I think that’s Thai for “Can’t handle the fish sauce? Eat this!”
I like that the only thing this recipe calls for which was a bit out of the ordinary for us is the tapioca flour (Hey Tammy, it’s gluten-free!). All the other ingredients are pretty run-of-the-mill for us (although the cilantro must count as exotic, compared to local cuisine, since it gets flown to our favorite local China Laden in once a week from Thailand), but this is our first use of the cilantro root. I’m thinking about experimenting with that stuff and making some beef meatballs with it — perhaps over rice with a peanut sauce…lots of good options there!
4 cucumbers, cut into 5-7cm pieces
150g ground pork
2-3 cilantro roots, finely mashed
6 cloves of garlic, finely minced or pressed
1/2 tsp pepper
4 tbsp soy sauce (3 light, one dark)
1 tsp salt
1-2 green onions, sliced
1 small bunch cilantro
1 stalk celery, sliced
3 cups water
2 tsp tapioca flour
3 tbsp neutral oil for sautéeing your garlic
Sautée the remaining garlic until nice and yellow, then set aside in a small bowl to cool. Don’t let it burn!
Seed the cucumbers (you will need a very narrow knife, or an apple corer worked great for us) and fill the hole with the ground pork mixture.
Put the water in a large pot, add the 1 tbsp light soy and 1 tbsp dark soy, and the salt and bring it to a boil.
Add the stuffed cukes and the rest of the ground pork mixture (formed into little meatballs). Cover and let boil 15-20 minutes until the cucumber flesh yields to gentle pressure with a spoon.
Add the green onion, cilantro, and celery to the pot and stir briefly. Serve in bowls sprinkled with the sautéed garlic.
The food looks good, almost as good as that man in the photo.
Are the cilantro roots like what I’m thinking of? Teeny little slender roots with maybe one inch length? Sometimes we buy the bunch of cilantro with the roots still on and that is the only way I’ve seen them, even in my own garden.
Love,
Mom
That sounds different from the cilantro roots we used. These were tan in color, two or three inches in length, and at least as thick as the green stems at the point where the roots and stems connected, tapering off down toward the bottom of the root. I’ll try to take some pictures of the whole plant the next time we buy cilantro.
Yum! Looks great!
The lemons look really good! :P