Pad Thai

Pad Thai for a crowd! 

I have been neglecting my recipe blogging this school year--all the post planning-and-grading evening hours I typically spend writing about cooking was suddenly shunted into writing college letters of recommendation for our VERY FIRST graduating class (*tear*). It was exhausting but worthwhile. I was thrilled and proud to have written a letter for my school's very first Ivy League accepted student.l. So work has been crazy busy, but also productive, rewarding, and fun.
During this hectic time, I've been cooking quite a bit--but just haven't bothered to take pictures of anything I made, let alone write it up.
So, I finally remembered with this Pad Thai, which I made last Tuesday night. I have been revising and re-revising my Pad Thai recipe for about a year--and I've finally settled on the definitive version. My recipe is authentic enough in a white-washed way, not crazily intricate or inclusive of impossible-to-find ingredients, like most of the pad thai recipes online written by actual Thai cooks. (The best website for actually-authentic Thai recipes is Thai Table, whose pad thai recipe includes preserved turnip and banana flower.) On the other end of the spectrum are super-whitewashed pad thai recipes, whose egregious, gross Americanizations include using ketchup or including turkey and a fucking slow cooker! No no no. This is Republican-mom recipe whitewashing, what Ann Romney probably thinks is pad thai.
On the Democrat side of fucking-up recipes, you have bullshit of the cider-vinegar, vegan, agave-syrup variety--even calling this "pad thai" is just wishful, deluded thinking on the part of sad, shivery, anemic vegans, consoling themselves with these disgusting fake noodles in the dark, skinny evenings of their empty and virtuous lives.
So my recipe is authentic-enough, makes no attempt at health consciousness, and tastes AMAZING. The one ingredient you need to go to an Asian market for is tamarind paste or tamarind concentrate (the paste is a solid, gummy block--the concentrate is liquid). Although, you can often find tamarind concentrate in a Hispanic market, too--just be careful not to buy the pre-sweetened kind.
All measurements are mere suggestions. I have never measured this. But this is an inexacting recipe--measurements are unnecessary.
This amount feeds 6-8 people. I always make this for a crowd. Last Tuesday I made it for Bachelor Night, for eight-ish people, and finished all of it.
Just halve things if you want dinner for two, plus leftovers.

Ingredients
2 or 3 packages of Pad Thai rice noodles
garlic
shallots
peanut oil
tamarind concentrate
fish sauce (Thai or Vietnamese)
brown sugar
2 or 3 eggs
bean sprouts
crushed peanuts
cilantro
lime
optional spicy stuff of your choice


Step 1: Soak two or three packages of rice noodles. Go buy dried or fresh pad thai rice noodles(you can find fresh in Asian supermarkets. Shout out to Pacific Ocean Marketplace). You can use thin, traditional pad thai noodles(often called "rice stick"), or thicker rice noodles usually used for Pad Seau. Put them in a bowl of room-temperature water with a few drops of peanut oil. Soak while you do everything else. NEVER BOIL RICE NOODLES.

What I usually buy. 

Step 2. Make the sauce (these measurements are estimations). Combine 3/4 cup tamarind concentrate, 1/2 cup packed, light brown sugar (otherwise known as a handful and a half of brown sugar) and 1/2 cup fish sauce. Whisk together until sugar is dissolved. At this point, I include something spicy--a tablespoon of asian chile paste, a big squirt of sriracha, or a teaspoon of cayenne. But spice is optional and to taste.

Step 3: Dice up a BIG HANDFUL of garlic cloves (10-12 cloves) and two big handfuls of shallots. This is the most annoying part of the whole recipe.

Step 4: Cook! Ok, here is what you do: pour enough peanut oil into the bottom of your pot to coat it, then heat the oil up on high heat. When shimmering, toss in your minced garlic and shallot and fry, stirring frequently,  in the oil for about 3-4 minutes. This will infuse the oil with these flavors, and mellow the aromatics out a bit.

Garlic and shallots frying in peanut oil. 

Then, drain your noodles and place them in the hot pan. Use tongs to turn them--they'll slowly soften and cook. After about 3 minutes, add the sauce, then continue turning.
When noodles are hot and cooked, break two or three eggs over the noodles, and turn with tongs some more, until the eggs are broken and softly cooked, clinging to the hot noodles.
Then, toss in two handfuls of white bean sprouts, turn with tongs to incorporate into the noodles.

