Thai Fried Rice Pork

We went to Mozza’s newest restaurant: Chi Spacca. It for a meat eater must be what heaven is like. Huge, delicious steaks, chops, etc. Great sides. We had the Tomahawk Pork Chop. It is gigantic! It is delicious! It is more than 2 people can eat. Boy must the pig be big!

We started with an Steamed Asparagus, Egg, Bread Crumbs and Brown Butter. A perfect spring salad!

We brought the leftovers home and we decided to make a Thai Pork Fried Rice with the leftover pork. We use the recipe for: Fried Rice with Crab from Thai Street Food by David Thompson. We simply substituted the Crab with Pork. It was as good or better than any Fried Rice we get a restaurants. This is a recipe (with Crab or Pork or Shrimp) that you should try.

Fried Rice with Crab

Thai Street Food

David Thompson

SERVES 2

2-3         garlic cloves, peeled

good pinch of salt

3-4         tablespoons vegetable oil - peanut is a good choice

2 eggs - ideally 1 duck and 1 chicken

2         cups cooked rice - freshly cooked and warm but not steaming hot

2-3         tablespoons light soy sauce

pinch of white sugar

pinch of ground white pepper

approximately 100 g (3 oz) cooked crabmeat - more, if feeling generous

3         spring (green) onions, trimmed and finely

chopped coriander leaves, lime wedges and cucumber slices, to serve

chillies in fish sauce (see below), to serve

+ CHILLIES IN FISH SAUCE

¼         cup fish sauce

5-10         bird's eye chillies (scuds), finely sliced

1         garlic clove, finely sliced – optional but desirable good squeeze of lime juice – optional

good pinch of chopped coriander

Combine the fish sauce, chillies and garlic in a bowl and set aside. It keeps for some time - in fact it becomes richer and milder as it settles for a day. Make sure it is covered if you are making it in advance - and if the fish sauce evaporates, add an equivalent amount of water to refresh it. Just before serving, stir through the lime juice and coriander.

FRIED RICE WITH CRAB

This is a classic version of fried rice and one of the best. Fried rice made its debut on the streets of Thailand about 80 years ago. In the Chinese community, where fried rice has been eaten for much longer than this, it is traditionally one of the last dishes to be served at a celebratory banquet - say, for a wedding or to mark Chinese New Year - and so it has to be good to entice diners to take some.

Most authorities advocate allowing the cooked rice to cool completely, but I have found that if the rice is too cold it clumps - and forcing the clumps apart during frying breaks the rice grains. I actually prefer rice that is still slightly warm, ideally freshly cooked then left to cool for an hour or two. If it is too hot, the fried rice will be sticky; too cold, and it will be slightly tough and possibly marred by broken grains.

Some cooks say the best fried rice is made with an equal amount of duck and chicken eggs, and here's where the controversy begins: should the egg go in before the rice or afterwards? Each cook will have their own stance, but I believe the egg should go first. If the egg is added after the rice, I find it can make the fried rice gluey, sticky and heavy - especially if using a duck egg or two.

Blue swimmer crab has the sweetest meat so is the perfect choice for fried rice, but naturally almost any crabmeat will do. If you want the freshest most succulent crabmeat then you must cook and shell the crab yourself - it really does make a difference. Almost any other meat can be used, including fresh pork, chicken, prawns, Chinese barbeque pork or duck; if using raw meat or seafood, add them to the wok along with the garlic to ensure both are ready at the same time.

In Thailand, fried rice always comes with a few slices of cucumber and tomato as well as a few wedges of lime to squeeze over the rice. I like the refreshing crunch of the cucumber, and I think the lime is de rigueur, but I am not so convinced about the tomato.

·      Crush the garlic to a somewhat coarse paste with the salt - either by pounding it using a pestle and mortar or finely chopping it with a knife.

·      Heat a well-seasoned wok over a low-medium heat and add about 2 tablespoons of the oil, then stir in the garlic paste and fry until it has lost its sharp raw aroma, has become nutty, and is just beginning to color. Take care not to burn the garlic, as this would taint the fried rice and ruin it. Crack in the egg and allow them to set slightly before stirring and scrambling, trying to keep them in quite large, soft curds. Be careful not to overcook the egg and so make it dry.

