Thai Street Food – Prawns with Glass Noodles

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Vivian Boroff

In the world of chefs and food lovers alike, the mere mention of the words Thai Food, bring one man to mind, Australian chef David Thompson. His love of Thai culture and cuisine is vibrantly reflected in his restaurants and cookbooks. His London restaurant Nahm, was the first Thai restaurant to gain the coveted Michelin Star. Both the food he cooks in his restaurants, and his cookbooks are as close to authentic as you can get, without actually going to Thailand. His first cookbook Thai Food, was a comprehensive guide to Thai Cooking and the role of food in Thai society.

David’s second book Thai Street Food compiles 100 of his favorite recipes from the streets of Thailand. I will not be the first to tell that this is more than just a cookbook. Yes the food is fabulous. David speaks of the food vividly, and has divided the sections not by dishes in particular, but by what is available in the streets by Morning, Noon, and Night, and he has not done this alone. With the stunning photography of Earl Carter, the book literally transports you to Thailand, as they explain how the markets open at dawn to provide service to the monks, who have come to collect their culinary alms, and how some cook or purchase gifts of food for them. Street food is a way of life in Thailand, and you can vividly imagine street vendors reaching out of the pages to hand something completely delicious for you to have, for whatever meal you are seeking.

The photos below are not copies (notice the crease), but my photographs of Earl’s enchanting photos within the pages of the book. He did a remarkable job of capturing the spirit of the people of Thailand and I couldn’t help but share some of his stunning photos here.

Monks taking their morning meal

The vibrant market at noon

Preaparations for a morning meal

Customers purchasing their daily food

Photos aside, this is about the food. The dish that I am sharing with you today, Prawns (Shrimp) with Glass Noodles, is very similar to a dish I grew up with in Guam called Pancit, and it is relatively simple to make, and so delicious. Glass noodles are also known as bean thread and can be found in the Oriental section of your grocery store, or the average Asian Market. If you are not comfortable using back fat or cannot procure any, you can render a little bit of bacon fat instead, but please do not completely eliminate fat if you are going to make a substitution, it goes a long way to provide great flavor in this dish.

PRAWNS WITH GLASS NOODLES

Ingredients:

6 – 8 large raw prawns (shrimp)

150 grams (5 oz) dried glass noodles (bean thread)

50 grams (2 oz) pork back fat (fatback)

4 coriander roots, cleaned (cilantro root, may be found in most Asian Markets, or your own garden)

3 garlic cloves unpeeled

10 white peppercorns

1 cup light stock (store bought chicken stock is what I used)

2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce (I found mine in the Oriental aisle at my local grocery store)

1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce

1 teaspoon white sugar

Ground white pepper and coriander leaves (cilantro) to garnish

Directions:

Peel and devein the shrimp leave but leave the tails attached. If you wish you may leave the heads on to impart a deeper flavor to the noodles, and add an interesting appearance to the dish (I removed them).

Soak the noodles in warm water for about 15 minutes, or until soft. Drain well and cut with scissor into manageable lengths – about 3 inches.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Warm an oven proof pot in it for about 10 minutes (this provides an even heat throughout the pot, if you are using a cast iron dutch oven as I did you may also just heat your pot on medium to low heat while covered but make sure you have a little bit of fat at the bottom of the pot).

Meanwhile cut the back fat into thin slices (about 1 ¼ in x ½ in)

Using a mortar and pestle or food processor, crush the coriander roots, garlic, and peppercorns together.

In a small pan heat the stock, and stir in the oyster and soy sauces, and the sugar.

Carefully take the pot out of the oven and place it over low heat . Carefully spread the back fat over the bottom of the pot. Place the noodles on top of the fat, then scatter over that the crushed coriander root, garlic and peppercorns. Pour the seasoned stock over the noodles and place the prawns on top. Stir to make sure everything is evenly distributed. Turn up the heat to high and quickly bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and place in your oven for about 10 minutes and then remove (this is done just to seal in the heat you do not need to turn your oven on again). The noodles
will have absorbed all the liquids and the prawn should have turned to a bright reddish color.

Garnish with white pepper and cilantro to serve.

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side.

The Essential New York Times Cook Book

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Vivian Boroff

I’ve thought time and again of how I would introduce this book to you. All I can say is it would be a mistake to not do so.

