Chinese Style Fried Pork Noodle Soup

Mom made this for me last week.  My comfort food fortification before the storm of finals hit.  Thank you, Mom, you're the best.  

- Darin

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Chinese Style Fried Pork Noodle Soup

4 Servings

Chinese Style Pork Chop Marinade:
2 Pieces Center Cut Pork Chop, Bone-in approximately 0.5" thick
1 tsp. Shaoxing Wine
1 1/2 tbsp. Chinese Soy Sauce
1tsp. Salt
1 tbsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Rice Vinegar
1 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp. Sesame Oil
3 Cloves Garlic, minced

1) Wash and dry the pork chop well with a paper towel.  Using the back of the clever or a meat tenderizer, pound the meat to thin and flatten it out.

2) In a medium bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients together then add it into a ziplock bag along with both pork chops, making sure to rub both sides of pork chops well.  Let the pork chops rest for an least 1 hour, preferably overnight.

Frying Pork Chop:
1 Egg Yolk, beaten
¼ cup Cornstarch
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

1) Get a dredging station ready and be sure to use big enough plates as the pork chops should be fully coated by both the egg yolk and the cornstarch.  Shake off the excess marinade and dip the pork chops into into egg yolk then the cornstarch, shaking off the excess.

2) Heat up the frying pan on medium heat with the vegetable oil.  You can tell the pan is ready when you start seeing small wavy lines in the pan.  Carefully place the pork chop in the pan. Do not overcrowd the pan, so unless you have a big enough pan to fit both chops at the same time, you can do it one by one.  The pork chops should take around 3 minutes per side and DO NOT peek or move it around or you won't get a nice crust.  Just time it, then flip it to the other side.

3) While the chops are frying, prepare a cookie sheet with a rack on top to let the excess oil drip off.  After the pork chops are finished frying, rest the pork chops for 3-4 minutes on the rack before slicing.

Chinese Pickled Mustard Green Topping:
1tbsp. Garlic, minced (about 2-3 cloves)
1 tbsp. Vegetable Oil
1/4 Package Pickled Mustard Green “Lotus” Brand, very finely chopped
1 tsp. Salt
1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 tsp. Sugar
¼ tsp. Ground Black Pepper
¼ tsp. Sesame Oil

1)  Saute the garlic in the vegetable oil.  Once the garlic has softened, but not browned, stir in the pickled mustard and the rest of the seasonings. Stir until combined and set aside.

Soup:
6-8 cups of hot chicken broth, low or no sodium and preferably homemade, split between 4 bowls with the following in EACH bowl:
1 tsp. Soy Sauce
¼ tsp. Ground Black Pepper
¼ tsp. Sesame Oil
1/8 tsp. Salt
Chopped scallion

Noodle:
As for noodle, there are a number of choices but our family prefers the “Chinese Style” flat white (no egg) noodle.  Prepare the noodle per the package instructions.

Now the assembly time…..
After adding the the soup seasoning in the bowl followed by piping hot soup, carefully add the noodles and half of the pickled mustard.  Top with the sliced pork chop and chopped scallion.  You can also put the pork chop on a separate plate if you are afraid of it getting soggy.

Enjoy!

Kanom Jeen Nam Ya (ขนมจีนน้ำยา) / Thai Fish Curry with Noodles

It is almost winter and we have come back to get together again between friends. So when I found turmeric at Whole Foods, I knew I should try to do Kanom Jeen Namya.

Kanom Jeen, despite meaning "Chinese Candy" in Thai, is actually a fresh rice noodle dish in which the noodles are rolled into circles after being boiled. This kind of noodle originated from the Mong people, an ancient tribe in the northern mountains of Thailand but is now very popular throughout Thailand and Southeast Asia with a local variation and specialty in each area of Thailand. In the northeastern they have it with papaya salad, while in the south, the addition of Malay influence to the dish makes for a very spicy and even more savoury Kanom Jeen. The one I'm making here is the traditional Kanom Jeen Nam Ya, which is the most common variation of this dish.

- Daisy

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So sorry to everyone for the long absence. I've been a little blue since leaving Thailand and with law school, I had to put the blog on the back burner. Whoever said the second year is easier is a dirty liar.  But anyways everyone, my bad.  Mom and I are back!

My favorite variation of Kanom Jeen is the one I tried when I was in southern Thailand on vacation in the breathtaking Krabi. Which is inconvenient for my mother since that apparently is the hardest variation to make since it utilizes almost completely different ingredients, most of which are very hard to find in the US. One of these days though, I'll hunt them down and ask my mother to make it for us. Until then, this widely popular and most common version is a delicious alternative.

- Darin

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Kanom Jeen Nam Ya

ขนมจีนน้ำยา

Thai Fish Curry with Noodles

Serves 4

1 package of Japanese Somen Noodles

1 cup Fresh White Fish (flounder, scrod, halibut , haddock, sole, grouper, etc.)
1/2 cup Maesri Red Curry
3 tbsp Shallots, minced
2 tbsp Garlic, minced
1 tbsp. Galangal Powder
1 tbsp Krachai powder
1/4 cup Thai Fish Sauce
1 tbsp Palm Sugar
1 cup Chicken Broth
1 cup Coconut Milk

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

Optional: Fish meatballs (found in the frozen section of most asian supermarkets)

Served with:
Bean sprouts, fresh or blanched

Green Bean, sliced, fresh or blanched

Chinese Mustard Pickle, sliced

Fresh Thai Basil

Boiled Eggs, quartered

Thai Dried Red Chili, lightly fried

Bitter Melon, sliced and blanched

Shallot, fried or fresh

1) Boil the Somen noodles according to package directions for about 3 minutes. Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking (this type of noodle is very prone to over cooking), and take a handful and use a fork to roll it into circles, much like how you'd eat spaghetti.

