Kitchen Challenge: Spicy Stirfry Extravaganza

Three of the main challenges I face when deciding what to cook my grandmother for dinner is keeping it balanced, keeping it new, and keeping it in bounds of what she can and can't eat. While she's never loved to cook, now that she has gotten up there in years, she cooks purely out of necessity. I've tried to convince her countless times that since I love to cook, especially for others, I am only too happy to come over on a Saturday afternoon and cook us both dinner. While shopping at the local farmers market gives me a chance to try out my "mystery basket" skills, when I have a chance to plan ahead a little bit, I often go with a bit more unconventional flavors.

One of the interesting battles I play out with my grandmother on a routine basis is the argument we seem to have over the number of jars and bottles I tend to leave behind. Now, mind you, I am not leaving extra oils, vinegars, and other bottles in an already overcrowded kitchen. But, she insists that I take everything with me when I leave. The problem, from my perspective, is that it will take a couple of dinners to use up an entire bag of Panko bread crumbs or a bottle of balsamic vinegar. If I take them with me, I'll forget to bring them back the next time I need them. Especially if I am cooking off the cuff, which I do quite often.

Today when I called her and asked what she would like for dinner, she hadn't really thought that far ahead. Knowing that she can't eat rice, I suggested perhaps we do a vegetable and chicken stirfry over noodles. I had originally thought of making some egg noodles from scratch, similar to the whole wheat noodles I've made in the past, but as I was driving over to her condo, I began to ponder the possibilities. At first, I thought of doing a sweet and sour chicken. But, having done a similar sauce in a recent meal, I took a decidedly Thai twist and planned to do a slightly spicy peanut sauce instead.

When I got to Giant Eagle, I picked up some red onions and peppers, a knob of ginger and a head of garlic, a package of chicken breasts, and a few extra jars of ingredients which I knew I would need to make a successful dinner. I knew I'd have to be sneaky if I was going to leave the extra bottles at her condo without her noticing.

After arriving back at the condo, I unpacked all of the groceries and assembled the ingredients necessary for the spicy peanut sauce:


From left to right, back to front, you have smooth peanut butter, sesame oil, sweet chili sauce, reduced sodium tamari (similar to soy sauce), grapeseed oil, rice wine vinegar, ginger root, garlic, and a Persian lime. Unfortunately, as with a lot of my cooking, things are generally to taste, so I can't give you a completely accurate recipe. That being said, I can give you some guidelines:

1) I used about 1/2 cup of peanut butter as my base.
2) I minced up enough fresh ginger to give me about 2 tbsp.
3) I minced up 3 cloves of fresh garlic.
4) I added the juice of an entire lime.
5) Be careful with the sesame oil, a little bit goes a long way.
6) I added enough rice wine vinegar until the sauce had just a little bit of an acidic edge.
7) I thinned the sauce with the grapeseed oil and in the very end, about a tablespoon of tap water.
8) I added a surprising amount of sweet chili sauce, maybe as much as 1/4 cup

What you finish with at the end of all this adding, mixing and tasting is this:


It will still be thick, but it will glop off the end of a spoon. Don't worry that the flavor of garlic and ginger is strong, when you add the sauce to the stirfry at the end and toss it around a bit to coat the pasta, they will cook ever so slightly, reducing their pungency. What you are looking for in the end sauce is a balance between peanut, ginger, chili, and sesame as well as some acid from the lime juice and sweetness from the sweet chili paste. If it isn't sweet enough, add a touch of honey.

The peanut sauce finished, I set it aside and turned to the main vegetables in our stirfry tonight, the peppers and red onion:


This was a good sized red onion, so I only used one. I decided to go with a fairly large dice on both the peppers and onion since I wanted them to have a distinct presence on the finished plate. After dicing, I placed them into a bowl and set them aside for the stirfry portion in a little bit:


While I was standing in the international food aisle of the grocery store gathering the necessary ingredients for my sauce, I looked over at the Japanese food section and noticed that they were selling Udon:


Of course, calling them Japanese Udon Noodles is terribly redundant (if they are labeled udon, then they are always noodles and they can only be Japanese), but the thought occurred to me that these noodles would make a perfect replacement for the homemade egg noodles I had originally contemplated making.

