Monday, June 08, 2009

Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: steak & corn

If you noticed a small crack in your glass coffee carafe at 5:30 a.m. would you go ahead and make your coffee in it anyway? 

Just wondering.

I've cooked a lot from Andrea Nguyen's Into the Vietnamese  Kitchen over the last few years, and since I'm going to Vietnam next month, this seemed like the moment to delve deeper.  

Last night I made Nguyen's recipe for pan-seared beef steaks in which you briefly marinate strip steaks in soy sauce, garlic, and black pepper, then cook them in a hot skillet. These tasted exactly like non-Vietnamese steaks, which is to say, my family tore into them like a pack of ravenous dingoes. Something about rare meat. I can guess what it is.

On the side, we had Nguyen's grilled corn with scallion oil. Nguyen: "One of my most vivid memories is of our cook, Older Sister Thien, squatting and fanning the small charcoal brazier on which she grilled corn on the cob. As the corn cooked to a charred chewy sweetness, she brushed on scallion oil made with home rendered lard. The aroma and taste were heavenly. "

I should have used my home-rendered lard! Nguyen's Americanized version calls for you to parboil the ears, grill until slightly charred, then brush with oil in which you have fried some green onions. 

I almost burned the house down, but the corn -- smoky and succulent -- was worth it.

Dessert: David Lebovitz's ace chocolate chip cream puffs. He calls for covering them liberally with pearl sugar which I did not have. Lacking other options, I covered them with large-crystal green sugar and the results were delicious but dead ugly.  To make chocolate chip cream puffs, you can follow the recipe Lebovitz has posted here and when the batter is COMPLETELY cool, add 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. He doesn't specify in the blog post, but you should use a full 1/2 cup of large-crystal sugar to top these puffs. And don't bother with the egg glaze. Phenomenal.

8 comments:

  1. i would make the coffee, at that hour, but one probably should not.

    ReplyDelete
  2. At that hour, I too would make the coffee, but I'd watch it like a hawk and be ready to grab the carafe and whisk it to the sink if it started to break.

    ReplyDelete
  3. aha! pearl sugar. someone left a box of it marion last summer and it is still sitting on my shelf. I had never heard of it.

    what/when do you use it in general?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mary -- I've never actually used pearl sugar, but it's very thick and chunky and doesn't melt so it's good on cookies and pastries. I wish I'd had some last night.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi! You were suppose to put the scallion oil on the corn after you take it off the grill, just like how you would butter corn off the grill, or after it's done cooking before you eat it. But what you did make for a wonderful picture! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Thanh,
    Actually, she specifies putting the scallions on the corn ON the grill. A lot of them did fall off but it was very delicious corn!

    ReplyDelete
  7. We offer personal Business loans services around the world. We strive to provide high quality service and high customer satisfaction, while possible financial services. We pride ourselves on our commitment to our customers; We can give you personal loans, auto loans, business / investment loans, short term loans. You can contact us for an affordable loan now at 2% interest rate. Contact us now via E-mail: abdullahibrahimlender@gmail.com
    WhatsApp Number +918929490461
    Mr Abdullah Ibrahim

    ReplyDelete