2) Heat up a saucepan with vegetable oil and fry the curry for 1 minute then add in the garlic and shallot, sauteing until fragrant.  Approximately 4 minutes.

3) In another pot, on low heat, slowly boil coconut milk and chicken broth together. Put the fish to simmer until done.  The time will depend on how thick is your fish is, but the trick is to lower the heat and poach slowly until done, around 5 minutes.  To check for doneness, the meat will be flaky and easily pull away from the bone. 

4) When the fish is done, use chopsticks to tear off the skin, and then a fork to scratch down the white meat only, discarding the bones, the skin and the fish eggs if there are some.

5) Put the fish meat to the blender and some of the coconut mixture to help out to blend well. Then pour back to the pot. Add on galangal powder, Krachai powder, fish sauce, palm sugar. Let it simmer to boil.  If you are adding fish meatballs as well, which is traditional, add them with the fish to boil according to package directions and then cut in half.  I highly recommend this.  They are delicious.  And no, they do not taste like gefilte fish.  This is WAY better.

4) Add the curry and white whitefish into the broth and stir to combine.  The Nam Ya should be a bit thick, almost like a stew.

5) Assemble the dish.  First put in a couple rolls of noodles, then add the veggies and top it off with the curry.  EAT!

Note: This dish can be eaten either hot or warm or even cold. I recommend it warm. I like to eat with fresh chili and even together with dried chili are fragrant. By then, the heat is on!

Yum Mama (ยำมาม่า) / Instant Noodle Salad

Here is another super fast, super easy, super amazing dish for a Thai menu! You definitely won't be able to find this dish in most Thai restaurants.

The use of instant noodles in this dish makes it very affordable and very popular too in Thailand.  Being a yum, it is a little bit sweet with a bit of sour from some kick of lime, and of course a little bit spicy from chili powder.  Add that all flavor to wonderfully chewy instant noodles and dry sautéed pork and you've got an amazing dish on your hands.  

Every year when it the weather gets a bit too warm and hazy, my youngest daughter will suddenly have little to no appetite.  When this happens, I will suddenly also be completely out of ideas of what to cook.  This year, my mom told me to try this recipe because now that my youngest daughter is all grown up, she can enjoy more spicy food.  Let's try! My mom has never been wrong.

This dish is supposed to be quick and easy, utilizing anything you have on hand.  Let me know if this cures your food sluggishness as well!

- Daisy

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I love this dish.  I definitely did not appreciate the yums, or a type of Thai salad, until I was much older.  The blasts of all the flavors; sweet, salty, spicy, sour, that is what I really think Thai food is all about.  You can read more about them and other types of Thai salads on wikipedia.

What really makes this dish special though is the instant noodles.  I would definitely recommend you stick to the Mama brand.  It is readily available in most, if not all, Asian supermarkets and is essential to this dish.  Try to replace it with any other type of noodles and it will be a completely different dish.  And be careful not to overcook it.  I would actually tell you to make sure its a bit al dente.  Yea, its the Italian in me.  This can be shared as an appetizer or a light meal for one.

This version uses ground pork, which is very classic Thai, but my favorite version is a seafood version I love to order whenever I go to the beaches in Thailand.  It will usually come with fresh squid and shrimp and is absolutely DELICIOUS and oh so very refreshing in the Thai heat!

- Darin

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Yum Mama

ยำมาม่า

Instant Noodle Salad

1 tbsp Vegetable Oil

1/4 lb Ground Pork

1 Shallot, sliced

1/4 tsp Salt

1 package Instant Noodle, Mama brand
1 tsp Fried Garlic Oil
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tbsp Prik Manow Num Pla (this is essentially fish sauce, lime juice and sliced Thai chilies)*
2 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp Sugar
1 Boiled Egg, quartered

1) Put some oil in the pan, swirl the oil around then pour it out, we're only looking for a light coating.  Then, heat up the pan and stir in ground pork, cooking until no longer pink (no need to brown). Mix in the shallots and salt and set aside to cool in a mixing bowl. 

2)  In a pot, boil the noodle according package directions, but cut the cooking time by a minute or so. Omit all the flavor packages.  Drain when it's done and rinse with cold water and drain very well, otherwise the flavors will be diluted. 

3) Stir in garlic oil (if you don't have any feel free to use the oil included with the instant noodles), then mix in the Prik Num Pla, cayenne and sugar.  Adjust to taste.

4) Put the noodles in a beautiful dish and top with the boiled egg, and garnish with cilantro.  Aroy-Ka!

*You can make this very easily and to your own tastes.  Start off with half a lime and 1/2 tbsp of fish sauce.  Then add in 1-2 thinly sliced Thai chili (bird's eye chili) and adjust to your taste.  You can also sprinkle in a bit of sugar.

Beef Panang Curry (พะแนง)

This dish is not complicated but it does require a bit of time. The time spent, however, is absolutely worth it.  It is a curry dish that is not too spicy, is a bit on the sweet side, and has a lot of coconut flavor. My son loves it so much and always applauds me on not cooking the beef too soft, but just tender enough. He sure knows how to enjoy. It feels good how to have somebody believe in you. The beef that you will be looking for is the kind of beef that you would use for a stew.  The cut I got is the leg from the Chinese market but Chinese cuts are different from American cuts. The Chinese leg cut has both meat, some tendon and some fat which is suitable for this kind of long stewing.

