First let me show you the kitchen:
Pretty nifty, very tidy. The tv's show what is happening at the prep counter and stove. It is video taped. That's scary when you are up there helping...
Yes we have wine.Hi have we met?
I dig those huge butcher block tables. I wanted to steal one but our car isn't big enough.
Drats.
The chalkboard is fun. I might paint some of our wall in our next kitchen chalkboard.First we marinated the pork and the catfish for later on in the evening.
Wait let me back up. We had 4 other people there. A 10th grade boy who enjoys to cook, a couple and her client that were all energy traders. The boy was cool.
The energy traders were the most annoying people I have met in recent times.
Her: I can barely boil water! ha!
Me: wtf?
After marinating the meats, we start the fish sauce. This was harder than it had to be because chica could not use a mortar and pestle. I just chugged my wine and watched.
They also didn't seem to realize how sweet fish sauce should be and it got a little fubar'd because she had such a rough time grinding garlic and sugar into a paste.
Me: wtf?
Fish Sauce Recipe:
3 Thai bird chilis or serrano's - or to taste if you are afraid of spicy
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons of sugar
2/3 cup of water
1 1/2 tablespoon lime juice
5 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons shredded carrots for garnish, optional
Cut the chili's into thin rings. Remove one-third of the chilies and set aside for garnish (we didn't do that.) Place the remaining chiles, garlic ,and sugar into a mortar and pound into a coarse, wet paste. Transfer to a small bowl and add water, lime, and fish sauce. Stir well to dissolve. Add carrots and set aside 10 minutes before serving.
I chopped the chili's and got compliments on my knife skills. That made me feel good!
Then we moved on to spring rolls. These were freaking tasty!
Let's star with the recipe:
3/4 cup dried ear mushroom (or whatever you can find)
1/2 cup dried shiitake mushroom
6 ounces ground pork
6 ounces medium prawns, pureed in a food processor until minced
2 ounces bean thread noodles (glass noodles)
5 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 carrot, peeled and cut into julienne slices
1/2 small onion, very thinly sliced
4 small shallots, minced
4 small garlic cloves, minced
1 handful cilantro and mint leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fish sauce
12 crushed peppercorns, crushed in a mortar and pestle (i am sure you can just use coarse pepper)
2 eggs lightly beaten
Vegetable oil (or canola or peanut) - for frying
1 package 8 or 9 inch thin, round rice paper wrappers
3 tablespoons sugar
Soak mushrooms in warm water for 15 minutes
Combine pork and prawns in a large bowl. Cover bean thread noodles with warm water and soak until soft. Once soft, drain well and cut into 2 inch lengths using scissors, add to pork mixture.
Add green onions and carrots into mixture.
Remove the tough center from the wood ear mushrooms and slice into very thin strips. Slice shiitake into thin strips, transfer mushrooms to bowl with pork. Add sliced onion, shallots, garlic, fish sauce, crushed peppercorns, and eggs. Stir until very well combined.
Fill a large bowl with warm water. Add the 3 tablespoons sugar into water and stir to dissolve. Dip the rice paper into water and turn to moisten completely. Lay rice sheet on a damp kitchen cloth. Wet another rice paper sheet and place it side by side - this allows you to work with one while the other sets.
Place one tablespoon (or a little more, eyeball it) of filling at the bottom of the wrapper, about 1 inch from the edge. Fold the sides and roll into a tight cylinder, about 2 1/2 inches long. Continue until all of the mixture has been used. Do not stack rolls. If a wrapper has a tear, reinforce it by patching with another small piece of rice paper.
Add enough oil to a large skillet with straight edges until it is 1 1/2 inches deep. Heat over medium heat until oil is 350 degrees. The oil is hot when you place the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil and bubbles develop quickly around the tip. Add the spring rolls without crowding and fry until evenly golden, 5 to 6 minutes
Transfer rolls to a paper towel lined tray and drain.
Serve with:
Lettuce leaves, sliced cucumber, bean sprouts, carrot, and mint leaves. You can use the lettuce and other veggies to wrap around the roll. Dip in fish sauce.
Here is my roll - I was proud!
Lee's is the one on the end...
He needs a little practice!After we snacked on those, we moved on to the pork dish. This was YUM!
Lemongrass Pork with Noodles and Herbs
2/3 pound small dried rice vermicelli (bun)
2 cups shredded red or green leaf lettuce
1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
1/3 cup cucumber, seeded and cut into matchsticks
1/3 cup shiso or mint leaves, or a mixture of both, julienned
1/3 cup Asian basil leaves, julienned
2/3 pound country-style pork ribs, thinly sliced into bite-sized strips
2 tablespoons minced lemongrass
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
Bring large pot of water to boil. Add the rice noodles and stir gently to loosen. Cook until the noodles are white and soft but still slightly resilient, about 4 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Gently fluff the noodles and set them aside for at least 30 minutes. The noodles should be dry and sticky before serving.
Combine pork, lemongrass, oyster, and fish sauce in a medium bowl, let marinate 20 minutes.
Gently toss together the lettuce, bean sprouts, cucumbers, shiso, and basil leaves, Divide the salad mixture among 4 bowls. Top each one with one-quarter of the rice noodles. Set aside.
Preheat a grill pan over medium high heat. Brush with oil and grill the pork until cooked through, about 4 - 5 minutes total, depending on thickness.
Divide the pork over the 4 prepared bowls. Garnish with peanuts if you wish, and spoon fish sauce (from the spring rolls above) over the bowls for desired amount.
I omitted the bean sprouts, I just don't like them at all!I didn't photo the fish meal because - it honestly wasn't very good. It was basically like the meal above, with catfish.
I can't wait to make these things again at home, and now I am hungry!!
No comments:
Post a Comment