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Garlic Chives and Flowering Chives

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
Garlic Chives

Garlic chives

(Click pictures to see a larger image.)

Members of the onion and garlic family are indispensable in my cooking. Crushed garlic, diced onions, chopped shallots and sliced green onions are routinely added to salads, soups, stir-fried dishes, marinades for grilled foods, dipping sauces, and curries and stews. They provide the background foundation upon which other flavors are layered to bring about the depth and complexity of flavor typical of many exquisite Southeast Asian dishes.

In the early spring, I also look for green garlic and various types of leeks at local farmer’s markets, which not only make wonderful companions in stewed meat dishes, but star as the main attraction in vegetable dishes. Come the warm and sunny months of late spring, summer and autumn, luscious bundles of green and yellow garlic chives (also called “Chinese chives”) and irresistible bunches of long-stemmed chive flower buds draw my attention at Asian markets.

Chopping Garlic Chives

Chopping garlic chives

The garlic chives cherished by many Southeast Asians are not the green leaves of garlic plants, but are a kind of leafy chives with a distinct garlic flavor. Not at all like the skinny, fragile-looking, round-and-hollow stemmed chives sold in tiny bundles in western supermarkets and used sparingly as a seasoning herb in western cuisine, garlic chives are long (8 to 15 inches), flat and rather wide (1/4 inch) in comparison, and are usually sold in large bunches as they are frequently cooked as a vegetable on their own right (indeed, in parts of China, they are known as “jewels among vegetables”).

Garlic chives, ready to cook

Garlic chives, ready to cook

Of course, they also serve as a flavor-enhancing herb in a wide variety of dishes, from soups and salads to fish, meat and egg dishes. They are sometimes eaten raw, cut into inch-long segments, in salads and noodle dishes; or stuffed into dough mixtures to make chive cakes for snacks and appetizers.

Garlic chives come deep green in color, as well as white or yellow. They are one and the same, the latter grown in the dark, preventing chlorophyll from developing. This growing method, called “blanching”, weakens the stems and causes them to grow a bit more curly than straight. Because it also inevitably weakens the plants, blanching is done only once or twice a season following healthy harvests of green chives, thus, limiting the availability of yellow chives.

Stir-frying Garlic Chives

Stir-frying garlic chives

The Chinese prize yellow chives for their pretty color, succulent texture and subtle flavor; but because they are more fragile and perishable and their supply more limited, they command a rather high price. The more common green variety, on the other hand, is abundantly available almost year-round in most Asian markets at inexpensive prices. Unlike the curly, fleshy and limp yellow chives, which are not bundled, they can be recognized by their distinctly flat, straight, fairly stiff, deep green leaves tied together in hefty bunches.

Garlic Chives in Wok

Garlic chives in wok

Much more precious than either green or yellow garlic chives are flowering chives – oval unopened buds borne on long, stiff,  angular green stems. This is reflected in the price, from $2.50 per pound and up, but in most instances, just about the entire stems are edible, not just the buds. The buds  have a pungent garlic flavor, while the stems are delectably sweet and crisp. If the stems are unusually long (more than 8 inches), the bottom inch or two can be a bit fibrous and should be trimmed off and discarded. Otherwise, the entire stems can be cut into one-and-a-half-inch segments and stir-fried quickly with oyster sauce, by themselves, or with mushrooms and shrimp to make a quick-and-easy, delicious and nutritious one-dish meal.

See our website for more in Thai recipes and information on more Thai ingredients.

This recipe is also available on our website (Stir-fried Chive Flower Buds with Shrimp and Oyster Mushrooms).

Stir-fried Chive Flower Buds with Shrimp and Oyster Mushrooms

(Pad Dawk Goochai Gkoong Hed Hoi Nahnglom)

  • 1 bunch chive flower buds on long stems – about 3/4 to 1 lb., or substitute green garlic chives
  • 1/2 lb. oyster mushrooms
  • 1/3 lb. small shrimp, shelled and butterflied
  • 3 Tbs. peanut oil
  • 3-4 Tbs. oyster sauce*
  • 2-3 tsp. fish sauce*, to taste

If the bunch of chive flower buds you bought has thick stems at the bottom, cut and discard the bottom 2 to 3 inches that seem tough and fibrous. Cut the remaining stems into 1 1/2-inch segments.

Separate the oyster mushrooms into individual caps. Cut the larger ones in halves or thirds, so that they are bite-size pieces.

