Top 100 - 86 Through 90

86. Phad Prik Moo (pork with red chili sauce). A super easy, quick dish that is full of crunchy vegetables and nice and spicy. I found the recipe in Simply Thai Cooking by Wandee Young and Byron Ayanoglu.

Pork With Red Chili Sauce

10 ounces trimmed pork tenderloin
1/2 medium green pepper
6 long green beans
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 cup water
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup bamboo shoot strips
20 whole fresh basil leaves
strips of red pepper
2 1/2 cups freshly steamed rice

1. Slice tenderloin into strips that are 1/4 inch thick, 2 inch long and about 1 inch wide. If you find it difficult to cut thinly through fresh meat, leave it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden slightly, and then slice. Reserve.
2. Cut pepper into 1 inch squares. Trim ends of long beans and then chop into 1 inch pieces. Reserve peppers and beans together.
3. Heat oil in a wok (or large frying pan) until it is just about to smoke. Lower the heat and add garlic and curry paste and stir fry for 45 seconds. Immediately add water and raise heat to maximum. Stir-cook for 1 minute and add fish sauce and sugar. Stir-cook for 2 minutes, until the sauce is smooth and bubbling.
4. Add reserved pork and stir-cook for 2 minutes. Add reserved peppers and long beans, as well as the bamboo shoot strips, and stir-cook for 4-5 minutes, until everything appears to be cooked and the sauce has thickened somewhat. Add 3/4 of the basil leaves and stir into the sauce. Take off the fire and transfer to a serving dish. Top with some red pepper strips and the rest of the basil leaves. Serve immediately, accompanied by steamed rice.
Serves 4

87. The Fried Shrimp Po' Boy. I order it undressed because I don't like mayonnaise, but then pour on lots of Crystal hot sauce. A dressed po' boy comes with mayo, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. The shrimp are sweet and firm with a hot, crunchy coating. I like them at Elizabeth's, with a side order of praline bacon. (because the fried shrimp just aren't fattening enough!)

88. A French Market Bag. We use them at the grocery store and outdoor markets, for carrying wine and food to friend's houses and they're perfect to take to the beach.



89. Roasted Red Peppers. I like them marinated in olive oil and garlic, on sandwiches, in tarts or quiches, on salads and mixed with scrambled eggs. Making you own is easy, even if you don't have a gas stove.
Turn on your oven's broiler, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and roast the peppers about 6 inches from the broiler, turning them as the skin starts to blister and blacken. Once they are all roasted, take them out of the oven, wrap them up tightly in the foil and cover the bundle with a kitchen towel and leave to steam, about 20-30 minutes. When they're cool enough to handle, slip the skins off and remove the stem and seeds, but never under running water! Even though it makes the process easier, the flavor goes down the drain with the skin. Tear the flesh into strips and either eat that day or cover in olive oil and keep in the fridge for several days.

90. Dooky Chase's Restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana. Until August 29, 2005, chef Leah Chase had been serving up some of the best Creole food in the city. Hurricane Katrina flooded the restaurant, but I read that she planned to reopen on January 6, on her 84th birthday. I remember her gumbo and fried chicken were the best I've ever had!

2301 Orleans Ave
New Orleans, LA
(504) 821-0535 Pin It