Project Food Blog Challenge 5: Lao Pork Belly-Ginger "Pizzettas" with Smoky Tomato Jaew

 Many, many finger snaps and thanks to all of you who've supported me thus far in Project Food Blog. Alright, so the halfway mark is here and I'm calling on you to take me to the next challenge. I'll post a sneak peek very soon of what I've been up to.  To vote, follow this link and click on the little heart that says "Vote for This Entry" or simply click on my Project Food Blog widget on the right column of this screen. Voting begins now, October 18 until October 21, 2010 at 6pm (PST).  Thank you ever so much! 

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A light early morning drizzle taps ever so lightly on my window panes and as I poke my head outside, I can almost taste the nippy air of early autumn.  It's mornings like this that bring back childhood memories of mom cooking a steaming basket of sticky rice and my little head peeking over the counter, with hands gripped tightly, waiting for a fistful of the tasty morsels, sprinkled with just a pinch of salt to give it that extra kick. Heaven in a handful is what I like to call it.

Through the years, these simple memories still adorn my world and make me smile. As I sat contemplating my entry for Challenge 5, which was to re-invent the pizza (loosely interpreted as having a base, sauce and at least one topping), I realized that I would use this opportunity to share with you my all-time favorite Lao breakfast: Grilled ginger-marinated pork belly atop a bed of Lao tomato jaew (pronounced "jay-ow," or otherwise known as my Motherland's version of a spicy roasted tomato sambal sauce) and warm sticky rice "pizzetas."  The dish is simple, but painfully nostalgic and brutally hearty with every bite.

Lao-style Pork Belly-Ginger "Pizzetas" with Smoky Tomato Jaew
Makes at least 10 pizzetas

STEP 1:  Sticky Rice (aka Sweet or Glutinous Rice)
Soak 2 cups of sticky rice for 2 hours. Drain rice and put in a steamer basket lined with cheesecloth. Steam rice, covered with lid, over boiling water until shiny and tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Sticky rice is best served hot or warm.

For a tutorial on steaming sticky rice, please head over to Import Food.  The only difference I noted was that the site tells you to steam the rice for 45 minutes, which in my book, is too long, so go with the 20 minutes that I indicated above.

STEP 2:  Ginger-Marinated Pork Belly
Essentials:

• 1/2 lb pork belly, chopped into 3 inch chunks
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 ginger slices, peeled & minced
• 3" lemongrass stem (discard outer layer), minced

How-To:

• Combine all ingredients and coat the pork belly in the marinade.  Transfer to an air-tight bag or container and let marinade for at least 1 hour.
• Grill or broil pork belly at 475 (degrees fahrenheit) for 30 minutes or until pork skin is crispy and sizzling. 
• Once cooked and slightly cooled, cut pork belly into bite-sized slices

STEP 3:  Smoky Lao Tomato Sauce (Jaew Maak Len)*
Essentials:

• 10 cherry tomatoes or 4 medium heirloom tomatoes, roasted
• 6 Thai chiles; de-stemmed & charred (adjust based on your spice threshold)
• 2 slices ginger, charred
• 10 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt (adjust based on your preference)

Useful Items:

• Aluminum foil
• 1 bamboo skewer, pre-soaked in water for 20 minutes

* Secret Tip:  Charring the vegetables for this sauce is the key to unlocking its smoky flavor

How-To:

• Heat broiler to 450 (degrees fahrenheit) ; place a rack towards the top of the oven. (You can also wrap the tomatoes in foil and place it over a grill)
• Places the tomatoes on a foil lined baking sheet and roast for about 20-25 minutes
• Skewer and char the peppers and ginger, turning once, for about 5 minutes. Let cool.
• Transfer peppers & ginger and  to a food processor;  pulse until chopped. Add tomatoes; pulse until chunky. Transfer sauce to a bowl; stir in chopped cilantro, fish sauce and salt.

STEP 4:  Assembling your Lao-style Pizzettas

• Take a fistful of sticky rice, form into a ball and flatten into small round pizzettas
• Spoon a dollop of Lao tomato jaew onto the sticky rice, spreading evenly to coat and form a layer
• Top each pizzetta with 2-3 slices of pork belly and garnish with freshly-sliced scallions

Below, the freshness involved in making the smoky tomato jaew and Sparkling Italian blood orange soda.

And of course, for my foodie fans who are adamant about the traditional Italian-style pizza, I made those as well.  How could I forget about them, right? After slathering on a generous layer of Tuscan tomato-basil sauce, I topped them with yellow & red heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella & basil, and Columbus Italian dry salame all piled on top of a rustic pizza dough. 

And of course, who could possibly forget cute little vintage Coca Cola bottles with our pizza spread of roasted bell peppers and grilled corn?  Apparently, "Not I," says Spicy.