Thai Galore!

Well, its been awhile folks, but this blog is back in action!!

It’s probably no surprise, but Thai food is one of my absolute favorite things to eat.  Spicy, sweet, healthy, on every corner, Thai food is the gateway drug of adventurous eaters!  My favorite thing about Thai food is the interesting flavor combinations.  Thailand’s tropical, so you’ve got a lot of citrus, avocado, and coconut milk.  At the same time, though, Thai food wouldn’t be Thai food without spicy fish sauce and powerful chiles!   Then you add in the peanuts and the cilantro . . . these things don’t seem like they should go together but somehow they become intoxicating when you combine them all together with some Thai spirit.

Last winter, I had the opportunity to go to Thailand, and I totally fell in love with the country, food and all.  Everyone smiles and laughs all the time – in fact they call it the land of a thousand smiles!  It took me a few days to realize that everyone wasn’t laughing at me, but once I adjusted, I just joined right in! 

In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever been as happy as I was in Thailand.  We went to the Buddhist temples every day to just get our heads straight.  After that, we would hike, or rock climb, or ride bikes – it’s such an active country!  And then the food – oh the food!  I’ll describe in detail later in this post, but suffice it to say for now that there’s nothing like settling down with a plate of Thai food and a Chang beer after a day of the hot Thai sun.

On our last few days in Thailand, we hit the jackpot with a beach called Ton Sai!  If anyone is going to Thailand, GO TO TON SAI!!! I just can’t say it enough.  I genuinely believed, before going to Ton Sai, that no place in the world was as beautiful as rural Hawaii.  Well, Ton Sai gives rural Hawaii a run for its money—and that’s saying something.

There are a few awesome things about Ton Sai.  First, it’s completely secluded.  You have to “hike” into town, and by hike I mean climb straight up and over this rocky cliff.  It’s the kind of thing that if you were in the United States there would be like 15,000 signs warning you DANGER! KEEP OUT!, but its honestly not that dangerous, and in Thailand it’s just how you get around.  Second, the water and the cliffs are just mindblowingly beautiful.  There are these huge cliffs that just jut out of the crystal blue water, and you can see straight to the bottom of the ocean even 20 feet down.  Awesome.  Third, it’s so ridiculously cheap.  You can stay in a bungalow in Ton Sai for 200 baht per night, or $7.  That’s right, I said $7 for freaking paradise.  Fourth, Ton Sai is a world famous rock climbing haven.  I’m not a good rock climber myself—although I did take a lesson in Ton Sai—but the beauty of Ton Sai being a rock climbing haven is that it is full of rock climbers!   Rock climbers tend to be really cool, fun, active people, and they’re a great group to chill with on your vacation. 

So there’s my plug for Ton Sai, but now back to the food . . . .

One of my favorite Thai dishes is tom yum soup.  I had it every day for lunch and dinner in Thailand, and even though I ate as much of it as I could ever want, it’s so healthy that I still felt great when I got back.  I eat it all the time here too – it’s fantastic and really easy.  Basically, all you have to do is throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and let it sit for a few hours.  Its like total 15 minutes of actual work, and you can totally impress your friends.  Here’s what you put in a large pot to let sit:

-          4 cans of vegetable stock

-          Ginger: For the ginger, instead of dicing it, you prepare it slightly differently.  Take a “thumb” of ginger and take of the skin.  Then, cut the ginger into really thin sliced circles – the thinner the better.  Put those in the pot.  I use enough so that I’ve got like 20ish slices of ginger, but it really depends on your taste.

-          Lime leaves: Technically, you should add kaffir lime leaves, and if I ever thought ahead before making this dish, I would add them.  Unfortunately, I always seem to make tom yum on the spir of the moment.  As a sub for kaffir leaves, I usually just zest two limes into the pot and then add the juices.

-          Lemongrass: This one you really want – it just simply doesn’t work to sub in lemon zest and juice.  I mean, you can do it if you absolutely have to, but most grocery stores have lemongrass.  I usually end up running to the Safeway once I’ve already thrown the rest of the stuff in the bowl to pick the lemongrass up.  To prepare the lemon grass, smash it with the side of  your knife and then cut it into four inch pieces.  Throw three stalks worth into the pot.

-           Chile: How you add the chile is kind of up to you.  I like to use chile paste, and I throw in a good tablespoon.  You could also just use red chile flakes or even sriracha.  On this one, I’d say start small and then add as you go along, but I wouldn’t exceed a table spoon.  Keep in mind the soup will get MUCH spicier as it sits.

