Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles

I remember as a child my sister and I made ice pops nearly every opportunity we had during the summer. We'd sift through the refrigerator, mixing juices and creating different flavor concoctions to pour into the molds. Grape juice, apple juice, lemonade, root beer - you name it, we tried to freeze it.

My favorite then was grape - I believe hers was apple.

I still enjoy a good popsicle over ice cream any day of the week, although I think that has more do to with my freakish sensitivity to cold (thanks to a particularly unskilled dentist a few years ago) than with an actual preference.

I must admit that now my tastes run a little bit more involved than just a simple frozen juice, even though I doubt I'd turn down a grape popsicle most days (a real one, not the fake flavored, frozen garbage people feed to their kids nowadays), especially if it were with my sister.

I was quite delighted to find David Lebovitz's recipe for Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles yesterday.

They are ridiculously easy to make and therefore surprisingly delicious in their simplicity. I can see myself eating a ridiculous amount of these for the rest of the summer. Especially considering that Mr. TA and I will soon be vacating the Central Coast for a rather sultry location on the East Coast in a matter of weeks. I'm sure once I reach that heat I'll be downing these babies on an hourly basis.

Check out his recipe here: Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles. If you like coffee ice cream you will fall in love with it.



Nutritional Estimate

This is a nutritional estimate, I do not claim it to be exact - although it is pretty close.

Using David's recipe cut in half (1 cup coffee + 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk) in a 4 popsicle mold, each popsicle will have:

Calories: 88
Carbohydrates: 15g
Fat: 2g
Protein: 2g

The entire recipe (2 cups coffee + 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk) contains:

Calories: 702
Carbohydrates: 122g
Fat: 16g
Protein: 18g

Shrimp & Spinach Stuffed Portobellos

Sometimes, when I have way too much time on my hands, I think about how it was discovered that certain foods are edible.

I'm sure everyone's thought about who the first guy was to eat a chicken egg - imagine his wife's face when that happened. "Honey, what are you doing? Don't play with that. Stop bothering the chicken! What are you doing with that frying pan...? OH MY GOD."

Similarly, the potato (once deemed poisonous), escargot (Seriously, who thought that one up? Whoever you are though, thank you!), and caviar seem equally as unappetizing when the attempt is made to look at them as if you'd never seen them before. Who's going to pull up a plant, see some weird looking round tuber thing stuck to its roots...and then decide to put it in their mouth? Also, how many raw potatoes were eaten before it was discovered that they're way better cooked?

All that being said, the mushroom is another one of these mystical, extremely tasty foods that frequently makes its way to our dinner plates that, at any point in our culinary history, could easily have been discarded as poison - or just plain gross. I mean, picture it in your head, walking through the damp woods your boot kicks over a bit of leaf litter revealing a spongy, brown plant. It's covered in dirt and leaves, possibly some kind of protective mucus - who's first thought is, "Gee, I should put this in my mouth"? (I know that question mark isn't where it's supposed to be - sue me.)

Again, whoever it was that tried them first - thanks. Because mushrooms are insanely delicious. Especially when they're stuffed with spicy shrimp, cheese, and spinach and then baked until they're hot and bubbly with yummy goodness.

My brother-in-law gave me the idea of pairing shrimp with sriracha - a spicy Asian condiment - while I was in Florida. For this idea I will be forever grateful. It's quite possibly my new favorite thing in the world. If you've never tried sriracha (pronounced sir-a-cha), or never tried shrimp cooked in a little butter and sriracha - you must immediately drop everything that you are doing and go make some right now. NOW.

I decided that instead of using ridiculous amounts of mayo or cream cheese to hold it all together that I'd use Laughing Cow Cheese. It's a spreadable cheese (great on Wheat Thins) that's only 35 calories per serving. I used the Garlic & Herb one - they're pretty tasty. I keep those and the little Babybel cheeses in the house at all times. They're been a great snack while I've been trying to lose weight (23 lbs. so far! 10 more, I'll be at 120, and life will be good!). Now that I recognize the versatility of the spreadable ones though, I definitely won't be giving them up when I quit trying to lose weight.

