Pad Thai

Pad Thai with Shrimp

Pad Thai (or Phat Thai) is one of the most widely recognized Thai dishes in the United States, offering a delicious combination of salty, sweet, and sour flavors soaked up by tender rice noodles. This recipe is my version of the dish as found stateside. I encourage you to search the web for more information about the dish, its history, and its variations - the short version of which is that Pad Thai as you know it is probably different than the original dish or from how you'll find it served in Thailand. In any case, and in my opinion, as long as the sauce doesn't have ketchup or tomato sauce, the ingredients are fresh, and it is prepared with care, even our western-palette-adapted versions are a worthy one-plate meal.

Servings: 2

Time: 45 minutes

Sauce Ingredients:

• ¼ cup palm sugar, grated (or light brown sugar)
• ¼ cup fish sauce
• ¼ cup tamarind soup base, made from 1 Tbsp tamarind concentrate plus 3 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp sriracha sauce (optional)

Stir-fry Ingredients:

• 1 good handful of rice noodles (a little more than 1" diameter bundle)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 8 to 10 fresh shrimp (U20-24)
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• [optional] 1 tablespoon chopped salted radish
• ¼ cup extra-firm tofu, pressed to expel moisture, cut into ½" x ½" x 1" pieces
• ¼ to ⅓ cup water
• 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
• ¼ cup carrot matchsticks
• ¼ green onion, cut into 1" pieces
• 1 or 2 teaspoons sugar (palm sugar or white sugar)
• 2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• a few lime wedges
• [optional] fried garlic, shallot, or both for garnish

Directions:

1. Prepare sauce by grating palm sugar, adding sauce ingredients to a small bowl, and stirring until mixed and sugar is dissolved.
2. Prepare tofu by draining, sandwiching between paper towels and applying pressure with a dinner plate to press out moisture. Cut into ½" x ½" x 1" pieces.
3. Soak rice noodles in warm water for 15 minutes. It is okay if they sit for a little longer while preparing other ingredients.
4. Mince garlic and finely dice shallot. Rinse then gently squeeze dry preserved radish and mince, if using.
5. Prepare vegetables. Rinse and dry all produce. Peel and cut carrot into matchsticks (approximately 1/8" square by 2 inches long), cut green onion into 1" pieces.
6. Beat egg lightly in a small bowl.
7. Heat 1 Tbsp neutral oil in a wok over medium-high heat. When hot, add egg and stir-fry until just cooked. Remove and set aside on a plate.
8. Heat 1 Tbsp neutral oil in a wok over medium-high heat. When hot, cook shrimp until until just done, being careful not to overcook.
9. Heat 1 Tbsp neutral oil in the wok over medium-high heat. When hot, add garlic, shallot, and radish. Stir-fry until fragrant.
10. Add tofu and fry until tofu is lightly browned.
11. Increase wok heat to high. Drain and add rice noodles along with ¼ to ⅓ cup of water. Stir-fry until water is absorbed and wok is dry.
12. Add carrot, green onion, bean sprouts, egg, shrimp, about ¼ cup of sauce, and 1 or 2 tsp of sugar. Stir-fry until sauce is absorbed and vegetables are tender.
13. Divide among two plates or bowls, topping with cilantro, peanut, fried shallot or garlic, and garnish with a wedge of lime. Provide fish sauce, sugar, and chili flakes as condiments on the table.

Notes:

• Prepare all of your ingredients before starting to cook. The cook time is short, but everything must be ready to go when needed.
• Between steps, add neutral oil as needed to wok and heat over medium-high heat to reach the quantity specified.
• Substitute light brown sugar for palm sugar in sauce if needed.
• If you don't have a wok, use a non-stick frying pan.

Pictures:

Ingredient mise-en-place.

Noodles soaking in warm water. I use a sauté pan as it is wide enough to fit the noodles and tall enough to hold the water.

Fry the egg.

Cook the shrimp.

Sauté aromatics.

Add tofu and cook until lightly browned.

Add noodles and water, cook until dry.

Add remainder of ingredients and sauce.

Stir-fry until sauce is absorbed and vegetables are tender.

