Month: May 2019

This is a very traditional Thai street food. Great for breakfast, lunch or a snack. The Thai name above is a bit generic, as it doesn\’t mention beef as pad refers to stir frying and gra prow or kaphrao refers to basil. I was craving this dish, as I used to  eat it frequently in Thailand. It’s commonly made with minced pork, beef or chicken.

It’s a bit of Thai/Chinese fusion dish, which is quite popular in Thailand, due to strong Chinese community. I like to make a big batch of fried rice and then eat the leftovers for breakfast with a fried egg on top.

I wanted to create a non meat version so I used the Boca Crumbles from the frozen food section. If you have another favorite non meat product, feel free to use it, but I do think the minced texture works well. If you want to use meat, then pork, beef or chicken work as well.

Should you want a completely vegetarian version, just omit the fish sauce and add a bit of lime juice and some extra soy sauce or Golden Mountain sauce.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
4 cloves Garlic, sliced
2 inch piece fresh Ginger Root, peeled and chopped.
1/2 Onion, sliced
1/2 Red Pepper, sliced
1 bag Boca Crumbles
Splash of Vegetable Stock
1 Tbsp Chili Paste
1 Tbsp Rice Wine
1 Tbsp low sodium Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Fish Sauce, or sub Golden Mountain sauce to be completely vegetarian.
2 cups of fresh Basil, torn.
Lime Juice
I Egg, fried

This marinade was a revelation to me. I got the recipe from a friend in Puerto Rico, but she said it was originally from Cuba. I decided to make a batch to marinade some meat for the grill and it was incredible.

Here are a few hints:

• Try to use the freshest ingredients and grind the black pepper and cumin as needed. Cumin has a nasty habit of turning bitter when it has been ground for a long time.
• Put your meat into a large plastic bag that seals and then lay it into an oven proof dish to avoid spills. Trust me on this one. Cleaning up leaked mojo is no fun.
• Turn over the plastic bag occasionally, so the marinade stays evenly distributed.
• If you want to use this to marinade seafood or fish, reduce your marinading time to one or two hours max. Otherwise you will end up with mushy cerviche.

Ingredients:

Juice from 4 lemons
Juice from 4 limes
Juice from one Orange
4 Tbsp Olive Oil
5 cloves of garlic mashed
1 Tbsp freshly ground Cumin Seed
1Tbsp fresh ground Black Pepper
2 tsp Sea Salt
4 Tbsp fresh Cilantro

Preparation:

Blend all together in food processor and pour over chicken, beef or pork. Marinade in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours minimum or up to 24 hours. Longer is better.

Remove form the bag and shake off the excess marinade and lay onto a hot grill and grill, turning occasionally until done. Serve with fried plantains, rice and black beans.

Many thanks to Wag for the image.

Since its finally grilling season, I wanted to share this wonderful marinade. This is perfect as a dipping sauce and/or basting sauce for most any meat, seafood, gyoza/dumpling or vegetable. However, I think it really shines on anything grilled.

Traditionally from Japan, it is made with the yazu fruit, which has a distinctive citrus flavor. As yazu are not easy to find here and the the prepackaged juice can be quite expensive, I wanted to find a recipe to recreate that flavor.

You can certainly buy ready made ponzu sauce, but they are packed with salt and sugar. I vastly prefer the cleaner taste of homemade.

This a relatively small batch, but feel free to double or triple it. It stores well in the refrigerator for up to two or three weeks.

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp low sodium Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Mirin
Juice of one Lemon
2 Tbsp Orange Juice
Juice of 1/2 Lime
1/2 cup Dashi, dried bonito flakes
2 inch grated Fresh Ginger Root
1 tsp Sugar, optional

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients into a lidded container and shake vigorously. Allow to rest overnight or up to 24 hours and then strain before using as a marinade or dipping sauce.

Brush on prior to grilling and during grilling. Brush a bit on before serving or use as a dipping sauce.

Note: If you want to add toasted sesame oil, then 1 tsp is perfect. Additionally, the dashi flakes can be found at most Asian markets or can be ordered online.