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Demystifying Asian
Culture through Cuisine
NuCulinary News
Asian Flavors August 9, 2010 |
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Greetings!
It's going to be hot and we are serving up some great cooking classes to go along with the weather
We have some wonderful classes to beat the heat at all three of our locations for the next 7 weeks. I hope you will join us. After September 30, we will be offering private group classes and Corporate Team Building and Wellness Seminars. Our weekly classes will as Disney puts it, they go back into the vault and will not be offered while we retool our kitchen repertoire. Please contact me if you are interested in having your own group class with your friends.
In the meantime, come out and party! I will be emcee at this Friday's Audacious Burger Contest at the South Lake Union Block Party. See details below. I can hardly wait, it has food, music and movies, bring your blanket and plan to stay.
See you in class!
Naomi "Building Community Through Cuisine" If you have friends who would enjoy our ezine news, recipes and offers, please feel free to forward it to them here. |
Friday the 13th
| |  Join me this Friday for the South Lake Union Block Party. It kicks off at 12pm with wine and beer tasting, a grill competition, the Cascade Farmers Market, music, kids activities, and scary movies on the lawn at dusk.
Watch local chefs from Flying Fish, Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar, re:public and Whole Foods Market battle it out in the ultimate grilling showdown taking place from 5:00 - 6:30 PM. I'll be there to emcee the whole thing! Each chef will have 90 minutes using ingredients provided by Whole Foods. The winner will decided by a panel of judges who will select the best grilled culinary creation. (One of the judges is actually a vegetarian and is bringing along her official taster; hmmmm, this could be interesting!) Proceeds from this year's SLU Block Party will benefit Historic Seattle, the only nonprofit dedicated to preserving Seattle and King County's architectural legacy. |
Summertime Noodles
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Photo by Ben Fink |
Chef Toby Kim, our Renton Uwajimaya instructor just taught this at the Renton Farmers Market last week. Join Chef Toby for next week's Vietnamese class to learn how to roll those fresh spring rolls.
Cool Noodle Salad with Caramelized Grilled Pork Recipe by Mai Pham
For the Noodles and Greens
8 oz. dried rice vermicelli
2 cups washed and shredded romaine, red, or green leaf lettuce
2 cups fresh, crisp bean sprouts
1-½ cups peeled, seeded, and julienned cucumber
⅓ to ½ cup roughly chopped or small whole mint leaves
⅓ to ½ cup roughly chopped or small basil or Thai basil leaves
For the Garnish
2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts
12 sprigs fresh cilantro
For the nước chấm (Vietnamese dipping sauce)
1 clove garlic
2 to 3 Thai bird chiles (or 1 small jalapeño or serrano chile), cored, seeded, and minced; more or less to taste
½ tsp. ground chile paste; more or less to taste
⅔ cup hot water
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup fish sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons shredded carrots (optional)
For the Caramelized Grilled Pork:
¼ cup sugar
½ cup water
2 large shallots, sliced, or 5 scallions (white parts only), chopped
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1
1-1½ lb. pork loin or sirloin, sliced into large pieces about ¼-inch thick
For the greens: Divide the lettuce, bean sprouts, cucumber, mint, and basil among four large soup or pasta bowls. If working ahead of time, cover each bowl with damp paper towels and refrigerate.
For the noodles: Bring a medium potful of water to a rolling boil. Add the rice vermicelli and, stirring often, cook them until the strands are soft and white, but still resilient, 3 to 5 minutes. Don't be tempted to undercook them, as they must be fully cooked to absorb the flavors of the dish. Rinse them in a colander under cold water just until they're cool and the water runs clear. Let the noodles drain in the colander for 30 minutes, and then set them aside for up to 2 hours, unrefrigerated.
For the dipping sauce: In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and fresh chiles to a paste. (Or mince them together with a knife.) In a small bowl, combine this garlic and chile mixture with the chile paste, hot water, and sugar. Stir well. Add the fish sauce and lime juice and combine. Float the carrots on top. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before using.
To make the caramel: Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir a few times and allow to simmer until the sauce turns deep brown, about 15 min. Meanwhile, have some extra hot water ready on a back burner. Once the sauce reaches the desired color, carefully add 4 to 5 tablespoons hot water to slow the cooking and thin the sauce. (Be sure to hold the pan away from you so that none of the hot caramel splatters on you when you add the water.) If necessary, add more hot water. The sauce should only be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Set aside to cool.
For the pork: Pound the shallots in a mortar and pestle or mince by hand. Transfer the shallots to a mixing bowl and combine with the fish sauce, soy sauce, salt, vegetable oil, and cooled caramel sauce. Stir well to blend. Add the pork slices and let marinate for 20 min. Meanwhile, heat a broiler or light a charcoal or gas grill. When the broiler or fire is very hot, cook the pork until just done, about 2 min. on each side. Let the pork rest for 10 to 15 min., cut into thin strips, and serve warm on cool noodle salads.
To assemble the salads: Remove the salad bowls from the refrigerator 20 to 30 minutes before serving. The greens and bowl should be cool, not cold. Fluff the noodles with your fingers and divide them among the prepared salad bowls. Put the grilled pork on the noodles and garnish each bowl with the peanuts and cilantro. Pass the nuoc cham at the table; each diner should drizzle about 3 tablespoons over the salad and then toss the salad in the bowl a few times with two forks or chopsticks before eating. |
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Save $100 |
A NuCulinary exclusive!
This September, my two favorite culinary adventurers Robert & Morrison (The Globetrotting Gourmet) are headed to Central Vietnam and Laos. You can join them for an epicurean exploration of these two unique regions of Southeast Asia, and feast on truly royal cuisine.
Wayne and I traveled with Robert and Morrison ourselves when we went to Thailand, so we're sure you'll have a great time of fun with this
dynamic duo, full of laughs, learning, and breaking bread -- or rather,
rice -- together.
If you mention NuCulinary when you sign up, you'll get a $100 discount! Photo by Globtrotting Gourmet  |
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