When Amanda Hesser took on this project she had no clue just how vast the recipe archives at the New York Times actually was. She started this book in 2004 and over the years she along with friends, co-workers, and family members tested recipes in their kitchens. She did her best to find which recipes were favorites by posting an author’s query in the Wednesday Dining Section & Sunday Magazine, asking readers to let her know about their favorite Times recipes. The results were astounding, thousands of letters and emails came in with readers singing their praises about their favorite dishes. The responses helped them establish a list of recipes that couldn’t be left out.

This book is a veritable tome. Hefty and loaded with recipes that will please just about anyone. It is a new year and the recipe I want to share from it is light and easy. I am a big fan of using what is available seasonally, and at the moment citrus is at it’s best so I thought this spicy orange salad would be perfect to share. Before this, I have never made or tasted an orange salad. I can honestly say, I would eat this everyday.

SPICY ORANGE SALAD – MOROCCAN STYLE

Ingredients:

Navel oranges – 3 large

Cayenne Pepper – 1/8 teaspoon

Paprika – 1 teaspoon

Minced Garlic - 1/2 teaspoon

Olive Oil – 3 Tablespoons

Vinegar – 1 Tablespoon

Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

Flat leaf parsley chopped – 1/3 cup

Pitted black olives (preferably Greek or Italian) – 12

Directions:

1. Peel the oranges, paring away all the pith (white stuff). Cut each orange into 8 wedges , and cut each wedge into 1 inch pieces. Set aside.

2. Place the cayenne, paprika, minced garlic, olive oil, and vinegar in a salad bowl, add salt and pepper to taste, and blend well with a wire whisk. Add the oranges, parsley, olives and toss gently to mix. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

The Book of Tapas – Rice Pudding

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Vivian Boroff

I want to visit Spain. I always thought that if I did, it would definitely be a vacation centered around Food. Anthony Bourdain seared that thought in my mind, when he referred to Spain as “The best place in the world to eat.”

The Book of Tapas by Simone & Ines Ortega, is a celebration of the little bites or plates of food offered in bars across Spain. Tapas can be pretty much anything you would like to eat and this book definitely has a variety of options.

The recipe from this book that I am sharing with you is a lovely cinnamon and citrus infused Rice Pudding. So delicious and very easy to make. I hope you take the time to make and enjoy it.

RICE PUDDING
Ingredients:

4 cups (1 liter) milk

1 small cinnamon stick

zest of 1/2 lemon

zest of 1/2 orange

1/2 cup of short grain rice

1 cup of superfine sugar

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Directions

1. Pour the milk, cinnamon stick, lemon zest, orange zest into a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let this steep for 30 minutes. Run through a fine strainer to remove the zest and discard the cinnamon stick.

2. Return the milk to the sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently over low to medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the sugar and simmer for another 10 minutes stirring frequently until the the rice is bubbly and has thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Divide the rice among 4 small dishes and garnish with the cinnamon.

Enjoy!

The Newlywed Kitchen – Prosciutto, Sage & Parmesan Pinwheels

Posted on June 25, 2010 by Vivian Boroff

By: Vivian Boroff

Every spring and summer I receive a stack of invitations to bridal showers and weddings. I always look through the various registries, scanning for things that couples want for their new home. I select something that I think they would enjoy from their registry, then throw in a little something extra. Every year I select a cookbook and a set of spices, to give as a wedding gift to our friends who are getting married. I think of how little I knew about cooking as a young newlywed, and how my first cookbooks (Better Homes and Gardens & Fannie Farmer) were my right arm in the kitchen. Those books helped me learn the craft of cooking, and insured that there was always something delicious that was cooked with love in our kitchen.

This year I found a completely charming book called The Newlywed Kitchen: Delicious Meals for Couples Cooking Together by Lorna Yee and Ali Basye This is a wonderful compilation of “Food Love Stories” and inspiring recipes. Lorna and Ali collected the stories of some of their favorite chefs, food writers, and their spouses, and paired them with delicious recipes that couples could learn to cook to together, or cook for one another.

The recipe I chose to share with you is the Prosciutto, Sage and Parmesan Pinwheels. This dish is easily assembled and makes a great appetizer or snack.