Heat a wok until its surface is smoking hot. Add the oil and let heat 10 to 15 seconds. When hot, toss in the shrimp and stir-fry until they begin to turn pink on the outside. Follow with the chive bud-and-stem pieces and stir-fry another minute or so, or until they are partially wilted. Add the mushrooms and toss to mix them in with the chives and shrimp. Sprinkle in enough oyster sauce to lightly coat the vegetables. Stir-well. Salt to taste with fish sauce. Stir-fry another minute or so, or until the chives are cooked but still crisp. (If you are substituting green garlic chives for the chive flower buds, the cooking time will be much shorter as they wilt faster.)

Serves 6 to 8 with rice and other dishes in a shared family-style meal.

*Recommended brand of oyster sauce is “Dragonfly Super Premium”; recommended brands of fish sauce are “Golden Boy” and “Tra Chang”, both from Thailand.

The Finished Dish

The finished dish

Written by Kasma Loha-unchit, September 2009.

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Posted in Cooking, Food, ingredient | 2 Comments »

Grilled Eggplant Salad

Friday, September 4th, 2009

Grilling Over Mesquite Adds a Rich Smoked Flavor to Spicy Eggplant Salad

Prepping roasted eggplant

Prepping roasted eggplant

(Click pictures to see a larger image.)

The hot tropical climate of Thailand lends itself to outdoor cooking. In fact, the kitchens of most traditional homes are in open shacks behind the main house. In the countryside, farmers still live in airy wooden houses on stilts, their kitchens in the open area beneath, or on the verandah. Besides making cooking more bearable in the heat of day, the openness of the kitchens and their separation from the main living quarters keep the fumes from charcoal stoves from smoking up the house.

Charcoal was the primary source of cooking fuel while I was growing up in Thailand. I remember the heaving call of the “charcoal man” as he pushed his heavy cart of black logs through our neighborhood each week. Mother would buy her load for the week, keeping the charcoal in a wooden bin in our kitchen behind the house and breaking the logs into smaller chunks when needed to fit into the different size burners. She trained me to be the fire starter, a duty I most enjoyed and learned to do with great proficiency. When we eventually converted to natural gas, our family enjoyed the cleanliness of the new convenience but missed the wonderful flavors that charcoal cooking added to food – whether grilled, boiled, or stir-fried.

Prepping roasted chillies

Prepping roasted chillies

Modernization has brought cleaner gas and electric cooking to urban areas, but country folk and the poorer of the urban population still rely on less expensive charcoal for their cooking. The charcoal is not highly processed and does not come in uniformly square briquettes as most Americans know charcoal to be; rather, they are irregular charred logs that, like mesquite, impart a delightful smoked flavor to food. Because of this, grilling and roasting over hot coals continue to be popular cooking techniques in Thai cuisine. Fine restaurants around the country know well to keep a section of their kitchens fueled on charcoal, and along city streets, sidewalk food vendors grill all kinds of food over wood coals – from chicken, pork, meatballs, squid on skewers, fish and sausages to bananas, corn, sweet potatoes and yams, coconuts and even whole eggs.

Assembling the salad

Assembling the salad

One of my vivid memories from childhood is helping Mother skewer and sizzle large green chillies over hot coals. These were followed by succulent eggplants, roasted and charred to perfection. Both were then skinned, cut up into bite-size strips, arranged beautifully on a serving plate and dressed with a limy hot sauce.

On those Indian summer days this fall, as you fire up your barbecue kettle or hibachi, grill up some eggplants and chillies along with your chicken and meat for a spicy, lip-smacking dinner.

Note: This recipe is one of my husband’s (Michael’s) all-time favorites. I teach it my evening Series Set A (class 1) and Weeklong Set A (day 5). The pictures here are taken from the July 2009 Weeklong Advanced class.

See our website for more in Thai recipes.

This recipe is also available on our website (Spicy Mesquite-Grilled Eggplant Salad).

