Posts filed under ‘Just for Fun’
Hurry! It’s Long-Distance! Thai-Inspired Roast Chicken with Sweet Potatoes for FoodBlogSouth 2013
Dinner’s ready! Roast chicken with Thai flavors, served with pan-roasted sweet potatoes, sweet hot garlic sauce and jasmine rice.
When I read about the FoodBlogSouth2013 Telephone Game, I raised my hand as fast as I could. Who wouldn’t want to cook along with a slew of like-minded, blogging, experimenting fellow food writers, connect to FoodBlogSouth, and learn from the Grand Dame, Fairy Godmother, and Resident Generous Genius of Southern Cuisine, Nathalie Dupree? “Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking” by Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Stevens Grabart had just published to great acclaim and I had gotten my copy and had Nathalie sign it just days before this opportunity arose.
But when I got down to brass tacks, as my mother used to say without explaining what that meant or what other kinds of tacks she was using before she got down to them, I had a moment. A moment of fear and doubt. Roasting? Roasting a whole entire chicken? In the oven? I have been cooking for well over 40 years (yes, I started young), and am at home with mortar and pestle, wok, cleaver, dough scraper, and cast iron skillet. I’m all over baking and the oven is my friend. But what I know how to do with meat is cut it down to size. Whole chicken? I can turn that thang into breasts, legs, thighs, back, and wings in a New York minute, ready for frying in my castir iron skillet. I know from pork butt and country-style ribs: how to chop it up and then rapid-fire grind it with my cleaver into hand-crafted ground pork popping with flavor, or thinly sliced or primly-chunked pieces, ideal for stir-fry or curry. Rib-eye, tri-tip, flank steak — it’s all a cakewalk when I’m cooking Asian dishes, or Southern-fried ones, or stewing an old hen into chicken and dumplings, or wings into party-perfect finger food. But a whole roasted anything? Give me strength!
So I took a deep breath and reached across the oceans, using my imaginary telephone. As we Baby Boomers used to do back in the day of telephones tethered to walls and costly surcharges based on who was calling from where, I called “long distance”. I ‘telephoned’ my Asian culinary knowledge base, for an idea of how to handle a big hunk of meat in that big hot oven-box. I got an answer pretty quick; it was lively and the connection was crackling-clear.
“Gai yahng! Gai yahng!” I could hear the Thai grilled chicken vendors calling up to passengers through the open windows of an upcountry bus or train. Grilled Thai garlic chicken, splayed out on to bamboo slats and grilled over coals, served with sticky rice, green papaya salad chili spiked and cool-hot; and chili-garlic sauce, the sweet and tangy syrup/sauce that pairs perfectly with gai yahng. The marinade for grilled chicken ought to work on a whole roast chicken, I answered myself, “since I’ve got guidelines on translating to roasting from my predecessor, “Life In Recipes”.
I hung up the imaginary helper-phone, on my toll-free long-distance call, ready to cook. Life in Recipes had cooked brussels sprouts with ginger and green onions in the cast iron skillet along with her gloriously pictured bird. I opted for sweet potatoes, because they are found in Thailand, they cook up like the kabocha pumpkins and other hard squashes and root vegetables Thai people love, I adore them, and I had some on hand. I cooked the dipping sauce while the bird was roasting, and planned on lovely simple jasmine rice to serve along with everything, since sticky rice is another story for another day. Here’s how it went:
Components of the Thai-inspired seasoning paste for my whole roast chicken: Garlic, cilantro stems, fish sauce, soy sauce, vegetable oil, and salt. Freshly ground peppercorns add heat and depth, but since I forgot about them until I was ready to start grinding all this to an aromatic puree, you don’t see them. They’re in the recipe below, never fear. Just not in this picture!
Generously coated with the cilantro-garlic seasoning paste, the chicken gets a nest of chunky sweet potatoes to keep it company in the oven.
This simple-to-prepare dipping sauce accompanies crispy spring rolls, fish or shrimp fritters, and other rich, robust and hearty dishes in Thai cuisine. Stir together all but the chili sauce and let it simmer into delicious tangy goodness while the chicken roasts away in the oven. Then add chili sauce, let cool, and enjoy with roasted, grilled or fried dishes.
Handsomely browned, crisp-skinned, and aromatic with garlicky goodness, this chicken bestowed marvelous flavor to the sweet potatoes in the process of cooking
Dinner’s ready! Roast chicken with Thai flavors, served with pan-roasted sweet potatoes, sweet hot garlic sauce and jasmine rice.
My Telephone Game was a ‘win’ all around. I roasted a most tasty chicken, taking things in a Thai/Asian direction that worked handsomely and deliciously. I found “Life In Recipes” and a whole slew of other bloggers to follow, including my dear friend Sheri Castle who started the Telephone Game for us and for FoodBlogSouth 2013 way back in November. My family got a spectacular weeknight dinner that was so simple, and unintimidating, that they will be enjoying it in regular rotation from now on. It was a feast and I’m glad to be on this party line. (Young bloggers, ask your parents/grandparents about that one — it may be too low-tech and antique for Google).
