Month: March 2013

Pad See Ew: Thai Comfort Food

- Elspeth 4 Comments

I have lately been obsessed with Pad See Ew, which might sound alien to many out there, but it’s a rice noodle dish that is simply heavenly. Squishy (yes, I’m sticking with this adjective. Anyone who has enjoyed a good, fat rice noodle knows what I’m talkin’ bout), saucy, filled with crisp veggies and completely delish.

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Surprisingly, it’s also insanely easy to make.

This comes together very quickly (cooking time is approx 7 minutes, prep time 1 hour), but you must be absolutely, 1000% prepared with everything you need before you turn on the heat. If you need to run to the fridge, whisk up a bit of sauce, or chop a veggie, God help you. Work quickly, confidently, and work with very high heat (don’t be afraid, it can smell your fear).

I made it vegetarian, but you can easily add meat to this. I would suggest (from the recipes I’ve read, I haven’t actually made it with meat) par-boiling whatever meat you choose for a minute or two before adding it to the pan. This will make sure you cook it enough, but avoid overcooking the noodles and egg.

This dish is best fresh, so I wouldn’t make extra to have leftovers. It just isn’t as tasty as when it’s hot out of the pan!

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Pad See Ew

compiled from several recipes, including She Simmers and About.com

  • 1/2 bag dry wide rice noodles
  • 2-3 T vegetable or safflower oil
  • 1-2 c vegetable of choice, washed and cut to desired size. I would suggest small, since cooking time is short. (I’ve made this with broccoli and Brussel sprouts, both of which were more outrageous than Kim Kardashian’s maternity garb)
  • 2 eggs, cracked open and ready in a bowl

Sauce:

  • 3 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. regular soy sauce
  • 3 Tbsp. oyster sauce
  • 2 tsp. brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. white pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 1 T white vinegar
  • 1/4 c thinly sliced scallions (optional)
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed
  • stock on hand, to deglaze the pan if it gets too brown

In a large bowl, submerge the rice noodles in warm water and let sit for about an hour. They will soften slightly. Meanwhile, heat a medium pot with water, chop your veggies, and mix your sauce ingredients together. At the risk of sounding redundant, have everything next to the stove. Seriously. Right there. Ready. Waiting. Eager.

When the noodles are ready and the water is simmering, put a large sauce pan over high heat. While this is heating up (you will need it to be smoking), par boil your veggies for 1-3 minutes. They should be mostly done, but still fairly crisp. As they are getting to the desired point of doneness, add the oil to the pan and let it heat until smoking. Add the eggs and scramble quickly. They will sputter and splatter, so be careful. Remove the veggies from the water (I used a slotted spoon) and add to the pan with the egg. DO NOT STIR. Let them hang out for a bit. My friend Leslie, after a trip to Thailand that was complete with a cooking class, informed me that one of the keys to delicious Thai cooking is to not touch the food when it’s in the pan. So back off!

Add the noodles to the simmering par-boil water and let them hang out there for 30 seconds, but no more. Rice noodles get soggy very, very quickly, so remove them as soon as they are ready. I found it best to have a sieve ready in the sink and just strain quickly, then pop them in the hot pan with the veggies and egg. When you’ve got them in the pan, add the sauce evenly over everything and let it all just sit. You will be tempted to touch it, but don’t. Let the heat do the work for you and you can take this opportunity to do the inhale/exhale thing. After a few minutes or when your smoke alarm is starting to call the fire department, give it a good shake and shuffle to loosen things up a bit. If things are sticking to the bottom, add a little stock to the pan and shake some more. It will only take a few minutes for everything to come together, so keep a close eye on it.

Toss it with the scallions and serve it up real pretty.

See why I said to be prepared? Bam! Bam! Bam!

So, so good. The ingredients are inexpensive and while oyster sauce and dark soy sauce are not staples of everyone’s home, they are essential if you plan on doing much asian cooking.

noodle in pan

Banana Pancakes

- Elspeth 1 Comment

This isn’t just pancake batter that you throw bananas into. It’s pancake batter made mostly out of the bananas themselves.

BOOM. Just blew your minds.

Since I’ve gone mostly gluten free and vegetarian (now and then you just NEED a burger. Am I wrong? That’s not a “like to have”, it’s a “need to have” kind of food), I’ve been combing Pinterest for recipes that will fit both bills. A lot of vegetarians rely on bread, pasta, etc to fill the void left behind by chickens and other beasts, but the GF thing gets in the way. I’m finding creative recipes and substitutions all over the wonder-webz and this beauty takes the cake for the weekend.

There are two ingredients. That’s right. TWO.

  • 1 banana
  • 2 eggs

Most people have those hanging around, so you can keep your sweatpants on (I know I did) and not worry about having to run to the store first thing on a lazy Sunday morning.

The other beautiful thing, aside from the fact that they are tasty, have a good texture, and take 2 seconds to make, is that you can make them sweet OR savory.

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It’s as if Moses has traipsed down that mountain again to deliver me golden tablets etched with delightful recipes. Thanks, friend.

I added a teaspoon of almond extract and a shake of cinnamon to give mine a little personality, but I think these combos would be great, as well:

  • Chocolate and peanut butter chips (duh)
  • Cinnamon pecan
  • Scallion and shredded cheddar
  • Caper and bacon chunks (one of my favorite combinations ever)

And the list goes on and on.

To get yourself moving, preheat a pan to med-high or 375 degrees if you’re working with a griddle. Mash the banana in a bowl (really make sure it’s smooth) and then beat in the two eggs, one at a time. Mix in any additionals. When the pan is hot and you’ve greased it up with butter or oil, pour a slow stream of batter for a couple of seconds, until you have a nice sized disc. It will spread fairly quickly and be runny, so it’s easy to know when to stop pouring.

Warning: these stick to the pan when they are not cooked enough on one side, so make sure you wait 3-4 minutes before attempting to flip. Make them fairly small so you don’t have to worry about leaving behind an edge as your spatula comes off the surface of the pan. I slid mine around under the pancakes to make sure I had loosened the whole thing up before I attempted to flip. A few edges were lost in the shuffle. I cried. The pancakes mourned.

But then I ate them and it was magical, so all of the sadness was forgotten! I doused mine with some maple syrup and a bit of buttah, and died a little happy joyful heavenly death of wonder.

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