India Menu - Dys 12 + 13

Sous Chefs-

Pay attention - Indian people, traditionally, do not eat with western utensils OR with chop sticks - they eat with their right hand, scooping food up with the first three fingers and pushing it into their mouths with the thumb. DO NOT place chopsticks on the demo table for service. 

We make our own yogurt on Day 11 to use on Days 12 + 13 + 14.  On Day 12,  Recipes calling for "drained yogurt" should start to drain 3 containers in a china cap lined with cheese cloth, start this right away so that it has plenty of time to drain - don't squeeze it, let gravity do all of the work.

All entrees will be served on a 12" round plate LINED WITH A BANANA LEAF CIRCLE Traditionally, Indian diners will not eat from plates, they use banana leaves to hold the food, these circles will fit into the 12" plates as liners. Ask me early and I'll show you how, we'll use a 10" plate as a template to cut circles to fit inside of the 12" plates for service.

Menu is divided into "North" and "South" - everything will be in 1/2 hotel pans on the steam table except for the accompaniments. There won't be enough space on the steam table for the rice - put rice in chaffing dish at end of steam table near plates.

Set up according to this description:

Items representing the North on the left side, will be set in the steam table and plated in this order:

- Paneer Saag
- Dal Tadka
- Tandoori Chicken
- Lamb Khorma
- Samoosas
- Naan

The steam table should look like this:

                                                                North

Rice	Paneer  Saag	Dal Tadka	Tandoori Chicken	Lamb Khorma	Samoosas	Naan	Plate wipes/ garnish
	Mushroom Cauliflower Curry	Dal Sambar	Keralan Fish Curry	Pork Vindaloo	Bondas	Puris

                                                                   South

Items representing the South on the right side, will be set in the steam table and plated in this order:

- Mushroom + Cauliflower Curry
- Dal Sambar
- Fish Curry
- Pork Vindaloo
- Potato Bondas
- Puris Bread



Soup for Days 12+ 13/14- will be Tomato Dal Rassam. Make 1/2 recipe on Day 12 and 1 full recipe on Day 13/14

Salad - 1/2x recipe for Day 12 and a full recipe for Days 13/14. This salad is served with the other accompaniments on a small, round "condiment" plate, you only need about 1/4 cup of salad per plate surrounded by the other condiments - 2 chutney, 2 raitha, 1 pachadi. It will be similar in set-up to the street food plates - on service days, these can all be plated ahead. On  station 5, set up each condiment in a separate, evenly sized container with a small spoon for portioning. Place salad in the center and arrange the chutneys, raithas , and pachadi around.

Rice - Saffron rice Pilaf for Day 12 - make SURE you know everything there is to know about rice Pilaf METHOD -this is where people fall down, I will ask you about it, so be prepared. Use 6 cups raw Basmati rice on Day 12, and use  plain water as the liquid.   On day 13 we will make Lemon-Mint pilaf, speak to chef in advance for recipe and plan to make 10 cups. For Day 14 we can discuss other options in advance. Use Basmati rice and speak with Chef about the amount of seasoning to use.  As stated above, we serve rice from a chaffing dish at the far end of the steam table, near the plates. Please read this! - Basmati rice is very tender. once it's cooked, it must be gently fluffed - not stirred or worked very much. Use chop sticks or a long tined fork - like a roasting fork. If you are rough with it, the cooked rice breaks easily and will fall apart.

Mango lhassi - the yogurt is being made overnight - should be ready in the morning. You will receive frozen Mango Puree from the store room. Don't plan to make mango lhassi both days - look for some other flavors or talk to me. Serve in 10 oz milk glasses - check that the glasses are in the kitchen early, if not - let me know. There are both "Sweet" and "Salted" lhassis, do a bit of research and find alternatives for days 13 + 14

Accompaniments: Sous chefs are responsible for setting up an accompaniment station on Station #5. Kachumber, Mango Chutni, Chili Chutni, Coconut Pachadi, Cucumber Raitha and Pineapples Raitha should be on station in 1/9th or 1/6th pans with small spoons for serving/plating. Sous Chefs will make the kachumber fresh each day; station #6 will produce cucumber raitha, #5 - pineapple raitha, and station 4- the coconut pachadi. The red chili chutni and mango chutni have been made in advance and sous chef's should get those from the cooler and put out an appropriate amount for each day, there should be enough of each made to last until the end of the course - do not discard them without speaking first with the chef.

For Service - include these in your time line as needed, according to the menu for the day: 
- Personnel are assigned positions during service in advance
- Line is set up for service - steam table turned on, chaffing dishes in place if needed 
- Each food item is listed/shown in diagram
- Utensils for serving each food item
- Cups for portioning/serving rice
- Plates/Bowls as needed
- Plate wipes + garnishes
- Laminated menu is posted
- Expediting sheet is on clip board, menu items are listed, expediter understands procedure 
- Demo table is set with table cloth, no chop sticks for  Indian menu. 
- Soup station is set up - tray stand, sheet tray, soup warmer, ladle, hot soup cups, garnish
- Salad station is set up with plates, salad is dressed, gloves or service utensils on hand
- Cafeteria trays are in position
- Pick up station with for street food, small plates - chaffing dish(es), if needed, plates, and utensils are in pace on station 5
- Sous Chef/ expediter  should read entire menu and be familiar with each dish - double check staions ready for service, and be able to explain dishes to customers. 

Station 2:
Lamb Khorma - start early, lamb should be cooking by 8:30, braise in small rondo on top of stove - keep covered, stir often, don't scorch. You will receive 2# lamb cubes for this on Day 12 and 4# for Day 13 /14. Cashew paste is made by soaking cashews in hot water and then pureeing in food processor. Serve from the "North" side of the steam table in 1/2 hotel pan (see details in Sous Chef Section.  Ask Sous Chefs where to put everything on line for service.  DON'T forget the garnishes for this dish - have them in place before service starts.

