Last Crumb

Ever since I moved to Long Beach, CA, home to over 50,000 Cambodian immigrants and said to be the second largest Cambodian community in the world after Phnom Penh, I’ve had easy access to some of the tastiest and most authentic Cambodian and Thai food in the US. In fact, some of these restaurants are so authentic that they even give you a spoon to eat with, just like in the old country.

Try Sophy’s Fine Thai and Cambodian Cuisine if you live in the area, and I promise you won’t be disappointed. My favorite dishes are the Chan Pu (a spicy fried noodle dish with green onions and real crab), the Thai green curry, and the Tom Kha Gai (Thai coconut soup). None of these would be complete however, without the addition of some nam plah prik or fish sauce with Thai chilies, available by special request. The waitress always laughs at me when I ask for this condiment, and claims that I’m the only white guy that has ever wanted it. Personally, I think nam plah prik kee noo is to Thai food, as bitters are to a cocktail. In other words, this condiment greatly enhances the flavor of just about any Thai dish, and I can’t do without it. Here is the recipe:

–Nam Plah Prik Kee Noo:

* 6 Tbs. Thai fish sauce (nam plah)
* 5 Tbs. fresh lime or orange juice
* 2 large cloves garlic chopped finely
* 1 Shallot cut lengthwise and sliced very thinly (optional)
* 8 fresh Thai bird’s eye chili peppers (prik kee noo, literally “mouse shit chili“), stems removed and sliced into very thin rounds

1. Combine everything in a small bowl and keep refrigerated. Wash your hands with cold water after cutting the chilies, and before using the bathroom. I learned the hard way.

Posted by: Will on July 23rd, 2007 © Filed under: Condiments | No Comments »

The bitters materials arrived a week ago Thursday, but other projects kept me from launching the experiment until this Wednesday night. I had fun jarring, labeling, and tasting all of the different components. Then I measured out the ingredient and assembled the mixes. It took only a few minutes – I just tossed everything together and shook it up, in one case toasting the spices first.I cut down the amounts by quite a lot, using about 1 – 1.5 cups rye whiskey and an equal reduction in spices for each recipe. I used Rittenhouse, but I think any 100 proof rye would work fine. If you can’t find 100 proof, just use a little less water at the end. Bitters recipes are still experiments, and ingredients can be varied to taste. The first recipe, for aromatic bitters, comes from Robert Hess, a well know spirits writer. The second, from “The Art of the Bar: Cocktails Inspired by the Classics” (Chronicle Books, 2006) by Jeff Hollinger and Rob Schwartz.

– House Bitters

*8 cups rye
*3 tsp gentian
*1 cup chopped ginger
*16 sticks cinnamon
*1/4 cup whole cloves
*8 whole star anis
*6 Tbs cardamon pods

1. Place all ingredients, except for the sugar and water, into a large mason jar and seal. Store for 2 weeks, shaking the jar once a day.

2. Strain the liquids/solids mixture through cheesecloth. Squeeze hard to extract as much juice into the reserved liquid as possible. Place the dry ingredients into a saucepan and add the water. Bring to a boil, and then turn the heat down and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

3. Allow to cool completely, then pour the water and solid mixture into another mason jar. Store for 1 week, shaking the jar once a day.

4. Strain the water mixture through cheesecloth. Discard the solid ingredients, and add the water to the previously reserved alcohol.

5. Put the sugar into a small non-stick skillet and stirring constantly over a medium-high heat, allow the sugar to melt and then turn to a rich brown color.
Quickly remove from heat and allow the melted sugar to cool for a couple of minutes.

6. With the sugar still slightly warm, pour it into the water and alcohol mixture. It will probably crystallize at this point, but with continued stirring it will eventually dissolve.

7. Allow this mixture to rest for a couple of days, then skim off anything that rises to the surface, and gently pour (or siphon) the clear liquid from the top into another container, trying to avoid as much of the sediment on the bottom as possible.

8. Measure the amount of liquid you now have, and add half that same amount of water.

– Dr. Schwartz’s Cherry-Vanilla Bitters
Makes 6 cups

*2 teaspoons quassia
*2 teaspoons cardamom seeds
*1 1/2 teaspoons anise seed
*Pinch gentian
*Pinch cassia
*1 teaspoon grated ginger
*3 cups 100-proof rye, preferably Rittenhouse
*5 vanilla beans
*1/2 cup cherry bark
*3 cups water

1. Toast quassia, cardamom, anise, gentian and cassia in a dry frying pan over medium heat for a few minutes until fragrant. Cool and transfer to a sterile mason jar. Add the ginger and rye, screw on the cap, shake well and store in a cool, dark place. Agitate once a day for one week. Strain the mixture through cheesecloth and transfer to a clean jar. Gather the ends of the cheesecloth to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

2. Cut the vanilla beans in half lengthwise and add them to the rye mixture along with the cherry bark. Seal and store again, shaking once a day, for another two weeks. Strain the rye through cheesecloth and transfer liquid to clean mason jar (do not throw out the cherry and vanilla mash). Cover and set aside for a couple of weeks. (No need to agitate.)

3. Take the cherry-vanilla mash remaining in the jar and transfer to a medium saucepan. Add the 3 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. While the mixture is simmering, smash the vanilla beans against the sides of the pot with a muddler or wooden spoon. Cool completely and transfer to a clean jar. Store in a cool, dark place for another 2 weeks, agitating once daily.

4. Strain this mixture through several layers of cheesecloth, as many times as is necessary to remove all sediment from the vanilla beans. Finally, combine the liquid with the reserved rye mixture and transfer to an empty bitters bottle.

