C. sapidus

Chris, that looks like a killer meal. I hope to try smoking jerk pork one of these days. We made grilled jerk chicken thighs and drumsticks (clicky for recipe), shortcut rice and “peas”, and roasted sweet potatoes. No habaneros to be found, so we used Korean chiles and marinated the chicken for about eight hours. I have no idea if the jerk chicken recipe is “authentic” or not. The marinade and low heat kept the chicken falling-off-the-bone tender and juicy, but my baseline jerk chicken -- from Jamaica Joe’s in Silver Spring – was more saucy (probably braised rather than grilled). I do miss the accompaniments at Jamaica Joe’s: Jamaican Hellfire Sauce mixed with Pickapeppa Sauce, DG ginger beer, meat patties, Bob Marley videos, and, on occasion, the wait staff softly joining the chorus of “No Woman, No Cry”.

Spicy chicken pilaf (murgh pullao): Chunks of chicken breast simmered in a spicy yogurt and tomato sauce, folded in with partly-cooked basmati rice, and then steamed until the rice was done. The rice turned out a little soft, so less water next time. Spicy green peas with onion and ginger (muttar-pyaz masala): Frozen peas cooked with ginger, onions, chiles, and a cupboard full of spices, finished with mango powder, lemon juice, and garam masala. Best dang frozen peas I ever et. Both from 1,000 Indian Recipes. I know I have said this before, but Indian meals are worth cooking for the kitchen aromas alone.

Prawncrackers: next time Mom brings back foie gras from France, I will definitely take pictures. muichoi, percyn, and gfron1, thank you for the information on parathas and chapatis. Cooking for myself last night, so I cleaned out the fridge: jumbo shrimp, tomato puree, Thai chiles, pickled galangal, limes, cilantro, coconut milk, tamarind paste, roasted chile paste, red onion, shallots, a surplus of cucumbers, and a few staples: turmeric, cayenne, nutmeg, and fish sauce. End result: sorta Thai-style shrimp curry and cucumber salad. Not the ultimate meal by any stretch, but playing with food is usually rewarding. Flying Dog "Horn Dog" barleywine served as the starch.

Shelby, thank you! Kim, thank you, and apologies for triggering rice envy. With the meals that you prepare, I certainly would not miss rice. gfron1, thanks for the details about your chapati method. muichoi, care to tell how you make chapati? Last night we made char siu pork for banh mi, using the recipe from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. Debone pork shoulder, cut into logs, and marinate for eight hours with hoisin sauce, honey, garlic, dark and light soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, five-spice powder, and sesame oil. Bake in a hot oven, rolling the pork in the marinade every few minutes. Rest the pork, slice against the grain, and serve with hollowed-out baguettes. Fixings included carrot and daikon pickle, chopped cilantro, thinly-sliced cucumbers and jalapeno chiles, mayonnaise, Maggi sauce, and a tin of foie gras that my mother brought back from France. Foie gras makes a decadent banh mi, for sure. We had a guest, so no pictures.

Do you and your husband like food from southeast and east Asia? Other than avoiding rice vinegar, the restrictions that you listed would leave you with plenty of options. Can you substitute shallots for onions?

gfron1, your chapati are gorgeous! I have some chapati flour but have not yet found the time to try my hand. Any tips that you care to share? Xie Laoban’s dan dan noodles (from Land of Plenty -- made with thin spaghetti or I would have posted on the Chinese cooking thread), and dry-fried green beans (made with ground beef instead of pork). Younger son had three cavities filled this afternoon, so he was tormented by having to wait until nearly bedtime to try the noodles. Sesame paste (tahini) gave the noodle sauce plenty of body; dried chiles, chile oil, and a double dose of Sichuan peppercorns added plenty of ma la. I prefer this version of dan dan noodles -- the flavors are more pronounced compared with Ms. Dunlop's "traditional" dan dan noodles. Mrs. C is donating the leftovers to a soldier who loves spicy food. Edited to clarify and expound.

