Pork in Spicy Dressing With Iced Broccoli Stems (Mu Manao) From ‘Simple Thai Food’

[Photograph: Erin Kunkel]

Most connoisseurs of Southeast Asian food know that Thai salads are not usually leafy, vegetable-based dishes. In point, they are significantly a lot more very likely to be loaded with meat and tossed in a funky, fish sauce-laden dressing. This duo of pork and broccoli in Leela Punyaratabandhu’s new cookbook, Straightforward Thai Food items, is no exception.

Lean pork tenderloin is sliced and tossed in a little bit of baking soda before staying swiftly poached in simmering drinking water. The soda tenderizes the pork and adds a silky exterior texture that is primed for coating in a spicy, tart sauce. Eaten on its personal, the pork is a little bit powerful, but when served together with cooling raw broccoli stems, it reaches a best harmony.

Why I picked this recipe: I hardly ever would have assumed to serve pork with ice chilly broccoli.

What labored: Alternating bites between the pork and the broccoli was a revelation, warming and cooling the mouth for a well balanced meal. The ice cubes seem unnecessary, but will not skip them—they hold the broccoli more crisp and great.

What did not: Very little.

Recommended tweaks: You can use regular broccoli stems or asparagus in spot of the Chinese broccoli stems. Punyaratabandhu suggests that you can skip the baking soda phase if you would like, but I do not see why you’d will need to skip it. This dish can be served with rice or on its individual as a salad.

Reprinted with authorization from Very simple Thai Food items: Traditional Recipes from the Thai Household Kitchen by Leela Punyaratabandhu. Copyright 2014. Published by 10 Pace Push, a division of Random Residence. All legal rights reserved. Out there anywhere publications are offered.