Spicy Mesquite-Grilled Eggplant Salad

  • Mesquite charcoal and a small handful of mesquite wood chips
  • 4 long Asian eggplants
  • 4 jalapeno or fresno peppers
  • 10-15 Thai chillies (bird peppers), finely chopped
  • Juice of about 2 limes, to taste
  • 2-3 Tbs. fish sauce (nahm bplah), to taste
  • 2-3 tsp. sugar, to taste
  • 2 shallots, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 lb. small fresh shrimp, shelled and butterflied
  • 1 hard-boiled egg, cut into small wedges (6-8 pieces)
  • A small handful of short cilantro sprigs
Dressing the salad

Dressing the salad

Start a batch of mesquite charcoal in a barbecue kettle and soak the wood chips. While waiting for the coals, trim the tops off the eggplants and the peppers. Make a hot-and-sour sauce by mixing together the chopped Thai chillies, lime juice, fish sauce and sugar. Let sit for the flavors to blend and mingle.

Prepare the remaining ingredients. Blanch shrimp in boiling water for 30 seconds to cook. Drain well and set aside.

Grill the eggplants and peppers whole over the hot mesquite, turning occasionally until they are slightly charred on the outside and have softened. For a stronger smoked flavor, add damp wood chips to the red coals and cover the barbecue kettle after each turning.

Place the grilled eggplants and peppers in a paper sack for a few minutes to steam. When cool enough to handle, peel off the charred skin and thin outer membrane. Cut each eggplant crosswise into segments about 1 1/2 inches long, each segment in half lengthwise, and each half in 2-3 strips, depending on the size of the eggplant. Arrange on a serving platter and spread the sliced shallots over the top.

Cut the skinned peppers into long, thin strips. Do not remove the seeds if you want an extra spicy salad. Arrange in an attractive design over the eggplants and shallots and top with the cooked shrimp.

Taste and adjust the spicy lime sauce so that it is equally sour and salty with a hint of sweetness. Spoon evenly over the salad. Garnish with egg wedges and cilantro. Serve at room temperature. Serves 6-8.

Eggplant salad detail

Eggplant salad detail

Written by Kasma Loha-unchit, September 2009.

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Posted in Classes, Cooking, Food | 1 Comment »

Stir-Frying (Pad)

Friday, August 14th, 2009
Kasma Stir-frying in Class

Kasma stir-frying in class

(Click pictures to see a larger image.)

This quick-cooking method is similar to the western way of sautéing, in which relatively small pieces of food (usually bite-size) are tossed about quickly in a hot pan with a small amount of oil. High heat must be maintained throughout the stir-fry for proper searing of foods to seal in their natural juices. Although stir-frying can be done in a flat skillet or large pot, it is best accomplished in a well-seasoned wok. See my article on Using a Wok.

I do not recommend non-stick pans for stir-frying, because they do not hold heat very well and are not oil-friendly. Cooking oil does not distribute over their surface but tends to bead here and there; as a result, food does not get evenly seared and flavored with it. As for electric woks, I do not regard them as woks at all. Not only do they have a non-stick surface, the heating element covers only a small area on the bottom, so the rounded contour of the pan never gets heated for effective cooking. For more on this see Wok: Flat or Round Bottom?

Because a stir-fry proceeds at a rapid pace, make sure you have all the ingredients ready before beginning. Place them in separate piles by the stove in the order that they are to go into the wok.

Spicy Seafood Stir-fry

Spicy seafood stir-fry

Unlike some styles of Chinese cooking, Thai stir-fries are seldom thickened with cornstarch or other thickeners, but instead, the sauces and seafood juices are left natural to preserve the fresh flavors of the herbs and intensity of the seasonings. Should a lot of juice cook out from seafood because insufficient heat is maintained during the stir-fry, the cooked seafood may be removed with a slotted spoon and the sauce reduced over high heat to thicken before recombining with the seafood. Stir-fried dishes, when properly done, should have just a small amount of richly colored and naturally thick sauce surrounding the pieces of seafood. If the seafood is swimming in a pool of liquid, the flavors in the dish will be diluted.

On the other hand, if your stove is an especially hot one, reduce heat or add a little cooking liquid to help in the stir-fry so that the seafood does not burn and leave you with a very dried-out dish. This situation, however, is rare with most American home stoves.

Stir-frying a Chilli Paste

Stir-frying a chilli paste

For stir-frying, nothing can match the wok and its companion spatula. Although a flat skillet may be used, you can toss food particles much more vigorously and with greater ease and satisfaction on the rounded surface of the wok without having to worry about splattering and spilling onto the stovetop. Food is cooked more evenly and is less likely to burn, your arm is less tired and your stove remains much cleaner after stir-frying than when a flat skillet is used. Try stir-frying a big batch of leafy greens, or big chunks of crab in the shell, and you’ll see what I mean.