My final preparation step for my mis en place tonight was to trim up the boneless chicken breast I had bought at the supermarket. While we certainly weren't about to eat nearly two pounds of chicken, I figured I would cook all three breasts that were in the package and save the other two for future meals or late night snacks. Here were the trimmed up chicken breasts:


To these I simply added some sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. I took a moment (and I encourage all home cooks to do the same) to think about the length of time each element of the dinner would take tonight. The chicken would take 2 1/2 minutes of searing on each side, 12-13 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and then 5 minutes of resting before slicing. The package of udon stated that they needed to cook in barely simmering water for about 13-14 minutes. The stirfry of the vegetables themselves would probably take about 10 minutes.

My plan now in place, I heated up my grandmother's stainless steel sauté pan, added a bit of grapeseed oil and placed the chicken breasts, seasoned side down into the pan. After 3 minutes, I flipped the breasts to reveal a nice golden color:


I continued to sear the breasts on the second side for another two minutes or so before transferring them to a pre-heated, aluminum foil lined tray and put them into the oven to cook for the remainder of the time. It was at this point I slid in two of the udon bundles into an already simmering pot of water on the back of the stove. I quickly stirred the noodles to avoid their nasty habit of sticking together.

Not wanting to waste the wonderful brown bits (aka, the fond) at the bottom of the sauté pan, I added about a cup of tap water to the pan, returned it to the back of the stove on a extra hot burner and proceeded to scrape up all the little brown bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. They dissolved into the water and looked like this:


This I kept over high heat, reducing to almost a dark brown syrupy consistency. I figured I would add it as a flavoring sauce to the stirfried vegetables and noodles.

After getting the sauté pan deglazed, I turned my attention to the nonstick wok my grandmother had retrieved from her storage room and washed. I turned up the heat, added a healthy does of grapeseed oil (which has a wonderfully high smoke point), and added my onions and peppers:


I added a couple of glugs of the low sodium tamari and kept flipping the vegetables in the pan. As they cooked, the began to exude their moisture and reduce in size. After about five minutes or so, I added the reduced chicken jus and continued to flip them in the hot pan until almost all of the liquid had evaporated. At this point, they looked like this:


I tasted them at this point and they had a lovely soft texture and the flavor from the tamari and reduced chicken jus was very nice. It just goes to show you that you should never through away the brown bits on the bottom of the pan after cooking meat. There really is just a ton of flavor that can be liberated by deglazing the pan.

At this point, things began to move quickly, so sadly there weren't any more action shots. The timer for the chicken went off and I checked to make sure that the internal temperature of the chicken was 160 degrees Fahrenheit. It was so I moved the chicken to my clean cutting board and covered it loosely with aluminum foil. I then drained the cooked udon in a colander placed into the sink. After giving the colander a couple of taps to drain any excess moisture, I dumped the entire contents into the wok still sitting on the stovetop burner. I then scooped in about 3/4 of the spicy peanut sauce I had made earlier on top of the noodles. Between using the wooden spatula that my grandmother owned and simply flipping the entire contents in the pan, I managed to coat the noodles and vegetables with the peanut sauce as well as cook out some of the rawness of the garlic and ginger.

After everything was ready, I plated up a portion of the spicy peanut noodles and vegetables on each dinner plate. For the chicken breast, I sliced them into medallions on a 45 degree angle and then shingled them across the top of the stirfry.

Here was a shot of the finished dish:


I offered to let my grandmother use a pair of the chopsticks I had brought along, but she laughed at me and said that she had messed with them many years ago and had little success. She relied on the trusty knife and fork while I tucked in with my Asian counterparts. While I was a little apprehensive that this dish might be just a little bit too "out there" for my grandmother, about two bites into her dish she proclaimed how delicious it was. I asked her if it was too spicy and for once she replied, "Nope. It's perfect."

