recipes

Khao Pun Nam Jeow. Rice Noodles in a Clear Spicy Broth

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:11:53 +0100

This recipe is the same or similar to Khao Pun Nam Phik but without the addition of coconut cream. It's very spicy and extremely popular, ubiquitous, through Laos with various interpretations by different minorities. It has incarnations in Thailand througout the various regions.

Ingredients

8 shallots
3 cloves large garlic or 10 cloves small
6 red Thai chillies
500 g (~1 lb) belly pork in a piece
1 kg (~21/4 lb) pork bones
1 kg of pig offal
3 litres (5 pints) water
10 thin slices galangal
6 kaffir lime leaves
4 tablespoons padaek water*
salt to taste
500 g (~1 lb) fine-fleshed fish fillets
500–750 g (~1–11⁄2 lb) thin rice noodles, soaked in cold water until soft
1⁄2 green papaya, peeled and julienned
1 can shredded bamboo shoots (optional according to taste)
1⁄2 banana flower, peeled of the red carpels and thinly sliced.
a few shredded and unshredded cabbage leaves.
250 g (9 oz) yardbeans , cut into 5 cm (2 in) pieces
1⁄2–1 bunch water convulvus (phak bong), cut into 2–5 cm (3⁄4–2 in) lengths

Method:

Grill the whole unpeeled shallots, garlic and chillies either on a charcoal fire or under a grill until they are seared and brown.
Remove excess fat from the pork.
Place the pork hock or bones, belly pork and offal in 3 litres (5 pints) water with shallots, garlic, chillies, galangal, lime leaves, *padaek water and salt and bring to the boil, skimming oils and coagulum as it appears. Reduce the flame and simmer the stock until the meat comes away from the bone.
Take out the meat and slice into 3 x 4 cm (1 x 11⁄2 in) slices – including the offal if used. Discard the bones, strain the stock into another saucepan and keep it hot.
Put in fish fillets and poach until they are cooked. Remove and slice in 2 cm (3⁄4 in) slices. Return meat and fish to the soup.
Pour boiling water over the noodles. Drain it, rinse it under a cold tap, cut it into manageable lengths with scissors and place on a cabbage-leaf lined platter.
Arrange the separate piles of pawpaw and vegetables on another platter.
Make up small separate bowls of condiments to be placed on the table, being ground dried chilli, sugar, fish sauce, wedges of lime, fresh chillies, mashed garlic, chopped coriander leaves, Thai sweet basil and chopped spring onion (white bulb and green shoot).
To serve, put the soup into a large tureen with the cabbage leaf (or banana leaf) lined platters of noodles gathered and folded into hands or na with plates of vegetables and receptacles of condiments.
Set a large soup bowl for each diner, into which they place one or two noodle hands first followed by the vegetables of their choice and then ladle meat and stock over. This is then "tossed" carefully with chopsticks in one hand and a spoon in the other.
Diners choose their condiments and garnishes to taste.

*Padaek is the Lao version of fermented fish. It's a very pungent ingredient that is used as a flavour enhancer and is often referred to as "special". A very high quality fermented fish is available commercially and is marketed under a Thai name but in fact is Cambodian. Cambodian fermented fish is considered a premium version. It may be carried in a specialty area of a Supermarket or in a large Asian Grocery Store.

To make the Padaek Water you simply take about 1 Tbsp of fish paste with 1 cup of water and boil it covered, until you can strain out the condensed solids. Beware the aroma can be quite over-powering and needs a very forceful extractor fan system to be running to eliminate the aroma. (or do it outside on a gas barbecue griddle)

Khao Poon Nam Phik ເຂົ້າປຸ້ນ Rice Noodles with Chillie Sauce

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 14:50:40 +0100

The following recipe translated from Phia Sings recipe collection

(First) ingredients

1 small rice-bowl (1/4 pint) of padek-(add 1/2 pint of water and) boil the padek until it is clear when strained *
300 grams of pork, free of fat, minced, rolled into a big ball, poached in the padek liquid until cooked, and then taken out of the pot and finely pounded
400 grams of pa nang (a catfish) or pa ked (any fish with scales)
1 kilo of pork bones (to make pork broth)
10 thin slices of galingale
10 straight - bulbed spring onions, both heads and leaves (salt)

Their preparation

Put 2 metal jugfuls (2 pints) of water in a pot, and put the pot on the fire.
Put in the pork, the fish, the galingale, spring onions and salt. Boil until the fish is cooked.
Take it out, debone it and pound the flesh finely.

