You Had Me at Nutmeg
I am determined to make Thai food at home that tastes similar to - no, better than - the Thai food I get in the restaurants.
I've eaten Thai food for years, I've watched Food Network Thai specific shows, and I've read Thai cookbooks. I know my subject matter, and I know how to improvise. And I get lucky sometimes.
But for years in the kitchen cooking Thai food, I experienced let down after let down, or missing ingredients that left the wrong after taste lingering, and fear of culinary failure that kept me from completing a fantastic Thai dish.
I decided it was time for that to change.
I stood at a local organic market last week in the Asian foods aisle, and as I looked at all of the different ingredients, I could feel a great entree being born in my mind. I could buy Pad Thai sauce, of course, but that is a short cut I didn't want to take. I could wait until I was more prepared, come to the store with a list of ingredients from a downloaded recipe, but I didn't want to wait that long to savor Thai flavors. The only concession I was willing to make was to buy Thai seasoning in a bottle, like I do when making a pasta sauce with Italian herbs, or Herbs de Provence with roasted chicken. That's not really cheating.
So I read the list of ingredients on the Thai seasoning blend...sesame seeds, chili pepper, coriander, onion, red pepper, shrimp extract, garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg (NUTMEG!!), lemon oil.
Into the shopping cart the Thai seasoning went. I love nutmeg, I get absolutely drunk from the scent of it, and I add it to anything I can, except for maybe my Special K Red Berries in the morning. But I have considered doing that.
So confidently, I attempted the Thai signature dish that was destined for me and a new family recipe. When I took the boneless, skiness chicken breasts from the package and placed them in the slow cooker, I did something I don't normally do...I measured what I added and wrote it in recipe form. I owe my amiga Karrie a Thai recipe, and I felt I needed to be precise.
What I turned out was a Thai dish I was proud of, that I liked more than any Pad Thai I have ever purchased, and albeit a long list of ingredients, something I am going to make for years to come. It is just as good cold as it is warm - hubby took it for lunch the following day and ate it like a cold noodle salad - it is low fat, and most of the work is done by marinating and the slow cooker. I would call it Slow Cooker Thai Chicken (boring) but I like to call it, You Had Me at Nutmeg. Because that was not the source of my inspiration, but concreted my intuition. Nutmeg is synonymous with euphoria for me, each time I taste or smell it, it's like falling in love. And perhaps what was missing from my previous attempts at Thai food was nutmeg, an ingredient I never anticipated, but brought all of the flavors together harmoniously in the end. In fact, I think there should be a day named after nutmeg, and the vanilla bean too (and a holiday for chocolate, but that is another blog).
So here is the recipe...enjoy.
YOU HAD ME AT NUTMEG Thai Slow Cooker Chicken
For the marinade and cooking sauce...
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
(2) 14 oz. cans coconut milk
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp. fish sauce (yes, I know it stinks, use it anyway)
1/2 tbsp. dark soy sauce
2 tbsp. Hoisin sauce
1 tbsp. Thai seasoning (see ingredients above if you can't find a bottle of it)
1/4 cup miso paste
Coarse grain salt, a dash
For the final dish...
1 package rice noodles (the thick ones) cooked according to package directions
1 cup unsalted peanuts, smashed
2 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cucumber, julienned or grated on cheese grater
3 carrots, shredded or grated on cheese grater
Red pepper flakes to taste (I used about 1 tsp.)
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. Hoisin Sauce
3 tbsp. sweet chili sauce (if you can't find any in the store, here is a link to a recipe...http://www.recipezaar.com/120670)
1 tsp. sesame oil
Juice of 1 lime
Optional: scrambled egg, bean sprouts, dried shrimp
Marinate chicken overnight. Add the chicken plus the marinade into the slow cooker. Cook on low setting, 8 hours. When done, shred chicken using 2 forks.
When chicken is shredded, place in bowl and add: ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, Hoisin sauce, sweet chili sauce, and lime juice. Mix well. Set aside.
Cook rice noodles. When done, drain noodles and place in serving dish. To keep the noodles from sticking, you may want to add a little seasme oil or canola oil to them.
Add chicken mixture over rice noodles. Top with cucumber, carrots, peanuts and cilantro.
And as Sandra Bullock as Sally says in Practical Magic...