Below you’ll find my two recipes, for the chicken and the fabulous sauce — good on almost anything, I would have to say. To see where I’m coming from, you can trace our calls! We started this FoodBlogSouth 2013 Telephone Game with my friend Sheri Castle here at Sheri Castle. Then came Anne-Marie Nichols at thismamacooks.com, and Niki at lifeinrecipes.com. Now me, here at nanciemcdermott.wordpress.com. And next week, December 19th: Michal Thornton at thehumidity.blogspot.com. We’ll keep on going, so check Michal Thornton for the next number to call. We’re cooking here on the FoodBlogSouth 2013 party line, with our recipe-driven Telephone Game.
Nancie’s Thai-Style Roast Chicken
In Thailand, spry, slender chickens are seasoned with cilantro root, garlic, peppercorns, soy sauce and fish sauce and grilled over charcoal to be enjoyed with sticky rice, green papaya salad, and a sweet-and-spicy dipping sauce. Flattened out and held steady with baboo, Thai grilled chicken is known as gai yahng and is eaten as finger food. This same marinade works wonderfully on a whole chicken, roasted in the oven with ease and served with a luscious side of sweet potatoes roasted alongside the bird.
1/4 cup chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped cilantro stems
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 whole chicken (a small one; about 3 1/2 pounds)
About 3 cups peeled sweet potatoes, cut into big bite-sized chunks
In a blender or a small food-processor, combine the garlic, cilantro stems, vegetable oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, pepper, salt, and water. Grind to a well-combined, fairly smooth paste, pulsing on and off and scraping down the sides between grinding spells to get everything to the same stage. (You could also mince the garlic and cilantro stems very finely using your knife, and then mashin the salt and pepper with the back of a fork to incorporate it. Scrape this into a bowl, add the fish sauce and oil, stir well, and continue.)
Transfer the paste to a large bowl. Add the chicken and turn it all around, rubbing with the paste to season the chicken completely and as evenly as possible. Cover and set aside for 1 hour or up to 1 day.
To roast the chicken: Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place it breast side up in a roasting pan large enough to contain the bird. Place the sweet potatoes all around the chicken. Place the chicken in the oven and reduce the heat to 425 degrees. Let the chicken roast for about 45 minutes, until the skin is golden and crisp, and the meat is done to 165 degrees measured at the thigh where the heat is thick.
Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes. Leave the sweet potatoes in the roasting pan, covered, on the back of the stove to stay warm. To serve, transfer the sweet potatoes to the serving platter and distribute them around the chicken, scraping any liquid onto the platter to flavor the chicken and the sweet potatoes. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves. Serve with Sweet Hot Garlic Sauce (recipe follows) and jasmine rice, or couscous, pasta, or bread.
Serves 3 to 4 people
I’ve adapted this recipe from my book: Quick and Easy Thai: 70 Everyday Recipes by Nancie McDermott. Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.
Sweet-Hot Garlic Sauce
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vinegar (white vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons chili-garlic sauce (sambal oelek), or Sri Rachaa Sauce, or 2 teaspoons dried red chili flakes
In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar, vinegar, water, garlic and salt to a lively boil over medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Adjust heat to maintain an active simmer and cook, stirring now and then, for 9 to 12 minutes, until you have a thin, smooth syrup, about the texture of maple syrup. (This is tricky — it needs to be definitely thickened but not as thick as honey or pancake syrup. If you’re not sure, crank it up a little and go another five minutes with lots of bubbling. It will thicken on standing; but it does need to be thickened up to thin but specific syrup before you stop. ) Remove from heat, stir in the chili sauce, and set aside to cool. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve at room temperature with grilled, roasted, or fried foods. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days.
This recipe comes from Quick and Easy Thai: 70 Everyday Recipes by Nancie McDermott. Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.
“Under the Tuscan Sun Dinner” at Fearrington House with Francis and Edward Mayes
Autumn nudges me toward reflection, and tonight I’m remembering a recent evening full of delights. The time was sunset, two weeks ago today; the setting, the lovely Fearrington House Restaurant, an extraordinary restaurant, inn, and residential community located just a few miles south of Chapel Hill. The occasion was irresistible for me: A dinner with Francis and Edward Mayes, authors of The Tuscan Sun Cookbook: Recipes from Our Italian Kitchen, published this spring by Clarkson Potter. Executive Chef Colin Bedford‘s cooking is brilliant, unique, and satisfying; I adore Frances Mayes’s books and blog; Fearrington House is incredibly beautiful and comfortable; with all that in mind, my expectations were high. As you can see from my smile in this photograph of me with Frances, Edward, and my friend Keebe Fitch, (proprietor of McIntyre’s Books in Fearrington Village), the evening exceeded them, by many a country mile. We’re still in that luscious seasonal window where the sunlight and temperature make eating outdoors a pleasure, and that is what we did, from a welcoming flute of prosecco on the patio to a farewell glass of Badia Coltibuono Vin Santo at our table in the Garden Terrace, as twilight dwindled to darkness.
Fearrington House Wine Director Max Kast’s pairings enhanced this memorable meal. Here is my glass of Antinori Orvieto (2010), poured to accompany the exquisite first course:
Potato Ravioli with Zucchini, Speck, and Pecorino (page 86)
Our main course, Braised Short Rib (page 129) with Garlic Flan (page 158), Green Beans with Black Olives and Gremolata (page 159), with Mormoria Chianti Colli Senesi (2006)
Dessert was Lemon Hazelnut Gelato (page 182) with Panna Cotta (page 187), and Massimo and Daniela’s Wine Cake (page 204), made with pine nuts and vin santo. That wine was paired with the dessert course: Badia Coltibuono Vin Santo.
