodles. I chose this recipe because I wanted to demonstrate how to cook noodles in a wok and introduce some common ingredients in Indonesian food, namely kecap manis and fermented shrimp paste. After the taste testing though, I was afraid to use the shrimp paste. The original recipe called for 1 tbs of the stinky stuff, but I brought it down to just ¼ tsp dissolved in water to give a total of 1 tbs. Turns out I shouldn’t have toned it down. Everyone liked the dish very much but agreed it could have used more of the shrimp paste flavor. We ended up sprinkling on fish sauce to make up for the lost umami.

I made the recipe again, this time using more shrimp paste, although not the entire 1 tbs, and it was really delicious. Kecap manis gave it sweetness as well a bit of saltiness. The shrimp paste shined! It came through to give a nice complexity and it was not fishy at all (although it was quite odoriferous when it hit the hot wok ☺). I recommend using it if you can get your hands on it. It’s available from any Asian market that sells SE Asian ingredients. If you can’t or don’t want to find it, fish sauce will compensate for some of the lost complexity, although it’s not quite the same.

Notes: The recipe calls for 1 pound fresh, thick egg noodles. They may be labeled yakisoba-style noodles. I couldn’t find any, so I used 8 oz Filipino dried egg noodles. They simply needed to be boiled for like 2 minutes, drained, rinsed in cold water and tossed with a little bit of oil to keep from sticking.

Hey manggy or Marvin, are the noodles actually called pancit canton? Or are they just trying to show these are the noodles to use for pancit canton? I'm kinda confused.

The original recipe called for topping with a fried egg, but I didn’t have any left after breakfast. How disappointing because the creamy yolk goes so well with the flavors and adds another texture. Otherwise there’s not any real protein in the dish. If you wanted, you could add tofu (which is what we did for the food club version) or chicken or shrimp.

Don’t forget the condiments, especially the fried onions! They add a wonderful textural component. I prefer to use an Asian brand, but Trader Joe’s fried onions are also fine. I don’t like the texture of French’s fried onions. They bread them or something. I also always serve noodles with lime wedges, sambal oelek and of course fish sauce (I can't help it, I'm Thai!) so that people can adjust the taste to their liking.

Indonesian-style Stir-fried Egg Noodles
From The Food and Cooking of Indonesia and the Philippines
Serves 3 or 4

1 pound fresh thick egg noodle (or 80z dried noodles; see note above)
2 shallots, minced
3 spring onions, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 tsp fermented shrimp paste (called belacan or kappi shrimp paste), dissolved in 1 tbs water
1 tbs tomato paste
2 tbs kecap manis
4 eggs, fried over easy or over medium for serving (optional, but highly recommended)
fried onions for topping
1 or 2 scallions, finely sliced for garnish (optional)

If using dried noodles, prepare them first because they can be set aside. See note above about preparation.

Combine the mined herbs together in a small bowl. They will go into the wok together.

Dissolve the shrimp paste in water, making sure to break up the clumps. Don't fret about the smell. It will taste good!

Mix the tomato paste and kecap manis together until thoroughly combined. Set aside until needed.

In a wok over medium-high heat, add about 2 tbs oil (grapeseed, peanut or a vegetable oil are best). When hot, but not smoking, add the minced herbs and stir-fry until fragrant and softened, about 20-30 seconds or so. Don't let them burn! Add the shrimp paste and stir to coat the herbs. Fry for about 30 seconds. Add the noodles then the kecap manis sauce. Turn the noodles in the sauce. Make sure they are well-coated. I found that using tongs to turn the noodles works well. Just be careful not to smush the noodles. Adjust flavor with salt or fish sauce, if needed. When the noodles are heated through, they are done! Remove to a plate and keep warm while you fry the eggs (unless you are good enough to fry the eggs while stir-frying the noodles; I am not!).

Serve on individual plates, each portion topped with a fried egg and garnished with fried onions and/or thinly sliced scallions.

Recipe Redux

2008-07-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

It was recently brought to my attention that there may be a problem with one of my recipes. After a little troubleshooting, we figured there was some confusion about the type of noodles to use. When there is a special ingredient in a recipe, I normally try to take a picture or post a link so people are somewhat familiar with the item if they want to go purchase it. If there’s any question about an ingredient or substitution or if you have a suggestion, please don’t hesitate to contact me by leaving a comment or emailing me at blazinghotwok(at)gmail(dot)com. I want people to enjoy discovering a new recipe and not get discouraged or frustrated because something didn’t work out!

Okay, sometimes us food bloggers take stuff for granted and assume people know what we are talking about. Or sometimes we aren't good at clarifying, which appears to be the case with the rice noodles. So, it seems only appropriate I explain a little about the rice noodles I use. If you are familiar with the different types, I won't blame you for not reading on. However, maybe you could do me a favor and check out the recipe in question and let me know if it's easier to follow. I put in new tips.

