Food

A simple vegetable dish, good with rice and accompanying some grilled meat. Starting with the shallots and garlic on medium and including some butter gives it a nice flavorful base, and including a little sugar and maple syrup gives it a nice hint of sweet.

Ingredients
4-6 baby bok choy, separated into leaves
4-6 large white button mushrooms, halved and sliced thick
1 red jalapeno, halved cored and sliced
1 shallot, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
olive oil, butter, soy sauce, sugar, maple syrup

Directions
Heat olive oil and a little butter on medium heat. Add the shallot and 2 of the garlic cloves. Saute for a few minutes. Add the mushrooms and jalapeno and stir fry on medium-high until soft, about 8 minutes. Mix the soy, sugar, and maple syrup and add about 1 tbsp to the mix, a little at a time, tossing the mushrooms to coat with the soy mixture. Add the bok choy and the rest of the garlic, toss with the mushrooms until mixed thoroughly. Add a bit more soy mixture over the bok choy and let simmer on high until wilted, 2-3 minutes. Serve over rice.

Verdict
Good! I think I'd probably do it again with a little rice vinegar instead of the soy sauce, to let the garlic and shallots be the strongest flavor.

Posted by Mike Perkowitz at 09:57 PM | Permalink

E and I were looking for a fairly simple and healthy meal to make for my parents that would show off some of our favorite flavors. We love Vietnamese food and are big fans of pork in all its incarnations, and eventually (after some debating in the aisles at the supermarket) devised this salad. Like good Vietnamese food, it's fairly simple and makes use of fresh ingredients (plus plenty of nuoc cham). Of course, not everyone takes to nuoc cham, so it's good to let people dress their own salads with more sauce and relish. We also accompanied the dish with some stir-fried vegetables and rice, as a nice contrast. It was a big success with my parents. And endless variations on the same basic themes will probably all be good, especially in warmer weather when a salad is extra welcome.

Ingredients
2 lb boneless pork "country ribs" (about 1 to 1.5 inches thick)
marinade/brine: water, kosher salt, lime juice, chili sauce, minced garlic
grilling glaze: soy sauce, honey, minced garlic, minced ginger
head romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped (as for salad)
3 tbsp mint leaves, chopped
3 tbsp basil, chopped
nuoc cham
vietnamese carrot relish

Directions
Mix together the marinating ingredients, and marinate the pork for at least two hours, covered, in the refrigerator. Remove the pork from the marinade and lay on a hot grill. Brush with the grilling glaze. Grill for about 8 minutes or until done, flipping halfway through and brushing again with the glaze. Remove from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes, tented with foil. Mix the chopped lettuce and mint together and spread on plates. Slice the pork the long way, about 1/4-1/2 inch thick and lay slices on top of the lettuce. Top with a spoonful of the relish. Serve with additional nuoc cham and relish for dressing to diners' taste.

Verdict
Awesome. There are some obvious variations, like adding carrots, red cabbage, or cucumber to the salad base. Variations on the relish idea would be good, like cucumber and shallots in place of carrots and red onion, for a somewhat cooler taste and color. The meat could of course be almost anything, though pork seems the most natural to me. Shrimp would be good.

Posted by Mike Perkowitz at 10:05 PM | Permalink

This recipe makes a simple relish which is good as a side with meat, or as part of a salad. I came up with the idea one day when I'd grilled some meat and wanted a side, and happened to have nuoc cham in the house. The flavors of the carrot and onion complement each other well, and by soaking in the nuoc cham for a while, they merge somewhat and the onion loses its edge. The peanuts complement the flavors and bind everything together.

Ingredients
1-2 medium carrots
1/2 red onion
3-4 radishes
3/4 c dry-roasted unsalted peanuts
1/4 c fresh mint
2 tbsp nuoc cham
1 tbsp sesame oil

Directions
Finely dice or food-process the carrots, onion, and radishes. Toss with nuoc cham and sesame oil, in amounts to taste. Let stand for 20-30 minutes, to let the vegetables soak up the sauce (which will also mellow the onion somewhat). Meanwhile, clean and dry the food processor and grind the peanuts until it varies from small pieces to near-powder size. Just before serving, toss with the peanuts, then the mint.

Verdict
Surprisingly good! Something about the balance of flavors works for me. The radishes were a recent addition and seem to work well. I'm sure sweet onions or shallots could be substituted for the red onion, and other vegetables could be tried as complements (cucumber, celery, ...).

Posted by Mike Perkowitz at 09:36 PM | Permalink

There are lots of recipes for nuoc cham, but this one worked pretty well for tonight's recipe.

Ingredients
1/2 c fish sauce
1/2 c water
1/4 c rice vinegar
1/4 c lime juice
2 tbsp sugar
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tsp chili sauce

Directions
mix everything together. let stand for a while before using.

Posted by Mike Perkowitz at 09:33 PM | Permalink