-          Fish sauce: Add six tablespoons of fish sauce.  Now we’re getting somewhere!  All of a sudden your dish will start to taste like Thai food once you add the fish sauce.  Fish sauce is so weird!  Its smells awful and tastes awful on its own, but when you add it into a dish, it totally makes it happen!

-          Cilantro: Cut up a bunch of cilantro – maybe a quarter cup? – and throw it in.

Once you’ve added this stuff, you basically have tom yum soup, but it’s kind of boring, so now you add in some vegetables.  None of these are essential in themselves, although I feel like the mushrooms, green onions, and bok choy work really nicely.  I’m not putting an amount because you just kind of have to eyeball it.  It depends how much “stuff” you like in your soup.

-          Mushrooms (shitake and the cheap kind both work)

-          Green onions

-          Bok choy

-          Shredded carrot

-          Shallots or onion

-          Whatever else you’ve got around that you think would work

Let the soup sit for a few hours.  It won’t taste right at the beginning, but the longer it sits, the more chance the flavors have to meld together.  And then EAT!!!  And think of Thailand! Mmmmmmmmmm

NB: Never order tom yum soup in a fancy restaurant. I’m like 0 for 4 on this . . .

The BEST bloody mary!

As any good bartender knows, making a quality bloody mary is serious business.  A bloody mary is no rum and coke; it’s a complex blend of potent spices, textures, and flavors that mingle together to yield the perfect kickstart to a Sunday afternoon.  After you have a good bloody mary, you should feel really and truly satiated - like you just had lunch, but the sort of lunch with a splash of booze :)

I’ve sampled many a bloody mary here in my hometown of Washington, D.C. and most of them have fallen far short of expectations.  They’re usually light on the Worcester, light on the citrus, heavy on the Tabasco, and boring on the veggies.  Sometimes – gasp – brunch places don’t even bother and just use bloody mary mix with vodka!  Sadly, I’ve come to expect it, but it’s really disappointing given that we’re usually talking $7 a glass!

I know more is possible because, despite never having lived there, I have a genuine love affair with the City of New Orleans (one that, in fact, might even rival my love affair with the country of India!).  In New Orleans, delicious, creative, affordable, spicy bloody marys abound!   I first began to appreciate the bloody mary’s potential after ordering one at a neighborhood bar in New Orleans called Pal’s.   The Pal’s bloody mary has a thick texture from the horseradish and a substantial meaty taste from the Worcester.  It is spicy in that it actually tastes of chili paste and garlic, rather in the Tabasco-y sort of way.  A hint of lemon juice cuts through it all, adding an extra twist.  Perhaps the best part of the Pal’s bloody mary is the selection of veggies on top. 

Ever since tasting the Pal’s bloody mary, I have attempted to emulate it.  Here’s a description of what I stir into my pint glass of tomato juice and why:

The Worcester: So this is where the flavor lover in me comes out, but I do not hold back on the Worcester with my bloody marys.  Most recipes I’ve seen recommend only a few drops or dashes but I usually put in a full teaspoon!  This gives the drink a real meal-like quality and ups the flavor immensely! 

The Horseradish:  In doing my research for this post, I was shocked to learn that many bloody mary receipes do not even include horseradish.  Blasphemy!  Balance out the Worcester with 1 teaspoon of horseradish sauce.  This not only adds to the flavor but it creates a thicker texture when it works its way through the V8.

The Hot Sauce: Most bloody mary recipes call for Tabasco.  I say this as a devoted spice lover, but the problem with Tabasco is that it’s all spice and no flavor!  It tastes thin and runny – there’s just nothing going on with it until it burns your tongue off.   Instead of using Tabasco, I like to sub in hot sauces like Cholula and Sriracha, where the spice to flavor ratio is a bit more in balance.  I recommend ¼ teaspoon of either of these and you can’t go wrong.

The Garlic: You don’t want the garlic to overwhelm the bloody mary, so rather than dicing up garlic and putting it in, I usually just crush a clove and stir it in so that it settles in the bottom of the glass. 

The Veggies: Here’s where you can have a lot of fun with bloody marys and where I get a bit unconventional in my preferences –  I really like to add veggies that really absorb the liquid and soak up the flavor.  My favorites are okra, olives, and fresh green beans.  The more of these you can pack into the top of the glass the better!  Fresh green beans are especially pretty because they are long and stick up out of the glass.  I understand that celery is a traditional bloody mary garnish, but my feeling is that celery might be a little boring.  Celery has negative calories – seriously!  It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has to begin with: http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/celery.asp!  Well, there’s a reason for this.  Celery just doesn’t add anything to and, in my opinion, dilutes the flavor of a great bloody mary.  Add celery if you must, but certainly don’t add it as a replacement for any of the other wonderful vegetables that should be included (see below).