My son especially loves this dish because this dish does not have anything else (he's never been a fan of vegetables) but the meat.  Try shrimp, pork, fish.  And don't forget about the kaffir lime leaves on top.  I've found that using scissors to cut the leaves into thin strip is most convenient to me.

Please try it, I know you will love it, just like my son.

- Daisy

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My mother isn't kidding when she says my brother loves this dish.  He generally loves any meat dish with sauce but this really is his favorite.  I know that when he visits, this dish will always be on the menu at least twice before he leaves.  Although my mother loves cooking for my sister and I, she always gets extra excited making this dish for my brother and to see her beaming when he tells her how much he loves it is so sweet to see.  I really am convinced that mothers have soft spot for their sons, much like how fathers have a soft spot for their daughters. 

The key thing to really note in this recipe is the kaffir lime leaves.  It may seem like just a garnish but I find that it really elevates the dish and gives it a unique taste to the curry that no other cuisine can come close to.  The leaves are hard to find but check in the frozen or refrigerated sections of Chinese markets or any Southeast Asian markets.  It really is worth it.  Promise.

- Darin

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Beef Panang Curry

พะแนง

Serves 2-3

3-4 lbs. Beef Brisket/Shank/Chuck, cut into big chunks
1/2 can Panang Curry Paste (Mae Sri is recommended)
1 [250ml] Coconut Milk (Aroy-D is recommended)
3-4 Kaffir Lime Leaves, cut in thin strips or chiffonade
2-3 Red Chilies, cut diagonally
1/2 tsp Palm Sugar (you can substitute regular sugar but it won't be the same)
1 Fish Sauce
1tbsp Vegetable Oil

1) On low heat, simmer the beef in coconut milk for about 45mins, or until cooked through and tender.  Keep the pot covered and stir it from time to time.  Make sure it is a simmer, you really don't want a rolling boil for this recipe.  

2) In a small sauté pan, heat up the vegetable oil and add in the curry paste.  Stir until fragrant then throw in the beef mixture and combine.  Add in the fish sauce and palm sugar. 

3) Top with kaffir lime leaves and red chillies and serve with Thai Jasmine rice.  Enjoy.

Stir Fried Duck with Black Pepper and Fried Garlic

Simple, straight forward, delicious.

- Daisy

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Stir Fried Duck with Black Pepper and Fried Garlic

2 Duck Breasts, sliced
1 Tbsp Fried Garlic
1 Medium Sweet Onion, diced
1-2 Jalapeños, cut into match-sticks
1 Tbsp Black Pepper, pounded not finely ground
1 1/2 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

1) Heat up the oil and slide in the duck meat, frying until browned and flip.

2) Stir in fried garlic, onion and salt until are soft and translucent.

3) Add in the black pepper and jalapeño and flavor with soy sauce, sugar, adjusting to your taste.

4) Enjoy with rice or noodles.

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Fried Garlic

7-8 Garlic Cloves, large, sliced evenly
3/4 cup Vegetable Oil

1) Put frying pan on medium heat and stir in the garlic when the vegetable oil is still warming out. When it starts to make noise, keep stirring until the garlic started to turn brown. Take it off the heat.

2) The garlic will still be bubbling. Let it cool down.

3) Right when it has stopped bubbling, use a slotted spoon to remove it to drain on a paper towel.

Khao Mok Gai (ข้าวหมกไก่)/Thai Chicken Biryani

Biryani is an typical dish in Middle East cuisine.  Historians believe that the dish was invented in a Mongol Emperor's kitchen.  Generally, the two main ingredients, the rice and the meat, are first cooked separately and then combined together to finish cooking.  The separation is absolutely necessary because the rice and the meat have significantly different cooking times and the final process of slow steaming the rice and the meat together until done allows the flavors to mingle.  The final product, then, should be pretty dry or at the very least minimally moist.

For years that I have been trying to find the best way to make a good Khao Mok Gai, the Thai version of Chicken Biryani.  I've experimented with so many different ways to no avail that I gave up and just used the instant powder, which unfortunately has mostly artificial flavors but is the closest I ever get to a good Khao Mok Gai.  Besides the basic method of cooking a good Khao Mok Gai, I want to figure out the tiny nuances of cooking a good Khao Mok Gai.  It more than just what spices or how much of each spice that should be used, but more like key to cooking through the rice through until fragrant without burning or leaving the rice mushy.  Or making sure chicken is done but still moist, yet not soggy at the same time.

The really indispensable part to this dish is Nam Jim Gai, or the dipping sauce.  The traditional ingredients are all green foods, green chili or green chili pepper or jalapeño, cilantro, green onion.  None of which my daughter likes as much as the store-bought version more commonly known as sweet chili sauce, which is fine for me.  It is delicious and is more convenient.

- Daisy

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This dish was my favorite childhood dish.  I used to beg my mom to take us to the tiny Khao Mok Gai restaurant behind our house after school so I could gorge myself.  She would always say I should have been born Indian for how much I loved this dish.  

It wasn't until years later that I tried a real Biryani and tasted the differences between the traditional Biryani and the Thai Khao Mok Gai.  I, of course, prefer the Thai style to the real thing but you can decide for yourself.  This recipe leans towards more of a real biryani instead of a Khao Mok Gai with the addition of raisins in the rice but the chicken was wonderfully moist , even several days later when my mom delivered a tupperware of the dish to me in my apartment.  I think was really makes this dish Thai is the dipping sauce.  Nam Jim Gai is essential to this dish for me and is distinctly Thai.  You know we love our dipping sauces!  The one I grew up eating and prefer is 

While you guys are busy cooking up this recipe, my mom and I will continue our quest for the perfect Khao Mok Gai...although this recipe comes pretty damn close.

