Shrimp with Nam Jim Seafood, Winter Citrus Salad, Tom Saap, Raw Fish Laab with Chicories, Pork in Ajoblanco with Chili Relish, Squid “Noodles” Tom Yum, Octopus in Green Curry, Hibiscus Sago
Shrimp with Nam Jim Seafood, Winter Citrus Salad, Tom Saap, Raw Fish Laab with Chicories, Pork in Ajoblanco with Chili Relish, Squid “Noodles” Tom Yum, Octopus in Green Curry, Hibiscus Sago
by thespecialsupper
5 Comments
thespecialsupper
This is the 3rd event I’ve done with two friends and our partners. We hosted 40 diners in an event space in our city. We are all amateur chefs and this has been a great way to push our abilities to our limits. Look forward to getting ripped apart here, my hope is to continue to improve and get better from doing these events. General theme is based around playing with Thai and Japanese flavors.
shrimp is our twist on a shrimp cocktail. Nam jim seafood is a Thai seafood sauce, which we made with jalapeños, cilantro, fish sauce, garlic, sugar.
citrus salad has cocktail grapefruits, Cara Cara oranges, and blood orange. Dressing is caramelized shallots and fish sauce. Finished with mint, rice paddy herb, and toasted coconut.
Tom Saap is a herbal soup. Made with pork bones from the later course of braised pork. Seasoned with lemongrass, lime leaves, garlic, tomato. We served with herbs and tofu. This is probably my least favorite visually but it was a huge hit flavor wise.
fish laab is made with madai. Marinated in a citrus ponzu made with juice from citrus salad. Tossed with Thai Sichuan peppercorn (Makwan), rau ram. Served with castelfranco, rosa di veneto, and shrimp chips.
ajoblanco is made from marcona almonds and bread. Braised pork shank and ribs are cooked overnight with sous vide. chili relish is a garlicky paste made from aji panca chilis and tamarind water.
squid noodles is a twist on a Thai street food. We lightly poached squid and then sliced to look like udon. Tossed in a roasted chili vinaigrette, pumpkin seeds, scallions, cilantro. octopus is slow cooked in sous vide.
Green curry is a main stay of these menus. This version has some tomatillo to add additional depth and reduce the spice. Kumquats add a little tanginess and sweetness to balance the heat.
dessert is tapioca pearls in coconut milk, topped with a hibiscus jam and coconut flakes. Presentation here is not as good as we hoped but it was a long night so we did our best!!
DankOfTheEndless
Everything sounds delicious, but the plating needs a lot of work.
If you’re not gonna sear the shrimp coat it with that colorful sauce, otherwise it just looks like depressing boiled shrimp plopped on there. Thicken up the sauce a bit, so you can smear it across the plate, then I would get a good sear on the shrimp and shingle them so all the tails point in one direction. That way you can just grab a shrimp by the tail and “scoop” up some sauce, eat it and move on to the next shrimp.
The octopus and pork also seem a little haphazard? Just having a bunch of tentacles sticking up from some sauce doesn’t exactly look appetizing. I would char them a little harder too, so you get some crisp on the end, that way you can play with texture too. Maybe separate the tentacles after grilling/frying/sauteeing so your guest don’t have to cut them appart themselves, and then try to arrange it a little more mindfully. Same goes for the pork, be more mindful so you’re not just plopping something down. Play with a little asymmetry, have the pork off to one side and drizzle some colorful (and complimentary) flavored oil on the sauce.
The other ones you can’t do much with. Awesone dishes, just needs some refinement
Edit: said squid when I meant octopus
cheftt51dudu
Try searching for Chem Free shrimp. Those ones look sus. They shouldn’t look translucent when cooked. It’s a sign of the chemicals used to “preserve” the shrimp. It’s usually some type of tri poly phosphate, and some other salts giving it a bad texture and flavor when cooked. As far as plating, try to keep things a little tighter in the center and use some of the blank space for sauce, pops of color from garnishes, oils, and other bits of color. Thanks for sharing and keep trying.
