As a follow up to my posting on Marinades, I thought I would share the below marinade recipe sourced from Bon Appetite.  It uses some rarer ingredients so this may not work for all families.  I also included the “formula to a good marinade” below.

Enjoy!

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Sweet, Salty, and Sour Marinade

Makes about 1 cup, enough to marinate 2 lb. of pork (tenderloin or chops) or fish (oily or white-fleshed; shrimp or scallops)

Ingredients:

• 3 oz. palm sugar, chopped, or 6.5 Tbsp. light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro [I use chopped cilantro cubes in the freezer section at Trader Joes)
• 2 TBsp. chopped peeled fresh ginger [You can use jarred Ginger, or I use ginger powder these days too)
• 4 red Thai chiles or 6 Fresno chiles, thinly sliced
• 3 Tbsp. minced lemongrass (from peeled bottom 4″ of 2 large stalks)

Directions:

• Stir palm sugar and 3 Tbsp. water in a small sauce pan over low heat until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat.
• Combine lime juice, fish sauce, and 3 Tbsp. water in a medium bowl.  Whisk in 1/3 cup palm sugar syrup (reserve remaining syrup for glaze).
• Stir in cilantro, ginger, chiles, and lemongrass.
• Put pork or seafood in a glass, stainless-steel, or ceramic dish.  Toss with marinade.
• Cover and chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.
• Remove pork or seafood from marinade, pat dry, and grill.

source:  Bon Appetite, July 2011

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“Marinade Math”

+ Acid (citrus juice, vinegar, or wine tenderizes and focuses the flavors)

+ Salt (Kosher salt – or soy or fish sauce – allows seasonings to penetrate)

+ Alliums (garlic, shallots, or onions are a must for a muscular marinade)

+ Sugars and & Syrups (Used judiciously, sweetness balances all the flavors)

+ Chiles (where there’s smoke there should be fire)

+ Herbs (fresh, summery herbs – like cilantro, oregano, and basil – work better than dried)

source:  Bon Appetite, July 2011