Brazilian Malagueta and Bird Chiles

Molho Apimentado (Malagueta Hot Sauce)

Mark Masker Cooking with Chiles at the Holidays, Recipes Leave a Comment

Latin America is well known for it’s spicy, hot, flavorful foods. However let it be known that their cuisine does not acquire its famous flavor without a little help from a friend, namely the hot sauce, known in this case as Molho Apimentado. Malagueta peppers rank hot on the list of peppers and this sauce, as most hot sauces, can be used like the American version of gravy, on any dish be it turkey, rice, kale or stuffing. The hot sauce brings the different flavors of the meal together with one cohesive taste and many textures to give Latin American food lovers the taste they’ve been waiting for.

Thai Ginger Pork Steaks

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

Pork is a preferred meat in China and Southeast Asia, so it is not surprising to find it combined with chiles and traditional Asian seasonings. The marinade is also excellent with chicken and fish. Serve the grilled pork steaks with jasmine rice, sweet and sour vegetables, and a green papaya salad.

Ingredients

Thai Ginger Marinade:

  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or dry sherry

  • 2 tablespoons tomato sauce

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar

  • 2 tablespoons minced ginger

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, peanut preferred

  • 6 small prik kee nu Thai chiles, stems removed, minced or substitute 3 serrano or jalapeño chiles

  • 1 clove garlic, minced

  • 1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce

For the Pork:

  • 4 pork steaks

Instructions

Place all the ingredients, except the pork, in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and let sit for an hour to blend the flavors. Cover the pork steaks completely with the marinade and let sit in a glass bowl for 3 hours, covered, in the refrigerator.

Bring the steaks to room temperature and grill over a medium fire for 10 to fifteen minutes, turning often, until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F., which is medium. Cut open to test for doneness if you prefer. You can use any leftover marinade as a basting sauce, but be sure to simmer it in a saucepan for 20 minutes first.

Grilled Hot Hen (Ayam Taliwang)

Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

The small island of Lombok is the home of this recipe. The word Lombok translates to “spicy chiles” and is the perfect descriptor of the food on this island next to Bali.

Ingredients

  • 1 2-pound Cornish hen, butterflied and flattened

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 5 shallots, sliced

  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced

  • 1 teaspoon shrimp paste

  • ½ teaspoon sugar

  • 1 tablespoon fresh birdseye chiles (chiltepins) or substitute piquins

  • 2 teaspoons pineapple juice

  • 2 cups chopped fresh pineapple

Instructions

Rub the hen completely with the salt and oil. In a food processor, blend the shallots, garlic, shrimp paste, sugar, chiles, pineapple juice, and pineapple to form a paste.

Grill the hen slowly over hot coals, or under a preheated gas or electric broiler for 5 minutes. Baste the hen well with the paste on both sides, and grill the hen for 3 minutes.

Finally, spread all the remaining paste on the skin side and grill for 10 minutes, or until done.

 

Tea-Smoked Sichuan Chicken

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This is a much easier version of the famous smoked duck which involves marinating, steaming, drying, and smoking. You can make this in a stove-top smoker. The tea colors the skin an appealing color, and any loose tea will work, even the Orange Pekoe in most tea bags. If using chicken pieces, cut the marinade recipe in half. Serve with fresh spring rolls, pickled radish and carrot relish, and Sichuan noodles with vegetables. Note that this recipe requires advance preparation.

Ingredients

The Chicken

  • 1 3 ½ to 4-pound whole chicken or 4 legs and thighs

  • Peppercorn Marinade

  • 10 green onions, chopped including the greens

  • 1/4 cup Sichuan peppercorns, roasted, crushed

  • 1/4 cup chopped ginger

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 1/3 cup rice wine or cooking sherry

  • 2 tablespoons orange zest

  • 2 tablespoons crushed chile piquin, or other hot red chile

  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil

  • ½ cup peanut oil

Tea-Smoke Mixture

  • 1 cup raw rice

  • 2/3 cup brown sugar

  • ½ cup dry tea leaves

  • ½ cup Sichuan peppercorns

  • 14 whole star anise, broken in pieces

  • 12 whole cloves

  • 4 2-inch sticks cinnamon

  • Cayenne Finishing Oil

  • 3 tablespoons sesame oil

  • 2 teaspoons ground cayenne

Instructions

If you are using a whole chicken, tie the legs together. Combine all the ingredients for the marinade and place the chicken in a nonreactive pan or large plastic bag and marinate for 24 hours.

Combine the smoking ingredients and place in the pan in the stovetop smoker, if you are using legs and thighs. If using a whole chicken and a smoker or grill, wrap the Tea-Smoke mixture with aluminum foil and poke holes in it.. Smoke the chicken in 200 degree F. smoke for 3 to 4 hours or to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.

Combine the ingredients for the finishing oil and let sit while the chicken is smoking.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Remove the chicken from the smoker, brush with the finishing oil, and place in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes to crisp the skin.

 

Ginger and Grilled Shrimp Salad

Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

The marinade in this recipe also doubles as the dressing for the salad. We like to serve this salad with the shrimp hot off the grill, but it can be prepared ahead and served chilled. This is a meal in itself, but why not treat yourself to a chilled gazpacho and a dry white wine?

Ingredients

For the Gingered Shrimp Marinade and Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil

  • 1/4 cup peanut oil

  • 6 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

  • 6 small Thai chiles, stems removed, minced (or substitute serrano chiles)

  • 2 tablespoons minced ginger

  • 1 tablespoon chopped green onions, including the green tops

  • 1 tablespoon dry sherry

  • 1 teaspoon five-spice powder

  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce

  • ½ teaspoon sesame oil

For the Grilled Shrimp Salad:

  • 24 medium shrimp, shelled and deveined, tails off

  • Vegetable oil for frying

  • 4 eggroll wrappers, cut in 1/4-inch strips

  • Ground New Mexico red chile

  • Mixed baby greens

  • 3 slices red onion

Instructions

For the Marinade:

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Place in a bowl and allow to sit at room temperature for an hour or two.

Remove the marinade from the refrigerator and strain the mixture, saving both the solids and the liquid. Combine the solids with additional peanut oil and brush on the shrimp. Place in a bowl and marinate in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

For the Shrimp:

Pour the oil in a deep-fat fryer or in a wok to a depth of a couple of inches and heat until hot, 375 degrees. Add the eggroll strips in batches and fry for 30 seconds to crisp. Remove, drain and sprinkle with the ground red chile.

Place the shrimp in a vegetable basket and grill over a medium-hot fire for about 6 minutes, shaking the shrimp often so that they are cooked evenly.

Toss the greens with the reserved marinade liquid and divide between chilled salad plates. Arrange the sliced onion over the salads and top with the shrimp. Garnish the salads with the crispy strips and serve.