Beautiful Colors of Laos @ Kong View Restaurant

It’s time to break the hiatus(…again)

 

I’m now a short-timer here in Laos and as such, I am frantically eating and photogging as much as I can before my time is up.

 

I was working for a while and that had been my excuse not to blog anything. That excuse went along with the job... Then it was a lost recipe that was holding back another post.

 

Realizing my short-timer status (and my newly-mandated free-time) I’ve decided to just do it. Why not? I love eating and taking pictures and writing about it. It’s like something you really enjoy doing when you sit down to do it, but you never actually sit down to do it. This is a BAAAD funk to get into. Break it! Break it down!!!

Now begins the actual blog content…

 

I’ve been to Kong View many times and have heard the food’s rave reviews. Unfortunately all of my previous experiences with KV have been at night or sans camera. Thankfully my camera was attached to my wrist today! I think I really lucked out with the view we got with the Mekong and the fisherman speeding past. A quick hand to my camera didn’t hurt matters either.. The colors out on the river are just so ALIVE! The water levels seem to be “up” so close-up opportunities are abound.

On to the food.

Ever since I discovered Tom Yum Minced Pork ramen noodles from WaiWai I’ve had this ungodly craving for the stuff. Trust me, the ramen is so good I am bringing home CASES of the stuff! Tom Yum is a soup (if you couldn’t tell from the photo). It’s bit sour, salty, tangy, yummmm. This Tom Yum is Tom Yum Gai (chicken) and i my experience, Tom Yum of any variety should be spicy. Even though I spoke Lao to the waitress she still saw Falang and as a result, there weren’t any chilis in my Tom Yum :( This is quickly remedied, “Pusao, a nee baw phet. Khaw Makphet, baw?” (Miss, this is not spicy. Could I have some chilis?) Soon after this request, a bowl of freshly sliced chilis are brought to my plate and are ceremoniously (yes, ceremoniously) dumped into my Tom Yum. The chili adding was done after the photos were taken so you can’t really get the full effect.

Of course, no blog post of mine would be complete without the obligatory  extreme close-up food porn. I will say that the chicken used in my Tom Yum was very…”country. By that I mean made with the less desirable parts of the chicken or parts that contained a lot of bone or connective tissue. Baw pen yang, I can eat around it :)

Another dish of the day was the surprisingly delectable Cashew Chicken. As its name implies, Cashew Chicken has cashews and chicken. What its name doesn’t imply is that it is also chock full of awesomeness. Awesomeness and Yum! This dish tastes as if it was prepared in a similar manner to American-Chinese food. Very delicious and full of umami so often found in wok-cooked foods. We had so much food that I got this packed up to go, but ate it soon after getting home. It was that good!

As is tradition, (and tasty) some sticky rice was ordered. Culturally, it is used a healthy meal filler. It’s also less expensive than processed carbs (Breads, flours, etc.) and proteins. In my opinion, sticky rice is most useful as the vehicle for your journey into the flavors of Lao food (Yeah, I know it went over the top..). Just pull off a small handful and smush it together. From here you can dip your sticky rice mound into all sorts of sauces and dishes. I’ll sometimes end up doing this and finish the sticky rice before I get to the other foods..

Thanks and enjoy!

Tuong Ot Xa (Vietnamese Lemongrass Chili Sauce)

Ok. Long hiatus, I know, but I am back. Easing back into things, I made a DELICIOUS chili sauce from Wandering Chopsticks. Ever since I had my first bowl of Phở I have been mesmerized by Vietnamese food. It is just so completely different from the cuisine of the rest of SE Asia. It’s kind of hard to describe, but the flavors are so yummy and mesh so well, like nothing else. I hope to cook more Vietnamese food, and a sauce is a nice, simple way to introduce yourself to a cuisine. This sauce is exceptionally simple. It’s so delicious that I will definitely make it again, yet with an uncomplicated ingredient list I will always have in my pantry.