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Seattle Succotash

Seattle Succotash

This Seattle Succotash recipe is my re-creation of a dish from RoRo BBQ & Grill of the same name served as one of their sides. The dish, at its core, is a corn, bell pepper, black bean salad with a straightforward red wine vinaigrette dressing. The addition of sweet cherry tomato, punchy cilantro, and sharp red onion, and nutty edamame make this dish an outstanding side for any time of grill or barbeque dinner. It is one of my go-to sides for smoked ribs or for a grill-out potluck as it is super easy to make!

Servings: 6 or more as a side

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• salt & pepper to tase
• 1 cup edamame (frozen)
• 2 cups corn kernels (frozen)
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• ⅔ cup red onion, diced
• ⅔ cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• ½ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• ½ jalapeno, seeded and minced

Directions:

1. Make dressing by whisking together vinegar, lime juice, oil, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
2. Cook edamame and corn as specified on their respective packages and allow to cool.
3. Drain and rinse black beans.
4. Dice bell pepper and red onion, quarter cherry tomatoes, chop cilantro, and seed and mince jalapeno.
5. Add all prepared ingredients to a large bowl, mix gently to combined, then add dressing and toss to combine.

All the ingredients prepped and ready for the bowl!

Everything except the dressing, lightly tossed to mix.

Notes:

• Dressing should be added at least 30 minutes before serving and up to a few hours ahead of time. If dressing well in advance of serving, refrigerate after dressing then remove from fridge about 30 minutes before serving so the dish can warm up a touch. Toss again immediately prior to serving to redistribute any dressing that pools in the bottom of the bowl.
• Add jalapeno to taste to achieve desired level of spice.

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Green Curry Penn Cove Mussels

Green Curry Penn Cove Mussels

Washington is home to amazing seafood, which includes Penn Cove Mussels. These tasty bivalves are found in the waters of Puget Sound, and like the Manila clam, are easy to prepare, fairly inexpensive, and take well to many different flavors. While we often prepare mussels the same way we prepare clams, we also enjoy experimenting with different flavor combinations. One particularly delicious approach to mussels is cooking them in a green curry broth packed with aromatics and then garnished with bright herbs.

Mussels in a curry broth, either red or green, can be found occasionally at restaurants, but they are also easy enough to prepare at home! The recipe below is not too complicated and requires minimal cooking time, but its success depends on proper preparation. Once you start cooking, the recipe moves quickly and should take only about 10 minutes to cook!

Servings: 2 as a main

Time: 45-60 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds Penn Cove mussels, cleaned and debearded immediately before cooking
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• ½-inch piece of ginger, minced (about 1 tsp)
• 1 stalk lemongrass, peeled and tender core minced
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 2 tsp green curry paste
• 1 can coconut milk (do not shake!)
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• ¼ cup Thai basil, chopped
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
• lime zest from ½ a lime
• lime juice from ¼ a lime

Directions:

1. Prepare all ingredients. Mince garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and shallot and set aside in a bowl. Chop cilantro and basil, set aside in a bowl. Zest and juice lime into a small bowl. Open coconut milk, but do not shake, and set aside nearby fish sauce and brown sugar.
2. Sauté garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and shallot in a large pot over medium heat with 1 to 2 Tbsp of neutral oil until fragrant and softened.
3. Add curry paste and 1 to 2 Tbsp of coconut cream skimmed from the top of the coconut milk can. Sauté until bubbling and well incorporated with aromatics, a couple minutes.
4. Add fish sauce, lime juice, lime zest, brown sugar, and coconut milk. Stir well to incorporate.
5. Once broth reaches a simmer, add cleaned mussels to pot, stir, and cover to steam. Check every 30 to 45 seconds, stirring each time, until mussels have opened. The broth should always be at a simmer or a very light boil. Turn the heat down a little if it boils too aggressively, which can ruin the texture of the broth.
6. Remove pot from heat and add most of the cilantro and basil, stir to combine.
7. Serve mussels to bowls, ladling broth over top, and garnishing with remaining cilantro and basil.
8. Enjoy with warmed baguette!