Posted by: Will on July 20th, 2007 © Filed under: Cocktails & Spirits, Condiments | 1 Comment »

This time of year in California, the farmers markets are overflowing with every imaginable kind of produce. It’s best to keep me away because my acquisitive nature takes over and I want to buy everything – everything. This also happens in art museums, but while I cannot afford to buy art, I can buy pretty much as much produce as I want. So yesterday afternoon I faced a pleasant quandary: what to do with three plus pounds of assorted red peppers?I’ve been fascinated by the idea of canning for a while now and the perfect inspiration came with a post about a fabulous looking Chipotle Chile Jam here: Becks & Posh: Served on a Pretty Nasty Plate…. This also meant I got to buy various canning supplies at Sur La Table and a giant 14″ stainless steel stock pot from the restaurant supply store.

The recipe linked to in the above post wasn’t quite what I had in mind, so I found a very basic version online and then modified it to suit my fancy, adding chipotle peppers, red pepper flakes, red bell peppers, and a little bit of brown sugar. I bet it would be excellent with garlic as well.

I’ve always been a bit skittish about canning, mostly because I’d never done it on my own (my mom used to can apricots, and I still remember the luscious, golden, tangy-sweet fruit we would open in winter; the satisfying pop as we snapped the lid away from the jar). But this was easy. On of my jars didn’t form a seal (I’m not sure if the top wasn’t clean, or I didn’t tighten the lid enough, or I filled the jar too full, or what) but I just put that one the the refrigerator to eat right away! The rest look lovely.

The recipe yields about 5 cups jam, enough to fill as many 1 cup jars, but I would probably make a double batch next time. It goes great with cheeses and smoked tofu, in salad dressings, and, I imagine, with meats. Because I didn’t use pectin, the jam won’t be as thick as some others. Mine is more like a thick relish.

– Spicy Red Pepper Jam
* 3 lbs various fresh red peppers (mix bell peppers and hot peppers to taste)
* 1/2 cup cider vinegar
* 2 small lemons, quartered
* 2-3 canned chipotle peppers
* 1-2 tsp red pepper flakes
* 3 cups sugar (I swapped out 1/2 cup of the white sugar for brown)

1. Dice the peppers (I used a food processor) and place them over medium heat with the lemons, chipotle peppers, vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the peppers are soft, about 30 minutes.

2. Remove the lemon pieces and stir in the sugar. Boil another 10 minutes or more. Jam is ready when a scoop poured onto a cold plate will congeal after a few minutes in the freezer (this is called a sheeting test).

3. Pour into sterile canning jars and process 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Note: The National Center for Home Food Preparation has an excellent PDF of step by step canning instructions.

Posted by: Will on July 13th, 2007 © Filed under: Condiments, Preserves | No Comments »

Perhaps the most important piece of national legislation this year is also one of the least glamorous. Yet the Farm Bill, which is up for renewal this month, profoundly influence what and how we eat in the United States.

The bill, which is renewed and updated only every 5 years, covers things like farm subsidies and nutritional programs (like food stamps). But while it provides hundreds of millions per year for farming of the corn and soybeans that will become high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, and animal feed, driving down the price of junk food and driving up obesity and diabetes, it provides no support to grow fruits and vegetables, which have increased in price by 40% in the last 5 years.

In fact, the last bill directed just $3 million per year total toward research into organic agriculture, while it supplied $2.95 million per year to a single giant cotton farm. As the laws currently stand, organic farmers cannot even buy crop insurance to protect themselves against a poor growing season. Recent stories in the San Francisco Chronicle (find it here) and the New York Times (find it here) provide more information.

One simple way to help is to sign the internet petition at left, sponsored by Environmental Working Group, one of the leaders in Farm Bill reform. They plan to submit it to the House of Representatives on July 15th.

Posted by: Will on July 10th, 2007 © Filed under: Food for Thought | No Comments »

A few years ago, when I first started ordering rye whiskeys, the bartender would, as often as not, pull out a dusty bottle of Old Overholt. More often than not, he or she would bear a quizzical and concerned look as if to say “do you know what you’re asking for?” Rye was seen as something for that alcoholic old man one sees perched at the corner of every dive bar in America.

But thanks to the growing trend in favor of artisan spirits and quality cocktails, ryes are finding new popularity – and a new generation of appreciators. Many good bars and restaurants in San Francisco now feature a list of interesting small batch ryes. For a good introduction to these whiskeys and for tasting notes on many of the best examples, I highly recommend Eric Asimov’s article in the New York Times, published last November.

In general, ryes tend to be lighter and spicier than bourbons and work well in place of bourbon in most recipes (I particularly like a rye Old Fashioned). Two classic cocktails, however, were originally made with rye, and I prefer them that way. Even better, they both call for bitters!

– The Manhattan
*2 ounce rye whiskey
*1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
*1 dash Angostura bitters

1. Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker and fill shaker with ice.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass.

3. Garnish with a fresh cherry that has been soaked in brandy or whiskey. You can also add a lemon twist.

– The Sazerac
*1 sugar cube
*3 – 4 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
*2 ounces rye whiskey
*1/4 teaspoon anise liqueur
(the drink was originally made with Absinthe, but Herbsaint, a New Orleans brand, is now traditional. You can also use Pernod, Absente, or another pastis)
*Strip of lemon peel

1. In a cocktail shaker, moisten the sugar cube with just enough water to saturate it, then crush. Add a hand full of ice, then add the whiskey and bitters. Stir or shake gently for about 30 seconds or until the drink is cold.

2. Add the Herbsaint to an old fashioned glass and swirl it around to coat the sides and bottom of the glass. Discard the excess.

3. Strain drink into the Herbsaint coated glass and twist the lemon peel over it. Rub the twist over the rim of the glass, then add as garnish.

Posted by: Will on July 5th, 2007 © Filed under: Cocktails & Spirits | No Comments »