Ancho Chili Beef Empanadas

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Sherrie

Who doesn’t love food that you can hold in your hand?  The beauty of empanadas is that the rich, buttery dough can be filled with almost anything - sweet or savory. Our Ancho Chili Powder is mild-medium in heat and adds magnificent depth to the beef and vegetable filling we chose. Ancho chiles have a wonderful, darkly sweet flavor, so we added a little Alderwood Smoked Salt for just a touch of smoky contrast. They can be served either hot or at room temperature; we like ours with salsa,  sour cream and a Hibiscus Margarita.  They freeze well, so make a bunch and plan to enjoy them another day, or surprise yourself at how quickly your guests devour the extras.

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Ancho Chili Beef Empanadas

Yield: 24 empanadas

Ingredients

For the Dough
4 1/2 cups flour
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes and chilled
2 large eggs
2/3 cup ice water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
For the Filling
1/4 cup olive oil
5 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
1 1/2 teaspoons Alderwood Smoked Salt
3 tablespoons Ancho Chili Powder, ground
1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano
1/2 cup sliced black olives
For the Egg Wash
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water

Instructions

    To Make The Dough
  1. Sift flour into a large bowl. Add salt and chilled, cubed butter. Using your fingertips or a pastry cutter, mix together until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
  2. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, chilled water and vinegar and add to flour mixture.Combine until well incorporated.
  3. Empty onto a lightly floured surface and knead just enough to bring the dough together. Cut dough in half and form each half into a rectangle. Chill for at least 1 hour.
    4. To Make the Filling
  4. In a heavy skillet heat olive oil over medium heat.
  5. Add onions, red bell peppers and garlic and saute until softened. Add Alderwood Smoked Salt, Ancho Chili Powder and Mexican Oregano, and saute for about 1 minute.
  6. Add ground beef, breaking up any lumps and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add olives and mix well. Taste for seasoning, adjust as needed. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until chilled.
    7. To Assemble the Empanadas
  7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  8. Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator. Cut each rectangle into 12 pieces. Form into discs and cover with a towel.
  9. On a lightly floured surface, take one of the pieces and roll it out into a circle (about 1/8 inch thick). Holding the circle in the palm of your hand, place 2 heaping teaspoons of the chilled filling in the center.
  10. Fold the two edges of the circle together over the filling. Press the edges to seal. Using a fork dipped in flour, crimp the edges so the filling won't escape.
  11. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining dough and filling. Lightly brush the empanadas with egg wash.
  12. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes. They are done if they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
  13. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for at least 5 minutes.
  14. Serve with salsa and sour cream.
http://www.silkroaddiary.com/ancho-chili-powder-beef-empanadas/

Categories: Caribbean, Latin America, Main Meals, Recipes, Snacky Bits | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Continental Curry Biryani

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Sherrie

It’s almost Buddha’s birthday! Buddha’s birthday is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth month of the Chinese lunar calendar in nearly all east-Asian countries. This year it falls on Friday, May 17th in the Western calendar. Because it is customary to eat rice on Buddha’s birthday, we developed this heavily spiced vegetarian biryani to honor the Buddha and many of the exotic lands from which our spices come. Our Continental Curry is the perfect blend for this occasion, as it combines the best elements of several varieties of yellow curry. While we can’t promise a permanent Nirvana as a result of this dish, we guarantee at least a transient one!

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Continental Curry Biryani

Ingredients

For the Rice
1 cup basmati rice, well rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 big pinch of saffron
2 tablespoons golden raisins
2 tablespoons cashews, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cloves, whole
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed, whole
2 cups water
For the Curry Paste
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
3 inch piece of ginger, chopped
2 tablespoons Continental Curry, ground
2 medium onions, chopped
7 mint leaves
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 tablesoon olive oil
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup cauliflower florets
1/2 cup green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup peas
1 medium sweet potato, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup water
For Baking the Biryani
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup warm milk
1 pinch saffron
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons cashews, chopped
Pan spray
Greek yougurt