While I purposely gave her just a little more than I thought she would eat, in the end she did a pretty good job finishing her plate. My grandmother, always being the frugal one, wrapped the remainder in plastic wrap and stuck her plate in the refrigerator, no doubt lunch for tomorrow. I, on the other hand, finished my entire plate. While I might have liked it a bit spicier, I was happy to err on the side of caution. I encourage you to give this dish a try. While the exact recipe for the peanut sauce comes down to a matter of personal preference, when you get it right, it is absolutely delicious.

A Tasty Red Curry At Nong's Hunan Express

One of the guilty pleasures I've allowed myself to indulge in over the last seven years is the annual Ohio Linuxfest in Columbus, Ohio. While the conference has always been totally free, in recent years, a "sponsor" level was established to allow those who could afford a donation to make one. The first several years of the conference I actually lived in Columbus, so finding accommodations was unnecessary. However, after moving back to the Akron area back in 2004, this became a new concern every year. Originally I stayed at my aunt and uncle's home on Saturday night, traditionally coming back on Sunday after having lunch with my aunt. The first couple of years this worked out relatively well except that I always tended to miss the early morning sessions on Saturday. Last year and this year, I was fortunate to be able to stay with my cousin at his apartment both Friday and Saturday nights. By going down on Friday evening after work, I was able to get to the conference early enough to hit the morning classes. At least, that was how it was supposed to work in theory.

Being in the fortunate position of having my Friday afternoon free, I decided to head down to Columbus in the early afternoon and hang out at Cup o' Joe at the Lennox complex off of Kinnear Road. Close to both the Ohio State campus and the downtown area, the cafe always contains a nice mix of students, people casually sporting sandals and flip-flops, and some of the technically savvy crowd. I ordered up a cup of honey and ginger green tea, opened up my laptop and reveled in an experience I hadn't had in nearly five years. Even though I do love the friends and experiences I have had over the last few years since moving back, there is still a part of me that really liked living in Columbus, too.

After finishing up my writing and editing tasks at Cup o' Joe, I headed off to my cousin's new apartment near Grandview. On the way up Northwest Avenue, I happened to pass a restaurant that I only discovered shortly before leaving Columbus, Nong's Hunan Express:


I didn't remember too many specifics about the food, but I did remember that my experiences had been fairly positive. While my cousin and I did consider some other restaurants for dinner, my suggestion of Nong's and its proximity to his apartment finally sealed the deal. When you first walk through the front door, you are greeted with a smattering of small tables and a counter where you can order your food for takeout:


If you are there for sit-down service, like we were, simply sit an any of the tables and one of the staff members will stop by to drop off menus and take your order. Seeing as Nong's serves both Americanized Chinese as well as Thai, I decided to get one of the Thai curries. I had originally inquired about the green curry with pork, but my server suggested that if I wanted pork, I should try the red curry instead. As usual, I asked for my curry to be prepared "Thai Spicy" and tried to impress upon her that I really did mean "Thai Spicy." My cousin decided to go with the Pad Thai, spiced medium.

After about a short break, our food arrived. First, a shot of the steamed rice that accompanied my dish:


Next, a shot of the bowl of red curry with pork:


Finally, a shot of my dinner plate, filled with rice and curry:


Let's talk about the flavor of the curry first. It was well balanced and delicious. The creaminess from the coconut milk was a nice foil to the red curry paste. The pork was tender and delicious and the green beans still had a nice snap to them. The sauce was so tasty, in fact, that I would've been happy just eating it spooned over the rice. The pork and green beans just upped the ante a bit. Now let's talk about the spice level. It was somewhere between mildly spiced and medium. It wasn't even spicy enough to elicit any kind of reaction from my sinuses.

I motioned for our server to come back over to the table. I explained that while the curry was very tasty, it was not nearly hot enough. I asked if perhaps they had some fresh Thai chilies I could use to add to the curry. She returned a minute later with a small dish containing two whole green Thai chilies. I sort of looked at her and then the chilies and must have uttered an, "ummm ...," because before I knew it she had whisked the chilies and my bowl of curry back to the kitchen. A few minutes later she returned with my curry, apologized and said something to the effect that the kitchen had forgotten to put the chilies in the sauce originally.

