Savory
Bangkok Waffles with Dipping Sauce
by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
from Home
Baking
(Artisan,
2003)
Makes 15 waffles or crêpes
In the bread museum in Ulm, in southern Germany, there are decorated cast-iron waffle irons that date back to the sixteenth century. Waffles — gauffres in French — are popular sweets in Germany, Belgium, Holland, and France, and, of course, in North America too.
In Thailand, the waffle idea has been transformed, as many foreign, food ideas are, in a creative and, we think, brilliant way. The "waffle iron" is two plain pieces of hot metal; between them is pressed a batter flavored with tiny dried shrimp, coriander leaf, and lime juice. The resulting skillet cakes are known in Thai as thong paen na goong, and look like small crêpes You can make them like crêpes in a small heavy skillet, but we love the unusual look of them when we use a regular American or European waffle iron.
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Ingredients |
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FOR THE WAFFLES | |
| 1/4 cup | rice flour or rice starch | |
| 1 cup | all-purpose flour | |
| 1/3 cup | sugar | |
| 3/4 cup | canned coconut milk, plus a little more if needed | |
| 1 large | egg yolk | |
| 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons |
freshly squeezed lime juice | |
| 1/2 cup | tiniest dried shrimp (see Note) | |
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Peanut oil or vegetable oil for frying | |
| 20 to 30 | |
coriander leaves |
| FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE | ||
| 2 tablespoons | Thai fish sauce | |
| 2 tablespoons | rice vinegar | |
| 1 tablespoon | water | |
| 1 teaspoon | salt | |
| 1 small | garlic clove, minced | |
| 1 | bird or Serrano Chile, minced (less for less heat) (optional) | |
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MAKE
THE WAFFLES
1. Place the flours and sugar in a medium bowl and stir in the
coconut milk and egg yolk. Stir in the lime juice and beat to a smooth
batter. Let stand for at least 20 minutes, or as long as 2 hours. (If
leaving more than 30 minutes, cover and refrigerate until 10 minutes before
using.)
2. Just before you wish to start cooking, stir the dried shrimp into the batter. The batter should be like crêpe batter, smooth and pourable. If necessary, thin it with a little coconut milk.
(Skillet Method)
3. Place a heavy 8-inch or 9-inch skillet over high heat. When
it is hot, lower the heat to medium-high and rub a paper towel oiled with
peanut or vegetable oil over the cooking surface.
4. Use a ladle or cup to scoop up a scant 3 tablespoons batter and drop a coriander leaf or two into it. Remove the skillet from the heat, pour the batter onto the center of the skillet, and spread it out with the back of your ladle or a spatula. Place the skillet back on the heat and let cook for 1 minute, or until lightly browned on the first side, then turn the crêpe over and cook for 35 to 40 seconds on the second side, or until dotted with light brown spots. Turn out onto a plate and repeat with the remaining batter, wiping the skillet with an oiled paper towel between each one.
(Alternately, Waffle Iron Method)
3. Preheat the waffle iron. Brush it with oil.
4. Use a ladle to pour the batter onto the center of the iron. Use the same amount of batter as you would for a regular waffle. Before you close the waffle iron, the batter should just cover about half the surface; when you close the iron, the batter will be pushed out to fill the whole iron. (The amount of batter you need to use for each waffle will vary with the size and style of waffle iron, so you may need to make one or two before you get amounts exactly right.) Cook until lightly browned on both sides. Turn out onto a plate and repeat with the remaining batter, brushing the iron lightly with oil between waffles.
MAKE THE DIPPING SAUCE
1. Mix all the ingredients together. Set out in a small bowl with
a spoon to use for drizzling the sauce on.
TO SERVE
Serve hot or warm, on their own or with a plate of lettuce leaves
and an easy hot, sour, salty, sweet dipping sauce such as the one here.
Or you could put out a spicy Mexican-style salsa instead. Invite guests
to tear off a piece of crêpe, wrap it in a lettuce leaf, and drizzle
it with sauce or salsa before eating.
NOTE: Use very small dried shrimp that look like feathery shreds and are a dark, rich color. A wide assortment of dried shrimp is available in Chinese and Southeast Asian groceries. If you can find only larger dried shrimp, mince them before using.
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[Jennifer
Kolias] A fun, brightly flavored appetizer or small dish for a party,
the Bangkok waffles (or crêpes, as I made them) were a hit. Guests
can participate by making their own, adding as much cilantro as desired,
tempering the rich, salty, pungent, sweet and chewy with the cool crunch
of lettuce.
[Ellen Roberts] It has everything: sweet, sour, salt, hot, and crunchy
to boot. The recipe says you might need more liquid, and I did. I made
both pancakes and waffles. The pancake can be rolled with the lettuce
and makes a neater package but the waffle gives more crunch. The dried
shrimp may be hard to find but it is worth the effort. The dried shrimp
and coriander are a nice aromatic touch. It's a familiar dish with unfamiliar
tastes.
This is a wonderful recipe with many possibilities for further use. I
have to say that I was a bit skeptical about the use of the dried shrimps
but forged ahead anyway with very pleasant results. I thought the dried
shrimps would be overpowering, not so; they added a nice flavor component
to the crêpes, which we wrapped around some baby romaine lettuce.
We ran out of crêpes before we wanted to. I was reminded of a dinner
we had in an Ethiopian restaurant in north Chicago a few years ago where
diners were served a variety of foods along with stacks of crêpes/pancake
breads with which to tear off a piece of and wrap around each bite chosen
from a large platter of different foods from meats to veggies, etc.
[Shelly Sinton] In the form of skillet cakes — or crêpes —
these delicate treats wrap deliciously with crisp lettuce leaves. At first
glance, I didn't think I would care for this recipe but the medley of
flavors soon won me over. Sweetness from the sugar countered the briny
shrimp and tartness of the lime, while the coconut milk added a creamy
richness. Next time I make these, I will try the waffle method. However,
the skillet method produces versatile little crêpes that make perfect
appetizers.
[Duane De Mello] Waffles, like crêpes, are fun to make and this
recipe was no exception. Initially, my batter turned out thicker than
planned. But, following the directions, I thinned the batter out somewhat
with additional coconut milk. The dried shrimp provided a nice additional
taste as well as pleasant crunchiness. The dipping sauce, as called for
in the directions, was thin and not very hot for my taste. As result,
I prepared a separate bowl on the side with more of the Nam Pla and Thai
bird chiles in a stronger concentration. The height of enjoyment came
with rolling the waffles up in the lettuce leaves, followed by the dipping
in the sauce. This resulted in a very enjoyable dish. As a subsequent
main course dish, I added very thinly sliced stir-fried beef tenderloin
stripes served on top of a platter of Vietnamese fried ribbon noodles.
On
4.18.05 M.J. wrote:Great recipe, but a little sweet for my liking. Next time I will halve the amount of sugar. I also spiced the dipping sauce with a Thai chiles. This gave it a nice kick.
