Mary King’s Fruitcake Cookies

A moist satisfying cookie with the holiday flair that is addictive. Mary knows her way around the kitchen.

1 Cup salted butter (2 sticks)

1 ½ Cups sugar

2 Eggs, room temperature

2 ½ Cups all purpose flour

1 Teaspoon baking soda

½ Teaspoon salt

1 Teaspoon cinnamon
1 Teaspoon vanilla

½ Container of fruitcake mix

3 Cups of chopped pecans

Allow butter to soften at room temperature then cream butter and sugar. Then, beat in eggs one at a time. Cream until fluffy.  Mix flour, baking soda, and salt thoroughly. Then add them in. Stir in fruitcake mix and pecans.

Drop 2” apart on greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 or 350 for 12 minutes.

Let cool on cookie racks.

Libby’s Pumpkin Rum Cake

A moist, delicious cake with a lovely tasty rum glaze. The best I ever had.

3 Cups all-purpose flour

3 Teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 Teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 Teaspoon ground cloves

1 Teaspoon ground ginger

2 Teaspoons baking soda

1 Teaspoon salt

1 Cup sweet butter softened

1 Cup dark brown sugar

1 Cup granulated sugar

4 Eggs

1 (15 Ounce) can Libby's canned pumpkin

1 Teaspoon vanilla

Butter Rum Glaze

1/4 Cup butter

1/2 Cup white or brown sugar

2 Tablespoons water

2 -3 Tablespoons dark rum

Preheat oven to 325. Grease 12 cup bundt pan.

Combine flour, spices, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated in a large mixer bowl and until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.

Add pumpkin and vanilla extract and beat well. Add flour to pumpkin mixture, 1/3 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour into prepared bundt pan.

Bake for 60-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes.

While cake is cooling make Butter Rum Glaze. Melt butter in a saucepan; stir in sugar and water. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in rum.

Poke holes all over cake with a wooden skewer. Pour half of glaze over cake. Let stand 5 minutes and then invert onto plate. Make holes all over top of cake and pour remaining glaze over the top.

Cool completely.

Turkey Day Menu and Shopping List

The list is organized by department to make it easier to shop. The menu for a truly outstanding Turkey day follows. Various useful recipes are also included.

Meat Dept

One 25 lb. Tom turkey

2 Turkey wings

Bacon (breakfast)

Breakfast sausage

Canned Fruit

1 (15 Ounce) can Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin (if making pumpkin pie)

Vegetable /Fruit Department

6 large Carrots

1 Head of Celery (not hearts but whole)

Head of fresh garlic

6 Roma or Red Delicious Apples (dressing)

7 Pippin or Granny Smith apples (for pie)

5 large Yellow cooking onions

6 Bosh Pears

3 fresh lemons

2 pounds small white pearl onions

8 pounds of Idaho potatoes (bargain bags are notoriously full of bad ones so pick these out yourself)

6 Red yams (if you want candied yams)

2 packages Fresh Cranberries

1 Red onion or Vidalia sweet

Baking Area -Spices or condiments (check to see if you have already)

Ground red pepper

Whole dried bay leaves

Ground black pepper

Ground white pepper 

Salt 

Ground sage

Ground nutmeg

Ground thyme

Ground cinnamon

Bourbon vanilla extract

Ground cloves

Baking powder

1 (12 Fluid ounce) can Carnation Evaporated Milk (if making pumpkin pie)

Beverages

Bottle of inexpensive white cooking wine (Chablis, Rhine wine or sauterne)

Bottle of inexpensive sherry cooking wine (Madeira, Cream sherry)

Small bottle of dark rum (cooking quality) if making Pumpkin rum cake

Bakery

2 loaves of extra sourdough bread, double wrapped (for the dressing)

Whole wheat bread

Bagels

Groceries

One 10-ounce box of currents

One 10-ounce of golden raisins

8 cans of low (reduced) salt chicken stock

75 feet- 18-inch wide Heavy Duty Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil

5 pounds granulated sugar

1 pound light brown sugar

5 pounds all purpose flour

Powdered Sugar

Coffee

Pie Crust Mix (4 if making pumpkin pie)

Cornstarch

French Vanilla no-sugar coffee-creamer

Bulk Splenda like sugar (I make the pies with no white sugar)

1 pkg. Miniature marshmallows (if you want candied yams)

Smoked salmon 8 oz.