The newly returned curry now had the fresh taste of Thai chilies and it was a little hotter, but it still wasn't "Thai Spicy." Resigned to the fact that I was pretty darn hungry at this point and the fact that I was scared that if I sent it back a second time, the resulting curry might end up being hot enough to kill me, I began to eat it with my remaining rice. The flavor was still delicious, and in fact, improved now that fresh chilies had been added. I ended up eating about two thirds of my curry at dinner and taking the rest home along with a small container of white rice for a nice little snack later on that evening.

My cousin also enjoyed his Pad Thai, commenting that the spice level of his dish was perfect for his taste. I encouraged him to pick up a take-out menu on our way out of the restaurant to tack up on his refrigerator. Hopefully he'll be returning again soon for some more Thai food. I honestly think that the food at Nong's tasted very good. The problem with spice levels at Nong's is the exact same problem I have at every Asian restaurant. Since there is often a language barrier, I cannot entirely fault the restaurant for giving me what they think I want instead of what I truly want. Unfortunately, it will always come down to cracking the spice level code at every Thai restaurant individually in order to solve this problem. Well, that or learn to speak Thai or Mandarin.

Cracking The Spice Code At Thai Gourmet

I love Thai food. I love spicy food. One would think that my choices for epicurean happiness would be too endless to count.

Sadly, the reality is that it is quite difficult to get spicy Thai food unless one knows how to communicate that effectively. Having Asian features is sometimes enough for you to be taken seriously. Certainly speaking the language will guarantee that the food is spiced to the level you want. Unfortunately, I do not have Asian features and do not speak the language. Thus I am lumped in with the rest of America when I ask for my food, "Thai Spicy" and get anything from mild to barely medium spice levels in my food.

I understand where this reticence to spice things properly comes from. As more Americans decide to branch out and enjoy the cuisines from other cultures, restaurateurs want to encourage as much business as possible. Since America is not a chili-based food culture, it can be hard to translate authentically spiced Thai food to something that Americans would find palatable. Combine this with all of the dishes that have been sent back to the kitchen because while the menu may have indicated the dish was spiced to a "medium" level, in reality the American sensibility perceives it as "hot", or simply just too darn spicy. Over time, businesses who wish to stay profitable have to adjust.

The problem is that when someone comes along and really wants the real deal, Thai flavors AND Thai spice, it is next to impossible to get. Because there is no standard between restaurants, each restaurant requires the effort to crack the spice code so that you get the food the way that you want it. I had just such an experience when I went for a late lunch at Thai Gourmet, located at 3732 Darrow Road in Stow, Ohio. They can be reached at 330-688-0880. I was unable to locate a website at this time.

Thai Gourmet is actually part of a series of Thai restaurants throughout the northeast Ohio area. The owner of Thai Gourmet also owns the Pad Thai restaurants, one in Fairlawn and the other in Hudson. Having eaten at all three, I can honestly say that the best Thai food experience consistently happens at Thai Gourmet. The flavors seem to be better balanced and the food is often much truer to actual Thai food.

Thai Gourmet was located in a small strip mall, between the Blockbuster and Petsmart stores:


As I approached the front door, I stopped for a second to check out the store hours:


Once inside, I was greeted by lots of dark wood and a smiling Buddha:


The interior of the restaurant had a very dark, intimate feel to it. Individually lit booths lined each of the exterior walls while clusters of tables dotted the interior of the space. I was immediately led to a booth about half-way back. My server took my drink order and left me as I began perusing the menu:





When I saw that the Szechuan entree on the above photo had a description containing "spicy hot Szechuan hot peppers," I became excited. Outside of Chicago, I have never come across a restaurant that actually used the mouth numbing Szechuan peppercorns that are used in authentic Szechuan Chinese dishes. Sadly, when my server returned a few minutes later, she confirmed that it wasn't really the peppercorns that I was anticipating. Rats!

