Summer Family Affair

Thai Sukiyaki Hot Pot

Summer is a great time for a family gathering. Eating outdoors makes the food taste better, especially after the sun goes down and the heat dissipates. I love visiting street vendors in Thailand. I considered them the outdoor food court of the Thais.  There seems to be 3 sets of street vendors each day--one set caters to the breakfast and lunch crowd, the second set caters to the dinner and after midnight crowd, and the third set caters to between meals serving snacks/fruits. I prefer the dinner and after midnight street vendors. Many streets are closed after dusk through dawn, to give vendors area to set up tables and chairs. There are many types of grilled seafood and meat, stir-fry, noodles, plus it is cooler to eat after the sun has gone down.  I cannot bring the street vendors from Thailand to the US, but I can make a similar feasts that my family can cook together and fast. Two dishes my family and I made --Grilled seafood and Thai sukiyaki.

North Carolina Snapper and Shrimps

Grilling seafood is the easiest method of cooking, I think. As long as the seafood is fresh, with herbs and a good sauce, you are good to go. I use lime, lemongrass, Kiffir lime leave to stuff the fish, then wrap the fish in banana leaves. The leaf not only gives the fish a subtle smokiness, but it also prevents the fish from sticking. The herbs and lime helps dressed the fish with another layer of perfume. The shrimps are grilled whole.  The family can peel shrimp themselves, saving prepping time. The flavor is in the head of the shrimp and the shells seals the flavor...so suck the heads up!  The dipping sauce is a combination of fresh garlic, fresh Thai chili, lime, fish sauce and fresh coriander. Sweet seafood becomes even sweeter when contrasted with the lime chili dip.

Sukiyaki is a good family gathering dish for an overcast day. It has been raining almost every afternoon for the past weeks, perfect weather for hot pot. Essentially it is a one pot-Asian fondue that everyone gets to participate in cooking. Originated from Japan, the Thais adopted it and did to it what Thais do best...spicy transformation. Chinese also has a similar version of the hot pot. An American version will show up soon, I am sure. May be, there will an international Hot pot competition in the future. 

Thai Sukiyaki Assembly

Start off with a good chicken broth in an electric wok. The rest is up to your liking though good sauce is the key. Typical ingredients are mung bean noodles, sliced meat, eggs, seafood (no fish), vegetables (Chinese celery, watercress, Napa cabbage), and dumplings. Everything is cut to bite size. Each person cooks their own choosing at the table, in the same pot filled with broth. There are many versions of the Thai sukiyaki sauce, as many sukiyaki chains exist in Thailand. The most famous chain is "MK Suki". My version of the sauce is made with pickled garlic and 10 more ingredients. You can find bottled sukiyaki sauce in your local Thai/Asian grocery stores.  By the end of the meal, the soup broth will be full of flavor.  Find a table under a veranda, drink the broth and let the heat rise!

I hope your summer is going well. Stay up, make noise, watch the stars and create yourself an outdoor, midnight restaurant with your loved ones. You will feel like being in a Thailand night Market in no time.

Cheers!
Teera  

Chinese Heat

Shichuan Pavilion "Diced Chicken with Pepper"

Heat, to me, is Comfort. Growing up in Thailand, Chinese food was always considered as bland and fatty. China is a grand country. From Peking duck of the north to Mongolia, Cantonese, Sichuan and Hong Kong, there is such a variety. With its thousands of years of food history, to succumb to a stereotyping and General Tso chicken, seems rather naive. Plus, is it really true that Chinese cannot handle spices? I soon discovered after meeting one of my Chinese friends who was from the Sichuan province that I have gotten it all wrong.
There are Chinese who are addicted to spicy heat as much as the Thais...

In Southwestern region of China, the Sichuan pepper is the key ingredient of any Sichuan dish.  Grown from shrub of the citrus family, the seeds are held by pods similar to cardamom. The flavor however is lemony and peppery. You will see them cooked together with whole red chili in a typical Sichuan dish.

In the DC area, I discovered 2 places for Sichuan cuisine--Hong Kong Palace (7 Corners, Falls Church) and Sichuan Pavilion (between Farragut North and West metro stations in DC). Once you make a visit, you must order the following dishes: diced chicken with pepper, cumin lamb, Dan Dan noodles and tea smoked duck. After a visit, you will realize that you have entered another realm of Chinese cuisine.

C&T Wok "Cumin Lamb"

I crave for the Sichuan heat and almost lost hope until I tried a couple of places in the Triangle area (Morrisville and Cary, NC)--C&T Wok and Super Wok. Not all restaurants are created equal.  Thank goodness!  I find the C&T Wok cumin lamb closest to what I had in the DC area. Tender lamb, stir fried with cumin, onion and pepper. The white board is covered in both Chinese and English of the day special...beef, shrimp, Grouper, scallop and Chinese vegetable.

Super Wok "Chili Crabs"

If you crave for dice chicken with peppercorn, no one else can do it better than Super Wok, in the triangle area. Though the specialty dish is Chili Crab. I cannot get it in the DC area...not this good. The crab was battered and deep fired before stir-frying in the spicy chili concoction. Every morsel was covered in a pile high of chili, lemony goodness. With an order of steamed rice and chopstick, you are good to go.

Specials @ C&T Wok

You will hardly see anyone else, but Asians in these two joints, a great sign of authenticity. Neither will you see anyone ordering egg rolls or fried rice. I suppose you can go to a local Chinese express for that.
Next time you have a craving for Chinese food, ask yourselves which regional flavor of China do you want to try and skip the Kung pao chicken. Sichuan will not disappoint your spicy taste buds. Just like the difference in regions in China there are differences in the US, I sure don't want foreigners to think that a Hawaiian luau is the same as a North Carolina pig pickin'. Southern comfort has a lot more than Mac and cheese and collard greens but the definition of comforts needs to change. Heat and spices fit the southern climate like a glove.

Cheers!
Teera