Just Me

I'm bored, so I'm just going to post this mindless, not much about anything video clip. That's all.

Green Papaya Salad With Chilies and LIme ("Som Tum")

This salad is wildly popular all over Thailand, but it’s a signature dish of the northwestern regions. In Thailand, you can order it in upscale restaurants or, even more traditional and somehow more delicious, order it to go with a street vendor. He or she will wrap it up in plastic bags, accompanied with sticky rice. It’s made from pale green shreds of unripe papaya with a vibrant balance of sour, sweet and hot, hot, hot! “Som” means “sour,” and “Tum” means “to pound.” As an added bonus, papaya is full of good things for your body!

If you want to make the dish the way Thais make it, you’ll need a mortar and pestle and some ingredients from an ethnic grocer. ; ) There are different variations, but this is my favorite version.

INGREDIENTS:
6 fresh “kii noo” - that is , Thai chilies or 2 serrano chilies. I use LOTS more b/c we love it burnin’ hot! Can you handle it?!
1 Tbsp coarsely chopped garlic
1 Tsp coarsely chopped shallot
1 small hard, green, unripe papaya, peeled and finely shredded (about 2 cups). I buy mine pre-shredded at 99 Ranch Market in Clairemont Mesa, which saves a lot of time! A food processor does a good job too.
A little bit of shredded carrot as well to add color to the dish
1 Tsp palm sugar or sugar
1/4 Tsp salt
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1/2 lime, quarter length-wise
7 cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered, length-wise. I prefer grape tomatoes because I think they’re more flavorful.

METHOD:
In a bowl of a large, heave mortar, combine the chilies, garlic and shallot. Grind and pound w/ a pestle until they are broken down, but not completely mushy.

Add the papaya and pound until the shreds become limp and soft. Turn the mixture as you pound. One at a time, add the sugar, salt and fish sauce and mix well. Squeeze the juice from each lime, then add the lime pieces to the mortar as well. Add the tomatoes and pound another minute, releasing some of their juices. Be careful not to squirt the juices at yourself while your pounding!

Taste and adjust the seasonings, which should be a balance of sour, hot, salty and sweet. You’ll know it when it’s good. ; ) Transfer the salad to a serving dish and serve and drizzle the sauce from the mortar. I always serve this with a wedge of cabbage or Nappa cabbage and rotisserie chicken.

Garlic Soba Noodles

I’ve been trying new tofu recipes. This one was delicious. I love the contrast in the crunchiness of the breaded tofu and the soft and warm soba noodles. Next time, I need to use kale right away because I had to throw out half of it for this dish (some of the leaves were yellow!). Live and learn…
I got the recipe from http://www.101cookbooks.com/. The owner of this site has wonderful recipes! I know I will be a frequent patron of her site. Here is the recipe, adapted to my personal taste:

8 ounces dried soba noodles (I used wheat soba b/c it’s better for you)

3/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan freshly grated

big pinch of salt

12 ounces extra firm organic tofu, cut into 6 rectangular slabs

2 eggs, lightly beaten

a generous splash of olive oil

1 bunch green onions, greens trimmed, thinly sliced4 big handfuls of chard, spinach or kale (I used Kale!) - destemmed and cut into bite-sized pieces

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 cup Parmesan, freshly grated

a few baby radishes, sliced paper thin (I left this out - not too crazy about radishes)

Boil a large pot of water and cook soba noodles per packet instructions or until just tender. Drain and set aside.

While the water is coming to a boil, get the tofu started by combining the bread crumbs, Parmesan and salt in a shallow plate. Dunk each piece of tofu in the egg and then press into the bread crumbs. Make sure each piece is nicely coated with crumbs. Pan-fry in a skillet in a bit of olive oil until both sides are golden, flipping once along the way. Slice into strips and set aside.

Add the olive oil (and bit of salt) to a large skillet over med-high heat. Stir in the green onions, kale, and cook for a minute until the kale collapses. Stir in the soba noodles. Stir in the garlic powder and Parmesan. Remove from heat. Serve family-style or on individual plates - each nest of noodles topped with some of the tofu slices.