Even if you don't try the whole recipe, for whatever reason, I cannot stress this enough. Every single person in this world (except those allergic to shrimp) should try shrimp cooked in sriracha.

It will change your life.



Shrimp & Spinach Stuffed Portobellos

Serves 2

8 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained of all water
1/4 small onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Laughing Cow Spreadable cheeses
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 Babybel Light, cut into small pieces (substitute mozzarella or other light cheese)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
10 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon sriracha
2 portobello caps

Preheat oven to 375 F

In a medium mixing bowl combine spinach, onion, garlic, cheeses and mayo. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside. In a skillet over medium-high heat melt the butter. Cook the shrimp until just pink, toss with sriracha. Set aside. Place the portobello caps gills side up in a casserole dish. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Top each cap with half the shrimp and half the spinach mixture. Return to oven and bake for a further 15 minutes, or until the spinach is heated through and the cheese is warm and bubbling.

Nutritional Estimate

This is a nutritional estimate, I do not claim it to be exact - although it is pretty close.

1 serving equals one whole stuffed portobello cap

Calories: 245
Carbohydrates: 15g
Fat: 15g
Protein: 18g

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CORRECTION 6/27: I am a numbskull and forgot to include the tablespoon of butter in my nutritional estimate. Therefore, the new estimate is:

Calories: 296
Carbohydrates: 15g
Fat: 20g
Protein: 18g

I would also like to point out that in omitting the mayonnaise saves 180 calories and 20g of fat, effectively halving the fat content of the recipe. This would make each cap only 206 calories and 10g of fat.

Orange-Ginger Custards

While typically a big fan of custards, I am not a fan of ginger. Fresh ginger, that is. Powdered ginger is quite delicious. My other half, however, is a huge fan of all things ginger. The original recipe calls for a tangerine and ginger combination, which I'm sure would be better than orange.

I originally saw this recipe in the November issue of Vegetarian Times. I bookmarked it because I knew he would like the ginger in it, but like most recipes from magazines it sat on the shelf for the last eight months or so. I decided to finally try it out this week - cleverly waiting until tangerines were out of season. As such I substituted oranges.

The mister said it was quite delicious, and while I found the flavor combination to be less than stellar, texturally it was creamy, smooth, and in all ways outstanding.

I can definitely see this recipe being used as a vehicle for all sorts of flavor combinations.

Cardamom and allspice with fresh figs...star anise and cinnamon...lemongrass and Thai basil...grapefruit and vanilla...



Orange-Ginger Custards
adapted from Vegetarian Times, November 2008

Serves 6

2 cups nonfat milk
zest of 1 orange
1 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and chopped roughly
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
supremed orange sections for garnish

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat milk, zest, and ginger in medium saucepan over medium heat, until milk’s surface begins to bubble, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, and cool. Strain milk through fine sieve into medium bowl, discarding zest and ginger. Mix in sugar. Beat eggs with pinch of salt in small bowl. Whisk beaten eggs into milk mixture. Fill 6 4-oz. (1/2-cup) ramekins with custard. Place ramekins in roasting pan. Fill roasting pan with boiling water that reaches about one-third up sides
of ramekins. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until custards jiggle slightly. Remove from water bath, and cool. Garnish each custard with an orange section before serving.

Nutritional Estimate

This is a nutritional estimate, I do not claim it to be exact - although it is pretty close.

Calories: 119
Carbohydrates: 21g
Fat: 2g
Protein: 5g

Thai Sticky Rice With Mangoes (Khao Niao Mamuang)

Sticky rice with mangoes is a Thai dessert often sold by vendors with street carts in the spring and early summer while mangoes are in season.

It's an incredibly simple dessert to make, given that one has the ability to steam the sticky rice properly, with only 5 ingredients.

First a note on sticky rice itself; sticky rice, also called glutinous rice, is a short grain rice that is widely cultivate in Southeast Asia. Although it is called glutinous rice, it does not contain any gluten. 'Glutinous' is used in the sense that the rice is sticky, unlike other varieties of rice that are dry and fluffy when cooked. Sticky rice is also frequently called sweet rice, waxy rice, and botan rice.