 

 

 

 

To the surprise of most Lao people, I LOVE chilis and always ask for my food, “Phet Phet” (~ Hot Hot).  Even I was surprised by how many chilis went into this sauce (100) but that number will fluctuate each time it gets made because, obviously, the chilis will vary in size. A note of caution on the chilis: when opening the lid of the food processor, don’t have any noses or eyes (or other sensitive parts, do I really have to tell you?) too close. Those fumes will melt off some layer you didn’t even realize you had. My finger actually burned for a while after I fished out the last bit from the FP into the wok. I think the spot was already sensitive due to a slight injury received during a chopsticks bout…

The lemongrass takes the longest of the ingredients to cook, so it gets added first. If you don’t pay attention to it the lemongrass can burn. (More notes in my adaptation of the recipe)

As soon as you have the next ingredients prepped, add them to the wok. There’s no timing involved here yet, so take as much time as you wish. The lemongrass can always benefit from more time..

In the end, this is what my sauce ended up looking like. If you use the proper amount of 0il in the beginning then it *may* be a brighter color. It’s been about two days since I made this sauce and my house (not just my kitchen) still smells of this stuff. Great because it’s yummy!!

Now for the recipe: Tuong Ot Xa (Vietnamese Lemongrass Chili Sauce) Adapted from Wandering Chopsticks recipe

Makes 2-4 Cups

1 1/2 cups fresh chili peppers of your choice (Remove the stems, if they are larger than ~2in. halve them)
For color, 1/2 cup of dried chili pods or 1/4 cup Sriracha chili hot sauce (I lucked out and found smoked chili powder accidentally. Delicious mistake!)
1-1.5 lemongrass stalks, finely minced (The lemongrass here is about 14 inches long and nearly 3/4 in. wide at its base. If yours is smaller, use 2)
6 cloves of garlic, minced (Get ‘em as big and fat as you can. You can add more if you want for more dragon breath)
4 shallots, or 1 small onion, minced
Salt to taste
1-2 tblsp sugar
1-2 tblsp white vinegar
2 to 4 tblsp fish sauce
~ 1 cup, or more vegetable oil, or a neutral-tasting oil. Olive and sesame oils would be too overpowering.

Note: This can be done with everything  prepared in advance and just thrown in, but you’ll have to add in time for things to cook. The way detailed here is simpler.

1.  Heat wok and 1/2 c oil on low

2.  Cut the lemongrass into 1-2 in. chunks and add to food processor. Get as fine as you can then add to the oil. This is intended to be a long slow cooking. You want it high enough to make noises when you put the lemongrass in, but low enough so you can focus on preparing your other ingredients.

3. Put the chilis into the FP next. Same as before, get it as fine as you can. My FP is older than I am and small, so my sauce is pretty chunky still. Don't smell too strongly or put your eyes near it. Best way to scoop the last bits stuck to the side is NOT your finger! Use anything else you can. This much capsaicin can even burn your skin..

4. FP the Garlic and Shallots/onion. Make a little space in the middle to ensure they get some wok contact. Add some oil if needed. Just to make sure they don’t stick to bad. Once those look like they’ve been cooked down a bit, it’s time to add our liquids.

5. Stir everything in your wok together well. In a small bowl mix the vinegar, fish sauce and sugar. Stir this into the wok and then add the chili powder/ground dry chilis and mix. Add the rest of the oil. Throughout the recipe, make sure to keep the sauce “moist” with oil. At no time should anything seem dry.

6. Bring the heat up a bit to let this simmer for AT LEAST 10 minutes. I let mine simmer for a bit longer because my lemongrass was still pretty rough and I didn’t add enough oil until right at the end.

 

There you have it! A great, easy chili sauce that people will LOVE. I’ve been putting it on everything when I cook as a base sauce, a dipping sauce, whatever you want it for. This stuff is powerful. I even needed water when I was testing the flavor!

Restaurant: Indochina - 199 Setthatilath Rd.

 
I’ve walked by this place so many times wondering where/what Indochina is
.