Light Cream cheese with chives

Bisquick Mix

2 Crescent rolls

DAIRY

2 pints heavy cream

1 quart whole milk (not skin milk)

1 Reddi-Whip Real Whipped Cream

4 pounds sweet butter

1 doz large eggs

Frozen Foods

1 large package Birdseye Baby Garden Peas

Thanksgiving Turkey Day Menu

Oven Roasted Turkey

Sage Currant and Apple Dressing

Mashed Idaho Potatoes

Fresh Baby Garden Peas

Madeira Turkey Gravy

Creamed Peppered Pearl Onions

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

Candied Yams with Marshmallow Topping

Alpen Cellars Gewurtztraminer

Port

Santa Teresa - Rhum Orange or French Cointreau

Desserts

Pear Pie

Apple Pie

Pumpkin pie

Pumpkin cake

English Plum Pudding Flambé with Brandied Hard Sauce

Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie

"Whether you're hosting a festive party or a casual get-together with friends, our Famous Pumpkin Pie will make entertaining easy!"

Preheat oven to 425 F.

 1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust

 3/4 cup white sugar

 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 1/2 teaspoon salt

 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

 2 eggs

 1 (15 ounce) can LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin

 1 (12 fluid ounce) can NESTLE® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk

Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell.

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 F and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. (Do not freeze, as this will cause the crust to separate from the filling.)

Sour Dough Apple Current Sage Dressing

This may be prepared the day before and considering the amount of work that goes on Turkey day, it’s a very good idea to prepare a day ahead and store in two (2) 2-1/2 gallon zip lock bags. Undersalt the dressing if it’s cooking in a brined bird. This dressing may also be used on any fowl or with pork.

Enough for one 25 pound Turkey.

5 stalks fresh celery, diced

2 yellow onions, peeled, diced

6 Roma Apples, cored, peeled, diced

a 10 or 12 ounce box of currents

1 pound of golden raisins

½ ~ 1 pound of raisins

1 ½ ~ 2 loafs of extra sourdough bread¹, plastic wrapped,

processed with food processor to medium bread crumbs.

4~5 sticks of melted sweet butter

1 ½~2 tablespoons black pepper

Salt to taste (under salt if using a brined turkey)

3~4 tablespoons of ground sage (to taste)

Use a really giant bowl or use a stock pot. Make bread crumbs out of the sour dough bread a little at a time and process in the food processor not too fine. Peel and coarsely pre-chop onions and process in the food processor not too fine. Coarsely pre-chop the celery and process in the food processor not too fine. Peel and core apples and and process in the food processor to raisin sized chunks or slightly larger. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Taste the blend. Add more sage if needed. Under salt the dressing if it’s cooking in a brined bird as the brining has salt in it. Tightly pack dressing into the neck cavity and main cavity of the bird. Follow directions for roasting a dressed turkey. Do not add any form of un-cook meat to dressing.  Any roasting error could prevent the internal temperature from reaching a sufficiently high temperature to kill any bacteria present. I suggest using a direct indicating thermometer stuck deep in the bird insuring that the internal temperature exceeds 160oF for at least 20 minutes. If you are preparing the dressing the day ahead, remove the dressing from the refrigerator the same time as the turkey, allowing it to come up to room temperature, if possible.

Cook any extra dressing in the oven in a tightly cover chaffing or casserole dish for 1 hour at 350F. (Add extra salt to extra stuffing not cooked in bird, if needed, if you under salted for a brined turkey.)

