Scent of Green Papaya Film Review

Loved it! Here's a link to the full review:

Film Review: Scent of Green Papaya.

12:09 AM PDT Permalink |

Scent of Green Papaya Dinner & a Movie Recipes and Photos

Here is a link to the recipes and photos for my Scent of Green Papaya dinner:

Scent of Green Papaya Dinner & a Movie Recipes & Photo Essay.

Bon Appetit!

01:40 AM PDT Permalink |

The Morning After: How Everything Turned Out
When I awoke this morning, the aromas from last night’s dinner still hung in the air…mint and cilantro, ginger and garlic, turmeric and nuoc mam. There were lots of leftovers too…spring rolls, soup, baby greens, cellophane noodles, spring vegetables, papaya relish and sorbet...a little of everything except the grilled pork. And there were plenty of leftover ingredients too, which I will be using to make an Indian fish curry, and a batch of Arabic fatoosh later in the week.

And now for the details of the dinner...

The cold summer rolls were delightful, with all the fresh raw ingredients, especially the mint. And despite my skepticism regarding my first experience cooking with nuoc mam, the nuoc cham dipping sauce was the star of the show. The fried spring rolls were another story however. Although they were quite tasty, they were a little greasy, and didn’t crisp up and brown as I’d hoped. I don’t know if it was because the filling had too much moisture or what. The oil was plenty hot, so I don’t think that was the problem, and since the rice paper wrappers are so delicate, I think that particular filling recipe would have been better suited for wonton skins.

The lemongrass consomme with the seafood dumplings was a nice surprise too. The lemongrass added an intensely redolent flavor element, and although they were labor intensive, the seafood dumplings were not only beautiful, but very tasty too.

The green papaya salad turned out beautifully, but after watching the film, I realized that my papaya was not really ‘green’, but was rather just a little under-ripe. Nevertheless, it was a good flavor to compliment the cellophane noodles and the baby greens. I had originally wanted to use watercress, and still think that would be the best choice, but watercress is hard to come by in Napa this time of year, and what little I was able to find was an odd variety that didn’t look anything like the watercress I know and love, and… it was way overpriced. So I chose baby greens instead, which were an excellent substitute. They provided a lovely balance of sweet and bitter, and one of the leafy varieties in the mix tasted just like rose petals. Finally, the Hanoi yellow fish nuggets turned out perfectly and looked so beautiful as the centerpiece of the salad. All the flavor components came together with the lime-mint-rice vinegar dressing for a light and lovely salad.

The pork loin was another unexpected success. For the marinade, I wrapped it in aluminum foil with some of the nuoc cham and dusted it with a whisper of Chinese five-spice powder. Never having used that particular seasoning before, I didn’t want to be too heavy-handed with it. The little bit that I used turned out to be just the right amount. And after much ado about the clay pot for cooking it, at the last minute, I chickened out and decided to grill it on my little George Foreman electric grill instead. Another wise choice. The outside turned a rich caramelized brown, while the inside was still ever so slightly pink, and the meat was melt-in-your-mouth tender. The only problem: there just wasn’t enough of it. We both could have gone for seconds.

I served the pork loin with jasmine rice seasoned with ginger and garlic, and a fresh papaya-chili-red pepper-mint relish…the perfect compliment for the rich, deep spice of the meat. And for the vegetable side dish, I lightly steamed a medley of baby bok choy, julienne carrots, snow peas and mushrooms, which I then tossed in the wok with a little nuoc mam and sesame oil.

For dessert, I served a light sorbet that I made from papaya-pineapple nectar, lime juice, ginger and mint essence, finished with a little coconut milk. Both flavor and texture were absolutely perfect, and I served it with slices of ripe papaya. It was a wonderful conclusion to one of the best meals I’ve ever prepared.

Tune in tomorrow for recipes...

01:45 AM PDT Permalink |

Dinner & a Movie Day
It’s the big day! The one I chose for cooking a Vietnamese dinner and watching The Scent of Green Papaya. I began preparations at about 4:00 in the afternoon, starting with the easy stuff like setting the table, getting out all my ingredients, making soup stock and marinating the pork. But I waited to begin cooking until Rene arrived at 7:00 with his digital camera, since I wanted him to get some shots of the process.

This being the first ThingsAsian Dinner & a Movie, the timing was a little different from what I’m used to when I cook a regular dinner. Since I wanted photos, I postponed a lot of my prep work, so it was a little longer between courses. I’d estimated three hours from start to finish, but it ended up being more like five. So it was rather late when we finished eating and started the movie.

Nevertheless, dinner was delicious, and the film was absolutely delightful. Afterwards I still had some tidying up to do, but had I washed a few dishes throughout the evening, so the kitchen wasn’t a total disaster. The rest I will leave for tomorrow. It’s late, so I’m going to save the dinner review for tomorrow too.
12:02 AM PDT Permalink |

Preparing the kitchen, assembling cooking utensils, and prepping dishes ahead.
I spent most of the day getting my house ready for an all-day cooking, dining, movie-watching extravaganza. I wanted the kitchen sink and dish rack completely empty and the stove and countertops nice and clean when I begin cooking. I also hope to keep the dishes done on a continual basis throughout the evening tomorrow, so that I don’t have a giant mess to clean up the next day.

