Indonesian Curry

Another curry tonight that I am not too pleased with.  I am going to keep cooking it but I think we'll have burritos tonight.  If it improves with more time, I'll post the recipe tomorrow.

A trip to Malaysia

I don't understand why Sanford gets so uptight when I cook.

Hearty Chicken Curry with Potatoes (lauk ayam)  (from Far Eastern Cookery):  In a spice grinder, grind 6 cardamon pods, 6 whole cloves, 2 whole star anise, 2 2-inch cinnamon sticks, 2 tbsp fennel seeds, 1 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds and 4 tbsp coriander seeds.  Put in a bowl and add 2 tsp cayenne, 1 tbsp paprika and 8 tbsp water and make a paste.  In a food processor or blender add 3 roughly chopped onions, 4 1-inch ginger pieces, and 3 large garlic cloves.  Puree.  Add 4 tbsp water and puree some more.  In 3/4 cup vegetable oil, saute 1 finely sliced onion until golden.  Add both purees and stir fry for 12 minutes, until it darkens.  Add 3 cups water, 4 pounds chicken thighs, skinned, 4 peeled and diced potatoes and 1 tbsp salt.  Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.  Add 1 cup coconut milk and simmer another minute.  Toss a large handful of mint leaves in and stir. Parpu (spicy yellow split peas):  Rinse 1 1/2 cups yellow split peas and put in large pot.  Add 2 cinnamon sticks, 4-8 dried red chilies, 1/2 tsp tumeric.  Cover with 3 3/4 cup water and simmer partially covered 45 min, or until lentils just tender.  Add 1 1/2 tsp salt, 2 small diced potatoes, 1 chopped garlic clove and 1/2 inch cube of thinly sliced ginger and 1/2cup water.  Simmer, covered, 20 minutes.  Add 3/4 cup coconut milk and simmer.  Cover and turn off.  Keep warm.   Heat 4 tbsp oil in a pan.  Add one sliced onion and cook until medium brown color.  Add 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds and 1/2 tsp fennel seeds.  Stir a couple of times and add to lentils.

It seems unbelievable given the number of spices I used, but it was a little bland.  I think it might be better tomorrow.  We'll see.

Crunchy summer rolls, meatballs, and garlic, ginger and coriander rice

After this photo, I forgot to keep shooting.   Dinner party with the Hogerty's.  All of these recipes come from The food and Cooking of Vietnam and Cambodia.  Summer rolls:  Remove ribs from lettuce.  Julienne 2-3 carrots, 1 small cucumber, peeled and seeded, and 3 scallions.  Also have 8 oz bean sprouts, some fresh mint leaves and cilantro leaves.  Take a rice paper and place the lettuce leaf on it.  Add a little of each of the vegetables and roll it like the spring rolls.  We used the same dipping sauce as for the spring rolls.  (As you can see, the whole family got a chance to roll some.)  Also not pictured, Grilled pork meatballs with sweet and sour peanut sauce:  To make sauce, heat 2 tsp peanut oil and stir in 1 minced garlic clove and 1 finely chopped thai chili.  When they begin to color add 2 tbsp finely chopped roasted peanuts.  Stir fry until the peanuts begin to weep.  Add 1 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar, 2 tbsp hoison sauce, 4 tbsp coconut milk and 1/2 cup water.  Let boil for a minute.  Add 1 tsp sugar and salt to taste.  To make meatballs:  Heat 2 tsp peanut oil.  Add 4 chopped shallots and 2 chopped garlic cloves.  Stir fry until golden.  Let cool.  Add it to 2 cups ground pork.  Add 2 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tsp five spice powder, 2 tsp sugar.  Mix with your hands.  Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.  Then knead with 2 cups bread crumbs.  Make it to balls.  We didn't get the grill going, so we heated the oven to 500 and cooked them until done, turning about 10 minutes into it.  Reheat the sauce and toss with meatballs.  Serve with chopped cilantro.   Garlic and ginger rice with coriander  This was one of my favorites.  Heat 1 tbsp peanut oil.  Add 2 chopped garlic cloves and 1 oz chopped ginger and stir fry until golden.  Add 1 cup of rinsed and drained rice.  Stir fry another 1-2 minutes.  Add 3 1/2 cups chicken stock.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat.  Sprinkle a bunch of cilantro leaves, chopped, over the surface of the stock, cover and cook gently for 20-25 minutes.  Leave covered for 10 minutes off of heat.  Fluff and serve.  Sweet and sour cucumber with chillies, coriander and mint:  Peel and half 2 cucumbers.  Cut into slices.  Put them on a plate and sprinkle with a little salt.  Let sit 15 minutes.  Rinse and dry.  In another bowl, mix 2 tbsp sugar in 1/2 cup rice vinegar until it has dissolved.  Stir in the juice of 1/2 lime and salt to taste.  Add 2 finely chopped and seeded thai chilies, 2 finely chopped shallots, finely chopped cilantro and mint.  Toss with cucumbers.  Let sit 15-20 minutes.

