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Thai Flavors Fried Hominy

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When I was a little girl, hominy (reconstituted dried corn), was something that came in cans, waiting for my mother to heat up in a pot on an occasional Saturday morning. She served the engorged soft kernels warm, in bowls with butter, salt and pepper – simple, on its own as one would eat a bowl of hot farina or oatmeal. There were both white and yellow hominy and I innocently believed the latter came already buttered in the container. Although I held no particular aversion towards the dish, I can’t recall ever going out of my way to purchase whole hominy once I was out of the house, and only was reminded of it’s existence on occasion via an order of posole, likely enjoyed somewhere in Mexico. Hominy struck me as a muted and understated  filler starch, and not as the shining ingredient, until the humble corn grit forced me to sit up and take notice several year’s ago during a meal at Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in Miami.

A paper-lined bowl filled with hot and crispy fried hominy was sent out to a weary over-recipe-tested crew of us as a pre-dinner snack with cocktails. Tossed in a mixture that was sweet, salty and aromatically spiced, perked up and made puckery with a squeeze of lime, our greedy fingers made short order of those bronzed nuggets and I was hooked.

In Cleveland, at The Greenhouse Tavern, Chef Jonathan Sawyer puts his own spin on a fried hominy appetizer with the addition of those sticky-crunchy bits of similarly-fried pigskin. Salted, and woven through with tangles of pickled red onion, leaves of cilantro, slivers of scallion, surprise pockets of roasted jalapeno, and that welcome acidic splash of lime juice, make this one plate which is always difficult to keep my fork out of.

The combination of flavors and textures of The Greenhouse dish are reminiscent of  addictive Indian chaats, or something Southeast Asian snackish – tumbles of assertive bites which happen to pair perfectly with lager and ales. Inspired by Chef Sawyer’s dish, I’ve fashioned a version by playing up the Southeast Asian angle to great effect. Decidedly un-timid and most definitely addictive, as my son, Julian, stated, “This REALLY wakes you up!”

I reconstituted hominy from a bag of Rancho Gordo dried corn (one cup dried yields approximately 2 1/2 cups cooked). This requires an overnight soak in water, then a simmer for an hour – hour and a half. Chef Sawyer uses hominy drained from a can. Either way is suitable and delicious, just make sure the hominy is very well dried prior to deep frying to avoid splattering.

 

Thai Flavors Fried Hominy

Serves: 4-6 as an appetizer

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cooked hominy (if canned, rinsed), drained and very well dried

*1 shallot, thinly sliced lengthwise (2-3 tablespoons), macerated in 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

**2 large scallions, thin bias cut

1 loose cup picked Thai basil leaves

1 or more fresh Thai chile, thinly sliced (use your own discretion – these little guys mean business)

Scant tablespoon kosher or sea salt

Heaping  tablespoon palm or unrefined cane sugar

Zest of one large lime, microplane-fine

Pastured lard for deep frying (if you are looking for vegetarian/vegan friendly, substitute coconut oil or ::insert your deep fry fat of preference:::, I’ve stated mine)

Lime wedges for serving (optional)

Cooking Instruction:

Heat oven to warm setting.

Set up a deep pot for  frying and begin to heat the lard to 375-400. Have a bowl ready for the hominy as it finishes frying.

Drain the sliced shallot and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the salt, palm sugar and lime zest. Rub the zest into the mixture with your fingers to infuse with the citrus oils.

When the lard reaches temperature, fry the hominy in batches until crispy – 3-4 minutes. Remove fried hominy to the waiting bowl with a Chinese wire strainer (my preferred utensil), or slotted metal spoon. Place in oven to keep warm while frying remaining hominy. Repeat until all hominy is fried. Season hominy with the salt/sugar/lime zest mixture  to taste – half may be all you need. Toss well to coat.

Add the drained shallot, scallion, Thai basil and chile(s). Toss to combine. Pour contents into serving bowl and enjoy hominy while warm.

*The Greenhouse Tavern is now producing their own house vinegars. I’ve been fortunate to sample the beer, red wine, white wine, rose´, garlic and apricot-sake results. I’m even luckier to have several of those in my cupboard, and used the white wine vinegar as part of the shallot maceration.

**In a dish like this, the cut of ingredients truly enhances the eating experience. It’s a great opportunity to practice knife skills. Slender bites of onion and chile are much more pleasant than less delicate pieces.

 

 

 

 


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