Additionally, while most rice (at least in the West) is boiled, sticky rice must be soaked for several hours and steamed. I use a traditional steamer that is available in many Asian stores and on Amazon.com that looks like this:



Water is put into the lower basin and set to boil, while the rice is placed in the steamer basket. Some prefer to wrap the rice in cheesecloth before putting it into the basket. I used to take this extra step, but once I realized that the rice easily releases from the basket and cooks exactly the same way I eliminated the cheesecloth. A lid from a pot (I use the lid to my 2 quart saucepan) is placed over the top of the rice to trap the steam in the basket. The water boils and steams the rice for about 20 minutes, and voila - sticky rice.

I imagine that one can use any type of steamer that uses this method to cook the rice, it doesn't have to be a traditional basket steamer. I've never attempted it any other way, but I'm sure that someone could McGyver up a method to make it work.

For this recipe, once the rice is steamed it is simply left to soak in a pot of warmed, sweetened coconut milk until it absorbs it all and then topped with chopped, ripe mango and some sesame seeds. It's one of my husband's favorite things to eat, and if I can remember to soak the rice (it must soak for at least 8 hours before steaming) I usually make it for him whenever I find mangoes on sale.

I've used regular coconut milk for this recipe, only because the commissary was out of lite coconut milk. Coconut milk is one of the only plant products that is extremely high in saturated fat. As such I have usually tried to limit our intake of coconut milk, but according to this article on Forbes.com, I may have the wrong idea about coconuts. All the talk about good fats vs. bad fats gets can be overwhelming - but apparently even though coconuts are high in saturated fat, it's a Medium-Chain Triglyceride that the body burns as it would a carbohydrate, for energy, instead of storing it, like normal saturated fat.

All that being said, this is a delicious and ridiculously easy dessert that's great for the mango season. I suggest trying it at least once, you may fall in love with it as we have.

Thai Sticky Rice with Mangoes (Khao Niao Mamuang)

Makes 6 servings (90g rice + 75g mango)

1 cup dry glutinous rice, soaked for at least 8 hours and then steamed over boiling water for 20-25 minutes
1 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons sugar (preferably grated palm sugar, but white granulated will do)
2 mangoes, pitted, skinned, and chopped roughly
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

In a medium saucepan heat the coconut milk and sugar over med-low heat until hot, but not boiling. Reserve two tablespoons of the mixture, set aside. Place the still warm sticky rice into the coconut milk mixture, cover with lid, and let rest for 5 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice. Serve rice with the chopped mangoes on top, drizzle the reserved coconut-sugar mixture over the mangoes and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of sesame seeds.

Nutritional Estimate

This is a nutritional estimate, I do not claim it to be exact - although it is pretty close.

1 serving = 90g rice + 75g chopped mango + 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds

Calories: 262
Carbohydrates: 43.5g
Fat: 9g
Protein: 3.5 g

Fresh Spring Rolls

Oh Fresh Spring Rolls, are you Thai? Are you Vietnamese? Are you some sort of creation thought up by crazy Americans and passed off as authentic Asian cuisine? Tell me your secrets!

Though I have no idea where these tasty treats hail from, and after at least three minutes of exhaustively googling them I came up with no conclusive evidence, I still love them. The first time I had them was on one of my first dates with Mr. TA before we got married. He really likes Asian cuisine, all kinds, and he took me to this really cute little Thai place in Washington. We had Phad Thai, Chicken Satay, Mangoes with Coconut Sticky Rice, and Fresh Spring Rolls. Everything was delicious and Mr. TA and I were well on our way to everlasting mushiness - or more typically driving each other as crazy as possible. We like to keep things fresh.

So, more importantly, fresh spring rolls are a rice paper wrapper filled with lettuce, an assortment of herbs, chicken, and shrimp. Many recipes also require the addition of other vegetables like carrots or cabbage and many times noodles are added. I prefer to stick to the style we first had on our date, so I use only lettuce, basil, cilantro, mint, chicken, and shrimp. Top it off with some out of this world peanut sauce and you're good to go.