Prepped Ingredients

Cleaned and debearded mussels

Sauteed aromatics with curry paste

After adding coconut milk

Broth ready for mussels after adding fish sauce, lime juice and zest, and sugar

Mussels in the pot!

Mussels almost done

Ready to serve!

Notes:

• The amount of curry paste can be increased to provide a stronger and spicier curry flavor. The recipe calls for only 2 tsp in an attempt to prevent the dish from becoming too spicy.
• Garnish with sliced red Fresno chile peppers if desired, to add a bit more color and spice to the dish.
• Mussels should be stored properly and kept alive until just before cooking. Cleaning and debearding mussels too far in advance will kill them, potentially making them unsafe for consumption.
• Any small to medium mussel can be used in place of Penn Cove mussels. The rule of thumb is one pound of mussels per person for a main course.

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Dungeness Crab Dip

Dungeness Crab Dip

Dungeness crab is one of our favorite foods and a treasured food of the Pacific Northwest. In my humble opinion, it is the best crab - better even than the prized King crab. Dungeness is found along the west coast of the United States with peak seasons during both summer and winter. Its namesake is a small fishing village on the Olympic Peninsula and Strait of Juan de Fuca here in Washington (see this). If you ever make it out to Seattle, a trip to the Olympic Peninsula is a must, and a fun stop is Dungeness Spit and the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.

Now, back to the food. Dungeness crab is mild flavored, both slightly sweet and rich, and lightly salty or briny. It is at its best in preparations that allow its mild flavors to shine. This dip recipe uses just enough goat cheese and whipped cream cheese to bind the dip together and offset the crab's salty-briny characteristics with added richness, while accenting the crab's mild sweetness with aromatics, citrus, and herbs. The end result is a dip that is crabby in all the best ways!

Servings: 6 as an appetizer

Time: 15 minutes (add 20 minutes or more if picking crab)

Ingredients:

• 1 Dungeness crab, cleaned and picked, about 8oz meat
• 4 oz mild goat cheese, softened
• ¼ to ⅓ cup whipped cream cheese
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp capers, rinsed, drained, and minced
• 1 Tbsp chive, minced, plus a pinch for garnish
• ½ tsp dried dill, or 1 Tbsp fresh dill minced
• 1 cornichon, minced
• ½ Tbsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• a couple dashes of hot sauce (e.g., Tapatío)

Directions:

1. If needed, clean the crab and then pick the meat from the legs and body of the crab. Double check for any shell pieces.
2. Prepare dry ingredients. Mince shallot, garlic, capers, chive, dill (if fresh), and cornichon. Grate lemon for zest.
3. Add goat cheese and whipped cream cheese to a mixing bowl. Mix well to combine and create a uniform mixture.
4. Add prepared dry ingredients, lemon juice, and hot sauce to the cheese mixture. Mix to incorporate.
5. Add crab to bowl and fold into the dip, preserving some larger chunks of crab.
6. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Depending on the saltiness of the crab itself, you may want to add a little bit of salt or some more capers or cornichon. Not enough herbal notes? Add more! Not enough acid? Add another small squeeze of lemon juice!
7. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with a little minced chive.
8. Serve with crostini, crackers, or even vegetables (radish, carrot, celery, snap peas).

Prepared Ingredients

Cheese and dry ingredients mixed and ready for crab!

Serve with crostini, crackers, or mixed vegetables.

Notes:

• I rarely measure out the ingredients for this recipe and instead taste and adjust as needed. If taking this approach, I suggest starting with a light touch on the dry ingredients - you can always taste and add more as needed.
• This dip can be repurposed to make delicious crab melts. Toast some bread, spread with dip, and top with sliced avocado. Or, spread dip atop sliced bread and top with some cheese before toasting in the oven or under the broiler until cheese is bubbly and warm.

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Grilled Tamarind Prawns

Grilled Tamarind Prawns with Nam Pla Prik

One of my all time favorite food experiences occurred during a trip to Thailand a few years back. We were staying on the island of Koh Samui and spending a day wandering along some of the beaches when we came across a small restaurant with incredible fresh seafood. The standout dish was tamarind prawns - large head on prawns with a delicious sweet-sour tamarind sauce and garnish of cilantro and fried shallot.