·      Add the rice, turn down the heat to low and mix and toss the rice, frying it gently and ensuring that all the grains are lightly coated with egg and oil. If it seems too dry, dribble a little extra oil down the side of the wok, but don't overdo it - the oil should just coat the rice, not swamp it.

·      Season with the soy sauce, sugar and pepper and continue to fry until the soy sauce is absorbed. Taste the rice: it should be gently seasoned, nicely but not overly salty and pleasingly rounded in flavour. Under-seasoning the rice will make it taste spare and hollow - add a little more soy sauce, if necessary. Now stir through most of the crabmeat and spring onions but reserve a little of both to sprinkle over the fried rice when serving.

·      Divide the rice between two plates and sprinkle with the reserved crabmeat and spring onions. Serve with coriander leaves, some slices of cucumber and a wedge or two of lime, and accompany with a small bowl of chillies in fish sauce.

Thai Fried Rice

When we were in Bangkok recently we wanted to go to David Thompson's restaurant, but the food at our hotel was so fabulous we never went out to eat. We have his giant Thai Cookbook: Thai Street Food, and made Fried Rice with Crab from it. (we substituted Shrimp and Scallops for the Crab. This recipe is a keeper!

Fried Rice with Crab

Thai Street Food

David Thompson

SERVES 2

2-3         garlic cloves, peeled

good pinch of salt

3-4         tablespoons vegetable oil - peanut is a good choice

2 eggs - ideally 1 duck and 1 chicken

2         cups cooked rice - freshly cooked and warm but not steaming hot

2-3         tablespoons light soy sauce

pinch of white sugar

pinch of ground white pepper

approximately 100 g (3 oz) cooked crabmeat - more, if feeling generous

3         spring (green) onions, trimmed and finely

chopped coriander leaves, lime wedges and cucumber slices, to serve

chillies in fish sauce (see below), to serve

+ CHILLIES IN FISH SAUCE

¼         cup fish sauce

5-10         bird's eye chillies (scuds), finely sliced

1         garlic clove, finely sliced – optional but desirable good squeeze of lime juice – optional

good pinch of chopped coriander

Combine the fish sauce, chillies and garlic in a bowl and set aside. It keeps for some time - in fact it becomes richer and milder as it settles for a day. Make sure it is covered if you are making it in advance - and if the fish sauce evaporates, add an equivalent amount of water to refresh it. Just before serving, stir through the lime juice and coriander.

FRIED RICE WITH CRAB

This is a classic version of fried rice and one of the best. Fried rice made its debut on the streets of Thailand about 80 years ago. In the Chinese community, where fried rice has been eaten for much longer than this, it is traditionally one of the last dishes to be served at a celebratory banquet - say, for a wedding or to mark Chinese New Year - and so it has to be good to entice diners to take some.

Most authorities advocate allowing the cooked rice to cool completely, but I have found that if the rice is too cold it clumps - and forcing the clumps apart during frying breaks the rice grains. I actually prefer rice that is still slightly warm, ideally freshly cooked then left to cool for an hour or two. If it is too hot, the fried rice will be sticky; too cold, and it will be slightly tough and possibly marred by broken grains.

Some cooks say the best fried rice is made with an equal amount of duck and chicken eggs, and here's where the controversy begins: should the egg go in before the rice or afterwards? Each cook will have their own stance, but I believe the egg should go first. If the egg is added after the rice, I find it can make the fried rice gluey, sticky and heavy - especially if using a duck egg or two.

Blue swimmer crab has the sweetest meat so is the perfect choice for fried rice, but naturally almost any crabmeat will do. If you want the freshest most succulent crabmeat then you must cook and shell the crab yourself - it really does make a difference. Almost any other meat can be used, including fresh pork, chicken, prawns, Chinese barbeque pork or duck; if using raw meat or seafood, add them to the wok along with the garlic to ensure both are ready at the same time.