Shelby, your oxtails sound delicious, and the tuna melt looks like it wants to ooze cheesy goodness right onto my task bar. AlexusF: Thanks for the kind words! We cooked Indian again tonight. Shrimp curry: We simmered chicken stock with cayenne, paprika, turmeric, coriander, cumin, garlic, and ginger until the mixture thickened. We added coconut milk and tamarind paste, brought everything to a simmer, and then cooked megajumbo shrimp until just done. Tamarind gave the spicy coconut milk an addictive tang. Braised mustard greens: We fried minced onion, ginger, garlic, coriander and cumin, and then added chopped mustard greens and chicken stock. After braising until the greens softened, we removed the lid, fried the greens until dry, and topped with garam masala. The boys enjoyed the greens, much to their chagrin. Cumin basmati rice: Soaked the rice for 30 minutes and steamed it with cumin and black pepper that had been sizzled in ghee. Turned out nicely.

Patak's garlic relish – as omelet filling and green basmati rice topping. I feel badly for my volleyball teammates this afternoon.

Nice meals, AlexusF. Chicken curry, made with tomatoes, yogurt, and an abundance of herbs and spices, and sprinkled with garam masala just before serving. Green basmati rice with pureed spinach and watercress. Eternal cucumbers.

Fuchsia Dunlop (fiore) answered this question in the Sichuan peppercorn thread (clicky): Packets of appropriately-shaped chiles from our local Indian market seem to work just fine for Sichuan cooking.

The family is ready for a change, so this may be my last Thai meal for a while. Pat prik king curry with chicken and yard-long beans, adapted from Thai Food. We used the chuu chee curry paste from yesterday, substituted chicken thighs for pork, shredded ginger for grachai, Thai basil for holy basil, and pickled green peppercorns for fresh. Despite the substitutions, this is probably my favorite non-coconut milk curry. With slivered chiles, crunchy peppercorns, fragrant ginger and lime leaves, and handfuls of Thai basil, this curry exudes a wonderful array of aromas, textures, and flavors. I’m not naming names, but half of the family members mixed in coconut milk to tone down the heat.

djyee100, that crispy omelet looks scrumptious. I made a double batch of the “basic red curry paste” from Thai Food. This is my favorite red curry paste, and it will probably turn up again tomorrow night. For tonight, we made chuu chii curry from Thai Food, substituting chicken for scallops. We topped the curry with cilantro and slivers of chile and lime leaves. Accompanied by braised cabbage with shrimp (from Cradle of Flavor), jasmine rice, and cucumbers. I was counting on leftovers, but the family finished everything.

Mmmm, eggs with spicy Indian food. In a similar vein, I made a Musaman curry omelet. For the filling, I cracked coconut cream, fried Musaman curry paste, and seasoned with roasted chile paste, palm sugar, and Thai basil. Musaman curry candy.

So many mouth-watering meals lately -- grilled corn and fish, a Mexican feast, twice-cooked pork, and that yakitori chicken salad –- scrumptious! Shelby, anything stuffed in a Poblano chile is OK by me. Clean-out-the-fridge steak salad with mango, red bell pepper, butter lettuce, sliced shallots, cilantro, flat-leaf coriander, scallions, and eternal cucumbers. We grilled strip steak to rare, sliced thinly, and then warmed the steak slices with a dressing of garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, roasted chile paste, and coconut milk.

Clearly, I am on a Thai jag. Grilled chicken (gai yang): This is a family favorite. We baked the chicken until nearly cooked through, and then grilled it to crisp the skin. Before baking, we briefly marinated the chicken with garlic, white pepper, cilantro stems, ginger, fish sauce, soy sauce, coconut milk, and bourbon. Kasma’s hot and sour shrimp salad (pla gung): We brined and blanched the shrimp, and then tossed with sliced lemongrass and shallots, chopped mint and flat-leaf coriander, and a dressing of lime juice, fish sauce, chiles, sugar, and roasted chile paste (nahm prik pao). From now on, I am adding nahm prik pao to all of my Thai salad dressings. Served with bread and eternal cucumbers.

Prawncrackers, thanks! I will keep an eye out for duck eggs on my next H-Mart pilgrimage. You described the effects of brining far better than I did. I brined shrimp for a Thai salad tonight, and the texture matched your description again. The shrimp were firm without being tough, with a texture reminiscent of a ripe grape bursting with juice.

Don't be surprised to see this on the breakfast thread.