 

 

 

 

Chicken with sweet potato curry with coconut and caramel sauce

From The food and cooking of Vietnam and Cambodia:  We ate this with steamed rice, but I would have preferred a baguette since it had a lot of sauce.  Mix 3 tbsp curry powder and 1 tbsp ground tumeric.  Toss half of the mixture with 1 pound skinless boneless chicken thighs and set aside.  Heat 1 1/2 tbsp raw cane sugar with 1 1/2 tsp water until sugar is dissolved and it starts to color.  Set aside to cool.  Heat 2 tbsp sesame oil.  Stir fry 2 chopped shallots, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 1/2 inch chopped ginger (called for galangal, but I only had galangal powder so I used ginger), 1 tbsp minced lemon grass.    Stir in the rest of the curry/tumeric mixture and 2 tsp dried chili flakes.  Add chicken and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.  (Mine was very dry, so I added a little veg oil).  Add 2 medium peeled and cubed sweet potatoes, 3 tbsp fish sauce, 2 1/2 cups coconut milk and 2/3 cup water.  Mix thouroughly, bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in chopped basil and cilantro.

Fried noodles with spicy peanut sate beef and fragrant herbs

From The Food and Cooking of Vietnam and Cambodia:  Soak 8 oz vermicelli in warm water for 20 minutes.  Grind 4 dried serrano peppers.  Heat 4 tbsp peanut oil.  Add 5 minced garlic cloves and saute.  Add 2 tsp curry powder, the ground chiles, and 1/3 cup ground peanuts. Cook until they form a paste.  Let cool.  Slice 1 pound sirloin against the grain.  Heat 1 tbsp veg oil in a pan.  Add beef and saute 1-2 minutes.  Add 1 tbsp peanut mixture and cook another minutes.  Remove to a bowl.  Heat 1 1/2 tsp veg oil.  Add drained vermicelli and the rest of the peanut paste and stir fry 3-4 minutes.  Add beef back in and cook another minute.  Add 1 cup bean sprouts and 2 tsp fish sauce and remove to serving dish.  Toss in chopped basil and mint to taste.

Spring Rolls and Fried Fish

Vietnamese Spring Rolls (from The Food and Cooking of Vietnam and Cambodia):  These were really good.  Soak 2 oz bean thread (cellophane) noodles in warm water for 20 minutes.  Soak 1 oz dried mushrooms (we used shiitake) in warm water for 15 minutes.  Squeeze dry the noodles and chop them into small pieces.  Squeeze dry and mushrooms and chop.  Beat 2 eggs and stir in 2 tbsp fish sauce, 2 cloves garlic (chopped) and 2 tsp sugar.  Add 1 finely chopped onion, 3 sliced scallions, noodles, mushrooms, 1 1/2 cup ground pork, and 1 1/2 cup cooked crab meat.  Season with salt and pepper.  Then dip one rice paper into a bowl of water and place on a damp towel.  Spoon 1 tbsp of mixture on to side neartest you,, just in from the edge.  Fold the nearest edge over the filling, fold over sides, tucking them in neatly.  Then roll the entire wrapper into a tight cylinder.  Place on a plate and cover with saran wrap to keep it moist.  Makes 30.  Heat wok or pan with oil for frying.  Cook in batches, draining them on paper towels.  Serve immediately.