Early in the meal, Frances spoke about food and cooking in Tuscany. She remembers their early days in the kitchen of Bramasole, their home in Cortona, Italy, when a door placed over two saw horses served as their table. Twenty three years later, they have a sturdy and permanent table, but not a fussy, laborious approach to cooking. Like their Tuscan friends and neighbors, they focus not on length or complexity in cooking, but rather on improvisation and on primo ingredients. No measuring cups or spoons in a traditional Italian kitchen; but if you are like me, you will gratefully note that the cookbook provides those pesky measurements for those of us who might need an assist on the way to intuitive cuisine. For the short ribs, she noted that she and Edward like to cook ‘too much’ when they make this, doubling the recipe so that they will have plenty left for the following day. When we raved about the garlic flan, she noted that the book includes a wonderful garlic soup (page 94); the recipe sounds simply delicious, and is also simple to prepare.
The book’s dedication warms your heart — a two-page salute to the friends and neighbors who have made the Mayes’s life in Tuscany such a feast. Photographs and stories throughout the book season the recipes, making you eager to cook Fiorella’s Red Pepper Tart, Ivan’s Pear Agnolotti with Gorgonzola and Walnuts, Placido’s Steak, and Slivia’s Ricotta Tart. Here is the butcher handing you a taste of proscuitto. A beaming woman in apron and kerchief is proffering a basket of eggs, and then two people with a rabbit; this one, you must see for yourself. Marvelous. Add a sprinkling of ingredients (shallots, asparagus, mushrooms, figs) and images of the recipes, both in progress (pesto) and ready for the feast (Fritto Misto, and Rich Polenta Parmigiana with Funghi Porcnini). I predict you, too will feel compelled retire to your reading chair to savor the book, or the kitchen counter to cook up the food.
My first endeavor was the fig and walnut tart. You’ll find the recipe in The Tuscan Sun Cookbook on page 201. From the crust, pasta frolla (page 192) to the finished tart, which was lovely to look at and a deep pleasure to eat, I loved making this dessert. For a sampler of four recipes (Fried Artichokes, Guisi’s Ragu, Chicken with Olives, and Strawberry Semifreddo) available on the web and sauced with luminous photographs from the book, visit publisher Clarkson Potter’s “Recipe Club” by clicking HERE.
To visit Frances Mayes’s website, click HERE.
To read her blog, Frances Mayes’s Journal, click HERE.
To read an interview with Frances Mayes in the Washington Post, click HERE. (It’s written by my friend Domenica Marchetti.)
To find out more about this glorious book, click HERE.
To order The Tuscan Sun Cookbook: Recipes from Our Italian Kitchen from Indiebound, click HERE.
Fearrington House “Under the Tuscan Sun Dinner” with Francis and Edward Mayes
Autumn nudges me toward reflection, and tonight I’m remembering a recent evening full of delights. The time was sunset, two weeks ago today; the setting, the lovely Fearrington House Restaurant, an extraordinary restaurant, inn, and residential community located just a few miles south of Chapel Hill. The occasion was irresistible for me: A dinner with Francis and Edward Mayes, authors of The Tuscan Sun Cookbook: Recipes from Our Italian Kitchen, published this spring by Clarkson Potter. Executive Chef Colin Bedford‘s cooking is brilliant, unique, and satisfying; I adore Frances Mayes’s books and blog; Fearrington House is incredibly beautiful and comfortable; with all that in mind, my expectations were high. As you can see from my smile in this photograph of me with Frances, Edward, and my friend Keebe Fitch, (proprietor of McIntyre’s Books in Fearrington Village), the evening exceeded them, by many a country mile. We’re still in that luscious seasonal window where the sunlight and temperature make eating outdoors a pleasure, and that is what we did, from a welcoming flute of prosecco on the patio to a farewell glass of Badia Coltibuono Vin Santo at our table in the Garden Terrace, as twilight dwindled to darkness.
Fearrington House Wine Director Max Kast’s pairings enhanced this memorable meal. Here is my glass of Antinori Orvieto (2010), poured to accompany the exquisite first course:
Potato Ravioli with Zucchini, Speck, and Pecorino (page 86)
Our main course, Braised Short Rib (page 129) with Garlic Flan (page 158), Green Beans with Black Olives and Gremolata (page 159), with Mormoria Chianti Colli Senesi (2006)
Dessert was Lemon Hazelnut Gelato (page 182) with Panna Cotta (page 187), and Massimo and Daniela’s Wine Cake (page 204), made with pine nuts and vin santo. That wine was paired with the dessert course: Badia Coltibuono Vin Santo.
