More Adventures in Thai Cooking

Two salads, sort of.

So, there's this word in Thai, "Yam".  It roughly translates as "salad", but often has no real connection to how we would understand it.  Case in point: "Neua Naam Tok", which is a steak salad that's pretty much just steak and herbs.  For those of you in Boston, this is very similar to the "Tiger's Tears" at Myers and Chang.

Slice up some of the tender parts of lemongrass, and smash them in a mortar.  Yes, this seems very... what's the right phrase... "Martha Stewart-y" maybe?  A bit of "faux-authenticity", perhaps?  Whatever.  It's what the book calls for, I happen to have a mortar and pestle, so.  Smash the lemongrass into a paste however you want to, along with some black peppercorns.




Scrape it into a bowl, and add some soy sauce.  Less than you would think, like a teaspoon or so.


I'm using skirt steak, here.  Massage the marinade into the steak, let it sit for about half an hour to an hour.



While we're waiting, let's get the rest of this going. Throw a couple of dried chilis into an unoiled wok, and toast them until they're brittle and very dark.  Let them cool, break them open, discard the seeds, grind them into a powder.  Combine some of the powder with lime juice, fish sauce, stock, sugar, and sliced lemon grass.  Again, you don't need much, just about a quarter cup, total.





More prepping: Shallot, mint leaves, cilantro.




Also, cover sliced chilis with fish sauce, and let that sit.


It's not yet grilling season (read: the new place does't have a grill yet), so I broiled the steak, let it rest, then sliced it thinly.  Note: As it turns out, this isn't thin enough.  We're talking 1/8th of an inch, here.



Throw the dressing into the wok, and heat it until warmed through.  That's it, just so it's warm.  Throw in the steak, and the rest of the veggies.  Turn off the heat, and toss to combine.  Dump everything onto a plate.





Ok, that's a hell of a lotta meat.  Let's go the other way.  This is a lot more like a salad.

These are dried shrimp.  They are salty, and funky.  Rinse a few off, pat them dry, and throw them into an un-oiled wok and toast them until crispy.



This recipe asks for us to use a Thai clay mortar and pestle.  That's something I don't have: a large, deep, clay or wooden mortar with a wood pestle, for smashing and bruising stuff.  What I do have, however, is a plastic bowl and the pestle from my china cap.  To work!  Pound out garlic, chilis, and agave until you have a sludge.  Note: The chilis I'm using is the discarded pulp from when I made my own sriracha (But that's for another post).



Quarter some limes, throw them in, smash them up.


Add the shrimp, gently bruise them (don't smash).


Add green beans, bruise 'em.


Add cucumber and tomatoes, bruise them, too.  Notice that you're not turning these into paste, you're just beating them up a bit.  This is the closest they'll see to cooking.  Bruising the cell walls will help absorb the flavor.Anyway, toss in some peanuts, stir to combine, then toss the whole thing on top of a bowl of cold vermicelli noodles.



Serve family style, with the fish sauce chilis to be dumped over the steak salad (or, hell, over whatever the heck you want).

In honor of the holiday, I bring you... Lamb Heart.

Here it is, in all it's g(l)ory.  Yes, it's very lean, mostly muscle, and... funky.


We're going to want to marinade that.  So, lemon juice, garlic, oil, salt, chili peppers, cumin, and Ras Al Hanout, a North African spice combo.


Chop up the heart, and get that in the bowl to hang out for a while.



A vegetable is nice.  We're going to broil some asparagus.


I'm thinking sauce.  Oil.  Saffron.  Low heat to warm through.  Do not burn, infuse.  Let cool.


Garlic.  Yogurt.  Add saffron oil.



Skewered, right through the heart!


Hearts, grilled. Add some pun about the Sacred Heart, wreathed in flames.


Happy Easter, everyone!

Ricotta Gnocchi

Someone told me making ricotta gnocchi is easier than with potatoes.  Let's see if they're right.

Spread the ricotta over some paper towels, and let it rest for 20 minutes or so, to get some of the water out.


While that's going on, shell some peas.  Shock and blanch some asparagus, while you're at it.  Yes, I'm being fancy and using purple asparagus.  It was on sale.  Don't dump out the water just yet.




You know, since we're waiting, it turns out baby artichoke was on sale, too.  Let's fry those puppies up.  Peel off the dark green leaves, trim and peel the stem, then quarter and put into a bowl of lemon water, so they don't get brown.


Dry them off, heat some oil, let 'er rip.  Remove them to a rack to cool/shed excess oil, and season with salt and pepper.




Squeeze some lemon juice over top and --- Yeah, these never made it to the table.


Anyway, the ricotta is ready to go, so get it in the processor with parmesan cheese and an egg.  Beat until smooth, then add some flour and pepper, then beat again.  Scoop all that stuff out, and put it in either a pastry bag, or a ziploc bag.




Dry off the asparagus, and slice it on a bias into bite-size pieces.  You'll also want shallot, garlic, and mushrooms.  I'm using Hen of the Woods (also known as Maitake).


Get the asparagus water boiling again, and snip off the corner of the bag (or do that piping bag thing -- whatever that is, I dunno).  I may have made mine a bit too large.  So it goes.


Squeeze out some of the dough, and cut it off into the water.  Careful not to splash yourself while doing it.  Let them cook 2-3 minutes, until they're floating.  Remove to an oiled baking sheet so they don't stick.




In a sauté pan, get the mushrooms going in a bit of olive oil, until they're fragrant.  Add the shallot and garlic, sauté for a minute or so, then add the peas and asparagus, and some butter.




When the butter's melted, add the cooked gnocchi to the pan, and let everything warm through.  Serve topped with a squeeze of lemon, some parmesan, and cracked black pepper.