InsideAd2490
>Nam Jim Seafood
Did you get the recipe from Pok Pok? That’s been a great resource for me on Thai cooking.
phredbull
This looks like a delicious meal. Presentation is a bit rough around the edges, but it doesn’t look like you made compromises for the sake of visual appeal. I think if you keep at it & continue to refine what you’re doing, you’ll have something truly impressive.
5 Comments
This is the 3rd event I’ve done with two friends and our partners. We hosted 40 diners in an event space in our city. We are all amateur chefs and this has been a great way to push our abilities to our limits. Look forward to getting ripped apart here, my hope is to continue to improve and get better from doing these events. General theme is based around playing with Thai and Japanese flavors.
shrimp is our twist on a shrimp cocktail. Nam jim seafood is a Thai seafood sauce, which we made with jalapeños, cilantro, fish sauce, garlic, sugar.
citrus salad has cocktail grapefruits, Cara Cara oranges, and blood orange. Dressing is caramelized shallots and fish sauce. Finished with mint, rice paddy herb, and toasted coconut.
Tom Saap is a herbal soup. Made with pork bones from the later course of braised pork. Seasoned with lemongrass, lime leaves, garlic, tomato. We served with herbs and tofu. This is probably my least favorite visually but it was a huge hit flavor wise.
fish laab is made with madai. Marinated in a citrus ponzu made with juice from citrus salad. Tossed with Thai Sichuan peppercorn (Makwan), rau ram. Served with castelfranco, rosa di veneto, and shrimp chips.
ajoblanco is made from marcona almonds and bread. Braised pork shank and ribs are cooked overnight with sous vide. chili relish is a garlicky paste made from aji panca chilis and tamarind water.
squid noodles is a twist on a Thai street food. We lightly poached squid and then sliced to look like udon. Tossed in a roasted chili vinaigrette, pumpkin seeds, scallions, cilantro.
octopus is slow cooked in sous vide.
Green curry is a main stay of these menus. This version has some tomatillo to add additional depth and reduce the spice. Kumquats add a little tanginess and sweetness to balance the heat.
dessert is tapioca pearls in coconut milk, topped with a hibiscus jam and coconut flakes. Presentation here is not as good as we hoped but it was a long night so we did our best!!
Everything sounds delicious, but the plating needs a lot of work.
If you’re not gonna sear the shrimp coat it with that colorful sauce, otherwise it just looks like depressing boiled shrimp plopped on there. Thicken up the sauce a bit, so you can smear it across the plate, then I would get a good sear on the shrimp and shingle them so all the tails point in one direction. That way you can just grab a shrimp by the tail and “scoop” up some sauce, eat it and move on to the next shrimp.
The octopus and pork also seem a little haphazard? Just having a bunch of tentacles sticking up from some sauce doesn’t exactly look appetizing. I would char them a little harder too, so you get some crisp on the end, that way you can play with texture too. Maybe separate the tentacles after grilling/frying/sauteeing so your guest don’t have to cut them appart themselves, and then try to arrange it a little more mindfully. Same goes for the pork, be more mindful so you’re not just plopping something down. Play with a little asymmetry, have the pork off to one side and drizzle some colorful (and complimentary) flavored oil on the sauce.
The other ones you can’t do much with. Awesone dishes, just needs some refinement
Edit: said squid when I meant octopus
Try searching for Chem Free shrimp. Those ones look sus. They shouldn’t look translucent when cooked. It’s a sign of the chemicals used to “preserve” the shrimp. It’s usually some type of tri poly phosphate, and some other salts giving it a bad texture and flavor when cooked. As far as plating, try to keep things a little tighter in the center and use some of the blank space for sauce, pops of color from garnishes, oils, and other bits of color. Thanks for sharing and keep trying.
>Nam Jim Seafood
Did you get the recipe from Pok Pok? That’s been a great resource for me on Thai cooking.
This looks like a delicious meal. Presentation is a bit rough around the edges, but it doesn’t look like you made compromises for the sake of visual appeal. I think if you keep at it & continue to refine what you’re doing, you’ll have something truly impressive.