Thai Kale Salad and a 2016 life update

My in-laws (yes, in-laws! Officially!) are in town this week, and though we've been busy running around town with them, I finally have some down time this morning. With the new year here I thought it would be a good time to make a blog update, and to share a recipe that's healthy and yummy enough to be worthy of my first blog post of 2016.

As you may have noticed (in-laws, people!), I am now married! We had a ceremony in Maine in early October, and our little hometown couldn't have been a better location. The leaves were changing, the air was crisp, and our friends and families really made the experience a dream for us.

Vegan Thai Tacos with Roasted Sweet Potato, Red Pepper, and Peanut Sauce

I'm lucky enough to work from home and sometimes I can't help but make myself a lunch that is a little more exciting than a standard salad/soup affair. A few weeks ago I found myself with a random array of ingredients on hand - some sweet potato, a few corn tortillas, the remains of a bunch of cilantro - and I decided to make roasted sweet potato tacos. But not just any tacos - Thai inspired tacos! A lot of the ingredients in Mexican food and Thai food are similar - spicy peppers, cilantro, garlic - and I thought it would be a great fusion lunch to help breathe some excitement into my day.

Spicy Thai Curry Soup with Chicken and Sweet Potato

I am obsessed with Thai food. I love the rich tapestry of flavors in each dish - the combination of sweet, salty, sour, and savory. I love the textures - juicy lime, crunchy peanuts, silky noodles. So, when I saw this recipe for Spicy Thai Curry Soup with Chicken and Sweet Potato in Bon Appetit, I knew I had to make it!

I changed a few things from the original recipe - namely that I made my own curry paste (because I do a lot of Thai-inspired cooking anyway) and that I used chicken breast instead of thighs, since that's what I had on hand.

Pad Thai Sauce with Marinated Pork, Grilled Vegetables and Rice Noodles

Please excuse the terrible lighting. By the time I finished cooking it was dark outside :(

I love Pad Thai. LOVE IT. But I've never been able to match the flavor of homemade Pad Thai with restaurant Pad Thai. According to the ninety bajillion recipes I've looked at online, this is because I don't have any tamarind paste.

Tamarind paste helps authentic Pad Thai achieve the sour/sweet taste that makes it so addictive, but even though I live a reasonable distance from Thai Town in LA (the largest concentration of Thai people anywhere in the world outside of Thailand!) I can't find tamarind paste anywhere in Santa Monica. Someday I will force Nate to go to Thai Town with me so I can raid some of the grocery stores there.

I love grilled vegetables...

In the mean time, I found a recipe for Pad Thai sauce without tamarind that claims, "The original pad Thai didn't contain tamarind at all (the makings of pad Thai being brought to Thailand via the Chinese)."

OH HAPPY DAY.

The sauce is sour, sweet, and salty, and though it doesn't taste exactly like the take-out Pad Thai I'm used to, it was delicious!

I served the sauce with rice noodles, grilled pork chops marinated in soy sauce, honey, and garlic, and grilled peppers, eggplant, and green onions. The garnish of lime wedges, peanuts, and cilantro helped liven up the appearance AND flavor of the dish. I heartily recommend this recipe, and it has Nate's seal of approval too.

Pad Thai Sauce

1/3 C Chicken Broth

3T Rice Vinegar

Juice of 1 lime

3-4 T Brown Sugar

2T Fish Sauce

1T Soy Sauce

1/8 tsp Pepper

1 tsp chili-garlic sauce

Whisk all ingredients together. Bring to a boil and cook until slightly reduced; add cooked noodles and let simmer in the sauce for a couple of minutes to soak up the flavors; add vegetables. Serve on a plate garnished with lime wedges, crushed peanuts, and cilantro. 

Delicious grilled eggplant, peppers, and green onions. I want to marry my grill pan (DON'T TELL NATE)

Spicy Baby Thai Green Eggplant with Basil

Every Sunday Nate and I make our way to a bustling side street only a mile away and fill our bags to our heart's content with local, seasonal, exceptionally fresh produce from dozens of farm stands. And sure enough, every week there seems to be some new ingredient that beckons to us. This week, it was baby Thai green eggplants. 

I had already started scooping them out of their crate when I hear a woman asking what they were (I had absolutely no idea, but they were pretty so into my bag they went). "Thai Eggplant," came the reply. "Eat raw like an apple, or cook it." I tried a tiny piece raw — the flavor is reminiscent of green beans, but they are rather starchy and full of little brown seeds. I decided to stir fry them with some of the fragrant, spicy Thai basil I had purchased earlier, as well as some Ishtar zucchini. I'm happy to say, the result was delish!

Spicy Baby Thai Green Eggplant with Basil

(Scroll past photos for full recipe. Recipe adapted from here and here)

Cut tops off of eggplants.

If any of the bottoms are split or brown, cut those off too.

Do not want.

Cut into quarters.

Cut Ishtar zucchini into half moons or quarters.

Mince garlic, and set aside.

Heat 2 TBSP olive oil in pan over medium heat till hot, then add eggplant. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

 Cook 3-4 minute or til browned on one side, then flip. 

Add zucchini to pan.

Cook 5 more minutes, stirring once. The key is to make sure the zucchini and eggplant are browned, but not burned. 

Add 1/2 - 1 TBSP sugar...

Then add garlic and 1 TBSP Sambal (or chopped Thai bird chilies, or chili paste of your choice.)

Stir to combine. 

The smell of sambal and garlic cooking together is HEAVEN. 

Cook 2-3 minutes, taking care not to burn garlic.

Add 1/4 cup white wine or other cooking liquid and cover. Cook 2 minutes or until eggplant is very tender. 

Remove cover. Raise heat and cook until liquid is evaporated and vegetables are crispy on the edges.

My good camera died and I had to use my old one for the last pics!

Add 2 TBSP fish sauce or soy sauce. I HATE the flavor of fish, but fish sauce is not fishy tasting at all once you cook it (BEWARE — it smells BEYOND foul before it is cooked). It lends a salty, savory, slightly sour flavor to the dish that is delightful. 

Remove pan from heat and stir in a handful of chopped fresh Thai basil, until basil wilts. 

Remove from heat and serve. I recommend garnishing with lime wedges. Just a squeeze of the zesty lime juice brings out all of the great flavors in the dish!

Full Recipe

Spicy Baby Thai Green Eggplant with Basil

10 Baby Thai Green Eggplant, quartered, tops removed.

1 Ishtar zucchini, cut into half moons

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1 TBSP Sambal OR chopped chilies OR chili paste of your choice

1 TBSP sugar

2 TBSP fish sauce

1 handful chopped Thai basil.

2 TBSP olive oil

Heat 2 TBSP oil over medium heat. Add eggplant and salt. Cook 3-4 minutes or until browned on one side; flip. Add zucchini to pan. 

Cook 5 more minutes, stirring once. The key is to make sure the zucchini and eggplant are browned, but not burned. 

Add 1/2 - 1 TBSP, garlic, and Sambal. Stir to combine. Cook 2-3 minutes, taking care not to burn garlic.

Add 1/4 cup white wine or other cooking liquid and cover. Cook 2 minutes or until eggplant is very tender. 

Remove cover. Raise heat and cook until liquid is evaporated and vegetables are crispy on the edges.

Add 2 TBSP fish sauce or soy sauce, cooking 1 more minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in a handful of chopped fresh Thai basil, until basil wilts. 

Serve with lime wedges.