Thank you, heidih. I look forward to trying Chinese chives with eggs. The shrimp held up nicely. They were deep-fried just long enough to crisp up the coating, but not long enough to cook them through, and then stir-fried until the chives just softened. Before cooking the shrimp, I did brine them for about 10 minutes (a teaspoon of salt per half cup of water – see Kasma Loha-Unchit here). I don’t know whether brining helped the shrimp remain tender, or whether it simply added flavor. Anyway, the procedure was simple enough that I will probably experiment more.

heidih, thank you for the encouragement. I hope you enjoy the warm dressing. Leftover red curry paste led to a relatively quick dinner from Thailand the Beautiful Cookbook: stir-fried red curry fish; long beans with pork and egg; coconut rice; and eternal cucumbers.

Fisherman’s shrimp with Chinese chives (yu jia chao xia qiu), from Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook. Coat shrimp in a mixture of egg white and potato flour, then deep-fry until shrimp turn pinkish. Drain the oil and stir-fry shrimp with garlic, chiles, Chinkiang vinegar, and Chinese chives. Finish with sesame oil. We found the Chinese chives at an H-Mart between here and grandma’s house. Man, I was like a kid in a candy store. The fish section was amazing, and the produce section alone is bigger than our local Asian market.

An improvised breakfast - creamy scrambled eggs with semi-homemade Mussaman curry paste. Scrambling the sauce and eggs together seemed like a good idea at the time, but it was difficult to enjoy the dish without imagining the bilious odor of partly-digested dog food. The sauce actually tasted rich, spicy, aromatic, and completely free of bile. I started with a can of Mussaman curry paste, jazzed it up with galangal, garlic, lemongrass, chiles, cumin, and cardamom, and then fried the curry paste in cracked coconut cream. Note to self: next time make the sauce, scramble the eggs, and then pour the sauce over the eggs.

This looks like something that came out of a dog – I’m not sure which end. It tasted delicious, despite its resemblance to partially digested kibble. Accompanied by a lovely salad.

Dinner from Breath of a Wok: Martin Yan’s Mandarin five-flavored pork chops: Pound pork chops with the back of a cleaver, marinate, pat dry, sear over high heat, and then braise. I’m still not a big fan of pork chops, but they were remarkably tender cooked this way. Sweet and sour cabbage: Napa cabbage and thinly-sliced carrots, quickly stir-fried with ginger, and then moistened with soy sauce, Chinkiang vinegar, sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Topped with chopped scallions, these were quick and very popular with the family. Jasmine rice, but no cucumbers.

(talking to myself again) A few non-traditional chiles sneaked into tonight's meal. Roasted pepper salad with chicken: Roasted red and yellow bell peppers, poached chicken, sliced shallots, cilantro, and minced Habanero chile , tossed with a warm dressing of coconut cream, lemon juice, fish sauce, and palm sugar. I have a long list of favorite Thai salads, and this one definitely makes the list (even though I forgot ground roasted peanuts). Stir-fried red curry beef with long beans: Homemade red curry paste stir-fried with ground sirloin, long beans, garlic, white pepper, palm sugar, and thinly-sliced peppers (red bell pepper, banana chile, and Poblano chile ). The recipe called for a mere teaspoon of curry paste, but adding several tablespoons improved the dish considerably. With red curry paste on hand, this has a very high enjoyment to effort ratio. Jasmine rice

My bottle from Taiwan lists fennel seed, star anise, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon. There are obviously many recipes for this seasoning blend. ← Agreed, variation abounds. I conducted an exhaustive survey on the subject (OK, I checked all of my Chinese and Vietnamese cookbooks), and found that a "typical" five-spice powder includes Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cassia cinnamon, cloves, and fennel. Other spices may be used as additions or substitutes, but those five ingredients showed up most frequently. I suspect that the U.S. ban on importing Sichuan peppercorns affected the formulation of many five-spice powders sold here. Heat-treated Sichuan peppercorns are now available online from The Spice House and Penzey's. I have ordered Sichuan peppercorns from Penzey’s and found them much fresher compared with those found in local Asian markets. Note: my “exhaustive survey” included Fuchsia Dunlop, Barbara Tropp, Grace Young, Andrea Nguyen, Alford and Duiguid, and Mai Pham. I would be quite interested to hear what other cookbook authors have written on the subject.