Paper Palate

Test Recipe: Quick Khmer Pork with Green Beans from Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid’s Hot Sour Salty Sweets two to four as part of a rice meal.

Ingredients list: 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil or lard; 4 to 6 cloves garlic, smashed and minced; 1/2 pound boneless lean pork, thinly sliced across the grain; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste; 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce, or to taste; 2 cups green beans or yard-long beans cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths; 1/4 cup water; 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (optional).

Directions: “In a large wok or wide heavy pan, heat the oil or lard over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the garlic and cook until golden, about 20 seconds. Add the pork, sugar, and salt, and stir-fry, using your spatula to separate the slices of pork, and expose all the surfaces to the hot wok, until all the meat has changed color. Splash in the fish sauce, add the beans, and cook for 2 minutes, then add the water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 3 more minutes (time will vary depending on the tenderness of the beans); the beans should be cooked but still have some crunch and life and be very green. Taste for seasonings and adjust if necessary. Sprinkle on the coriander leaves, if you wish, and serve on a flat plate or in a shallow bowl.”

This Cambodian recipe went mostly according to plan, though I used pork chunks rather than slices, and splashed in more fish sauce than recommended. The result was a typical Southeast Asian pork and green bean stir-fry with a good garlicky kick. Fish sauce suits pork extremely well, enhancing the flavors and giving the dish a clean taste. The headnote for the recipe includes comments on yard-long beans. They were not quite as plump and juicy as regular green beans would be, but the taste was very similar. The authors recommend this relatively mild dish as a complement for other, hotter dishes in a rice meal.

This recipe cooked up as described. The recipe is written in a clear, accessible, even friendly manner, which sums up the tone of this book. About the only cons I can think of to actually cooking with Hot Sour Salty Sweetom its format as a sumptiously-produced coffee-table book. The beautiful pages make this cook dread the inevitable day when water or sauce lands on the book. It’s a large book, too, especially when open, so someone with a small kitchen may have trouble finding a place to put the book while working through a recipe. Still, the results are worth the effort.

Rating: 8 out of 10.