Dal Tadka : Soak the toor dal the night before, if possible, and start the cooking of the dal (lentils) as early as possible in the morning. These should be lightly thick and creamy - the dal should be falling apart and feel smooth in your mouth. If they become very think before they are cooked through, add more water to thin out and prevent scorching. Make 1 full batch for each day

Samoosas- Make 1x the dough recipe and 1x the filling for Day 12 and 2x dough/ 2x filling for Days 13+14. The Dough needs to be made early on Day 12 and extra can be made to be ahead for Day 13 - remember, this is a PASTRY dough, be careful not to over work the Gluten - be sure to ask chef for advice on making pastry dough. Filling should be prepped, then they need to be assembled and finished. Let me help you toast the spices, they burn easily.Hold formed samoosas on parchment paper - they stick to paper towels! The samoosas should be fried in small batches as needed for service and served from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan on the "North" side.

Station #3:

Fish curry - Talk to Chef about how many portions to make for each day - it depends on the type of fish we receive. ; if we have squid and/or shrimp left from Thai menu, we may add those into fish curry as well - be sure to check coolers and check with chef before beginning. It's important to have a wooden spoon to stir the bottom and edges of the pot while cooking the sauce, and a fish spatula to remove the fish when it's finished cooking.  Read recipe, know all ingredients, watch video and ask chef to help get started, This is an unusual and unique dish and requires the assistance of the chef the first time you make it.. Those who fail to follow this instruction generally have to start the entire dish again. Make sauce ahead, hold hot, poach fish in sauce a few orders at a time, just before serving. Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan. You will receive enough fish on Day 12 for the rest of the block, so ask how much to use for day 12 and ice the rest for the next day. 

Pooris(puris) bread 1x dough for each day- Make dough early - before anything
g else. Check with chef for proper consistency, let it rest, ask chef for advice on rolling and cutting. Watch demo on frying and pre-heat cast iron pans about 20 minutes before you plan to fry. These should be fried before service and held warm on paper towels to absorb extra fat. Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan lined with paper towels, sous chefs will have a diagram telling you where to put them.

Check to see if there is pork already Brined for Day 1 - if not, plan to fabricate and brine pork according to the Cantonese Roasted Pork recipe in the Chinese Section; in any event, once it's brined, you need to put it in the marinade from the same recipe. HINT: When making brine, WEIGH 1/2 of  the water and use this to dissolve salt, sugar, and spices. Weigh the remaining water as ICE. When spices are infused into hot water, add the ice - you will now have the original quantity of water in thr brine, but it will be chilled and ready to use much faster. 

Station #4;
Pork Vindaloo  is already marinating for all days. Use 1/4 of the pork for Day 12 and use the remainder for Day 13/14. You can make it in a wok, but you have to be very careful about heat control and evaporation - keep the flame low and keep the wok covered (use a small wok on day 12 for a small amount, discuss which size wok to use for days 13 + 14 with chef) . Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan - see sous chef's diagram for where to place it.This must be started early and you should ask for Chef's help at the beginning so that it does not scorch.

Dal Sambar - make 1 full recipe for each day, also start very early. Toasting the spices for this can be tricky - ask chef to help you start so you don't burn them. Lentils should cook until mushy. Keep heat low, stir often, keep pot covered. If lentils start to stick, change pots and add a bit more water. Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan according to sous chef's diagram. TIP: Indian cooks soak their lentils in water over night with a small amount of baking soda (about 1 tsp. per kilogram of lentils). This helps soften them and shortens the cooking time

Bondas - 1/2 recipe for Day 12 and 1x recipe for Days 13/14. Filling for this can be made a day ahead - so you may make extra on Day 12 for Day 13. Cook potatoes early, let chef help with spices toasting; combine potatoes and spices and let chef demo how to size and shape. Dip in batter and fry only as needed for service. Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan according to sous chef's diagram.

Pachadi - Make 1/2 recipe for Day 12 and 1 for Days 13/14. Crack open fresh coconut and remove flesh - chef can help. Toast in oven, stir occasionally to keep coconut from scorching. Toasting chick peas is a long process, so start early- they should have been soaked over night in water with a small amount of baking soda - on the day you use them, drain off the soaking water and place in a pot with enough fresh water to cover. Simmer until tender but not falling apart, drain and cool. Then they may be toasted on a sheet tray in a low oven toasted until they are cooked through and crunchy - if they're soft in the center, they're not done. Check with chef for help on this technique, it's very different from western cooking.

Station #5:
On each day - including Day 12 - Make 1 full recipe of dough for naan first thing; it needs to rise, be divided, and rise again. Naan should go into the tandoori oven between 10:15-10:45. Watch the video so that you are familiar with the set up and make sure you know which tools to use - have them on your station for a demo by 10:15.

Tandoori chicken - Make 20 pieces on Day 12 and 40 pieces on Day 13/14. The Chicken should already be marinating on Day 12  but needs to be prepared on Day 12 for 13 and Day 13 for 14. Check with Chef that chicken has been properly cut and marinated before you begin. If fabricating the chicken for the first time for this preparation, ask chef for demo. Remove chicken from marinade and put on skewers early in the day. The meat will cook more easily if it's not cold right out of the cooler. Skewered meat can be held on plastic lined sheet trays at room temp. Be ready to put skewered chicken in oven by 10:00 AM. Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan according to the sous chef's diagram.

Raitha is made with drained yogurt - if the yogurt did not get drained the night before, drain it in a chinoise lined with cheese cloth for a couple of hours before making, put in small container for sous chefs to arrange on the accompaniment table.

Station #6:

Paneer Saag - 1/2 recipe for each day. Make cheese as early as possible, it can be made a day ahead, but if it's not- 7:15 or so on Day 12. Let drain and firm until cool, then cut into small dice. Spinach is braised - meaning a longer, slower, moist heat method. Have all MEP near a wok and be ready to start cooking slowly by 9:45. Let simmer on low heat, covered, until spinach is very soft. Then finish with cheese and yogurt. The paneer saag is a braised veg dish, it needs to be started in a large wok no later than 9:45 in order to cook slowly and gently and should be finished no later than 10:45

Vegetable Curry - Also a braised veg dish. Long, slow, moist heat, covered. All MEP ready by 9:45, cook slowly until cauliflower is very tender.

Cucumber Raitha - Make 1 cup for each day. On Day 12 you'll need to drain yogurt for Days 13-14 as well. Talk to the chef on how to do this.