- Darin

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Khao Mok Gai

ข้าวหมกไก่

Thai Chicken Biryani

For the Chicken and Fried Garlic:
2 Whole boneless Chicken Legs, cut in half (or 2 chicken thighs and 2 chicken drumsticks)
8 tsp Curry Powder
6 tsp Ground Turmeric
4 tsp Ground Coriander
2 tsp Ground Cumin
2 tsp Cinnamon Powder
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Sugar
1/3 cup Half & Half or Coconut Milk or Evaporated Milk
4-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/3 cup canola oil

For the Rice:
3 cups Thai Jasmine Rice
1 [14.5oz] can Chicken Broth, preferable Swanson
2 Bay Leaves
2 Cinnamon Sticks
4-6 Shallots, sliced
1/2 cup Raisins
1/3 cup Canola Oil

1) Combine the spices and divide the mixture into 2 parts.

2)  Wash the chicken and pat it dry.  Pierce the chicken all over and place in either into a large ziplock bag along with the marinade (try to get as much air out as possible) and refrigerate for overnight.

3) The next day, heat up the oil over medium heat, pan fried the chicken pieces until almost done and the skin is crispy. Set aside.

4) Using the same pan with the oil left over from the fried chicken, fry the garlic.  When the garlic turns golden brown, drain on a paper towel.  Keep the oil.

5) Heat up a pan on medium low and fry the shallot until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel. The trick is to go low and slow, otherwise the shallot will burn.

6) In the rice cooker, wash the rice 3 times then pour in the rest of the spice mixture (leftover from the chicken marinade) and stir well.   Add cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and 2 cups of chicken broth.  Let it cooked till it's al dente or with a bit of a bite.

7) In a 23-26 cm pan or a shallow pot, heat up the oil in medium low.  Lay down the chicken pieces, skin side up, then the fried garlic, cover with yellow rice, and lastly sprinkle with raisins and the fried shallots.  Slowly pour in the leftover oil from the fried garlic.

8) Pour 1/4 cup of chicken broth, cover, and let it cook for 20 minutes or until the chicken is done and the rice is fragrant.  The rice should still hold its shape but completely cooked through as well as the chicken.

9) Garnish with slices of English Cucumber, Tomato, Cilantro and Green Onion and serve!

Kana Pad Ped Moo Krob (คะน้าผัดเผ็ดหมูกรอบ)/Crispy Pork and Chinese Broccoli Spicy Stir Fry

"Ka Na" (คะน้า) in Thai and "Kai Lan" (芥蘭) in Cantonese are both Chinese Broccoli.  My "Pad Ped Moo Krob" (ผัดเผ็ดหมูกรอบ) is my home style stir fry one meal dish. My family doesn't like eggplant but we do like Chinese broccoli and regular broccoli so we substitute that instead for the traditionally used eggplant.  If you like broccoli rabe, try with this recipe and let us out how it turns out!

Moo Krob (หมูกรอบ) is the pork belly that has been salted then roasted to the point that the skin super crispy. You can find it in any Cantonese noodle restaurants or in certain Chinese supermarkets.  In the past I only knew one way to eat crispy roasted pork and that was in place of the Char Siu (叉燒) with rice, which is a great Cantonese one dish meal.  I really love it!  But with this recipe, now I can introduce one more dish with the crispy roasted pork but Thai-style with even more flavor.  Even my youngest daughter said "umm" at her first bite.  If you do not like pork or have a hard time eating anything fried or crispy, feel free to substitute to boneless chicken thigh or boneless beef ribs.

Please adjust the heat  to your preference.  As always, eating with Thai people always has some "Prik Nam Pra, Ma Nou" or the Thai fish sauce with bird's eye chili and lime juice on the table. I do not know why you need it since the dish is so delicious, but Thai people still have the custom or the culture to have the dipping sauce with.  We can't help it.  Or is it just a something that we have to do when we eat? I do not know, but my condiments are never far from me.  Now I am curious which country has the most dipping sauces in the world, or consume the most in the world?

- Daisy

 

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I nearly fainted when I had this.  It was THAT good.  My mom hadn't made this dish before, or at least not when I can remember.  Its strange how your palate changes as you grow.  There have been so many times where she will make something that I am absolutely in love with, only to find out that she used to make it all the time when my brother and I were young, and only stopped because we complained that we didn't like it.

In this case, since the dish is pretty spicy, I could probably understand why my brother and I couldn't take it.  I still can't eat food that is too spicy, I feel like at a certain point it just kills your tastebuds but try telling my mom that.   

- Darin

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Kana Pad Ped Moo Krob 

คะน้าผัดเผ็ดหมูกรอบ

Crispy Pork and Chinese Broccoli Spicy Stir Fry

Serves 2-3

1/2 lb. Crispy Roasted Pork
1 1/4 lb. Chinese Broccoli, washed and cut diagonally
2 tsp. Red Curry Paste, preferably Maesri
1/2 cup Thai Basil
3 tsp Fish Sauce
2 tsp Sugar
3 cloves Garlic, smashed
3 cloves Garlic, minced
3 Fresh Red Chilies, cut diagonally
6 tbsp Vegetable Oil

1) Put the Chinese broccoli in a microwave proof bowl, cover and heat for 1 minute.  Set aside.

2) Heat up a sauté pan with 2 tbsp oil and refry the pork for 2 minutes on each side.  Set aside. 

3) Heat up another 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and toss in the smashed garlic and fry until fragrant (not burnt!) then pour in the Chinese broccoli.  Let it heat up for a couple of seconds before starting to stir. Use two spatula to stir, almost like you are tossing a salad, until cooked then add 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp fish sauce. Set aside.

