Crab Paste

♬ These are a few of my favorite things ♬ View this post on Instagram This stuff. Use it to add a little low-key seafood flavor (and a ton of umami) to your fried rice and stir-fries, use it in your curries and stews, and …

Larb Ped (Duck Salad)

Larb ped made with @maryschicken Pekin duck breasts. I smoked them over trimmings off my peach tree just long enough for the fat to render from the skin, then peeled the skin off and crisped it up on the grill (with a pan underneath to …

Green Curry

Homemade Thai green curry, made mild for younger palates: handfuls of cilantro (leaves and stems) and Thai basil; galangal, turmeric and ginger; garlic and shallot; makrut lime leaf, lime zest and juice; cumin and coriander; fish sauce, shrimp paste, and palm sugar. It’s simmered in …

Congee, Fully Loaded

Further adventures in “rice is totally breakfast:” ginger-scallion congee cooked in good homemade chicken broth with Vietnamese ham, poached backyard egg and bok choy, topped with shaved salt-cured duck egg, fried shallots, chile oil and cilantro. It’s somehow both calming and stimulating, and so satisfying. …

Shrimp & Grits

Or, “corngee.” I haven’t posted about it yet, but I’ve been on a bit of a jook kick lately! This one is kind of silly but makes perfect sense: it’s a mash-up of Lowcountry shrimp and grits with greens and Vietnamese-style congee (cháo). I cooked …

Vietnamese Foie Gras Dirty Rice

Vietnamese and Creole flavors play so well together, especially when foie gras is invited to the party.   Here’s a big serving of foie gras dirty rice made with duck stock, jasmine rice, and Vietnamese flavors: fish sauce, palm sugar, a little cinnamon (just a …

Guinea Hen Miến Gà

I have a cold! ??? so I made a big pot of miến gà with more of that wonderful Grimaud Farms guinea fowl (one of the @nicky.usa #wildaboutgame proteins!). It's just one more way to enjoy chicken noodle soup (glass noodles, lots of garlic, ginger, …

Smoked Cod Cakes with Napa Cabbage Slaw

I love fish cakes. There’s some casual thing about them, all getting sand in your shoes and an itchy sunburn on your shoulders, needing Noxzema and iced tea. Their beachiness could be as literal as the fact that cod comes from the ocean (our local chilly …

Mochi Milk Bread French Toast with Strawberry-Lemon Compote

I know I write a lot about breakfast. Can’t help it. It is, after all, the most important meal of the day, and Portland has such a cultish breakfast and brunch culture (and let’s face it; brunch is just breakfast with alcohol). It might just …

Pork Meatball and Rillette Bánh Mì

Some terrible things have positive outcomes. Take colonization, for example. You know what’s great about colonization? Bánh mì. It’s true. The French colonized Vietnam for the export of tobacco, indigo, tea and coffee, but when they taught the Vietnamese their baking secrets, a little magic …