Notes:

1. I do not use dry bread crumbs or stale bread as it’s too difficult to chop in the food processor. Sour dough bread that is wrapped (either sliced or whole loaf) being a little moister make good bread crumbs in the food processor and does not require re-hydration.

Cantonese Scrambled Eggs with Chinese Sausage

My good friend Bob Kong of San Jose cooked these for breakfast or had his son do it. I became very fond of this breakfast.

6 Farm fresh brown eggs
1 Tablespoon sweet butter
2 teaspoons oil for the pan
2 Lap Cheong (Chinese Sausage) sliced on the diagonal
2 green scallions sliced on the diagonal

2 Dashes fish sauce

Pinch white pepper

1 Dash soy or tamari as salt

Cook sausage in oil until done, add scallions and some butter and sauté until limp. Beat eggs briefly in a bowl then stir fry with sausage adding fish sauce, pepper, and soy to taste.

On Amazon

Notes:

1. Lap Cheong sausage (Cantonese) is a dried, hard sausage usually made from pork with a high fat content. It is normally smoked, sweetened, and seasoned with rose water, rice wine and soy sauce. Some versions omit the rose water but have less appeal. Version are available domestically and imported.

Spanish Artisanal Raw-Milk Manchego Basil Pine Nut Pesto

Manchego is a cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain from the milk of sheep of the Manchega breed. The Raw milk version is the better tasting but harder to find than pasteurized. Manchego cheese has more protein than meat making it a great choice for pesto when making pasta. This is a full flavored cheese not unlike the Italian Asiago but not as strong. Mexican Manchego cheese was introduced to Mexico from Spain but it tastes quite different, being made with a mixture of cows and goats’ milk rather than sheep’s milk.

1 Cups fresh basil leaves                   

1/2 Cup freshly Manchego cheese

1/3 Cup great tasting first cold pressing olive oil              

1/3 Cup pine nuts                           

3 Garlic cloves                             

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

With a food processor, chop cheese, the add garlic and basil. Add pine nuts last and just chop to blend. With the processor running, add olive oil until the mixture forms a paste. Do not over blend the mixture. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook the pasta and drain while al dente. Add pesto and toss with spoons for several minutes. Serve with an Italian salad.

Lemongrass Beef and Vermicelli Salad

This is a great light dinner on hot summer evenings. Like Thai cuisine, there is that "tastes like healthy" feel to this dish. For a nice smoky flavor, the steak is grilled, allowed to rest 5 minutes, and then sliced. Each prepare bowl of noodles and vegetables is topped with a nice bunch of hot steak.

1 Tablespoon Tamari

1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil

2 Stalks fresh lemongrass, inner ribs of fat end only

1 1/4 Pound ribeye steak

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/2 Pound fresh rice stick noodles (Vermicelli)

1 Cup peeled, cored cucumber, sliced into sticks

Greens from 4 scallions, sliced lengthwise, and cut to two inches long

½ Cup Mung bean sprouts

2 Cups shredded lettuce

1/4 Cup fresh chopped cilantro

2 Tablespoons of roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

2 Thai Bird red chile, shredded

6 small carrot, Sliced into sticks

Wash for cooked sliced steak.

1 Tablespoon Marin

1 Teaspoon black soy

1 Teaspoon black vinegar

1 Teaspoon seasoned rice wine vinegar

Garnish with springs of cilantro and lime slices.

Thinly slice lower 6 inches of lemongrass stalks, discarding remainder of stalks. Cut off but end, slice stalks lengthwise, discard outer tough “bark layers”. Crosswise slice lemon grass into fine slices.  Chop in food processor, the Bird red chile, lemongrass and garlic. Pound pulp until the woody bits have been reduced to pulp. Add Tamari and sesame seed oil and lime juice. Marinate steak, covered with wrap, put in refrigerator overnight.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in fresh rice stick noodles. Stir briefly, cooking briefly for just ten seconds. Immediately drain vermicelli in a colander, and flush thoroughly with cold water to arrest cooking. Drain well. Toss noodles in a bowl with 6 tablespoons of Vietnamese Fish Sauce [Nuoc Cham].