From left to right: semi-fresh rice noodles, rice sticks, fresh rice noodles

I typically use one of three kinds, which can make it a bit confusing. Sometimes they can be interchanged, however, one may be more appropriate than the others for a particular type of recipe. As an example, think about spaghetti alla carbonara. You can substitute fettuccini or linguine, but it wouldn’t work very well with rigatoni, would it? When substitutions can be made, I will indicate it.

For some recipes the best rice noodles to use are the fresh ones, also known here in the States as chow fun noodles. I like to use these noodles for pad se ew, pad kee mao, and chow fun. These noodles are sold in sheets so you can cut them into any width you like. Sometimes they are pre-cut into strips. Both types have been oiled to keep the layers from sticking, although I wonder if that really helps. They can be kind of hard to separate when cold and it’s a little easier if they are at room temperature. Fresh means they are found in the refrigerated section.

There is another type of semi-fresh rice noodle that I like to use for dishes like pad Thai. They are pliable, but not soft. Unlike the fun noodles, they are not oiled and come vacuum packed. They technically don’t require pre-soaking, but they can be hard to separate when hey are cold. I like to put the noodles in lukewarm water while I separate the strands. If you don’t loosen the strands well, they will stay clumped up when you stir-fry them. Make sure to drain them well before using.

Lastly, there are the rice sticks. These are the dried rice noodles commonly used for noodle soups. They are also great to use for pad Thai if you don’t have access to the semi-fresh noodles. If you plan to use them for anything other than soup, they must be soaked. For soup, I simply boil them. The soaking time depends on the brand, the temperature of the water and the age of the noodles. You’ll want to soak them so they are semi-soft, but not completely soft, otherwise they will turn to mush when you stir-fry them. Be aware that dry weight is not the same as hydrated weight. Just to test the difference between the two, I softened 9 oz of dry noodles by pouring boiling water over them for 8 minutes, rinsing with cold water, then draining well. Even before weighing them again, I could see they had expanded a lot, and sure enough, the hydrated weight was just over a pound and a half!!

Before I post a recipe, I generally try it out a couple of times to make sure the results are consistent or to work out the issues from the first attempt(s). Still, mistakes can happen so I wanted to revisit the recipe in question: pad se ew. It’s basically stir-fried rice noodles with egg and soy sauces. Nothing fancy, but quite delicious, especially when dressed up with various condiments. As I said in the original post, this is a fairly versatile dish because you can add whatever vegetables and protein you’d like. For this dish, I always use fresh rice noodles because that was the type of noodle mom always used. However, I wanted to try using the rice sticks because everyone has access to these and I wanted to compare the results.

The top picture is the redo and the bottom picture is the original I did in January. The noticeable differences were color and texture of the noodles. The fresh noodles have a “chewier” texture and are a little thicker and oilier. I definitely prefer the fresh noodles, but using the dry noodles worked out fine. I want to note that the lighter noodles were by no means bland, but I don't think they fried up as well due to less oil. But if you're worried about fat content, using rice sticks is probably the way to go.

There was some concern the sauce proportions were not sufficient for the 1 ½ pounds of noodles, but actually they were okay. I always make a double portion of sauce because heaven forbid there's not enough sauce and I'm running around trying to get ingredients together while the food is cooking. A double portion makes about 7 tbs and for this amount of noodles, I used 4. If you have extra sauce left over, spike it with some chili garlic sauce or sambal and serve as a condiment in case people want to spice up the dish a bit.

Now that you've read this far, I should just tell you I updated the original recipe with notes just so everything is clarified. Enjoy!

Weekend Wokking with Tomatoes!

2008-07-26T23:18:00.001-07:00

And I thought the potato was hard to deal with, but in a way, the tomato is even harder!

As of this post, this lone tomato is the only one I've been able to harvest from my garden. Soon enough, I'll be rolling in tomatoes.

Oh, I could think of a million things to do with it, but most of them don’t involve cooking, at least not this time of year. Right now, the most appealing thing I can think of is to pick a sweet little sungold off the vine and pop it in my mouth. However, that wouldn’t make a very interesting post and since I’m hosting Weekend Wokking this month, I thought it’d look better if I actually made something. As luck would have it, I found a recipe in my Food of Thailand book (see right side bar) that looked interesting and for which I had all the ingredients. I love when that happens.

I’m no history expert, but I’m pretty sure the tomato is not native to Thailand and is not widely used in Thai cooking. However, it makes an appearance in a few dishes, such as som tom, hot and sour soup, and Thai-style sweet and sour pork. It seems to be more widely used in Thai restaurants here in the States, where I’ve seen it served in fried rice and even pad kee mao. I’m not a purist, so I don’t mind at all.