For a successful stir-fry, always begin by heating the wok before adding anything to it. Wait until the surface literally lets off wafts of smoke – about three minutes over high heat. (You may also test the heat by sprinkling in a few drops of water – they should sizzle and turn to steam without hesitation.) Then swirl in the oil to coat the surface, using the wok spatula as needed to spread it around, and wait a short while longer to allow the oil to get hot (about 15-20 seconds). Now you may begin your stir-fry. The rule-of-thumb is: always add cold oil to a hot wok and never cold oil to a cold wok.

Stir-frying greens

Stir-frying greens

Preheating opens up the pores in the wok, so that when oil is swirled in, they absorb some of the oil and become seasoned before each stir-fry, lessening the likelihood of food sticking to the wok’s surface. If you do not have a very hot stove, preheating also ensures that as high a heat as possible is maintained throughout the stir-fry for proper searing of food. If oil is added to the wok before heating, it will burn and smoke before the wok is thoroughly heated, giving a false impression that the pan is hot enough to begin the stir-fry. And if you do, you will likely burn the garlic only to find that when the bulk of the seafood is tossed in, the heat fizzles out quickly, causing the seafood to sweat out most of its juices.

When the oil is hot, add the garlic – it should sizzle but not burn. Stir for a few seconds to flavor the oil, then follow with the seafood and other ingredients to be stir-fried. Toss frequently, making sure all the food particles, large and small, get turned and moved around so that they cook evenly and do not burn.

Listen to the sound of food cooking in your wok. The sizzling should be loud and lively. If it slows down, slow down also on the stirring as this can dissipate heat. Spread the food up along the heated sides of the wok rather than lump them in the center, making use of as much of the heated surface of the wok as necessary. Stir just enough to cook and brown food evenly and prevent burning.

Stir-frying Basil Chicken

Stir-frying Basil Chicken

If you stir too much while the wok is losing heat, your seafood dishes will likely turn watery and the flavors will become diluted. For an average home-stove, try not to stir-fry more than one to one-and-a-half pounds of seafood at a time. It also helps if the seafood is well-drained and not icy cold from the refrigerator – let it sit out at room temperature for at least twenty to thirty minutes before beginning the stir-fry.

Here are a few other suggestions should your stove be less than ideal in terms of heat: (1) add the salty seasoning towards the end of cooking; (2) if there is more than one liquid ingredient, do not add them together, but space them out by fifteen to twenty seconds so that one gets to heat up and evaporate some before another is added; and (3) sprinkle the liquid ingredients directly on the hot metal just above the seafood being stir-fried so that they are heated immediately and reduced quickly to concentrate their flavors.

Stir-frying in a wok has the additional advantage of requiring less oil than a flat skillet because of its rounded bottom. While one wok can stir-fry a small or large quantity of food, different-size skillets often are needed to cook widely varying quantities.
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Check out Kasma’s Thai recipe index for plenty of stir-fry recipes.

Written by Kasma Loha-unchit, August 2009.

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Tamarind (Makahm)

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

Use Tamarind to Add a Fruity
Tart Flavor to Your Cooking

Tamarind Pods

Tamarind Pods

(Click pictures to see a larger image.)

To most seasoned Bay area cooks, the word “tamarind” (makahm, in Thai) conjures to mind a tart, dark brown fruit – a beloved and essential souring agent used in many tropical cuisines, from India and southeast Asia to Africa and the Americas.

Held by stringy fibers inside curved beanlike pods, the moist, sticky fruit is protected with a brittle, reddish-brown shell. These fresh pods can frequently be found in specialty produce stores and in Asian and Latino markets.

To use, the flesh is removed from the shell and the fibrous strings and hard seeds are discarded. It can then be chopped up to make chutneys and dipping sauces. More frequently, it is mixed with water, the soft pulp dissolved to make a thick, smooth, dark brown concentrate that is used to add a pleasing fruity tart flavor to soups, salads, braised and stir-fried dishes. The concentrate is also used to make refreshing drinks such as tamarindo, and is frequently added to curries to heighten their flavors and to marinades to flavor as well as tenderize meats.

Compressed Tamarind Package

Compressed Tamarind Package

However, not all tamarind is sour. In fact, the fresh tamarind pods found in many Asian markets at this time of year are actually sweet tamarind, some without the slightest hint of sourness. This “best variety” sweet tamarind are not meant for cooking, but for eating fresh by itself as one would fruit. It makes a wonderful, nutritious snack.