Separate noodles to serving bowls. Top each bowl with scallions, cucumber slices, shredded lettuce, mung beans, springs of cilantro, carrot sticks.

Allow meat to warm for an hour. Preheat grill to high. Grill steak to medium rare, 3 minutes per side. Remove to rest 5 minutes on cutting board then slice very thin across grain with a very sharp knife. Sprinkle streak with Marin, black soy, black vinegar and seasoned rice wine vinegar. Toss several times. Correct seasoning adding black pepper to taste.

Serve with Vietnamese Fish Sauce [Nuoc Cham]

Vietnamese Fish Sauce [Nuoc Cham]

Versions of this Thai and Vietnamese popular dipping sauce are a balance of sweet, tart, salty and spicy. Variations are as many as the homes that prepare it. There is no absolute recipe. Ginger might compliment garlic and sweetness is balanced with acidity from limes and or vinegar. Fish sauce provides the saltiness. Before you taste straight fish sauce and decide, its use might be better suited to cat food, understand that Worcestershire sauce, one of the world’s best selling condiment derives its unique flavor from anchovies. Fish sauce has a strong flavor. Add it last, a little at a time, tasting as you go.

1/2 Cup sugar dissolved in a cup hot water
1/4 Cup good fish sauce or less (Tiparos is a popular choice)
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
Juice from one or more limes (include some pulp if you like)
3 cloves of minced garlic
1-2 Teaspoons crushed red pepper (see note 1)
Chopped cilantro

Garnish

¼ cup finely shredded carrot

Few sprigs of cilantro

Lime slices

This sauce is great for Thai or Vietnamese spring rolls.

http://www.chinagreensource.com

Note:

1. Crushed red pepper flakes are mildly hot (4 on a scale of ten), Thai peppers are a lot hotter but are more often used for this sauce.

Sonoran Enchiladas Chatas (Flat Enchiladas)

San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico

Corn Tortillas are just corn, water, sea salt, and lime so one wonders why different brands are so different from each other. Freshness has to be a major factor. I find smelling the package is a good tell. If the aroma smells wonderful, it will taste wonderful. If making any dish where the tortilla figures prominently like enchiladas or tacos, getting a perfect result must start with a perfect tortilla. I bought masa and a metal press with the thought that I would make my own. Fortunately, I discovered a “Mercado” that makes them daily for sale.

Flat enchiladas are very popular in Sonoran Mexico, Arizona and New Mexico where they are also called enchiladas montadasor (mounted) and may be topped with one or more fried egg.  In this recipe, there is A great sauce will make a great enchilada. The sauce can be made a day, week, or months ahead of time and kept frozen until needed.

You may assemble these with no frying, then the enchiladas would be quicker to prepare and have fewer calories. That being said, dipping the tortillas in the sauce and frying them briefly (20 seconds) in oil on each side not only locks in a better flavor but makes them taste richer. This practice of coating the tortillas in sauce first before frying is most common in Mexico. To be frank, it is easier to fry the tortillas first in oil, and stack them until needed, then in sauce first, keeping them handy until they are needed. It is also less messy

Ingredients for one serving:
            4 Tablespoons Enchiladas Sauce II, warmed (see below)

3 White corn tortillas

2 tablespoons chopped Vidalia onions, sauted in butter until just clear

4 Tablespoons white melting cheese such as Queso Fresco or Monterey Jack


Once assembly is complete, cook in a 350 F oven until bubbly hot. (Use a potholder to handle the hot plate.)
 

Garnish

Chopped iceberg lettuce with tomatoes slices, tossed in a vinaigrette
Roasted Mexican onions

Chopped green onions
Slices of fanned avacado

Chopped cilantro

Fried eggs (sunny side up) if desired.