Step 5--finish! Top the noodles with a cup of crushed peanuts (put cocktail peanuts in a bag and step on them) and a bunch of chopped cilantro (buy one bunch, rinse and chop) (note--in the pictures I have green onions instead of cilantro, because the market was out). Quarter several limes and serve on the side for people to juice onto their portions. Some people might want soy sauce, for more salt. I also serve mine with sriracha, but that's just me.

Mountain of noodles, ready to be attacked. 

My (first) plate. I used thicker rice noodles this time. 

This is a basic, meatless version, but I also love it with shrimp or fried tofu.
Enjoy!

Massaman Chicken Curry

A bowl of sweet, creamy, spicy, peanut-studded, herb-topped perfection.

Sometimes, around Denver or in the ski towns, one sees restaurants advertising themselves as "Colorado Cuisine." Generally these fall into three categories.
1. 'Colorado-style' pizza. 
I'm from California, where there also exists a bullshit regional pizza style--'California pizza' sometimes has avocados and grilled chicken breast on it. Or pesto and shrimp.
So Californians have no legitimacy when criticizing another region's pizza. But I'll say it: California-style and Colorado-style pizza both suck. From what I can tell, Colorado pizza means it has a thick, bread-y crust and a soggy, saucy middle, and you're meant to pour honey over the leftover crust and eat it as dessert.
Not a fan.
2. Anything smothered in pork green chili.
I have no idea why all burritos purchased in this state come covered in gray-green, not-spicy, slightly viscous sauce. Why do you want your burrito soaking wet?
3. "Colorado Cuisine".
These restaurants tend to be more expensive. Usually this means there is Colorado lamb and trout on the menu, bison steaks, and various food that connotes the mountains, like juniper berries. These restaurants seem more like a gimmick---the flavors are more about the theory than the taste, and nobody eats this way at home. You see restaurants like this near the gondolas at Vail or Beaver Creek, catering to rich gapers from Dallas.

So as far as I'm concerned, there is no existing definition of Colorado cuisine worth respecting. Thus, I think I have as much claim as anyone to define it myself.

So, in my opinion, true Colorado cuisine must meet two criteria--
a. Something you'd want to eat in a blizzard. Warm, hearty comfort food.
b. Something you'd want to eat when you're really high

That's it!

A wide range of things would qualify---French-style wine-braised short ribs, chorizo black bean soup, shrimp etouffee over rice, etc. Something delicious, comforting, unpretentious. What you want to share with the people in your ski house and eat in your socks and thermals, while everyone is utterly and legally stoned.

Well, this massaman curry is a shining example of the genre. Very rich and sweet from the coconut milk, salty and funky with fish sauce, a slight burn from chilies. The sauce is studded with crunchy peanuts, and the potatoes soak up the sauce, becoming soft and lush and completely, totally delicious.

I got this recipe from BonAppetit, but altered it. My version is certain to be better--theirs, egregiously, omitted peanuts.

This is so, so fabulous.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
• Kosher salt
• 4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1½ lb.), cut into smallish pieces 
• 2 medium red onions, chopped into large pieces
• 4 large carrots, chopped
• ¾ cup Massaman Curry Paste (click for recipe)
• 12 oz. Belgian-style wheat beer
• 3 13.5-oz. cans unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or water)
• ½ cup fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons palm or light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 hot chilies (I used thai chilies, but any kind is fine. Or you could use chili oil or chili powder)
• 3/4 cup whole unsalted roasted peanuts
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Cilantro, scallions, and cooked rice (for serving)

• Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and cook in batches until golden brown (do not turn), 8–10 minutes.
• Add onion, carrot, chilis, and potatoes to the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes (everything will simmer to doneness once the liquid has been added, so things don't need to be cooked through now)
• Add curry paste to pot and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add beer. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until reduced by half, 5–7 minutes. Add coconut milk, peanuts, and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until chicken is very tender and potatoes are cooked through, about 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat and mix in fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, and soy sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning. Top with cilantro and scallions. Serve with rice.

