In Which We Go Grocery Store Shopping And I Go Back To Cooking School

Today after stopping by the adoption agency to drop off a letter of acceptance for Ellen's referral (whoo-hoo!) Connor, Jer's brother and I drove up to Uwajimaya, the huge Asian grocery store in Seattle.  There's a closer one in Renton, but we wanted to visit the huge bookstore that's part of Seattle's flagship store. 

I also I wanted to look for the ingredients I need to try and make Ellen's favorite dish, som tam! 

Som tam is a mouth-searing spicy salad that has a main ingredient of green (unripe) papaya and includes a tasty blend of thai chilis, lime juice, palm sugar, garlic, fish sauce, tomatoes, and long green beans.  It's served over sticky rice and usually topped with roasted peanuts or dried shrimp.  I was so excited to everything I needed there-- including the fresh green papaya, which is very difficult to find in the USA.  We're lucky that we live in an area that has such a large Thai population so there is a demand for the ingredients used in Thai food. 

I was also able to find a grater to use for shredding the papaya, which I figure was a good investment since I'll probably be making this dish a lot!  I figure trying to shred it the traditional way is a really good way to chop my hand off, given my general coordination in that department.  I like both my hands attached to the rest of me, so the grater is the way to go. 

I also picked up a few other ingredients that are commonly used in Thai dishes and are difficult to find in our local grocery store: kaffir lime leaves, some lemongrass and a box of coconut cream.  I've got a few other recipes I'd like to try out, and many of them call for one of more of those ingredients.  I think I'm going to have fun playing around in the kitchen in the next few weeks, and hopefully by the time Ellen comes home I'll have a few authentic Thai dishes I can make with confidence.

But of course I need to start with som tam, since it's the one that I know she loves.  Hopefully I can figure it out!

~Jess