Instructions

    For the Rice
  1. In a medium-sized pan over medium heat, add the oil. When hot, add the onion and cook until softened.
  2. Add raisins, cashews, cloves, cumin, Indian coriander, green cardamom and cassia sticks.
  3. Saute spices until fragrant and the seeds start to "pop", about 3 minutes.
  4. Add salt, water and saffron and bring to a boil.
  5. Add rice and turn heat down to simmer.
  6. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Rice will be 3/4 of the way cooked. Spread in a shallow pan to cool.
  7. While rice is cooking, par-cook the vegetables. In a shallow pan over medium-high heat, add the vegetables and water. Cover and steam for about 5 minutes.
    8. For the Paste
  8. In a food processor, puree the garlic, ginger, onions, mint leaves, Continental Curry, jalapeno, salt and tomato.
  9. In a medium saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil.
  10. Add paste and saute for 5 minutes.
  11. Add par cooked vegetables, stirring well to combine. Taste for seasoning and salt.
    12. To Bake the Biryani
  12. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  13. In a small saucepan, warm a pinch of saffron and the milk. Remove from heat.
  14. Spray a large ovenproof casserole dish with pan spray.
  15. Layer in half of the rice and sprinkle with half of the cilantro.
  16. Evenly spread the vegetable curry paste mixture over the rice.
  17. Top with remaining rice and sprinkle with remainder of cilantro.
  18. Drizzle with the saffron-infused milk.
  19. Cover the casserole dish and bake for 15 minutes, until the rice is cooked through.
  20. Turn the oven off and let the biryani stay in the hot oven for another 10 minutes.
  21. While the biryani is baking, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.
  22. Add the sliced onions and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels.
  23. Add chopped cashews and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels.
  24. Remove the biryani for the oven.
  25. Top with fried onions and cashews.
  26. Serve with Greek yogurt on the side.
http://www.silkroaddiary.com/continental-spice-biriyani/

Categories: Asia, Curries & Masalas, Global Cuisines, Holiday, Indian Subcontinent, Main Meals, Recipes | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Naomi Duguid’s Burma

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Allan
Burma

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As Angelina mentioned in her ode to Yotam Ottolenghi, there are several cookbook authors whose new works always have a reserved place on our shelves. Naomi Duguid is one of those authors. Her books are always gorgeous, her prose is eloquent without being too dense or wordy, and her topics are always fascinating. Duguid’s works are one part travel guide, one part traditional cookbook. We have explored the Indian subcontinent with her in Mangoes & Curry Leaves, probed the lesser known provinces of China in Beyond the Great Wall, and delved into Southeast Asia in Hot Sour Salty Sweet.

Her newest work, Burma: Rivers of Flavor, continues where Hot Sour Salty Sweet leaves off, pulling back the curtain on an isolated country with a rich culinary tradition. Burmese cuisine has been described as a blend of Indian, Chinese, and Thai, but it has a distinctive style all to itself. Shallots, shrimp (fresh and dried), and small salads are all common. There is a heavy focus on fresh ingredients, but many of the recipes are perfumed with warm, sweet spices like cassia, cloves, nutmeg, and star anise. Burma is also a cuisine that favors a heavy dose of heat, and gets this from India red chile flakes, Japones, Indian cayenne, Tellicherry black pepper, and Szechuan peppercorns.

I had the opportunity to see Naomi Duguid speak last year at the Book Larder in Fremont. We all learned about the foods of Burma, from mohinga (a fish stew with rice noodles that is often eaten at breakfast) to laphet thoke (a fermented tea-leaf salad that’s considered Burma’s national dish), as the staff prepared several recipes from the book. However delicious the food was though, the most impactful moments came when Duguid discussed the changes she had seen in Burma through the years. She was repeatedly moved to tears as she spoke about Burma’s transition away from the rigid military dictatorship that has been in power since 1962 and the recent thawing of relations between Burma and the U.S. Naomi’s care shines through in Burma’s beautiful photographs and warm paragraphs.

