Phrik Phon Khua Toasted Chile Powder Food

HET PAA NAAM TOK (ISAAN-STYLE FOREST MUSHROOM SALAD)

Steps:

• Prepare a grill, preferably charcoal, to cook with medium heat. Or preheat a grill pan or heavy skillet over medium heat.
• Toss the mushrooms in a bowl along with just enough oil to lightly coat them. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss again. Grill the mushrooms, turning them over occasionally, until they're cooked through and deep golden brown in spots, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of the mushrooms, transferring them as they're cooked to a cutting board. Cut any large mushrooms into bite-size slices, about 1/2 inch thick. Leave any small mushrooms whole. You should have about 1 cup of chopped, cooked mushrooms. Let them cool slightly as you make the dressing.
• Combine the lime juice, soy sauce, mushroom stock, sugar, chile powder, and lemongrass in a wok or medium pan, set it over medium heat, and heat the mixture just until it's warm to the touch, 15 seconds or so. Turn off the heat.
• Add the mushrooms to the pan along with the shallots, mint, cilantro, and rice powder, toss well, and transfer to a plate in a low heap so that most of the herbs end up near the top. Sprinkle on another pinch or two of rice powder, and serve.

PHRIK PHON KHUA (TOASTED-CHILE POWDER)

Steps:

• The goal here is to cook the chiles slowly so they get nice and dark but don't burn. Consider opening a window and turning on your stove's exhaust fan.
• Put the chiles in a wok or pan, turn the heat to high to get the pan hot, then turn the heat down to medium-low to low.
• Stir the chiles almost constantly moving them around the wok and flipping them occasionally to make sure both sides of the chiles make contact with the hot pan. Keep at it until the chiles are very brittle and very dark brown (nearly black) all over, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the chiles from the pan as they're finished. Discard any seeds that escape the chiles, because they'll be burnt and bitter.
• Let the chiles cool. Pound them in a granite mortar to a coarse powder that's only slightly finer than store-bought red pepper flakes, or grind them in a spice grinder (or better yet, pass them twice through a meat grinder, first through a 1/4-inch die and then through an 1/8-inch die). Either way, take care to keep the powder coarse. Immediately put the chile powder in an airtight container or plastic bag.
• The chile powder will keep for up to a few months in a sealed container kept in a cool, dry place (not in the fridge), though the flavor will begin to deteriorate after several weeks.