4) In the same pan, add in 2 tsp of Thai red curry paste and the minced garlic.  Pour in the pan juice from Chinese broccoli dish and quickly stir to incorporate with the curry paste.  

5) Add in the pork and the Chinese broccoli and mix everything together, making sure they are all coated with the sauce.  Taste it before adding in some more sugar and/or fish sauce. 

6) Stir in basil and serve with hot white or brown rice.

Taiwanese Style Wintermelon Stir Fry with Glass Noodle

This dish makes me think of my childhood when I was studying in Taiwan and for lunch I needed to find a place to eat in a hurry.  There are a lot of "buffet" places around school called that are all Chinese home cooking dishes.  This is one of dished that I always had to have.  It is cheap and tasty and very easy to eat, especially whenever you feel a bit sick but you still have to go to school.  It is also good either for small children or the elderly since it is easy to digest.

I introduced it to my family later on in my life and they love it. Especially for my son, he can keep eating it, and eating it, and eating it, and eating it...

Glass noodle is good a low glycermic index food.  A low fat food.  You can boil the noodles in any kind of broth and you are ready to eat.  Again, try to get the glass noodles from Taiwan.  You all know how I feel about using ingredients from the correct country of origin.

And of course, like most Asian dishes, it is served with rice.

- Daisy

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This is a dish that my mom serves when she gets nostalgic about her school days in Taiwan.  My grandfather sent her off  to study there when she was just a teenager and knew not a lick of Taiwanese.  She was alone and basically had to fend for herself, which is amazing considering when I was 13, I was too busy crying about how many pimples I had and how tough middle school was.  Now she can speak Thai, Taiwanese, Cantonese, Mandarin and English, not to mention a bit of Korean (I'm not joking).  What can I say?  The woman is amazing.  Way to go, Tiger Grandpa!

- Darin 

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Taiwanese Style Wintermelon Stir Fry With Glass Noodle

Serve 4

139g or 1 cup Ground Pork
933g or 3 cups Chinese Watermelon, peeled and chopped into big chunks
288g Shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 nests of Glass Noodle, soaked in lukewarm water for at least 20 minutes
2 slices of Ginger, finely chopped, divided in half
2 Scallions, finely chopped, divided in half
1 Scallion, sliced
1/2 Shallot, sliced
1 can Low Sodium Chicken Broth, preferably Swanson
1 tsp Sugar
1 + 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Salt
1 tsp Corn Starch
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 cup + 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

For the Shrimp Marinade

1) Combine the shrimp, soy sauce and sugar into bowl.  

2) Chill in the fridge until needed. 

For Ground Pork Marinade

1) Combine ground pork, corn starch, soy sauce and 1 tbsp of water in another bowl.  Stir until incorporated.

2) Heat up the oil in medium high heat in big pan or wok and stir in half of the chopped ginger and half of the chopped scallion.  

3) Add in the marinaded ground pork.  Keep stirring and separating the big chunks of pork until it is a uniform consistency and only still slightly pink.  Transfer to a bowl.

For the Stir Fry

1) In the same pan, heat up 1/4 cup oil and put in the shallot and shrimp.  Stir fry each side for 1 minute. Then transfer them into another bowl but leave all the oil and pan juice (chopsticks recommended). 

2) Add drippings from the pork bowl (only the drippings, not the pork) and the rest of the chopped ginger, chopped scallion and wintermelon.  Keep stirring the wintermelon is translucent.  This should take around 7-8 minutes.  Add more oil if necessary.  

3) Stir in the softened glass noodle and add the chicken broth and salt.  Let it come to a boil.  Adjust to taste.

4) Arrange the stir fried wintermelon and glass noodle on a big plate then top it with the pork and shrimp on top.  Finish with the sliced scallion for decoration.  Enjoy!

Dulce De Leche Brownies

It's been a rough moth, as you can probably tell by the slowdown of posts.  But I have spring break in Key West to look forward to and its the breather I'm desperately in need of.

Keep a lookout for my food reporting from the Sunshine State.

Until then, here is an overdue recipe for Dulce De Leche Brownies from the Valentines' Day Bake Sale.  Yep, law schools still have bake sales.  Some things never change.  If you're lucky I might also post my recipe for Red Velvet Madeleines!

- Darin

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Dulce De Leche Brownies

(adapted from Fine Cooking's Chewy Brownie recipe)

1 can Condensed Milk 

4 oz. (8 Tbs.) unsalted butter
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
4-1/2 oz. (1 cup) flour
2 Tbs. natural cocoa (not Dutch-processed)

1/2 cup Dulce De Leche
 

Fleur de sel (optional)

For the Dulce De Leche:

1) Put the can of condensed milk in a pot and fill it wil water so it is completely submerged.  There should be an inch of water above the can at all times.

2) Turn the heat to medium high and let it simmer for 3.5 hours.  Make sure to check every 10 mins to make sure the water level has not gotten below the top of the can.  That baby will explode if you neglect it...much like women.

3) Use tongs to lift the can out and let it cool for an hour before using.

For the Dulce De Leche Brownies:

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter and line an 8-inch square pan.

2) Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave in 30sec. increments until most, but not all, of the chocolate hass melted.

3) Let it cool for a couple minutes and add to the sugar, salt, and vanilla.  Mix in the eggs, one at a time, and then the flour and cocoa.  Don't over mix the batter; stop just when all the ingredients are combined.  

4) Pour batter into the pan and swirl in the dulce de leche.  I used a spoon to put dollops all over and swirled with a knife.  Sprinkle with the fleur de sel if you are using.

5) Bake on the middle rack for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out almost clean, with a few moist crumbs clinging to it.  If no crumbs cling, you've overbaked.  Sorry dude.

