Heat Wave Entertaining
Every great event begins with an appropriate selection of beverages! On a hot night you want COLD beverages with refreshing flavors and effervescent is recommended.
Cold Melon Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette, Pok Pok Hens, Cole Slaw
August nights are perfect for having company in Seattle. The chances of rain are slim and no matter how toasty it may have been during the day it cools off in the evening. To celebrate a house guest I invite a small group to pig out on one of my favorite entertaining recipes, Pok Pok Hens (or chickens). There once was a restaurant in Portland, OR called Pok Pok. It was wildly popular for authentic Thai food brought to America by Andy Ricker who had spent years learning the cuisine by traveling around Thailand. Although not known for standing in line for much of any thing, I have patiently waited in the rain for my turn at the table which you can read about here. Lowland Thailand is a hot place so trust them to know what to eat when the temperature and humidity are high. This is not weeknight cooking. Selecting a few easy menu items like corn and melon compensate for the three-step process involved in making Andy Ricker’s revered hens. No cook custard with blueberries on a summer night is a fine dessert and almost tastes fancy.
There really is some method to this madness. Yes, the hens (or chickens) take three days, but they are largely out of sight. Cooking the Crispy Shallots for garnish is optional but requires full attention for about 30 minutes but can be done days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Here is a link to the recipe as posted on Serious Eats. The melon with grape tomato vinaigrette is simple cutting and stirring and can be refrigerated before serving. Corn on the cob is quick, always popular and refreshing alongside the flavors of the hens. Sweet and hot dipping sauces are widely available to purchase to serve on the side but I don’t think they are important. The birds are excellent from the three-day process — and are juicy.
My mortar and pestle were busy making that happy pok pok noise that gave the restaurant its name to prepare the ingredients for the brine. Tons of garlic, lemon grass, scallions and ginger are required.
The brine for the hens works in a few hours or days. I prefer to brine for two days and dry on a rack for one day to get the crispiest skin.
The Party Prep: Early in the day I made melon salad, cole slaw and husked the corn (not pictured here). Although the recipe link above gives instructions for cooking the hens in the oven and on the grill, my preference is always the rotisserie which takes a little less than an hour. Whole chickens may take up to 1-1/2 hours. After cutting up the hens and arranging pieces on a platter, I put the corn in a pot of cold water, bring it to a boil and serve it.
The dessert is a Melissa Clark recipe from the New York Times called No Bake Custard. It is super easy and flexible with any topping you have on hand.
Stories were told about the glory days of the Pok Pok Empire that expanded out of Portland, Oregon into New York and Nevada and then dissipated. Was it a victim of the pandemic? I don’t really know the details but we miss Andy Ricker, his pal Ike and Ike’s Fish Sauce Wings, and will continue to make his famous hens every summer for our best friends. The cookbook will provide fun forever.