Pakat!

A friend of mine has introduced me to cooking with Indian style sauces. Today I bought some Pakat brand sauce. IT was something new that I found while I was shopping at Wegman's. There were a few sauces that I had my eye on, but in the end I decided on just two.

On was Tangy Lemon and Cilantro and the other one was Spicy Tomato and Cardamom. I used the first one tonight in a dish. I sliced up a tuna steak and grilled it up with some olive oil and pepper. After the tuna was cooked, I spooned about 5 tablespoons of Tandy Lemon and Cilantro into the skillet and simmered for about five minute. In the mean time, I re-steamed some jasmine rice.

It turned out to be a really good meal, sauce, meat and rice. Next time I am going to use chicken.

So, don't be afraid to try out the cooking sauces in the Indian food section of your local grocer. My apologies on the overexposed picture.


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Sweet Chili Thai Sauce/La sauce sucrée de chili thaï

A while back I had made something called Sweet Chili Thai Sauce from the chilies that Tracy had given me. Now, you can follow the recipe that is provided in the link, or you can follow what I did. Basically, I took example from the notes that other people had left on the page concerning their experience with the recipe.

Sweet Chili Thai Sauce/La sauce sucrée de chili thaï

Mild version

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger root, minced
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons hot chile pepper, minced
• 2 teaspoons Tomato Paste
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch

Hot and Sweet version

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup rice vinegar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger root, minced
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 2 1/2 to 3 teaspoons hot chile pepper, minced
• 2 teaspoons Tomato Paste
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch

DIRECTIONS

• Pour water and vinegar into a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Stir in sugar, ginger, garlic, chile pepper, and ketchup; simmer for 5 minutes.
• Stir in cornstarch.
• Remove saucepan from stove to cool.
• Then transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until needed.

Notes:

1. I used jarred, non-pickled ginger that I found in the Asian food section of my grocery store.

2. A large clove of garlic should be about a teaspoon when chopped.

3. I used the real, whole, dried chilis Tracy got me from the Mexican isle at Wegman's. I assume Fresh would work nicely too, but I should think the dried pepper flakes that have been sitting on a shelf for God knows how long would be a bad choice.

4. Remember wear latex when handling fresh chilis, wash hands thoroughly and don't touch your eyes or nose for three days.

5. This is an excellent substitute dip for the orange sauce that comes with Sweet and Sour Chicken.

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