6) Let the brownies COMPLETELY cool, at least an hour, before cutting.  Trust me.  Otherwise you're gonna get some ugly brownies.  If you're transporting not in its original pan, I recommend wrapping each brownie with some parchment paper otherwise the dulce de leche will get messy.

Gang Gai (แกงไก่)/Red Curry with Chicken and Bamboo Shoot

Although every supermarket is littered with cans of Thai curry pastes promising authenticity and deliciousness, there are only two brands available in the US you can trust, Mae Ploy and Mae Sri.  I prefer Mae Sri because they make curry pastes that come in a small can that is perfect for a curry that serves 4.  It is better to use the paste up than keeping the leftovers in the fridge.  Also, I find Mae Ploy is a bit too salty and I like to have some room in my cooking to season for myself.

Just as the same as curry paste, coconut milk, for me, needs to be from Thailand if you want your curry to be authentic. There are a lot of brands out there from a lot of different countries and some are low fat or fat free or were from powdered coconut milk so I would say try not try to use anything else, especially if first time cooking Thai curry.  Too fuzzy.  My uncle recommended trying sugar-free soy milk for health reasons but soy milk lacks the body and creaminess of coconut milk, not to mention the smell would be off and wouldn't really be Thai curry.  I say just use real coconut milk and enjoy life.

Now I need to talk about rice.  Thai people most commonly, if not always, eat jasmine rice.  You can tell when you are cooking real jasmine rich when the smell of the cooked rice permeates your entire house and makes it smell of jasmines. Jasmine rice is suitable for anything from Thai curries to even very simple fried rice, but for curries, there is really no substitute for good Thai jasmine rice with this beautiful chicken curry.  The slight flowery scent of the rice perfectly compliments the creaminess and spiciness of the curry, so don't you dare use any other types of rice.

Lastly, a lot of times my friends would ask me if they could substitute from bamboo shoots with something else.  Of course!  Some common vegetables that can be used are: Japanese Pumpkin or Kombucha (with skin on), Zucchini, Squash, Wintermelon (find it in Asian supermarkets), Japanese Eggplant, Okra, Bell pepper, or any type of vegetable that can hold up to being stewed for a bit and isn't too pungent itself.