The one thing to consider about stir-frying tomatoes is the ripeness of the tomato. I prefer to use harder tomatoes. In fact, those picked-before-their-peak, store-bought tomatoes usually work well because they have firm flesh. They will soften without dissolving, if you know what I mean. Using riper tomatoes will give the stir-fry a little more of a tomato-y sauce. It’s all a matter of preference, really.

I should also talk a little about the other ingredients in this dish because they are special as well. The first is Thai eggplant. Most of you have probably encountered these before. For those who haven’t, it’s a small round fruit (vegetable??) with an eggplant flavor. Usually the green and white ones are available, but there are some that are completely white and even some purple ones. These varieties have a lot of little seeds, but they are completely edible. I think they give a pleasant crunch to the dish, kind of like fish eggs on the outside of a sushi roll. Unlike it’s bigger, more familiar relative the purple eggplant, it is less spongy. Some people may find that steaming Thai eggplants for 5 to 10 minutes (depending on size) gives a nice soft texture. Usually I’m too impatient to do this. I just cut them into quarters and add them to the food, allowing an additional 5 to 10 minutes to cook. If you can’t find Thai eggplants, you could certainly use the more familiar purple kind or the Chinese purple eggplants. The only difference to the dish would be the texture.

The other ingredient is Chinese black vinegar. Often I see recipes say that balsamic vinegar can be used as a substitution. I would be hesitant to use balsamic though. The Chinese vinegar is a lot sweeter and much less acidic than balsamic. It’s also made of rice and not grapes. I suppose in a pinch you could use balsamic, but use less to account for the acidity.

Now for the dish…it’s tasty! I’m not saying that to be snobby. I was actually quite surprised. It was the first time I’d made it, and I was a little nervous scanning over the list of ingredients. I mean, two tablespoons each of palm sugar and Chinese black vinegar??!! I figured it would be way too sweet, but it turned out wonderfully balanced, both in flavor and texture. The flavor of the ginger comes through nicely too. For this particular dish I used firm cherry tomatoes, which I left whole. They held up to the stir-frying quite well, not tearing and releasing their juices. The result was an explosion of sweet tomato flavor with each bite. Just be sure to let the stir-fry cool slightly otherwise you’ll get a very hot explosion of flavor! If you want a saucier stir-fry, try cutting up the tomatoes.

BTW, the chicken is totally optional in this dish. I added simply because I had some to use.

Spicy Thai Eggplant and Cherry Tomato Stir-fry
adapted from The Food of Thailand
serves 3 to 4 adults

¾ pound Thai eggplant, cut into halves
roughly ½ pound cherry tomatoes
2 tbs fish sauce, plus a couple of splashes to prepare the eggplant
2 tbs Chinese black vinegar
2 tbs palm sugar (or 1 tbs brown sugar)
1 tsp to 1 tbs sambal oelek (this completely depends on your tolerance for heat)
1 tbs minced ginger
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chicken breast or two thighs, thinly sliced for stir-frying (optional)

I normally don’t pre-cook my Thai eggplants, but I did this time, so I recommend you doing it. Toss the eggplant halves with a couple splashes of fish sauce and steam them for 5 minutes or so, until they soften a bit. You don’t want them to be mush. When done, remove them to the side until needed.

While the eggplant is steaming, make the sauce by combining the fish sauce, vinegar and sugar in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

In another small bowl, combine the sambal, ginger, shallot and garlic. These will go in the wok at the same time, so it’s just as easy to put them together ahead of time.

Heat your wok over high heat until very hot. Add about 2 tbs oil and when that begins to smoke, add the chicken. Stir-fry it for about a minute or two, just until it’s almost done. Remove to a bowl.

Add more oil to your wok if necessary. Throw in the sambal mix and stir-fry until fragrant, about 20 seconds or so. Make sure it doesn’t burn. You’ll know your doing it right if you start to cough on account of the chili hitting the wok. ☺

Throw in the eggplants and tomatoes. Combine with the sambal mix, but don’t over stir or you’ll break the tomatoes. Once the vegetables appear to soften slightly (about 2 minutes), add the chicken back in. Toss a little, then add the sauce mix by drizzling it down the sides of your wok. It should caramelize fairly quickly due to the sugar content. Coat the chicken and vegetables with the sauce and once the chicken is cooked through, you’re done! Remove to a plate, immediately, but allow it to cool for about 5 minutes before digging in.

Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

If you’re interested in participating in Weekend Wokking, there’s still time! Send me your entries before midnight on the last day of the month. If you can’t make this round, check out whose hosting in the future. And check out Wandering Chopsticks; she’s the one that started it all.

Added: Check out the round-up!

Reliving My Youth

2008-07-19T22:21:00.000-07:00

A couple of times when I was a teenager, mom shipped us to Thailand to spend summer break with the relatives and learn about our roots. The first time I was 13 and it was so exciting to travel alone. Except I had my 8 year old brother in tow, and that was annoying.

