Once again, I started out this week’s menu with a plan that I didn’t follow through on. I had planned to make something that was sort of French in preparation, sort of Thai or Vietnamese in flavors and sort of everything in between. Only, I sort of forgot about the French part and just cooked up a bunch of stuff with Thai and Vietnamese inflected flavors.
That’s OK. Cooking should be fun, and it’s fun when you’re allowed to color outside the lines. These recipes definitely fall outside the lines. They’re not authentic in any way, and not just because I’m a Scottish-Canadian white guy from Ohio who’s never been to Thailand or to Vietnam. They’re not authentic because sometime in the middle of the week (after riding my bike 15 miles in nearly 90 degree weather) I said to myself “I want spicy hot weather food.” I said it to myself because I was still actually on the bike halfway home and the guy in the large truck who seemed to be trying to run me down probably wasn’t listening. I picked those flavors because the salty, sweet, spicy heat of fish sauce and chilies balanced by cooling herbs and sour fruit and crisp cucumbers … it’s just a perfect palate for a sweltering summer day.
I’ve probably already gone on at great lengths about the wonders of Thai fish sauce. That won’t stop me from doing it again. If you don’t have a bottle of this miracle condiment around your kitchen, stop what you’re doing and get some right away. Ok, maybe not right away, if you’re doing something important – but you’re reading this so you’re probably either not doing something important or reading this in order to put off doing something important. Regardless of why you’re reading this right now, Thai fish sauce is something amazing. It’s one of those ingredients that somehow both fades into the background but at the same time is wonderfully assertive. You don’t always notice it’s there, but if it gets left out you notice it’s missing.
Oh, and if you haven’t used fish sauce in your cooking before now … don’t smell it. It’s one of those things that just doesn’t really smell like it tastes. Like coffee – except the opposite because when I was a kid I thought coffee smelled amazing and I hated the taste. Until I didn’t.
Tuna Crudo with Lime Oil, Chilies, and Fried Garlic
There’s something simply satisfying about good quality raw tuna. So, when within a couple hours I saw this lovely plate (made by a local ceramicist) at our neighborhood farmers market and saw a lovely piece of fresh tuna in the fish case at the grocery, I knew what direction I was heading. I wanted to use some of the same flavors I was describing above, but using citrus juice with fish gives you something more like ceviche – the acid in limes and lemons “cooks” the fish proteins. So I used lime zest and lime leaves (available at some better markets and many Asian groceries) to infuse lime flavor into a neutral oil to dress the fish. Finished with some chilies, crisp bits of fried garlic, and crunchy finishing salt, this is a great few bites.
16 oz fresh tuna loin
2 tbsp neutral (soy, canola, etc.) or peanut oil
1 lime leaves
Zest of one lime
4 cloves garlic
1 serrano chili
½ sheet nori (opt)
½ cup neutral oil for frying
Maldon Salt or other flakey finishing salt
Finely chop the lime leaves.
Add the lime leaves and the lime zest and 2 tbsp of oil to a pan over very low heat.
Warm the lime oil, immediately removing the pan from the heat if it starts to sizzle at all.
Allow the oil to cool completely, then strain out and discard the solids.
Peel, trim, and thinly slice the garlic.
Add ½ cup of oil to a pan over medium heat.
Add the garlic slices to the oil immediately, using a fork to agitate them and ensure they don’t stick together.
As the oil heats, the garlic will begin to fry. Remove it as soon as it starts to brown (it will further darken after it is removed from the oil).
Slice the nori (if using) into very thin strips.
Slice the tuna, arrange on a plate. Drizzle with lime oil, scatter with slices of chili and fried garlic. Top with pieces of nori, crunchy salt, and herbs.
Serve immediately.
Shredded Cucumber Salad
I can only eat a few bites of this simple salad because I’m sensitive to cucumbers. I still always make it (or some variation of it – I made two variations of it this week), and always eat those few bites because I love the contrasts. Crunchy, watery, cooling cucumber, crunchy peanuts, salty fish sauce. I often add a bit of chili garlic sauce to make it a little spicier, but I’ve left it out of this recipe for fear of overwhelming those of you who might not enjoy every bite of every dish leaving your lips numb and your sinuses burning. If you are, like me, someone who enjoys that, add up to 1 tsp of chili garlic sauce to the dressing and add more minced chilies.
1 English cucumber
1 medium shallot
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 red chili
½ tsp rice wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lime
¼ cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
1 tbsp loosely packed chopped mint leaves
2 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed
Stem, seed, and finely mince the red chili.
Add the chili to a small glass bowl with a pinch of salt and the rice wine vinegar.
Trim off the ends of the cucumber, and shred using a julienne peeler.
Add the cucumber to a large bowl of cold water to keep it crisp.
Peel, trim, and thinly slice the shallot from end to end.
Peel, trim, and finely mince one clove garlic.
Peel, trim, and finely slice one clove garlic.
Fry the sliced garlic until crisp and remove to drain and cool.
Mix the fish sauce, brown sugar, minced garlic and lime juice in a large non-reactive bowl.
Add the shallot to the dressing, and allow to marinate for 15 minutes.
Drain the cucumber.
Add the finely minced red chiles, cucumber and herbs to the dressing and shallots and toss well.
Add the fried garlic and crushed peanuts immediately before serving.
Chicken Wings with Fish Sauce Caramel
I’ve been clear and honest about my love for chicken wings. If I go more than a few weeks without a wing centered meal, I start thinking about chicken wings when It’s probably not appropriate to be thinking about chicken wings. Sitting on my bike at a stoplight on the way to work? Chicken wings. Staring at the ceiling at night trying to fall asleep? Chicken wings. You get it. I really like chicken wings.