Early in the meal, Frances spoke about food and cooking in Tuscany. She remembers their early days in the kitchen of Bramasole, their home in Cortona, Italy, when a door placed over two saw horses served as their table. Twenty three years later, they have a sturdy and permanent table, but not a fussy, laborious approach to cooking. Like their Tuscan friends and neighbors, they focus not on length or complexity in cooking, but rather on improvisation and on primo ingredients. No measuring cups or spoons in a traditional Italian kitchen; but if you are like me, you will gratefully note that the cookbook provides those pesky measurements for those of us who might need an assist on the way to intuitive cuisine. For the short ribs, she noted that she and Edward like to cook ‘too much’ when they make this, doubling the recipe so that they will have plenty left for the following day. When we raved about the garlic flan, she noted that the book includes a wonderful garlic soup (page 94); the recipe sounds simply delicious, and is also simple to prepare.
The book’s dedication warms your heart — a two-page salute to the friends and neighbors who have made the Mayes’s life in Tuscany such a feast. Photographs and stories throughout the book season the recipes, making you eager to cook Fiorella’s Red Pepper Tart, Ivan’s Pear Agnolotti with Gorgonzola and Walnuts, Placido’s Steak, and Slivia’s Ricotta Tart. Here is the butcher handing you a taste of proscuitto. A beaming woman in apron and kerchief is proffering a basket of eggs, and then two people with a rabbit; this one, you must see for yourself. Marvelous. Add a sprinkling of ingredients (shallots, asparagus, mushrooms, figs) and images of the recipes, both in progress (pesto) and ready for the feast (Fritto Misto, and Rich Polenta Parmigiana with Funghi Porcnini). I predict you, too will feel compelled retire to your reading chair to savor the book, or the kitchen counter to cook up the food.
My first endeavor was the fig and walnut tart. You’ll find the recipe in The Tuscan Sun Cookbook on page 201. From the crust, pasta frolla (page 192) to the finished tart, which was lovely to look at and a deep pleasure to eat, I loved making this dessert. For a sampler of four recipes (Fried Artichokes, Guisi’s Ragu, Chicken with Olives, and Strawberry Semifreddo) available on the web and sauced with luminous photographs from the book, visit publisher Clarkson Potter’s “Recipe Club” by clicking HERE.
To visit Frances Mayes’s website, click HERE.
To read her blog, Frances Mayes’s Journal, click HERE.
To read an interview with Frances Mayes in the Washington Post, click HERE. (It’s written by my friend Domenica Marchetti.)
To find out more about this glorious book, click HERE.
To order The Tuscan Sun Cookbook: Recipes from Our Italian Kitchen from Indiebound, click HERE.
Happy 100th Birthday to the Hughes Family and Pine Knot Farms: A North Carolina Century Farm
I’ve been a fan and a customer of Mr. Stanley Hughes and Pine Knot Farms since we moved home to North Carolina from Southern California in 1999. His family farm out in Hurdle Mills, 12 miles north of Hillsborough, produces a marvelous organic harvest which he sells to area chefs and to the public at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market. His justifiably famous sweet potatoes first caught my attention, as I am a fool for them in any form. His yearlong bounty of tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers and yellow squash, canteloupes, strawberries and watermelon, collards, kale, and Swiss chard have kept me coming back, stopping by the table where a visit with him and his wife, Linda Leach, feeds my spirit just as their vegetables brighten my kitchen. I wrote this story about Mr. Hughes in Edible Piedmont’s Winter 2009 issue. “Stewards of the Land” included him among six Piedmont North Carolina farmers profiled HERE . Pine Knot Farms’ website is right HERE. 
This past Saturday, I joined hundreds of friends, fans, customers, neighbors, and family members on the 100-year-old Hughes family farm, to celebrate its centennial birthday, which brought designation as a North Carolina Century Farm. From the day in 1912 when Mr. Hughes’s grandfather purchased the farm, it has been in continuous operation, its 125 acres supporting the Hughes family for one hundred years. What a reason to celebrate, and what a fine celebration they created on a gorgeous, late-summer afternoon. Here’s a small peek at a big, bountiful, joyful gathering in rural Orange County, NC. 
My friend Diane Robertson congratulates Linda and Stanley on their great success, in organic farming, growing and running a successful small business, and in throwing a fantastic memorable party! 
An abundance of friends-in-farming stopped by, including fellow vendors at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market, Alex and Betsy Hitt of Peregrine Farms. Here’s Alex with Stanley. I got to visit over lunch with my friends Kate Medley and Emily Wallace, feasting on an astounding and extensive repast of old-school family-reunion-quality cooking. Here’s my plate; my initial plate, actually. At 12 o’clock, you see a fried chicken leg teetering atop candied yams (sweet potatoes cut into french-fry sized chunks and cooked with butter and sugar). To the right, chicken and dumplings, just like my grandmother made them. Next is “beantown”: greenbeans/stringbeans, field peas (maybe crowders, or lady peas? Please do leave me a comment if you can set me straight here, or just have an opinion about it), and butterbeans, both of which are cooked with corn. Next set is lima beans/butterbeans cooked with curls of streak o’ lean, a beloved porky seasoning meat which is kin to bacon but with the big accent on the fat, and red peas. The grand finale is chicken and country ham, the latter cooked by host Linda Leach, who didn’t let the challenges of putting on this grand, extensive party keep her from cooking up two peach cobblers, a country ham, and more. 
