Happy Birthday, PPN!!!: Lemongrass-Barbecued Pork with Rice-Vermicelli Salad

Do you think Ruth had any idea how popular her Presto Pasta Nights would become? Do you think she knew we'd be able to celebrate 52 weeks - a full year (and a Leap Day, to boot!) with her? I know she puts a lot of effort and a lot of heart into her round-ups, and I couldn't be happier for her!! You rock, Ruth!

For this momentous of an event, I wanted to make something different and special. I rarely use lemongrass, even though I love it... and I even more rarely use rice vermicelli, so this recipe fit the bill nicely. I will admit it, I tensed up a little at the ingredient list... I get a little squidgy if I see more than 10 things listed... but once I actually read it and saw that some ingredients repeat themselves... I exhaled the breath I'd been holding.

You're probably used to me by now, telling how I deviated from the directions... I didn't use a mortar and pestle (the one I have is too small and dainty to actually use), so I used my mini-chopper (besides, I think I'd have to be really really buff to do any serious damage to lemongrass with a pestle)... and I don't have a grill, so I used my trusty grill pan... O right, and no pickled anythings to go-with... You'll have to let me know how it turns out if you make this and have the pickled stuff...

This dinner was so light and fresh and magical on the tongue. I really need to use mint more often. And I certainly have to find more dinners that include pulverized lemongrass. The dressing on the rice noodles was fantastic, and nicely offset by the crisp cucumbers. As glowing this recommendation is, my favorite part were the noodles... the way they were too long to eat neatly and they'd end up slapping me in the face... cracked me up!!!

I love noodles, you love noodles, Ruth loves noodles. Check in to her blog, Once Upon a Feast, tomorrow for her Week 52 Roundup!!

Lemongrass-Barbecued Pork with Rice-Vermicelli Salad
c/o Food & Wine Magazine, May 2006
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/lemongrass-barbecued-pork-with-rice-vermicelli-salad

Mai My Lin, one of the chefs Kiesel met at the Nha Trang night market, prepares an aromatic and pungent marinade for grilled pork with two quintessential Vietnamese ingredients—lemongrass and fish sauce. The real surprise here is Mai's zesty Carrot and Daikon Pickles, which are amazing with the smoky grilled meat.

4 large garlic cloves, thickly sliced
3 large stalks of fresh lemongrass, tender inner white bulb only, sliced crosswise
2 large shallots, thickly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/2 pound rice vermicelli
4 medium garlic cloves, quartered
3 Thai chiles or 1 large jalapeño, thickly sliced
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup Asian fish sauce
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/2 cup finely chopped mint
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/3 cup water
2 large cucumbers—peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and thinly sliced crosswise

PREPARE THE PORK: In a food processor, finely chop the garlic, lemongrass and shallots. Add the sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, vegetable oil and soy sauce and process to a paste. In a large shallow dish, coat the pork with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 11/2 hours.

MAKE THE RICE-VERMICELLI SALAD: In a large bowl, cover the rice vermicelli with cold water and let soak until pliable, about 20 minutes.

In a large mortar, using a pestle, pound the garlic cloves to a paste with the chiles and sugar. Stir in the fish sauce, cilantro, mint, lime juice and water.

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Drain the rice vermicelli. Add it to the boiling water and cook, stirring, until barely tender, about 1 minute. Drain the vermicelli. Rinse the vermicelli in cold water and drain them thoroughly. Transfer the vermicelli to a large bowl, add the cilantro-and-mint dressing and toss well. Scatter the sliced cucumbers over the rice-vermicelli salad.

Light a grill. Lift the pork slices from the marinade, leaving on some of the flavorings. Grill the pork over a hot fire until nicely charred, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the pork to plates and serve with the rice-vermicelli salad.

See the recipe...

Coconut-Crusted Tofu with Peach-Lemongrass Salsa

I printed this recipe in March, hopeful that I'd get to it eventually. I think that's about when I started giving tofu a chance, sneaking it into our meals.