Speaking of peanut sauce, talk about a crapshoot when you're looking for a good recipe, eh? I've made peanut sauce countless times, and I've never been quite satisfied with any of them. They're either too sweet, too peanutty, too spicy, or too oily. I like my peanut sauce to contain a myriad of flavors - heat, sweetness, spice, and of course the peanuts. It needs to blend effortlessly into a flavor that complements the dish it's adorning, not covering it up. Peanut sauce isn't really an Asian creation (invented by crazy Westerners), so it's little surprise it's now basically the Asian ketchup. We throw it on everything, and instead of adding an additional level of flavor, it masks everything else until all we can taste is the peanut sauce.

I'll pass.

That's why I attempted to create my own recipe completely from scratch. Usually when I attempt something like this it ends in an Epic FAIL. This time, it actually worked. It's the best peanut sauce I've ever had - restaurant or otherwise. It was one of those recipes that as I was mixing everything I knew that it was either going to be the most amazing thing I've ever created - or lump of goo not fit for the neighbor's cat that keeps pooping in my flower beds.

And believe me, at this point I'd feed that cat all sorts of weird crap. That's right, poop in your owners house - not my chrysanthemums.

I've heard that working with some Asian ingredients and techniques can be a little intimidating for some, so I've included some step-by-step photos to guide through the process. They're really so simple, I can't think of any reason for not trying them.

Fresh Spring Rolls

Makes 6

For the Rolls:

6 sheets rice spring roll wrapper (available at any Asian market)
6 leaves green or red leaf lettuce (romaine and iceberg are too firm, they may tear the wrapper)
1 cup cilantro leaves
1 cup mint leaves
1 cup basil leaves
12 shrimp (preferably 25-30 ct.), raw, shelled and deveined
10 oz chicken (1 medium boneless, skinless breast), cut into small strips about 1 oz each
4 tablespoons butter, divided

For the Peanut Sauce:

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon palm sugar, grated
1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/3 cup coconut milk

In a heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat melt two tablespoons butter. Add the shrimp, season to taste with salt and cracked pepper. Cook until pink and opaque throughout. Remove from skillet and set aside to cool. Melt the remaining two tablespoons butter and add the chicken strips. Cook completely. Remove from skillet and set aside. Turn off the heat, but keep the pan on the burner (gas stoves may require lowest flame). Using the residual heat, melt the peanut butter for the peanut sauce, in effect deglazing the skillet with the peanut butter. Add remaining ingredients, combine thoroughly and let meld for at least two minutes - adjust to taste if necessary. Remove from skillet into a ramekin or other small dish and set aside.

For assembling the rolls:

Start with your rice wrappers



This is what they look like when they're dry, out of the package



In a wide, shallow dish ( I use a large pie plate) fill halfway with hot water (from the tap is fine). Soak the wrapper for about 45 seconds, lift it out of the water carefully and let excess water drip off. Now it will look like this:



A quick tip, dry to keep your work area as dry as possible. It needs to be moist, but if the area is soaking wet the wrapper will stay soaking wet too - and it needs to start to dry out a little as you're working or when you start the rolling it will be too slippery to stick to itself. Keep a kitchen towel handy and wipe down the surface after every roll.

Start the assembly by placing two cooked shrimp, side to side in the center of the wrapper.



On top of the shrimp, layer the herbs in equal amounts and top with a strip or two of the cooked chicken.



Top with a lettuce leaf. Now, start to roll it like a burrito. Flip the edge nearest you over the top of filling, pull taught, and fold in each side.



Now just keep rolling until it's sealed.



If you're awesome you end up with the shrimp showing through the top of the wrapper. However, I am not awesome, and after rolling all six of mine I still didn't get one to work properly - so they look all plain and boring like this:



Now you're all finished. You can serve them whole or cut on the diagonal.



Top with the peanut sauce, but not too much...



Now devour at will.

Sesame Beef Buns

Have you ever been surfing the interwebs, minding your own business, ignoring the laundry to be folded, and run across a recipe that just screamed "Make me! Put me in your tummy!"? Well, such was the case with this recipe.

I know, what you're thinking, "SB, what in the heck were you thinking? It's MSN! Those people don't know a recipe from a cup of playdough!"

And you know what?

You'd be right.

Whoever developed this recipe obviously never tested it.