Further ingredients and their preparation:

15 (small) heads of garlic, the cloves to be peeled and finely chopped, then fried in pork fat until golden, and pounded
15 (small) shallots, (peeled and) thinly sliced, fried until golden in pork fat and then pounded
3 fully grown coconuts, husked and split open-grate the meat with a ka-tai ('rabbit'), put the extraction of coconut milk into a pot and boil it until the liquid is reduced, but without letting the cream separate, then take the pot off the fire
6 red chilli peppers, grilled until they are soft-then remove the cores and pound the peppers as finely as possible before cooking them in coconut oil until a good aroma arises - do not let the mixture become overcooked or it will turn black (instead of red)
salt and ground pepper
chopped coriander leaves
lime (juice, to taste)

Vegetables to be eaten with the dish:

banana 'flower' sliced into long slices
7 sweet young eggplants, sliced and fried in pork fat
1 bunch of water spinach (phak bong), fried until done and then cut into pieces about 3 cm long
13 yard-long beans, fried and cut into pieces 3 cm long
6 dried chillies, fried in pork fat until soft 2 na of rice vermicelli (cooked)

Method

Put the minced pork, the prepared fish, the pounded spring onions and the garlic in a mixing-bowl.
Add the padek sauce, previously prepared, and stir until these ingredients are mixed together, then add the pork broth and the (reduced) coconut milk.
Stir, taste and check the saltiness. Squeeze in some lime juice.
Add the fried mixture of red chilli peppers.
Transfer this whole mixture to a big bowl. Garnish with ground black pepper and chopped coriander leaves. (The sauce is now ready.)
Put the rice vermicelli on a platter, in the middle. Arrange the cut-up vegetables around it, and place the whole fried chilli peppers on top. Serve the sauce separately.

* Editors' Note. Phia Sing specifies that the straining should be done with a sua pao (part of a coconut tree) and kaen fai (which means cotton seed). {Sua pao is a natural presentation of the coconut bark which looks like a fine brown sieve, this is then topped with cotton bolls and used as a filter to clarify the broth.} Filtration through muslin cloth will clarify the
broth sufficiently.

Offal and Offcuts.

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:13:32 +0100

Many people do not like the fact that animals are killed for man's food and that is very understandable. It's a principled point of view and is to be respected. Some don't eat meat for this very reason.

Many societies have moved to "choice cuts" of meat and have moved away from the secondary parts of the animal including the offal, intestines, feet and head. Other societies really relish and enjoy these other parts and have developed recipes to optimise the enjoyment. Currently there is a renewed wave of interest in these meat parts and they are being discovered by many more each day. Chef's and restaurants promote their dishes created with these and the retail prices are edging up slowly.

I enjoy most offal and in fact the only offal I don't enjoy is lung. I really don't like the flavour and have no issue with the texture. Many enjoy lung very much so this is simply a personal foible of mine. Today I was watching a television program which like many cooking shows was demonstrating a dish preparation. This dish contained various offal and I became interested. The dish looked delectable and I immediately noted down the outline of the recipe to enjoy at another time when I remember to buy this meat.
After the demo the chef gave his point of view which I don't completely agree with. His argument is that we should show respect of the whole slaughtered beast rather than dismissing less popular cuts leading to waste. The very fact is that there is no waste whether we eat it or not. The slaughter industry does not waste their assets and if the meat is not used for human consumption then the remaining elements are sold to other processors such as the animal food industry, tanners for hide product and the highly processed product industry such as the gelatin makers and subsequently cosmetic, film, adhesives and food additives. Nothing is wasted and it certainly is no disrespect to the animals.

