shopping in a store when the power goes is not my idea of fun ...

i had to go to the grocery store today to stock up a kitchen that had nothing in it, something that can actually be fun, but today ... not!

my market of choice was the one on the 5th floor of the emporium mall, 622 sukhumvit rd. phromphong station on the bts skytrain. it is actually the smaller and older sister to the paragon i wrote about yesterday.


when i arrived the power was out for a few square block radius, seems egat (the electric generating authority of thailand) was having a major problem in the area. i spoke to the staff hanging around and they said it had already been an hour so i figured it would probably be not too long before the power came back on ... not! but not knowing this at the time i trekked up the 5 long flights of escalator to where the grocery was. one thing about the 5ht floor when this happens, there is so much refrigeration that they dedicate a good percentage of their back-up emergency power to that area, not the concessions - their area :-)

so i started to pick-up all the things that any kitchen would need, and i also got everything i would need for lunch. today's menu was going to be chicken thighs and livers in a mushroom and sherry sauce, mashed potatoes, and the all-time-stand-by-favorite, green peas.

simplicity is elegance! lmao

so as i was touring around the aisles, and picking out all that i needed from my lists ,i started to get a bit anxious. no power coming back on. not too bad for the actual shopping, but a real bummer when i want to leave and go the 5 flights back down to the street level. normally no big deal, but today i will have more than usual in order to set up this new kitchen and its larder.

i know they have a "luuk-nawng" ลูกน้อง, helper/assistant who can take some of the load, but still, i am not relishing the thought. just as i am about to ask the kid at checkout to assist, the power came back up, a cheer was heard 'round the store, air-con units started to hum and we all thought it was gonna be ok ... not! i figure so many appliances and machines were still set to on that they instantly had a localized brown out in the store. groans and grunts were now emanating from the aisles. 2 more minutes went by, up came the power, and it remained on at least until i was able to get my ass into the elevator and down to the street where i caught a taxi back home.

one funny thing, when we got into the lift there was no light in the cab. as the doors shut all the thai girls that were in there started to get all spooky like they do. so me, being the arse that i am, did what my older brothers used to do to me when they would babysit me as a youngster - i started to make creepy sounds like it was a halloween house of horrors. one girl truly freaked! so i stopped. all the others laughed and gave her a hard time. boy i love it here, so much fun everyday :o)

so i arrive at home, trek up-stairs, settle down to work, and also start the prep for lunch. now i am jumping back-and-forth between the kitchen and my office doing computer work and cooking all at the same time. so please pardon the fact that i did not get a full compliment of pictures, but i do have a few good ones of the stages i was able to snap.

i am cooking for 4 adults, 3 of whom will almost always consume as much food as i will put in front of them, regardless of the portion size. i chopped up 2 medium spanish onions, one bermuda onion (they be in season and i am loving these things everyday), one stalk of a good sized japanese leek (whites with a bit of the green thrown in for good measure), 6 huge cloves of garlic, sliced, some fresh straw mushrooms, "het fang" เห็ดฟาง (if you can not get fresh - never use the canned ones, use button mushrooms instead - canned straw mushrooms are a scam and they suck big time). these are the shrooms that you also see in "thom yum goong", ต้มยำ, spicy and piquant thai shrimp soup and some "het nang lom" เห็ดหนังลม or oyster mushrooms.

i then take the very nice and good sized boneless chicken thighs and cut them in half, season them with some delicatesse paprika, not the shite that most stores have and you sprinkle on deviled eggs thinking you have decorated them, some dried thyme leaf and some fresh ground seasalt and black pepper. i toss the pieces into a recycled plastic grocery bag, add in some all purpose flour, close the bag and do the ol' shake and bake maneuver, remove the pieces from the bag and lay them out on a plate to let the coating set and congeal with the moisture from the chicken.

i am going to garnish this dish with some sauteed chicken livers, so i take those from their bag and put them int a plastic strainer that is more like a basket with large holes. this allows the blood to drain off, the livers to dry ever so slightly, and that way the will sear well when i cook them.

next my good sturdy 12" fry pan, add some good olive oil, bring it up to high temp and add the prepped veggies. as the veggies are sweating, i prepare the quick and easy knorr brand demi-glace mix, a half liter, by putting it directly into the water bottle, replacing the cap, and shaking the living sh*t out of it. when the onions and leek are translucent i pour in about a half cup of majesty thai sherry (i have said this before - do not drink it, only cook with it!), and then add the demi-glace mix (be sure there are no large lumps in it, really feks up the sauce). i let that all come up to temp, throw in some very nice fresh sage leaves i have cut not to small, and a half cup or so of the always-required-chopped-parsley and simmer it all for about 5 minutes. i see it is a bit too thick so i add another cup +/- of water.

notes:

1. typically paprika in grocery stores is dry, old and not flavorless, but skanky smelling, avoid it at all costs. pay a bit more for good paprika and savor the aroma and taste, and you do not have to use so much. any paprika from hungary is tops!
   