Tonight, I also prepared a couple of things ahead. I made a sweet and sour dipping sauce called nuoc cham. I made a papaya sorbet flavored with with pineapple, mint, ginger, lime and coconut milk. I also took all my frozen ingredients out of the freezer and stored them in the fridge to thaw overnight. But since so much of the dinner relies on the freshest ingredients, most of it will have to wait until tomorrow. I’ve devoted the whole day to cooking, so there’s plenty of time for marinating the pork and preparing the filling for the spring rolls.
12:02 AM PDT Permalink |

Shopping for fresh ingredients
I’m getting so excited about my Scent of Green Papaya dinner that I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to go shopping for my fresh ingredients. So I went today instead. Besides, I wanted to have all my ingredients available so that I could take a photograph of everything before I opened the packages and started chopping things up. I also wanted to prepare a few things ahead of time tomorrow, things like broths and marinades, and most importantly, my papaya-ginger-mint sorbet, so that it has plenty of time to freeze. When you add sugar to a liquid mixture, it takes a little longer than plain water to reach a semi-solid state in the freezer.

Yesterday, I made a call to Vallergas, a local grocery store that has the most extensive produce department, to inquire whether they carry lemongrass, as that is the ingredient that I anticipated being the hardest one to find. Fortunately, they keep it in stock all the time, and so that’s where I chose to shop for all my other fresh ingredients as well.

The produce department at Vallergas was fabulous as always, abundant and dazzling with vibrant color. The red and green bell peppers caught my eye from the front door, the mint and cilantro were both popping fresh, and the lemongrass had just been delivered this morning. I was definitely in the right place…except for the papayas. Although luscious and lovely, alas they were all far too ripe for my purposes. So, after I bought all my other fruits and vegetables, I headed for my favorite Mexican market, where I was told I might find the elusive green papaya. However, the ones they had in stock were unripe, but they were enormous and looked nothing like any papaya I’d ever seen, so I was hesitant to buy one there. The third stop at my neighborhood grocer proved the charm, as they had both ripe and green papayas in stock, and at the best price in town too. So after shopping at three different stores, I had finally gathered all the pieces of the puzzle.

When I got home, I unpacked all my groceries and set up a still life with all the fresh, canned and packaged ingredients that I’ve been assembling over the past couple of weeks. But when I got out my digital camera to photograph them, I discovered that the batteries were kaput, and my teenaged son Will had absconded with all my extra rechargeables for his gameboy and walkman. Fortunately for me, at that very moment, René, my sweetheart showed up unexpectedly, and just happened to have his digital camera with him. He took a fantastic photo of all my goodies and also agreed to arrive early on the day of our dinner to take more photos of the preparation and cooking process. What a guy!
12:02 AM PDT Permalink |

Shopping for Dishes and Cookware
Today I went shopping in Napa for a clay pot to cook my pork loin, and maybe some other assorted serving dishes. I tried at Napa’s one kitchen shop, but the only clay cookware they carry are European rather than Asian, and really quite large, so I didn’t buy anything there. But since I often find good buys on unusual dishes and kitchenware at our local thrift shops, I decided to give them a try. I couldn’t believe my luck. The very first place I looked had one perfect little clay pot, Asian style, never used. I didn’t find any attractive serving dishes, but I already have plenty of those. So I’m officially declaring my kitchen equipped to prepare and serve a Vietnamese dinner.
02:22 AM PDT Permalink |

The Photo Essay
Throughout the course of the evening, I’ll also be taking photos while preparing the ingredients, setting the table, cooking the meal and enjoying it during the movie. But I may need to put my dinner guest to work taking pictures during those times when I need both hands for cooking. Afterward, I’ll be creating a photo essay of my Scent of Green Papaya dinner and uploading it to ThingsAsian, with a link to it from my weblog. I’ll also be writing a film review, and a list of all the recipes I used to create the meal.
12:17 AM PDT Permalink |

What to Wear
I love Asian ethnic garments and would love to dress for my Vietnamese dinner in a traditional ao dai, but I don’t own one. I may be able to find one at a little ethnic clothing store in downtown Napa called Inti. But if they don’t have anything like that, I have lots of colorful sarongs and comfortable halter tops to go with, which would probably be much more practical and comfortable for working in the kitchen. And since I will be preparing and serving several courses, I won’t have time to change between cooking and sitting down to eat. Looks like I’ll definitely be needing an apron.
02:09 AM PDT Permalink |

Special Cookware
For the menu I’ve created, I think the only special cookware I will need is a clay pot for the pork loin. There’s a kitchenware shop in downtown Napa called Shackford’s that stocks an amazing inventory of restaurant-quality utensils and cookware, gadgets and gizmos, and lots of decorative and novelty items as well.

