The Flavors of Asia Cooking Class

Mai Pham with her cooking assistant, shown
behind her cookbook and signature sauces

I joined the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op this year, after admiring from afar for a long time and even taking a few outstanding classes there in the past. (Like this one on Pie Making, and another on Raised Bed Gardening.)

This week I got to attend a cooking class on the Flavors of Asia taught by Mai Pham, an expert in Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. Mai teaches at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, owns many restaurants all over the country, has published a cookbook, makes her own line of sauces, and is a bit of a local celebrity. She has been on Martha Stewart and kicked off her class by showing us a segment she did on the Food Network to give us a feel for the cuisine of Southeast Asia.

Mai was very professional and pleasant, and even brought her 86-year-old, very spry-looking father to the class with her. Her grandmother, she confided, lived to be 105 years old and credited her longevity to a vegetarian diet and lots of coconut milk, which the Vietnamese associate with high immunity levels.

Mai also stressed the importance of moderation in all things, confessing that she has to work hard to keep balanced. For example, if she wants to eat ice cream for dessert, her family will eat a simple, light dinner such as stir-fried vegetables and brown rice before indulging.

Mai demonstrated and let us sample several dishes during the course of the class, as well as teaching some basic techniques like assembling and rolling salad rolls, and cutting herbs and vegetables gently to avoid bruising. She showed us how to make:

* Salad Rolls with Shrimp and Pork, with a Peanut Hoisin Sauce

* Yellow Curry with Tofu and Eggplant

* Singapore Noodles Topped with Stir-Fried Asian Greens

* Caramel Pork with Egg and Daikon

My favorite dishes were the Yellow Curry and Singapore Noodles, but I enjoyed them all. Before heading home, I hopped around the corner to the Co-Op to pick up a jar of Lemongrass Kitchen brand Yellow Curry Sauce, a concentrated base which makes 3-4 batches of curry. I can't wait to try my hand at this at home!

Here is Mai Pham's recipe for the Yellow Curry with Tofu and Eggplant. It's crazy good; I've never liked a vegetarian curry so much! It also taught me one thing I've done wrong in the past - adding raw vegetables to my curry has added too much water and diluted the flavor, so that I never felt that my curries at home matched up with the restaurant versions. Blanching the vegetables ahead of time solves this problem. Also, she explained that frying the tofu ahead of time so that it gets a "skin" allows it to absorb sauces better. This recipe would be perfect for summertime, when eggplant, tomatoes, green beans and zucchini are all in season.

1/4 c. Lemongrass Kitchen Thai Yellow Curry Sauce
1.5 c. coconut milk
1/2 lb. firm tofu, pan-seared or lightly fried, cut into 2/3x2"x1/12" pieces
2 c. eggplant, Japanese preferably, halved lengthwise then cut into 1/2 " half moon pieces
3 Roma tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges
1/2 c. green beans, 1" lengths, blanched
1/2 c. zucchini, bite sized pieces, blanched
2 tsp. Thai chilies, cut on the diagonal into thin slices (optional)
1/2 c. frozen peas
10 Thai basil leaves (optional)

1. In a saucepan, combine LGK Thai Curry Sauce Concentrate with coconut milk and cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a low boil.
2. Add tofu, eggplant and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until all vegetables start to soften, another 2-3 minutes.

Mission: Gochujang Sauce

The first time I heard of gochujang sauce was several weeks ago when my husband and I were brainstorming ideas for eating in. We wanted to take something that is generally thought of as "fast food" or "take out" and make it at home. Soon we were remembering the delicious Korean-style tacos from the Kogi truck that we tried on a trip to LA last year.

Much to my delight, I found the exact recipe for the BBQ sauce used in the Kogi Korean tacos here, as well as a recipe for some tasty pickled cucumbers. Only problem was, I wasn't sure where to find the spicy fermented chile paste known as gochujang. We asked around and finally found some at a local Korean market (I know, go figure). There are many brands, but most look something like this:


We made the Korean tacos - they rocked. Now that we have a huge tub of sweet/spicy gochujang, we've been experimenting with more Korean dishes like Pork Bulgogi:

And a spicy chicken dish called Dak Gochujang Boekum:

It's so fun discovering new ingredients that make cooking an endless adventure in taste, not to mention fun places like a Korean market that I never would have thought of entering before.

Basic Shrimp Pad Thai

Courtesy of Cooking Light

Cooking Light magazine did a feature this month where they lightened up classic take out dishes. Chicken fried rice, supreme pizza, and my beloved pad thai were all featured. I've not been impressed with packaged versions of pad thai, so I thought I would give the recipe a go. As it turned out, although quite simple, this recipe impressed me with its spicy goodness (yes, if you go with the chili garlic sauce option, it's got some heat). The resulting dish wasn't quite identical to take out, but pretty close, and its much less oily- a good difference! We will be making it again!