(I honestly hadn’t heard of it before, but  Wikipedia has been very helpful in furthering my education)

The restaurant is very smartly executed. An obvious French influence is discernible throughout the restaurant, from the presentation of some dishes to the design of the interior.

This lovely green foliage was very traditionally served alongside the fried spring rolls. 

Many places I have tried, leave out this little detail. I believe that the inclusion of lettuce (at least!) and mint or basil, etc. make an incredible eating experience and that by not including it, the diner is being “robbed!”
(OK a bit dramatic, I know, but I seriously LOVE food too much to accept being robbed of an incredible dining experience)

MMM YUMMY! These were some beautiful (though not my favorite) spring rolls. They had a delicious crunchy exterior and a nice vegetable filling.

In Moscow I could only find spring rolls made from блины (absolutely unacceptable!) They were soggy, poorly fried and had a terrible tasting interior. The sauce often served was either unpalatable or made from mayo (or both!) I digress…

The sauce served with THESE spring rolls was a nice sort of citrus/cilantro/fish sauce with a hint of peanut and chiles. (and no mayo)  The way that it should be..

For my main meal I ordered the stir-fried chicken with vegetables and ginger.

I have been favoring these protein/vegetable, i.e. healthy, dishes for a while. I finally have access to such dishes here. (No restaurant in Moscow would have me be healthy..)

The ginger in this meal gave the food a very healthy essence/taste. I feel that ginger in nearly any dish gives the same healthy essence.

It tasted MUCH better than the picture. I will definitely be returning to take a better photo of it and try more food…

And lastly, a picture of me! I don’t have too many of these on here. The big reason is that I am the photographer and don’t like to do too many self portraits. Another reason is that I made this blog for food not for people pics. I will put some up from time to time though, don’t worry!

Hot chile Oil, but be careful...

I decided that with all of my fresh ingredients I could make a nice infused oil. It was pretty fun but there is a dangerous side to it. Look at the end for some safety tips to follow.

My first step was to make the hot chile part of the hot chile oil.
Back when I worked at the Chinese restaurant in the states we had to get some crushed red peppers ready for use  in the Kung Pao Chicken. We pretty much made chunky hot chile oil.

To do this set aside some red pepper flakes. Let's say about a cup or so. Put them into a container that can handle the high heat of the oil. Something Pyrex or metal. Next to a pot/pan/whatever add about twice the amount of oil as you had flakes and heat. If you are watching carefully I would say put it up to high.

I don't worry too much about exact measurements or guidelines (unless it is regarding safety) so don't worry if things are a bit off.

You want the oil to be more fluid, just like water. I used chopsticks to move the oil around and could easily see when the oil had reached that consistency. I am sure this matches some temperature but I don't have a food thermometer. (I haven't ever needed a thermometer except when I needed to monitor for safety while doing some seafood) As soon as it has reached this consistency add it to the chile flakes.

The oil is cooking the chile and extracting some capsaicin and flavor.

It will bubble up around the chile the same as if you put anything into a deep fryer. This is EXACTLY what we want. Set this aside for now and be aware that the container will still be hot so exercise caution.

Add more oil to the pan and add the other ingredients and heat. Once your oil and ingredients reach the liquid consistency strain out the additives and bottle. You could also wait until the oil in the pan cools then strain and bottle. I would personally choose to keep the oil with the ingredients a bit longer.

Now back to the chunky chile oil we created earlier. The safest way to proceed is to strain the flakes out and pour the oil into the container with the rest of the oil. I put it all in the bottle but won't keep it for very long. Place in the fridge and you are finished.

In my oil I used just a tiny half-handful of these ingredients: garlic, lemongrass, cilantro, galangal, sweet basil, lemon basil, dill, chile flakes Please be sure to read my safety tips below.

Some tips:

1. Ensure that all containers and utensils are sanitized by boiling in water. Any container/utensil/lid that cannot withstand boiling should not be used. Period.