I loved it when a young family member walked out to greet me as I came up the driveway, handing me my program in the form of a cardboard fan, the kind we literally prayed for when sitting in my grandparents’ church on a July Sunday, back in the days before air conditioning adjusted the summertime for us.
Fried chicken, and a big pot of chicken and dumplings, made by Miss Linda’s mother. Below is Miss Linda’s country ham. I wish I had some right now.
Butterbeans and corn.
This tobacco barn right out front is an original building, with an old washtub, a washboard, and other pieces of farm history decorating the wall.
Pieces of the farm’s past arranged inside the big, beautiful ‘shed’ where the crowd lined up for food and enjoyed shelter when rain showed up a time or two. I loved the Hershey’s cocoa can made from metal, the coffee mill, Cheerwine or RC Cola bottle, irons, and a Lodge Cast Iron cornbread skillet. 
This school desk came from the old schoolhouse which stood on the farm property. Family elders and longtime neighbors reminisced about schooldays there. The piece of wood on top of the desk was used in planting tobacco. Elders recalled (and demonstrated by pantomime right there by the desk) poking the seeds down into a hill of dirt as they worked a row, planting the new crop.
I find this so beautiful and profound. I also find it poignant: I cannot begin to imagine how tired people must feel walking home after another day of ‘working tobacco’, in the blistering, merciless heat of a North Carolina summertime. This is how the tobacco was prepared to be placed in the tobacco barn to cure.
This broom was made by Stanley Hughes’s father, who grew the plants he used in the summertime, dried it in the fall, and crafted the brooms during the winter when the outdoor farmwork took a backseat to the weather.
It was the sweetest, easiest day. As things wound down, I was standing out back talking with Mr. Ricky, Hughes-family friend, neighbor, and pitmaster, who was working the gigantic smoker on which he had cooked a whole pig (starting at 5:00 a.m.). Looking up, I noticed what I interpret as commentary from the universe on the occasion, the celebration, and the location.
The Southern Foodways Alliance‘s oral history collection includes interviews Carrboro Farmers’ Market vendors. My friend Kate Medley (and lunch buddy, see above) recorded an wonderful interview and video with Mr. Stanley Hughes, which you can enjoy on the SFA website HERE
Pine Knot Farms 1912 – 2012. Going strong, growing strong. To the next hundred years!
Midnight Snack on My First Night Back in Bangkok: Thai Rice Soup/kao tom
Arriving at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport long past 11:00 p.m. on a July evening, I transformed from a drowsy denizen of giant metal flying machines into a dazzled and grateful traveller, amazed to actually be standing on solid ground at my destination: Thailand. Like the magnificent red and gold doorway greeting placed to greet passengers stumbling in from the jetway, this handsome sala on the concourse reminded me that I was back in Thailand, where visual celebrations of Thai culture enliven everyday places and moments.
Murals like this vision of a lotus pond and another with a still life of mangosteens, durian, rambutan, pineapple, lychees and other Thai fruits lined the gleaming cavernous passageways leading into the main terminal. Had I not been on a moving sidewalk, I would have tried to photograph every one. The restrooms featured flourishing orchids, duplicating their lovely presence in the mirrors.
Even the boards informing passengers where our luggage could be picked up tickled me, with the listings of arriving flights. Nothing so familiar to me as Denver, Philadelphia, Boston, and Miami; there I was in a place where jets zoom in from Guangzhou and Hanoi, Seoul and Macau, Vientiane and Hong Kong, Manila and Singapore. I easily found my refrigerator-sized rolling suitcase, cleared customs speedy-quick, and found the taxi stand, where I was soon paired up with a driver who stowed it handily in the trunk of his small sedan and headed us off toward my hotel.
To my delight, the trunk of his taxi not only accomodated my massive suitcase but also held a sticky-rice serving basket, his old-school lunchbox, tucked over to one side. This pleased me: Some things continued as I remembered them from 37 years ago. The sparkling airport, the elevated expressway, and the highrise Bangkok skyline visible from the taxi confirmed that much had changed since 1978, when I departed from Bangkok’s original Don Muang Airport, at the end of my Peace Corps service in 1978.
The taxi driver’s lunch and the night markets we passed now and then as we sped through the city reminded me that while I had eaten fairly recently on the airplanes carrying me from North Carolina to Atlanta, to Tokyo, and then to Bangkok…..
….I had not dined to my heart’s delight, nor had I enjoyed even a morsel of Thai food. I considered asking the driver to drop me off at one of the night markets, but given my massive suitcase and carry-on’s, such nimble and spontaneous actions were not on the menu.
But once I arrived at my hotel, checked in, and got settled in my sixth-floor room with river view, I spied the Room Service Menu. And did I see the magic words, “24-Hour” Room Service Menu? I did indeed. This made me so happy. But what to choose? Laab Mu (minced pork salad with Thai herbs? Tod Mun Plaa (deep-fried fish cakes with cucumber salad)? or Gaeng Peht Beht Yahng (red curry roast duck)?
Well, none of the above, since the “Not available after midnight” caveat applied to my moment in time. But turning the page, I found the perfect supper, the ideal late-night Thai comfort food: kao tome, rice soup. Much as I love jook, Chinese-style rice soup made by slow-and-long-simmering of raw rice grains in lots of water to create a lovely porridge, I absolutely adore Thailand’s version, made by simmering cooked rice into a clear but hearty and comforting soup.