In Thailand, fried rice always comes with a few slices of cucumber and tomato as well as a few wedges of lime to squeeze over the rice. I like the refreshing crunch of the cucumber, and I think the lime is de rigueur, but I am not so convinced about the tomato.

·      Crush the garlic to a somewhat coarse paste with the salt - either by pounding it using a pestle and mortar or finely chopping it with a knife.

·      Heat a well-seasoned wok over a low-medium heat and add about 2 tablespoons of the oil, then stir in the garlic paste and fry until it has lost its sharp raw aroma, has become nutty, and is just beginning to color. Take care not to burn the garlic, as this would taint the fried rice and ruin it. Crack in the egg and allow them to set slightly before stirring and scrambling, trying to keep them in quite large, soft curds. Be careful not to overcook the egg and so make it dry.

·      Add the rice, turn down the heat to low and mix and toss the rice, frying it gently and ensuring that all the grains are lightly coated with egg and oil. If it seems too dry, dribble a little extra oil down the side of the wok, but don't overdo it - the oil should just coat the rice, not swamp it.

·      Season with the soy sauce, sugar and pepper and continue to fry until the soy sauce is absorbed. Taste the rice: it should be gently seasoned, nicely but not overly salty and pleasingly rounded in flavour. Under-seasoning the rice will make it taste spare and hollow - add a little more soy sauce, if necessary. Now stir through most of the crabmeat and spring onions but reserve a little of both to sprinkle over the fried rice when serving.

·      Divide the rice between two plates and sprinkle with the reserved crabmeat and spring onions. Serve with coriander leaves, some slices of cucumber and a wedge or two of lime, and accompany with a small bowl of chillies in fish sauce.

Thai Pork Fried Rice

Thai Fried Rice can be made with many leftovers. We start with the recipe for Thai Crab Fried Rice that we like so much and substitute other ingredients for the crab. In this case we had amazingly good Barbecue Ribs at a local Silverlake Restaurant: Alimento. We didn't finish the ribs and brought them home. I had left over Suckling Pig from my birthday dinner at Barbrix. So we combined the two meats in this Thai Fried Rice. It was great as always. You can get the basic recipe for the Thai Fried Rice on our blog of: April 4, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

A Joining of Forces

Radicchio with Croutons, Hardboiled Eggs and Anchovy Vinaigrette    

Posing per Kashmera

Roast Boneless Pork Shoulder    

Thai Fried Rice

Roast Boneless Pork Shoulder with a Tomato Fennel Sauce    

Pecan Tart

I really like joint dinners. We had been to ChiSpacca and had lots of left over Pork from their giant Tomahawk pork chop. We knew we would be making Thai Fried Rice with it.

We saw Robert and invited him and Darryl to join us for dinner. He had already committed to making Roast Boneless Pork Shoulder with a Tomato Fennel Sauce. I suggested we join forces, that he should simply bring it to our house and we would have one big feast!

We started with a Radicchio with Croutons, Hardboiled Eggs and Anchovy Vinaigrette. I love this salad: the bitterness of the radicchio the saltiness of the anchovies are offset by the egg and breadcrumbs. The recipe is from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. You can find the recipe on our blog of: Jan. 31, 2007. Click the date to get the recipe.

Robert and Darryl served the Roast Boneless Pork Shoulder with a Tomato Fennel Sauce. It was delicious and the sauce really set it off.

We then served the Thai Fried Rice. We have made it many times and it is one of our favorites. We use the recipe for: Fried Rice with Crab from Thai Street Food by David Thompson. We simply substituted the Crab with Pork. You can the recipe from our blog of April 4, 2013. Simply click the date to get the recipe.

For dessert: Pecan Tarts from McCall’s Meat and Fish.

Thai Fried Rice

When ever we eat at Mozza’s Chi Spacca we seem to order the fantastic and huge Tomahawk Pork Chop. It is more than Cathy and I can eat. We bring home the leftovers and make Thai Fried Rice. I like this version of fried rice because it is spicier than Chinese fried rice and has the zing of the lime juice that is squeezed on it at the end – just before serving. We use the recipe for: Fried Rice with Crab from Thai Street Food by David Thompson. We simply substituted the Crab with Pork. You can the recipe from our blog of April 4, 2013. Simply click the date to get the recipe.