In conception this recipe sounds pretty delicious, savory beef mixture wrapped in a very slightly sweetened yeast dough and baked to perfection. Right? Wrong.

I realized this while I was making the dough. I don't know why I didn't think about the fact that 1/3 cup water, plus 2 eggs, plus 3 tablespoons oil is way too much liquid for 1 3/4 cups flour...but I didn't. Cuz I'm fun like that. So, after tinkering away and fixing the dough ingredients and totally changing the filling recipe I made my own.

Cuz I'm fun like that.

Sesame Beef Buns
Makes about ten buns

Dough

1/3 cup warm water
1 package (2 1/4 tsp.) active dry yeast
3 1/2 tablespoon(s) sugar
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon unsifted bread flour
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
2 large eggs, warmed to room temperature and beaten
2 tablespoon(s) vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Filling

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon peeled, finely chopped fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup finely chopped green onions
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Black sesame seeds, (optional)

Egg Glaze

1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons milk

In small bowl combine water, yeast, and 1/2 tablespoon sugar; stir to dissolve yeast. Let stand until foamy -- about 5 minutes.

In medium-size bowl, or bowl of your stand mixer, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, and the salt; stir in yeast mixture, eggs, and oil, mixing until combined. Add remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time until a soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead dough, adding as much of remaining bread flour as necessary to prevent stickiness, until smooth and elastic -- about 8 minutes. (Or switch the the kneading hook on your mixer and let it go to town for about 5 minutes)

Place dough in oiled bowl and turn to bring oiled side up. Cover with plastic wrap and clean cloth and let dough rise in warm place, away from drafts, until double in size -- about 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare filling:

In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat; add ginger and garlic and cook 30 seconds. Stir in beef, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes. Cook until beef browns. Remove from heat and stir in green onions and sesame seeds. Set aside.

Grease 2 baking sheets or line with parchment paper. When dough has doubled, punch down and shape into a 10-inch-long log. With serrated knife, cut log crosswise into ten 1-inch-thick slices. On lightly floured surface, roll out one slice to a 4-inch round. (I found it easier to weigh each piece of dough. Mine were 65-70 grams each.)

Roll out or press just around the edge of round so that the middle is slightly thicker and the round is 5 inches wide. Fill center of round with 1 heaping tablespoon beef filling; gather up edge to form a pouch and pinch together tightly to seal bun. Turn bun over and gently shape into a ball; place seam side down on greased sheet.

Repeat with remaining slices and filling. Cover beef buns with clean cloths or plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare Egg Glaze.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush buns with Egg Glaze and sprinkle, if desired, with sesame seeds. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until well browned. Cool buns on wire rack; serve warm.

Fug Tong Gang Buad

Fug tong gang buad is a Thai dessert or side dish of squash cooked in coconut milk and palm sugar. Characteristic of most Thai sweets there is a lovely play of salty on sweet to mix up the substantial squash pieces. The recipe traditionally calls for pumpkins, which are available year round in Thailand, but a substitute of any yellow meat squash will suffice. I used a kabocha squash (yes I know, it's Japanese) and although I nearly lopped off a finger or two trying to peel the sucker it gave great flavor to the finished dish.

One of Mr. TA's favorite things to eat is Thai sticky rice and mangoes. It's a traditional Thai dessert of steamed glutinous rice soaked in sweetened coconut milk and served with sliced mangoes. He requests it on a near weekly basis, so I try to ration it out. Coconut milk isn't exactly a health food. So when my sister told me about this website and I found the recipe for squash cooked in coconut milk I thought it would be received equally well. He was a little disappointed after arriving home to the familiar scent of warmed coconut milk to not find sticky rice steaming, but after trying the squash I think he enjoyed it quite well. You know those people who you can read their emotions on their face like a book? Mr. TA is not one of those people. He'll give a mediocre reaction to a meal to only question weeks later why he haven't had that totally awesome blah-blah-blah. It's quite an interesting life... So I'll have to assume the grunt of approval coupled with the "Yeah, it's pretty good." means it gains approval for a repeat performance.