Remember that you are responsible for setting up the class tasting for the Indian section. Class tasting will be on DAY 12 Check with Chef early in the day if you have any questions or trouble finding the proper ingredients.

Prep for Day 1 - on the last day of the course - Day 13 or 14 - please rinse, cook, cool, and store 8 cups of long grain white rice for Fried Rice on Day 1. Discuss with chef to be sure you're setting up the incoming team for a smooth day

Thai Menu Days 10 + 11

Know Your Thai Curries

Sous Chefs-

Plating: Street food similar to VN menu, sauce in the center is mentioned below. Scroll back to photo of Vietnamese Street food set up. and adapt to the Thai menu - be sure that we have sterno on hand for the chaffing dishes before we place a supplemental order at 7:30 AM.
You will need:
- 8" round plates
- 1 oz. ramekins of Thai Dipping Sauce
- 1 chaffing dish with 3 x 1/3 pans to hold hot food
- Fish Cakes, held hot
- Beef Satay, held hot
- empty 1/3 pan to hold heat
- Green papaya salad
- Seafood "yam"
- long grained sticky rice
- Cucumber Salad for Satay
- Peanut sauce for Satay



It's also a good idea to look back at the Day 1 Blog post for the basic "Sous Chef Duties for Service", so you know what is expected to be ready at 11:00.

Except for the Chicken Rice, all main items will be served from the Steam Table Line. We are serving Stir Fried Squid, Pad Thai Noodles, and a Sampler of 5 different Thai Curries. Curries are served as a "sampler plate", meaning that a small amount of all 5 curries are served on one plate ( a 12" shallow soup plate). If the steamed Jasmine Rice and Pad Thai  is served from a 1/2 hotel pans, and each curry, the squid, are served from deep 1/3 pans, we will only need to open 1 steam table. See below for how the Chicken Rice station should be set up.

Know your Thai Curries - See poster above - Each curry should come to the service line in a deep 1/3 hotel pan.


 Use a  12" rimmed "soup plate" (the shallow bowls) with Jasmine Rice, with rice in the center.
Pad Thai is stir fried in batches, as needed, and served from the steam table in a deep bowl, garnishes are roasted peanuts and a lime wedge.

Chicken Rice is served from the station producing it. They will have a chaffing dish for their own rice and will plate and pick up without needing assistance from other stations.

Stir Fried Squid will be cooked in small batches, and brought to the line in deep 1/3 pan for Day 11 service and be served from the steam table.

Hot and sour soup for Day 10- watch demo on how to cook shrimp in broth, make soup in a wok, hot hold. Scale to 1 gallon on Day 10

Day 11 is Coconut Chicken soup, make 1 full recipe , just follow the recipe and taste for fish sauce and lime with me when it's done.

Salad - Green papaya, watch demo on papaya fabrication - 1/2 recipe on Day 10 and 1 full recipe on Day 11. To be placed on street food plate.

Jasmine rice - 8 cups Day 10, 14 cups Day 11 - Talk to me about using the Western Steamer or a Rice cooker, or both.

Set up Street food station - similar to Vietnamese set-up, chaffing dish on Station 5 with 1/3 pans for hot food, cool food, salads ( there are two salads on Street Food Plate - cucumber salad and papaya salad) , sweet/spicy chili sauce, etc. should all be set up near the chaffing dish. Draw a complete diagram of how the station will be set up with all components and items labeled in diagram. Talk to me before assembling the dipping sauce so I know you have the proper ingredients, and fill the ramekins only HALF way! Peanut sauce for Satay DOES NOT go in a ramekin - hold it in a small plastic cup on the side and put a dab on top of each satay as it goes out. On Day 10 we only need enough sauce for 15 people. Day 11 - enough to serve about 65.


The Steam table will need to be used to hold the curries, the pad thai, stir fried squid and the jasmine rice. Put each curry in separate, deep 1/3 pans, same with the squid.  Pad Thai should be in a deep 1/2 hotel pan, and the Jasmine rice in a full hotel pan. Draw a diagram of the line set up and make it complete. Plates: Currys in a 12" shallow bowl with Jasmine rice, Pad Thai in a deep noodle bowl with roasted peanuts and a lime wedge on top of each. Stir fried Squid in deep 1/2 pan, the squid itself is served in a round casserole dish sitting on an ovel platter with jasmine rice sitting on the side - similar to presentation of steamed fish from Japanese menu.

Station #2 -  you should be prepared to make 1/2 recipe of Yellow Shrimp Curry on Day 10 and a full recipe on Day 11. The paste has been made, you will make the sauce and  finish the dish in small batches as needed for service. This will be brought to the line with a 1/3 pan.

Chicken Rice - Scale recipe to use 2 whole chickens on Day 10 and 3 whole Chickens on Day 11. This dish is served room temp in summer, or prepared and then reheated in a wok steamer across from Table #2 in the cooler months, most westerners don't "get it" when it's served at room temp, so set up the wok steamer. Entire plate is picked up from your station. You need to make your own rice, make it pilaf style and use rendered duck fat to parch the rice. Be sure to discuss Pilaf Method with Chef before you start, this is a common area for mistakes. Pandan leaf is available from the store room- order it on supplemental if you don't see it on the invoice in the morning. For Service you will need:
- Chaffing dish to hold rice
- Shallow "gratin" dishes to hold chicken and sauce, gratin dish sits on large oval plate with rice and cucumber/tomato/cilantro garnish (this is like and undressed salad tossed together).
- Service utensils to plate. Draw a complete diagram of how the station will be set up with all components and items labeled in diagram.

If you think this is a simple dish, check out this You-Tube Video from Singapore....they take their Chicken Rice REALLY seriously...

Typically, there will be 9 whole chickens delivered on Day 11, NOT ALL OF THESE are for you. Station 5 needs 5 chickens to marinate for Day 12.


Red Chili Chutni - Your responsibility to make this for the Indian Menu. It's used as a condiment, but also as an ingredient by other teams, make sure it gets made early in the day so that it can be available for others to use.



Station 3-
Make sure you find both of the satay grills (We have two) and charcoal before the supplemental goes in. I'll show you how to set it up, but it must be done early, you may need to fire up both grills with charcoal for service on Day 11 and keep feeding the grill with more charcoal as it burns down.

