Pantry Staples

While preparing what would have been some delicious Vietnamese steak sandwiches (which I provide the recipe for in my previous post Back to Banh Mi) the other night, using a very, very, very sharp ceramic knife, I carved off a pretty generous portion of a finger on my left hand--Ouch!  Needless to say, I think, I will be out of the kitchen for a bit, while the tip of my finger grows back.  This presents a conundrum of sorts as this is, after all, a blog about cooking.  I think I have lined up a sous-chef (my lovely fiancee) to take care of prep for future posts, but not in time for this one.  I figured, in the intervening time that I have, I'd write up a little something on the basic staples that I keep around for Asian cuisine.  

Warning:  This list is not meant to be definitive, or wholly representative of the wide variety of staple ingredients.  This is just a very basic list of what a very basic man uses to cook his Asian cuisine.  Take a look at some of the other Asian-staple guides available on the interwebs, and you'll quickly see that there are many more pantry items waiting to be included in your cupboards.

Without further ado:

Fish Sauce-  Does it smell fishy?  A bit.  Does it taste fishy?  Not at all.  Don't be turned off by the name; this is very common in Southeast Asian cuisines, and adds a salty depth and complexity to any dish it's added to.  Don't be afraid to try it in non-traditional ways, too!  I add a bit to guacamole, to give an already rich dip, more richness. 

Hoisin Sauce-  Like Asian barbecue sauce, but better.  Hoisin is not terribly dissimilar to soy sauce, in that it's a fermented wheat product, but it's made so much more by the addition of bold flavors such as garlic, chili pepper, tamarind, ginger, and sesame oil.  It can be used both at the table for dipping (it's in every pho shop I've ever been in), and in the kitchen in various dishes, mostly of Chinese origin.  If you've ever had Peking duck or barbecue pork, you've had hoisin, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say you enjoyed it.  Now go get some!

Red Curry Paste-  Thai food is know in part for it's curries, and no curry gets made in Thailand without the use of a curry paste.  There are many types of curry paste, but I personally have only had need for the red variety.  Use it for the tangy-spiciness imparted by ingredients like red chili pepper (that's why it's called "red" curry paste and not, let's say "green" curry paste, had it used green chilies), galangal (Thai ginger), lemongrass, and Kaffir lime.  Here's a great recipe that utilizes the paste to make a decadent, savory broth along with coconut milk, and a bit of chicken stock (another pantry staple):

Thai Chicken Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans

Sesame Oil-  If you're making a stir fry, you need this.  Period.  In Asian cuisine this oil is mainly used for flavoring, and not cooking.  

Soy Sauce-  I saved the most ubiquitous for last, and I don't think it's salty goodness needs to be described in any great length.  Needed for stir frys, marinades, dipping, making rice less blah, etc.  Chances are we have all had soy sauce, and if the stock image above is any indication, it's dirt cheap, so there's no excuse not to have it on hand.

Good Eating!

Sriracha-cha!

Chances are you've seen a bottle of this before; you might have tried some, and if you're anything like me, you became addicted.  I'm not sure how I went nearly 25 years of my life without this spicy nectar of the gods.

Sriracha (or "rooster sauce," as it's colloquially known here in the states) is a hot sauce that originated in Thailand, where people love their food with a kick, but has become popular world-wide.  It's relatively simple list of ingredients (chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar, salt) belies the complexity of the flavor, which is simultaneously sweet, savory, and with just the right amount of heat behind it (At 2,000 scoville units--a measure of heat intensity--it's about half the heat of an ordinary jalapeno).

Now being a typical American, I don't get too creative with my sriracha application--I usually limit myself to liberally dousing anything that needs that extra "something"--but greater minds have come to the rescue with some creative recipes for that sriracha that should be a staple in your pantry.

Courtesy of the fine folks at Bon Appetit:

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/slideshows/2011/06/sriracha-recipes-slideshow#slide=1

Good Eating!

Back To Banh Mi

I thought I'd drop in and leave a simple and satisfying recipe for a banh mi sandwich, which I mentioned in my last post on food trucks.  The recipe, which I found in her Everyday Food cookbook, comes courtesy of the fine, but anonymous, folks at Martha Stewart's test-kitchen.

http://www.marthastewart.com/336902/vietnamese-steak-sandwiches

Now the recipe above is not wholly authentic, as traditional banh mi is usually filled with a pork product (porkbelly, headcheese, pork-liver pate, to name a few), but the substitution of a lime-marinated flank steak for the pork is the only variation.  The remaining ingredients such as the cilantro, carrot, heat (typically chiles, here crushed red pepper), and French baguette (a nod to Vietnam's colonial heritage), are traditional.

My protips:  Make sure your baguette is fresh and high-quality--it really makes a difference.  I highly recommend Iggy's Bread out of Cambridge.  And, when preparing the bread, if it's really thick, I like to carve out a bit from the top, which allows me to stuff more of the meat and dressing in.

Happy Eating!

Boston Food Trucks

Since I first moved back to Boston in 2005, until just a few years ago, there has been a dearth of food vans in and about town.  But just within just the last 4 or 5 years, with the sponsorship of Mayor Menino and City Hall, food trucks have begun to flourish.  Boston's burgeoning food-truck scene covers just about any traditional or ethnic food you can think of.  Some of the best represented, and best reviewed (according to Yelp and my belly) food truckers present fresh, fast, and novel takes on popular asian staples, street food, and delicacies. Below you'll find links to the sites of several of my favorites.  Bon Me in particular makes my mouth water, even just typing the words.  The name of the van is a play on the traditional Vietnamese sandwich spelled "Banh Mi," of which they serve there own non-traditional take.  I encourage everyone to try one or all of these purveyors of deliciousness-on-wheels--their typical locations are listed on their respective websites.  Just be prepared for long lines. 

Bon Me

Momogoose

Mei Mei Street Kitchen

Savory Food Truck (Admittedly, I haven't tried this one...yet.  But, I have it on good authority from several friends that it is worth checking out.  Consider it next on my food-truck to-do list.)

Eat Well Friends!