I would recommend that if attempting this with a kabocha instead of a pumpkin you halve, seed, quarter and then chop the skin off with a knife in controlled downward motions. Then to get the remaining stubborn green off use a sharp vegetable peeler. It's a bit of a chore, but I can't imagine anyone's going to want to cook some huge ass 15 lb. pumpkin in coconut milk. I also would not recommend using an acorn squash, you're peeling this sucker, you really want to attempt that with an acorn squash? Save your digits and don't even bother. Unless you can get someone else to do it for you, then by all means have at it.

One important part about this recipe is to ensure your coconut milk is not too creamy. When boiled coconut milk nearly always curdles, so you have to be careful while cooking. So, don't be tempted to use all coconut milk, it won't end well. Start it off at medium heat, when it really starts producing steam turn it down to medium low, then low when it starts to simmer. By that time it should be fully cooked through. It's really much easier than I made it sound. Just keep adjusting the heat level so it doesn't boil.

On a final note, squash is extremely good for you - you should eat as much as possible over the winter months. And..uh..just because this is filled with sugar and fat from the coconut milk doesn't mean it's not also healthy...right?

Just don't burst my bubble...



Fug Tong Gang Buad

Serves 4

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups pumpkin, or other yellow meat squash
1/3 cup palm sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 cup water

Peel the squash, chop into 1/2 in. dice. Add all ingredients to 3 qt saucepan and heat over medium until steam rises rapidly. Do not allow to boil, the coconut milk will curdle. Turn heat down to medium low, stirring occasionally. When it starts to simmer turn to low heat. Remove from heat when squash is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Serve immediately or cover with lid. Tastes equally good warm, room temp, or cold.

Curry!

Hello curry! Hi there. I'm tasty curry paste all the way from Alaska! Don't you want to eat me? Oh yes Curry! I do! I do!

So, in addition to my way awesome mom in WA, the coolest mom EVAR, way awesome MiL and GMiL in MD, and way awesome sMiL in TX, I have my way awesome Other-Mother in AK - my mom's best friend. She's not only way awesome, but equally as into all the crazy tasty bits I like to put in my mouth. You want some sushi - she's your go-to lady. By the way, her husband probably just caught that sushi off the bow of their way awesome sailboat. That they live on. In ALASKA. What's that you say? They're crazy? Perhaps yes, but crazy like cool foxes! You want some curry? She's got the perfect paste. You want a sourdough starter? She's got plenty. Need a recipe for some crazy (Insert Odd Random Country Name Here) native dish? Seriously. She's probably got it.

You may be thinking - Whoah! That's a lot of awesome ladies in one person's life. And you, my friend, would be correct. I'm one lucky bird.

This installment is all about tasty curry though. My OM in AK makes curry all the time, one day we were on the phone chatting about all different types of curry we like and she mentioned her favorite curry paste. I looked and looked for it, but much to my dismay, it could not be found. So, being the awesome OM that she is, she mailed me some. Because she's awesome. Have I said awesome enough yet?

Mae Ploy Thai curry is surely one to brag about. A problem that I frequently have is curry powder is borderline tasteless, or mainly composed of turmeric. Now, turmeric is all well and good, and especially good for you, but it doesn't taste the greatest. I've used powdered, which taste like crap, whole combos that never get ground quite fine enough so it tastes gritty, but this is my first paste. And I don't think I'll ever go back. The yellow curry I tried had strong notes of lemongrass, galangal, and coriander backlit by cinnamon, cardamom, and cumin. The ideal combo for Thai curry. Even better is there's no preservatives and no colorants of any kind added. That rates up there in my book. I do a lot of shopping at Asian markets and it seems like most everything is loaded with MSG, artificial color, and preservatives. No thank you, kind sir, I'll take my cancer-free body elsewhere. I didn't quit smoking for nothing.

I highly recommend this, just as my OM did. She's a pretty smart lady. You better listen.