Since we stayed for 2 to 3 months at a time, we weren’t treated like tourists (that is, our relatives didn’t take time from work to show us around) and we were too young to venture out ourselves. The aunts and uncles worked during the day, so us kids mostly just hung out in the neighborhood. And because the adults had to leave 2 hours early to account for the horrendous Bangkok traffic, the cousins, brother and I had to procure our own breakfast, lunch and snacks. Every meal we ate came from one street vendor or another. No matter what else we’d eat during the day, we always made a trip to a particular vendor to get skewered, grilled fish balls brushed with a delicious sweet chili-garlic sauce. We’d wait patiently while the old man turned the perfectly round, skewered balls over a hibachi-type grill. I just could not get enough of these snacks. Even though I haven’t had them in years, I still remember how delicious they were.

I’ve tried to replicate that delicious street snack, minus the street, oppressive humidity and pesky baby brother. Maybe that’s why the version I made could never compare to the ones I ate every single day that summer long ago, but they turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Cocktail shrimp balls with sweet chili-garlic sauce
Makes about 35 cocktail-sized shrimp balls

2 pounds shrimp, shelled and de-veined
3 tbs cornstarch
2 tbs fish sauce
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 kaffir lime leaves, minced
Sweet chili garlic sauce (recipe follows)

In a food processor, add the shrimp, egg, garlic, lime leaves and fish sauce and process just until you get a paste. Add the cornstarch and process just until incorporated.

To make the shrimp balls, transfer the paste to a large bowl. It will be very sticky, so you’ll want another bowl of water next to you to wet your hands every so often. I made balls about the size of one tablespoon, but you are welcome to make them a little larger. As you’ll notice, they are hard to form in perfect balls. That’s okay; it’s rustic! For two pound of shrimp, you could get about 35 to 40 balls depending on how big you make them.

Not the prettiest picture, I know. I wanted to show what the paste should look like, just so no one freaks out when they see how sticky it is.

To steam the shrimp balls, I use my wok fitted with a bamboo steamer. Use whatever set up you want. Just be sure to line the bottom of the steaming basket with parchment to keep the paste from sticking to the basket. Once the water boils, they will take about 3 or 4 minutes to steam. You’ll have to steam in batches, unless you have an industrial sized steamer. Don’t crowd the balls; they puff up during steaming. They will deflate once they cool off. I like to remove the balls to a rack to cool.

After the shrimp balls are steamed, you have a few options. They can be served as they are, warm with the chili garlic sauce for dipping. This is the way to go if you are impatient or a health nut. If you are in the mood, you could skewer and grill them. If they are still warm or room temp, they won’t take very long at all. Brush a little sauce on them occasionally. Watch them though! The sauce can burn quite quickly due to the sugar content. Since I can’t be bothered to start up my Weber just for a few shrimp ball skewers, my second favorite way to enjoy them is sautéed in my wok, tossed in a little of the sauce. The sauce caramelizes nicely giving a deliciously ooey-gooey coating. Stick them with toothpicks or short skewers, and serve with some of the sauce for dipping. Your family and guests will love you.

If you don’t have a crowd of people to feed, the shrimp balls can be frozen after they are steamed. Freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Once they are frozen, throw them into a Ziploc bag, pressing out all the air. If you've got a food vacuum sealer, even better! Thaw the balls in the fridge overnight before heating.

This sweet chili sauce is so simple to make, you’ll never need to buy the commercial stuff again! It's just simple syrup spiked with a little vinegar (or lime juice or tamarind puree if you like), chili and garlic. Heck, you could put minced up ginger, green onions, diced white onions, diced cucumbers or even kaffir lime leaves in it too!

If you find this sauce is too sweet for your taste, just add a little more vinegar and/or fish sauce. Also, I cheat and use the Lee Kum Kee (LKK) chili garlic sauce. Despite its fiery appearance, the LKK sauce is not very spicy. Even Sonny can eat it when I use it in foods. If you want to do it the “authentic” way, add about 2 or 3 minced garlic cloves and as much red chili flakes or sambal oelek as you can stand. And don’t worry if the sauces is not as thick as the commercial stuff; it’ll still taste great.

Sweet Chili garlic Sauce

½ cup sugar
½ cup water
¼ cup rice vinegar
1 tbs fish sauce or more to taste
1 tbs chili garlic sauce (or 2 minced cloves garlic + as much chili flakes as you can stand)

In a small sauce pan, add the sugar, water and rice vinegar. Bring to a boil and continue to boil until it thickens a little, about 5 minutes after it comes to a boil. Take it off the heat and allow it to cool slightly. Throw in the garlic, chili and fish sauce. Stir and taste. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving. It will thicken a little more when cooled, although it will never be as thick as the commercial stuff.

If this recipe has piqued your interest, you may also like Thai fish cakes.