Thai Fried Rice

Salmon Tacos from Forage

Thai Pork Fried Rice

Tomato Vegetable Salad from Forage

Desserts

It was a warm night and we decided to eat outside. Since we had left over pork, what is better that Thai Fried Rice? We have made it many times and it is one of our favorites. We use the recipe for: Fried Rice with Crab from Thai Street Food by David Thompson. We simply substituted the Crab with Pork. You can the recipe from our blog of April 4, 2013. Simply click the date to get the recipe.

With the rice, we picked up a Tomato Vegetable Salad, Salmon Tacos and Dessert from Forage.

Left Over Ham # 6 Thai Fried Rice with Ham

Our final use of the left over ham Thai Fried Rice with Ham! Beyond the original serving of the ham, we served it in 6 different dishes. This is an all time record for re-use of a main course. Maybe I should check with Guinness Book of Records and demand an entry. We have made the Thai Fried Rice many times and love it. The recipe can be found on our blog of: Feb. 28, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

Lobster Fried Rice

Nectarine Salad with Burrata and Hazelnuts

Lobster Fried Rice (Thai Style)

Nectarines are in season and we made a simple Salad with sliced Nectarines, Burrata Cheese and Hazelnuts. It was very refreshing. I like summer fruit salads.

We had dinner at Newport Seafood (our favorite Chinese restaurant). We always get their special Lobster. We ordered a lobster that was big enough that we knew we would have leftovers. We took the leftover lobster home along with the shells of the lobster that we ate. We then proceeded to make  Thai Lobster Fried Rice with the leftover Lobster. We use the recipe for: Fried Rice with Crab from Thai Street Food by David Thompson. We simply substituted the crab with Lobster. It was as good or better than any Fried Rice we get a restaurants. This is a recipe (with Crab or Pork or Shrimp, or lobster) that you should try. We used the lobster shells that we brought home, plus the lobster shells from the lobster that we used in the Fried Rice and made lobster stock by just covering the shells with water and boiling for about an hour or so. We then froze the stock for future use. The fried rice was unbelievably good!

You can get the recipe for fried rice from our blog of: April 4, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

Pork and Lobster Fried Rice

We had eaten at Newport Seafood, my favorite Chinese restaurant in the world! We ALWAYS get their Special Lobster. We had lots of leftover Lobster and its Special Sauce. I picked all of the meat and sauce off of the lobster. We also had left over Pork from ChiSpacca. We then made Thai Fried Rice using the Pork and Lobster. How good is that? Damn good! We loved it. You can get the recipe from our blog of: Feb. 28, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

With the Thai Fried Rice we served the remaining Aloo-Gobi that Krushna had cooked for us.

For dessert we ate Ice Cream with Kahlua.

Life with Fava

Fava'a Start at 3 pounds 3-3/4 Oz.

1st Peel on our front steps

After 1st Peel we have 1 pound 6 oz of Fava Beans

After 2nd Peeling less than a Pound of Fava's to cook

Toast Points with Fava Bean Spread and Ricotta Cheese

Mozza Pizza

Thai Fried Rice

Asparagus Morell Risotto

We purchased Fava Beans at the market and decided to make Fava Bean Puree. I always wondered what the ratio of final beans to purchased beans were, so I decided to document the preparation of the puree. As you can see, there is lots of peeling and discarded waste. We save all of the peelings however and give to a neighbor who composts it.

We love the flavor of fava bean puree and it is excellent on toast points. You can garnish with crumbled feta if you desire. In our case because we had some of the leftover baked ricotta and peas we used that on top of the spread. Talk about leftovers, Pizza from Mozza, how  good is that?

We had brought home some leftover pork from Mozza. Our favorite recipe for Fried Rice is Fried Rice with Crab from Thai Street Food by David Thompson. We simply substituted the Crab with Pork. It was as good or better than any Fried Rice we get a restaurants. You can get the recipe in our blog of: April 4, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

Finally we made: Asparagus Morell Risotto. We had lots of excellent food!