Shrimp Pad Thai

8 ounces uncooked flat rice noodles (pad Thai noodles)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar or tamarind paste
2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Sriracha or chili garlic sauce
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup (2-inch) green onion pieces
8 ounces peeled and deveined large shrimp
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1/4 cup chopped unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

1. Cook noodles according to package directions; drain.

2. While water comes to a boil, combine sugar and next 4 ingredients (through Sriracha) in a small bowl.

3. Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion pieces, shrimp, and garlic; stir-fry 2 minutes or until shrimp is almost done. Add cooked noodles; toss to combine. Stir in sauce; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly to combine. Arrange about 1 cup noodle mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1/4 cup bean sprouts, 1 tablespoon peanuts, and 2 teaspoons basil.

How China Changed My Diet

Rambutan- spiky on the outside, smooth and slick on the inside

Mangosteen - Very tart, sort insides, eggplant colored on the outside


Dragonfruit - Sweet, cooling flesh with creamy texture.
Love the contrasting colors of red against black-speckled white!

The biggest dietary change I ever experienced was moving from Provo, Utah where I attended college, to Hong Kong, China where I volunteered with my church. The food in Utah was heavy, relying mostly on processed foods and dairy. Nearly everything I ate, both socially and when I cooked at home, contained cheese, milk, and probably Campbell’s soup in some form. Yogurt, quesadillas, ice cream, casseroles, cheap Italian food - these were my staples. I was uncomfortable much of the time and would later learn that I had developed lactose intolerance and mild IBS. But that’s another story.

Flash forward to Hong Kong. Rather than doing my shopping at a huge Smith’s supermarket, I ventured to the market when I needed food. The Chinese are obsessive about eating everything fresh, to the point that there are live chickens, fish, and sea creatures displayed proudly in the stalls. These unfortunate creatures will be slaughtered in front of potential buyers. It took me a long time to get over my shock at the visible organs of an open-splayed fish, still jiggling around after being hacked in half. Once the fish stops moving, it’s no longer considered "fresh".

It took me a long time to learn to eat fresh, partly because I had trouble recognizing what I saw as food! Apples and oranges were a distant memory; I discovered the sweet nuances of dragonfruit, dragoneyes, rambutans, lychees, mangosteens, and mini bananas so sweet they were like eating candy for breakfast. The soups that were urged upon us by kind Chinese friends were promised to make our skin beautiful, no matter what ingredients they contained.

Some things I never adapted to - the fatty, cartilege-ridden cuts of meat that the Chinese find superior to our leaner, meat-only versions. Or eating hot foods even in the summer instead of cool, crisp salads (older Chinese people didn't believe raw vegetables to be edible). But my health improved in my time there as I learned the benefits of a diet that is low in dairy and sweets, as well as the importance of keeping it fresh! Now I visit the Chinese markets, hoping I'll strike gold and find some of the fruits or foods I grew to love.

Absolutely Amazing Asian Noodle Salad

A lot of my female fellow bloggers follow a cooking blog called The Pioneer Woman, and that’s where I got this recipe from... Kind of! The Pioneer Woman actually got the recipe from The Naked Chef (can you tell why I wanted to try it?!) and adapted it to her tastes, calling it her "Favorite Salad Ever". I also adapted it slightly and I have to say, this is one fantastic tasting dish. It’s fresh, it’s delicious, it's simple, and the colors are amazing. The great thing about it is that you can use whatever vegetables are in season or just the ones you like; you could substitute cashews for the peanuts, soba noodles for the udon noodles, and so on. Run, don't walk, to the kitchen to make this one!

Asian Noodle Salad (serves 2)

1 bunch of udon noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled
1/4 head sliced purple or napa cabbage
1/4 bag baby spinach
1 whole red bell pepper (or can use multi-colored orange, yellow, etc.)
½ c. bean sprouts
1-2 green onions, chopped
1 carrot, sliced thinly like matchsticks
1/4 c. chopped dry roasted peanuts
chopped cilantro (optional)

For the Dressing:
½ lime, juiced
4 T. extra virgin olive oil
4 T. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 T. Sesame oil
3 T. Brown sugar
1 T. chopped ginger
1 clove garlic, chopped
A squirt of sriracha sauce for some heat!

Mix salad ingredients together. Whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve platter.

Thai Dinner Party with Tropical Pie Recipe

This weekend, I finally did something I've wanted to do for some time now: I hosted a dinner party for friends. I broke the cardinal rule of hostessing in doing so, according to all of the articles I obsessively read in preparation. What was my crime? I served a series of recipes that I had never tried before. This is apparently a big no-no, but it was a risk I was willing to take. (After all, am I really going to make a multi-course meal and buy unusual ingredients to serve just my husband and I? Probably not.)

