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Stewed Pork Hocks on Rice (Khao Kha Mu ข้าวขาหมู) by Nong of Nong’s Khao Man Gai

By on October 14, 2013 in She Braises, She Interviews, She Simmers, She Thais

nongs khao man gai and khao kha mu
When I got Narumol “Nong” Poonsukwattana, of Portland-based Nong’s Khao Man Gai fame, on the phone a few weeks ago, I wasn’t planning on asking her about how life had led her to where she is now. This doesn’t mean that I wasn’t interested in it. I was. Very much. It doesn’t mean that the subject didn’t come up during our long phone conversation, either. It did. Frequently and in a somewhat in-depth manner. It’s just that that facet of her life has already been captured in various places, such as this piece by Amy McKeever. Besides, I wanted to present something a bit different here.

What did I want to present?

A Thai cook. Able. Determined. Gutsy enough to build her business around one dish. One. Dish. Continue Reading →

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The Best Pumpkins to Use in Thai Cooking

By on September 16, 2013 in She Braises, She Deglutenizes, She Remixes, She Simmers, She Stocks a Thai Pantry, She Thais

Best Pumpkins to Use in Thai Cooking Plus Beef Massaman with Potimarron
I’ve long touted kabocha squash, a pumpkin/squash heavily used in Japanese and Korean cooking, as one of the best among the various types (commonly found in the United States) to use in Thai cooking. This is because its texture and flavor are very close to those of the type of pumpkin commonly used in Thailand. I still stand by my opinion.

However, as I was rereading my post on stir-fried pumpkin with eggs in which I describe kabocha as having chestnut-like qualities, it suddenly occurred to me that I had entirely forgotten about another type of pumpkin/squash that I like but, for some reason, had only used in ‘Western’ dishes: potimarron*.

With the ‘marron’ part (French for ‘chestnut’) staring at me in the face all these years, I don’t understand how I’d never made the connection until now. [See this post by David Lebovitz on Roasted Potimarron]. Continue Reading →

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Grape-Shrimp-Cashew Salad (ยำองุ่นกับกุ้งและเม็ดมะม่วงหิมพานต์)

By on September 9, 2013 in She Deglutenizes, She Thais, She Tosses

Grape-Shrimp-Cashew-Salad
The Thai people don’t use grapes in savory dishes, including salads, very much. In fact, the only savory dish containing grapes I had growing up was an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink salad my grandmother used to make which was similar to this one. She’d take some sour green grapes, peel them one by one, and make a quick salad out of them and whatever leftover meat we had in the fridge (mostly grilled chicken breasts, because members of our family were the type that fought for chicken butts but pretty much ignored the breasts). The herb that usually went into Grandma’s grape salad was usually fresh mint or cilantro, because we always had too much of both in the garden.

I had thought nobody else but our family made grape salad until I came across the book, Rattanakosin Dishes (1982), which includes a grape salad recipe by M.L. Terb Xoomsai, one of Thailand’s culinary greats. I don’t have the book with me at the moment, and I no longer remember what exactly goes into M.L. Terb’s grape salad. I do remember, though, that there are grapes, shrimp, young ginger, and toasted cashews. So I thought I would try to recreate M.L. Terb’s version based on a faint memory; I could have made my grandmother’s grape salad, but it came in so many forms that nailing down the ingredients would prove difficult. Continue Reading →

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