Waste of food is an interesting topic. Those born after the Second World War will remember our mothers and grandmothers stating fairly clearly that we must not waste food meaning that we should eat everything on our plate. Those were moderately austere times but for consumer societies there is no shortage of food produced. We can decide not to eat all that we have prepared and we shouldn't feel as if the food is wasted as this non-consumed food still serves a valid and humane purpose that being food for our pets and other animals in and around our communities. They also need food to survive and feel contented and it is an easy distribution within our communities. The idea of bio-digestion of non-consumed foods is not wasteful. Sure there is a decreasing energy return on recycling but the over-all effect is not more than the production of bio-degraded material used by industry or in fact in nature. It is recycled and it does nutrify the biosphere with useable material for another crop for our sustenance.

Xiu Mai (Vietnamese Meatballs)

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:37:13 +0100

Xiu Mai or Vietnamese meatballs are seen in Chinese and Khmer Krom cusine with some variation which is as much by the cook as by the style of cusine. Some versions have a crunch element added with the addition of Water Chestnuts whereas other versions are completely smooth allowing a very soft and spreadable product suitable for use as a soft terrine as a sandwhich filling. Some are enhanced with a final braise in a tomato based sauce another and others in a caramel sauce. Northern Vietnam variations will often add a BBQ cooking period to the process to add in that wonderful BBQ flavour.

All recipes have an addition of sugar or caramel and the ubiquitous fish sauce and black pepper. Garlic and shallots or onions are a common ingredient.

Ingredients:

Fish sauce (Nuoc Mam) 2 Tbsp
1 kg minced pork
6 cloves garlic
4 red shallots.
4 green onions
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper.
Caramel Sauce (Nuoc mau: pre-prepared for convenience)

Method:

Prepare your caramel sauce and put this aside.
Squash and dice the garlic.
Dice the shallots and finely slice the green onions to the end of the core (somewhere where it begins to turn green)
In a bowl mix the ground meat, shallots, green onions, garlic, pepper and fish sauce. Mix until fairly uniformly blended.
Roll dollops of the mixture into 4 cm balls and place aside.
Grease or oil a pan and heat this to a moderate temperature suitable for frying the meatballs.
Place the meatballs in the pan and fry these carefully to retain their shape and to firm up. Final cooking will follow so complete cooking is not important. I mentioned the optinal additional BBQ cooking step and this may be added here. The par-cooked meatballs can be placed in a spring-form BBQ holder without squashing the meatballs and searing the balls carefully over a smokey charcoal BBQ. Then continue on.
Remove the meatballs when adequately cooked and place them into a saucepan and add a quarter to half a cup of caramel sauce plus a half cup of water.
Heat over a low flame and allow to reduce for about an hour. Watch the liquid level and add small amounts of water if it threatens to dry. Ideally you want about a quarter cup of the sauces at the end of the process. The sauce can be further seasoned with salt if desired but the addition of salt if preferred to the final served product by the diner is a reasonable option.
The meatballs can be cooled and refrigerated if required or frozen in batches with a little of the sauce.
The final consistency is somewhere between the spreadability of a pate and the firmness of a terrine, but easily spread as part of the filling composite of a Banh Mi Xiu Mai sandwhich.

Mu Naem Tod แหนมทอด

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 04:32:24 +0100

Pickling utilizing the properties of fermenting rice as a method for production of the pickling chemicals is used widely in Thailand and Laos. The technique with some variations is used for treating both meat and fish. The resultant product can be enjoyed uncooked or cooked and is a delicious option for meat or fish preparation.The process can be shortcut by using sodium nitrite but is not something that is recommended as being a very safe option. The pickling process otherwise can be allowed to proceed under it's own mechanics, typically two to three days refrigerated or at room temperature.

This process is ideal for small strips of pork and then completely rounded off by cooking in a smokey barbecue. Traditionally this is deep fried consequently the tag "Tod".

Ingredients:

250 gm (9oz) pork meat filleted into 1x1 by 6 cm strip pieces.
10 cloves of garlic crushed and sliced
2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cooked steamed rice ( use when temp is down to a comfortable handling temp or lower)

Method:

Mix all the ingredients together by hand.
At this stage you can roll the ingredients into blls or rolls and cover with kitchen film. make sure to exclude the air. To be double sure wrap the packages again. You can also place the mixture into a glass jar with a minimum of head space. You need to minimise the surface to air contact.
This then is placed into the refrigerator for a minimum of two days three nights.
Remove the packages from the fridge and release the contents.
Separate the meat strips from the rice and garlic.
These strips now are able to be cooked. ideally in a barbecue with a smoking facility or a kettle barbecue with some smoking wood or leaves.