The Beef Satay - 1/2 recipe for Day 10 and 2x recipe for Day 11. Trim off external fat and collagen from Flank steak and let me show you how to cut it for satay. You will trim and cut the meat, then put it on skewers, THEN marinate it. Talk to me or one of the people from Station 5 Day 8+9 about how to set up the Satay grills,the Satay grills need charcoal and it needs to be lit far enough ahead to be hot when needed but not so far ahead that it's run out of heat by the time you're ready to cook. Speak to chef about how to light coals, Be sure to feed fresh coals to the grill as needed, to have sufficient heat for service on  Day 11. Also be sure to check that we have some charcoal when you place your supplemental order in the morning When service is over, place hot charcoal in a hotel pan to cool, then add water before putting in the compost.

Peanut Sauce - Should be made on Day 10 and used for both days. When cooled to use the following day, it needs to be reheated gently, and it may break - it's an emulsion. If it DOES break, fix it the same way you would fix a hollandaise or mayonnaise (and if you think I mean "use an egg", you need to do more research). Peanut sauce should be held at room temp on the street food line and a small dab placed onto each skewer as it's plated.

Stir Fried Squid with Basil - Stir fry with chef. When complete, place in warm 1/3 hotel pan and bring to steam table line.

Yogurt for Indian Menu - and understand recipe from Indian recipe section. The amount may vary depending on the block, but carefully follow this procedure::
 - Heat milk
 - Add dried milk powder to hot milk, stir to dissolve
 - Place NEW 2 qt plastic containers and lids in steamer to sanitize for 2-3 minutes
 - Remove steamed containers from steamer
- Place containers in deep hotel pan
- Fill containers with hot milk
- Place lids on containers to seal
- Add ice to hotel pan to surround sealed containers
- Check temperature of milk occasionally
- When Milk temperature reaches 105F degrees, remove plastic containers from ice
- remove lids from containers
- Add approximately 1 oz. of existing yogurt to each container of warm milk, whisk to combine
- Place lids back onto containers to re-seal
- Place containers in warm place over night - see chef for details of where to store milk, it varies with season and ambient room temperature.




Station #4 -
Scale the meats to make 2# of the Massaman Curry,  Jungle and Green Curry on Day 10, and 3# on Day 11. It's important to start them early, so hustle. Use a small rondo or large sauce pot with a cover - size matters here, too big and you'll burn the curry, too small and it's too crowded - remember to keep covered until the meat is tender to avoid drying out and burning by evaporation. Also remember that you can braise in the oven if the range gets crowded later in the morning, if you don't have room on top of the stove, you can finish in the oven. The braises should go to the steam table in deep 1/3 hotel pans - -covered.


Station #5-

Duck Curry, the duck should have been marinated on Day 9, we'll use 1/4 of the marinated duck on Day 10 and the rest on Day 11 - recipe is pretty self explanatory. Start early, and Pan Roast Duck, while duck is roasting, prepare sauce. When both duck and sauce are finished, hold both separately, at room temperature. Near service, gently heat sauce, add duck and gently heat duck in sauce. Ask for clarification on the blog if you need it. Served from a deep 1/3 hotel pan on the steam table.

Remember - we'd like to render out the duck fat left from butchering the ducks on Day 9


Fish cakes - We need to make 1# of fish on Day 10 (1/2 recipe) and  Double on Day 11 - we can shape and size the cakes to meet the required number of portions for each day. It's important that you have a VERY sharp knife to hand mince the fish. Also very important that the long beans are sliced into PAPER thin rounds, if you slice them thicker, the cakes fall apart. Please ask for a demo on slicing the beans before you start. Cakes should be fired in a 325F fryer in small batches as needed for service and put on the street food station in 1/3 pans. I will show you how to form them. They will be served on the street food plate - talk to the sous chefs ahead of service so they can direct you on where to put them when they are cooked, fry them as close to service as possible.

Day 11 - Prepping Tandoori chicken - the marinade requires red chili chutney. This is made by Station #2 for the class. Be sure to check with them early in the day to discuss when it will be available to you. Also be sure to speak with station #2 and get your chickens for marinating. ASK CHEF FOR DEMO before beginning to fabricate chicken, there is a different technique than you are probably used to.


Station #6
Pad Thai- 1x recipe on Day 10 and 3x recipe on Day 11. This is a  Stir fried dish and will be cooked "ala minute" in batches for Day 11 service, divide MEP into 4 batches, it's ok to combine ingredients for sauce ahead. Make sure to have lime and peanuts for garnish. Served from 1/2 hotel pan in steam table into deep noodle bowls. Be sure NOT TO OVER SOAK THE NOODLES - about 5 minutes in very hot tap water(NOT BOILING WATER). The idea is for them to be pliable, not ready to eat. In the wok you will add more liquid and heat and they will become done at that point. Here's an updated Video of the procedure. Follow this one in class, please

Seafood "yam" is the seafood salad. Make 1x recipe for Day 10 and 1.5x for Day 11. It's easy to make, hold at room temp in a 1/3 or 1/6 pan for use on the street food station.

Prep for days 12-14 - Remember to follow tracking schedule. Make 1x recipe Mango Chutney , check to verify amount with Chef, it varies depending on how many days the block has.

Pork Vindaloo Prep - Check with Chef on how much pork to cut and marinate, the amount will vary from block to block depending on whether we have 13 or 14 days. Be sure you know the difference between the marinade and the vindaloo paste - the marinade is thin and contains only a few ingredients, it is applied to the pork on Day 11. The vindaloo paste has many ingredients and is very think. The paste is to be fried in a pot or a wok at the beginning of the cooking process. DO NOT COMBINE THE THICK PASTE WITH THE RAW PORK.

