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Issan experiment
Apr. 22nd, 2007 08:31 amLast night I decided to cook the classic Issan combo; grilled chicken, papaya salad and sticky rice.
Grilled chicken
Pound lemongrass, garlic, coriander root and white pepper to a paste. Rub it over the chicken (whole, parts or boneless chunks). Marinade for at least two hours. Grill, preferably over charcoal but whatever. Serve with sweet chilli sauce and/or Jaew.
Papaya salad
Peel, seed and shred one unripe papaya. In a mortar and pestle bash 5-10 bird's eye chillis, 4 or 5 cloves of garlic and a few coriander roots. Take two pieces of fermented fish (this is the Issan bit) and bring to the boil with 125ml of water. Simmer until the fish has dissolved then strain, reserving the liquid. (Have extractor fan on full blast and dispose of the strained fish solids rapidly. This stuff could be used for chemical warfare). Halve 8 or so cherry tomatoes and cut 3 or 4 long beans into 2.5cm pieces. Add the chilli/garlic paste, tomatoes and beans to the papaya and mix well. Now add some of the fish liquor and some lime juice to the salad and mix thoroughly, ideally pounding it a bit to blend the flavours. Keep adding, mixing and pounding until the salad is to your taste. It should be quite spicy, pungent, slightly salty and slightly sour.
Serve the chicken and salad with steamed sticky and a plate of raw herbs and veggies. When I had this kind of chicken in Thailand it usually came with white cabbage and cilantro. Last night we had sweet red pepper, black radish, long beans, cilantro and white turmeric.
For a non-Issan variant on this, serve jasmine rice rather than sticky rice. For the salad, use fish sauce instead off the fermented fish liquor, add a little palm sugar and some dried shrimps (or salted rice field crabs if feeling brave). Crushed peanuts may also be added.
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gastrogasm
Grilled chicken
Pound lemongrass, garlic, coriander root and white pepper to a paste. Rub it over the chicken (whole, parts or boneless chunks). Marinade for at least two hours. Grill, preferably over charcoal but whatever. Serve with sweet chilli sauce and/or Jaew.
Papaya salad
Peel, seed and shred one unripe papaya. In a mortar and pestle bash 5-10 bird's eye chillis, 4 or 5 cloves of garlic and a few coriander roots. Take two pieces of fermented fish (this is the Issan bit) and bring to the boil with 125ml of water. Simmer until the fish has dissolved then strain, reserving the liquid. (Have extractor fan on full blast and dispose of the strained fish solids rapidly. This stuff could be used for chemical warfare). Halve 8 or so cherry tomatoes and cut 3 or 4 long beans into 2.5cm pieces. Add the chilli/garlic paste, tomatoes and beans to the papaya and mix well. Now add some of the fish liquor and some lime juice to the salad and mix thoroughly, ideally pounding it a bit to blend the flavours. Keep adding, mixing and pounding until the salad is to your taste. It should be quite spicy, pungent, slightly salty and slightly sour.
Serve the chicken and salad with steamed sticky and a plate of raw herbs and veggies. When I had this kind of chicken in Thailand it usually came with white cabbage and cilantro. Last night we had sweet red pepper, black radish, long beans, cilantro and white turmeric.
For a non-Issan variant on this, serve jasmine rice rather than sticky rice. For the salad, use fish sauce instead off the fermented fish liquor, add a little palm sugar and some dried shrimps (or salted rice field crabs if feeling brave). Crushed peanuts may also be added.
X-posted to
gastrogasm