The cooked strips of meat are ideally enjoyed hot and maybe served with other sides such as salads or steamed jasmine rice. The use of a garlic chillie sauce goes well also.

The "normal" option to deep fry the strips of meat produces a very nice, quite crispy surface.

Si Khrong Mu Naem ซี่โครง หมู แหนม (Fermented Pork Ribs)

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 10:55:02 +0100

Ingredients:

250gm (9 oz). end section of pork ribs
10 cloves garlic (crushed and sliced)
2 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. steamed rice

Method:

Put pork in a bowl. Add salt, garlic and rice.
With your hands knead the ingredients together.
Put the mixed pork in a glass bottle and seal the cap. Now, keep it in refrigerator for 3 nights.
After 3 nights, deep fry the pork for 20minutes or until cooked alternatively cook in the oven.

This dish is fantastic. It's both the mixture of texture with the easy chewing of the cartilage tips of the ribs together with the wonderful sour garlic flavour of the pickling mixture that has permeated the whole of the meat.
In Thailand it's served both as a course addition and as "beer food" for casual snacking. The flavour can be spiced up with the addition of a chillie garlic dipping sauce.

Nyonya Rice Dumplings

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 11:47:22 +0100

Ingredients :

100g dried mushrooms
300g lean pork
1kg glutinous rice
3 tbsp fried garlic
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp garlic (sliced)
2 tbsp shallots (sliced)
100g diced preserved winter melon
20 pieces pandan leaves (or 40 bamboo leaves)
20 pieces hemp string

Spices:

1/2 tbsp pepper
1.5 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp light soy sauce

Method :

Soak dried mushrooms till soft. Drain and dice finely. Cook lean pork in boiling water. Drain and dice finely. Reserve stock that has been used to boil pork.
Rinse glutinous rice. Drain. Soak in pork stock together with 3 tbsp stir-fried garlic for 8 hours. Remove glutinous rice, drain again then mix with 2 tsp salt.
Heat some oil in wok and stir-fry garlic and shallots till fragrant. Add pork, mushrooms and winter melon then stir-fry thoroughly. Stir in spice mix. Divide filling into 20 portions then set aside.
Take 1 piece of pandan leaf (of 2 pieces of bamboo leaves stacked together). Fold near bottom 1/3 of the leaves and shape into cone.
Spoon in 1 tbsp glutinous rice. Add a portion of filling then cover with 2 tbsp glutinous rice. Wrap up and shape into a pyramid. Tie securely with a string.
Add the rice dumplings to a large pot of water and cook for 3 hours. Top up with boiling water to ensure that water covers rice dumplings completely at all times.
Remove and hang to dry the leaf covering.

Rad Nah ราดหน้าหมูหมัก (Rice Noodles in Gravy)

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:32:08 +0100

Rad Nah is a commonly seen dish on street stalls in Thailand. A good preparation is hard to beat but many times it is light on in flavour. Flavourant has to be added heavily as the starch gravy really neutralises a lot of this. Tasting while making is the essence of success.

Ingredients:

500 gm (½ lb) Chinese broccoli; collard greens; standard broccoli or kohl rabi
2 tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce
350 gm (¾ lb) Fresh Flat Rice Noodles or 250 gm(~½ lb) of Dried Flat Rice Noodles.
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons Mushroom Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons tapioca flour
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
650 ml (2½ cups) water
1 tablespoon Yellow Bean Sauce
125 gm (¼ lb) thinly sliced *pork

Method:

Coat the pork with 1 tablespoon of tapioca flour. Mince garlic.
In a bowl, add water to the rest of flour. Cut up the greens into 10 cm (2 in) pieces.
Slice the noodles into 1 to 2 cm (½ to 1 in) wide strips. Break the clumped noodles into strands.
Heat up 4 tablespoons of oil in a seasoned pan. When the oil is ready, put in the noodles and stir. Add 2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce on the noodles. Stir again until all the noodles are broken into pieces. Keep stirring for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and set the cooked noodles aside.
In a pot or pan that is big enough to hold all the ingredients, heat up the rest of the oil. Add minced garlic and pork. Stir for a minute or so.
Add the flour water. Stir quickly to prevent clumping. When cooked, the flour will turn from white to clear.
Add soy sauce, yellow bean sauce and sugar. Stir.
You can adjust the thickness of the gravy up or down by adding more of the flour slurry or water. When you add water, adjust the sugar, soy sauce.
Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.
Add the greens. Stir quickly and turn the heat off.
Put noodles in deep plates and top with the gravy. Sprinkle some ground white pepper. Serve hot.
Serve with sugar, fish sauce, chillies pickled in white vinegar and ground chillie powder for your personal taste.

*You can substitute any meats, tofu or seafood.

reference

Asado de Carajay

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 03:54:09 +0100

Asado de Carajay is a Spanish creation and has been adopted by Phillipine cooks. This dish may be made with any of the meats mentioned but the combination is particularly suitable for large get-togethers.

Ingredients:

1 ox tongue
½ kilo pork
1½ tbsp Soy sauce
½ cup vinegar
2 onions, quartered
½ Tbsp paprika
1 whole chicken
1 bay leaf
1 tsp black pepper-corns
salt to taste
800 gm can mushrooms (400 gm fresh; 150 gm dehydrated reconstituted and trimmed)
250 gm potatoes, quartered
1 Tbsp flour
water.

Method:

Clean the ox-tongue thoroughly. Rub with salt and pepper and place in a deep vessel. Marinate the ox-tongue and pork in mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, water, bay leaf, onion, garlic, pepper, paprika and water, overnight refrigerated.
The chicken is par-boiled before transferring to the final cooking pot. The chicken can be kept whole or stripped of the meat before the final stewing.
Fry the ox tongue and the pork in deep lard until brown. Remove the meat and transfer to a pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cook until tender. Reserve the stock when cooked.
Fry the onions and potatoes in the left over fat and place aside.
Fry some flour in a little of the fat and add a quantity of the meat stock to make a gravy.
Cut tongue and pork into slices and garnish with fried potatoes and mushrooms.
Serve hot.

For a reduced carbohydrate version the gravy could be thickened with a reduced tomato puree but suggest the addition of extra flavourants to return the body flavour to the dish.

Based on

Moo Ping หมูปิ้ง (Grilled Pork Skewers)

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 23:43:25 +0100

Moo Ping are often mistakenly called satay because they are often served with chicken satay being similar in presentation. The Moo Ping or grilled pork traditionally wasn't served with a peanut sauce this has changed a little in relatively recent years in travellers areas of Thailand. The small piece of fat generally placed at the top of the skewer adds that delicious flavour of grilled lard and the amount added is barely of consequence.

Ingredients:

fish sauce
garlic, 3-5 cloves
pork, 500 gm (the neck meat is the best choice for this dish)
palm sugar, 3 tsp
asafoetida, a pinch
bamboo skewers
coconut milk, ½ cup

Nam Chim Moo Ping (Sauce)

palm sugar, 4 tsp
chopped cilantro,
fish sauce, 30 ml (2 Tbsp)
ground fresh chili paste, 1 tsp
tamarind, 1 Tbsp
water, ¼ cup

Method:

To prevent the skewers from scorching or ashing on the grill, soak the skewers for 30 minutes, at least, in water.
Cut the pork into 2 to 3 cm wide strips. Cut pieces of the fat about the same width by ½ cm.
Crush the garlic and mix the fish sauce, palm sugar a pinch of asafoetida and coconut milk together. marinate the pork and pork fat for a minimum of half an hour or over night refrigerated.
Thread a skewer through the pork with a piece of fat at the top of the skewer.
Grill the skewer until the meat is cooked.
sauce
make an extract of tamarind by mixing a Tbsp of the pulp with a little hot water and by your fingers homogenise the pulp and remove the seeds and fibre.
Mix the extract, brown sugar, fish sauce and ground fresh chili paste in a small saucepan and heat this on a low flame with stirring. Stir until all the ingredients are dissolved. Add chopped cilantro.

The skewers can be served with the dipping sauce in an accompanying dish or laid in the warmed sauce.