Vietnamese Menu Days 8 + 9

There are videos on how to handle Herbs, Lemon grass, and Tamarind that you must watch to be prepared for the Vietnamese section of class, please check them out below or in the side bar of the Vietnamese Section of the Website. If you are assigned to prepare pork ribs for Days 8 + 9, review the Pork Rib Fabrication Video from the Pre-Day 1 Must-See videos on the Website, 

Table Salad and handling herbs: 



Working with Lemongrass:

Working with Tamarind paste:

The video on handling herbs and composing Table Salad is in the left side bar on the website. Each Station  is responsible for making and properly holding Table Salads on their station, watch the video in the Vietnamese section on "Handling Herbs". Station 4 will set up the MEP for this, but construction will be done by each station according to their service needs. Table Salads will accompany every entree served, after preparing them, please hold on Blue Plastic trays lined with moist paper towels and keep covered with moist paper towels on top as well. You must watch the video on Handling Fresh Herbs in the Vietnamese section of the Website. PLEASE DO NOT start grabbing herbs for other uses until Station 4 has set up for Table Salad MEP.

Everyone, but especially station 4 should check below in the Station 4 instructions for more detailed information on setting up the herbs.

Working with Galangal - this is a powerfully flavored relative of ginger - it looks similar to ginger, but has a much stronger flavor and tougher consistency. Don't try to peel it with a spoon - you'll break the spoon! Use a paring knife or a strong vegetable peeler. 

EVERYONE! We will not be using the steam table for any items served on this menu.  Since we're not using the steam table, you are required to design your station layout  in  a diagram. This is mandatory for each person - draw up your plan, bring yours - along with your team mate's - for review and present it to the Chef at the beginning of the day for final adjustment. First draft diagram is due for review at the beginning of class on Day 8.

If you're preparing items for the Street food Plate, they must be placed in 1/3 hotel pans for service. 

Sous Chefs:

The good news is you don't have to set up the steam table today, everything comes off of it's own station.

Fisherman's soup - recipe is easy, watch demo of how to cook shrimp in the soup. You can make soup early and hot hold - keep cooked shrimp on the side until service, put them in cups and ladle soup over them. We will make the same soup on both days. Prepare 1 gallon for Day 8 and 2 gallons for Day 9.

Salads - make both each day. 1/3 recipe of each on Day 8 + 1 full recipe on Day 9.
 Green mango salad - mangoes should be green and firm, if not - talk to me. The salads goes on the street food plate, so you don't need a lot per portion - about 1 TBSP.  The Lotus Rootlets come in glass jars, they need to be rinsed and cleaned before cutting, please ask chef for demo on how to remove the fibers in the rootlets before cutting them.

Long Grained Sticky Rice (Sweet Rice) - Should have been soaked on Day 7 for Day 8 and you should soak 4c on day 8 for use on Day 9. We will also use Long Grained Sticky Rice for the Thai menu, so it's your responsibility to soak 4C on Day 9 for use on Day 10.  You need to drain it, put it into a perforated hotel pan lined with moist cheese cloth and steam it for 15 minutes. Do this early, it's usually served at room temperature, so it doesn't matter if it's not hot at service. Keep it for the street food station in a 1/3 hotel pan, covered with a moist towel.

Your primary responsibility besides soup/salad/sticky rice will be to set up the Street Food Station. This should be done on Station 5 using one chaffing dish with three 1/3 hotel pans in it to hold the hot food - like the dim sum set up.

The street food plate will go to every customer with an entree, so we need to be prepared for 50-60 on Day 9. Each small (8") plate will contain a 1oz. ramekin of nuoc cham (made by station 6), a small portion of each salad, about a tablespoon of sticky rice, one rib, one Beef in La-Lot portion, one salad Roll, one shrimp on sugar cane.The plate should look something like one of these, depending whether we have time to make any extra items :


Include a small lump of sticky rice next to the mango salad:



BTW - All of the nouc cham for the class will be made by Station 6 and distributed or portioned as needed. Station 6 should portion 60 small ramekins of the nouc cham for the street food plates on day 9- about 1/2 full each ramekin. The rest will be used by Team 4 to dress their noodles for the fish.

Station 2:
Salad Roll set up is deceptive. It looks and sounds simple, but until you've made a few, it's awkward. For that reason, have all your MEP set up to start rolling by 9:00 AM - we'll get everyone to practice rolling a few, I'll help, and it will be easy. Watch the video - ask me for the towels as soon as we walk in - but DO NOT unfold or moisten them until you have instructions form the chef.  The rolls go on the street food plate. Each person should make two rolls apiece on Day 8 and 4 rolls apiece on Day 9 - that should give us enough for service each day. Bring to Street food Serving Station in deep 1/3 pan with layers of lightly oiled parchment paper between each layer of rolls.

Pho - You will have 2 types of beef to add to this - boiled beef (already done) and thin slices of raw sirloin. On Day 8 plan to go to the meat room for about 30 minutes and slice the semi frozen meat down there at about 7:30, be sure to talk to me before you go. Plan to set up Station 2 table and a tray stand with sheet tray for Pho pick -up during service - you'll only need to do this on Day 8, once sliced we save the bulk of it for service on Day 9.. Enough broth has been made for 2 days, so only heat 1/4 on Day 8 and the rest will be saved for Day 9. Heat it in a stainless pot on the range ,use one of the Station 2 woks, filled with simmering water, as a hot water bath to hold the stainless pot of broth. The wok next to the broth should have simmering water and a china cap - this is to heat and refresh the noodles in.Draw a diagram of how you are going to set everything up. Noodles should be portioned ahead and held in cups - where will they be on the station? The Herbs? The raw beef?Where are your hot bowls for service kept? Under liner plates for Table Salad, Sambal Oleck, and Lime? All of this should be mapped out before you get to class. Check with chef before service if you have any doubts about the efficiency of your plan. You will pick up ala minute from Station 2.

It's a good idea to look ahead to the sous chef's duties for Days 10 + 11 and ask questions before you get there.

Station 3
Shrimp on Sugar cane - the shrimp "mousse" for this should have been made on Day 7 and should be enough for both Day 8 + 9, Talk to the sous chefs about who will do the finishing grill work on these - probably we only have one person to grill both your shrimp and team 5's Beef in La Lot skewers. Watch the video on how to shape and form and also on how to work with sugar cane. Chef can help. You need to fabricate the sugar cane as well, make sure to get chef's assistance with this before you begin.Once the shrimp is shaped onto the sugar cane, it must be steamed until completely cooked, then allowed to cool. It will be reheated and browned for service on the charcoal satay grills. Speak to chef about how to light charcoal and use these grills, the charcoal must be started - ignited - by 9:45 AM . Bring to Street food Serving Station in 1/3 pans.