Quickly going to plan B, I decided to start out with Thai Gourmet's Spicy Tofu Soup. Here was what I received after a few minutes:


This was an excellent bowl of soup. The menu listed the spice level as "Spicy," but I thought it was spiced just slightly above mild. The spice simmered gently at the back of my throat as I took spoonful after spoonful of the delightfully complex broth. The vegetables were just barely cooked and had that perfect balance between cooked yet still toothsome. What really surprised me about the soup was the use of fried shallots, a Thai staple, that had lent a really nice depth of flavor to the broth. What they had given up in their crunchy coating added a subtle sweetness and savoriness to the dish. The only thing that didn't work particularly well for me was the tofu. Sure, it was a great way to add extra protein to the dish. But the tofu didn't really have a chance to absorb any of the flavor from the broth. The button mushrooms in the dish were actually more flavorful than the tofu was.

For my entree, I decided to go with a green curry with chicken and I ordered it "Thai spicy". Here was what I received:


The first thing that popped into my head was, "didn't I order a green curry?" My server informed me that it was a green curry. The green color had morphed into a more reddish-orange once the "Thai spicy" flavors had been added to it. Served alongside my curry was a bowl of steamed rice:


I carefully tasted the curry broth, fragrant with coconut milk. It was spicy, yes, but not Thai spicy. I motioned for my server to come to my table and she offered to get me something else to help elevate the spiciness. I was hoping it would be stronger than what was already on the table, a jar of dried chilies:


I've used this in the past with somewhat limited success. Instead, she returned with a small bowl of finely chopped red and green Thai chilies:


Eureka! This was just what the dish called for. I ended up using about 2/3 of the above dish and the spice level was nearly perfect. I finally had the spicy Thai dish I had been craving when I walked into the restaurant. The curry itself was comprised of tender chicken breast, bamboo shoots, green beans, peas and carrots and was quite tasty. The palate cooling effect of the coconut milk was nicely offset by the sharpness of the chilies.

When my server finally returned to check on me and deliver my check, I stopped her for a moment. I showed her the nearly completely used bowl of Thai chilies she had brought me.

"OK, with the extra chilies you brought me, it was perfect. How do I order this again? Should I ask for my curry to be 'Thai Spicy' and a side of chopped Thai chilies?"

My server shook her head and said, "No, no. Next time you ask for it 'Extra Thai Hot'."

So there you have it, gentle reader. If you wish to enjoy some authentically spiced Thai food at Thai Gourmet in Stow, Ohio, ask for your food to be "Extra Thai Hot" and you will be rewarded with a dish that is both flavorful and actually spicy. Then again, I realize that not everyone enjoys spicy food like I do. Which is probably why I have to go to such great lengths to get my food to come out of the kitchen prepared just how I want it. Just think, I've cracked the spice code at one Thai restaurant. That means that there are only 24,999 more to go in the rest of the United States.

V-Li's

I always find it amazing when I manage to stumble upon an unusual restaurant in an unusual location. Not unusual in the sense that the food is "weird", but in the sense that one wouldn't expect to find this kind of food in such an rural locale. The first time someone told me that the small city of Canal Fulton housed an amazing Thai restaurant, I scoffed. Of course, after I scoffed, the foodie in me had to track it down and see if this rumor was true or not.

It's actually fairly easy to find Canal Fulton. Take State Route 21 south until you reach State Route 93, exit and make a left. Follow State Route 93 right into the downtown area and make a left onto Canal Street. V-Li's Thai Cuisine is located right there in scenic downtown Canal Fulton at 129 North Canal Street. V-Li's can be reached at 330-854-5344. Currently there is no website.

Here is a shot of the exterior of the restaurant:


The restaurant is open for both lunch and dinner Tuesday through Friday and dinner only on Saturday. It is just a short walk from the Ohio & Erie canals and all sorts of interesting shops abound within walking distance.

