I can’t really categorize this dish: it’s a little bit South Asian, a little bit East Asian, a little bit American. It’s comfort food, though, and an easy one at that. Make this when you’re trying to clear out your pantry, serve over rice, and you’re golden.
Ingredients:
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons avocado oil
1 pound ground turkey (or beef)
3/4 teaspoon salt
Pepper, to taste
5 teaspoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon Madras curry poweder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
4 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
3 cups chicken broth
2 ounces Japanese curry sauce mix (such as House Foods Vermont Curry or S&B Golden Curry)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 green onions, thinly sliced
4 cups cooked rice and kimchi, for serving
Pulse onion, carrots, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a small bowl.
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Add turkey, salt, and season with pepper. Cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned, 6-8 minutes. Add onion mixture and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in butter, then sprinkle flour over and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add curry powder and turmeric and cook, stirring, until spices are fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Mix in soy sauce and fish sauce. Pour in broth and bring to a boil, scraping up any brown bits. Reduce heat and simmer occasionally, until slightly thickened, 8-10 minutes.
Stir in curry sauce mix and simmer, stirring often, until gravy is thick enough to coat a spoon, about 5 minutes. Stir in cream and remove from heat.
Serve curry on top of rice in serving bowls and with kimchi on the side.
Right about this time of year is when I get officially sick of wintertime and start to count down the days until summer. The cold is overrated, but noodle soups help me get through. This spicy curry one is vaguely Southeast Asian and transports me to a warmer climate — at least in my imagination, for now.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons avocado oil
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons minced lemongrass
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
2 tablespoons curry powder (I use a blend of Madras and roasted Sri Lankan curry powders)
1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
1 1/2 14-ounce cans coconut milk, divided
6 cups chicken broth
2 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups snow peas, trimmed
2 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled red-skinned sweet potato (yam; from about 1 large)
1 pound dried rice vermicelli noodles or rice stick noodles
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add next 4 ingredients; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in curry paste, curry powder, and chili paste. Add 1/2 cup coconut milk (scooped from thick liquid at top of can). Stir until thick and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add remaining coconut milk, broth, fish sauce, and sugar; bring broth to boil. Keep warm.
Cook snow peas in pot of boiling salted water until bright green, about 20 seconds. Using strainer, remove peas from pot; rinse under cold water to cool. Place peas in medium bowl. Bring water in same pot back to boil. Add sweet potato and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Using strainer, remove sweet potato from pot and rinse under cold water to cool. Place in small bowl. Bring water in same pot back to boil and cook noodles until just tender but still firm to bite , about 6 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water to cool.
Bring broth to simmer. Add chicken; simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add sweet potato; stir to heat through, about 1 minute. Divide noodles among bowls. Divide snow peas and hot soup among bowls. Scatter red onion, green onions, cilantro, and chiles over soup. Garnish with lime wedges and serve.
I’ll be real with you: the first time I made this nasi lemak I told myself I wouldn’t make it again. It took too long to make! Too many components. But then I took a coconuty, eggy, cucumbery, peanuty bite, and uh, I guess this one’s a keeper. Crunchy, crispy, savory, and sweet, this Malaysian classic has it all.
Ingredients:
3 1/2 ounces dried bird chiles or dried chiles de arbol 1 cup avocado oil 1/2 cup peanuts 2 1/2 cups small dried anchovies 2 shallots, halved 3 garlic cloves 2 Holland chiles (or similar red chile), stems removed, halved lengthwise 4 teaspoons sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons tamarind paste 2 cups jasmine rice 1 teaspoon salt 3 pandan leaves 1/2 cup coconut milk 4 eggs 2 Persian cucumbers or 1/2 English cucumber, cut in half lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise Soy sauce, for serving
1. Chop dried chiles into 1/2-inch pieces, discarding the seeds that fall out. Place in a small bowl and pour in boiling water to cover. Let sit 30 minutes to soften, then drain.
2. Meanwhile, bring oil and peanuts to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook, adjusting heat as needed, until peanuts are golden brown, 6–8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer nuts to paper towels to drain; set aside for serving. Immediately add anchovies to oil and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to paper towels; let cool. Set ¼ cup oil aside.
3. Pulse shallots, garlic, and 1/4 cup fried anchovies (save remaining anchovies for serving) in a food processor until a smooth paste forms. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add dried and Holland chiles to food processor (no need to clean) and pulse until very smooth and no visible pieces of dried chile remain. Transfer chile puree to a small bowl.
4. Heat reserved oil in a medium skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Add shallot mixture and cook, stirring, until slightly darkened in color and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Mix in chile puree and cook, stirring often, until it starts to stick to bottom of skillet, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add sugar, tamarind concentrate, and 1/4 cup water and cook, stirring often, until sambal is much darker in color and thickened, 25–35 minutes.(Sambal ikan bilis can be made 1 week ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.)
