Friday, October 12, 2007

My victorious return

Sorry about the hiatus there - between school, work, and random viruses, I've been a little preoccupied. But I've returned, and I come bearing recipes.



Back in Albuquerque, Matt and I used to visit a little Thai cafe fairly regularly. It's called Tina's, and for all of you who are in/near Albuquerque, it's in the back of the Baptist student union building, on University and MLK, and it's fantastic. It's almost impossible to find if someone doesn't guide you there - the only indication of its existence is a paper sign stating hours on an otherwise ordinary brown metal door. But open that door, and for five dollars you get a huge, steaming plate of some of the best Thai food in Albuquerque. Incidentally, if you open the wrong door, you end up in the kitchen - not a bad place to be.

A couple of nights ago, my mom emailed me a recipe that my dad had created. It's the closest thing I've had to my favourite dish at Tina's since Matt and I moved to Portland. I can't for the life of me either remember or pronounce its actual name, usually just requesting the "number nine," but it goes something like this.


Dad's (a lot like Tina's) Green Beans with Ground Chicken

¾ pound green beans, cut to 3/8 inch length
½ pound chicken breast, ground in the food processor
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks Thai basil, chopped (about 24 leaves)
¼ cup chicken broth
2 Tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon Thai chili paste (negotiable - add more if you like it spicy, like we do here, or less if you're a little shy of hot things; I actually used a Laotian chili paste that I got from our local market back in Albuquerque - it's got a good bite to it)
2 eggs
Steamed Rice

To make the sauce, mix chicken broth, fish sauce, sugar, oyster sauce, vinegar and set aside.

Heat 2 T of canola oil in a wok, fry chicken until almost turns white, make a clearing in the base of the wok, add garlic and chili paste (if you mix the garlic with a little oil prior to frying it, it won’t stick). Mix into chicken, add green beans and mix. After 1-2 minutes, add sauce, and then Thai basil.



In separate pan, fry eggs in oil over high heat until edges are crispy, but the yolk is still runny.

To serve, put rice in a shallow bowl, cover generously with green beans and chicken, and top with fried egg.

If you're like me, and you don't like egg yolk unless you can't tell it's there, cut it out and give it to your significant other. Otherwise, using a fork and spoon to tear the egg into tiny pieces, mix everything together and eat!

3 comments:

Nancy and Michael said...

Yummm.
Sorry to report, the local market no longer has bottles of the Laotian chile sauce. Serious loss, it was my favorite.
N

littlebijoux said...

Yum! That looks killer. I never write about food on my blog!

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