Categories: Hot Topics, Recipes, Tools of the Trade | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Brunch For Mom

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Angelina

Eggs Benedict is a classic, there’s no denying that, but “classic” is perhaps not the word I’d use to celebrate my funny, youthful, and adventurous mother! For my mom, poached eggs will sit atop crisp potato pancakes, under a blanket of creamy Orange-Tarragon hollandaise sauce. The sweetness of the orange peel plays against the anise notes of the tarragon in this classic French combination, made whole with shallots and Tellicherry black pepper. The sauce is so sumptuous, and the crunchy fried potatoes make a perfect vehicle for it. Not to mention the eggs- nothing says “love” like a perfectly poached yolk, don’t you know! Mother’s Day is May 12th, so make Mom breakfast, and let her know how sorry you are for your teenage years.

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Potato Pancakes with Poached Eggs and Orange Tarragon Hollandaise

Ingredients

1/2 pound Russet potatoes
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon white peppercorn, ground
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
6 eggs
Juice of 1 lemon
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons Orange Tarragon, ground
Pinch salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
    2. For the Potato Pancakes
  2. Peel potatoes and coarsely grate using a box grater.
  3. Transfer grated potatoes to a large bowl of cold water and soak for 1-2 minutes.
  4. Drain well in a colander.
  5. Spread grated and drained potatoes with onions on a kitchen towel and roll up jelly-roll style.
  6. Twist towel tightly to wring out as much liquid as possible.
  7. Transfer potato mixture to a bowl and add eggs, salt and flour.
  8. Mix well to combine.
  9. Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until very hot, but not smoking.
  10. For each pancake, spoon 2 tablespoons of the potato mixture into the skillet, spreading into 3-inch diameter rounds with a fork.
  11. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the undersides of the pancakes are browned, about 5 minutes.
  12. Flip pancakes and cook again until browned, about 5 minutes
  13. Transfer to paper towels to drain and season with salt.
  14. Add more oil to skillet and repeat with remaining batter.
  15. Keep warm on a wire rack set in a shallow baking pan in oven.
    16. For the Hollandaise
  16. Vigorously whisk the egg yolks and lemon juice together in a stainless steel bowl until the mixture is thickened and has doubled in volume.
  17. Boil approximately 1 cup of water in a saucepan.
  18. Place the bowl with the egg yolks mixture over the saucepan making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.
  19. Whisk the mixture rapidly being careful not to let the eggs get too hot - or they will scramble.
  20. Slowly drizzle in the melted butter and continue to whisk until the sauce easily coats the back of a wooden spoon.
  21. Remove from heat and whisk in Orange Tarragon.
  22. Cover and place in a warm spot until ready to use. If the sauce gets too thick, whisk in a few drops of warm water before serving.
    23. To Poach the Eggs
  23. Fill a deep skillet half full of water.
  24. Add remaining lemon juice to water.
  25. Bring to a slow boil - not rolling!
  26. Gently crack 1 of the eggs into the water, taking care not to puncture the yolk.
  27. Repeat with remaining eggs.
  28. Reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer.
  29. Cook until the egg white is set and the yolk remains soft, about 3 1/2 minutes.
  30. Top a warm pancake with a poached egg and drizzle generously with hollandaise.
http://www.silkroaddiary.com/potato-pancakes-with-poached-eggs-and-orange-tarragon-hollandaise/

Categories: French, Holiday, Hot Topics, Main Meals, Recipes | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dolmades for Greek Easter

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Angelina

If you thought that the Easter fun was over far too soon, not to fear! Greek Easter is this coming Sunday, and awash with delicious traditions all its own. Not to be missed are these tasty little pockets of meat, rice, and nuts, expertly seasoned with our savory and tangy El Greco blend. They’re called “dolmas” in the singular, and “dolmades” when referring to the scores of them you’ll eat once you’ve had a taste of their perfect balance of Mediterranean flavors, all wrapped in a convenient little two-bite gnosh. All of the ingredients ought to be readily available in most markets, including grape leaves, which often come in cans or jars. If you’ve got a grape vine over an arbor, fresh work wonderfully, too; just poach them a bit of salted water with a half a lemon thrown in. Admittedly a little time-consuming, the dolmades can be prepared 2 to 3 days before serving, and refrigerated  or frozen until you’re ready to use them.  If you do freeze them, they can be thawed overnight in the refrigerator, and gently heated with a little broth or water before serving. You’ll find them more than worth the effort! Kalo Pascha!

