Specialty Lamb Dishes at Wild Ginger

We're creating three house-made, speciality dishes using whole, organic lamb that is fresh from Shibui Farms in our backyard on Vashon Island. Each succulent lamb dish will integrate the authentic cooking styles, flavors and aromas of Southeast Asia.  

Indonesian Roast Lamb tenderloin marinated in cinnamon, coriander, cumin, garlic, shallots and sweet soy for two days, a lamb tenderloin is then roasted and served with exotic, aromatic rice and Indonesian soy lime dipping sauce. 

Rogan Josh, a Malay curry dish, will include chunks of fresh lamb leg meat marinated in yogurt, red onions, nutmeg, and cardamon before being slow cooked with fresh tomatoes and served with aromatic rice.  

Last but not least, Singapore Lamb Soup will be made from a seasoned stock of lamb bones. This rich and enticing soup features heady lamb mingled with the flavors of curry leaf, clove, cinnamon, and revitalizing ginger in each bite.

These speciality dishes will be available until all three lambs have been gobbled up... We suggest coming in soon!

Chef Jacky on KCTS 9 Cooks!

Executive Chef, Jacky Lo, prepared perennial Wild Ginger favorites, Nam's Lamb Chops and Otak Otak, on KCTS 9 Cooks with Carol Dearth!

Nam's Lamb Chops ~ marinated in cognac and Sichuan peppercorn then grilled and finished with hoisin, fresh toasted coconut and crushed peanuts.

Otak Otak ~ salmon seasoned with chilies, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, turmeric root, coriander, peppercorns, salt and a lime leaf, wrapped and cooked in a banana leaf pouch.

Watch Chef, Jacky Lo, prepare this dish on KCTS 9 Cooks:

Watch Otak Otak on PBS. See more from KCTS 9 COOKS.

Want to win a complimentary order of Otak Otak from Wild Ginger? Watch the Otak Otak segment to find out what Carol Dearth would do for an Otak Otak. To win, give the correct answer to your server at Wild Ginger, in Seattle or at The Bravern, November 5th- 23rd, 2011.

Good luck!

Wild for Curry Powder

Curry powder consists of a balanced blend of spices including: coriander, cumin, anise, ginger, fennel, star anise, cinnamon and turmeric. It's most commonly mixed with cooked vegetables, chicken, beef, lamb, pork or seafood and served with rice.

Why Wild Ginger Curry Powder?

Every curry powder is different. Over the past 20 years, Wild Ginger has designed a custom spice blend that showcases the unique and signature taste of the restaurant. All spices are roasted and ground just prior to packaging for maximum freshness.

How to Use Wild Ginger Curry Powder:

• As a marinade: rub on chicken, beef, lamb, seafood or pork before you roast or pan fry
• In a sauce: add either coconut milk, stock, water or a combination of these to create a versatile sauce
• To spice up just about anything: combine with mayonnaise to create a curry flavored salad dressing, a spread, or tasteful addition to fruit or vegetable salads

Cooking aficionados can purchase Wild Ginger's Curry Powder for $5 at both locations, in Seattle and at The Bravern.

Spicy Sambal

In Asian cuisine, Sambal is added to various dishes to create a spicy pizzazz that instantly enhances the vibrant flavors throughout each bite.

Sambal comes from the Malay word Sambal Oelek, which means "to grind", which is technique used to create this exotic condiment. For our Sambal, we grind together the freshest jalapeno chillies, young ginger, garlic, lime, salt and vinegar.

How to use Sambal:

This versatile sauce can be used in numerous culinary applications:

• As a dip: add a desired amount to enhance the flavor of fried foods, rice, or noodles
• On eggs: dollop your morning eggs with an extra element of taste
• In soups: add a teaspoon to any soup to vitalize the broth
• With stir-fries: include in your favorite seafood, chicken, beef, lamb, pork, or vegetable stir-fry to create ideal spiciness
• Mayonnaise: mix in a little to your standard mayonnaise to make it more delicious

Spice aficionados can purchase Wild Ginger's Sambal for $5 at both locations, in Seattle and at The Bravern.

Cinnamon

What do carrot cake and apple cider have in common? Besides being signature fall favorites, they both wouldn't be craved without the help of cinnamon.

Native to Southeast Asia, cinnamon is harvested from the inner and outer bark of small evergreen trees from the genus Cinnamomum. The inner bark naturally curls into quills creating cylinders commonly referred to as cinnamon sticks. In Southeast Asian cooking, a few sticks are added, along with other spices, to hot oil and cooked until fragrant before other ingredients are added. Cinnamon is also used in ground form, which is freshest if made at home using a spice grinder or grater.

Cinnamon is used for it's intoxicatingly sweet woody scent and delicate yet vitalizing taste. Whether it's sprinkled in cake batter or dipped in cider, cinnamon is used throughout the world not only in sweet, but also savory dishes. It's combined with other spices to meats and vegetables as well as curries to maximize the succulent flavor. Wild Ginger adds the iron red spice to various dishes on the menu, including the Monk's Curry, and the seasonally available Sri Lanka Pork.

Clove

Autumn has arrived. While the leaves change from flourishing green to vibrant orange, yellow and vermillion red, people are starting to get ready for the cold of winter by seeping tea and baking treats. One of the most common spices used in these warming autumn favorites is clove. Wild Ginger uses this fragrant spice for it's rich scent and robust taste.

Indigenous to Indonesia, the clove tree is an evergreen that produces clusters of flower buds, which gradually change from a pale white to bright red making them ready for harvesting, once harvested the flower buds are then dried and used in cooking whole or in ground form.

Not a typical everyday spice, clove is sparingly added to a few select sweet and spicy dishes on the Wild Ginger menu, including the Monk's Curry, and the seasonally available Sri Lanka Pork.

Galangal

Wild Ginger uses Galangal for its fiery taste and fibrous texture which adds an extraordinary element to Asian cooking. The clean spiciness works in wonderful harmony with garlic.

Closely related to Ginger, this aromatic tropical rhizome, an underground stem producing edible roots, is also often called wild ginger. Originating in Indonesia, Galangal is used widely in Asian cuisines for its citrusy, bursting flavor and gritty texture similar to ginger, yet galangal roots, have a less peppery heat, are larger and pale yellow with zebra-like markings. It has become an important ingredient in many dishes and it is locally known as laos, leuqkuas, kencur or kah. There are two types of galangal- greater and lesser, both are reddish-brown on the outside with the inside being pale yellow or white.

Greater: (Alpinia Galanga)

The most common form of Galangal used in cooking for it's zest, especially in Indonesian and Thai cuisine, as well as in perfumes for its floral, rose scent.

Lesser: (Alpinia Officinarum)

Native to Southern China, and used there since antiquity, the flavor is mildly spicy and refreshing with less bite than the larger species of galangal. Cultivated in Southeast Asia, the lesser galangal is used in curries and aids in distinguishing the difference between Thai and Indian curries.

When selecting galangal, select the hardest, heaviest, mature rhizomes because they are hotter, and to some extent more flavorful, but be cautious because fibers of an old rhizome may hinder the fine cuts required for most cuisine. Like all exceptional things in life, it's all about timing.