Assemble the enchiladas: Place 1 tablespoon of enchilada sauce on a microwave/oven safe plate and top with a fried tortilla. Spoon over tablespoon of enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with cheese, sauted onions and add next tortilla, add more sauce and cheese. Top with last tortilla, follow by another tablespoon of enchilada sauce then follow with more cheese. Prepare several servings and bake in 350 F oven until cheese well melted. Usually 20~30 minutes.)

Let rest one minute, then garnish plate with Chili toreados, roasted Mexican onions, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado slices, scallions, chopped cilantro, and optionally, one or more fried eggs.

Enchiladas Sauce II (Chile Rojo)

To control the amount of heat, use more mild New Mexico powder than other varieties. To make a hotter variety, mix both hot and mild New Mexico chile powder. This recipe makes for a sweeter result than starting with whole dried peppers and is faster to prepare.

1 Teaspoon Ancho powder

1 Teaspoon Aji Amarillo powder

1 Teaspoon Guajillo powder

1 Teaspoon sweet paprika (or smoked pimenton)

1 Teaspoon of mild or hot New Mexico ground chile pow­der

2 Cups homemade rich chicken bone stock

2 Cloves minced garlic

5 Tablespoons lard (rendered pork fat) (Manteca rendered from good pork fat)

5 Tablespoons white all-purpose flour
2 Bay leaf

Pinch Mexican oregano(Lippia berlandieri)

1/2 Cup sour cream or more, as needed

Salt

Optional, pinch or two of sugar as required - see text
Optional, 1~2 teaspoon powdered quality beef bouillon (to taste)

Melt lard, then make a roux by blending the pork fat and flour, and cook it on low until it is a pale brown color. Remove from heat. Whisk in chili powders, garlic and oregano over very low heat, add chicken stock, and garlic. Simmer for 1 hours with a couple of optional bay leaves, adding more chicken stock as needed. Taste the sauce for hotness, and if not spicy enough, add more ground HOT chili powder. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add beef bouillon to taste. Correct salt and add a smidge of sugar and sourcream as required. The amount of sugar should NOT be per­ceptible and is used to just take any bitter edge off. Salt will also help moderate the biter undertones. The sourcream serves to mellow the sauce. The key is taste, correct the seasonings as a last touch. Remove bay leaves when sauce has finished simmering.

Garnish using Mexican onions, Grilled Jalapenos (toreados), avocado

Notes:
1. The Guajillo is one of the most common and popular chiles grown and used in Mexico. It is mild to moderately hot, and has dark, reddish brown, leathery skin. The peppers range from 3-5 inches in length and are 1 inch wide. They are said to have either a green-tea flavor or fruity flavor, with hints of berries.
2. An ancho is a dried poblano chile. It has a mild to medium heat with a sweet fruity flavor with hints of cherry, prune, and fig.
3. “Amarillo” is the Spanish word for yellow, and “Ají” is the term for chile in South America, this pepper is also appropriately known as the “yellow chile.” The Ají Amarillo is grown in all areas of Peru. Used by the Incas, it is still the most common and popular chile in that country. It may be said that is it possibly the most important ingredient in Peruvian cooking. It grows to about 4-5 inches in length, and despite its name, it actually matures to a deep orange. Like other chiles from this area, the Amarillo has a fruity, berry-like flavor.
4. If freezing sauce, do not add sourcream.

5. Other varieties of Chile’s may add flavor
.

.

The Jasmine Rice of Thailand (Thai Hom Mali)

Jasmine rice is Thailand’s top exported rice. While China, by its sheer size, is the world’s largest producer of rice; Thailand has led the world as the largest rice exporter since the 1960′s, owing much to jasmine rice. With continued Thai government support, stringent quality control, all rice destined for export passes the government stamp of approval. The active involvement of the government in the promotion of Thai rice abroad has placed jasmine rice in the spotlight on the world stage. Among discerning Asians in many countries, jasmine rice is considered the best-tasting rice in the world. Archeological evidence supports that in northeastern Thailand rice cultivation dates back at least 5,400 years The Golden Phoenix² label consistently markets top-grade jasmine rice from the premium northeast region. Besides where the rice is grown, the fragrance, texture and flavor can differ depending on the age of the rice. Jasmine rice is softest and most fragrant when newly harvested.

