Momofuku Inspired Lettuce Wraps, Cambodian Family Edition

Large family meals can be a bit intimidating to organize. 

Whenever I'm asked to do a dinner party with more than 5 patrons, 

family style is always the way to go. 

Family style forces interaction because,

let's face it, if you don't speak up, 

you're going to miss out on  

half the meal on the other end of the table.  

When my own family asked me to throw a 

dinner party while in town, 

a few things popped into my head.

1. Why are they always asking me to cook when I'm in town??

2. Definitely doing family style. Keep it simple.

3. Definitely doing Momofuku inspired lettuce wraps. 

I had the Pork Butt dinner a few months back at 

Momofuku Ssam bar and 

it was pure genius. 

The concept of pairing perfectly cooked and seasoned protein with lettuce leaves, amazing sauce and crunchy veggies seemed like something I could easily duplicate at home. 

With my own spin, of course. 

On the menu?

Meat

Red Snapper

Tamarind Lime Pork Tenderloins

Garlic Sirloin Steaks 

Sauce

Momofuku Octo vin  

Momofuku Scallion Ginger 

Kim Chee

Quick Pickled Summer Beef Steak Tomatoes with 

Cambodian Anchovies

Crunchy

Red Leaf Lettuce

Red, Green, Yellow Peppers

Cucumber

Bean Sprout

Garlic Ginger Jasmine Rice

Feel free to contact me if you're in the NYC area and you and 

your family want to give this meal a try! 

lany@dinnerbylany.com

Season your meat! 

Here's a tip, scallions are better than regular onion in salads because they add a more gentle onion flavor. 

Sauce numero uno! 

Sauce numero DOS! 

Red Snapper's firm sweet flesh makes it perfect for roasting. 

Dancing, there is always dancing. 

My favorite meat to cook, PORK!

I told you... I love Red Snapper! 

Mmmmmm....

He made a burrito with the leftovers!
Basically, he piled several layers of pork and steak and formed a sushi like roll.  Next, he wrapped it tightly in aluminum foil. I can post the recipe, but honestly, I think that was the only step. 

Momofuku Octo Vin Sauce 

I love this sauce.  This sauce is great with any meat, but it's especially delicious with Fried Chicken! Also, don't be lazy and use a food processor to finely chop your garlic and ginger.  Let your knife skills shine and try chopping with a chef's knife! 

2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic

2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thai-bird chili pepper or pepper of your choice

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup light soy sauce

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or other oil)

1/4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Mix ingredients together. 

Momofuku Fried Chicken and Spicy Tamarind Dipping Sauce with Roasted GARLIC Caesar Salad "Steak"

I'm not going to lie.

This fried chicken took a long time to make.

If you don't love and enjoy the process of cooking,

skip this recipe.

BUT! If you are willing to leap over metaphorical mountains inorder to sink your teeth into one of the moistest (I hate that word, moist. Eck.) chickens you'll ever eat, please accept the challenge and begin the fried chicken journey.

I'm not going to post Momofuku's recipe, because it can be found here. BUT! I will warn you that this chicken will require

brining, steaming, AND frying.

Yeah.

Make sure you love the process.

I will, however, post the GARLIC caesar dressing and tamarind recipe. Please see below. Best. Lany :)

Roasted GARLIC Caesar Dressing

Please note that there is a lot of garlic in this recipe (hence the all caps). If you're not a huge fan of garlic, you can reduce the amount used and please use lowercase letters.

P.S. I call it a "steak" because the romaine was left whole.

1 head of garlic
1 1/2 cups of olive oil
6 anchovies, minced (oh, just add it and stop being a wuss!)
1/4 cup of dijon mustard
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. 

3. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic

4. Place the garlic head on a sheet of foil and drizzle half of the olive oil on top, using your fingers to make sure the garlic head is well coated. Wrap the foil up tightly and place wrapped bulb on baking sheet.  

5. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.

6. Allow the garlic to cool enough so you can touch it without burning yourself. 

7. Use a small small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove. 

8. Remove the cloves from the oil, reserving the oil, and in a medium bowl, mash until smooth.

9. Stir in the anchovies and mustard. While stirring, add the lemon juice, vinegar. Continue stirring and add the reserved roasted garlic oil and additional oil in a slow steady stream.

10. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper.

11. Transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate until needed.


Tamarind Dipping Sauce

I eat this sauce like how I ate mayo in highschool (thank goodness I got over THAT phase). I eat it with everything - fish, chicken, pork, steak, a nice platter of crudite, whatever needs a little kick.


2 tablespoons of tamarind paste
2 limes, juiced
1 red thai chili pepper, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
salt and pepper to taste

Garnish with 1 tablespoons of chopped cilantro

Mix the first 5 ingredients until well blended. Top with chopped cilantro.