The spicy foods edition 🔥
Welcome back to Five Things I Ate! In honor of Valentine’s Day, this week’s edition is all about 🔥 spicy 🔥 foods. If you’re new, check out past posts here, and tell a friend to subscribe.
Kang ped (stingray curry) at Ugly Baby
407 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
I was trying (and failing) to come up with the perfect words to describe what Ugly Baby, a small but extremely popular Thai restaurant in Carroll Gardens, means to me. So instead, I’ll pull up a diary entry from December 21, the first time I ate there. “I entered Ugly Baby in an ugly mood — head throbbing from congestion and PMS, grumpy about the 40 minute wait time. I left Ugly Baby with sinuses cleared, feeling warm head to toe and like I’d made new friends.” Now, I’m not promising you’ll make new friends and cure PMS if you eat at Ugly Baby, but what I can promise is that the food is spicy in a truly transformative, life-affirming, blood-renewing, magical way. All the dishes (except for one, see below) are fiery, but the kang ped, stingray in a creamy coconut curry, is especially so. In fact, the waitress seemed impressed that I’d ordered it, which is the validation I didn’t know I needed. Stingray, contrary to its prickly appearance, is extremely tender and sweet-fleshed, and it’s the perfect foil to the gingery, chile-packed sauce, filled with floating branches of whole peppercorns. You’ll definitely want a beer to wash this one down.
Tue Ka Ko (fried little coconut cakes) at Ugly Baby
407 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Take a breather folks, because this will be the only non-fiery food on this week’s newsletter. In fact, it took the waitress at Ugly Baby a bit of convincing for us to order it, because what’s the point of going to a Thai food restaurant known for its spicy food without trying to burn your taste buds off with every order? Still, I’m very glad we caved, because the these little coconut cakes, studded with black beans and served covered in chopped peanuts and a heap of cilantro, were the perfect compliment to the spicy curries and stir fries. They’re sweet and muffiny, and at first bite seemed unexciting, but have a mysterious addictive quality that just gets better with each bite.
Costillas con mole at Fonda
434 7th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215
When I walked into Fonda, a cozy and warm Mexican restaurant I’d passed by many times before, my mole craving was at an all-time high, but so was my skepticism. How good could a Mexican restaurant in Park Slope be? Would it be worth the prices, with entree prices averaging in the mid-twenties? The waiter assured us that “everything” on the menu was good. But could we trust him? It turns out that he was right: Everything on the menu was good, or at least the two entrees we ordered. The pescado tikin xic (achiote marinated cod fish) was done well, but the costillas con mole was heavenly. The short ribs, which were served without bones in a puddle of mole sauce, were so tender and buttery that they seemed to melt upon contact. The mole was so good that we ended up pouring the leftover sauce on the other dish, too.
Spicy and smoky turkey chili at my place
My apartment — but why not yours, too?
Inspired by the above mole, I decided to spice up my Sunday meal prep of turkey chili, adding cocoa powder and smoked paprika, which transformed an otherwise good meal into a great one. Here’s how I made it: In a large pot, drizzle some olive oil, and set the flame to medium. When the oil is sizzling hot, add one large sweet onion, diced, one large sweet red pepper, diced, a few cloves of smashed garlic, and salt and pepper. When the vegetables are nice and wilted, stir in a pound of ground turkey, two large spoonfuls of chipotle chili powder, two teaspoons of cumin, and a teaspoon of celery salt. Stir until the turkey is browned and no longer pink. Then add a can of red kidney beans (drained and rinsed), one can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (I like Muir Glen brand), one can of water (measure with the beans can), and one large sweet potato, peeled and cubed. Stir in the magic ingredients: a spoonful of cocoa powder and smoked paprika, and simmer, covered on low heat, for 30-40 minutes, or until the chili is nice and thick.
Veggie wontons with spicy sauce at Vanessa’s Dumpling House
118 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002
Vanessa’s dumplings does not, in any way, make the best dumplings (in) NYC, as they claim. But the Eldridge street location is a New York institution, one where you can stumble in after impromptu Monday drinks with a coworker, and know that you’ll walk out warm and satisfied in under 10 dollars. Skip the classic pork-and-chive dumplings; they’re way too doughy and greasy if you’re sober, and go for the wontons in spicy sauce, an underrated gem on the menu. When I went, I got the veggie version, recommended by my vegetarian friend Hannah. Filled with ample amounts of spinach and mushroom, the wontons were coated in plenty of chili oil and heavy on the garlic: A cravings-worthy combo of strong flavors. Add a sesame pancake, stuffed with shards of cucumber and smeared with hoisin sauce, and it’s the perfect carby meal after a night out, if you should find yourself in that neighborhood this long weekend.
See you next week!
Soph