Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Parmesan Garlic Wing Sauce

I can't take full credit for this one as it's a slight adaptation of the one here, but it's quite good and shockingly similar to the sauce you'd get at bdubs.  This is one you could easily play with as well (more roasted garlic, more or less crushed red pepper, or maybe a little raw garlic).

4 cloves roasted garlic, crushed and minced into paste
1/2 C mayonnaise
5 t parmesan cheese, grated and finely minced
1 T white vinegar
1 t lemon juice
1/2 t salt
1/2 t crushed red pepper
1/4 t basil
1/4 t marjoram
1/4 t oregano
1/4 t thyme
ground black pepper
drizzle of the olive oil from roasting the garlic

Mix everything to combine and allow it to blend for at least two hours.

Toum, V2

Another take on the middle eastern garlic sauce; I wasn't happy with the meringue-like texture of the previous attempt at making toum, so this time I used straight lecithin instead of getting it from eggs.

4 T lemon juice
1 C oil, I used vegetable oil, but a mix of vegetable and olive might also work
7 cloves garlic
salt to taste
1 t lecithin
2 T cold water

Mix the lecithin into the oil.  Food processor the garlic with salt and 1 T lemon juice and 1 T water.  With the processor running, slowly drizzle some of the oil in, then alternate slowly adding oil and the combination of lemon juice and water.  If it still seems runny you can add more oil in, but the general rule is that you need 1 t of lecithin per cup of oil.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Tom Yam

This is a fairly simple Thai soup.  You could get fancier with it and add in mushrooms, tofu, pork, or chicken, but I honestly prefer it just as a clear flavorful broth.



Ingredients:
4 ham hocks (I like two smoked, two plain), you could also use stock cuts of other animals like soup bones or chicken necks
12 C water
fish sauce
5-6 slices galangal, lightly crushed
Piece of lemon grass, halved lengthwise and bruised
5-6 kaffir lime leaves
3 T nam prik pao (Thai chile jam)
Thai chiles to taste, minced very finely
large handful of cilantro leaves
lime juice to taste

Place the ham hocks in the water with 8 T fish sauce and simmer for at least a couple of hours.  Remove the ham hocks and add the galangal, lemon grass, lime leaves, and chiles, and simmer for another 30 minutes.  Remove the galangal, lemon grass, and lime leaves.  Add the nam prik pao and cilantro, wait a minute, taste, and add fish sauce if necessary.  After taking the soup off the heat and right before serving add lime juice to taste.

Thai Spring Rolls

A simple meat filled spring roll in a Thai style.



Ingredients:

Filling:
1 lb ground pork
25-50 g bean threads, re-hydrated and chopped
large handful shredded carrot
large handful black fungus, re-hydrated and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of sugar
1 T soy sauce
2 T fish sauce
drizzle sesame oil
Thai chiles to taste, minced
1 shallot, minced

To assemble and serve:
spring roll wrappers
soy and sweet chile sauce

Combine the filling ingredients, then roll in the wrappers.  Fry in small batches at 375 F until golden brown.  Serve with the sweet chile soy (this is just commercial sweet chile sauce mixed with some soy to taste; if you have some lecithin on hand it will help to thicken the sauce up).

Thai Iced Tea

I've only done this in an iced tea maker, so it may not translate particularly well, but here it is:

Ingredients:
enough tea to make three quarts (I use 12 standard sized bags)
3-4 whole star anise
half a cinnamon stick
1/4 C sugar (or 3/4 C if you like it very sweet)
1/2 a can sweetened condensed milk

Brew a strong quart and a half of tea with the tea, star anise, and cinnamon.  Remove the tea and spices, and while still very hot add the sugar and condensed milk and stir to combine.  Add ice to cool and bring up to correct volume.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Saurabh's Dal

A basic lentil dish as made by a guy I worked with.  It's simple, but quite tasty.

1 C urad dal, split and husked
2-3 green chiles, chopped
1/4 t asafoetida
1/2 t whole cumin seeds
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
5 t ghee or vegetable oil
pinch turmeric
salt to taste
3 dried red chiles (optional)

Soak the dal for two hours in 6 C lightly salted water, then add the dried chiles and boil uncovered until the lentils start to break down and take on a creamy consistency (if too much water evaporates put a lid on the pot and reduce the heat).
In a skillet heat the ghee then add the asafoetida; fry this until fragrant, then add cumin.
When the cumin becomes fragrant add the garlic and tumeric, then the green chiles.
Add this to the pot of dal (there will be some hissing and sputtering).
Stir together, heat the dal for a few minutes to combine the flavors, and eat.