The restaurant has a nice comfortable feel to it, white linens lining the tables and a modest decor. It doesn't feel particularly Asian with the exception of a Thai chili pepper window surrounding one of the emergency exit doors.

Next up, a shot of the front of the lunch menu:


If you are used to seeing more authentically named dishes on the menu, you will need to do some translating in your head. The descriptions should be ample enough for you to recognize the classics of a more traditionally named menu. The menu is broken up into appetizers, soups, noodle dishes, curries, and house specialties.

I decided to start my meal with a bowl of the cinnamon beef and noodle soup. The description intrigued me.


What I received was an amazing bowl of soup. Even before my server set the bowl down in front of me, the cinnamon wafted through the air and caused me to sit up and pay attention. The best way to describe this bowl of soup is to think of the very best Vietnamese Pho you've ever had and then add the strong heady spices of cinnamon and star anise. To be fair, the star anise was very gently woven through the soup and if you didn't know it was in there, you might just miss it.

The cinnamon scent from the soup evoked sense memories of sweets, but it isn't until you tasted it that you got the savory. The only complaint I had was that the rice noodles were a little difficult to eat with the soup spoon provided. They kept sliding off the spoon and splashing back down in the bowl of soup. The solution? I finished all of the broth first and then ate the moderate amount of beef and noodles left in the bottom of the bowl. Honestly, though, the beef and noodles are completely secondary to the wonderful soup broth.

For my entree, I decided to go with a red curry pork over rice. Now the menu lists almost all of the curries as "2 chilies" of spice. And the largest number of "chilies" listed on the menu is 3. The last time I ordered a dish here at the "3 chilies" level, it just wasn't enough. After that meal, my server mentioned that they can make dishes hotter than "3 chilies". So this time I ordered it at 5.

Fifteen minutes after finishing my soup, my curry came out:


And a shot of the steamed white rice that accompanied my curry:


And a shot of my dinner plate:


This was the perfect level of heat for me. I know it would be hotter than most patrons would want (especially non-Thai patrons), but for me, this had that nice balance between the extreme heat and the mellowness that the coconut milk brought to the dish. The vegetables were nicely cooked, still being a little bit crunchy, but the pork, sadly, was a too chewy due to overcooking in the wok.

On visually inspecting the plate I had placed my dinner onto, you could immediately see the difference between a "3" and a "5" chili level. Gentle reader, I give you


an actual Thai chili!. I submit to you that words such as "a little bit spicy" or "extra spicy" or "really really spicy" don't carry much weight when trying to indicate to your server what level of spice you really want. To this chili head, a "3" was a little less than moderate and a "5" was just about perfect. Spicy enough to give your mouth a nice steady burn, but not so much that the flavor of the food is lost.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at V-Li's. I will warn you that service can be a bit relaxed, even with the restaurant only 1/3 full. Not slow, per se, but I wouldn't be stopping in here for lunch if I was on a tight schedule. I left V-Li's with a full stomach and a mouth that was still tingling for a good ten minutes after I left. If you find yourself wanting to take in a little bit of small town Americana but don't want to completely abandon civilization, I heartily recommend V-Li's Thai Cuisine in Canal Fulton.

  

Finding Authentic Thai Spicy at Siamone's Thai Pub

After being couped up all day in my house with only a little bit of my grandmother's Green Fluff to keep me company, unsurprisingly I was a little hungry when it came to dinner time. As odd as it may sound to hear, I actually didn't know what kind of cuisine I wanted for dinner. This happens more often that I care to admit and in most cases, the solution is usually to drive around the area in a vague attempt to find something that will fit the bill.