At other times of year, Asian markets may carry unripe tamarind. Though brown on the outer surface, the shell and seeds have not fully developed and are not separate from the green flesh. Southeast Asians pickle these immature pods, eat them fresh with a sweet shrimp sauce, or chop and incorporate them into a tamarind chilli sauce for accompanying raw or blanched vegetables, fried fish and grilled meats.
Because of the variation in fresh tamarind pods and their availability, more consistent results can be obtained in cooking by using prepackaged forms. Ready-to-use tamarind concentrate or paste is available in plastic containers. I personally prefer to use the compressed blocks wrapped in clear plastic and labeled as “wet tamarind,” or simply “tamarind,” to make my own tamarind concentrate when I need it.

These blocks are made up purely of the dark brown flesh of sour tamarind extracted from the pods, with the fibrous strings and most of the seeds removed. When I buy one of these blocks, I usually squeeze the package and select one that feels the softest, as it will more likely be fresher, more moist, easier to work with and yields better-tasting tamarind juice. The block should also look a rich dark brown and not black.

Making Tamarind Paste

Making Tamarind Concentrate

To make tamarind juice or concentrate, break off a one-inch chunk of wet tamarind paste and mix with a quarter cup of water, using your fingers to knead and mush the soft part of the fruit so that it melts into the water. Work the tamarind until a brownish fluid the thickness of fruit concentrate results, adding more tamarind paste or water as needed. Gather up the undissolvable pulp and any seeds with your fingers, squeeze out the juice and discard.

Making your own tamarind juice concentrate when you need it ensures a fresher tamarind flavor than pre-mixed concentrates. An added advantage: the tamarind block does not require refrigeration, whereas pre-mixed concentrates do after the containers are open. Store the compressed block well-wrapped in plastic in a cool place in your pantry.

See our website for more information on tamarind (makahm).

This recipe is also available on our website (Spicy Tamarind Tiger Prawns) where it is available with Notes and Pointers.

Spicy Tamarind Tiger Prawns Recipe

  • 1 lb. medium-size tiger prawns
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup peanut oil
  • 2 large shallots, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise 1/8-inch thick
  • 8 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 4 large dried red chillies, each cut into 2-3 pieces
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 2 chopped jalapeno or serrano peppers (do not remove seeds)
  • 1 Tbs. Sriracha hot chilli sauce
  • 1 Tbs. soy sauce
  • 1 Tbs. palm or coconut sugar
  • 1/3 – 1/2 cup tamarind juice the thickness of fruit concentrate, to taste
  • 1 1/2 to 2 Tbs. fish sauce, to taste
  • Lettuce to line serving platter
  • 1 green onion, white part only, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths, then split into thin matchstick-size slivers
  • A few cilantro sprigs

Shell, devein and butterfly the prawns. Place in a bowl and add 1 tsp. of salt and 1/2 cup of water. Mix well to dissolve salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Then drain off the grey water and rinse several times to remove all the salt. Drain well and let sit to warm to room temperature before stir-frying.

Heat the oil in a small skillet for 2-3 minutes. Add the sliced shallots and fry over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally until the pieces are evenly browned and crisped (may take 10-15 minutes). Drain from oil with a fine wire-mesh strainer. Return oil to skillet and fry the garlic over high heat until golden brown. Drain likewise, reserving the oil for stir-frying.

Heat a wok over high heat until its entire surface is hot and smoking. Swirl in 2 Tbs. of the reserved oil to coat the wok surface. Wait a few seconds for it to heat. Then add the dried chilli pieces and fry quickly until they begin to darken. Toss in the chopped onion and fresh peppers and stir-fry until softened and aromatic. Add the Sriracha chilli sauce, soy sauce and palm sugar and season to the desired sourness and saltiness with tamarind and fish sauce. Stir well to blend, heat to a sizzling boil and reduce a minute or two to thicken.

Add the prawns and with frequent stirring, cook over high heat until the sauce is thick and the prawns are cooked to your liking (2-4 minutes). Turn off heat and add the fried shallots and garlic. Toss well.

Transfer to a lettuce-lined serving platter. Garnish top with slivered green onion and cilantro sprigs. Serves 6 with other dishes and rice in a shared family-style meal.

Serves 6 with other dishes and rice in a shared family-style meal.