The Lemon: No frills with the lemon.  I just slice one-eighth of a fresh lemon into a wedge and squeeze it right in.

The (Lack of) Ice: If you can at all get away with it, I really recommend leaving out the ice.  If you need it to keep the drink cold, that’s fine, but a better approach is to chill the pitcher in the refrigerator before you serve.  I say this because, in my opinion, the ice is kind of like the celery in that it dilutes from the flavor and when the ice melts it might actually water it down.  That and I feel like it’s kind of weird to have ice right next to veggies so that your crunching an ice cube at the same time you’re taking down a green bean.

The Vodka: Add vodka if you want to make it alcoholic

In conclusion, here's the recipe in a more conventional form:

Pour one shot of vodka in a pint glass.  Fill the glass with V8 or another thick tomato juice until it is ¾ full.  Add one teaspoon of Worcester sauce, one teaspoon of horseradish, and ¼ teaspoon of Cholula brand hot sauce.  Crush a clove of garlic and mix it into the glass.  Top with long fresh green beans, fresh okra, and olives.  Add one wedge of lemon.  Chill and serve.

Learning to Cook Masala Style

Ask anyone who knows me – I’m pretty much obsessed with India!  As an American, it’s hard to get my head around a society with that much tradition and history.  Once I go back more than a few hundred years, I don’t even know what country my ancestors were from.  I assume I’m from somewhere in Europe originally but, past that, I really couldn’t tell you.  Americans look forward before we look back.  So, from that perspective, it’s interesting to learn about a group of people who are so bound up with and influenced by their pasts. 

My friend Nikhil riding to his bride!

 On a shallower but more fun level, I think Indian culture is cool because it’s a sensory explosion!  The colors are brighter and the tastes are more intense.  I recently had the opportunity to go to a Hindu wedding and it was case-in-point.  Everyone, including the bride and groom, was in the brightest and outfits they could find.  And we’re talking more than just bright colors – we’re talking gold and silver embroidery, jewels, and TONS of jewelry.  The groom came in on a horse with his whole side of the wedding around him dancing like crazy.  So cool!  These people definitely know how to throw a party!  

Well - given all that,  I guess its no surprise that I like Indian food for the same reason!  I never really knew what was in it, let alone how to make it, until a few years ago, but now its my favorite kind of food to cook!  If you are like me and want to get into Indian cooking, first you need to make some spice purchases.  I'd recommend finding this stuff at an Indian grocery store just because you can get huge bags of spices there for not very much mula.  Specifically, get yourself some big bags of tumeric, coriander, and garam masala.  I'd also grab some cumin, mustard seeds, ginger, and garlic if you don't already have that stuff at home.

The first Indian dish I learned to cook was chole, a chickpea and tomato conconction that tastes way better than chickpeas and tomatoes should ever taste.  I've heard of a lot of different ways to make chole, but here's the one that works the best for me.

First, sizzle some oil in a pot.  Technically, you should use ghee (or clarified butter) but if you're trying to be healthy just stick with the oil.  Add 4 cloves of garlic, 1 tsp of chopped fresh ginger, and one chopped onion and let them start to sizzle on medium heat.  Pretty normal American stuff so far.  Okay so here's where it gets a little different: After the garlic, ginger, and onion start to cook, add equal parts tumeric and coriander (about 2 heaping tbsps. of each) and equal parts of cumin seeds and mustard seeds (about 1 tsp. each). That's a lot of spice!

coriander

tumeric

mustard seeds

cumin seeds

Cook the spices for a few minutes until the tumeric turns brown but not black.  If the spice mixture starts to feels like its burning or dry, add more oil.  It should slowly turn into a brown bubbly, liquidy paste. 

At that point, add two cans of chickpeas with the liquid, one can of chopped tomatoes, and a bay leaf.  You're now almost done!!  Turn the heat down to low, and let the flavors meld together for about an hour - the longer they meld, the better your chole will taste.  If it starts to dry out while its simmering, just add water.

Once your flavors are melded and it tastes good, serve it up with cilantro, plain yogurt, and naan, which will defintely be the subject of a future post :) Then enjoy, with the extra satisfaction that chole is not only really good but its also super cheap and super healthy!  Woohoo - go India!

Lebanese Iced Tea: Roses Aren't Just for Smellling Anymore!