Kao tome comes with seasonings, some added and some on the side as kreung brung rote, or flavor-adjusters. Vinegar with chilies, fish sauce, dried ground red chilies, and sugar are the basic, standard offerings. My soup already ‘dressed’ up just right, with chopped cilantro, green onions, crispy garlic fried in oil, and minced pickled radish scattered on top, enhancing the finely chopped pork dropped into boiling water during cooking to make soup.
Even though kao tome is a meal in a bowl (especially popular with those recovering from or en route to a hangover), I ordered myself a plate of rice and nahm plah prik, fish sauce with finely chopped fresh hot chilis. My feast arrived in about 20 minutes, the amount of time it took to turn rice into kao tome. Finishing touch: a Singha beer, Thai-style, with ice, the way I like it, so the heat doesn’t warm it up.
While I ate my first meal back in Thailand, I thought of many late-night kao tome meals taken at the restaurants along the major highways, where air-conditioned Thai tour buses stop halfway through their all-night express runs in to Bangkok from up-country cities and towns. At first I found it odd that the buses stop around 1:00 a.m. at a designated restaurant and travel center, so that everyone can get off, shop a little, use the facilities, and then eat a bowl of kao tome which is included in the price whether you eat it or not. But what a good idea: The drivers can stretch and have a bit of ‘lunch’, and what a boost to my ability to fall asleep for the remainder of the trip, awaking just as sunrise informed us that the bus was nearly to our destination. So many good memories, often food-centered, each one leading me to another. It was after 2:00 a.m. by the time I set my tray out in the hall and went out to my balcony to enjoy the river view.
I can’t share my supper with you, but I can let you join me on the balcony of my hotel room for a taste of the sights and sounds of the Chao Praya River very late at night. Click HERE for a peek via my Vimeo files. I thought I was too excited to fall asleep, but once I turned off the light, I drifted in to a sweet, sound sleep. For me, kao tome works every time.
Summer Farmer’s Market Vegetable Plate “Nicoise” with Spoonbread for #LetsLunch
This cookbook and reference guide by my good friend Sheri Castle delivers everything you need to make the most of the produce find throughout the year. Visit Sheri’s website HERE. Learn about the book and/or buy book HERE. 
Charissa‘s Curried Roasted Cheddar Cheese Cauliflower Soup, Gluten-Free at Zest Bakery
Juliana‘s View from Les Halles Farmers Market at Chicken Scrawlings
Linda‘s Farmers’ Market Fruit Galette at Spicebox Travels
Linda‘s Zucchini or Cucumber Quick Pickles at Free Range Cookies
Lisa‘s Eveleigh Farmers’ Market (in Australia!) Winter Salad at Monday Morning Cooking Club
Video Visit to a Great Little Cafe Near Bangkok’s Royal River Hotel
A tall cool Thai iced coffee, brought to my table at a small, delightful Bangkok cafe, one which became instant headquarters for many of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers gathered at the Royal River Hotel during July for Peace Corps Thailand 50th Anniversary celebrations. Check my blogpost HERE about my first meal there, a fantastic lunch made even more delightful by the company with whom I shared it: Ellie and Paul, two PCV’s I met during my Peace Corps Thailand time.
CLICK HERE for the video tour of the restaurant, featuring other wonderful Peace Corps folks and a beauty shot of ‘kai jiow‘, Thai omelet with the original Sri Rachaa Sauce on the side. Other PCV friends include Linda, Carolyn, and Pat. More names coming. And I will find out the name of the restaurant. I took it for granted, because there it was, coming and going many times a day. If you’re coming in toward the hotel, it’s on the right, about halfway up and just before the small canal. Here’s the Royal River Hotel website, with which to find the lane, Soi Charansanitwong, off Rajwithii Road at Krung Thon Bridge, west bank of the Chao Praya River, Thonburi Side.
CLICK HERE for the blogpost with photos of our meal.
Thai iced coffee delivers a particular pleasure, as it’s seasoned with roasted spices and made superstrong, generously sweetened and enriched with my favorite, evaporated milk. This was one of many food-moments in which I found things I remembered from my long-ago Thailand days unchanged, unspoiled, still fantastic and still right there, woven into everyday Thai life. Look for Thai coffee powder in plump cellophane bags in Asian markets, if you’re hankering to try it at home. Iced and with milk, it’s ‘cah-fey yen‘. Iced without milk, it’s ‘o-liang‘.
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Thai Lunch with Ellie and Paul
My first day back in Thailand (overview post HERE), my friends Ellie and Paul and I took a short walk out the door of the Royal River Hotel and down the lane to a small cafe recommended by Friends of Thailand leader and dear pal Carolyn Nickels-Cox. It’s an open-air place with six or eight tables, turquoise-blue walls, and a beverage-making set-up with the fixings for fruit smoothies, sodas, lemonade, and an espresso machine. We ordered three dishes with rice, and each of them was fantastic. Except for the espresso machine and a few electronic devices, we could have been Peace Corps volunteers taking a lunch break back in 1977. Recipes will follow down the road, but for today, just feast your eyes.
