Chef Andy Ricker, who owns the Pok Pok Thai restaurants, picked up this preparation of stir-fried fiddleheads — aka phat phak kuut – from a restaurant in Phrae province, south of Chiang Mai in Thailand. After you’ve got the fiddleheads cleaned, it’s easy and delicious: super-savory, with a killer, really satisfying texture. The following recipe is Ricker’s, edited; notes on the shortcuts I took follow. Get fiddlin’!

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fiddlehead ferns (about 4 cups)
  • Salt
  • 2 tablespoons’ worth of garlic cloves
  • 4 to 10 small, fresh Thai chilies, depending on your tolerance for heat
  • 2 tablespoons neutral oil (see note)
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce (Tiparos or Squid brands are good and common)
  • 4 tablespoons oyster sauce, preferably a Thai brand like Maekhrua (see note)
  • 1 tablespoon superfine sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon MSG (see note)
  • Freshly ground white pepper to finish
  • ½ cup pork stock.
  • Nutritional Information
    • Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

      406 calories; 29 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 29 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 13 grams protein; 2523 milligrams sodium

    • Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.

Makes 2 to 4 servings, depending on what else is on the table.

Preparation

  1. Clean the fiddleheads by soaking them in cold water and shaking them dry in a colander. Trim the stem of each within an inch or two of the curled top. Slip off any slimy brown skin. Pick over for sticks, dirt and bugs. (Hey, they’re wild!)
  2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well.
  3. Smash the garlic and chilies into a rough, lumpy paste in a mortar and pestle.
  4. Blanch the ferns for a minute or two. Meanwhile, heat the oils in a wok or wok-style pan over medium heat. Add garlic and chilies and cook until fragrant but not brown.
  5. Take the ferns out of the blanching water, shake them dry in a colander for a few seconds (a little water is not a problem) and toss into the wok. Crank the heat all the way up. Stir-fry for a minute, add the fish sauce, stir-fry again for a few seconds, then add the oyster sauce, sugar, MSG and white pepper. Stir-fry for a few more seconds, then add the stock and cook until sauce is thicker than water but nowhere near a glaze.
  6. Serve on a large platter or in a shallow bowl. Eat hot.
  • Ricker uses rice bran oil to cook with, Thai oyster sauce and pork stock in this dish. I used peanut oil, Lee Kum Kee brand Chinese oyster sauce that’s at every better deli downtown, and water in place of pork stock. I’m sure I offended some Thai-authenticity deity, but the dish still came out awesome.
  • Ricker says that Thai oyster sauce is mellower and less salty than Chinese, so be on the lookout for it. MSG is optional – he doesn’t use it at his restaurant, but he says they would do so in Thailand. And make sure to use superfine sugar – it’s cut with cornstarch, which adds a nice glossiness to the sauce.

30 minutes

Dining and Cooking