Grilling on the Rim : Barbecue: The Asian Palette

Grilling--all year long it’s a great way to cook. When the sun sets early, turn on the lights. Too cold? Bundle up. Rain? A determined griller carries on somehow. I’m thinking of the street vendor in Krabi, a town in southern Thailand, who turned out succulent meat on a stick even when his grill-cart was veiled with drizzle from a passing monsoon.

In America, the barbecue is an appliance of choice. In Asia, it can be an appliance of necessity. Third-World homes are not necessarily equipped with a range, or even a kitchen as we know it. A grill may be the only way to cook.

Then too, Asian grills can fill a room with strong aromas and smoke from the high heat required for stir-frying. Consequently, some of the wealthy have two kitchens, one for general cooking and a breezy, open area for grilling and wok dishes.

Five-star restaurants may have the same arrangement. In Bangkok, one eatery popular with farangs (foreigners) provides air-conditioned luxury up front. Orders for sate, though, are not cooked in the large, well-equipped kitchen but on a charcoal grill out back under an umbrella.

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Grilling is so prevalent in Bangkok that it seems the pollution there must have a strong charcoal element. Sidewalk vendors line busy streets barbecuing chicken, meat, squid, shrimp, fish balls, sausages, ears of corn, bananas in the peel and more.

In Indonesia, itinerant sate cooks carry grills balanced on shoulder poles. Unlike our round or large rectangular barbecues, the most efficient grill for sate is long and narrow, designed to hold the sticks in a row. The ends of the skewers extend over the sides, making it easy to turn them without getting burned.

One thinks of sate as chunks or slices of meat. But on Bali and adjacent Lombok Island, a popular variation is sate lilit --ground meat on a stick. Actually, the meat is not ground but pounded in a mortar until the fibers break down and the meat becomes soft enough to mold onto skewers. In the Balinese village of Kemenuh, cooking teacher Ibu Mas showed me how to do this. We cooked the sate on a tiny grill on the sidewalk outside the kitchen. Long enough to hold perhaps a dozen sticks, shallow enough to require little fuel (Ibu used coconut husks), the grills cost only $1.50 at the local market.

To obtain steady heat, cooks encourage the coals with whatever is handy--a fan woven from palm fronds, a wooden board or a piece of cardboard. At outdoor hawker centers in Singapore, sate grillers sometimes use their fans to create showy bursts of flame--an image so emblematic it’s used in promoting tourism.

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In the Philippines, gas stoves are relatively new arrivals. Until then, the alternative was the barbecue, says Filipino food expert Joyce R. Lapus of Manila. What often turns up on Philippine grills is bangus (milkfish) wrapped in banana leaves and topped with tomatoes, onion and a squeeze of calamansi juice.

Lapus’ great-grandmother founded the Aristocrat, a restaurant in Manila famous for barbecued chicken and pork, and her grandmother is the Mama Sita whose name appears on a line of Filipino seasonings. Mama Sita’s barbecue marinade is composed of soy sauce, garlic, sugar and pepper. Add more sugar, and it will resemble the marinade used at the Aristocrat, Lapus promises. The truth is, the small, juicy chickens grilled at the Aristocrat are as important as the seasoning.

In Asia, menus travel. For example, in northeastern Thailand, barbecued chicken is eaten with a spicy green papaya salad pounded in a mortar, called som tam , and glutinous rice. At the Aristocrat in Manila, barbecued chicken is served with a green papaya salad called atsara and java rice tinted orange with annatto. Both papaya salads have sweet-sour dressings.

Because of their sunny climate, Filipinos have many opportunities to grill. But in a congested city such as Tokyo, where winter can be harsh, outdoor cooking is impractical. The Japanese manage by using oven broilers and range-top grills, says Matao Uwate, a cooking teacher, cookbook writer, radio personality and champion of Japanese food in Los Angeles for more than 40 years. Japanese markets here stock grills composed of a shallow pan with a grate on top. Small and easy to clean, they require little storage space.

