Tag: southeast asian
Papaya Salad
Papaya Salad
Papaya salad originated from Laos, but is eaten in many Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Each country has their own variation of the recipe; some containing crab, Thai eggplant, mango, unripened banana, apples, cucumbers to name a few. Papaya salad is always served with sticky glutinous rice.I first had papaya salad in high school in my Chinese class. A classmate of mine brought it in. I believe this was the first Thai food that I had eaten at the time. Sweet and spicy with a sort of funk to the flavor; that coming from the fish sauce and shrimp paste. You can adjust the heat levels to your liking by adding more or less Thai chilies.You can usually find fresh green papaya already shredded at most Asian markets. They sell it at mine for only $3.99lb. If you can’t find it already shredded, you’re going to have to do that at home. I happen to have a grating attachment on my food processor, so it took a whole 15 seconds to grate to whole papaya. You can also use a regular grater if you don’t have a food processor. The goal is to have the papaya simulate noodles. The long beans add a nice crunch to the salad.
Ingredients
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 3 Thai chilies finely chopped
- 3 tbsp palm sugar
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 3/4 tsp shrimp paste
- 1/4 cup dried shrimp chopped
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 lb green papaya shredded
- 4 oz long beans cut into 2” pieces
- 4 oz cherry or grape tomatoes halved
- 3 tbsp peanuts chopped
Instructions
- Mix together the garlic, chilies, fish sauce, palm sugar, shrimp paste, dried shrimp, and lime juice. Make sure the palm sugar is completely dissolved.
- Add in the shredded green papaya and long beans. Toss in the dressing.
- Add in the tomatoes and peanuts, tossing in the salad.
Five Spice Pork Belly and Egg Stew
5 Spice Pork Belly and Egg Stew
Kai Palo is a Thai stew where pork belly, hard boiled eggs, and fried tofu are braised in a 5 spice pork broth. Instead of adding 5 spice powder, the whole spices that are used to make 5 spice are dry toasted then wrapped in a bag made of cheesecloth. The overall preparation of this stew couldn’t be easier. Sear the pork belly. Melt the palm sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 2 hours. Add in the eggs and tofu the last 10 minutes of cooking. Once the stew is finished simmering, it is important to let the stew sit for 30 minutes. This will allow the hard boiled eggs to absorb the 5 spice stock.
Ingredients
Spice Bag
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 star anise
- 8 whole cloves
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 tbsp cilantro stems
- cheesecloth or muslin bag
5 Spice Stew
- 1 1/2 lbs pork belly 1 1/2” pieces
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup palm sugar
- 5 cups pork stock
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 8 hard boiled eggs
- 1 brick extra firm tofu cut into 1” cubes, fried
Instructions
- Dry toast the whole spices in a pan for a couple of minutes.
- Put the whole spices along with the cilantro stems in the center of a piece of cheesecloth.
- Tie it up.
- Heat up a stock pot over medium high heat. Add in the pork belly pieces. Season with salt. Sear on all sides. Remove from the pot.
- Add in the palm sugar. Let melt and caramelize in the pot for a minute or two.
- Add in the stock, soy sauces, oyster sauce, white pepper, garlic, and pork belly slices. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer for 2 hours.
- Add in the hard boiled eggs and fried tofu. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn off the heat. Let the soup sit for 30 minutes before serving.
Toyomansi Roast Pork
Toyomansi Roast Pork
While this roast pork isn’t an official Filipino dish, the flavor is. I prepped this pork the exact same way as if I was going to make char siu, but used a toyomansi marinade instead of the red bean curd. I roasted it the same, applying 4 layers of glaze throughout the cooking process. The results were just as good. I made this pork for an Echoes of the Fallen band meeting. 5 of us ate 7lbs of pork.
Ingredients
- 6-8 lbs pork shoulder cut into 3” wide chunks
- 4 cups calamansi juice
- 2 cups soy sauce
- 1 head garlic minced
- 1 tbsp black pepper
Glaze
- 1 cup calamansi juice
- 1 cup banana ketchup
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Mix together the calamansi, soy sauce, garlic, and black pepper.
- Marinate the pork in gallon sized ziplock bags for 2 days.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the pork on a rack on a baking sheet lined in foil. Add a couple cups of water to prevent burning.
- Roast the pork for 15 minutes.
- While the pork is roasting, mix together all of the glaze ingredients. Microwave for 90 seconds. Whisk the glaze.
- Brush the pork with a layer of glaze. Roast the pork for 8 minutes.
- Repeat the glazing process 3 more times so there are 4 layers of glaze on the pork.
- Let rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.