Remembering that earlier in the day I had been reading about chicken wings on the Internet, suddenly it hit me that chicken wings sounded like an excellent idea. As I was close to the intersection of Canton Road and Rt. 224, I remembered that there was a chicken wing place in a plaza by Springfield Lake right off of Rt. 224. Now fully embracing the tantalizing taste of wings and sauce in my head, I pulled into the Gala Commons parking lot. I had driven through the parking lot once in the past, just looking around for interesting places to eat. To be honest, other than the wing place, I hadn't discovered anything of note. This time around, however, it appeared that there was now a restaurant at the opposite end of the plaza. I decided to give the storefront another glance and discovered to my delight and surprise, what originally just looked like a bar was actually a pub. Even more surprising, it turned out to be a Thai pub. I'm sure you are thinking right now what originally popped into my head when I read the sign, too, gentle reader, "A what?"

Now more curious than ever, I parked the car, pulled out the camera and took this photo of the front of the corner restaurant, Siamone's:


Located at 2215 East Waterloo Road in Akron, Ohio, Siamone's can be reached at 330-733-5070. They are open for lunch and dinner on Monday through Friday and dinner only on Saturdays. They are closed on Sundays.

I don't know that I've ever heard the terms "Thai" and "Pub" used in the same sentence before. Not sure what to expect, I entered through the front door to discover a small space that was segregated into two seating areas. To the right were a number of booths that could easily seat about thirty people. To the left was the bar space and was split up amongst several four-top tables and three two-tops. Of course, it wouldn't be a pub without a bar, and Siamone's doesn't disappoint in that category. Here was a shot of the bar area:


When my server came to my table, I asked what beers they had on tap. "None," she replied. I inquired if they had any Thai beers. "Just one, but I can't remember the name of it." Figuring it would be an interesting choice no matter what kind of beer it was, I went ahead and ordered it. It turns out that the one Thai beer they chose to carry was very appropriate for spicy food and specifically Thai flavors, Singha:


Singha is a lager style beer and had a very clean and crisp flavor. It reminded me of pairing Sapporo with sushi or TsingTao with Chinese food. Knowing that Siamone's only served one type of Thai beer (a lot of the customers sitting at the bar seemed to be drinking more Budweiser and Coors Lite than anything else), I was nervous to find out what the menu held. Because of the poor lighting conditions and the fact that the entire menu is available online at Siamone's website, I decided only to take a picture of the front of the menu:


When I opened the menu up, I was delighted to find a lack of the ubiquitous cream cheese poppers and mozzarella sticks and straining to find the one remotely Thai dish at the bottom of the third page. No way, not this menu. It was CHOCK full of dishes from Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, and Cambodia, with most dishes being represented by Thailand. After studying the menu carefully, the only real criticism I really had was that many of the appetizers were in the $6-$9 range and were clearly designed to be big enough to be shared amongst a table of multiple diners.

Regardless, I decided to start out with the Cambodian Fresh Spring Rolls:


The soft pliable rice paper was stuffed with a mixture of imitation crab, rice noodles, cucumber, carrots, lettuce, and a lot of mint. While the menu said that these rolls were to be served with a sweet peanut sauce, what came out was a spicy garlic vinegar sauce with chopped peanuts strewn throughout. I tried the spring roll by itself and felt that the mint was too strong of a flavor and overpowered the other ingredients. I also tasted the dipping sauce by itself and discovered that it was spicy, but also well balanced. When I tried the spring roll with the dipping sauce, the mint was now much more subdued and I actually found myself craving the combination of the two.

While studying the menu, I noticed that there were several dishes labeled with levels of heat ranging from "Mild" to "Hot." When I read the description of the Drunken Crew signature entree, however, I was intrigued enough to ask my server about it when she returned. Based on the description, if you order this item, it cannot be made anything other than spicy because of the use of Thai basil and fresh chili peppers. Having yet to come across a Thai restaurant that will make a dish hot enough for me on the first try, I again employed the "Thai Spicy" request as I ordered it. My server looked at me kind of funny and said, "Are you sure?" "Yes, please."

