And So Ends the Saga...

Hubby finally got tired of the whole gas vs. coal saga and took matters into his own hands. For Mother's Day he gave me the Rolls Royce of gas grills (his words, not mine). I'll admit I was a little dubious, being a staunch coal fan and all, but I must admit that I've warmed up to it. We use it 3 to 4 times a week, and it sure came in handy this last Spring, which was the wettest I've ever experienced.

Although the grill was my present, it's Hubby who truly loves the thing. (Funny how that worked out, huh?) He wants to buy accessories for the darn thing! I've already nixed the rotisserie attachment and beer can chicken holder. He's also suggesting stuff we should grill. Yesterday it was pizza. Unlike the beer can chicken holder, this turned out to be a good idea.




Who knew grilling pizza would be so easy? We used a pizza stone so we didn't have to worry about the flames burning the crust. We made regular pepperoni pizza and I experimented with a Thai-inspired BBQ chicken pizza that turned out really, really tasty. Unlike a regular pizza, this one is baked only with the sauce (and cheese, if using) and then the toppings are added after. What you end up with is something that feels like a chicken and herb salad on top of thin flatbread rather than a heavy pizza. It reminded me of some of the pizzas we had in Italy, just with an Asian twist.


Here's what you need to make 3 to 4 individual-sized pizzas:

For the curry sauce
1 to 2 heaping tbs curry paste (I used yellow, but panang or massaman would also work well)
1 can coconut milk (not lite)
fish sauce, to taste
sugar, to taste

Toppings
grilled chicken (I used a lemongrass marinade, but simple salt and pepper seasoning is fine)
cilantro, roughly chopped
Thai basil (or any other kind is fine), roughly chopped
green onions, thinly sliced
fresh ginger, cut into thin matchsticks
fresh mozzarella (optional), sliced

1 batch of your favorite pizza dough (for 2 medium or 4 individual sized pizzas)

Before you make the curry sauce, you may want to read this post. The pictures may be helpful. To make the curry sauce, saute the curry paste with about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the coconut cream until the oil starts to separate out. Add the remaining coconut milk. Add fish sauce and sugar to taste. Allow the sauce to reduce by about 1/4 to 1/3, stirring frequently to prevent burning. It will thicken more as it cools. Set aside until needed.

Grill the chicken and keep it warm until you're ready to top the pizza.

Roll out the dough so that it is thin. Slather it with the curry sauce and top with mozzarella, if using. (I did one with cheese and one without. They tasted about the same.) Bake the crust on a pre-warmed stone in a covered grill (temp should be close to 500F) until done, about 5 to 7 minutes.

As the crust is baking, slice the chicken and toss with the chopped herbs. As soon as the pizza is done, top it with the chicken and herbs and serve immediately.

It's been so long since I've participated in a blogging event, I thought I'd submit this to Grow Your Own, since the herbs are from my garden. The host this month is Kitchen Gadget Girl Cooks. There's still plenty of time to get your submission in if you want to participate this month!

Lemongrass and other random nonsense

Can you believe it’s almost June?! Time is just flying by. I wish it would take the rainy weather with it though. Portland is weird in the late spring/early summer. It’s not really cold, but it’s not warm either, and definitely not dry. It’s been raining for what seems like days and it’s supposed to rain all next week. Poor Sonny has had his last 4 baseball games canceled and they will probably have to cancel the games this week if it really does rain. Last game of the season is this week, so let’s hope he’ll get to play at least that one. So disappointing for him.

One good thing about all this rain is I don’t have to water my garden. This year I’m growing hot peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro, basil, mint, kohlrabi and lemongrass. Mom sent me the lemongrass from her own garden. She said to just stick it in the dirt and it will take care of itself. I was a little skeptical because she sent me about 20 short, dried out looking stalks, but they appear to be doing okay. Green shoots are growing out of them and they’ve only been in the ground for 3 weeks. Of course she didn’t tell me how far apart to space them, so I just stuck them about 4 or 5 inches apart. Now she tells me I should have stuck them 1 to 2 feet apart because they can grow into large bushes. I’m wondering why she sent me 20 stalks when she knows my 2 beds are only 8’x2’ each. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful. I use a lot of this aromatic herb, so the thought of bushes of lemongrass right in my backyard is making me giddy.