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Some restaurants, such as Nanbantei of Tokyo, specialize in grilling over charcoal--not ordinary coals but bincho , a fine hardwood from Wakayama on the southern coast of Honshu. Bincho is expensive but burns for a long time and provides intense, steady heat. Bincho is so prestigious that restaurants display a plaque to let customers know they use it. Such a plaque--in Japanese--is mounted on the tiled wall near the grill at Nanbantei’s branch in L.A.’s Little Tokyo. Similar wooden plaques list tidbits available from the grill: tsukune (chicken meatballs), chicken wings, asparagus wrapped in tissue-thin pork and slices of chicken breast sandwiched with shiso leaves.

Bottled Korean marinades, available in most Asian markets, have made Korean barbecue almost as familiar as teriyaki. Koreans may grill at home but are more likely to go to a restaurant, says Moon Sook Chung of Surabul restaurant in Los Angeles. Besides, it’s fun to join in the cooking around the tabletop grills. Along with platters of marinated meat come rice, soup and many side dishes--salads, marinated vegetables, bits of seafood and one or more versions of the spicy pickle kimchi.

Korean barbecued beef is well known, but sweet-hot pork grilled until the edges turn crisp and caramelized is irresistable. Funny thing is, Koreans don’t think highly of this dish. In Korea, pork costs much less than short ribs ( kalbi ) and is not regarded as classy food, says Chung. Beef is seasoned with gentle respect, but pork is nearly overwhelmed by the fiercest seasonings: big spoonfuls of fiery chile powder, bean paste loaded with chile, and grated ginger root. To my way of thinking, this bolder treatment produces sublime results.

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Kyung Lee, chef at Surabul Korean restaurant, says that for best flavor, the meat should marinate at least eight hours.

SURABUL’S

BARBECUED PORK

1 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

2 tablespoons hot bean paste

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 1/2 tablespoons ground hot red pepper

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger root

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Dash MSG

1 3/4 pounds pork butt, thinly sliced

1 thick slice onion

4 to 5 green onions, white part only, cut diagonally in 2- to 3-inch pieces

In large bowl combine soy sauce, water, green onions, hot bean paste, sesame oil, hot red pepper, sugar, sesame seeds, garlic, ginger, white pepper and MSG. Add meat and mix thoroughly.

Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours. Drain meat. Grill until well done. Grill onion slice and green onions and serve alongside. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

369 calories; 2,987 mg sodium; 71 mg cholesterol; 27 grams fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 22 grams protein; 0.56 gram fiber.

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At Surabul, the rib meat is served separated from the bones, but the cross-cut ribs sold in Korean and other Asian markets are fine for this dish.

MARINATED

SHORT RIBS

(Kalbi)

1 1/4 cups water

1/2 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons sugar

Roasted sesame seeds

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon chopped green onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic

3/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon MSG

3 pounds beef short ribs cut flanken-style

1 thick slice onion

4 to 5 pieces green onions, bottom part only

In large bowl combine water, soy sauce, sugar, 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, sesame oil, green onion, garlic, pepper and MSG. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Add short ribs to marinade. Mix well. Cover and marinate at least 8 hours.

Remove meat from marinade and drain. Sprinkle with additional sesame seeds to taste. Grill meat with onion slice and green onions over hot coals to desired doneness. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

268 calories; 1,419 mg sodium; 70 mg cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 25 grams protein; 0.07 gram fiber.

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Narin Chotipanang, chef-owner of Mangkoode restaurant in Bangkok, molds fish paste onto thick sticks for this unusual sate. Chotipanang pounds the fish to a paste in a mortar, then mixes it with pounded seasonings and bastes it with coconut milk as it cooks on the grill. The Thai fish that he uses is not available here, but black cod worked well in a test of the recipe. The fish can be molded onto thick wooden chopsticks, available in any Asian market.