- Daisy

~~~~

This is THE curry in our house.  It is my siblings' favorite (although I actually prefer green curry myself) and I swear when Darian walks into the house after school and smells this cooking on the stove, that little girl goes nuts.  It will be the only night when she will set the table without me having to scream up to her room multiple times, begging her to take some part in preparing dinner.  

This curry is also the one I would recommend curry novices start with.  Red curry is probably the most common and most palatable for people who didn't grow up eating curry and it is not terribly hard to master.  Most of the ingredients are common enough to find in your average supermarket so it is usually what I whip up for my friends when they ask for me to make them Thai curry.

So please, go for it!  Just avoid making the mistake of making it too sweet like many of the "Thai" restaurants in the US tend to do.  Thai cooking is an agressive balance of sweet, salty, sour and spicy, no just one of these.  And take my mom's advice and go get a small bag of jasmine rice.  If I find anyone eating this curry with basmati or sushi rice, heads will roll.  I mean it.

- Darin

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Gang Gai

แกงไก่

Red Curry with Chicken and Bamboo Shoot

Serves 4

1 Half Chicken Breast, chopped into big chunks
2 Chicken Legs with wings, separated
300g Bamboo Shoot (bag or canned), rinsed under hot tap water and dried
1/2 cup Thai basil (50-70g)
1-3 Red Finger Chili, cut 1" diagonally
7-8 leaves of Kaffir Lime leaves, chiffonade
1/2 tsp. Fish Sauce, preferably Thai
2 [8.5 fl oz] box Aroy-D Coconut Milk or 1 [19 fl oz] can Mae Ploy Coconut Milk
1/4 cup Veg. Oil
1 [4.5 oz] can Maesri Red Curry Paste
1 - 1 1/2 tsp Palm Sugar
Jasmine rice for serving

1) Heat up the oil in a pot and fry the red curry paste on low heat until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.

2) Stir in chicken and fry to combine.

3) Pour in coconut milk and stir well. Turn the heat up to medium and bring to boil.  It might need a little time to fully thicken but try to hang loose close to your pot and keep stirring every so often to prevent burning.

4) As soon as it boils, throw in the red finger chili, kaffir lime leaves, palm sugar, fish sauce and bamboo shoot.  Stir and bring to boil again.

5) Stir in basil and then turn off the heat immediately.  Adjust to taste.

5) Garnish with some more red chili and Thai basil.  Serve with jasmine rice.

Tom Kha Gai (ต้มข่าไก่)/ Chicken Galangal Soup

Tom Kha Gai (ต้มข่าไก่) is a misunderstood Thai dish that needs some clarification. It is an entree that is normally consumed with rice. It is NOT an appetizer or a soup before meal. This is why this dish is a complete healthy meal on its own.  It combines every flavor in each mouthful.  All the delicious tastes you can ever have.

Tom Kha Gai (ต้มข่าไก่) or Chicken Galangal Soup 

This is another entree that is traditionally homemade and in the olden days, the chicken used were usually from their own backyard.  And it would small, thus, they would use the whole chicken including neck and feet.  [Note from Darin: Ew.]  My mom told me Tom Kha Gai should only be made with bone-in chicken and so is the reason why my recipe does not use chicken broth or chicken bouillon cube like some other recipes.  Unfortunately, either for convenience or health reasons, now most people use boneless chicken and deal with the loss of flavor with chicken broth or bouillon cubes.  This is completely up to you but if you want truly flavorful, authentic Tom Kha Gai, you just have to go with bone-in chicken. 

I also grill my shallots and chilies for this recipe.  This is a tip from my mom and doing so makes the shallots and chilies even more fragrant and pungent instead of just boiling it.  Also, I would like to talk about coconut milk again.   Especially for Tom Kha Gai, please do not substitute coconut milk with any  other low fat or fat free versions.  And I really recommend everyone try to use ingredients from the same country of your cuisine.  This recipe's focus is on the sweetness from the chicken bone and the creaminess of the coconut, so that is why I insist on bone-in chicken and good coconut milk.

As for the mushroom, please only use either straw, oyster or white button mushrooms.  All these mushrooms have a milder flavor and won't  overpower the rest of the dish.  Very important.  [Note from Darin: I would recommend straw mushrooms.  It is what is traditionally used and is much more tasty and exotic than regular white button mushrooms.  You probably use white button a lot so why not switch it up?  You can find canned straw mushrooms in most supermarkets and specialty Asian markets.]

This recipe calls for Galangal, which is not regular ginger.  Although it is in the same ginger root family, the smell and flavor would be different if you substitute galangal with ginger so please try to find galangal if you can find it.  Most specialty Asian markets will stock them, usually in the refrigerators.

This recipe also comes together quite fast so when you start on the soup, also start to cook your Thai jasmine rice as well.   Why does it have to be Thai jasmine rice?  Short grain (sushi/Japanese/Korean) rice will be too soft and glutinous.  Indian and American long grain rice will be too hard.  

And final tip, please absolutely do not substitute lemons for limes.

- Daisy

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Tom Kha Gai

ต้มข่าไก่

Chicken Galangal Soup

For 3-4 servings

4 medium Shallots, cut in half
3-4 fresh Thai Bird's Eye Chilis
1 stalk fresh Lemongrass, cut in half widthwise and discard the dry half.  Pound or smash the fresh half lightly with a clever or a meat pounder, then cut in 1" length
4-5 fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves, remove stem
1 2inch piece fresh Galangal (if using dry Galangal, soak in lukewarm water for 15 minutes)
1 1/2 cup Coconut Milk
1 1/2 cup Water
1 1/2lb Chicken, bone-in, cut in pieces
12 oz. Oyster Mushrooms, cut in half (can substitute canned stem or fresh white button mushrooms)
2-3 Limes, juiced
3 Tbs. Fish Sauce
1/2 cup cilantro

1) Bring a big pot of water to boil.  On another burner using low heat, grill the shallots and the bird's eye chilies in aluminum foil, made into a pouch, for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.

Grilling the Shallots and Birds Eye Chilis

2) In the big pot, add galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, grilled shallots, grilled chilies.  Let it simmer for five minutes to infuse the broth. 

3) Pour in coconut milk and wait until it almost boils, then immediately turn down the heat to avoid the separation of coconut milk.

4) Add the chicken and let it simmer until the chicken is done, between 5-10 minutes.  Stir in the mushroom, fish sauce and lime juice.

5) Adjust to your taste and garnish with cilantro.  Serve with rice.

Khao Maew (ข้าวแมว)/ Cat's Rice

Pla tu (ปลาทู) is a kind of mackerel only found in the Gulf of Thailand. It is known to be one of the fish referred to in the Thai idiom, "wherever there is water, there is food." It is usually very simply prepared. You can fry it or steam it. You can eat it hot, eat it cold, either way it will be very tasty! Pla Tu (ปลาทู) is about the length and size of your standard TV remote. No bigger than that.

I think this recipe has been around a long time and must be a very country style. Now everybody eats a lot of western food and very few people still consume this type of food. Thais in the olden days, when the weather gets really hot, sometimes they eat only rice and watermelon. If the mango is in season they eat mango with rice. Not that they do not have money or poor, but just because when the harvest was so fruitful that you had to keep eating the fruit aside from just selling it. Or the weather is so hot that they don' t feel like eating anything else.

This dish is one of those dishes that makes me think of when our family moved back to Bangkok after living in San Francisco for a while.  My children were still toddlers and sometimes, or I should say most of the time, me and my two children will be dinner with my mom. When my mom told them that we are going to have Khao Maew (ข้าวแมว) they would always excitedly look at each other. It sounds funny but it is truly good. No Thai can turn down a dish with Nam Pla, Prik, Manao or fish sauce, bird's eye chili, lime juice. Mine also has a bit of sugar in it too. Reloaded!

- Daisy

~~~~~

This dish reminds me of my childhood in Bangkok. Completely dreamy and idyllic. My best childhood memories include running around my uncle's house watching my grandma prepare the fish for steaming and hand mixing the rice and fish in a ginormous bowl. Whenever I ate it I would imagine growing some whiskers and silently meow in my mind. Truly my grandma's love in a bowl. Meow!

