TenPenh: Recipes

Grilled Thai Beef Salad

Beef
8-10 oz. strip steak, cut to desired portions

Marinate beef in garlic oil, oyster sauce, cilantro, and white pepper - just enough liquid to cover the meat. Grill and julienne meat. Toss with:

Sauce
¼ c. julienned carrots
¼ c. julienned tomatoes
scallions
1 oz. fish sauce
1 oz. lime juice
garlic
chilies
palm sugar
nam prik pao
dried chilies

Greens
1 bunch Asian (or mesclun) greens

Toss greens with nam pla vinegrette (rice wine vinegar, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, palm sugar, and red chilies). Place strips of meat on top of dressed greens.

Red Thai Curry Shrimp
with Golden Pineapple and Steamed Jasmine Rice

Serves 10

Curry Paste:

¾ c. Red Chile [Philip - three/quarters cup]
1 c. Lemon Grass (chopped)
¼ c. Galanga (young ginger) [one/quarter cup]
1½ c. Garlic (chopped) [one and one/half cups]
1½ c. Onion (chopped) [one and one/half cups]
½ T. Shrimp Paste [one half tbs]
½ c. Kaffir Lime Skin [one half cup]
2 c. Olive Oil
¼ T. Toasted Coriander Seeds[one/quarter]

Purée all ingredients. Pour mixture into a large pan and cook it down over a low flame. Let simmer for about 4 hours. Reserve.

Sauce:

2 c. Paste (mixture above)
4 cans Coconut Milk
4 oz. Palm Sugar
¾ c. Fish Sauce [three/quarters]

Blend all ingredients together over low heat in a medium pan. Simmer for 45 minutes. Reserve.

Shrimp:

Average 10 shrimp per person; recommended size is 26-30 shrimp per pound
Fresh Pineapple, about 1 tbs per person

Peel and de-vein shrimp. Chop the pineapple into ½-inch cubes. Heat 1 T. olive oil in a saucepan. Sauté the shrimp over medium heat until they are almost pink. Quickly add the sauce and the pineapple cubes. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Assembly:

Place 4 oz. jasmine rice in the center of the plate. Pour shrimp curry (approx. 10 shrimp per person) on and around rice, garnish with a julienned kaffir lime leaf.

Coconut Roulade with Vanilla Roasted Pineapple and Mint Syrup

Executive Pastry Chef David Guas

Serves 6-8

Sponge Cake
4 egg yolks
1.5 oz. granulated sugar
4 eggs white
1.5 oz. granulated sugar
3 oz. all-purpose flour, sifted

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg yolks and 1.5 oz. sugar on high speed with the balloon whisk attachment for 5 minutes. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine egg whites with 1.5 oz. sugar on high speed with balloon whisk attachment for about 2-3 minutes, until the whites are stiff but not dry. With a rubber spatula, fold stiffened whites into yolk mixture in two steps. Then fold in flour. Spread mixture onto a greased baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 3-5 minutes or until light, golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Coconut Pastry Cream
1¼ c. coconut milk
¼ c. sugar
½ vanilla bean
¼ c. milk
2 T. cornstarch
1 t. butter
5 egg yolks

Combine coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla bean in a small saucepan and warm. Combine milk with cornstarch to make a slurry. Whisk slurry into warm coconut milk and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Temper in egg yolks and return to stove, Whisk over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until starch is cooked out. Pour cream into a food processor and blend on high for about 6-8 minutes. Add butter and blend for another minute. Pur hot cream mixture out into metal pan and press plastic wrap against the cream so a skin does not form. Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.

Coconut Cream Cheese Icing
12 oz. butter, softened
1 lb. powdered sugar, sifted
1 lb. cream cheese, softened
¾ t. coconut extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter and cream cheese and cream together on medium speed with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes. Slowly add powdered sugar and coconut extract and continue to cream mixture for about 5 minutes or until icing is smooth. Reserve icing in an airtight container. Leave at room temperature for decorating cake.

Vanilla Roasted Pineapple
2 whole pineapples, trimmed and diced
½ vanilla bean
1 cinnamon stick
½ c. granulated sugar

Combine sugar, vanilla bean, and cinnamon stick in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook over high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the sugar begins to liquefy and caramelize. Once sugar has achieved a nice, dark amber color, add diced fresh pineapple and stir. Continue to cook on low to medium heat for about 20 minutes. Reserve warm.

Mint Syrup
½ c. mint leaves
2/3 c. light corn syrup
¼ t. peppermint extract

Bring 1 quart of water to a boil. Fill another bowl with ice water. Blanch mint leaves in boiling water for 15 seconds. Drain and shock in ice water. Remove mint from water and pat dry. Combine corn syrup and mint and puree in a blender. Let syrup sit for 20-30 minutes. Strain syrup and add extract.

Assembly
Spread chilled pastry cream evenly over the sponge cake and begin rolling from the wider side. Roll as tightly as possible. With an offset spatula, spread room temp icing evenly over the roll. Garnish top of roulade with toasted coconut. Slice the roll into about 6 or 8 slices. Place slice in the middle of a plate and garnish with the warm pineapple and the mint syrup.

TenPenh's Little TeaPot

For centuries (if not millennia), tea has been an important part of everyday life and special occasions throughout Asia. There are elaborate rituals, customs, and ceremonies for serving and drinking tea, including those in China, Japan, Taiwan, and Myanmar. At Washington's acclaimed TenPenh restaurant, you can choose from nine teas to accompany or end your meal.

TenPenh offers a taste of Southeast Asia in DC's power corridor. The diverse menu of contemporary Asian-Pacific cuisine draws inspiration from the cuisines of Vietnam, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, and the Philippines. The tea menu is also diverse, featuring loose leaf teas, tisanes (or herbal teas), and blooming teas. All orders are freshly brewed. Loose leaf teas and tisanes are served in metal tea pots.

The loose leaf tea offerings include: Guranse, an organic black tea from Nepal with an exquisite aroma and flavor; Earl Grey, an organic Chinese black tea with oil of bergamot; and Dragon Well, a celebrated Chinese green tea with a jade color and grassy flavor. Many health benefits have been attributed to drinking tea, especially green and white teas, usually in relation to their antioxidants. While that may require further research, lingering over a pot of one of these at TenPenh is a sure cure for beverage boredom.

Tisanes are made by infusing water with herbs, flowers, fruits, and/or spices, and are often referred to as "herbal teas." At TenPenh, you can try the French Verveine, an infusion of the herb lemon verbena. The Mind and Body is brewed with lemongrass, apple, ginger, ginseng, and cinnamon, and the Tropical pot is an herbal infusion with mango, banana, and pineapple.

Perhaps most popular on the menu, are the blooming teas. White tea - the least processed tea, usually containing bud and young tea leaves - is hand tied into a bud that blossoms into a flower as it steeps on the table in a clear glass pot. Diners are delighted to watch this drink bloom before their eyes. Choices include: Beauty, a mild white tea with jasmine and lily; Modesty, a medium bodied tea with marigold; and Spirituality, a fuller bodies tea with Indian trumpet flower.

Whatever is the preference – tableside tea blossoms, herbal infusions, or green or black looseleaf teas – tip over the teapot, pour a cup, and indulge in this customary beverage at TenPenh.

TenPenh
1001 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20004
202-393-4500