BARBECUED FISH

ON A STICK

(Jaeng-Lorn Ping)

1 pound boneless, skinless fish, such as black cod

3 small cloves garlic

2 Thai chiles

3 tablespoons minced shallot or onion

Salt

Canned or thawed frozen coconut milk

Dipping Sauce

Pound fish to paste in mortar. Pound together garlic, chiles and shallot to fine paste. Combine with fish. Season to taste with salt.

Mold onto thick wooden skewers or wooden chopsticks in rolls about 2 1/2 inches long. Grill, brushing with coconut milk, until done through. Serve with Dipping Sauce in small bowl. Makes 8 skewers.

Each skewer, with sauce, contains about:

65 calories; 91 mg sodium; 18 mg cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 0.46 gram fiber.

Dipping Sauce

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

Dash salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Thai chile, chopped

Stir together vinegar, sugar and salt until blended. Add garlic and chile. Makes 1/4 cup.

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Chan Dara Restaurant’s barbecued chicken is seasoned Bangkok-style with coconut milk, curry powder and turmeric. At the Thai food festival in Beverly Hills in September, restaurant owner Ken Kittivech served the chicken with green papaya salad and sticky rice, traditional chicken companions from Northeastern Thailand. A sweet, hot dip loaded with garlic adds wonderful, intense flavor.

CHAN DARA’S

BARBECUED CHICKEN

1 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup fish sauce

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro roots

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 (2 3/4- to 3-pound) chicken, halved

Sweet, Spicy Sauce

In bowl combine coconut milk, fish sauce, garlic, cilantro root, pepper, turmeric and curry powder. Mix well. Combine with chicken and marinate 2 hours.

Grill chicken until browned and thoroughly cooked. Cut into serving pieces. Serve with bowls of Sweet, Spicy Sauce on side for dipping. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving, with sauce, contains about:

598 calories; 1,095 mg sodium; 119 mg cholesterol; 39 grams fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 32 grams protein; 1.95 grams fiber.

Sweet, Spicy Sauce

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons sambal oelek, or fresh red chiles crushed to paste

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine vinegar, water, sugar, garlic, red chile and salt. Bring to boil. Boil until reduced to 3/4 cup. Cool to room temperature.

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“It’s really a simple dish,” says Andre Guerrero, talking about his recipe for Filipino - style grilled pork chops. “The marinade is just vinegar, garlic and pepper, but it changes the flavor so much.” Born in Quezon City just outside Manila, Guerrero is chef-owner of Duet restaurant in Glendale. Pork Inihaw is not on the menu there but is always available because customers demand it, he says.

Guerrero grills lean meat, but in the Philippines, fatty cuts are preferred because the drippings sizzling onto the coals enhance smokiness. Guerrero paints meat with olive oil for a similar but more healthful effect.

DUET’S PORK INIHAW

1 1/2 cups white vinegar

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon crushed, minced garlic

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

8 pork chops, to equal about 2 1/2 pounds total

1 tablespoon fish sauce

Combine 1 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup garlic and pepper. Flatten pork chops slightly by pounding with mallet or side of cleaver. Marinate pork chops in vinegar mixture 1 hour.

Combine remaining vinegar and garlic with fish sauce. Drain pork chops and grill about 5 minutes on each side, or until done. Serve at once with vinegar-garlic dip on side. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

280 calories; 279 mg sodium; 102 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 35 grams protein; 0.02 gram fiber.

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Food stalls in Singapore serve sate with small pieces of cucumber and shallot to spear with a sate stick and dip in the peanut sauce.

SINGAPORE SATE

2 pounds rump roast

1 cup palm sugar or light-brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon tamarind pulp

3 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds or 2 1/2 tablespoons ground coriander

5 candlenuts

2 stalks lemon grass, bottom 2 1/2 inches only, sliced

2 ounces fresh or frozen galangal root, sliced, or 5 teaspoons ground dried galangal

6 shallots, peeled and sliced

1 fresh red chile, sliced

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

5 tablespoons oil

Peanut Sauce

Cut beef along grain into long strips and then cut crosswise in thin slices.