5. Make the rice: place rinsed/cleaned rice in a medium saucepan and cover with 2½ cups cold water; stir in salt. Gather pandan leaves together and tie into a knot; add to pan. Bring rice to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover pan and reduce heat to low; cook 18 minutes. Remove lid and stir in coconut milk. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit 5 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Lower eggs into water. Cook 10 minutes, then transfer to a bowl of ice water and let cool. Peel eggs and cut in half lengthwise.
7. Combine sambal ikan bilis, reserved fried peanuts, and reserved fried anchovies in a medium bowl and toss to evenly coat. Scoop a generous ½ cup sambal mixture into a 12-oz. bowl. Top with 1½ cups rice and pack into bowl with a rubber spatula to compress. The bowl should be filled to the rim. Place a slightly larger bowl upside down over bowl of rice. Invert so larger bowl is now on the bottom; lift off smaller bowl. You should have a dome of rice and anchovy mixture nestled in the center of the larger bowl. Arrange 8 cucumber slices around rice dome, overlapping slightly to make a semicircle. Add 2 egg halves to side of rice with no cucumber slices; season yolks lightly with soy sauce. Repeat with remaining rice, sambal mixture, cucumbers, and eggs to make 3 more bowls.
It’s eggplant season! Adapted from chef Joe Ogrodnek, this buttery, savory, and lime-heavy eggplant dish is one of my new favorites. I could eat this all summer.
Ingredients:
4 medium Japanese eggplants (about 1 3/4 pound) 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper
For the dressing: 6 tablespoons hot water 4 tablespoons brown sugar 1/2 cup fish sauce 1/2 cup fresh lime 1 teaspoon grated ginger 1 teaspoon grated garlic 1 serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped 1 (2-inch) piece lemongrass stalk, halved lengthwise and smashed 1 makrut lime leaf
Additional ingredients: 1/4 cup torn fresh basil, cilantro, and or mint, plus more for garnish 1/4 cup thinly sliced radishes 1/4 thinly sliced red onion 1/2 cup toasted chopped peanuts 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions 2 teaspoons crispy fried shallots 2 teaspoons fried garlic
1. Cook the eggplant: Working in batches, sear the eggplants in vegetable oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high until browned on all sides and tender. Set aside to cool slighly.
2. Whisk together 6 tablespoons hot water and sugar in a small bowl until sugar dissolves. Whisk in fish sauce, lime juice, ginger, garlic, and chile. Add lemongrass and lime leaf.
3. Cut eggplants in half lengthwise (do not cut all the way through).
4. Place eggplant on a serving platter. Stuff eggplants evenly with herbs, radishes, and red onion. Drizzle 2 tablespoons dressing over each stuffed eggplant. Top evenly with peanuts, scallions, fried shallots, and fried garlic. Sprinkle with additional herbs. Serve warm or at room temperature.
“Anytime I’m eating spicy noodles in a bowl, I’m happy.” – the late, great Anthony Bourdain.
He was right, of course. I can’t think of much that’s more satisfying than a bowl of noodles. This Laotian-style khao soi is a lot different than its richer, northern Thai-style counterpart, down to the zucchini ribbons that are served alongside rice noodles for a lighter bowl. It’s perfect on a sweltering summer day.
Ingredients:
3 dried Thai chiles
1 cup hot water
3 tablespoons avocado oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 pound ground turkey
1 plum tomatoe, chopped (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup soybean paste
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 bunch cilantro
8 cups chicken broth
14 ounces dried thin rice stick noodles
3 cups zucchini ribbons
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
Black pepper
Lime wedges
1. Crumble Thai chiles into a medium heatproof bowl. Add 1 cup hot water; let stand 15 minutes. Drain chiles; discard liquid. Process chiles, oil, and garlic in a mini food processor until chiles are very finely chopped, about 30 seconds.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium. Add chile mixture; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add turkey; cook, stirring occasionally to break pork into small pieces, until browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, soybean paste, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, sugar, and paprika. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes break down, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced and turkey is coated with sauce, about 8 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, separate cilantro stems from leaves. Chop leaves to yield about 1/2 cup; set aside for garnish. Stir together chicken broth, cilantro stems, and remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce in a medium saucepan. Cover and bring to a simmer over medium. Uncover; strain and discard cilantro stems. Cover broth; keep warm over medium-low.
4. Prepare rice noodles according to package directions. Drain noodles, and divide evenly among 8 serving bowls. Add zucchini ribbons to hot broth; cook over medium-low until just tender, about 1 minute. Using tongs or a spider, remove zucchini from broth and divide evenly among serving bowls. Top each bowl with about 1/4 cup turkey mixture and 1 cup hot broth. Sprinkle bowls evenly with mint and reserved chopped cilantro. Garnish with black pepper and serve with lime wedges.