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Stuffed Grape Leaves

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 pound lean ground lamb
1/2 cup short-grain rice
1/4 cup El Greco
1/2 cup dill
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Freshly ground Tellicherry Black Pepper
1-1 quart jar grape leave in brine, well rinsed
3/4 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 lemon, thinly sliced for garnish

Instructions

    For the Filling
  1. Heat the oil in a large skillet.
  2. Add onion and saute until translucent.
  3. Add meat, stirring to break up pieces.
  4. Add rice, dill, El Greco, pine nuts, water and tomato paste.
  5. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  6. Cook over medium heat until water is absorbed, about 10 minutes.
    7. To Stuff The Grape Leaves
  7. Cover the bottom of a Dutch oven with a layer of grape leaves.
  8. Stuff remaining leaves by placing leaf (shiny side down) on the palm of your hand, with the base of leaf the toward your wrist and tip pointing to your middle finger.
  9. Put a spoonful of meat mixture in center.
  10. Fold the base of the leaf over the filling, then fold sides of leaf over (like an envelope), tucking the edges in snugly
  11. Arrange, tip side down, (to prevent unrolling) in the Dutch oven.
    12. To Cook The Stuffed Grape Leaves
  12. Add broth to Dutch oven within 1 inch of top layer of stuffed grape leaves.
  13. Use any left over leaves to cover top layer.
  14. Place a heat-proof plate upside down over the top layer of dolmas, and press firmly.
  15. Cover and cook over medium heat until rice is tender, about 30 minutes.
  16. Sprinkle with lemon juice and cook 5 minutes longer.
  17. Let cool to room temperature, or chill thoroughly.
  18. Serve garnished with lemon slices and a little greek yoghurt for dipping.
http://www.silkroaddiary.com/dolmas-for-easter/

Categories: Holiday, Mediterranean, Recipes, Sides, Snacky Bits | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

We Grind To Order, Part 2.

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Robert
Brand new burrs alongside burrs that have been in service for few months.

Brand new burrs alongside burrs that have been in service for few months

What do you do when one of Seattle’s premier cheese makers needs a hundred pounds of ground black pepper? Or how about when everybody’s favorite artisan salami shop needs twenty pounds of fennel cracked to just the right size?

Last week I talked about some options for grinding spices at home, but grinding the amount of spice some of our commercial clients use with a small blade grinder or a hand cranked burr grinder would take ages! Down at the World Spice Professional Division we’re just as committed to providing fresh, ground-to-order spices as our counterparts at the World Spice retail store, so we’ve come up with the perfect solution: a re-purposed espresso grinder. By using a high quality, Ditting brand, Swiss, espresso grinder, we have the ability to precisely control the coarseness of our grinds. Using a large mechanical burr grinder like this also allows us to grind large amounts of spice quickly while maintaining a nice even grind.

As you can see in the picture above, just a few months of use begins to wear down the burrs in our machine, requiring near constant resharpening and replacement. By constantly examining the results of grinding a small test run of cumin, we’re able to know just when to ship the burrs back to the factory for professional resharpening to ensure that our clients are getting the highest quality grind around!

Categories: Notes from the Field, Tools of the Trade | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Hibiscus Margarita

Posted on April 23, 2013 by kimberley

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo like never before with this delicious cocktail. The hibiscus infuses a deep rich red color to this libation. Add a slice of lime and Sel de Mer to the rim of your glass and you have the colors of the Mexican flag!   Almost cranberry in flavor, it’s got a “zing” that is enhanced by using silver tequila and the homemade spiced simple syrup.  Tune in to the mariachi station on Pandora while you whip these up for an absolute fiesta!