Fried Fish - catfish fillets should be coming in, cut them into large bite-sized pieces and divide into 5 oz portions- please speak with chef before making the first cuts. You will set up most of your mise en place on your station, the fish portions and seasoned flour mix on a tray stand next to the wok, and one of the large woks directly across from your station will be filled with 6" deep of fry oil and act as your deep fryer; use the wok used earlier by stations 1 + 4 to produce the "Crispy Shallots", the oil will still be hot.  Let chef turn on and adjust the temp on the oil - if you get it wrong, it's a BIG fire - very scary. Draw a diagram of where everything will be and label everything, you can set up a tray stand with fish and flour mix next to the wok and keep your noodles, nouc cham, herbs and table salad on the table behind you - it will make your life soooo much easier. You will be frying ala minute - order-fire-pickup as the orders are called. Served in the wide, shallow bowls with rice noodles and table salad. See recipe for details. According to the tracking schedule, Station 6 is making ALL of the nuoc cham for the class - don't make extra on you own, get it from station 6.
At end of the day, be sure to strain and filter the oil from the wok - save this to use on Day 9.

Station 4- Making the table salad is labor intensive and time consuming, you're setting up a station for each team to construct their own, start early so no one is waiting for you. Watch the video on handling herbs and table salad and then set up a production assembly line so they can be assembled  efficiently. We really only need enough of each ingredient to construct about 15 table salads on Day 8, but on Day 9 we'll need enough to produce 65 - ask chef to be sure of amount to make. Keep completely covered with moist towels at all times so they don't wilt.

Here's what you'll need to set up the station for cleaning herbs and assembling Table Salads:
- Herbs
     Cilantro
     Thai Basil
     Mint
     Rau Ram (if available)
     Saw Leaf Herb (if available)
     Red leaf lettuce
     Cucumbers, sliced lengthwise into thin "ribbons"

- Containers
     3x  2qt. plastic containers for each herb - line each container with a sheet of moist paper towel
     1 plastic container for cleaned red leaf lettuce
     1 container for cucumber "ribbons"

- To Clean
     1 large stainless bowl 2/3 full of cold water

- To hold table salads
     5 blue plastic trays
      1 roll of paper towels
   
   


The Chicken salad is very straight forward - follow the recipe and serve at room temp, be prepared to adjust seasoning with chef as needed. You are responsible for your own Jasmine rice and making enough to share with Station 5. Hold it hot in a chaffing dish on your station. Chicken Salad is served with Jasmine rice and a table salad.Jasmine rice is a long grain rice, prepare as we have been for Chinese Long grained Rice.

Butchering and marinating the duck for Days 10 + 11 must be done on Day 9. Be sure to watch the video on duck fabrication and work with the chef to start the process. Separate the breast from the legs and thighs and Reserve all for use.


Station 5
 Beef in la lot leaves is time consuming, set it up "production style", meaning don't make one at a time, lay out all of the leaves, fill them all , roll, them, then put them on skewers. Remember that the amount of beef prepared is supposed to be enough to last for both days - we will make about 20 individual leaves on Day 8, lining them up 5 pieces for every pair of parallel skewers.  and save the remainder of the filling for Day 9, these will be cooked  on an Asian Satay Grill. Bring Beef rolls and Pork Ribs to Street food Serving Station in deep 1/3 pan.


 The Satay grill needs charcoal and it needs to be lit far enough ahead to be hot when needed but not so far ahead that it's run out of heat by the time you're ready to cook. Under the Gas Grill is a cabinet where you will find cast iron pans. Fill one cast iron pan with charcoal and place it on an open burner, on the stove top. When the charcoal starts to ignite, and produce smoke, transfer it to the Satay Grill. It's best to Speak to chef about how to light coals - most students will not have experience with this. , Also be sure to check that we have some charcoal when you place your supplemental order in the morning. Have a conversation with Station 3 and the Sous Chefs about who will work the grill for both your product and the shrimp on sugar cane during service. They will both be cooked in batches and brought to the street food station in 1/3 hotel pans. On day 9 make sure to add more charcoal to the grill before going to family meal so it's hot when you need to fire orders for service. The charcoal must be started - ignited - by 9:45 AM. Be sure to ask for help from chef if you're unsure about this.


Crepes- On Day 8, make 1/2 times the recipe for the batter and increase to 1 1/2x for Day 9. Be sure to read and understand all of the ingredients in the recipe, mistakes are often made by people who don't do this.  Make batter early and consult chef  when you are straining the batter - this is another common place to make mistakes, so get my input before you do. Make and fill crepes ahead, hold at room temp and reheat in a non stick pan ala minute.Draw a diagram of your service station for the crepes


Station 6 -  Weigh out ingredients for a full recipe of Banh Mi dough on each day and get started on it as soon as you come in, it's more than you'll need for Day 8 but it's difficult to make a smaller batch in the large machine. Plan to have the bread dough completely mixed, off the machine, and in a large bowl rising in a warm place, before 7:30 AM. While dough rises, prep and set out all other sandwich ingredients and make chips.The pickled Daikon and Carrots should be ready for you to "finish" with the vinegar solution.  The pate and roasted pork were made on Day 7, so slice for sandwiches early, we'll have plenty of both,  let's ask the class how many sandwiches we should makes on Day 8 and we will cut 5 or 6 sandwiches into the appropriate number of pieces. For day 9, plan to prep for 20 rolls. The rolls should be ready to bake by 9:30 AM, so that they have time to cool before cutting for service. Chips can be made as far ahead as you want - just not a day before, the recipe for chips can be found in the "Sub Page" section at the bottom of the Vietnamese Menu Page on the website. You are also making all of the nouc cham for the rest of the class, we need about 16 oz on Day 8 and 40 oz. on day 9. Most will go into ramekins for street food - you are responsible for that, and on day 9 we need 2 cups to go to station 3 for their noodles. Remember to look at tracking schedule and prep accordingly

Japanese Menu - Days 6+7

Heads up -Japanese do not generally cook in woks, and the woks we have are used for many other, stronger, flavored dishes. On Days 6+7 we may use woks to steam or boil water, but not to cook in - the flavors come out "muddy".  You may use them to blanch vegetables, bones or noodles, or use the wok steamers; ask me if not certain about when a wok might be appropriate.

