In the Kitchen: Deep into the crave

Newsletter: In the Kitchen: Deep into the crave

Kris Yenbamroong's finished nam khao tod is a perfect summer dish -- crisp, salty and sour.

Sept. 16, 2015 12:05 AM PT

Greetings, fellow do-it-yourselfers,

There are foods we like, and then there are foods we crave. There is a vast gulf between the two. When we like something, we're perfectly happy to eat it when it’s offered. When we crave something, we’ll go to any lengths in order to procure it. Fortunately for us cooks, some of the most craveable foods can be made quite easily at home. Happy is the person who can go out and buy what they want to eat, but happier still are those who can make it for themselves, whenever the mood strikes.

— Russ Parsons

Crispy rice and so much more

On the surface, there’s not a lot to Kris Yenbamroong’s nam khao tod at Night + Market — it’s basically just crispy rice spiked with peanuts, ginger, red onions and Thai sausage. So why does it drive so many diners so crazy? Yenbamroong, pictured, shares the secrets behind his most popular dish, with a handy step-by-step series of photographs to help you through the tricky spots.

The ultimate chocolate cookie

Is there anything more crave-able than chocolate? Maybe a chocolate cookie. You won’t find many chocolate cookies better than the very appropriately named Ooey-Gooey Chocolate Cookie from Milk restaurant. Bittersweet and unsweetened chocolates and cocoa powder are folded into a rich dough, which is then baked just long enough to set crisp on the outside. Oh, baby.

Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times

So cold it’s hot

On the other hand, as scorching hot as the weather has been lately, you might be preferring your desserts frozen. And maybe your cocktails too. Why not combine the two as Test Kitchen Director Noelle Carter suggests and make these (adults-only) boozy popsicle treats? Frozen mojito on a stick?

Cocktail popsicle possibilities include mojito, peach sangria and margarita.

Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

What real cooks crave

If your tastes run more to preparing food than consuming it, you know that there can be no dish that can compare with a well-sharpened knife. S. Irene Virbila took a knife-sharpening class with blade guru Jonathan Broida of Japanese Knife Imports and came back with some really great tips.

Tsukasa chef knife , top, and Gesshin Heiji chef knife are for sale at Japanese Knife Imports in Beverly Hills.

Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

From the food safety front

Last week was full of news on the seemingly ever-evolving topic of food safety. First, there was a serious outbreak of salmonella in one company’s cucumbers that killed at least two people and sickened hundreds more in 30 states. California was one of the states hardest-hit.

Only days later, the federal Food and Drug Administration made the first moves toward a new set of rules that promise to beef up the safety of our nation’s food supply. The new regulations will allow the agency to be more proactive in preventing outbreaks, rather than limiting damage after they’ve occurred.

Di Raimondo's Cheese shop in downtown Paso Robles sells local, imported and domestic cheeses. New FDA rules hold imported food to the same food safety standards as domestically produced food.

Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

What we're reading

At what point does a scientist cross the line when receiving financial support from corporations? It’s more complicated than you might think. The always reliable Nathanael Johnson lays out the arguments in Grist.

Meanwhile, leading GMO researcher Kevin Folta, one of the subjects of a recent exposé, talks back to his critics.

Check out the thousands of recipes on our Recipe Database.