I love tom yum, one of Thailand’s simple, brilliant soups. I must have enjoyed it a dozen times during my short journey, and I could never get tired of it. Lemongrass and galanga, wild lime leaves, fresh chilies, roasted chili paste (nahm prik pao), fish sauce, and a squeeze of lime juice — a line up of sharp, bright flavors, essentially Thai. This tom yum featured shrimp, fresh straw mushrooms, green onions and cilantro leaves. Here it’s often served as a Western-style first course, sans rice, but in Thailand it comes to the table as one of the ‘with-rice’ dishes: Perfection.
I had been longing for this dish, moo paht bai graprao, pork stir-fried with holy basil. In the West it’s very seldom made with ‘bai graprao’, or holy basil, as that herb is delicate and not widely available. Asian basil (bai horapah) is usually substituted and while it’s delicious, nothing tastes as marvelous as holy basil. Upcountry it’s usually made with hand-chopped meat, but even with sliced pork, it was so very good.
Nobody has to be persuaded to “Eat Your Vegetables!” when the vegetables come to the table from a Thai kitchen. This is pahk boong fai daeng, water spinach stir-fried with garlic. This hollow-stemmed vegetable is beloved throughout Asia. The Taiwanese name is kong shing tsai, which can be translated as ‘empty heart’, referring to the hollow stems of each delicate stalk.
These three dishes with lots of rice made us all so happy and satisfied. Some things in Thailand have changed, and many have remained the same. I took this photo of my personal serving of tom yum in order to show you the fresh straw mushrooms, cut in half and imbued with the tart fiery deliciousness of this soup. Just an ordinary little lunch, with good friends, at the local joint around the corner, back in Thailand. So delicious.
Traveling to Thailand
That’s me, 23-year old Peace Corps Trainee, working on an ESL lesson plan during practice teaching at a school in the northernmost Thai province of Chiang Rai. It was March of 1975, the beginning of my time in Thailand.
I returned in 1989 to do research for my first cookbook. Now I am heading to Thailand again, this time to to join festivities for the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps. RPCV and Human Dynamo-Genius Carolyn Nickels-Cox and Friends of Thailand, a group of returned Peace Corps volunteers, have organized grand array of celebrations. For the scoop, click HERE:
I will begin and end my journey in Bangkok. In between I will go to the Northeastern Provinces of Surin and Burirum to visit my students, colleagues, neighbors and friends. I am so excited, eager, grateful, and happy to have this privilege of nearly two weeks in the Kingdom of Thailand.
For a peek at my Thai Peace Corps days, you can visit the Nancie in Thailand page on my website by clicking HERE.
To see photos of my Thai student, Mr. Riat Prombut, and a public health project at the school in Burirum Province where he is teacher, click HERE.
Below is a map of Thailand from my book, Real Vegetarian Thai. (I will revise this post to credit the artist asap.) To locate my Peace Corps site, look in the Northeastern region, near the Cambodian border, for the town of Thatoom on the Mun River in Surin Province.
I’ll return home with abundant photos and stories to share. Recipes, too! Check back here, and on my Facebook Author Page HERE and Friends page, starting toward the end of July, for an on-going buffet tales and pictures. Must close now, as I just thought of 3 more additions to my ever-growing list of must-eat foods and essential ingredients and kitchen tools to find while in Thailand.
Son-In-Law Eggs for My First #LetsLunch
Son-In-Law Eggs for My First #LetsLunch
What a treat and an honor to join the #LetsLunch folks for the first time. Eggs symbolize beginnings, so I’m taking this theme a little bit personally, since I am lunching with you for the first time. I cooked us up a batch of Son-In-Law Eggs, a traditional Thai with-rice dish. It’s a party dish beloved throughout Thailand. During my time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Northeastern Thailand, I encountered them at weddings, ordination ceremonies for young men becoming Buddhist monks, and other celebrations, whenever the accent was on special treats rather than everyday fare.
In my small upcountry town of Thatoom in Surin Province (on the Cambodian border between Korat and Ubol Rachathanii), duck eggs enjoyed most-favored-egg status, as they were more common, less expensive, and endowed with a rich, deep flavor and color appreciated by all. Recently I’ve seen duck eggs on sale at Whole Foods Market, and I look forward to using them for my next batch of Son-In-Law Eggs. Chicken eggs work wonderfully as well. Typically, Son-In-Law Eggs are served whole, drenched with an irresistible tamarind sauce, sweetened with palm sugar and sharpened with fish sauce. I also love them halved, served over a pool of sauce and sprinkled with some sauce and the tasty garnishes of crispy shallots, crispy garlic, and cilantro. To make them finger food, you could serve each half in lettuce cups, with garlic and shallots sprinkled over it and sauce on the side to be spooned on by each eater.
Nancie’s “Real Thai” Son-In-Law Eggs
Son-In-Law Eggs make a fine addition to an Asian-style rice-centered meal, as well as an alternative to deviled eggs for a picnic, potluck, or brunch feast. You can make the sauce in advance, covering and refrigerating it for a day or two, as long as you let it warm up gently and serve it at room temperature. The eggs look crispy, thanks to their deep-fried status, but in fact they come out chewy and multi-textured, perfect for delivering richness enrobed in the sweet-salty-tangy tamarind sauce.