The rice is naturally fragrant with an aroma similar to that of “pandan” leaves. When the native jasmine rice was first isolated in 1950 it immediately became the accepted standard of best tasting rice.

In my mind, a fresh bowl of steamed perfectly cooked jasmine rice has the essence of perfection. I may cook a pot and top a rice serving with a spicy chili sauce having garlic and ginger.

This cooking method is the least fastidious, and never burns the bottom of the rice. The problem with cooking rice on the stove top is that, as the rice absorbs all the water in the last throws of cooking, the single source of heat cannot be properly spread away from the bottom of the pan without the water. The bottom becomes too hot, and the rice in contact with the bottom of the pan then burns. The stove top formula was 5 minutes on high, 5 minutes on low, five minutes off which meant you had to be diligent about the timing. This method, however, is non critical. A little extra time will not reduce the rice to mush as long as the water content is on the lien side. This recipe may be scaled as required.

2+ Cups of premium jasmine rice (+ means heaping 2 cups)

3 ½ Cups of water

Bring water to a full boil using an oven safe pot. Add rice without stirring, cover with a tight fitting lid. Heat to a boil. When boiling, place covered pot in preheated 350 F oven for 40 minutes. Remove lid, allowing steam to escape. Wait 5 minutes to serve.

 

Notes:

1.        Pandan Leaf (Screwpine Leaf) The leaf is used in curries of Sri Lanka and in Malaysian, Balinese, and Thai cooking. It is commonly used as a flavoring and coloring in Malaysian and Singaporean

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandanus_amaryllifolius

cooking, especially in Malay dishes. The screw-pine or pandan leaves are tied in a knot and placed in soups or stews that are being cooked. The leaf is also bruised or raked with the tines of a fork to release its aroma, pounded to release its aromatic juice, or even boiled to obtain its flavor. Pandan leaves are used as wrappers in Southeast Asian cooking to provide a distinct flavor to the foods. They are wrapped around chicken, pork, glutinous rice, fish, and desserts before grilling, roasting, barbecuing, or steaming. Pandan leaves also enhance the flavor of seasoned rices, puddings, beverages, and curries.

2.        Chia Meng Group has started exporting rice to Hong Kong since 1955 under the brand name of “Golden Phoenix”

Pad Thai

Pad Thai is THE signature dish of Thai cuisine. There are different pad Thai recipes for every cook in Thailand. This recipe is from the my friends at the Thai Gardens in Milpitas California. This recipe is chili and tamarind rice stick noodles with chicken, shrimp and fried tofu, Thai style.

When my friends of the Thai Gardens first started out, they had a postage sized shop on the corner in a large shopping center. Mom and dad took turns cooking. Rory Babb introduced me to Thai. He had lived in country for four years while serving in the Air Force. He ordered for us in Thai and we always got exceptional friendly service. When he ordered for me he would say “Pad Thai pet pet mac, mac” and the dish would arrive fragrant and incredible spicy. It was hotter, in fact, than anything I had ever eaten but was so delicious I finished every bite. Fifteen minutes later, the heat has dissipated completely. They did not speak English and when they saw me show up alone, they would say “pet pet mac, mac” smile and ask me where Rory was. Achieving the American dream, their success lead to the launch of a full scale restaurant, then two restaurants. By now, I was welcome in the kitchen, where their Americanized son would translate ingredients into English. I find now, when I need to make this for guests, the easiest place to get the ingredients is from the restuarant directly. The one exception is tamarind paste which I always have on hand in 4 inch bricks cakes. Their original recipe used a Thai tamarind drink concentrate.

If this is the first time you make Pad Thai, read the whole recipe first. There is nothing hard about it but there are many steps and quite a significant amount of preparation work.  Start the noodles right away. Put the mung bean sprouts on ice water. This recipe is the work of seven years of work but never the less, you can play with it, joining the ranks of the 14,885,784 Pad Thai chefs.

