It's been wayyy to long since I last ate kimchi. My latest batch won't be done fermenting for another week or so, so to fill the spicy void I fried up some dau hu xa ot (Vietnamese spicy lemongrass tofu) last night. This is one of my favorite dishes.
It's easy to make to. The first thing to do is mix two stalks of finely chopped lemongrass (I used fresh ones from my garden this round and wow, what a difference in taste it made), soy sauce (4-5 tbs), turmeric (1 tbs), chopped fresh chilies (4-5), chili flakes (2-3 tbs), sugar (2 tbs), and salt (1tbs) in a bowl. To this mixture add as much cubed tofu as you care to eat and let it marinade for 30 minutes. (Your rice can be cooking meanwhile.)
After the first 30 minutes are up, saute chopped white onion, shallots, and garlic in a wok with peanut oil for about a minute or two. Add the lemongrass tofu mixture and stir fry gently for 2-3 minutes together with a handful of chopped, roasted peanuts. Just before the 2-3 minutes is up, add a handful of Asian basil leaves. (The original recipe calls for la lot leaves but I have yet to find any in the area.) Top the finished dish with more chopped peanuts and serve.
Substitition notes:
The first time I made this dish I was out of onion and used green onion instead. Now, I can't imagine this dish without green onion. So, this is my own genetically altered version of this dish.
Likewise, I don't have la lot leaves at my disposal, so I used Italian basil. This week's garden obligation is therefore locating la lot seeds and growing some in my garden. Anybody have any? :-)
P.S. I leave for New Orleans in a week. Does anybody have any restaurant and/or entertainment suggestions? Besides lifting one's skirt up for beads?
"Chunky Macapuno Coconut Ice Cream" -- the perfect ending to a spicy meal. There certainly must be a higher power for providing the world with the coconut. It's my all time favorite taste and smell. And god bless Aj Liquor & Oriental Mart for being the conduit that would provide me such a delicious thing. Amen.
Comments
Hello!
Firstly, WoW! I've been trying to find a similar recipe but I didn't know what its called.. Will definitely try out this recipe! (Hoping to make it tomorrow as I'm having a small party)
One Q: Mung Beans is Green beans right? Because there's another bean, usually called "split beans", yellow in colour.
I have to say that your site is VERY interesting! Personally, I'm a huge fan of Korean cooking (I'm a Singaporean Chinese living in Sweden) & its nice to see someone so into Korean food! I have a really huge collection of recipes (Korean, Singaporean & other Asian cuisine) as well, in case there's something you are interested in!
Posted by: Sharon Pang | November 30, 2006 10:09 AM
Hi again E-Jonny,
I see that you already know about kuali.com. It's 1 of my fav sites when I'm looking for M'sian recipes since I don't live in Kuala Lumpur anymore.
If you don't know what an ingredient is, you can always send an e-mail to Amy Beh.
I guess I should read all blogs before sending my comments, should I?
Greetings,
Chai-Leng
(A M'sian living in the Netherlands)
Posted by: Chai-Leng | January 25, 2007 07:14 AM