Hibiscus Margarita

Hibiscus Margarita

 

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Hibiscus Margarita

Ingredients

Margarita
3 ounces silver tequila
1/2 lime, juiced
2 ounces Hibiscus Spiced Simple Syrup (recipe follows)
Ice
Simple Syrup
2 cups water
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
1/4 cup (1 ounce) hibiscus

Instructions

    For the Hibiscus Spiced Simple Syrup
  1. Place all the ingredients in a medium sized pot
  2. Bring to boil over medium-high heat
  3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes
  4. Strain and pour into jar. Allow to cool to room temperature
  5. Once cooled, place in refrigerator. Your syrup will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks
    6. For the Margarita
  6. Combine tequila, lime juice and Hibiscus Spiced Simple Syrup in a glass with a couple of cubes of ice.
  7. Stir well
  8. Drink
  9. Repeat
http://www.silkroaddiary.com/hibiscus-margarita/

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We Grind To Order, Part 1.

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Robert
Mortar and Pestle

Mortar and Pestle

How often do we acquire pre-ground black pepper or nearly any other spice for that matter?  Never!!

Our store is bustling with spice merchants grinding spices right when folks order them.  Why do we keep pure spices and our house-made blends whole until you tell us to grind them?  It keeps our spices exceptionally fresh; some especially dedicated spice connoisseurs prefer to grind their spices in their kitchen, right before adding them to their recipe – now that’s fresh!  Grinding a spice releases much of it’s great flavor and aroma, but more aroma in the air means less flavor in your food. Grinding spices to order also lets you request a custom grind for certain spices. Need your black pepper extra coarse for a nice steak au poivre? Sure! Need your white pepper really fine so it just disappears into a cream soup? No problem! Want us to crack some fennel for your homemade sausage? You got it!

There are many different ways to grind your spices at home. A mortar and pestle works well for most things if you don’t mind your final product being a little coarse. A special blade grinder works for a finer grind.  Some folks even have their coffee grinders pulling double duty.  Don’t want your spices to taste like coffee?  Easy, simply grind rice or stale bread to clear out the leftover flavors.  If, like me, you’ve encountered a couple of groggy mornings making curry coffee you may want to keep a separate grinder for coffee and spices.  Our recommendation for a great all purpose  grinder is a burr grinder.  The burr grinder on the shelves at World Spice Merchants  is a great model that’s hand-made right here in the United States. So go ahead and start grinding your own spices at home, there’s a reason those fancy restaurants offer you freshly ground black pepper on your soup or salad – it tastes better freshly ground!   If you kitchen is void of a grinder, take advantage of our low purchase minimums and rest assured that all of your spices will be ground to order.  Come back for part 2, where I’ll give you a behind the scenes look at how we grind as much as 200 pounds of spice in a day at our professional division.

 

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Gourmet Salts: The Spice Merchants’ Need-to-Know Basics!

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Angelina
Salt Offerings

Salt Offerings

“Salty” is one of the five basic flavors that the human palate can detect, along with sweet, sour, bitter, and “umami.” A baker might tell you that salt makes “sweet things, sweeter,” but more specifically, salt clarifies all flavors. The human mouth is saline, or salty, to begin with, so in order to begin to taste the more nuanced flavors in our food, the salt level in the food first has to match that in our mouth. The wisest of chefs know that the goal with a sprinkle of this prized mineral is not necessarily to achieve a salty flavor, but to elevate and complement all of the flavors in a dish. Here are a few of our favorite varieties, and what we find to be their best uses!

We love Alderwood Smoked Salt, arguably the most dramatic of our offerings. Fine grains of Pacific sea salt are cold-smoked over locally-harvested alder wood chips to achieve a charcoal grey color, and a distinctive smoky aroma and taste. Shop visitors consistently describe Alderwood Smoked Salt as a “campfire in a jar.” The spice team finds that Alderwood Smoked Salt makes meat dishes somehow “meatier,” and enhances grilled flavors both inside and out. We also love it on heartier vegetables like eggplant and squash.