In advance of the Vietnamese Menu for Days 8+9 you should watch the videos in the side bar in the Vietnamese section of the website, they are also listed here for your convenience. If you do not, you'll be unprepared for several techniques you'll need to know while prepping ahead.

These are : "Handling Fresh Herbs and Table Salad"

                    " Working with Lemon grass"

                     "Working with Tamarind Paste"

Sous Chefs for Japanese Menu:
The only things coming off of the steam table today will be the steamed long grained white rice and the Braised beef, You only need to use 1 steam table.

Making Sushi Rice is key. Watch the video and be prepared to start the process as soon as you come in at 7:00 am. Unless told otherwise by the Chef, plan to steam sushi rice in the steam cabinet, in a 2" deep full hotel pan. Follow these instructions exactly:
- Before you begin, make sure you have 2 times the amount of filtered water set aside. The water should be filtered through the rice water filter, and you should have enough filtered water to soak the rice, drain the soaking water away, and cover the soaked rice with freshly filtered water (equal in volume to the amount of rice) for cooking.
- Measure rice by volume. Place in deep stainless steel bowl. Separately measure an equal amount of filtered water (use water specially filtered for RICE). Hold measured rice water separate from rice until after rice has been rinsed.
- Rinse and drain rice with cool tap water until water is clear - the more clear the water, the better the rice. Anticipate spending 15 minutes or so washing rice - be sure to handle the rice GENTLY so that it does not crumble as you rinse it.
- Soak rice for 1 hour in fresh, cool filtered water
- Drain and Air Dry rice on lined sheet tray from 30 minutes
- prepare vinegar solution while rice dries.
- Place air-dried rice in 2" hotel pan and add the measured, filtered water to the rice in the pan.
- Steam rice in Steamer cabinet, and cook for 20 minutes exactly. - CHECK WITH CHEF FOR DONENESS OF RICE BEFORE REMOVING FROM STEAMER.While rice is steaming, fill hangiri with cool water, when rice is finished cooking and while it's resting, dump water from hangiri, towel excess water out and then put rested rice into hangiri and add vinegar solution while "cutting" and fanning. Ask Chef for additional demo on this - I want to bring everyone in on it to watch.

- When rice is cool to the point that it's no longer steaming, stop "cutting" and divide rice into 3 1/3 hotel pans - one pan for each type of sushi. Cover rice with damp towels to keep from forming a crust and hold at room temp - don't refrigerate it.

Once the sushi stations are set up, I'll demo each type of sushi to get you started - if you're set up for demos by 10:00 am you can make all of the sushi slightly ahead hold it. It works best to set up all 3 sushi stations on the same table so you can share ingredients. Use station 2 for assembling sushi (all 3 sushi stations set up on station 2), and station 3 will be used for plating sushi - all garnishes, soy sauce ramekins, plates, and salad will be arranged there. . When the sushi is made and the garnishes are all together, you can plate on small plates and hold for service on the shelves under station 5.

Sushi Plate:

Sushi Station Set ups

Maki Station: Chef will demonstrate how to peel and slice avacado, grate fresh wasabi, and cut nori for maki. Do not remove nori from package without speaking with chef. 

From Japanese Plate Presentations

Nigiri Station:
Shrimp must be placed properly on bamboo skewer and poached - in the shell- before peeling and cutting for use in nigiri. Speak with chef before starting this process. 

From Japanese Plate Presentations

Inari Station:
Inari "pouches" come in a small can, packed in sweetened soy sauce. Open can, remove tofu, and gently open each pouch before beginning to form the sushi. 

From Japanese Plate Presentations

Make the Dashi for Miso soup in a stainless steel pot,not a wok, the wok makes it dark and muddy tasting. You should anticipate making about 1 1/2  gallons dashi all together so that other stations can draw from it, the exception will be for Station 6 - they need a Vegan dashi and will make their own. Save the solids when you strain the dashi, they can be used on Day 7 to make a "second dashi", please be very aware of the time and temperature instructions for Dashi - these are important. Also be VERY aware not to rinse or wipe away the white powder which may be on the kombu - this is very flavorful sea minerals. 

Any station making Dashi - regular or vegan - should use the filtered water from the small spigot on the prep sink. These filters were developed in Japan specifically to make dashi - the clarity and flavor of our finished product will be much higher using the filtered water. 

"Sunomono" means "vinegared things" in Japanese. The sunomono salad is supposed to be placed on the sushi sampler plate as a garnish - small pile, about 1 TBSP. per plate. The sunomono can be made early and dressed closer to service, around 10:00-10:15

The steamed long grained white rice should be made in the Rice Cooker, the same way as the rice for the Chinese menu.

Station 2:
The braise is pretty self explanatory, be sure to thinly slice the beef (if you're not sure about this, ask the chef - it must be cut into thing strips) For Day 6 make only 1/2 recipe - for Day 7 make 1 full recipe.  Choose a small rondo - you don't want too much surface area or your braise will burn. When finished, hold it hot in a deep 1/2 hotel pan in the steam table. See photo in recipe for plate presentation with Toasted sesame seeds, long, thin, bias cut scallions and Miso Pickles, set on oval plates with white rice and miso pickles -usually the miso pickles are VERY salty right out of the container, so taste them with the chef and then, if needed,  soak them in cool water for at least 3 hours before service, then drain, this may have been done ahead, but talk to me anyway to be sure before we serve them.. On Day 6 Remember to soak Long Grained Sticky Rice on day 7 for Day 8.