These chicken wings, or variations on them, have become a favorite of mine over the past few years. They’re inspired by the fish sauce wings I first had at Andy Richter’s Pok Pok years ago – but, not really a “version” of those. Pok Pok’s wings involved a process of garlic brining and a number of other steps. I simply dress wings in a modified fish sauce caramel. Don’t laugh. I know that “fish sauce caramel” sounds like a 10-year old’s grossout joke, but dark sweet sugar, spices, and the deep umami of the fish sauce makes it one of the world’s great sauces and it is a perfect accompaniment to crispy slightly fatty chicken wings.
12 whole chicken wings
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 2-inch piece of ginger
4 cloves garlic
2 star anise pods
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 tsp sriracha
Oil for frying
Crushed peanuts and sliced green onion for garnish
Arrange the wings on a sheet pan lined with a rack and refrigerate uncovered for at least 1 hour and up to overnight. This will help dry out the skin and produce crispier wings.
Add ½ cup of sugar to a dry pan over medium heat.
Cook until the sugar is melted and has turned a dark caramel color.
Add 1 cup of water and bring to a simmer.
Add the star anise, the cinnamon, the peppercorns, and ginger and cook uncovered at a low simmer for 30 minutes.
Strain out the solids and discard them, return the liquid to the pan.
Stir in the fish sauce and the sriracha.
Allow to simmer until reduced to ~1/2 cup.
Peel, trim, and finely mince the garlic.
Remove the sauce from the heat and add the garlic.
Prepare your fryer, a Dutch oven, or other large pan with oil and fry the wings at 350°F until very crisp.
Toss with the sauce to coat and garnish with crushed peanuts and sliced green onion.
Grilled Honey Cured Pork
Like the chicken wings above and … well, everything in this menu except the dessert, this dish utilizes sweet spicy salty. Unlike those, most of the spicy here is of the baking spice variety. If you’re a regular reader you know that I love, and use Chinese Five Spice powder in a lot of my cooking – even when it seems like an incongruous addition. The blend traditionally includes Star Anise, Cloves, Cinnamon, Fennel, and Sichuan Peppercorn. Many widely available commercial brands (including the one I most commonly use) swap out the Sichuan Peppercorn for black pepper. I use Five Spice Powder both in cooking dishes from China, Vietnam, and Polynesia (where it’s a common ingredient), but also in a lot of European style dishes where I use it as a replacement for spice blends like Quatre Epices. It adds depth and a spicy warmth in even tiny amounts.
In this recipe, the five spice is put to its more traditional use – this dish is similar to some traditional Vietnamese pork preparations where five spice might be used as a flavor component. Honey and fish sauce contribute the salty and sweet portions of the trifecta and an onion and herb salad helps cut the richness of the honey cured pork. This is a great summer grill dish, but can easily be prepared in the oven or broiler as well.
4 pork shoulder steaks
4 tbsp fish sauce
4 tbsp honey
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
2 cloves garlic
Peel, trim, and microplane or crush the garlic.
Mix the honey, fish sauce, garlic, and five spice powder and add to a large zip top bag.
Place the shoulder steaks in the bag and turn and squeeze the bag to ensure that the marinade is evenly coating the pork.
Place the bag in the refrigerator to marinate and cure.
Refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to 36 hours.
Preheat your grill or oven (to 400°F).
Grill, broil, or roast the meat until the internal temperature reaches 145°F.
Slice and top with Red Onion and Herb Salad.
Red Onion and Herb Salad
1 small red onion
1 green onion
1 Fresno or red jalapeno chili
¼ cup roasted unsalted peanuts
1 clove garlic
4 tbsp cilantro leaves
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp light brown sugar
1 tsp neutral oil
Peel, trim, and thinly slice the onion from end to end.
Trim and thinly slice the green onion, including the white portions.
Stem, seed, and thinly slice the red chili.
Peel, trim, and finely mince the garlic.
Crush the peanuts.
Combine the fish sauce, lime juice, and brown sugar in a large bowl.
Add the oil and whisk to combine.
Add the red onion, chilis, green onion, and cilantro to the bowl and toss to coat with the dressing.
Use to top roasted pork.
Lemongrass, Lime, and Basil Sorbet
Yeah, this is once again a sort of lazy dessert. It’s not a fancy pastry or a complex cake or … I’m just not really that good at those things. Also it’s been nearly 90°F here every day for a week and I’m not about to turn on the oven for a few hours. That also means I don’t have bread, which I’m sad about, but that’s something else altogether. This is a simple sorbet that uses some of the flavors I’ve been riffing on throughout this week’s menu – minus the salty part (though a few grains of finishing salt would probably be great on it).
The addition of chili may sound a little strange, but it ends up adding a nice, very mild zing to the sorbet that balances out the citrus and herbs. This is a refreshing few sweet bites on a really hot day.
Also, try it with a little rum or gin as a grown up dessert.
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
1 3-inch piece lemongrass
8 fresh basil leaves
½ tsp red chili flake
½ cup fresh lime juice
Zest of one lime
Bring 1 1/2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is fully dissolved.
Add the lemon grass and chili flake and cook for five minutes at a low simmer.
Remove from the heat.
Add the lime zest and basil leaves and allow to cool completely.
Add the lime juice, then strain through a fine strainer or straining cloth. Discard the solids.
Freeze using an ice cream freezer. Alternatively, freeze in an ice cube tray and use a high-speed blender to crush into sorbet.
Transfer to a covered container and freeze until firm – about 4 hours.
Yuuuuuuummmm this is exactly the kind of food I have been jonesing for over the past week. Thank you Drew!! Stoked especially to try out the sorbet. We have a gnarly beast of a Thai basil plant growing in our Aero Garden and now I'll finally have something to use it in.