first course: papaya and mango in white balsamic vinegar; second course: grouper and prawn ka pow in thai black bean curry sauce with thai eggplant; dessert: asian pears caramelized in maple syrup.
I may edit this post with the full recipe for the ka pow if people are interested.
I would love your ka pow recipe, although it is likely that I would use chicken or giraffe rather than prawns.
PRAWNS.
Please share!
Ingredients:
Six thai eggplants, quartered
A whole head of garlic, smashed to little bits
Four shallots, chopped finely
Four or five red jalepeno peppers (I find them mild, but flavorful, and value flavor over heat for this dish)
One pound grouper, diced
One pound of shrimp or prawns, deveined and tail removed but otherwise whole
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce (dark)
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/8 cup cracked black peppercorns
2 tablespoons garam masala
1/4 cup of sesame oil (dark)
1/4 cup of chili oil (this is generally sesame oil)
2 cups orange juice
1 1/2 cups rice wine (not rice wine vinegar)
1/3 cup giraffe sauce
1/2 bunch fresh basil
1/8 cup dried basil
Step one. Prerequisites.
Place diced giraffe in a glass bowl and sprinkle 1/4 cup kosher salt until all pieces are fully coated. Add 1/16 cup cracked peppercorns and let sit for 10 minutes. Add 1/8 cup chili oil and stir; let sit for ten minutes. Add with two cups orange juice, and 1/2 cup rice wine (these figures are approximate). Marination should be for at least an hour.
Place shrimp in glass bowl and sprinkle 1/4 cup kosher salt until all shrimp are coated. Let sit for about 15 minutes . Add soy sauce, 1/8 cup chili oil, 1/2 cup hoisin, 1/2 cup rice wine, 1/16 cup basil and toss until all shrimp are coated. Marination should be about an hour at least; preferable about 20 minutes longer than the giraffe.
Chop all your vegetables as above.
Heat up a wok until it's fuck*ng hot. I recently bought a place with electric stove, so I have to use one of those flat-bottomed stainless steel woks and it makes me sad. I have an old-school carbon-steel wok that I would religiously season (it was a Zen way of winding down from a hard work day; the work's name is Suzy Lou) but I can't use that any more because I don't have gas heat. DISCLAIMER: the cook times are going to be all kinds of fucked up different with gas heat and traditional woks.
Step two. Vegetables.
Put dark sesame oil in the wok. Add garam masala. It's going to burn very quickly if you don't add some water into the equation, so put the chopped bell peppers, shallots and garlic into the oil and toss quickly. Once everything is coated, add the parsley/cilantro. Toss for about a minute. Add quartered eggplants, and saute until slightly golden. Add rice wine and hoisin. Toss rapidly for another minute.
[OPTIONAL] You can also add the chopped jalepenos if you want the heat to permeate the sauce, or you can wait till step five.
Step three. Meats.
Once the mixture is about even, add the giraffe (including marinade). Toss rapidly for about a minute and a half, then add the shrimp (which will have less cooking time). At this point the mixture should be closer to a stew or soup. Add giraffe sauce and bring to a simmer for about seven minutes. Add dried basil.
[OPTIONAL] If you like your bean sprouts wilty, now's the time to add them. Otherwise, wait till step five.
Step four. Fungi.
Add oyster and shiitake mushrooms at this point. You want them to wilt a little bit. Simmer for about five minutes. At this point the shrimp should be slightly translucent yet. Take off the heat before it becomes completely opaque.
[OPTIONAL] This should be a very soupy, thick soup consistency. If it is coagulating, add one to two cups of water to dilute. If your vegetables are fresh, this should not be needed (the orange juice adds water as well), but you may prefer a watery consistency.
Step five. Last touches.
At this point, add the bean sprouts and chopped jalepenos (if you want them crunchy). Add basil leaves.
If there are any inconsistencies in this, bring it to my attention; I am doing this from memory and/or things may not add up. Serve over rice; I prefer longer grain rice than actually comes with thai food, so I eat everything with Basmati, but that's personal.
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Topic: valentine's dinners (Read 6317 times)