Kasma's Spicy Tamarind Prawns

Kasma's Spicy Tamarind Prawns

Kasma teaches this recipe in her evening Series Set A (class 2) and Weeklong Set A (day 5).

There’s many more of Kasma’s Thai recipes on the website.

Written by Kasma Loha-unchit, July 2009.

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Thai Food is Fusion Food

Saturday, June 27th, 2009
 Chicken Satay

Chicken Satay

(Click pictures to see a larger image.)

Today, there is apparent confusion among some western chefs who are borrowing ingredients commonly used in Southeast Asian cooking to create their own blend of East-West cuisine, frequently referred to as “fusion” food. Little do they realize that many of the ingredients are not native to that region of the world, but have come from some place else, including the Americas.

I am amused whenever I see a bottled sauce, or item on a western menu, being described as “Thai” just because it contains peanuts or a peanut sauce, but yet does not reflect the flavor balance that makes Thai cuisine what it is. Peanuts really are American, not Thai.

The ubiquitous peanut really has had an interesting history: Native of South America, it traveled to Africa, later returning across the Atlantic when Africans were brought over to work the southern plantations. Peanut was first cultivated as a crop in the southern states, and only in fairly recent history did it make its way to the Far East, where it was favored in China and Indonesia; China and India are now the world’s largest producers of peanuts.  In everywhere but America, the vast majority of peanuts are used to produce oil. As most people who have spent sufficient time in Thailand would inform you, few dishes in Thai cuisine use peanuts, and spicy peanut sauces really have their origin in the Indonesian archipelago. (See Kasma’s article, Peanuts & Thai Cuisine.)

Dried Chillies at Sukhothai Market

Dried Chillies at Sukhothai Market

Although chillies are a beloved Thai ingredient and used intensively, they, too, are not native to the region, but are introduced from the Americas. Thai cuisine cannot even lay claim on its most essential flavoring ingredient – fish sauce, which really has roots in Mediterranean cuisine. The ancient Romans cherished this salty extract of anchovies and doused a wide variety of dishes with its flavor and aroma. Aside from these notable examples, there are numerous other foreign ingredients, as well as styles of cooking, which have been absorbed into the cuisines of Southeast Asia. Thai food is already “fusion food” and is what it is not because of the individual ingredients, but because of the particular flavor balances that set the cuisine apart from others.

Owing to the country’s auspicious location and her people’s openness, Thai cuisine has seen tremendous changes over the past few centuries. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, booming international maritime trade brought a host of flavor ingredients and cooking styles from around the world, many of which made their way into Thai cooking via the nobility.

On their long, circuitous journey, merchant ships sailing between India, the Spice Islands of the Indonesian archipelago and China would stop by the fabled ports of Ayuthaya in the kingdom then known as Siam. Ayuthaya was an amphibious city, situated on an island formed by the confluence of three rivers, and in its heyday supported a population of over a million, most of whom lived on houseboats along the rivers and their many tributaries. It was a glittering, very cosmopolitan and international city, described by some awed travelers as even more glorious than London and Paris of its day.

Roti and Lamb Massaman Curry

Roti and Lamb Massaman Curry

More than forty nationalities at one time or another resided here, many occupying their own quarters in the city with their own docks. They brought with them ways of cooking from their homeland. Those involved in international commerce traded the spices and foodstuffs they carried on their ships. There was a great exchange of culinary delights and many new and unusual ingredients found their way into Siamese kitchens to be given a distinctly new identity.

It was during this period when chillies were introduced into Asia, brought from the New World by the Portuguese. It took no time for them to become adopted and their extensive use continued through the centuries until now they are inseparable from Thai cuisine. Prior to their arrival, the spiciest ingredient used in Thai cooking was pepper, in the form of white, black and green peppercorns, introduced by Indian immigrants in earlier times. Ironically, it was black pepper which led to the discovery of chillies, as Christopher Columbus sailed west in search for a shorter route to India to obtain this treasured spice in European cooking of his day. On that voyage, Columbus did not land in India, though he called the people there “Indians,” and did not find black pepper, though he called the fiery chillies there “pepper.” The rest is history.

Aside from the lucrative international maritime trade, spices and flavor ingredients came in through age-old overland trade routes between the Far and Near East. Migration of diverse ethnic cultures at different times in history brought lasting culinary contributions as these peoples settled and became assimilated into the kingdom’s populace. Despite numerous foreign influences, Thai cooking developed on a course that firmly established itself as a distinct cuisine with its own unique combinations and balance of flavors. This development closely reflects the nature of the Thai people themselves, whose easy-going ways and adaptability to outside ideas combine with their resilient independent identity. Since the birth of the nation, Thai people have retained a special ability to hold on to their own unique, independent identity even as they accept and integrate foreign elements into their culture.