Prosciutto, Sage, and Parmesan Pinwheels

Recipe by Lorna Yee and printed by permission

1 sheet Puff Pastry, defrosted

3 heaping Tablespoons Honey Mustard

3 ounces thinly sliced Prosciutto

1 Tablespoon finely chopped Fresh Sage

3/4 cup grated Parmesan

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper

On a lightly floured surface, unfold the puff pastry sheet and roll it into a rectangle measuring 11 x 14 inches. spread the mustard evenly over the entire surface and arrange the prosciutto evenly on top of the mustard. Sprinkle the sage, parmesan and pepper evenly over the prosciutto. Roll up one side of the pastry toward the center, jelly roll style, stopping in the in middle. Repeat this step on the other side so that the two rolls with will meet in the middle.

Carefully wrap the pastry in plastic wrap to help retain it’s shape. Refrigerate for 3 hours (or overnight) so the pastry has a chance to firm up. If you’re in a rush you can freeze the dough for about 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees

With a serrated knife, slice the roll into 1/2 inch pieces and place them on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet, leaving a bit of space in between the pieces so they have room to puff up as they bake. Bake the pinwheels at 400 degrees for 15 – 17 minutes, or until they are golden and crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature with glasses of bubbly.

Firecracker Shrimp & The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook

Posted on June 11, 2010 by Vivian Boroff

By: BEB Bookette Vivian Boroff

I love to cook. More importantly, I love to eat I also have an insatiable desire to collect cookbooks. I can’t say that I have cooked from every book that I have, but I can tell you that I have read every single one from cover to cover. There are however certain cookbooks that I lean on, those I know I can go to time and again for something delicious and simple to feed us.

Jaden Hair‘s The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook 101 Asian Recipes Simple Enough For Tonight’s Dinner, is one of those books. One of the things that I love about this book is that even though some of the ingredients may be exotic, Jaden made sure that they could all be found in the Oriental aisle of the average grocery store. I had the privilege of meeting Jaden in Wichita, KS. for a book signing and cooking demo. She made several dishes that night, all of them were amazing, but my favorite was the Firecracker Shrimp, which I want to share with you today.

Firecracker Shrimp

Recipe from Jaden Hair and printed by permission

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Cornstarch or Flour

1/4 cup (65 ml) water

24 medium shrimp – Raw, peeled and deveined, with the tails left on

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup sweet chili sauce divided

12 eggroll or fresh spring roll wrappers cut in half diagonally & covered with plastic wrap or a damp cloth

High heat cooking oil such as peanut oil for frying

1/2 cup Apricot Marmalade (for optional dipping sauce)

*Suggested tools: Wok or stirfry pan and a pair of tongs

Directions:

1. In a small bowl mix the cornstarch with the water to make a slurry 2. Lay the shrimp flat on a cutting board and using a sharp paring knife, cut a few nicks on the inside curve of the the shrimp (this will turn the shrimp into a relatively straight piece). Be careful not to cut through the shrimp. Pat the shrimp very dry 3. Season the shrimp with the salt & pepper. Pour 1/4 cup of the sweet chili sauce on a small plate. Hold the shrimp by the tail and dip both sides in the sweet chili sauce. Avoid getting the tails wet (it will spatter in the hot oil) Let the shrimp marinade for 10 minutes at room temperature 4. Using paper towels pat the shrimp slightly to remove excess marinade. Some of the sweet chili sauce should still remain on the shrimp 5. Roll the shrimp as follows; Lay an eggroll or spring roll wrapper on a cutting board point facing up. Lay a shrimp on the wrapper with the tail sticking out. Bring the left corner of the wrapper over the shrimp and begin rolling left to right. Make sure that you roll tightly. As you roll, bring the top corner of the wrapper down and over the shrimp. Making sure that there are no air pockets, continue to roll to the right. Dip your finger or pastry brush in the cornstarch slurry and paint the final corner. Roll to seal. Lay the roll seam side down on a plate or tray. Repeat with the rest of the shrimp and wrappers. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth.

6. In a wok, deep fryer or large saute pan, add 1 1/2 inches of oil and heat it to 375 degrees F. Lay the shrimp in a couple at a time being careful to not lay the tails in the oil (they will burn). Fry until golden brown on each side (about 3 minutes).

Drain on a baking rack and serve with the remaining sweet chili sauce.

I serve this with Jaden’s Apricot and Sweet Chili Sauce which is a half cup each of Sweet Chili Sauce and Apricot Marmalade mixed together. Enjoy!

Feel free to check out Jaden’s Website steamykitchen.com for more recipes.