Mae Ploy Chicken Curry

4 tablespoons butter
1 lb. chicken, preferably thighs, cubed
1 yellow onion, slivered very thinly
1 clove garlic, smashed with the flat of your knife
2 cups coconut milk, divided
65 grams Mae Ploy Thai Yellow Curry Paste
1 (28 oz) can tinned, petite diced tomatoes, drained of all juices through fine mesh strainer
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Jasmine Rice to serve over

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. When hot add butter and melt. Sear the chicken meat and cook about half way through. Remove to a bowl and add onion and smashed garlic clove. Cook onion until softened, about 5 minutes. When garlic clove begins to brown, fish out and discard. Add 1 cup coconut milk curry paste. Cook, stirring, until mixture is uniform in color and paste has been completely mixed in. Add remaining cup of coconut milk. Mix thoroughly. Add chicken and tinned tomatoes. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes, uncovered, stirring every ten minutes, until curry has reduced and thickened. Just before serving mix in chopped cilantro and serve over jasmine rice.

Lettuce Wraps

So, I made these about a month or so ago and I haven't been able to get them out of my head.



I mean, what's better than tender chicken in a sweet-salty-vinegar-y sauce wrapped in lettuce with some fried mung bean threads and carrot matchsticks, right?

Look at this bird, it's like pornography...



Anyways, I stole this as a copycat recipe for some I had at a restaurant with a friend. I'm not going to say which restaurant unless their corporate office calls me up and forces me to. Why, you ask? Because it's shameful...downright shameful. After having had it exactly as the recipe states, I'd definitely tone down the sugar in the sauces. 1/4 cup? My ass! And that's exactly where it goes too. So, I've decided that I'm only going to use about a tablespoon of sugar and I've altered the recipe to reflect that. Hey, I'm just looking out for your health, ok? I'd much prefer enjoying the flavors themselves, not some sugary processed-tasting crap that I can get out of a bottle anywhere. Eww. I'm sure you feel the same way.

It's a fairly time consuming recipe, especially if you're like me and prefer to make each sauce one-by-one. I think it's totally worth it though. It's not mentioned in the recipe, but if I were you I'd definitely go to the extra effort of deep frying some mung bean threads. It really adds a LOT in the way of texture. Also, I nearly doubled the amount of chicken used in the recipe. The sauce recipes make a lot of sauce. I just turned the skillet up on high and poured all the stir-fry sauce in, letting it cook down and get all syrupy, coating the chicken all nice and thick-like. God these are so delicious...

Lettuce Wraps

* 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon sesame oil
* 4 chicken breasts
* 4 scallions
* 1/4 cup minced water chestnuts
* 1/4 cup sliced almonds
* 1 - 2 heads bibb/boston/butter lettuce

Stir Fry Sauce
* 1/4 cup water
* 1 teaspoon cornstarch
* 1/3 cup soy sauce
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1/4 cup vinegar
* 1 tablespoon oil
* 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
* 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
* 1 teaspoon chili oil
* 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger

Sesame Ginger Dipping Sauce
* 1/4 cup water
* 3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1/3 cup vinegar
* 1/4 cup soy sauce
* 1 teaspoon minced ginger
* 1 teaspoon oil
* 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
* 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1 dash red pepper flakes

Peanut Dipping Sauce
* 1/2 cup peanut butter
* 1/3 cup water
* 2 tablespoons vinegar
* 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
* 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon chili oil
* 1/2 teaspoon oil
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Stir-Fry Sauce

1. Combine water and cornstarch and stir until cornstarch is dissolved.

2. Add this to the other stir fry sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat.

3. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer till thick.

Sesame-Ginger Dipping Sauce

4. Combine water and cornstarch into a slurry.

5. Combine the slurry with the other dipping sauce ingredients in small pan over medium heat.

6. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.

Peanut Dipping Sauce

7. Combine ingredients in a pan over medium low heat.

8. Heat while whisking until sauce becomes smooth.

9. Remove from heat when done.

Chicken Filling

10. Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

11. Cook chicken breasts until done, turning every couple of minutes Remove to a cutting board and slice it into strips with a sharp knife.

12. Keep the pan hot.

13. Put chicken back in the same pan over medium/high heat, and add water chestnuts.

14. Heat for 1 minute.

15. Add 5 Tbsp of stir fry sauce to the chicken and heat for 2 minutes, stirring often.

16. The sauce should be bubbly.

17. Add the sliced green onions and stir.

18. The chicken is done.

19. Spoon on to lettuce.

20. Serve with the dipping sauces on the side.