I already have lots of bowls for preparing mixed items for the salad and spring roll filling. I have a large saucepan for the soup. I have a rice cooker for the jasmine rice and a wok to stir fry the fresh vegetables. The sorbet requires only a small saucepan for heating the water, sugar and papaya nectar. So it looks like the only missing item is the clay pot. And even if I don’t find one, the recipe books tell me that I can substitute any oven-proof dish with a snug fitting lid.
01:18 AM PDT Permalink |

Beverages to go with My Vietnamese Dinner
Tea and coffee are Vietnam’s most popular beverages. A special coffee is grown locally in the Vietnamese highlands in the South/Central part of Vietnam. The beans are roasted French style, and a dark coffee is made by dripping, and usually served with condensed milk. There is no specific brand, but is rather known as "café sua" or "coffee with milk" - served hot or over ice cubes.

Another popular beverage is bubble or pearl tea, a new fad from Taiwan. Tea is mixed with various fruit juices and large pearls of tapioca are suspended in the beverage.

Vietnam has no domestic spirits per se, such as brandy or whiskey, therefore most alcoholic spirits are imported. However, Vietnam has three domestic beers, Hue, 33, and Saigon Export.

But this is going to be an elegant affair, so I don’t want to serve beer with dinner, and I don’t want to serve coffee or tea until after the main course. Since I live here in the Napa Valley, wine seems the obvious choice. I'm thinking of serving a Chenin Blanc, a dry Riesling or a Gewürztraminer, maybe a dry white Zin (although I don't care much for Zinfandel of any kind). Some wine experts on the web recommend a Sauvignon Blanc, but I don’t think the dry, flinty characteristics of the Sauvignon Blanc would compliment the spicy, fruity flavors of the Vietnamese dishes I have chosen for my menu. Perhaps a trip upvalley for a little wine tasting is in order. :>)
12:05 AM PDT Permalink |

Setting the Table
When I cook an elaborate meal, I also like to set a beautiful table on which to serve it. I like to dress the table with a colorful cloth, my favorite being a floral sarong topped with a smaller scarf or a simple white cloth. I cut flowers and foliage from the garden, whatever’s in season, and I always try to be creative with the garnishes for each plate. For my Vietnamese dinner, I want to focus on a simple, elegant presentation, using components of my fresh ingredients for the garnishes.

For Asian food, I have lots of little dishes of various sizes and patterns for condiments and small courses. I also have four shallow rectangular dishes that can be used for appetizers and composed salads. For the entrée, I like to use plain white dinner plates. And I have the perfect little parfait glasses to serve the papaya sorbet. But I may make a trip to the thrift shop just to see if they have anything interesting in the way of serving dishes.
12:04 AM PDT Permalink |

About green papayas
According to The Asian Grocery Demystified, green papayas are called muk qwa, or mu gua, and are simply the hard, unripe version of the yellow-green fruits commonly found in most grocery stores. Instead of luscious deep pink flesh and pearly black seeds inside, the flesh of the green papaya is pale green with tiny white seeds. Firm green papayas should be peeled and grated or shredded for salads and relishes. There are several varieties of papayas to be found in produce markets and grocery stores, however, true 'green' papayas are rarely available anywhere except Asian markets.
02:38 AM PDT Permalink |

A Culinary Bonanza!
My mail-order ingredients arrived today, just four days after I placed my order on AsianFoodGrocer.com. They arrived in a giant box, with several smaller boxes nestled inside, and it felt just like Christmas, as I opened each meticulously packed item. The breakable bottles were protected with a generous layer of bubble wrap, and the non-breakables were wrapped in paper and cushioned with styro nuggets. I don’t know how they do it. Twenty-nine items at bargain basement prices, free shipping, and enough packing materials to build a small fort, all for less than $60. Most impressive.
12:23 AM PDT Permalink |

About Vietnamese cuisine
Although Vietnamese cuisine is unique, it has evolved over many centuries from Chinese, Indian and French Colonial influences. Vietnam is also distinctly regional, from the cooler northern region, the rich cultural Hue region in the center, and the tropical southern region, each with its own indigenous vegetables, seafood and wildlife, each with its own style and spice. Northern cuisine is lighter and less pungent, the cuisine of the central Hue region, once the site of the ancient capital, is flavorful and elaborate, while the southern region falls under the influence of Chinese cuisine, with more pungent spices and stir-fry techniques. The southern region is also the melting pot of French and Indian influences characterized by curries and European ingredients such as bread, potatoes, asparagus, shallots, and fine herbs.

The quality of Vietnamese cuisine relies mainly on fresh ingredients lightly prepared and beautifully presented. Many classic dishes are simple variations on a couple dozen basic ingredients, including bean sauce, chicken stock, coconut milk, fish sauce known as nuoc mam, 5-spice powder, ginger, ground chili paste, hoisin sauce, jasmine rice, kafir lime leaves, lemongrass, mung bean sprouts, mushrooms, oyster sauce, rice noodles, rice paper and tamarind.

The preparation of Vietnamese cuisine requires remarkably few utensils. Most any Vietnamese meal can be made using only a mortar and pestle, a rice cooker, a wok, a small charcoal stove, a basic set of chef’s knives and a large pair of chopsticks. The most common cooking methods are braising, stir-frying, deep frying, steaming and grilling.
12:25 AM PDT Permalink |