After about ten minutes or so, my Drunken Crew (with chicken, I might add) arrived at my table:


Drunken Crew is a combination of onions, garlic, red and green peppers, carrots, mushrooms, Thai chilies, galangal, Thai basil and the protein of your choice, all stir-fried in a wonderfully aromatic sauce containing whiskey, fish sauce, and palm sugar. Accompanying my entree was a dish of steamed white rice:


I often base how well-spiced my Thai dishes are by locating the exact moments I have to blow my nose. Like most people, spicy food tends to make my sinuses go crazy and once that happens, I can't even taste the food anymore. The majority of places that serve "Thai Spicy" don't even elicit a single response, even after the meal is complete. Siamone's, however, kicked my sinus's metaphorical butt. Twice. Not only did I have to relieve my sinuses about five minutes into the meal, but I had to do it again after I stopped eating as well. Finally I had found a place that spiced it the way the customer asked for it the very first time. I didn't have to play the spice code game that I have had to learn how to do at other restaurants.

Fortunately for me, the Singha beer did an excellent job at relieving the capsaicin-induced inferno that was consuming my mouth. The wonderfully aromatic Thai flavors really shined through brightly in the well-balanced brown sauce. The chicken and vegetables were cooked perfectly, fully-cooked, but not mushy (in the case of the vegetables) or tough (in the case of the chicken). Unfortunately, after my huge summer roll appetizer, I was actually only able to eat about half of my entree and rice.

After boxing up the rest of my meal and paying my check, I found out that Siamone's has only been open for about three and a half years. It also turns out that Siamone's aunt was the owner and cook of the Bangcock Gourmet restaurant that used to be in Akron and is now unfortunately closed. I mentioned that had I known this place existed, I would've eaten here many years ago instead of just now accidentally discovering it. The gentleman answering my questions kind of laughed and said that they were just now starting to consider placing advertisements in local papers and magazines. His last words to me before he was off clearing tables and greeting guests were, "We've been fortunate to have good word of mouth. So, tell all your friends about us."

A simpler request could not more easily be honored. I silently muttered under my breath, "Let me see what I can do."

I am considering myself fortunate because I managed to locate a wonderful Thai (and several other nationalities thrown in there, too) restaurant serving amazing cuisine at the spice level for which I actually asked. That it is local to me here in Akron is another big plus in their favor. I know that I intend to return very soon to try the Pho and some of the other curry dishes. For those not in the Akron area, the next time you decide to take a day trip to or through Akron, stop at Siamone's Thai Pub for your spicy Asian fix. And if you need a way to quickly cool your mouth off, you can always swing by the Strickland's Frozen Custard stand just around the corner for a sweet treat that can't be beat.

Lee's Korean ... For Dinner!

After I found out that I could no longer get my Korean fix during the days anymore at Lee's Korean BBQ, I decided to make a concerted effort to get there during a weeknight. So, after working a particularly long day, I decided to make the trip to Massillon and get my Korean groove on.

As always, the place was dead. I really have no clue as to how this place survives -- even with the merger to Colucci's. I started out with the Mandoo soup for my appetizer. Fluffy beef dumplings in a light broth with ginger, scallions, carrots, and eggs. This was a wonderful way to start out the meal:


Next up, my banchan and white rice arrived. These come automatically with each meal. In the banchan, you have pressed tofu, kimchi, cucumber, and what I believe to be some type of potato dish (left to right, front to back).


And a super awesome shot of my rice:


Instead of going with my normal order of Bi Bim Bap, I decided to go out on a limb and order something different. Looking over the menu, I decided to go with the O-Sam-Bulgogi, which is a mixture of pork and squid in a spicy chili sauce with onions and sesame seeds:


The sauce was quite good, but not particularly spicy, so I asked my server for an extra dish of gozhujaan, or spicy Korean chili paste. Overall, the flavor was spectacular. About 80% of the pork was nice and tender. 20%, not so much. I think it was more of the cut of pork than anything else. Unfortunately, while there were nice large pieces of squid in the dish, it was woefully overcooked and tough. So sad.

I only learned later on after the meal was over and I was settling the check with my waitress that they can make it much more spicy than it came out (and I asked for it spicy). So, the next time I go back, I may give this one another shot and get it "Korean spicy". Well, with my luck at getting food served at authentic spicy levels, hopefully it will come out correctly and not "American spicy".