Episode 16: Happy Tangsgiving! (with Camila Cabello)
We’re back for a special episode of the podcast, and we’re getting questions and giving thanks as we get ready for the high holy day of home kitchens. We got a special surprise in the form of a question from international pop superstar Camila Cabello! (Also, we made very silly shirts that say “Shrimp J*nga Forever!”)
Listen to Hrishi’s new song here, and you can watch the music video:
And go listen to his tear-jerker of a TED Talk here.
For a transcript of this episode, click here.
Food ideas discussed in this episode:
Change your life for the better: Order flour tortillas from Caramelo.
Try Erika Council’s vegan sweet potato coconut biscuit from Bryant Terry’s wonderful new book, Black Food
Here are Samin & Fava’s Thanksgiving series for New York Times Cooking
Samin learned to make crispy fried shallots from Nite Yun from Nyum Bai when she taught her how to make her wonderful Cambodian chicken salad, so Samin doesn’t have a standalone recipe for them, but this recipe from Kenji over at Serious Eats is pretty similar.
Hrishi’s Tamarind rice
(Temple style ambat bhath)
Serves 1
Start with a cup of cooked white rice. In a separate pan, heat 2 tablespoons of a neutral vegetable oil – or sesame oil if you’d like – and add ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds, a pinch of ground fenugreek, 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder, and 3 or 4 curry leaves. Mix and heat until the seeds pop. Add in 1 tablespoon of tamarind paste, and 20 grams of roasted peanuts (about 2 tablespoons), and mix until the whole thing is homogenized. Then add in your cup of rice, and ½ teaspoon of salt (adjust to taste), and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Mix until the rice is thoroughly coated with the tamarind paste. Serve yourself in a bowl and top it with some sev – for khrum khrum! (For a more detailed and intensive recipe, check out this one that Hrishi found online. Seems pretty good!)
Calçotades with romesco sauce
Here’s a great looking recipe for Romesco Sauce, and some nice background reading about the Calcotada
Also, muhammara. Try it with peanuts like they make at Kismet Rotisserie!
Up the Acid at Thanksgiving
Acid-plus Thanksgiving salad: Add brightness, acid and crunch to the table by making a fresh salad with an acidic citrus vinaigrette.
Acid-plus gravy: Add a splash of dry white wine to gravy just before serving.
Acid-plus stuffing: Add acid by using sourdough bread and dried fruit such as prunes or currants. Try soaking that fruit in white wine before adding it to the stuffing, too!
Acid-plus mashed potatoes: Use a cultured dairy such as sour cream or yogurt. None of that uncultured dairy.
Acid-plus roasted vegetables: Toss roasted vegetables in an agrodolce made of sugar, white or red wine vinegar, and a little bit of onions and torn mint. (There’s a recipe for this in Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat!)
Samin’s Ancient, Exhaustive Guide to Knives
If you don’t feel like reading through all of that:
Totally good options that are great for the average home cook (what Samin and most of her chef friends use or used for many years):
If you want some cuter or more aesthetically pleasing knives, check out these, these, or these. And if you want some really fancy-schmancy knives, shop here and here.
Vegan holiday meal suggestions (besides the many sides listed above!):
Here are some great looking Vegan Macs: one, two, three
Spicy black bean and sweet potato chili
Ottolenghi’s Stuffed Eggplant from Jerusalem –– Try it with Beyond Meat!
Stuffed Butternut Squash or Stuffed Honeynut (just leave out the cheese!)
Don’t forget about Mango Pie
And try making your own Cool-Whip, even (especially) if it’s just to piss off Hrishi!!!
And finally, Shrimp J*nga Forever!
Illustration by Mamie Rheingold