Murray River Flake Salt is another shop favorite. This flaky, apricot-colored salt is harvested from a dry river bed in Australia. The flakes are delicate, and almost crispy when eaten whole. We love to bake with this salt, as it mostly dissolves easily, but often leaves just a smidge of crystal behind, so one stumbles upon a tiny bit of salt as they make their way through dense banana bread or peanut butter cookie.

From left: Alderwood Smoked Salt, Murray River Flake Salt, Sel de Mer, Black Lava Flake Salt

From left: Alderwood Smoked Salt, Murray River Flake Salt, Sel de Mer, Black Lava Flake Salt

Sel de Mer, the aged scotch of salts! This French grey salt is light grey in color, and its medium-sized crystals tend to clump together with its high moisture content. The subtle flavor is deep and earthy, and is right at home atop fish of all kinds. We also prefer it over all others on our caprese salads, for the great contrast in texture between the crisp tomatoes, the creamy mozzarella, and the crunch of the salt, not to mention how well the heartiness of the flavor plays against the sweetness and acidity of the balsamic vinegar.

Black Lava Flake Salt is as delicious as it is visually intense. The pyramid-shaped crystals are black in color, rendered so because of natural charcoal deposits. This salt is best used as a finisher, as all of what makes it unique would be lost once dissolved. We like its assertive flavor sprinkled on slices of fresh cucumber seasoned with a dash of sweetened rice wine vinegar, as well as a whimsical addition to a fresh watermelon and mint salad- the crystals appear to be watermelon seeds at first glance!

As we often remind you, there are no wrong answers in food! (Well, okay, sometimes…) Any of these salts could lend a fun update to a standby dish. Salts are a wonderful way to break in to the world of experimental cooking and seasoning, and make a great gift for both the seasoned (yes, pun intended!) chef, and the novice foodie alike. Happy cooking!

Categories: Global Cuisines, Hot Topics, Notes from the Field, Spice Notes | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Rooster Spice Asparagus

Posted on April 12, 2013 by kimberley

Songkran (สงกรานต์) is the traditional Thai New Year water festival which starts on April 13 every year. Traditionally, the throwing of water is said to be a symbol of luck to bring good rain for the crops.  Well, we are swimming in good luck with a bountiful asparagus harvest this year and a brand new spice blend, Rooster Spice!  We designed this spicy chili powder drawing inspiration from Indonesian sambal, Thai nam phrik, and Vietnamese tuong ot toi. Rooster Spice has limitless possibilities but here we combine the seasonality of asparagus with the celebration of Thai New Year.  Enjoy!

Rooster Spice Asparagus

Rooster Spice Asparagus

 

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Rooster Spice Asparagus

Ingredients

Oil for frying, vegetable, peanut or canola
1 bunch asparagus, touch ends removed
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup very cold, full bodied beer
2 eggs, separated

Instructions

  1. In a deep saute pan, gently heat oil to 375 degrees
  2. Bring 4 quarts of heavily salted water to a rolling boil
  3. Add asparagus, cook for 50 seconds
  4. Transfer to a bowl of ice water to shock, then dry thoroughly
  5. In a medium bowl, mix egg yolks with flour, cornstarch, Rooster Spice and beer, taking care not to over mix
  6. In a separate bowl, beat eggs whites to soft peaks
  7. Fold egg whites, very gently, into egg yolk mixture
  8. Do not over mix or allowed batter to sit too long
  9. Toss asparagus with a few tablespoons of flour, shaking to remove excess
  10. Dredge in batter and fry in oil, until golden and crisp
  11. Season with Sel de Mer, a squeeze of lemon, or a generous dousing of malt vinegar
  12. Serve in newspaper cones
http://www.silkroaddiary.com/rooster-tempura-battered-aspragus/

Categories: Asia, Global Cuisines, Holiday, Recipes, Sides, Snacky Bits | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment