Southern Thai Rice Salad - Khao Yam (ข้าวยำ) and a Chat with Jitlada Restaurant in Los Angeles

Samuel Moehring, who has recently brought to you the article on Lers Ros Thai restaurant in San Francisco and their fried sun-dried beef, is back with a story on Jitlada restaurant in Hollywood, California. After numerous visits to Jitlada, our Thai food-savvy contributor had a chat with one of the owners. The following article has been written by Sam; please meet me back here later when we discuss the making of Southern Thai rice salad (Khao Yam). ~Leela

My experience with Jitlada, and thus regional Thai cuisine, began about 6 months ago on one of my food treks. Jitlada has an admirable reputation in Southern California, and I figured I would check it out. Having no idea what to expect from Southern Thai cooking at the time, I dove in, and was surprised. Much of the Thai food we eat in America, I now know, comes from the Central and Eastern parts of the country. What I had at Jitlada was so … different than the sweet, tangy-spicy food I had eaten at pretty much every other Thai restaurant I’d visited. Pungency, earthiness and murderously spicy food were the norm which makes for a distinctly engaging and frankly exciting meal.

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Caramelized Onion Pasta Gratin a.k.a. French Onion Soup Macaroni and Cheese

Last year, I developed for the Wisconsin Cheese Board one of my favorite macaroni and cheese recipes, Spiced Apple Macaroni and Cheese, which happens to be a bit unusual in that it is not a savory pasta gratin. I have been asked once more this year to contribute another recipe to their website*. The lack of savoriness of last year is more than compensated for this time with a pasta gratin that mimics the deep, complex, multi-layered flavor of the classic French onion soup.

For a dish that doesn’t contain any meat other than the essence of beef in the beef broth, it doesn’t get any more savory than this. Please visit their website for the recipe.

*Disclosure: I was paid to develop this recipe.

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Thai Soured Pork Ribs - Naem Si Krong Mu (แหนมซี่โครงหมู)

After I teased you with a preview of Naem in one of the recent posts, quite a few impatient emails have come in asking for a full post on this cured meat, one of the most delicious charcuterie products Southeast Asia has to offer. While the enthusiasm is encouraging, I strongly believe that if you're someone who has never eaten naem (แหนม), let alone made it from scratch, it's best that you take one baby step at a time. After all, we're talking about fermented pork meat that is traditionally served raw; even those who grew up eating it rarely make it at home.

The type of naem most commonly found in Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos is soured ground pork (sometimes with pork skin slivers added to it). However, at least in Thailand, another sub-category of naem is just as popular. Chief among the members of this sub-category is soured pork ribs (แหนมซี่โครงหมู).

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Tea-Poached Pears

While the traditional wine-poached pears will not be easily dethroned, pears poached in liquid infused with oolong tea leaves deserve the same level of attention. These smoky and subtly-perfumed pears are great by themselves; they're also great with panna cotta or vanilla or coconut ice cream/gelato on the side. Not that these tea-poached pears came out of a need to avoid cooking/baking with alcohol, but the booze-shy among us may find this alcohol-free variation worthy of being added to their repertoire.

These tea-poached pears have been inspired by a similar recipe I've seen in O Magazine. It was made with oolong tea leaves like this Oriental Beauty offered by my fellow Chicagoan, Shui Tea.¹

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Green Mango Salad with Grilled Shrimp and Cashews (ยำมะม่วงกุ้งย่าง)

For this batch, I grilled my shrimp with the shells on; this explains the absence of grill marks.
This is just something I threw together for lunch the other day. The ingredients are so perfect together. Having said that, there's lots of room to play around with this no-recipe recipe. Grilled scallops or cuttlefish would make a great substitute for the shrimp. I can also see small pieces of white fish, lightly-battered and deep-fried, in this in lieu of the grilled seafood (the end result would closely mimic the much-loved Yam Pla-Duk Fu). Cashew is the best nut for this salad, but peanut would be nice also.

Just for kicks, add a tablespoon of Nam Prik Pao to it.

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Easy Vegetable Carving: Lotus Bowl Centerpiece

An edible mini lotus pond is a perfect centerpiece for your dinner party, especially if you serve Thai food.
I'm both amused and terrified every time someone writes me asking for advice on how to carve fruits and vegetables "like the Thai people do." When that happens, I'd search the archives looking for something – anything – that might lead them to think I actually have that kind of talent. Of course, I've found nothing, and am left wondering where folks get that idea.

For darn sure, it’s not from the way I shape my Thai fish cakes.

The truth, people, is that I can't carve, at least not like this. And that's just one of the many, many artistic things I can't do.

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Baked Cashews with the Flavors of Laab

I goofed around in the kitchen and came up with these crunchy cashews, encrusted with what is essentially Laab dressing with the flavors of fresh lime and chilli as well as the fragrance of toasted rice powder. This is the kind of stuff that makes you cringe when you see other people do it: Tom Yam peanuts, Thai lime-lemongrass almonds, Thai lime-chilli macadamia nuts, etc.

But when it's you who do it? Delicious. I'm such a hypocrite.

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