This dish was on Suerte’s opening “Vitamina T” menu, and it counts as the only recipe from the restaurant to be immortalized in this cookbook because: (1) it’s just that special, and (2) we couldn’t stand waiting for the official Suerte cookbook any longer, Fermín. Here, boiled beets are tossed in a smoky-sweet-savory peanut-based salsa macha and rounded out with pickled red onions for an explosive finish.
You’ll find these juicy, sticky, charred wings at Singapore’s hawker centers (or food courts), where there’s usually at least one vendor flipping them over a charcoal grill. The chicken wings are marinated in dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and garlic, then served with a spicy dipping sauce made of chiles and lime.
SOUP BASE
Ingredients
It is thicker and more concentrated than most curries. It is not overly spicy, and should have a slightly sweet taste.
Okay, here you are: This is my single favorite go-to, home-cooking, just-us-folks, one-dish meal. I make it all the time —at least once a week, my vast bean (and other) culinary appreciation and repertoire notwithstanding. If, growing tired of coming up with the nightly menu, I say to my companion, "Anything in particular you're in the mood for, David?" I can be pretty sure he'll say, "Well, how about the greens and beans and pasta? We haven't had that in a while." That we actually have had it is irrelevant; it's that good.
This is a specialty from Surat in northwestern India. I am always drawn to the scent of a green papaya enhanced by nutty mustard seed popped in hot oil.