Hanoi Fried Fish with Dill (from The Food and Cooking of Vietnam and Cambodia):  Mix 2/3 cup rice flour and 1 1/2 tsp ground tumeric.  Toss 1 pound cod (cut into chunks) in flour mixture.  (After tasting the first batch we added salt to the fish before cooking, much better)  Fry in peanut oil.  In another pan heat 1 tbsp peanut oil.  Stir fry 2 tbsp roasted peanuts.  Add the following all at once:  2 sliced scallions, a bunch of chopped basil, coriander and dill fronds.  Stir fry 30 seconds.  Pour over fish.  Serve with rice.  We made the rice from the same cookbook.  Wash and drain 1 cup long grained rice.  Put in pot with 2 1/2 cups water (to cover by 1 inch) and a pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and keep covered another 10 minutes.  Fluff with fork.

We made 2 sauces for the spring rolls.  The first was really good and tasted like what you would get in a vietnamese restaurant:   Nước chấm:  (from Bobby Chinn, Wild Wild East):  In a saucepan, mix 1 tsp rice vinegar, 3 tsp sugar, and 1/4 cup water.  Bring to a boil and let cool.  When cool combine with 1 thinly sliced thai chili, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice.  Mix well, and stir in 2 tbsp fish sauce.  Serve.  The second was a peanut sauce from the other cookbook.  This was pretty strong, I think it would make a better sauce tossed with sauteed chicken and vegetables.   Heat 1 tbsp peanut oil.   Add 2 minced garlic cloves and 2 chopped thai chilies.  Stir fry until they begin to color, then add 1/2 cup finely chopped roasted peanuts.  Cook until the peanuts begin to weep.  Add 2/3 cup coconut milk, 2 tbsp hoisin sauce, 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp sugar.  Cook until thickens slightly.  We thinned it with a little peanut oil after it cooled to make it dip-able. 

Vacations continues

We are going to postpone one month at a time for a little longer.  We stayed an extra day on the float trip and we are headed to Wisconsin for the "Great Taste of the Midwest."  We will return to Vietnam next week.

Lunch, then a little break for floating

Vietnamese for lunch today.  Chicken marinated in fish sauce, soy sauce, and lime.  Rice made with the leftover ragu.  Dipping sauce made with lime, soy, sliced pepper, scallion, fish sauce, ginger, garlic and sugar.  Also a peanut sauce.  On the side, roasted peanuts, scallions, chopped herbs.  All of this wrapped in lettuce.

We are going to hold off on the Vietnamese food for a few days while we go on a float trip.  I've been hankering for the mexican food from January.  So the plan for the trip; dinner sunday: roasted pork loin with onions and a tomatillo-serrano sauce, breakfast burritos, and beef and chorizo burgers with achiote rice.

Vietnamese

Take out vietnamese from the dirty wok.  Yum

Chef Huong's Dalat Ragu

This recipe is adapted from "Communion:  A culinary journey through Vietnam"

Cube 1 pound pork loin and marinate in 1 tbsp fish sauce and pepper for 30 min (not in fridge).  Brown in 1 tbsp olive oil.  Remove and set aside. 

Meanwhile peel and cube 3/4 pound tomatoes.  Saute 1 shallot in 1 tbsp olive oil.  Add 2 minced garlic cloves.  Add the tomatoes and simmer while browning vegetables.

Cook 2 peeled and diced carrots in the pork fat.  Remove and add to pork.  Saute 1/2 pound diced potatoes.  Remove.  Saute some diced mushrooms with salt.  Remove.

Add tomatoes, pork and carrots to a large saucepan.  Add 1 tsp fish sauce, 6 cups vegetable broth and a bay leaf.  Cover and cook about 45 minutes.  Until meat is tender.  Add potatoes and cook about 15 minutes.  Add 1 can rinsed cannellini beans and the mushrooms.  Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.  Serve with a crusty baguette.