Pork Seasoning

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Jun 102010
 

I learned two different types of seasoning pastes/marinades (mit gan) from my friend Jia. One is used with beef. That recipe is here. [link to be restored] Here is the mit gan for pork. It’s good for about 1 – 2 pounds of thinly sliced pork. You can grill these pieces of stir fry them. It’s a very versatile marinade and I use it often. This is a double recipe so you can save half for later.

1/4 cup Gochujang (Korean hot bean paste)
1/4 soy sauce (use Korean or Japanese kind, Kikoman works)
1/4 cup mirin (or sake or Korean rice wine)
6 T sugar (use 5 if using mirin)
1 T sesame oil (dark roasted east Asian kind)
copious amount of freshly ground black pepper
1 T toasted sesame seeds
1 T fresh grated ginger
1/4 cup crushed of chopped garlic
1/2 chopped green onion (scallions) white and some green parts

Mix everything together. Use with thinly sliced pork for Tweajibokkum (stir fried pork) or Twaejigogi (grilled pork slices)

Dal

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Mar 172005
 

Somebody is buggin me for a dal recipe. This is one I make often.

Moong Dal

1 cup of Moong Dal (hulled and split mung beans)
4 cups of water
1/2 tsp Turmeric
2 slices of fresh ginger
11/2 tsp salt (to taste)
1 T fresh lemon juice (to taste)
3 T ghee
1 tsp Kalonji (black onion seeds, black caraway)
2 bay leaves
1 small onion sliced very thin
1 tsp hot pepper powder (to taste)

Carefully pick over the Dal, removing any stems dirt, and stones. Toast the Dal in a wide pan for a few minutes on medium high heat, stirring. Toast until the dal has a roasted smell and turns a few shades darker. Put dal in a pot with the water and bring to a simmer. Skim scum off the top, and then add the turmeric and the ginger. Cover, with lid slightly ajar and simmer on low heat for about an hour and fifteen minutes. Stir occasionally; the dal will start to break apart. Add salt and lemon juice, stir. In a small frying pan heat the ghee over medium high heat. When it is hot add the Kalonji seeds, then add the bay leaves, after a few seconds (when the bay leaves are brown) add the onion and stir till it turns brown and crispy (but don’t burn it, you may need to lower the heat as it browns), then add the hot pepper powder and quickly pour the contents of the frying pan into the dal. Taste and adjust w/ salt and lemon juice. Serve hot w/ rice or bread. This is a Bengali style moong dal (I think).

Mmmm Shrimp Paste

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Sep 152004
 

Wife was out of town this weekend, so I ate some Thai food. Our local Thai grocery sells prepared Thai dishes on Saturday. Some are even homemade, and all are cooked to the Thai palate, as opposed to most Thai restaurants that cook to American tastes. They also have many dishes that never seem to appear on American Thai restaurant menus, mostly Nam Prik. Nam Prik is a super strong tasting sauce that’s served with raw, blanched, or fried vegetables. The most ubiquitous Nam Prik is the venerable Nam Prik Kapi. Nam means water or liquid in Thai. Prik means pepper, (white pepper is Prik Thai, chillies are Prik ee nu, Prik Chee Fah, etc.), and Kapi is fermented shrimp paste. Nam Prik Kapi is a very hot, salty, sour, and pungent condiment. It, or any other Nam Prik is an integral part of a traditional Thai meal.

Another great Kapi dish is Kao Pad Kapi, or Shrimp Paste fried rice. I had that on Saturday. It’s a fine one dish meal served with sweet pork and sliced vegetables. An acquired taste for sure, but great.

My Wife is very allergic to shrimp so Kapi is not used in my kitchen, but I really do like it, especially with lots of chillies.

The quintessential Central Thai meal is probably RICE, Nam Prik Plah Too (Nam Prik Kapi, vegetables, and fried steamed salted mackerel) and Gaeng Som (sour curry).

That’s good stuff.

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