Don’t the smell and taste of fresh herbs make a refreshing cocktail even more invigorating? As if that weren’t already an excuse to feature them in your drinks, it’s the Kentucky Derby weekend! Time to break out the crazy hats and mint juleps! I experimented with Thai basil and added some lemongrass syrup for my usual Asian flair. Try adding a twist to your traditional mint juleps by experimenting with different herbs; boozy trial and error is always a good time in the kitchen.
While curry is a prominent flavor in many South and Southeast Asian dishes, “curry” is actually more of a catchall term to describe a fragrant combination of ground spices or a spicy paste. In fact, a typical curry doesn’t even contain the curry leaf from which it derives its name. Such is the case with the beloved Thai red curry, which is composed of ground chili peppers, kaffir lime leaves, Thai basil, fish sauce, and of course, creamy coconut milk. For me, it is such a spicy and rich treat yet it’s still quite healthy and light. Though I usually have red curry with chicken, I decided to experiment with seafood this time. I think a mild fish such as salmon or tilapia enhances the fish sauce in the curry without making it overpoweringly fishy. The best part? It takes less than 15 minutes to make. Curry in a hurry indeed!
Sometimes inspiration for food comes from thin air; an aroma wafts pass me while walking down the street and like a virus it latches onto my brain and I’ll stop at nothing to recreate it. But other times, inspiration comes from tasting something so perfectly executed that I’ll craft something similar as homage to a great work of art. In this case, these brussel sprouts pay tribute to a divine dish I had in Denver a few weekends ago. While my friends and I exchanged “Cheers!” and good laughs at Cholon, the geniuses in the kitchen were preparing one of the most amazing brussel sprout dishes I’ve ever had. Although the ground pork, red chiles, and puff rice that composed the dish brought out beautiful flavors, the real stars of the show were the kaffir lime leaves.
Isn’t it funny how as soon as you learn about something, it seems to pop up everywhere? This was the case with kaffir lime for me. I only had it for the first time a few weeks earlier at a Malaysian restaurant in the Bay Area. Kaffir lime is a citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia and can be recognized by its bumpy exterior, although the leaves are more commonly used in cooking than the fruit itself. While the leaves are too thick and bitter to actually be eaten, they release a wonderful tangy and bitter flavor when added to soups and stir frys.
Naturally, to add more Southeast Asian flair to the brussel sprouts, I prepared half a cup of Vietnamese fish sauce to add some umami and spice. It’s absolutely pungent but once you have it, you’ll want to add it to everything! Sigh if only my mother knew what a change of heart I’ve had with her beloved nÆ°á»›c mắm.
As you all know by now, Asian fusion is kind of my jam. Readers are always asking me, “How do you come up with your recipes? I never would have thought to mix x and y to make z!” I think the secret to being innovative comes with appreciating and understanding the process rather than exclusively focusing on the final product. In the kitchen, before I make a new dish, I break it down in my head by ingredient. If I know what ingredients go into the dish, I can introduce a new process and create something new. Take pizza for example. If you went straight to the grocery store knowing beforehand you wanted to make pizza, you would only get things to make pizza. But let’s think about the main ingredients of pizza – dough, tomato, cheese, and herbs – and brainstorm what we could make if we replaced one of the ingredients, in this scenario the dough. If we could substitute dough for anything, but keep those remaining ingredients, we could have bruschetta, stuffed tomatoes with bread crumbs, grilled cheese with tomato soup, etc, etc.
When making this recipe, I thought about what I would order if I was tempted by takeout – samosas, obviously – and analyzed what they were made of: potatoes, onions, peas, and lots of curry. With potatoes as the main ingredient, I thought of different ways potatoes can be prepared and added the rest of the ingredients back in. The result – samosa hashbrowns, naturally!
While it took being unemployed and freelancing as a substitute teacher to force myself to be creative with the few ingredients I could afford, I completely revamped my own personal cooking paradigm. Next time you plan on making a homecooked meal, instead of Googling recipes, rummage through your pantry and try making something with what you have instead. You never know where you may find inspiration. Hope you enjoyed taking a glimpse into my neurotic mind in the kitchen. 🙂
