Nam Sod is a wonderful Thai appetizer to accompany a traditional Thai meal or as a snack alone.  It can be prepared mild to Thai Hot.  We prefer Thai hot in our family but you may want to have it a little less hot. This recipe assumes a medium to hot, level of heat. Thai hot is extreme and is beyond hot.

If you have access to ground pork or can grind your own then this recipe is an easy one to put together.

Make your Nam Sod ahead of time and refrigerate it for several hours so the flavor sets.

From what I gather, Nam Sod is traditionally prepared using pork but in the last ten years we have begun to see chicken versions offered in some of our favorite Thai restaurants. Feel free to substitute chicken for the pork in the recipe below.

If you search for Nam Sod recipes on the internet you will find them with a variety of other ingredients added, like mint leaves and shallots.  I have created this recipe based upon my families’ taste buds and our experiences trying several different versions.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Ingredients

2 lbs of lean, double ground pork or white chicken meat
1 cup tap water
2 to 4 oz of fresh ginger chopped fine
2 medium gloves of garlic
1 big red onion 2 tablespoons fish sauce (Squid Brand is preferred)
3 teaspoons of salt
Juice of 3 limes
1 bunch of cilantro
1 cup of plain dry roasted peanuts (no salt, no added flavor)
1 or more tablespoons of dry chili pepper flakes (pizza pepper flakes)
1 tablespoon of fresh green and red Thai peppers in fish sauce (optional)
Large cabbage leaves

Preparation

1. Trim the fat and double grind the pork.  Ask your butcher to grind the meat if you don’t have a grinder. We use lean fresh pork loin, which is leaner than pork butt. We also love using chicken breasts.

2. Place meat and 1 teaspoon of salt in a saucepan and add the water. Cook over low to medium heat (blanching the meat) until the meat is cooked thoroughly, stirring occasionally.  While cooking use a spatula to break the meat into little pieces.

3. Drain the meat well (press the extra water out) and discard the water.  Place pork in a large bowl and set it aside to cool.

4. Prepare the onion and garlic by chopping the garlic fine and pulsing it in a food processor for a few seconds.  Slice the onion in half and then slice the halfs into ~1/8 inch slices.  Pulse the onion 1 to 3 times in the food processor with the garlic pieces.  Add the onion and garlic mixture to the meat and stir in.

5. Chop the ginger into fine pieces. For a stronger flavor, slice the ginger into fine strips about 1 inch long.  Adjust the amount of ginger to suit your taste.

6. Combine the lime juice with two tablespoons of fish sauce and the remaining salt.  Add to the meat and stir.

7. Chop the Cilantro bunch into smaller pieces and stir into the meat.

8. Measure out pepper flakes and add to the meat. Adjust to taste.  Add the fresh Thai peppers prepared in fish sauce if you want a much hotter flavor.

9. Stir well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let the flavor set.

10. Add lightly chopped peanuts right before serving.

Serve wrapped with Cabbage leaves for an amazing appetizer. You can garnish with some fresh cilantro if desired.

Makes 4 to 8 servings.

Pecan Dreams

My mother Inez, took delight in making cookies during the holiday season.  She made the usual decorated sugar cookies, the best tollhouse chocolate chip cookies (recipe right on the toll house chip bag) that she had to hid from my brother, and many other types of cookies. But one cookie stands out and was sought after by my friends, my parents friends and all our neighbors, Pecan Dreams.  If you search the web you will find many recipes for cookies with this name. But this is the only one that I have tried that has the flavor and texture that I remember from my youth. And no milk solids which is important in my family. Butter is okay (okay ,so not really given, the saturated fat but we can tolerate butter) but milk solids are a no-no!

My whole family enjoys making these cookies and giving them as gifts to friends and family!

I hope you enjoy these wonderful cookies.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sifted (2+ times) all purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar 4x or finer
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup lightly chopped pecans
Extra powdered sugar

Preparation

Soften butter at room temperature. Do not try to hasten softening.  The butter should be soft but not melted.

Using a mixer, cream the butter well with the flour. Add the flour gradually to avoid lumps.

Continue mixing and add the powdered sugar gradually. Continue mixing till you cannot feel the sugar between your fingers.

Combine the vanilla and water and add this to the butter, flour, sugar mixture while continuing mixing.  Continue mixing until all the ingredients are uniformly combined.

Remove from the mixer, spoon in, and hand mix the pecans into the batter.

Cover with foil and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.  Having a cool mixture is very important so don’t skip this step.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If using a convection oven, preheat to 375 degrees F.

Using a teaspoon or bread dough knife, grab some batter and shape in your hands till it is about the size and shape of a date.  We prefer the bread dough knife, shaping the dough in our hands and then a final roll on a cutting board.

Cook these cookies on a non-stick cookie sheet or on a cookie sheet lined with foil.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until very light brown on the bottom.  Remove and cool on a cooling rack, if available, or a clean dish towel.

When the cookies are just a little warmer than room temperature, roll them in powdered sugar.  They are ready to eat.  They store nicely for up to about 5 days and freeze nicely.  But they won’t last that long in your house will they?

Pecan Dreams freeze well if you want to make then ahead of time. Before freezing them, let them cool to room temperature. Place them in an airtight container and separate layers with waxed paper.

Enjoy these very wonderful cookies.