In saucepan melt palm sugar and 1/4 cup water over low heat.

Combine tamarind pulp with remaining 1/4 cup water. Knead to extract flavor and color, then strain liquid and reserve.

Toast coriander seeds in oven at medium heat until fragrant, or toast in heavy skillet. Grind in spice grinder.

In heavy mortar, pound candlenuts until crushed and oily. Add lemon grass, galangal, shallots and chile. Pound to paste. Mix ground mixture with melted palm sugar, tamarind water, ground coriander, granulated sugar, salt and oil.

Marinate steak slices in mixture overnight. When ready to cook, thread meat onto bamboo skewers, allowing 3 slices per skewer. Grill over coals until browned and cooked. Accompany with peanut sauce for dipping. Makes 8 servings.

Each serving, without sauce, contains about:

431 calories; 505 mg sodium; 54 mg cholesterol; 24 grams fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 20 grams protein; 4 grams fiber.

Peanut Sauce

1 ounce tamarind pulp

1 cup water

2 candlenuts

2 to 3 small dried chiles, soaked in warm water until softened

1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh or frozen galangal

2 small cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste

1 small shallot

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup roasted peanuts, pounded fine

2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 small stalk lemon grass, lightly crushed

In bowl combine tamarind pulp and water. Knead well to extract color and flavor. Strain liquid and reserve.

In heavy mortar or food processor pound or grind candlenuts, drained chiles, galangal, garlic, shrimp paste and shallot until very fine.

Heat oil in small saucepan. Add spice mixture and fry until fragrant. Add peanuts, sugar, vinegar, tamarind liquid, salt and crushed lemon grass. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring to keep from sticking. Makes about 1 2/3 cups.

Each 1-tablespoon serving contains about:

45 calories; 50 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.28 grams fiber.

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Matao Uwate operates the Japanese Cooking School in Los Angeles and talks about food weekly on Radio Li’l Tokyo. Here is his recipe for grilled chicken balls similar to those served at Nanbantei of Tokyo in Little Tokyo’ s Weller Court . Uwate explains that the quality of tare, the dipping sauce that seasons the chicken, reveals the caliber of the chef. This is an easy version for home cooks. The amount of sugar should be adjusted according to the sweetness of the mirin in the tare.

MATAO UWATE’S

GRILLED GROUND

CHICKEN

(Tsukune)

1 pound ground chicken

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

2 teaspoons black sesame seeds, toasted in ungreased pan until they pop

Salt

Tare

In bowl combine chicken with onion and sesame seeds. Form into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Thread 3 or 4 on each wooden skewer. Season to taste with salt.

Grill until cooked through. When chicken is done, brush carefully with Tare, or place Tare in shallow dish and roll skewers in dish. Makes 10 to 12 skewers.

Each of 10 skewers, with Tare, contains about:

63 calories; 861 mg sodium; 24 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 9 grams protein; 0.06 gram fiber.

Tare

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup mirin

1/4 cup dashi

Sugar, optional

Combine soy sauce, mirin and dashi in saucepan. Boil until reduced to 2/3 cup. Taste and add more sugar, if desired. Amount of sugar will depend on sweetness of mirin. Makes 2/3 cup.

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Kenji Salz, executive chef of the Four Seasons Resort in Bali, came to Los Angeles in September to cook at Spago and Chinois. During his stay, Salz demonstrated Bali’s distinctive sate lilit, molding meat paste around flat wooden sate sticks that he had brought from Bali. For shrimp sate, he used lemon grass stalks.

Salz seasons the meat with a spice paste traditionally used for betutu, which is Balinese roast duck. His sate may seem complicated to prepare, but the results are worth it.

Leftover betutu spice paste can be used with baked chicken and is excellent with the duck legs available in Asian markets. Bake the duck legs at 325 degrees 45 minutes to melt the fat. Place the well-drained legs on a large sheet of foil. Spread some of spice paste on each side and season to taste with salt. Wrap with foil, place in a baking pan and bake at 325 degrees 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 minutes longer, or until browned.