Tamarind Sauce
1/3 cup tamarind liquid (see recipe*)
1/4 cup palm sugar or brown sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons water
Garnish:
Fresh cilantro leaves
Coarsely ground dried red chili flakes
Eggs
6 eggs, hard-cooked and shelled
6 small shallots, thinly sliced crosswise and separated into rings (1/3 cup)
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced lengthwise (1/4 cup)
Vegetable oil for frying in wok or small deep saucepan (3 to 4 cups)
To make the sauce, combine the tamarind liquid, palm sugar, fish sauce, and water in a small heavy saucepan. Bring to a lively boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to maintain an active simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce is smooth and about as thick as maple syrup. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
To make the eggs, pour the oil in a wok or deep heavy skillet to a depth of 3 inches. Heat over medium to medium-high heat, until a bit of shallot floats and sizzles wildly at once, (a temperature of 350 to 375 degrees F). If the eggs are wet, pat them dry with a paper towel. Line a medium bowl with paper towels and place it by the stove.
Gently slide 3 of the eggs down the side of the wok or pan, or lower them into the hot oil with a slotted spoon. Using a spatula or slotted spoon, move them gently around to keep them from resting on the bottom. Turn and cook until the eggs are golden brown on all sides, about 7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside in the paper-towel-lined bowl. Repeat with remaining eggs.
To fry the shallots and garlic, let the hot oil return to good frying temperature. A bit of shallot should float and sizzle wildly at once. Have 2 paper towel-lined plates by the stove, along with a slotted spoon or a fine mesh strainer for getting the garnishes out quickly. Scatter the shallots over the hot oil in the wok, and quickly and gently turn them to help them separate and cook quickly and evenly. They will brown quickly. As soon as they are nicely but lightly browned, quickly scoop them out and onto one of the papertowel-lined plates. Now scatter in the garlic and let it quickly cook in the same way, gently pushing clusters apart. Scoop out the garlic onto the other paper-towel lined plates. Then transfer each garnish to another papertowel to absorb more oil. Scatter on a clean platter and set aside to cool and dry.
To serve Son-In-Law Eggs
Carefully halve the eggs lengthwise, using a sharp or serrated knife. Pour the sauce onto a deep plate or a shallow bowl or a small platter, big enough to hold all the eggs. (Keep some aside if you like, to add at serving time.) Arrange the egg halves yolk-side up on the sauced plate. Sprinkle eggs with the fried shallots and garlic, and cilantro leaves and chilies if you are using them. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Traditionally these are served with rice and other dishes as part of a meal).
Serves 6 to 8
*Tamarind Liquid
1/4 cup tamarind pulp (makahm biak/wet tamarind, sold in blocks)
1/2 cup warm water
Place the tamarind pulp in a small bowl and add the warm water. Soak for 20 to 30 minutes, poking and mashing occasionally to break up the sticky lump and dissolve the luscious pulp.
Pour the tamarind pulp and water through a fine-mesh strainer, and use a spoon to mash the pulp against the strainer, extracting as much of the thick liquid/sauce as you can. Scrape off the bottom of the strainer to get every drop of the thick puree which will accumulate there. Discard the remaining pulp, fibers, and seeds. Thin a bit with water until the liquid is the consistency of heavy cream or split pea soup. Use as directed in recipes, or cover and refrigerate for a day or two. (
Makes about 1/2 cup
These recipes come from Real Thai: The Best of Thailand’s Regional Cooking by Nancie McDermott, Chronicle Books 1992. Copyright: Nancie McDermott All rights reserved.
#LETSLUNCH is a movable, expandable, irresistible virtual feast!
Visit these excellent bloggers for eggs extraordinaire. And check back; more egg dishes to come…
– Ana‘s Breakfast Pizza at In Foodie Fashion
– Charissa‘s Gluten-Free Leek, Ham & Pecorino Souffles at Zest Bakery
– Denise‘s Beet Dye & Pink Deviled Eggs at Chez Us
– Eleanor‘s Medley of Eggs at Wok Star
– Emma‘s Eggs In A Hole at Dreaming of Pots & Pans
– Felicia‘s Perfect Sandwich at Burnt-Out Baker
– Grace‘s Scrambled Eggs & Tomatoes at HapaMama
– Joe‘s Kim-Chi Deviled Eggs at Joe Yonan
– Karen‘s Molecular Gastronomy “Eggs” at GeoFooding
– Leigh‘s Baked Vegetable Egg Rolls at Leigh Nannini
– Linda‘s Home-made Cadbury Eggs (Maple Chocolate Eggs) at Free Range Cookies
– Linda‘s Taiwanese Tomato Eggs at Spicebox Travels
– Lisa‘s Legendary Egg & Onion at Monday Morning Cooking Club
– Lucy‘s Old-Fashioned Boiled Dressing (& Chicken Salad) at A Cook And Her Books
– Nancie‘s Son-In-Law Eggs at Nancie McDermott
– Rashda‘s Bombay Toasts (Spicy French Toasts) at Hot Curries And Cold Beer
– Rebecca‘s Mini Meringue Buttons at Grongar Blog
– Vivian‘s Oeuf Chaud Froid at Vivian Pei
