rice bowl

I got tired of eating street food. I know people who would say, I could never get tired of it. The fact is: I missed my kitchen. But for most of the week, I live in Salaya in a tiny studio that has no kitchen. I decided to buy a small 3 cup rice cooker and experiment with rice bowls. A rice bowl is a dish that includes meat, veggies, and rice all in one. I made this vegetarian version out of just a few ingredients: rice, a handful of cashews, golden raisins, sweet bell pepper, and scallion. The only thing I cooked was the rice. The rest I added when the rice was steaming hot. It’s  so simple it doesn’t need a recipe!

vodka pie crust apple galette with spiced sugar

This is a delicious crust, but it’s hard to manage. It sticks to the board, the rolling pin, and it’s very hard to roll up and move to the baking tray. For the galette, it is best to roll it out on the silicone mat. I wanted to make an apple galette–I made two, actually, because this recipe makes a double crust. The crust really did come out flaky and tender, just as America’s Test Kitchen had promised.

Apple Galette
6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced into sixteenths

Spiced Sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind (1 small lime)

Vodka Pie Crust (America’s Test Kitchen)
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups (313g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons (170g) cold unsalted butter cut into 1/4 inch cubes, chilled
1/2 cup (95g) cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces, chilled
1/4 cup chilled vodka
1/4 cup cold water
milk for brushing
demerara or turbinado sugar for sprinkling

Procedure

1. Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses.

2. Scatter butter and shortening on top and process until incorporated and dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds. Dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour.

3. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough as been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

4. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together.

5. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or up to 2 days. Let dough sit on the counter 10 minutes before rolling it out.

Cake Baker’s Note: I wrapped and froze the dough for a week then thawed it for several hours in the refrigerator.

6. Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 425˚F or 220˚C. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 12-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll onto a silicone mat. Alternatively, roll it out onto a floured silicone mat. I had to scrape it off the pastry board with a bench scraper and pancake turner. I just don’t know if it’s supposed to be that sticky.

7. Mound half the apples in the center of the dough circle. Sprinkle generously with the spiced sugar. Use a bench scraper to fold up the sides. Fold the corners. Brush the dough with milk and sprinkle with demerara or turbinado sugar. Place the mat on the baking sheet and bake 45-55 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Repeat #6 and #7 for the second dough circle.

rice ruam mit

This dish has everything all mixed up together–ruam mit. Well almost everything.  The base for it is Thai jasmine rice, of course. Then I tossed in raisins, green peas, lime zest,  the juice of a lime, scallions, salt, pepper, and the chiffonade of a few leaves of basil. Should have been mint but all we had was basil.  The raisins added a touch of sweetness to a rice dish that was also salty and tangy. A-roy.

guisada: pork stew with leeks, potatoes, and grape tomatoes

We wanted American food. We went t0 The Great American Rib Company in Soi 36. Andy had half a rack of ribs and I had the pulled pork. Andy’s ribs were tender and came off the bones. He got baked beans, cole slaw, and chili corn bread slices with his ribs. I tried a bit of the beans and the corn bread. The beans were a tad sweet–too much brown sugar is my guess. The cornbread was dry and the chili flavor was stale. Andy ordered a side of curly fries. They were fresh and hot and served with a side of barbecue sauce. My dinner arrived with barbecue sauce on the side, cole slaw, and french fries. The pork was dry and chewy. Dabbing sauce on top helped a bit. To save costs, the pickles had been shaved so thin on a mandoline you couldn’t taste them. The cole slaw was watery and warm. We didn’t finish it. I’ve eaten at American Rib Co. before, but I think the quality of the food has deteriorated. The whole experience cost Baht 1500 (approximately US$46.00). Disappointing. Not worth the expense.

On Sunday evening, I made the guisada again. This is a latin beef stew which I had adapted to pork. This time I freely experimented with the ingredients, adding what I like to the stew. I thought leeks would be a nice exchange for the scallions, and tomato paste would ramp up the flavor without having to add more salt.

Guisada

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups chopped leeks, white part only
4 cloves garlic
1 cup organic grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped coarsely
1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin, sliced into chunks
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons beer (I used Chang beer)
2/3 cup water
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons seasoning salt
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 large dried bay leaf
4 cups small-medium organic potatoes, quartered or cut into eighths
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large Dutch pot. Add the leeks, garlic, tomatoes and cilantro. Cook 5 minutes or until the vegetables are wilted.
Add 1/3 cup beer, 1/3 cup water, 1 teaspoon seasoning salt, cumin, paprika, and bay leaf. Stir to combine. Add the potatoes and the tomato paste. Add more water about 1/3 cup more, if needed. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.

Put the pork in a medium bowl with 1 teaspoon of the seasoning salt and the flour. Mix well. Over medium high heat, heat the teaspoon oil in a large skillet then brown the meat. Add the meat to the vegetables. Return the skillet to the heat. To the skillet, add the 2 tablespoons beer and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom. The beer will bubble, thicken, and reduce. Pour the reduction in the stew, scraping out all the browned bits into the guisada.

That’s it. Serve and eat.