...Throw salt over your right shoulder
Plant lavender for luck
and fall in love whenever you can...
I've eaten Thai food for years, I've watched Food Network Thai specific shows, and I've read Thai cookbooks. I know my subject matter, and I know how to improvise. And I get lucky sometimes.
But for years in the kitchen cooking Thai food, I experienced let down after let down, or missing ingredients that left the wrong after taste lingering, and fear of culinary failure that kept me from completing a fantastic Thai dish.
I decided it was time for that to change.
I stood at a local organic market last week in the Asian foods aisle, and as I looked at all of the different ingredients, I could feel a great entree being born in my mind. I could buy Pad Thai sauce, of course, but that is a short cut I didn't want to take. I could wait until I was more prepared, come to the store with a list of ingredients from a downloaded recipe, but I didn't want to wait that long to savor Thai flavors. The only concession I was willing to make was to buy Thai seasoning in a bottle, like I do when making a pasta sauce with Italian herbs, or Herbs de Provence with roasted chicken. That's not really cheating.
So I read the list of ingredients on the Thai seasoning blend...sesame seeds, chili pepper, coriander, onion, red pepper, shrimp extract, garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg (NUTMEG!!), lemon oil.
Into the shopping cart the Thai seasoning went. I love nutmeg, I get absolutely drunk from the scent of it, and I add it to anything I can, except for maybe my Special K Red Berries in the morning. But I have considered doing that.
So confidently, I attempted the Thai signature dish that was destined for me and a new family recipe. When I took the boneless, skiness chicken breasts from the package and placed them in the slow cooker, I did something I don't normally do...I measured what I added and wrote it in recipe form. I owe my amiga Karrie a Thai recipe, and I felt I needed to be precise.
What I turned out was a Thai dish I was proud of, that I liked more than any Pad Thai I have ever purchased, and albeit a long list of ingredients, something I am going to make for years to come. It is just as good cold as it is warm - hubby took it for lunch the following day and ate it like a cold noodle salad - it is low fat, and most of the work is done by marinating and the slow cooker. I would call it Slow Cooker Thai Chicken (boring) but I like to call it, You Had Me at Nutmeg. Because that was not the source of my inspiration, but concreted my intuition. Nutmeg is synonymous with euphoria for me, each time I taste or smell it, it's like falling in love. And perhaps what was missing from my previous attempts at Thai food was nutmeg, an ingredient I never anticipated, but brought all of the flavors together harmoniously in the end. In fact, I think there should be a day named after nutmeg, and the vanilla bean too (and a holiday for chocolate, but that is another blog).
So here is the recipe...enjoy.
YOU HAD ME AT NUTMEG Thai Slow Cooker Chicken
For the marinade and cooking sauce...
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
(2) 14 oz. cans coconut milk
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp. fish sauce (yes, I know it stinks, use it anyway)
1/2 tbsp. dark soy sauce
2 tbsp. Hoisin sauce
1 tbsp. Thai seasoning (see ingredients above if you can't find a bottle of it)
1/4 cup miso paste
Coarse grain salt, a dash
For the final dish...
1 package rice noodles (the thick ones) cooked according to package directions
1 cup unsalted peanuts, smashed
2 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cucumber, julienned or grated on cheese grater
3 carrots, shredded or grated on cheese grater
Red pepper flakes to taste (I used about 1 tsp.)
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. Hoisin Sauce
3 tbsp. sweet chili sauce (if you can't find any in the store, here is a link to a recipe...http://www.recipezaar.com/120670)
1 tsp. sesame oil
Juice of 1 lime
Optional: scrambled egg, bean sprouts, dried shrimp
Marinate chicken overnight. Add the chicken plus the marinade into the slow cooker. Cook on low setting, 8 hours. When done, shred chicken using 2 forks.
When chicken is shredded, place in bowl and add: ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, Hoisin sauce, sweet chili sauce, and lime juice. Mix well. Set aside.
Cook rice noodles. When done, drain noodles and place in serving dish. To keep the noodles from sticking, you may want to add a little seasme oil or canola oil to them.
Add chicken mixture over rice noodles. Top with cucumber, carrots, peanuts and cilantro.
And as Sandra Bullock as Sally says in Practical Magic...
...Throw salt over your right shoulder
Plant lavender for luck
and fall in love whenever you can...