Thai Wings

My absolute favorite thing to order in a restaurant is the Pad Thai Pig Ears from Euclid Hall in Denver. All the flavors of pad thai--but intensified. And instead of rice noodles--fried pig ears. Amazingly delicious and totally inappropriate--dirty food in the best way.
This recipe is my attempt to copy that dish--but cooking pig ears at home seems like a recipe for disaster. So I copied the sauce and used it for chicken wings.
These were phenomenal! Totally the best wings I've ever made.  I brought them to a co-worker's surprise bachelor party. I would serve them as hot as possible--mine got a bit soggy while we waited for him and his fiance to show up.

Thai Wings 

A dozen chicken wings (or more) 

1/2 cup of tamarind paste 

3 /4 cup water 

3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce 

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons brown sugar 

2 cloves of garlic 

2 tablespoons of chili-garlic paste (or any hot sauce--sriracha would be fine too) 

Garnishes 

chopped mint

chopped basil

chopped cilantro 

crushed peanuts 

(about half a cup of each) 

optional

lime wedges, chopped scallions, bean sprouts

Start by roasting the wings. Place them on a cookie sheet and roast on the oven's convection setting, at 400 degrees, for about 45 minutes, or until the skin is brown and crispy. 

While they're roasting, make the sauce. 

Place the tamarind paste in a small saucepan with the water and boil to soften up the tamarind. After simmering a bit, this should turn into mush. Smash with a fork or potato peeler to get it saucy.
When the tamarind is hot and liquefied, put it into a blender. Add the fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and chili-garlic paste. Blend!
When the wings are done, take them out and place them in a big bowl. Pour the sauce over them, and toss to coat.
Place on a plate and garnish with the chopped herbs and crushed peanuts.
Eat immediately!

I used tamarind paste that comes in a block. I bought it from the Asian grocery.

I made a small batch to test the recipe the night before the party. 

YUM.

Thai Chicken Soup

This recipe is an attempted copy of my favorite take-out soup of all time, the chicken-lemongrass soup from Swing Thai. My first year in Denver I ordered this at least three times a week (I hadn't adjusted to the winter yet, and really didn't want to leave my apartment. Once I ran out of dog food and ordered Consuela a "side of sliced beef" from Swing Thai to avoid walking to the liquor store for kibble.)
Swing Thai's soup is seriously the best Tom Kha I've ever tasted. I ordered bowls of it all over Bangkok a few years ago, and theirs was way better. I took a cooking class in Chang Mai where you learned the recipe--but it was nothing like Swing Thai's perfect, transcendent Tom Kha.

Cooking class, summer of 2009. I successfully unwound after my first year of charter-school teaching--but didn't find the secret to coconut soup.

So this recipe is a delicious, doable version--it doesn't have the same magic, but it's still incredibly good. Spicy, sweet, tangy, and rich. Loaded with crunchy veggies, soft chunks of chicken, fresh herbs. A really perfect dinner. I mean, how could any recipe with ginger, garlic, coconut milk and veggies be anything but fantasic?
I made a big pot tonight--Sunday--for dinner this week. I recommend making a LOT--you will want leftover, and if you're tackling a recipe with this many ingredients, one night of eating isn't a big enough pay off.

Soup over rice. 

This recipe makes a LARGE pot of soup--Serves 10, or 2 people all week. Use a large pot ( I used my 7.5 quart French oven)

Ingredients (in order of addition to the pot)

2 tablespoons olive oil (or any oil)
a 3-inch piece of ginger
2 shallots
5 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon Thai green curry pasty
2 tablespoons lemongrass paste
3 large chicken breasts, cut into half-inch chunks
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 32oz boxes of chicken stock (or homemade, if you have it---I was out. Must roast a chicken sometime soon. I also prefer the low-sodium)
2 cans of coconut milk (do NOT use "light"--if you're worried about fat, use just one can of regular)
2 red peppers, diced
3 jalapenos, diced (I left the seeds in, for heat. Either de-seed or omit jalapenos for a mild soup)
1 red onion, sliced into strips
2 handfuls of white mushrooms, cut in half
2 handfuls of snow peas, whole
1 bunch of cilantro
1 package of basil (gah it felt so sad buying basil--I miss the garden!) pick off the leaves and leave them whole
2 tablespoons fish sauce
soy sauce to taste
juice of 3 limes

(Whew! Lots of ingredients! But you won't have to cook again all week, and a delicious healthy-ish dinner will be ready to go. This could easily be made vegetarian by subbing tofu of a couple cans of chickpeas for the chicken--but I don't think you can omit the fish sauce--so this might only work for slacker / cheater vegetarians)

What to do
1. Start by making your flavor base. Put the shallots, ginger, garlic, curry paste, and lemongrass paste into a food processor. Blitz them into a smooth paste.