I think if I had to credit one person with really inspiring me to experiment with my cooking it would be my friend Vanessa.  She used to make us these amazingly exotic dishes when we were all in college - pretty great alternative to the dorm cafeteria!  One really super simple and easy thing she taught me to make way back when is lebanese tea, and I've been loving it ever since.

You just brew up some regular tea (you can even use lipton or PG tips but its better to use fresh earl gray black tea leaves).  If you used six cups of tea, squeeze in the juice from one lemon and add sugar to taste.  I don't use very much sugar and just supplement with splenda at the end if its too bitter, but if you're into sweet tea you might want to use as much as a cup of sugar.  Boil the water, sugar, and lemon until everything is dissolved. 


Then comes the fun part: Add in two tablespoons of either rose water or orange blossom water, which I think is so cool!  I didn't even realize you could cook with flowers like that until I met Vanessa, but-- from wikipedia -- "Orange flower water, or orange blossom water, is a clear, perfumed distillation of fresh bitter-orange blossoms . . . This essential water has traditionally been used in many French and Mediterranean dessert dishes, such as the gibassier and pompe a l'huile, but has more recently found its way into Western cuisine."  Also, "rose water is a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume.  Rose water has a very distinctive flavour and is used heavily in Iranian cuisine—especially in sweets."  So cool!  I love adding the flowery water to the tea - It smells awesome and I feel like I'm a 14th century apothecary creating some kind of magic syrum or something.  Okay, so I'm a little weird -- I admit it! 

After everything is dissolved, pour it into a pitcher and let it sit in your refrigerator over night.  The next day, add pine nuts to the tea and its ready to drink!  Best accompanied by a game of backgammon so you actually feel like you are in the middle east :)

Banh Mi = Ridiculously Good Sandwich

Tonight I'm making a special request: my boyfriend Jason asked me to cook up some delicious Vietnamese sandwiches (or "banh mi").  I remember the first time I tried Vietnamese sandwiches at this hole in the wall in New York with my friend Ben when I was in my first year of college.  I was blown away by how much flavor you could get for $2.25!  The mayo and baguette balanced perfectly against the spice of the chili, the pickled carrot and daikon, and the fish oil, which otherwise could have been overwhelming.  The cilantro topped the whole thing off.  What a combo of salty, sour, and sweet....these things were like the perfect blend of east and west!  With all that mayo and bread, I couldn't belive they were really Vietnamese so I looked it up on wikipedia (aka the source of all knowledge).  Apparently they came about when the French controlled indochina - nice to know that at least one good thing came from those colonial exploits!

To make the sandwiches, I started last night by making a white vinegar marinade.  To a small bowl of vinegar, I added a spoonful or so of sugar, a healthy dose of fish oil (maybe a tablespoon?) because I like things super spicy (PS - fish oil is awesome - totally worth the purchase - it wasn't until I invested in some fish oil that my thai food started really tasting like thai food), and a teaspoon or so of soy sauce.  I then crushed 3 big garlic cloves and threw them in with some salt and pepper.  I shredded up 3 big carrots and an onion and put them in a bowl with 1/2 of the mixture.  With the other half of the vinegar mixture, I marinaded pork tenderloins.




carrots and onions in the marinade

Once the stuff is marinading there's really very little to do.  Tonight, I sauteed the marinaded pork until it browned.  Then, I cut the baguettes in half, toasted them, and put mayo on one side.  Finally, I piled on carrots, raw cucumbers sliced into matchsticks, cilantro, and the pork.  I poured the marinade over the top of the sandwiches, using as much as I could get away with without making the bread soggy.  Finally, I added the always clutch sriracha sauce.  Viola!  Delicious Vietnamese sandwiches to eat!  We finished it off with a desert of fresh mangos.



These banh mi are starting to come together!

What's this all about?

For me, there's nothing more fun than disorganized cooking, just throwing spices into a steaming wok until the outcome knocks your socks off!  Maybe its chili and garlic, maybe tumeric and coriander, maybe cumin and cayenne - I start with the basic combinations and go from there.  I think of cooking as a flavor experiment, and it gets a little crazy sometimes - hence, the name of the blog!  I figure since food is on my mind all the time, I might as well dive into the modern world and publish my rambling musings :)


I hope this blog will be a source for not only recipe favorites and breakthroughs, but also the occassional non-food related rant.  I think the way we eat has at least something to say about who we are, how we think, and how we interact with each other.  Its great to have a place to share my thoughts on food, culture, travel, philosophy, and our world, even if noone ends up reading those posts :)


Anyhow, happy reading, happy cooking, and happy eating!  See you again soon!