Cooking can be a grind — and I mean that in the best possible way.
I have a soft spot for bashing my food around with a mortar and pestle. Whether I’m grinding spices, mashing up guac or pounding a fragrant pesto, I find literally beating dinner into submission so very viscerally satisfying.
Unfortunately, I also have a postage-stamp kitchen, and storage space comes at a steep premium. When I moved in, I pared my mortar and pestle collection down to three from a ridiculous seven. But it’s one — the Thai-style earthenware mortar paired with a hefty wooden pestle — I find myself reaching for the most.
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Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my granite molcajete. It’s the best tool for reducing dried spices and peppers to crumbs, but it has some considerable drawbacks. For starters, these things weigh a ton and can take a toll on twitchy wrists. I broke mine a couple times as a kid, and those injuries have found a funny way of resurfacing in middle age.
More importantly, they just aren’t deep enough to be truly versatile. If you’ve ever tried to make a four-avocado batch of guacamole in a molcajete, you know what I’m talking about. It’s pulpy green carnage all over the place.
The Thai-style mortar has a significantly deeper bowl with steep walls that keep the chaos well contained. Most often used to grind complex curry pastes or tenderize tough strips of green papaya, chiles and fish sauce in a salad, they have an all-purpose place in the kitchen regardless of which culture’s cuisine you’re cooking.
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Case in point: For a recent story, I had to make a Cuban-style mojo sauce to marinate a pork shoulder. The recipe I used started with pounding 20 cloves of garlic to a pulp, then mashing in a cup of onion, oregano, a cup and a half of orange juice and an equal volume of olive oil. At more than 4 cups of sauce, I would have lost half of that to counter spillage in my molcajete, while the Thai mortar still had plenty of room to spare.
Thai mortar and pestle combos come in a wide range of prices and build quality. You can find affordable and fairly durable versions for $20 to $30 at Asian grocery stores such as Hung Phong Oriental Market, 243 Remount Drive. If you prefer to do your shopping online, look for a sturdy 9-inch model on amazon.com for about $50 (search for Kruk Thai Mortar & Pestle).
And speaking of that mojo marinated pork roast, I made that as part of a culinary tour through Miami for our ongoing Summer Kitchen Travels series. Give these recipes a try for a taste of Little Havana and South Beach.
Recipe: Versailles Restaurant’s Arroz con Pollo (Chicken and Rice)
Recipe: Lechón Asado (Cuban-style Roast Pork)
Recipe: The Ball & Chain’s Mojito Cocktail
Recipe: The National Hotel’s Conch Fritters
Recipe: Joe’s Stone Crab’s Key Lime Pie
Paul Stephen is a food and drink reporter and restaurant critic in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Paul, become a subscriber. pstephen@express-news.net | Twitter: @pjbites | Instagram: @pjstephen
https://www.expressnews.com/food/article/Paul-s-Cooking-Tips-Make-your-kitchen-grind-a-15432196.php
2020-07-25 09:00:00Z
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