- Darin

**EDITOR'S NOTE: After posting this recipe, Mom called Grandma to tell her about it and we found out that this recipe was actually Grandma's very own recipe!  Mom and I had always thought it had to have been around forever--a classic Thai dish long forgotten.  Hard to believe Grandma just made it up one day because she had two hungry kids at home.  CRAZY!  Now I know where Mom and I get our insane-kitchen-experiments genes from.  So here is an original family recipe for you all! **  

~~~~

Khao Maew 

ข้าวแมว

Cat's Rice

Serves 3-4

2 Pla Tu (Thai Mackerel)
1 Knob of Ginger
1 Bird's Eye Chili (or more if you're a champ like my mom)
2 Tbsp Thai Fish Sauce
1/2 Lime (DO NOT substitute with a lemon)
1/2 tsp Sugar
4 cups of Jasmine Rice (don't even think about using any other kind of rice)
3-5 Shallots, sliced
1 English Cucumber, quartered and sliced

1) Firstly, get the rice going in the rice cooker and clean the Pla Tu.



2) Use a regular steamer and steam the fish with a couple slices of ginger for about 15 minutes. Begin checking at the 10 minute mark. You're looking for the flesh to turn white and become firm. After they have cooled down, careful debone them and with two forks, shred the fish into small pieces.

I used two spoons. It was much more difficult. Please learn from my mistake and use forks.

3) In a small bowl, combine fish sauce, lime juice and sugar and stir until the sugar completely dissolves. Have a taste. It should be salty and a bit sour. Lastly add the chili. Save a quarter of the sauce to serve on the side.

TIP: After handling fish, the best way to get rid of fishy smell is lemon or lime. Just use the rest of lime after squeeze out juice to brush every finger then wash with regular soap again.

4) Put the hot rice in a big bowl, and follow it with Pla Tu pieces and fish sauce mixture.  Combine and adjust to your taste. Serve with the sliced cucumber and the leftover sauce on the side.

Love.

San Francisco: Day 3

We rested up today after having such a long day yesterday and didn't wake up until 10am!  Regular time for me, but way early for Mom and Darian, even with the time difference.  After finally getting the sleepy twins out of bed, we headed to Zuni Cafe.  At first I was afraid that it would a repeat experience of Chez Panisse but my worries were absolutely unfounded.

Fennel Sausage on a bed of French Lentils and Roasted Yellow and Red Beets

My Fennel Sausage on a bed of French Lentils and Roasted Yellow and Red Beets were DELICIOUS.  I was afraid the sausage would be dry but it was light but still delectably juicy with great seasonings and paired extremely well with the lemony french lentils.  The sweet roasted beets brightened up the whole dish and the grilled greens (dandelion greens?  beet tops?) rounded off the entire experience.  My one caveat was that the greens were a little too slathered in olive oil but aside from that the dish was perfect.  The charred-ness made the greens so good I was actually wishing for more and you better believe I did not even leave one little lentil left on the plate. 

Penne with Mushroom Sauce

Darian, of course, got the Penne with Mushroom Sauce.  She is currently on a mushroom bend at the moment so she devoured the plate and I knew secretly would've to ask for seconds if she weren't so full!  The sauce looks deceptively simple but the flavors were so rounded and complex I won't even venture to try to guess beyond chopped tomatoes and some awesomely dry white wine.  The homemade pasta was so good I kept stealing bites from Darian's plate, thank god she was too tired to notice.

Zuni Cafe Burger

Mom was also pretty impressed with her Zuni Burger, although she later admitted that I was right and she should have ordered her burger medium instead of medium rare.  (NOTE: People, please always get your burgers medium.  Just trust me on this.)  She loved the bread and the pickled onions.  Yum!

Gâteau Victoire with Whipped Cream & Caramel Pot De Crème with Bourbon Whipped Cream and Hazelnut Praline

What really did us over were the desserts.  Mom got the Gâteau Victoire with Whipped Cream and I got the Caramel Pot De Crème with Bourbon Whipped Cream and Hazelnut Praline.  Both were delicious.  Mom's was delightfully dense and chocolatey, just sweet enough to satisfy our sugar craving while my pot de creme was rich and the whipped cream extremely bourbon-ey, almost overwhelmingly so but balanced when eaten together and even better with the hazelnut praline.  Highly recommended, no matter how full you are from the undoubtedly wonderful entrees.  I made reservations but it was pretty empty when we got there so maybe its not necessary for lunch.

Golden Gate Bridge

 After the decadent brunch, we ventured to the Golden Gate Bridge since it was such a nice day--too mad every other tourist in the Bay Area also had the same thought and the area was completely packed.  Darian and I did manage to get this wonderful panorama when Mom, in trying to get the car to from the parking lot to come pick us up, accidentally wound up crossing the bridge (don't ask).  Afterwards, we made a quick trip to the Cote Tower, which according to the tourist in front of us, "is possibly the worst run tourist attraction I ever came across."  I couldn't honestly disagree but the views were still pretty, especially so as we were there right at sunset.

Dinner was at Ozumo and I could hardly contain my excitement after reading all about their uni risotto, but before we got to that, we started off with the Age Dashi Dofu and the Calamari.  The tofu was so-so but the calamari was pretty delicious with the dipping sauce.

Uni Risotto

The Uni Risotto, however, wasn't so-so, wasn't delicious but absolutely AMAZING.  Even Darian, who is by no means an uni person (I honestly don't think she even knows what uni is), was dying over it.  It was creamy and perfectly chewy with a WHOOSH! of sea breeze in your mouth.  That is honestly the only way I explain it.  Just wonderfulness in your mouth!  The only person who wasn't was Mom but that is because she can't stand any type of cheese or risotto for that matter.  Darian and I didn't mind of course, more for us!

Yellowtail Collar

We also ordered the Spider Roll and the Red Dragon which were both pretty good.  I also insisted on getting the Yellowtail Collar but we completely over-ordered so I think it was a bit under-appreciated by the three of us.  Sad.

We did manage to digest enough of the Uni Risotto and sushi to have room for ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery!  Mom tried earl grey, salted caramel and banana which were all delicious while Darian and I indulged in their sundaes: Darian in their Brownie Sundae and I got the Banana Spilt.  Their split isn't like a traditional split, instead focusing more on the banana flavor by caramelizing the banana and adding tons of nuts into the mix.  DELICIOUS!  We all agreed that it was the best thing we've had the entire trip!  Must stop in SF!