Thank goodness for this dinner. Between our breakfast, pizza and a churro from Costco for lunch, Maggie Moo ice cream in the afternoon... I'm sure you see where I'm going with this. Today was a classically bad-eating Saturday. (I did really like that churro, though!)

I made some brown basmati to go-with, and I steamed some CSA sugar snap peas during the last ten minutes of the rice. (I feel very sneaky.) I do wish that the coconut had adhered better to the tofu, and Dave suggested more jalapenos for the salsa. Overall, it was a nice healthy dinner, that assuaged a little ice cream guilt.

Coconut-Crusted Tofu with Peach-Lemongrass Salsa
Eating Well Magazine, June/July 2006
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/coconut_tofu_peach.html

3 medium peaches, peeled, pitted and diced
1-2 jalapenos, preferably red, seeded and minced
1 2-inch piece fresh lemongrass, minced, or 1 teaspoon dried (see Note)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice-wine vinegar
¾ teaspoon salt, divided
½ cup unsweetened flaked coconut
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 14-ounce package extra-firm water-packed tofu, drained
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

Preheat oven to 400°F. Set a wire rack on a large baking sheet.

Combine peaches, jalapenos, lemongrass, basil, brown sugar, vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl; toss to combine.

Mix coconut, flour and cornstarch in a shallow dish. Cut the block of tofu lengthwise into 8 thin steaks. Pat the tofu slices dry with a paper towel, sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, then press both sides of each tofu steak into the coconut mixture.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 tofu steaks and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side, adjusting heat as necessary to prevent scorching. Transfer the tofu steaks to the rack-lined baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet over medium-high heat; cook the remaining tofu steaks until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Serve the tofu with the peach salsa.

Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 251 calories; 16 g fat (4 g sat, 9 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 19 g carbohydrate; 11 g protein; 3 g fiber; 491 mg sodium; 313 mg potassium.

See the recipe...

Leftovers Number One

So tonight, we had the chicken mole + rice leftovers from Easter Sunday. At Dave's suggestion, I made the avocado and black bean salad from late last week to go with it (as the mole was kinda spicy, and the avocado black bean salad is cool and creamy). I think it was a genius idea.

As we were supposed to have Father Pollard over for dinner (no one tell him we were going to have leftovers), I made dessert. Lemongrass and yogurt rice pudding. I think its yummy bliss; Dave thought it was gross. As our friend Liane says, lemongrass is an acquired taste. If you dig it, make it. It didn't require much fussing, and I could eat it all day. Since Father canceled, more for me!


Lemongrass Yogurt Rice with Crushed Raspberries
http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Friends-Stylish-Recipes-Flavour/dp/1841720879/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-9646457-7807140?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176164330&sr=8-1

Mix and match the refreshing lemongrass yogurt rice with the sweet crushed fruit as you go – or you could even spoon the berries and juice into the bowls first and cover with the rice, then dig deep for the berries as you eat.

8 oz. crushed raspberries
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ short grain rice, washed
4 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and smashed open
3 cups milk
1 lb. creamy yogurt

Put half the raspberries in a sauce pan and stir in half the sugar and 1 tablespoon water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer until the fruit is soft. Push the fruit and juice through a non-metal strainer into a bowl, discarding the pips. Stir in the lemon juice, then add the remaining raspberries to the puree, crush lightly, and let cool.

Put the rice, lemongrass, milk, and the remaining sugar into a saucepan, bring to a boil, stir well, reduce the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Let cool, then discard the lemongrass.

Stir the yogurt into the lemongrass rice, then divide between 6 bowls and serve with small bowls of crushed raspberries.

Variations:
- flavor the rice with a split vanilla bean rather than lemongrass and serve with a puree of mixed berries.
- Serve the berries with thick yogurt and honey, sprinkled with toasted slivered almonds.

See the recipe...