After our trip I searched long and hard for a "tamarind prawn" recipe in an attempt to recreate the dish at home. After a couple years of searching and experimentation I developed the following recipe for delicious Grilled Tamarind Prawns. The recipe below includes insights gathered from a few recipes I found scattered across the web. Which websites and what insights came from each has been lost to time, since I apparently never bookmarked any of them! In any case, these prawns definitely remind me of the ones we had in Thailand that day on the beach.

My version of Grilled Tamarind prawns marinates and glazes the prawns with a sweet-sour tamarind, palm sugar, and fish sauce based sauce, accented with a little garlic and a healthy punch of ginger. Cooked over very high heat, preferably on a charcoal grill, the prawns pick up smoky flavors before a sprinkling of cilantro and fried shallot and a squeeze of lime adds crunch and brightness. Serve the prawns with Nam Pla Prik on the side to counterbalance the sour-sweet glaze with the irresistible spicy-sour of the famous Thai condiment and you will have a showstopping appetizer that is hard to beat. These prawns are the "chicken wings of the sea" - tender, saucy, and just messy enough to require finger-licking!

For those who might be hesitant to work with head on prawns, here is some advice: buy the freshest you can from a reputable supplier. If you have access to fresh spot prawns, I highly recommend them for this dish. Despite the head being attached, you don't need to go all "Anthony Bourdain" on them and suck on it if you don't want to. If the prawn heads still have you avoiding this recipe, feel free to use shell on, headless large prawns.

Servings: 4 or more as an appetizer

Time: 60 minutes

Equipment:

• wood skewers (one per shrimp)
• 9"x13" or 8"x10" dish with sides for marinating prawns
• a very hot grill, preferably charcoal

Ingredients:

• 8 large fresh prawns with heads on (U-15 to U-12 size)
• ¼ cup fish sauce
• ¼ cup palm sugar, grated
• ¼ cup tamarind juice (2 Tbsp tamarind concentrate plus 2 Tbsp water)
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 inch piece of ginger, julienned thinly
• a pinch of white pepper
• 2 Tbsp cilantro, leaves and tender stems, rough chopped
• 2 Tbsp fried shallot
• 1 lime
• Nam Pla Prik
• 1 small shallot is about 1 Tbsp shallot. I minced the shallot.
• use at least 4 Thai chiles and as many as you like

Directions:

Prepare the prawns:

1. Devein each prawn using kitchen shears and the tip of a skewer. Using shears, make a cut along the back of the prawn from just below the head down to the tail to split the shell and expose the dark colored digestive tract of the prawn. Pull or scrape the tract out using a knife, scissor tip, or the tip of a skewer.
   
   
2. Skewer each prawn from tail to head with a single wood skewer. The skewer is inserted through the back of the tail until the tip is just into the head of the prawn. This prevents the prawn from curling during cooking. Place skewered prawns into the marinating dish.
   
   
3. If using headless prawns, the tip of the skewer should just stick out the head end of the prawn's body.

Prepare the marinade and glaze:

1. Mix the marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Pour half of the marinade on the prawns and set the other half aside. Rotate the prawn skewers to coat each prawn with marinade. Marinate prawns for 30 to 60 minutes, rotating prawns to recoat a couple times.
   
   
2. Make the glaze. Add a little neutral oil to a small saucepot over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger then cook until fragrant, a minute or two. Add reserved half of marinade to pot along with a pinch of ground white pepper then simmer to create a sticky glaze. The glaze should be thickened but still easily pourable.

After prawns start marinating, prepare your grill:

1. Prepare a grill for very high heat cooking. On a charcoal grill this means that you should barely (or not) be able to hold your hand a few inches over the grate above the coals for one second.
   
   
2. Exactly when you start preheating your grill will depend on what type of grill you have! The marinating time does not need to be exact, but I recommend no more than 60 minutes if possible.