2. Make only small amounts that can be used within one month. Some people recommend only for ten days, but this website recommends 3-7 days with a MAXIMUM freezer life of 6 months: http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/106252-post6.html

For best safety you can simply make only enough that you need for one day and make it that day.

Any infusion kept for over one day MUST be refrigerated or kept in the freezer.

3. If you couldn't tell from #2 Discard after that time SERIOUSLY

4. Make sure that the container you are using can be sealed. I would recommend something that seals tightly such as a twist off lid or an old style beer bottle like this one:
http://admin.hartspartyhire.com.au/images/productimages/76704d952f45.jpg

This bottle is unacceptable:
http://ceuco.elementality.biz/Olive-oil-bottle-sm.jpg

And so is this one :
http://www.recipetips.com/images/glossary/o/oliveOilDisenser.jpg

Specific health information:

Botulinum organisms can grow in food sources containing even trace amounts of water and cause botulism
Leaving garlic in your infusion increases the risk of Botulism. Yes, the same stuff from when cans are bulging out. Bad, yes.

So now on to how to make some of your very own oil:

Combine the herbs/spices with oil in a saucepan and heat over low-medium heat to about 180F. I would always choose a lower temperature if given a range on a recipe. What I want is to "open the pores" of the ingredients, not to cook them. (Sorry if I made anybody cringe with the use of the pore analogy) Higher temperatures tend to give the oil a "cooked" taste and may caramelize or scorch the flavorings.

Strain and seal into your sterilized container and allow to cool. After the oil has reached room temperature, refrigerate it. The oil can become cloudy in the refrigerator. This does not effect the flavor and goes away once heated sort of like how butter is opaque when cold but clear when heated. Maybe exactly like butter...

You may be reading this and think, "Oh, my favorite restaurant has the same bottle of oil for a LONG time and it has garlic and chiles too, I don't need to worry." WRONG! These restaurants are probably using heat stabilized oils purchased from and FDA approved vendor (if in the United States) or they are using oils that are citric acid or phosphorus supported. (Or so we can only hope...)

A good site that offers more information and how much spices to use for different flavors: http://www.cheftalk.com/cooking_articles/Cooking_Oils_-_Flavored_Oils/125-How_To_Make_Flavored_Oils.html

Food safety with oil infusion is discussed here: http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/food-cooking-questions-discussion/13025-infused-oils-safety-question.html

I want to emphasize the importance of this safety information. A great beginner project to work on without having to worry about so many safety requirements would be making an infused vinegar.
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/infusedmixes

Actually went to the store this time and also, I'm slightly cheeky about my พริก

Last time I posted about going to a store, I never actually went to it.

Now I have proof that I went to one. Wait. There are no pictures of me in the store. WHOOPS, need to fix that!

There is a store catering mostly to expats called Phimphone Market. Some of the items are local and inexpensive but some of the foreign products are a bit pricey. If anyone has ever been to a commissary on an American embassy you will understand. I only want to show of some of the less ordinary items today.

Those chiles are SUPER SPICY!! I use about one with seeds and other spicy things. A good rule of thumb for the chiles. If you like it mildly spicy remove the stem and seeds from the inside. With seeds is pretty hot and adding more chiles will obviously increase your burn.

I've had a bit of debate on whether or not the word is chilies or chiles (or anything else for that matter) and which would be more accurate for my posting. According to About.com chilis is the American way to write it and chiles is correct from the Spanish point of view. To avoid any confusion at all I could begin to use the Thai word for them: พริก. Feel free to correct my ending on that one 

This is a beautiful Dragon-fruit. I will dissect it in a later post. I am sure it will be lovely.

 

This would be Galangal root. It has an interesting flavor. It is like ginger root but it's quite a bit spicier and tastes cleaner to me. I will have to do some more research on this to be sure.

 

This is some Thai fish sauce, or Nam Pa in Lao. This brand is pronounced

Ngan Pyar Yay.

 

This soy sauce is also Thai. Most of the locals use Thai products, the Isan region of Thailand could be considered culturally Lao.