Chillies and Tomatoes

Chillies and Tomatoes

Thai cuisine continues to evolve today as the Thai love for variety challenges innovative chefs to experiment with ever-new ingredients from around the world, blending them with native herbs and spices to create dishes that still retain a quintessential Thainess. The cooking of ethnic minorities and of neighboring countries continues to exert tremendous influences. A large number of the ingredients used in Thai cooking have roots outside Southeast Asia, but have become fully assimilated into Thai cuisine and are indispensable in creating the flavor balances uniquely Thai.

A version of this article originally appeared in Kasma’s second book, Dancing Shrimp: Favorite Thai Recipes for Seafood.

Written by Kasma Loha-unchit, June 2009.

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Bitter Melon, Chorizo and Egg

Saturday, June 20th, 2009
Bitter Melon

Bitter Melon

(Click pictures to see a larger image.)

One of my very favorite recipes of all time is Bitter Melon and Egg – Mara Pad Kai. Admittedly, bitter melon might be an acquired taste, although I’ve liked it from the start.

Generally, I don’t like the idea of “fusion” food – the word confusion springs readily to mind. I think cuisines are already fusion foods – they’ve been created from ingredients at hand and when new ingredients show up, the cuisine changes. We’ll have a blog post down the line by Kasma titled “Thai Food is Fusion Food.”

Turning slightly translucent

Turning slightly translucent

I make the Bitter Melon and Egg recipe frequently and one day as I was getting out the ingredients to make it, I happened to see a package of chorizo sausage and decided to add it into the recipe and see how it went. We’re weekly visitors to the Berkeley Farmer’s Market and one of the vendors there, The Fatted Calf, has a Mexican style chorizo (loose sausage, like hamburger) made from pasture raised pork, organic garlic, red wine vinegar, organic herbs, sea salt and spices. It is very good. That’s what I used in the recipe.

Egg has just been added

Eggs have just been added

The recipe is simplicity itself. After cutting the bitter melon in half lengthwise and taking out the seeds, I cut it (diagonally) into slices. Before cooking I took the sausage out of the package and beat some eggs lightly. Then I heated up some lard in a wok (lard is a marvelous oil for stir-frying), cooked the bitter melon a bit until it began to turn a little bit translucent, added the chorizo and cooked it until the sausage was almost cooked, then added the eggs and cooked until done. From start to finish can be about 10 minutes. Serve over rice, if you want a starch, but with a good chorizo, the dish is good enough to eat by itself.

I’ll include a more formal version of the recipe below but it’s so simple you really can just wing it. For tips on buying bitter melon, read Kasma’s Notes and Pointers from her Bitter Melon and Egg recipe.

Feel free to vary quantities any way you’d like. The pictures I’m including here actually used a pound of chorizo to one bitter melon and I used three eggs. If you like it with chorizo, try it with another loose meat or sausage.

You might also enjoy Kasma’s article on Better Melon on the website.

Bitter Melon, Chorizo & Egg Recipe

Recipe by Michael Babcock
Adapted from recipe by Kasma Loha-unchit

Ingredients

  • bitter melon about 8 inches in length
  • 2 eggs
  • 2-4 Tbs. or lard (peanut oil will do)
  • 1-2 tsp. fish sauce (optional)
  • 1/2 pound loose Mexican chorizo

Cut the bitter melon in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and slice each half crosswise in thin pieces. Beat the eggs in a bowl.

Heat a wok until its surface begins to smoke. Swirl in the lard or oil and let heat 10 to 15 seconds. Add the bitter melon and sauté in the oil for about one minute. If needed (this will depend on your chorizo), sprinkle with fish sauce and continue to sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes, or until the melon starts to soften.

Add the chorizo, break up so that it is loose, toss amongst the bitter melon and cook until nearly done (1 to 2 minutes).

Spread the mixture thinly over the wok surface. Pour the beaten eggs evenly over the melon pieces. Let eggs set about half a minute, then flip the mixture over to cook the other side. Cook until eggs are set and lightly browned.

The Finished Dish

The finished dish

Written by Michael Babcock, June 2009.

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