Cacio e Pepe (cheese & pepper) pasta is just perfect. I usually use just high quality extra virgin olive oil instead of butter and always use fresh pasta. This dish makes me deliriously happy.
Cacio e Pepe
My Favorite Pasta — Cacio e Pepe
Category Archives: Recipes
Spicy Mango Salad
Adapted from Vietnamese restaurant chef and cookbook author Charles Phan
ingredients
1 tablespoon sugar
1 small clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon minced Thai chile
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup fish sauce
4 firm yet ripe mangos
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
preparation
Combine the sugar, garlic, chile and salt in a mortar; pound with a pestle until finely mashed. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, use the bottom of a heavy knife (like a cleaver) in a bowl to mash the ingredients together. Transfer the paste to a large bowl, add the lime juice and fish sauce, and stir well to combine.
Stand 1 mango, stem end down, on a cutting board. Using a large, sharp knife, cut straight down along one side of the flat oval pit. Cut down along the opposite side of the pit. Put half the mango, skin side down, on a cutting board and cut it into slices about 1/8 -inch thick, cutting to, but not through, the peel. Using a small paring knife, cut the slices away from the peel. Repeat with the remaining mango half and then with the remaining 3 mangos.
Add the mango slices to the dressing and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle with cayenne and serve.
Caramelized Lemongrass Shrimp
Adapted from “Vietnamese Home Cooking,” by Charles Phan. This recipe will work without shrimp heads, but Phan says the heads add richness to the sauce. The recipe also calls for homemade roasted chile paste (there is a recipe in the book), but you can also purchase jarred roasted chile paste.
- 2 pounds medium head-on shrimp in their shells, or purchase peeled and deveined shrimp if you wish
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced into rings
- 2 Thai chiles, stemmed and halved on the diagonal
- 1/4 cup finely minced lemongrass
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 2- by 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely julienned
- 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons roasted chile paste
- 1/2 cup caramel sauce
- 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth or water
- — Steamed white or brown rice
Instructions: Use scissors to remove the sharp spike at the tail of each shrimp and the spike in the center of the head. Cut off the eyes and discard, then separate the head from the body. Set the heads aside. Peel each shrimp body, removing the tail segments, then devein. Sprinkle bodies with the pepper; set aside.
Pour the oil into a 2-quart clay pot or high-sided skillet, and heat over medium heat. Add the shallots, chiles and reserved shrimp heads and cook, stirring, about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the lemongrass, garlic, ginger, and chile paste; cook, stirring, about 1 minute more. Add the caramel sauce and stock; stir to combine.
Add the shrimp bodies, and toss to coat with the aromatic ingredients. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes, until the shrimp are bright pink.
Serve directly from the clay pot, accompanied by steamed rice.
Vietnamese Caramel Sauce
Vietnamese Caramel Sauce
Makes about 4 cups
Adapted from “Vietnamese Home Cooking,” by Charles Phan.
- 2 pounds light brown palm sugar, chopped into pieces
- 2 1/2 cups fish sauce
Instructions: In a heavy-bottom 4-quart pot, gently melt the sugar over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. This will take 10 to 12 minutes. Do not be tempted to rush the process or you may scorch the sugar.
When the sugar is lump free, completely melted and just beginning to boil, remove the pan from the heat and very slowly pour in the fish sauce while stirring constantly. Be careful, as it will bubble furiously.
Use the sauce right away or let cool completely, transfer to an airtight container, and store in a cool cupboard for up to 3 months.
Lesson Learned
Sunday was muggy, sticky and sweltering — the perfect afternoon to stay inside and play in my kitchen. I decided to make a full batch of Vietnamese Caramel Sauce (this is for savory dishes like caramel shrimp, not for dessert) to prep for Monday night’s dinner and store some in the pantry for quick Vietnamese dishes all summer long.
A wise woman would have followed the directions, particularly since this un-wise woman had never made the sauce before.
A wise woman would NOT have tried to save calories by substituting some of the sugar with Splenda. Apparently, Splenda does not melt. This is a handy little fact to know if you are stirring nearly 2 pounds of it over a hot stove waiting for it to liquefy. Basically, I had been stirring what amounted to a pot of sand for over 45 minutes before googling, “does Splenda melt?” That’s a big fat no.
So, out goes the whole mess and in goes the real deal. I now have two gorgeous jars of beautiful Vietnamese caramel sauce, which I look forward to testing out tonight in my Vietnamese caramelized shrimp dish.
Stirring the caramel sauce
Finished Product
RECIPE:
Vietnamese Caramel Sauce
Makes about 4 cups
Adapted from “Vietnamese Home Cooking,” by Charles Phan.
- 2 pounds light brown palm sugar, chopped into pieces
- 2 1/2 cups fish sauce
Instructions: In a heavy-bottom 4-quart pot, gently melt the sugar over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. This will take 10 to 12 minutes. Do not be tempted to rush the process or you may scorch the sugar.
When the sugar is lump free, completely melted and just beginning to boil, remove the pan from the heat and very slowly pour in the fish sauce while stirring constantly. Be careful, as it will bubble furiously.
Use the sauce right away or let cool completely, transfer to an airtight container, and store in a cool cupboard for up to 3 months.
Dining With DINKS 