Ring It In With Some Spice

I couldn't let 2012 fade away without a recipe! But, first, let me wish you all a very Happy New Year!

May good health, happiness, success and joy be yours in 2013!

Some of you might remember the Thai cooking class I had attended two summers ago, or not. If not, just click-through and you will have yourselves a delightful recipe for  Mango Sticky Rice. I have been wanting to make the roasted red chile sauce that Chef Suzanne taught us in that class, for the longest time. It is a variation of Nam Prik Pao, for which recipes abound on the interwebs.

I bought a variety of dried shrimp when we were in California that summer but never got around to using them. I figured that since they were dried, they would last reasonably forever or at least until I finally decided to cook them. It was not to be because all of them had become limp, grown a white layer and smelled downright nasty. So nasty that I had to open the windows to air the house even though it was below freezing outside. My fallback was the package of dried shrimp I had tucked away deep in my refrigerator but, alas, that smelled just as bad and looked worse. I double-wrapped everything in paper bags and, with a heavy heart, I sent it to the compost bin.

When things like this happen, I usually give up and give in to the saying that "the universe is telling me not to make this roasted red chile sauce and there is no point in working against that energy." But I was driven that day and I finally made it to the Asian Seafood Store in Boulder. Once there, I was chastised by Maria, the owner of the store, for bringing dried shrimp all the way from California when she has always stocked and sold them. Yes, ma'am!

Thai Roasted Chile Sauce

courtesy Chef Suzanne Rudolph

Dried shrimpies!

• 3/4 cup dried red chiles (I used byadgi)
• 8 medium shallots, sliced
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 6 medium cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 cups vegetable oil
• 3 oz dried shrimp
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2-3 tbsp tamarind concentrate

Fried goodness

1. Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry the shallots and garlic together until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain.
2. Next, fry dried shrimp and dried chiles in the same oil until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain.
3. Allow oil to cool.
4. Blend together cooled oil, fried ingredients and all remaining ingredients into a finely textured sauce. In a good blender, this takes about 3-4 minutes. In mine, much longer and more coarse than fine!

Coarse textured sauce that really should be finely textured.

This sauce should be stored in a glass jar and can be refrigerated for upto 3-4 months.

Notes:

• There are a zillion recipes for Thai roasted chile sauce or Nam Prik Pao. Most of them say that the ingredients should be fried individually. I can tell you that there's no harm or foul if you fry them together as in this recipe. However, I can understand that the layers of flavor will be different if fried separately. If you have time on hand, please do fry them separately.
• I make my own tamarind concentrate from fruit pulp and therefore add a little more than if I were to use tamarind concentrate from a jar.
• Suzanne Rudolph recommends that you remove the seeds from the dried chiles as that removes a bitter edge from the sauce. I was lazy and I don't mind bitter so I left the chiles intact.
• Traditionally, this sauce is made by pounding the ingredients together in a mortar pestle, as Pel recommends. Pounding is rather meditative, like stirring, but in this case I opt for quick and go with a blender. Also, my mortar pestles aren't big enough to hold about a pint of sauce.
• If you use dried red Thai bird chiles, use only 1/2 cup of loosely-packed chiles. Byadgi chiles are milder so I upped the quantity. My sauce is still rather mild.
• I absolutely love this sauce. I eat it as is, add it to rice, to my soups and even use it as a spread on toast. I felt rather validated when Pim suggested the same thing on her blog.

My family was not, and still is not, as sold on this sauce as I am. They did, however, enjoy Thai-style butternut squash soup.

Thai-style Butternut Squash Soup

adapted from Whole Foods

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 6 cups cubed butternut squash, fresh or frozen
• 2 tbsp roasted chile sauce
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

1. Heat oil in a large pot.
2. Add diced onion and chopped ginger and cook until it turns translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add roasted red chile sauce, butternut squash, salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the squash is fork-tender, about 30 minutes. Alternatively, cook this in a pressure cooker for one pressure release or whistle, or according to your pressure cooker's instructions.
4. Use an immersion blender to purée the soup or allow it to cool and purée in small batches in a traditional blender.
5. Add coconut milk and stir to mix well.
6. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and serve hot.

In butternut squash soup

This soup takes the classic butternut squash soup to a new level. It is spicy and if you like ginger as much as I do, add some as garnish with the cilantro. This soup tastes even better the next day. It's the perfect foil for this cold weather and if, like us, you too have been taken down by the nasty cough and cold virus that has been doing the rounds lately.

How often do you get two recipes in one post here on IFR? Consider this your New Year's bonus but don't get used to it because I still struggle with posting recipes on a regular basis. I do not cook for my blog, I cook for my family. What they like and approve of and what I will make again and again, that is what I share here on IFR.

Initially, I wanted to add a recap of 2012 to this post but I decided that the best way to start 2012 would be with a recap instead of ending the year with one. Expect some memories and pictures in my first post of 2013.

Happy 2013 to all of you! I am so glad that you are still here, reading and engaging with me. I hope you stick around for another year of sharing here on IFR because 2013 is the year that Indian Food Rocks turns 10!

Happy New Year!