Thai Yum Yums

So suddenly have I become bitten with the Asian bug ever since I made Ma Po Tofu a while back. This time, I decided to venture off into another Asian continent which happened to be Thailand. Thai cuisine doesn’t consist of curries and Pad Thai alone, but there are several styles and dishes that are very, very tantalizing.

Chili Crab is the national dish of Singapore or at least ‘considered’ to be due to its popularity. Basically, it’s soft shell crab or Dungeness crab, I believe, stir-fried in a wok with a spicy sauce and usually served with bread. Yes, in Thailand they do eat the occasional bread. Thailand is similar to Vietnamese, where they have herbed sandwiches or dishes which consist of a bread of some sort. China has their cookies and cakes, as does Japan, but bread isn’t as notable in desserts or courses as it is towards Thailand, Vietnam, and I think Cambodia, Indonesia; those closer to India where bread is in the form of paratha, roti, and chapati.

Yes, I am aware of bread’s growing awareness in Japan but historically it doesn’t trace that far back.

With my recipe, I merely substituted the crab with salmon since I had a gorgeous piece of salmon requiring justice. I believe this recipe suited it perfectly. Make sure you have a decent piece of fish and don’t over cook it otherwise it will obviously fall apart. That’s why normally crab or shrimp is used due to it’s ability to be tossed around in a wok and maintain its structure. Good fish, in any case, should never be over cooked like steak. Steak should never be well done; fish should never be well done. It’s just a matter of principle.

The accompaniment to this dish is a stir fry with pumpkin and vegetables.
I discovered another variation which I shall use later on in the week to come since, as I said, I’m obsessed with Asian food again. With the pumpkin I used straw mushrooms on a whim and they have now become my favorite type of fungus. These little morsels - as tiny as marbles - have little pockets inside which become filled with juice as they cook. Biting into one is pure bliss. Buy them. Buy them now. You will not regret it. They’re somewhat pricy but, hey, what’s a cheap mushroom anyway besides boring nutritional lacking button mushrooms? At least it’s cheaper than portabella mushrooms and definitely truffles.

Oh, and look Em! I got watercress - haha! Told ya I would!

Chili Salmon
4-6 oz skinless salmon, cut into even chunks
Garlic flakes, crushed
Ginger powder
1 scallion, sliced thin.
Salt & pepper

Sauce:
1-2 tbsp fermented black beans, crushed
1 tbsp sriacha (Rooster sauce/chili-garlic sauce)
½ tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp cornstarch, dissolved into ¼ cup cold water
¼ cup tomato sauce
½ packet of sugar substitute
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients for the sauce into a separate cup and set aside.

In another bowl, toss the salmon with salt and pepper to season. Next, spray a pan with nonstick cooking spray and sauté the garlic and ginger. When you begin to smell the garlic and ginger, toss in the fish with another spray of nonstick cooking spray, and gently stir until the salmon turns pink which should take a only a few minutes depending on its thickness.

Once your salmon obtains color, add the scallion and sauce then stir fry until the sauce begins to thicken. It should be moderately thick but still saucy.

Turn off the heat and plate over a bed of greens.

Pumpkin Mushroom Stir-fry
1 wedge of kabocha, diced into ½ inch chunks
1 cup mushrooms, any variety (oyster or straw preferable)
1 small Roma tomato, cut into wedges
¼ onion, sliced thin

1-2 Thai chilis (depending on your heat tolerance)
Few leaves of Thai basil
½ packet of sugar substitute
1 tbsp oyster sauce
Garlic flakes, crushed
Black pepper

In a pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, sauté the garlic until fragrant. Next add the pumpkin and fry until tender. Add next the mushrooms and chilis, frying for a minute or so. Add the tomatoes and again sauté for a minute or so. Turn off the heat, stir in the basil, sugar, oyster sauce, and black pepper. Salt if you find that it isn’t suited to your taste but oyster sauce is pretty salty.

Serve everything with a steaming mound of white fragrant Jasmine rice or crusty bread to make it the perfect Thai meal.