Pig Spare Rib Appetizer (Thai)

Post #222,794 by Andrew Grygus 9/4/05 6:29:12 PM Reply	Pig Spare Rib Appetizer (Thai) Chill your beer. Make up your dipping sauce. It can be something real simple like just rice vinegar and thinly sliced incindiary chilis. Make your Cilantro Paste. Grind up real well 1 t Peppercorns 2 T Garlic 3 T Cilantro leaves & stems - (should be roots but not available even in Los Angeles) Cut up 2 # pig ribs. Officially they should be cut in 1 inch lengths, but you can make them long if you like. Coat the ribs with the cilantro paste and 1 t sugar. Leave in a cool place for an hour or so. (If you work at the USDA this'll give you a heart attack, so let 'em sit 3 hours in the fridge.) Heat your deep fry oil to 350°F and fry in batches until browned. Drain and remove excess oil with paper towels. Serve warm with dipping sauce and chilled beer. There aren't a whole lot of them in the photo because I ate most of them before I remembered to take a picture. Actually, I ate most of them before the last batch was through frying. [image\|http://www.aaxnet.com/ajg/sam_pigrib01.jpg\|\|\|\|] [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #222,808 by Steve Lowe 9/4/05 7:22:07 PM Reply	drool! -- Steve
Post #222,826 by Andrew Grygus 9/4/05 8:59:34 PM Reply	An interesting note on Thai condiments. When Thai restaurants started up in a big way in Los Angeles (there are zillions now, but only a few really good ones) the condiment tray sets had three bowls for: fresh green chili slices in vinegar, crumbled dry chilis, and a wet red chili paste made from dried chilis The chilis in vinegar should have been Thai chilis but they couldn't get them so they used the larger Serranos. Now Thai chilis are widely available but people have become so accustomed to the unique taste of Serranos some of the better restaurants have gone to a four bowl set with both Thai and Serrano chilis - authenticity plus customer satisfaction. Thai chilis are supposed to be screaming hot, but in California they are widely variable (too many chili varieties that cross polinate and a lot of soil variation). I've seen trays where the Serranos were actually hotter than the Thais. I've also recently encountered bell peppers that bit back noticeably. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #223,038 by Andrew Grygus 9/6/05 2:24:17 AM Reply	More on Thai condiments. Now that I'm making my own, I more appreciate the effort my tastes require. Of course I'm using Thai chilis instead of the Serranos Thai restaurants used back when I ate at them. Serranos are fleshy while Thais are almost non-existant so you have to slice a zillion of them. I used to eat at a Thai restaurant where I was considered a special customer because I'd blundered through the door less than an hour after they opened for business. The priests from the Roscoe temple were just starting the blessing, so I got blessed along with the restaurant. Back when I was an employee I would eat lunch there several times a week and order my dish "extra spicy" - then decimate the condiment tray for good measure. One day the kitchen staff decided to kill me - or maybe just find out what I could take. The soup they sent out was "an experience", one not soon forgotten, but I sent the bowl back with one slice of (inedible) galingal in the bottom. I don't know if they were impressed or disappointed. I should drop in on them and see if they still recognize me. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #223,047 by CRConrad 9/6/05 3:41:12 AM Reply	Do that - and then report back here!
Post #223,132 by tonytib 9/6/05 1:50:01 PM Reply	It must be a California thing since the chilies I've eaten in company cafeterias in Thailand were hot stuff. Compared to fast food, the food was decent, especially for $.40/meal, drink included.
Post #223,133 by boxley 9/6/05 1:52:59 PM Reply	might be, the salsa served in Cali-mexican restaurants wouldnt raise a sweat in a sauna. thanx, bill "the reason people don't buy conspiracy theories is that they think conspiracy means everyone is on the same program. Thats not how it works. Everybody has a different program. They just all want the same guy dead. Socrates was a gadfly, but I bet he took time out to screw somebodies wife" Gus Vitelli Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 49 years. meep questions, help? [link\|mailto:pappas@catholic.org\|email pappas at catholic.org]
Post #223,187 by Andrew Grygus 9/6/05 4:07:32 PM Reply	California grows hundreds of kinds of chilis . . . . . and like other nightshades they cross polinate and come up with new varieties constantly. The only way to keep them pure is to grow them where there's only a few kinds. Soil also causes great variation in hotness. You can get any hotness you want here, but you have to sample the batch. I've bought Thai chilis that would toast your undies and others that couldn't stand up to a Jalapeno. I've had pobalanos milder than Anaheims and as hot as Jalapenos. Serranos seem to be the most reliable. One of my favorites is red cherry peppers - two identical looking varieties. Pickle some of the hot ones and sneak them into the salad tray. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #223,429 by tuberculosis 9/7/05 12:30:57 PM 8/21/07 6:37:30 AM Reply	California isn't dry enough to produce the really good chili Consider the Anaheim pepper which is known in New Mexico as simply "green chili". The locally grown NM varieties are mucho mas caliente than the weak sister Anaheims. "Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect" --Mark Twain "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." --Albert Einstein "This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses." --George W. Bush Edited by tuberculosis Aug. 21, 2007, 06:37:30 AM EDT Expand All History
Post #223,451 by Andrew Grygus 9/7/05 1:11:38 PM Reply	Yeah, but it's wet enough here . . . . . to grow [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com/clove/ingredients/chili.html#habanero\|Habaneros] that'll kick a New Mexico chili to the moon. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #223,457 by tuberculosis 9/7/05 1:31:34 PM 8/21/07 6:38:06 AM Reply	Heat - yes - flavor - no way Habaneros don't have much of a flavor. New Mexican green's are very rich in flavor and come in all varieties of heat. "Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect" --Mark Twain "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." --Albert Einstein "This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses." --George W. Bush Edited by tuberculosis Aug. 21, 2007, 06:38:06 AM EDT Expand All History
Post #223,462 by Andrew Grygus 9/7/05 1:42:34 PM Reply	Habaneros have plenty of flavor . . . . . but it's a much different flavor - usually described as "fruity". Of course to get to the flavor you have to be able to handle the heat. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]

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