Station 3:
Pork Cutlet is also self explanatory, you will clean a pork loin, trim off all silver-skin and external fat, cut into 1/2" thick slices and then pound into very thin, wide cutlets. The recipe on the website has a photo of how to use a sheet of plastic cut from a heavy plastic trash bag when pounding cutlets with a mallet, talk to the chef about how to set this up if it isn't clear to you.You should anticipate frying each cutlet ala minute and plating directly from the fry station, so draw a detailed diagram of how the station will look, make sure to consider work-flow in your diagram . You can fry in the fryer, turn around to the table behind you and slice the pork, plate it with the salad and a ramekin of sauce and then pass to the steam table for rice. The sauce should be in 1 oz. ramekins, (remember, this sauce is very intense in flavor, do not apply salt or pepper to the cutlets when you bread them), the cabbage salad should be dressed ahead of service, and the cutlets fried to order - if they are pounded thin enough they take less than 1 minute to fry. You'll need a cutting board and knife on your station to slice pork before plating - everything in Japanese service is cut to "bite size" before plating because there are typically no knives at the table.Remember to make the Pho Broth for Days 8+9. It's important to start this very early so it develops good body, so blanch the bones and meat on Day 6 and have them ready to start for broth as soon as you arrive on Day 7.

Be sure to read the instructions for cooking shrimp for Sushi Nigiri. The shrimp must be put onto bamboo skewers before poaching in order to keep them curving when cooking.

Station 4:  The Pork Belly for The Ramen Noodle Recipe should have been left to dry in the cooler on Day 5 for Day 6 by station 3. You should do it on Day 6 for Day 7 It only has to be removed from the package, placed on a rack, and air dried in the cooler over night, but you can't forget!  The rest of the procedure is self explanatory from the recipe (make sure to review embedded PowerPoint on preparing the pork), feel free to ask me any questions on Day 5. For setting up the Noodle station : Set up the station using the 4 burners on the right side of the range. The 2 left burners will be for station 5 to saute their vegetables. Have one large pot of boiling water with noodle baskets or a china cap in it to cook your noodles ala minuten and another to hold your simmering broth. Hold sliced pork belly , warm, above the line in a 1/2 hotel pan, have warm bowls there as well. You're other garnishes should be directly to the right of your station in the SMALLEST containers possible. You must share that space with the Fry Station.
Prep for days 8+9 includes cutting and marinating the pork ribs for the Vietnamese Menu, and making spicy beef filling for Beef in La Lot leaf, this MUST be done- let me know if you need help. It's a good idea to review the pork rib fabrication video at the beginning of the course (Pre-Day 1 Must See Videos). The recipe for the marinade is in the  Vietnamese Recipe section.


Station 5:
Beef Teriyaki - Make sure you watch the demo on cleaning skirt steak., ALL external fat and silver skin must be removed from the main muscle before you portion it. Do Not Portion into individual steaks without having Chef inspect it. Cut and portion into 5 oz. portions. Marinate steaks and prep vegetables. You will cook and plate from your station, so Draw a detailed diagram of how the grill station will be set up - Grill cloth, oil, grill brush, resting pan with rack, cutting board to slice meat, slicing knife, tongs. Also, you will be sauteing the veg (snow peas, bean sprouts, mushrooms) in small batches on the range. Set your station up so that you are "self contained". Grill set up - saute/veg set up- plates on shelf above saute line- cutting board on end of table closest to grill- chaffing dish set up with two 1/2 hotel pans in it , one for rice and one to hold your veg batches as they cook. Again - if you draw a detailed diagram of your entire station and label all of the items you'll need, setting up will be much easier and you'll look like a rock star. Hint - Beef teriyaki is very popular. You're going to get hit hard as soon as the doors open. Have 5 steaks grilled and resting(not cold,just resting) at 11:00 and have 1/3 of your vegetables already sauteed and in the chaffing dish ready to go. As you get an order for one steak, fire another. Skirt steak should be cooked to medium doneness. Medium rare is too chewy. Prep for Days 8+9 includes roasting pork butt and baking pate for Bahn Mi in the Vietnamese menu - this must be done!

Station 6:
Your main dish is a bowl designed so the vegetables can change with the seasons, and served hot in winter and chilled in the summer.

Here's a photo of a summer version. The broth and tofu will remain the same, we will use either sweet potato starch noodles, rice noodles, or mung bean starch noodles, and we'll see what the store has for fresh winter vegetables. It will be served hot this week -  you can use the left corner of the grill to keep the broth in a hot water bath. Think about how the station would look for service and I'll discuss your plan with you to make sure it's the easiest and most ergonomic. Be sure to ask me about the vegetables as soon as you arrive on the morning of Day 6 so you can get started early.



Have all of the mise en place in small, neat, containers and deep noodle bowls on your station next to the steamer. Because the vegetables may change from week to week, I'll be working closely with you to make sure the first one comes out right.

Besides your menu item,  your big job is getting all of the sushi garnishes prepped and collected. Each sushi plate will need, see the photo at the top of this page.
- 1 oz ramekin soy sauce
- 1 shiso leafs in a small container, covered with a moist towel.
- small amount of drained pickled ginger - house made yesterday.
- wasabi for the plate and wasabi for the sushi production - see below
- sunomono salad - get from sous chefs
- blanched soy beans (make sure you get the ones IN the pods - the store room usually messes up the order and sends the ones out of the pods)

Get all of this mise en place together early. The soy sauce in ramekins -enough for the class on Day 6 and  about 45 ramekins on Day 7 for service - and all of the other stuff together on a sheet tray so you can bring it to the sushi production area when they need it (hopefully by 10:00 am). The wasabi paste must be made in two different consistencies. Start by mixing the dry powder with small amounts of water and mix to combine until it has a "clay-like" texture - easy to shape and mold. Remove 1/2 of the wasabi from the bowl for use on the plate. With the remaining wasabi in the bowl, continue to add water and stir until it's thin enough to spread - a "toothpaste" consistency. This will be used on the sushi as it's formed. Communication with the other teams and sous is important. You can see a picture of the finished plate with all of the garnishes in the photo at the top of this post. Prep for days 8 + 9 include making the shrimp force meat for Shrimp on Sugarcane in the Vietnamese Menu, this MUST be done- ask for help peeling shrimp early on Day 7.
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Finally, Station 6 -  remember that you're responsible for organizing/setting up the class tasting on Day 7. Ask me for a copy of the Japanese tasting Sheet on Day 6, and I'll go over it with you in advance.