2. dry thyme, leaf only, never powder. make sure it is not to old for the same reason you avoid the paprika. when it gets old, it smells like month old laundry.
3. be aware that any knorr product, or similar, contains salt and food additives so be careful not to over salt your food as you will be adding salt with these mixes. also, if you are to simmer or braise the food in such a product, never add salt until you are done, and always add more water than the directions call for. this way you will not have hard meats from the salt, too much salt taste and not to thick a finished gravy.
4. i use the sherry to help cut the packaged taste of the sauce mix and to also impart a wine flavor.
5. fresh herbs can improve, or save almost any dish, or help any pre-packaged convenience additive (like the demi-galce mix) to mellow out. sage is one of my favorites, but do not use too much, or that is all you will taste. it is really good with calves liver and bacon that you de-glaze with balsamic vinegar. (did you know the american indians smoke sage in their "peace" pipes? hmmmmmmm :-p )
   

i only have a one burner contrivance so i must now put the sauce to the side and sear the chicken pieces. the pot that i have, the only one large enough for the finished batch, is a very basic, very thin, very alu-min-i-um thai pot that's 30 cm in diameter. if you ever leave these things unattended you will regret it. anything (even water) will stick in a minute, burn in to 2. i put about a cup of good olive oil and bring it up to a high temp and then i very careful, with thongs, place - not throw, not drop, not put - but place the pieces into the pot skin side down.

i start the process by placing one of the pieces on the far outer edge and continue around and circle into the center. that way the first pieces will not be burning by the time i get the last ones in, and the temperature will have balanced out nicely across the surface of the pots bottom. i let them sear - untouched, do not poke, do not nudge - until they release themselves from the bottom of the pot.

then i gently grab them with the tongs and turn them, once again placing them carefully so as not to spatter the oil and burn myself. notice that they have contracted and shrunk a bit in sieze and they now fit perfectly across the bottom which allows for every piece to evenly brown and crust up. this will make a very big difference in your final product and the final texture, which we all know affects the final taste.

• note: when turning with tongs remember these are boneless chicken thighs and if you handle them nonchalantly, they will break up int small pieces. this will not effect the taste, but it sure does effect the final serving and presentation of the dish.

when the chicken is properly seared on both sides i then carefully pour the sauce over the chicken pieces. i do not stir it, poke or shake it, i wait. i have not removed the olive oil or any of the rendered chicken fat either, to do so would be sacrilege and diminish the final taste immensely.

when i see that the sauce has come back up to temp i turn the flame down to a simmer, and after a minute or 2, i then carefully grab both handles of the pot using protection (i love using folded dry washcloths for this) and gently with a swirling motion, move the pot until i see that the chicken is no longer cleaved to the bottom and the sauce is mixing in and under. i place the lid on top and let it ride for about 5 or 10 minutes, no more. i then remove the lid and check the product. all looks good so i put it aside, grab a small saute pan, add some olive oil, and bring it up to temp.

i then carefully add the livers to that pan, let them sit while they sear, and then carefully start to swirl the pan so they will get cooked on all sides. i like my liver medium rare to medium, so this only takes about 4 to 5 minutes. when the livers are done at most, i set the pan to the side and make sure it is canted on an angle. this way any blood will collect to the side. when i see the yare drained i remove them from the pan and set them aside in a dish.

during all of this i have been running back and forth to my office, doing my daily work load, and peeling potatoes and defrosting the peas. i cut the potatoes and boil them in - water with a good amount of the sea salt, drain them when they are done - leaving a few tablespoons of water in the bottom. i have 6 large russets, so i add about 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter and about 2 tablespoons of olive oil margarine, fresh ground black pepper and i begin to mash. when that is complete i taste and correct with a tad more sea salt, and put them aside. i have had the peas steeping in hot water so they do not even need to be put to the fire.

i am now ready to deliver upstairs and plate on site as it were.

i first place the tates on the plate, make a small well for some sauce, arrange the chicken and livers as i like them, and then i carefully ladle sauce onto them. the final step is to add the peas to the plate (they are naked, they need nothing) and i we are ready to eat.

yes? no? maybe?
just like mama never made?