Before

After

I used my trusty tub of Mae Ploy. 2 lbs! Doubt I'll need to buy curry paste again in my 30's. 

Lemongrass paste.

2. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in the bottom of your pot. Fry the flavor base paste in the oil for a few minutes--this really brings out the flavors and fragrances. 

3. While the base is frying, cut up the chicken. Drizzle it with a few tablespoons of soy sauce (it just seems wrong to cook unsalted chicken). 

Raw chicken looks weird. 

3. Add the chicken to the pot and cook it with the flavor-paste, stirring regularly. 

4. Add both boxes of stock. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn the heat down. Leave for 15 minutes or so at a simmer. This will allow the chicken to cook through and for the garlic, ginger, shallot, and lemongrass to infuse the stock. 

5. While that's simmering, cut up your veggies--dice the peppers and jalapenos, slice the onions, halve the mushrooms. 

6. Open the pot. Add both cans of coconut milk and the veggies. You want the veggies to cook gently-poach--in the broth, so they retain flavor and crunch. Let the veggies bob around in the simmering broth for about 5 minutes, stirring. 

7. Turn the heat off. Add the fish sauce and lime juice. Taste--does it need more soy, lime, fish sauce? Season to taste.

8. Add the chopped cilantro and leaves of basil. 

9. Mix everything up. Serve over rice! I like mine with some extra chili-garlic paste, but that's because I love far more heat than the regular person. 

Finished!

This is a wonderful, perfect dinner.
Enjoy!

Seared Scallops with Thai-Scented Pea Puree

I have been making this for years, and it's one of our all-time favorite dinners. I originally found this recipe on Nigella Lawson's website.
It is utterly, fabulously delicious--the tender, sweet seared scallops; the creamy, tangy, curry-scented pea puree; the rich, bright lime-butter sauce. An incredibly impressive, civilized meal, especially accompanied by a cold glass of white wine--but one that can be put together in 20 minutes at the end of a long work day. There are only 7 ingredients (not counting salt), most of which can be kept in the freezer.
Make immediately--totally, utterly fabulous.

Ingredients (serves 2) 

8-10 large scallops
1 bag of frozen baby peas
1 TB Thai green curry paste
2 TB full-fat plain Greek yogurt
3 TB butter
juice of 2 limes
chopped basil and cilantro (tastes best when you mix both--but either on its own is also fine)

What to do
Your scallops should be completely defrosted. The secret to a well-seared scallop is to get your scallops AS DRY AS POSSIBLY. This is especially important with previously frozen scallops, which are usually injected with extra liquid to make them freeze better.
To dry them, lay them out on a few layers of paper towels, then lay a few more layers on top. Let them dry this way for at least ten minutes (you may need to replace the towels if they get soaked through).

While the scallops are drying, make the pea puree! Boil a bag of baby peas.

After the peas are boiling, drain them and put into a blender. Add the Greek yogurt and green curry paste. Blend!

I have enough curry paste for the next five years. 

Leave in the blender until ready to serve.
Now it's time to sear your scallops. Melt three tablespoons of butter in a skillet. When the butter is totally melted and nearly smoking, place the scallops into the pan. Place them so they DON'T TOUCH and DON'T wiggle the pan around--you want them to stay in one place. Sear for about a minute and a half on each side, turning with tongs.

Pour some of the puree onto both plates and place the scallops on top.

Turn the heat off and pour the lime juice into the leftover butter. Stir it around, scraping up any bits on the bottom. Pour the sauce over the scallops and peas. 

Sprinkle with herbs!

You're done!

Yum.

Enjoy!