Grill and garnish:

1. Grill the prawns over direct, very high heat for 30 seconds per side until just done. The prawns should just be opaque, although this will be hard to see until they are peeled. I suggest cooking one or two at a time first until you are comfortable judging when they are perfectly cooked.
   
   
2. Transfer prawns to a serving platter and pour the glaze over top. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro, fried shallot, and lime wedges on the side. Serve with Nam Pla Prik as a dipping sauce.

Enjoy! (aka, how to eat):

1. For each prawn, wiggle the skewer while pulling the prawn to slide it off. Twist the head off the body to remove, and give it a suck if desired. You can also give the prawn legs a suck as they tend to trap the glaze and garnishes.
   
   
2. Peel the shell off the prawn body, give the meat a dip into the Nam Pla Prik, a swipe through the glaze on the plate, or both and enjoy!
   
   
3. Rinse (lick your fingers) and repeat!

Top row: tamarind glaze and Nam Pla Prik Bottom row: prawns on the grill

Notes:

• 1 to 2 prawns makes a great appetizer. 3 to 4 (or more...I ate all 8) is enough for an entrée portion. Perhaps serve with sticky rice and some of your other favorite Thai dishes. 
• This recipe can easily be doubled (or beyond). Simply skewer more prawns and make more marinade.
• Overcooked prawns are tough, chewy, and kind of rubbery, and must be avoided at all costs. Thus, to get both a little charred and smoky flavor without overcooking your grill needs to be very hot.

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Clams and Linguine (Linguine with Clams?)

Clams and Linguine

The other night I had a big craving for clams (because we have some of the best clams around in the PNW), but I wanted to prepare them in a different way than our regular steamers. I eventually settled on making clams and linguine (or perhaps, linguine with clams, depending on your worldview...). They key to this dish is to use the best clams and linguine you can find. Here in Seattle, that means reaching for the widely available Manila clams and some high-quality fresh linguine. While we have made fresh pasta at home a few times, I wasn't in the mood for that large of a cooking project so I opted for some fresh pasta from the grocery store, courtesy of Carso's Pasta Company.

The recipe below was based on this one. It is a fairly straightforward clams in garlic, shallot, parsley, and wine broth. There is a hint of red pepper flakes to add just a touch of heat and to complement the strong aromatic and herb notes in the sauce. I served the dish with some thick slices of warmed baguette - perfect for soaking up the flavorful broth!

Servings: 2

Time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds Manila clams
• 6 Tbsp olive oil
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup minced shallot
• ¼ cup minced parsley
• pinch red pepper flakes about 1/8 tsp, or more to taste)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 8 oz fresh linguine
• salt and pepper

Directions:

Washed clams

1. Rinse the clams well immediately prior to cooking in a bin of cold water. Fill the bin with enough water to just cover the clams then agitate with your hands to knock sand and debris free. Lift clams out of water and place in colander. Repeat one or two more times until no dirt knocks off clams.
   

   

   Sautéing aromatics

   
   
2. Heat a medium pot with water (salted lightly if desired) to a boil for the pasta.
3. Heat olive oil in a large, wide, lidded pan over medium heat. Add garlic and shallot and saute until aromatic and softened, but before they begin to brown.
   

   

   Clams in the pot!
   
   

4. Add the wine, parsley, red pepper flakes, and season with salt and a touch of black pepper. Add clams, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until clams open, about 5-8 minutes.
5. While clams finish cooking, add pasta to pot with boiling water and cook per directions on pack until very al-dente. Our fresh pasta took about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.
   
   

   

   Clams opened and cooked

   
   

   

   Adding pasta to the cooking broth

   
   
6.  When clams finish cooking and have opened, remove to a bowl and set aside. Add al-dente cooked pasta to the clam cooking liquid, mixing to combine, then cook for one to two minutes until the pasta absorbs some of the broth and is finished cooking. Add butter to the pan and mix until it melts into the sauce.
   

   

   Clams and Linguine, ready for serving!
   
   

7. Add cooked clams back to the pan and mix to combine and warm through. Divide clams and pasta into serving bowls. Garnish with additional minced parsley if desired. Serve alongside warmed or buttered and toasted bread.

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