Garnish (Per Person)

(I prepare all the plates ½ hour ahead, cover with wrap, place in cool spot in kitchen.)

1/2 cup mung bean sprouts per person, soak in ice water, pat dry

1/2 cup finely julienne Napa Cabbage per person

2-4 Slices of cucumber, per person

2-3 tablespoons finely chopped roasted peanuts³ 

2 Wedges of lime

1 Orange slice

Serve with Ajad Thai Cucumber Garnish (See recipe)

 

Banh pho¹ - Medium Thai Rice Noodles

If using dried “Rice stick noodles” soak noodles in a pot of warm water until are just firm, about 30-40 minutes. To hasten the process, pour in boiling water to raise the temperature to about the temperature of a hot bath (100 F). Taste the noodles periodically and remove to a strainer when they are still al dente, completely limp but not mushy. Use Chantaboon Rice Stick Noodle1, Size: M, 14 ounce pack   (3~4 persons) or the equivalent

 

1/4 cup bean sprouts

Topping 2 green onions, julienned

3-4 ounces of diced Chicken Thigh meat per person (some chopped fine, some course)

6~8 peeled tiger prawns per person

1 clove crushed garlic per person

1/3- 1/2 cup firm tofu diced (cut in 1/8 by 1/8 thick pieces) 

1 tablespoons rice wine or Marin⁴

1 dash of fish sauce (1/2 teaspoon)

1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons Paprika

1 level tablespoons MSG

1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons liquid Thai tamarind fruit concentrate (see Tamarind Sauce)

Crushed red pepper flakes to taste. (Use 1 teaspoon to start. I use 2 tablespoons in mine.)

Chopped cilantro

1 tablespoons of sugar (some places use orange honey)

Peanut Oil 

Salt - as required

Advanced Preparation:

Take a large brick of extra firm fried tofu. Cut away exterior surfaces and discard. Cut it into 1/8 layers and cut into stripes 1/4 wide and cross cut 1/4 inch long. Preheat frying pan with three tablespoons of peanut or canola oil. Bring oil to high heat, fry tofu until firm and it has taken on some color. (7-12 minutes) Set to drain on paper towels. Prepare medium wide (1/16^th~3/32^nds inch) rice noodles - May be done hours ahead and refrigerated. (The noodles will take on the flavor of whatever they are cook with the hence rice noodle is superior for this purpose). There are so many ingredients, it may be a good idea to load up cups or small dishes with the: sugar, garlic, rice wine, tamarind sauce, red pepper, salt, fish sauce, paprika, MSG. (Take inventory against the recipe.) I have found that I inadvertently have left one or more ingredients out until I started doing this in a more methodical way.

In a very very hot wok, add peanut oil, and when it smokes, quickly cook the chicken. Repeat the process until all meat is cooked. Set aside. This step may be done ahead

Individual Preparation of Each Plate

Individually prepare each portion. In a very very hot wok, add peanut oil, and when it smokes, quickly cook the shrimp, garlic, and add in the chicken. Then add paprika, msg, tamarind sauce, crushed red pepper, sugar or some honey for sweetness. Add fried tofu. Add garlic, rice wine and a few handfuls of noodles. Add in green onions and bean sprouts. Quickly heat. Add chopped cilantro toss and turn out on a plate, top noodles with a pile of chopped peanuts, accompanied noodles with bean sprouts, very fine julienned Napa cabbage, and sliced cucumbers garnish. Serve with lime wedges and a few slices of orange.

The bright red coloring of this dish derives from the ample amount of paprika. The choice of this sweet paprika is one without a lot of flavor of its own less it over power the plate due to the quantity in which it is used.