Speaking of my husband, he assisted me as an excellent sous-chef and there was something wonderful about putting together something so cool together. The menu was Thai-themed and some recipes came out better than others, but overall it was a great time with fun people and lots of laughs. I can't wait to host my next one! Here are some pictures of a few of the dishes, and a recipe for the pie, which was probably my favorite of all the new dishes I tried. To my guests, I had a blast, and hope you didn't mind being my guinea pigs!

The table setting

Close up on a table setting, with name cards!

Chicken Satay, grilled in a peanut sauce

Tangy Cucumber Salad

Fresh Pineapple, Coconut and Macadamia Nut Pie

1 refrigerated pie crust (half of 15-oz package), room temperature

3 c. ½ inch pieces of fresh pineapple, well-drained

2/3 c. sugar

¼ c. all purpose flour

1/8 tsp. salt

3 eggs, beaten to blend

¼ c. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

½ c. sweetened flaked coconut

1/3 c. chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 325F. Flatten crust on lightly floured surface; press seams together if necessary. Fit into 9-inch diameter glass pie dish; crimp edges.

Arrange pineapple in crust. Combine sugar, flour, and salt in medium bowl. Add eggs and butter and blend well. Pour batter evenly over pineapple. Sprinkle coconut and macadamia nuts over and press lightly into batter. Bake until light brown and center is firm to touch, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely. (8 servings)

Best Egg Rolls in the Universe

Every Christmas Eve, my mom’s family gets together to celebrate. It’s an informal affair, with every family bringing some appetizers and cookies to share. Last year, I brought a dish that everyone liked- homemade egg rolls. They are more free form, similar to lumpia. I’d love to say I obtained the recipe from an aged Chinese master roller of eggs in Hong Kong, but as most people know, egg rolls are an American invention. Yet here they are, in all their glory! It is my Christmas gift to the world!

Stacy’s Egg Rolls

1 pound ground pork
4 cups shredded cabbage
1 large carrot, shredded
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 teaspoons fresh ginger root, grated
1 tablespoon cornstarch 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 quart oil for frying
1 1/2 (14 ounce) packages egg roll wrappers
1 1/2 cups sweet Thai chili sauce

Cook pork in a large wok over medium-high heat. Drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the cabbage, carrot, green bell pepper, onion, garlic and ginger. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch, soy sauce, and molasses until smooth.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in wok. Stir in cabbage mixture in batches, cooking each batch 3 to 4 minutes, just until tender. Return vegetables to bowl, and mix in pork. Stir in the cornstarch mixture.

Heat 1 quart oil in a deep fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).

Place about 1 tablespoon filling on each egg roll wrapper. Fold one corner of wrapper over filling. Fold wrapper sides over filling. Roll wrappers to form egg rolls.

Fry egg rolls in batches in the hot oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve with sweet Thai chili sauce.

Why I Want to Quit My Job and Explore Asia

The author in Bangkok at ancient temple

The travel itch has resolutely lodged itself within my being again. Growing up, my family finally found financial security, but perhaps due to our humble beginnings as my dad struggled through law school, my parents never spent money on things ordinarily wealthy people would indulge in. Expensive clothes, the newest electronics, fine home decor were not of value to them, and I thank them for teaching their children frugality and shunning materialism.

Travel was our main indulgence. We went on at least one family vacation every year, and so as a child I was blessed to visit most of the United States, the Bahamas, Mexico, the Caribbean, Switzerland, Disney World. We visited Disneyland, and Hawaii many times, and every year we always rented a beach house up on the North Coast of California.

Personally, I have also had many opportunities to travel. As an adolescent I participated in a touring performing arts group that took me to New York City, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, and Switzerland. In college, I studied abroad one spring term in France, where I got to live in Paris and see much of that beautiful city, as well as Normandy in the north, the Loire Valley in central France, and Nice, Monaco and the more rural southern coast. I took a weekend trip to London, where I developed a lifelong loathing of and aversion to youth hostels (horrid, dirty hovels!).

My church mission took me to Hong Kong, and I later got to visit Beijing, and Bangkok, where I fell in love with Thailand. Our family took a cruise to Tahiti and the surrounding islands in 2008, and in March of this year, we visited South Africa in order to pick up my brother from his church mission.

The author on a private motu off the coast of Nuku Hiva

You would think this would be enough for me, but the trouble with traveling is, the more I do it, the more desire I have to do so again. It’s embarrassing to admit that I just took a week-long cruise to Mexico 6 weeks ago, and I’m already aching to hop on a plane again. Since foreign travel isn’t in the cards for the time being, I decided to reflect on what traveling I have done, so as to satiate my desire with the memories of and gratitude for the places I have gone.

But India, Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, New Zealand, and others are still calling ... Who's with me?