Category: Noodles and Pasta

Categories
Asian Main Dish Noodles and Pasta

Pok Pok’s Pad Thai

Ok, so this is the recipe that I used to make Pad Thai last night:

https://thetakeout.com/recipe-how-to-make-pok-pok-pad-thai-pork-shrimp-1834808412

This recipe comes from Chef Andy Ricker. He’s an EXPERT on Thai cooking and owns a number of restaurants with “Pok Pok” in the name.

This recipe is very authentic and I’d suggest that you try to make it using the ingredients specified. I also apologize that the link I posted is one of those really long recipes where you scroll to have to get to the actual instructions.

I realize that some of these ingredients can be hard to come by (especially right now!). The one that’s absolutely key is the tamarind water – you make this from tamarind paste. You can find that ingredient at Asian Markets or, of course, on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Tamarind-Seedless-Tamarido-Product-Thailand/dp/B0778R38FY/ref=sr_1_8?crid=3R8HE2899AAEX&dchild=1&keywords=tamarind+paste&qid=1587139791&sprefix=tamarin%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-8)

Key to this recipe is having your mise en place done – get everything chopped, cooked, ready as – once you start stir frying – it comes together in minutes!

Reach out if you have questions, hope you try it and enjoy!

Categories
Comfort Food Main Dish Noodles and Pasta

Cooking and Saucing Pasta – The Right Way!

The best way to sauce pasta is to finish cooking it in the sauce as this infuses the pasta with flavor!

To start, cook the pasta in a small amount of water – you don’t have to use a huge pot filled with water. Cooking pasta this way has a couple of advantages – the water takes less time to boil and the water is starchier once the pasta is done cooking (we’ll be using the water when we sauce the pasta). I use a 12 saute pan that is big enough to hold the pasta I’m cooking, you basically need just a couple of inches of water – enough to fully cover the pasta. Salt the water but DO NOT MAKE IT AS “SALTY AS THE SEA”. That’s a dumb old wives’ tale – sea water is wayyyyyyyy too salty. I use a tablespoon(ish) – if you taste the water you want it to taste “right” – to your salt taste. I actually salt to Ash’s taste as I like things saltier than most people. Bring the water to a boil (you actually don’t even need to do this, you can cook pasta starting in cold water) and add the pasta, stirring to keep it separate. Cook until a minute or so short of al dente (taste it – you want to pull it out when it is still chewy – a minute or so less than the instructions on the box/bag say). Drain the pasta but save a cup of so of the cooking water, you’ll need it. Alternately, you can use tongs and just lift the pasta out of the water and put it right into your sauce, I do this pretty frequently.

Meanwhile, while the pasta cooks, have your sauce warming up in a big skillet (or make it if it is a quick cooking sauce like carbonara (yeah, yeah, I’ll do that one live soon). Turn the heat up to high and add the pasta and start stirring. Add pasta cooking water to keep cooking the pasta – I start with about a half cup. Keep stirring, adding more water if needed, until the pasta is done. Add finishing “stuff” – grated cheese, toasted bread crumbs (if you haven’t tried this, do it NOW), olive oil, fresh herbs, etc. Serve in warm (always!!) bowls. BTW, DO NOT over sauce the pasta, you can add more at the table if you want.

The pic below was made with a long-cooked ragu. I combined these two recipes:

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/01/ragu-napoletano-meat-sauce-pork-beef-sausage-recipe.html

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/09/the-best-slow-cooked-italian-american-tomato-sauce-red-sauce-recipe.html

Categories
Comfort Food Italian Main Dish Noodles and Pasta

Spaghetti Carbonara

One of my favorite pasta dishes is spaghetti alla carbonara. This Roman dish – whose origins are disputed (we’ll talk about that tonight) – is super easy to make, especially if you know a few tricks. It’s also super comforting: it’s basically breakfast-for-dinner (eggs, bacon, cheese) + pasta! What could be better?

We’re going to use a recipe from Serious Eats as a guide, check it out here: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/12/pasta-carbonara-sauce-recipe.html

That will give you the basic ingredients that you’ll need. I know that you may not have everything and that’s ok! You can substitute any kind of pasta if you don’t have spaghetti (I’m going to use buccatini – my favorite long pasta) and can use any cured meat product (including bacon) if you don’t have pancetta (or even leave it out for vegetarian version)! Regardless, you should have the ingredients prepped and ready to go. One addition – if you have it – will be a couple of cloves of minced garlic.

From an ingredient perspective you’ll need:

1 lb. of pasta (preferably a long shape like spaghetti or bucatini but anything will work), 3-4 oz. of pancetta, bacon (chopped), or guanciale, 6-8 eggs, 1-2 oz. of parmesan or pecorino, 1-2 cloves of garlic, olive oil, S&P

From an equipment perspective you’ll need:

A pot to cook the pasta in (and a strainer), a pan to saute the pork-y product in, a heat proof bowl (e.g. something porcelain or ceramic), tongs, and serving bowls

Here’s the finished product!