KENJI SALZ’S SATE LILIT

2 tablespoons sliced shallot

2 tablespoons sliced garlic

1 tablespoon oil

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinned chicken leg meat

2 tablespoons Basic Betutu Spices

2 tablespoons finely chopped lemon grass

1/2 kaffir lime leaf, shredded

Salt, pepper

Sweet Sambal

Peanut Sauce

In skillet fry shallot and garlic in oil until tender.

Grind chicken in food processor almost to paste. Place chicken in bowl. Mix in shallot-garlic mixture, betutu spices, lemon grass, lime leaf and salt and pepper to taste. Mold mixture onto satay sticks or pieces of lemon grass stalk.

Grill until cooked through. Serve hot, with bowls of Sweet Sambal and Peanut Sauce on side. Makes about 2 dozen skewers.

Each skewer, without sauces, contains about:

34 calories; 31 mg sodium; 17 mg cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.05 gram fiber.

Basic Betutu Spices

6 to 7 red jalapeno chiles, seeded (if desired)

2 stalks lemon grass, bottom firm portion only, sliced

1 (2x1/2-inch) piece ginger root, sliced

5 shallots, sliced

8 to 9 cloves garlic

1 (1x1/2-inch) piece fresh or frozen galangal, sliced

2 kaffir lime leaves, torn into pieces

3 tablespoons ground dried kencur

1 tablespoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 candlenut

1 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed

1 to 2 tablespoons oil

Combine chiles, lemon grass, ginger root, shallots, garlic, galangal, lime leaves, kencur, turmeric, coriander, candlenut and peppercorns in food processor. Grind to paste.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet. Add ground mixture and saute over medium heat until aromatic and cooked, about 8 minutes. Add more oil if too dry. Makes 1 1/4 cups.

Note : Look for kencur, a cousin of ginger and galangal, in Asian markets that carry a wide selection of Indonesian products.

Sweet Sambal

1 tablespoon oil

6 red jalapeno chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped

3 shallots, coarsely chopped

4 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1 candlenut, chopped

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Indonesian sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons ketchup

3/4 teaspoon salt

Heat oil in skillet. Add chiles, shallots, garlic and candlenut. Saute until aromatic. Cool to room temperature. Turn into food processor and grind until smooth.

Return to pan, adding more oil if needed, and saute until cooked but not browned. Stir in soy sauce, sugar, ketchup and salt and cook until blended. Makes 1/2 cup.

Each 1-tablespoon serving contains about:

57 calories; 867 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.72 grams fiber.

Balinese Peanut Sauce

1 1/3 cups shelled raw peanuts

1/3 cup oil

1 shallot, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 red jalapeno chiles, seeded and chopped

3 Kaffir lime leaves, shredded

1 tablespoon palm sugar or light-brown sugar

1 tablespoon tamarind pulp

1 teaspoon shrimp paste

1 teaspoon ground dried kencur

2 cups water

2 tablespoons Indonesian sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)

1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

In skillet stir peanuts in oil until golden. Drain and cool, reserving oil. Grind in food processor until finely chopped. Reheat 2 tablespoons oil in skillet. Add shallot, garlic, chiles, lime leaves, palm sugar, tamarind, shrimp paste and kencur and saute until aromatic. Add to peanuts in food processor and process until finely ground, adding water as needed to facilitate grinding.

Return to skillet. Add soy sauce, granulated sugar and salt. Simmer until blended, gradually adding remaining water. Stir constantly to prevent sticking. If sauce becomes too thick, add more water. Serve warm. Makes 2 cups.

Each 1-tablespoon serving contains about:

59 calories; 109 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 5 grams fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.37 grams fiber.

* Cover design by Tracy Crowe.

* Food styling by Donna Deane and Mayi Brady.

* Related stories: More Grilling on the Rim, H9,16.