Fava Bean Puree

3 pounds mid-season fava beans

1/2 to 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and Pepper

2 cloves Garlic

1/4 bay leaf

1 small sprig rosemary

1 sprig thyme

1/2 lemon

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Shell the fava beans; discard the pods. Parboil the shelled beans for 1 minute. Drain them and immediately plunge them in ice-cold water for a few minutes to cool. Drain them again and remove their pale green skins, piercing the outer skin of each bean with your thumbnail and popping out the bright green bean in­side with a pinch of your other thumb and forefinger.

Warm about ½ cup of the olive oil in a shallow, nonreactive sauté pan. Add the beans and salt lightly. Add the garlic, peeled and chopped very fine; the herbs; and a splash of water. Cook the beans at a slow sim­mer, stirring and tasting frequently, for about 30 minutes, until they are completely soft and pale green and easily mashed into a puree. Add an­other splash of water from time to time to prevent the beans from dry­ing out and sticking to the pan.

When the beans are done, remove and discard the herbs, and mash the beans into a paste with a wooden spoon—or pass them through a sieve or a food mill or puree with a food processor. Taste for seasoning and add more olive oil and a few drops of lemon juice to taste. If the puree is at all dry and tight, add still more olive oil. Don't be stingy with the oil; good olive oil is as important to the flavor of the puree as the beans. Serve warm or at room temperature, by itself or spread on grilled bread.

Makes about 3 cups.

Soup, Skate and Thai Fried Rice / Frozen Cookie

We had leftovers from our dinner at ChiSpacca. Once again Thai Pork Fried Rice was called for. We always make it from the leftover pork. You can find the recipe for the Fried Rice on our blog of: Feb. 28, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

We also planned to serve the Yellow Gazpacho that we made the previously night. It was to be a dinner of leftovers.

Robert and Darryl called me up and said he had bought too many skate wings, and he asked if we would like to join them for dinner. I told him we were having Soup and Fried Rice why doesn’t he make the skate at our house and we would combine food for a joint dinner.

They brought the Skate over and Robert cooked it, it was great. It was a warm night and we ate outdoors, enjoying the weather and the views.

For dessert I went in our freezer and pulled out some frozen Chocolate Chip Cookies and served them frozen. They had never had frozen cookies and I think I opened a little door for them. I suspect cookies will be frozen in the mid-lands.

Peach Salad and Thai Pork Fried Rice

Peaches are in season so we made a salad with Arugula, Fresh Peaches and Burrata Cheese to start our dinner.

We had dinner at Mozza ChiSpacca one of my very favorite restaurants and of course we had the Tomahawk Pork Chop. There is NO way we could finish the chop, it is so enormous. We brought the leftover pork home and made Thai Fried Rice. We have done this many times and we love it. We use the recipe for: Fried Rice with Crab from Thai Street Food by David Thompson. We simply substituted the Crab with Pork. You can the recipe from our blog of April 4, 2013. Simply click the date to get the recipe.

Lobster Fried Rice

Melon and Spec

We had dinner at Newport Seafood (our favorite Chinese restaurant). We always get their special Lobster. We ordered The House Special Lobster that was big enough that we knew we would have leftovers. We took the leftover lobster home along with the shells of the lobster that we ate. We then proceeded to make  Thai Lobster Fried Rice with the leftover Lobster. We use the recipe for: Fried Rice with Crab from Thai Street Food by David Thompson.

We simply substituted the crab with Lobster. It was as good or better than any Fried Rice we get a restaurants. This is a recipe (with Crab or Pork or Shrimp, or lobster) that you should try. We used the lobster shells that we brought home, plus the lobster shells from the lobster that we used in the Fried Rice and made lobster stock by just covering the shells with water and boiling for about an hour or so. We then froze the stock for future use. The fried rice was unbelievably good!

You can get the recipe for fried rice from our blog of: April 4, 2013. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started the dinner with a Melon and Spec appetizer.