Since I haven’t posted in a while, I’m going to get all up in yo’ face with the pictures. Some have nothing to do with food, but I know the grandparents will enjoy them. Others are of my garden. And at the very end, is a nice little recipe for a lemongrass-y grilled pork tenderloin. Enjoy!


That white sweatshirt stayed white for all of 3 minutes. Note to Hubby: don't buy him anymore white clothing!

I think those green things mean they're going to live. I'm giddy with excitement!

Speckled lettuce.

More lettuce. Truly, it's so easy to grow and can tolerate chilly weather.

My first lettuce harvest. I harvest about twice a week.

I love urban gardening!

And now for the lemongrass-y pork tenderloin! This is really easy and delicious. Here's what you'll need:

1 pork tenderloin
about 1/3 cup coconut milk
1 to 2 tbs Thai curry paste (any flavor will do)
2 to 3 stalks lemongrass, white part only, ends crushed
2 to 3 cloves garlic crushed
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs fish sauce or soy sauce

For the dipping sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 to 1/3 cup rice vinegar
fish sauce to taste (about 1 to 2 tbs)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
fresh Thai chillies, to taste, finely minced

Throw everything into a plastic Ziploc bag and let it marinate in the fridge overnight. About 30 minutes before grilling, take out the pork to take the chill off. Grill over medium heat until it's done to your liking. We like it ever so pink, so about 143F at the thickest part. Remember to let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing into it.

To make the dipping sauce, I just put the sugar, water and rice vinegar in a microwaveable glass bowl or mixing cup and nuke on high for about 2 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture becomes a little thick. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, then throw in the garlic and chillies. Lastly, stir in the fish sauce.

Serve pork and dipping sauce with rice.

Yippeeeeee!

Yahoo-weee! I think this migration worked just fine. Props to Hubby for doing all the work and getting it done in a timely manner. Now all I have to do is start posting...

Something is coming up soon! I promise!

I'm moving

I've been evicted, so to speak. No more FTP publishing for me. I'm going to migrate this blog and where it ends up, I'm not sure. Hopefully all will go as smoothly as the demonstration video makes it look. If it doesn't, I'll be furiously working on "figuring it out." And if this is the case, no one will be able to leave a comment and I won't be able to post, so if you need to contact me, you can reach me at blazinghotwok(at)gmail(dot)com.

Wish me luck!

Thai-style Fried Pork Snack

Oh, hi there! Long time no see! What can I say? It's been busy around here...just not in the kitchen. Hopefully that's going to change, now that I don't have to work full time AND take evening classes three days a week. Besides, and I never thought I'd say this, I'm tired of take out. It's fine once or twice a week, but 3 or 4 times a week for a few months just plain sucks. It takes a toll on the waistline and the pocketbook.



Okay, so maybe deep-fried pork isn't good for the waistline either, but at least it's homemade. Not only that, it brings me back to Mom's kitchen. This is type the of stuff I grew up on. Mom still makes this whenever we visit. And in fact, the last time she came to visit me, she brought 2 large Ziploc bags full of it, ready to be fried. The stuff my family will transport in their luggage just makes me chuckle.

The proper way (as Mom would say) to make this is to marinate the pork in garlic and a little fish sauce then set it out in the sun to dry. She does this with both pork and beef. Of course she lives in scorching hot-dry-sunny Las Vegas so it works perfectly. Here in Portland this wouldn't work. It's never hot or dry enough. I shudder at the thought of leaving fresh meat outside to dry here.

Luckily, I stumbled on an alternative that worked beautifully. Earlier in the week I made a brined pork roast and had plenty left over. I sliced the meat and added finely chopped garlic (several cloves), a stalk of lemongrass (finely chopped), a few crushed kaffir lime leaves and sliced shallot. Into the fridge it went overnight. The next day, before deep-frying, I tossed in about 1/2 tbs of rice powder to absorb any extra moisture (this is optional).

I think Mom would approve of the results. The meat was crispy and chewy without being dry or hard. The seasonings really came through and the shallots crisped up nicely. I served sticky rice and dipping sauce (ingredients below) on the side and it was a big hit. Goes great with a nice cold beer too.

We Thais love our dipping sauces and for a dish like this, it is a key component. It's quite easy to make. All you need is fresh lime juice (maybe 1 to 2 large limes), chopped garlic (about 1 to 2 cloves), chopped chillies (as many as you can tolerate), fish sauce and sugar. Everything is to taste so use more or less as you see fit.