Notes:

1.        Tamarind Sauce- is a critical ingredient in many Thai foods, and will be found in many steak sauces including mine. If using a package of tamarind paste, combine with hot orange juice and blend with a spoon. Sieve the sauce to remove any hard or stringy bits.  When fully ripe, the shells are brittle and easily broken. The pulp dehydrates to a sticky paste enclosed by a few coarse stands of fiber. The pods may contain from 1 to 12 large, flat, glossy brown seeds embedded in the brown edible pulp. If using fresh pods, shell pods like a peanut, pull off fiber stems along fruited seed pods and place in orange juice over a slow simmer to soften. When softened, cool, then rub paste off seeds, Discard seeds. Sieve and blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can scrape seeds with fingernail to remove raisin colored paste. Combine with orange juice, If making a large batch, and storing is desired, use lime juice and orange juice. Sieve the sauce to remove and hard parts. Store the sauce in refrigerator until ready to use.

Tamarind: The 3 - 8 inch long, brown, irregularly curved pods are  abundant along the new branches. As the pods mature, they thicken and the pulp turns a reddish-brown. The pulp dehydrates to a sticky paste threaded by a few coarse stands of fiber. The pods contains numerous glossy brown seeds embedded in the brown edible pulp that remain viable for months and will germinate in a week after planting. The pulp has a pleasing sweet/sour flavor and is high in both acid and sugar. It is also rich in vitamin B and high in calcium. There are wide differences in fruit size and flavor in varietal trees. Indian types have longer pods with 6 - 12 seeds, while the West Indian types have shorter pods containing only 3 - 6 seeds. Most tamarinds in the Americas are of the shorter type. The premium tamarind is graded “AA” and sold in a box as the pods’ brittle casings are easily broken.

Origin and Distribution

Native to tropical Africa, the tree grows wild throughout the Sudan and was so long ago introduced into and adopted in India that it has often been reported as indigenous there also, and it was apparently from this Asiatic country that it reached the Persians and the Arabs who called it "tamar hindi" (Indian date, from the date-like appearance of the dried pulp), giving rise to both its common and generic names. Unfortunately, the specific name, "indica", also perpetuates the illusion of Indian origin. The fruit was well known to the ancient Egyptians and to the Greeks in the 4th Century B.C.

The tree has long been naturalized in the East Indies and the islands of the Pacific. One of the first tamarind trees in Hawaii was planted in 1797. The tamarind was certainly introduced into tropical America, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the West Indies much earlier. In all tropical and near-tropical areas, including South Florida, it is grown as a shade and fruit tree, along roadsides and in dooryards and parks. Mexico has over 10,000 acres of tamarinds, mostly in the states of Chiapas, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Oaxaca and Veracruz.  In the lower Motagua Valley of Guatemala, there are so many large tamarind trees in one area that it is called "El Tamarindal". There are commercial plantings in Belize and other Central American countries and in northern Brazil. In India there are extensive tamarind orchards. The pulp is marketed in northern Malaya and to some extent wherever the tree is found even if there are no plantations. The Thai make the fruit into a beverage concentrate.

Notes:

1. Import foods, on line, shows a picture of  the Bahn Pho package in case you get lost in the sea of noodles your oriental market shelves. See http://importfood.com/nogl4001.html
2. Fish sauce is the single, most important flavoring ingredient in Thai cooking and is available in premium and standard editions - see http://importfood.com/gourmet_fish_sauce.html for premium varieties. The common brand for this is the Tiparos brand. All of these contain a bit of sugar and salt and are made from anchovies.
3. Unless you chopped the roasted peanut by hand with a knife, you may get them too fine. I use both 1/3^rd salted and 2/3^rds unsalted peanuts, place them in a plastic zip lock bag and roll over them slowly with a wooden rolling pin. I then sieve the results. The fine powder falls through the sieve and is discarded.
4. Marin is Japanese sweet cooking wine. Since it is effective in masking the smell of fish, mirin is often used for cooking seafood. The highest quality mirin, referred to as 'Ajino-haha' in Japan is made from rice. Well-known Japanese brands for mirin are Takara and Mitsukan, and the Aji-Mirin is also marketed by Kikkoman and is found on most supermarket shelves.