THAI FLAVORS
By Wolfgang Puck, Tribune Media Services
One of my favorite surprises as a chef, and also as someone who loves
delicious, beautifully cooked food, has been the growing popularity of
Asian cuisines over the past three-plus decades that I have lived in
America. When I first arrived here, Asian cooking almost always meant
Chinese food, though a few adventurous souls tried Japanese sushi --
imagine how daring it felt back then to eat raw fish -- and many more
enjoyed that nation's popular cooked preparations like teriyaki and
sukiyaki. Then, around the late 1970s or early '80s, Thai food started
gaining in popularity, with restaurants springing up everywhere
serving complex, incredibly flavorful food at very reasonable prices.
I quickly fell in love with the cuisine and its combinations of
seasonings, balancing spicy, sweet, sour, pungent, and salty flavors.
Soon I began to introduce Thai seasonings into my own cooking,
offering dishes like Pork Loin with Thai Sauce and Papaya Salad on the
menu at Spago. Mild-tasting yet full of flavor, pork is an ideal
candidate for such a Thai treatment. The dish was certainly a change
of pace for me from the way my mother cooked pork back in Austria,
rubbing the meat with caraway, garlic, marjoram, salt, and pepper
before roasting it for Sunday lunch. The secret to achieving authentic
Thai flavors in this recipe comes from preparing a Thai seasoning
paste before doing anything else. It includes cashews, which thicken
the sauce as well as adding, along with a little toasted sesame oil, a
rich, nutty taste; honey and some plum wine, available in the Asian
food section of well-stocked markets, for sweetness; fresh ginger and
chili pepper, for heat and their own aromatic flavors; garlic and
green onions for their distinctive pungency; and aromatic cumin and
turmeric. I also include a little balsamic vinegar, definitely not a
traditional Thai ingredient, which I find perfectly adjusts the
balance of the paste with its combination of tangy and sweet flavors.
You'll have more than enough of the paste for the four servings the
recipe yields; the remainder will keep well for several days covered
in the refrigerator, ready to add flavor to another dish. One of the
things that really make this recipe, though, is the sweet and spicy
papaya salad that accompanies it. You often find such salads, which
complement the main dish like a relish or a salsa would, in Southeast
Asian cuisines. If you can't find good, ripe papaya, mango or
pineapple would make excellent substitutes. Speaking of substitutions,
this recipe would also be delicious made with lamb tenderloins or with
skinless, boneless chicken breasts. So it's easy for you to go on and
on being surprised by wonderful Thai flavors. PORK LOIN WITH THAI
SAUCE AND PAPAYA SALAD Serves 4 THAI PASTE: 1/4 pound unsalted raw
cashews 1/2 cup plum wine 1 ounce peeled fresh ginger, coarsely
chopped 6 garlic cloves 1 jalapeno chili, stemmed, seeded, deveined,
and coarsely chopped 1/2 cup sliced green onions 1/2 cup chopped
cilantro leaves 1/4 cup peanut oil 1-1/2 tablespoons turmeric 1
tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon toasted Asian-style sesame oil 1
tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon cumin 1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt PAPAYA SALAD: 12 ounces ripe organic papaya
or mango, peeled, seeded, and diced 1/2 red onion, diced 1/4 cup
chopped cilantro leaves 1/4 jalapeno chili, stemmed, seeded, deveined,
and finely chopped 2 limes, juiced 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1
teaspoon honey Salt White pepper 4 radicchio leaves PORK LOIN: 1-1/2
pounds pork loin, cut crosswise into 4 equal medallions Salt Freshly
ground black pepper 1 tablespoon peanut oil 1/2 cup Port 1 cup organic
store-bought chicken broth Fresh lime juice First, make the Thai
Paste: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the cashews on a
baking sheet and roast until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove
from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Raise the oven
temperature to 450 degrees F. Put the plum wine and ginger in a small
saucepan and simmer over medium-high heat until the liquid has
evaporated. Put the ginger and all the remaining Thai Paste
ingredients in a food processor fitted with the stainless-steel blade
or in a blender. Puree them. Transfer the paste to a bowl and set
aside. Next, make the Papaya Salad: In a medium bowl, combine the
papaya, onion, cilantro, and jalapeno. In a small bowl, whisk together
the lime juice, vinegar, and honey. Cover the two bowls with plastic
wrap and refrigerate until serving time. Season the pork medallions
all over with salt and pepper and, with the side of a cleaver or the
bottom of a heavy plate, flatten them slightly. Heat an ovenproof
skillet over high heat. Add the peanut oil and, as soon as it is hot
enough to swirl easily, add the medallions and saute until nicely
browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the skillet to the oven and
roast until the medallions are medium-rare, about 15 minutes. Transfer
the medallions to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
Pour off all the fat from the skillet. Over high heat, add the Port
and stir and scrape to deglaze the pan deposits. Pour in the broth and
continue cooking until the sauce thickens slightly. Whisk in 1/4 cup
of the Thai paste and season to taste with salt, pepper, and lime
juice. Keep warm. Toss the salad ingredients with the dressing and
season to taste with salt and pepper. On one side of each warmed
serving plate, place a radicchio leaf to form a cup and mound some of
the salad inside it. Spoon some of the sauce on the other side of each
plate and place a pork medallion on top. Spoon more sauce over the
pork and garnish with a few cilantro leaves.
(c) 2008 WOLFGANG PUCK WORLDWIDE, INC. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
This news arrived on: 04/09/2008
Printer Friendly Version | Send this page to a friend | Post Comment
Rate This Story:
Great - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - Bad
Posted Comments:
Comment archive | Comment FAQ's
 |
 |
View ArcaMax Chef ezine stories by date or visit the complete archive |
The ArcaMax Politics channel is one of 70 content categories offered by ArcaMax Publishing on this ... |
VideoSquares.com
