Pizza Today - March 2022 - 61

pineapple and mango. Cilantro, mint and
Thai basil offer a great finishing taste to a
lot of dishes.
* Vietnamese. French influences abound
here like baguettes the Pho and Banh
Mi and even pate are found. Citrusy and
light stir fries and noodle dishes are slow
simmered with lemongrass and star anise
and include a multitude of vegetables and a
lot of pepper. Soy glazed meats and pickled
vegetables with the heat of bird chilies can
take your breath away.
* Malaysian and Indonesian. These
countries exhibit a melting pot of flavors
from India to China and Thailand. Spices
dominate both as rice, noodle and soup
dishes are popular in Indonesia as well as
curried meat, meatballs and spring rolls.
In Malaysia, Arab, Portuguese and Dutch
influences meld with Chinese to produce
dishes line Chicken Rice and Laksa, the
thick rice noodle dish in a spicy broth
flavored with tamarind and coconut.
Southeast Asian flavor profiles
for the Pizzeria
It's easy enough to identify the
ingredients and processes in creating
Southeast Asian cuisine but incorporating
them into your pizzeria or restaurant menu
mix takes thought and preparation. Before
presenting a Southeast Asian Pizza, I always
check to see the most familiar sandwiches
and street food that Americans are familiar
with. It pays to look at your pizza like an
open-faced sandwich and construct it with
items both before and after the oven, (it also
doesn't have to be cheesy.) Here are some
ingredients that pair well with your existing
makeline ingredients.
* Chili Jam, (Nam Prik Pao). This is
one of the most common condiments in
Thailand and consists of dried shrimp,
garlic, shallots, Thai chilies, tamarind paste
and fish sauce. It can easily be added to coat
chicken pieces or with boneless chicken
wings. Great with green peppers, jalapeños,
pineapple, mushroom, aged provolone
or Asiago, anchovies, roasted garlic,
caramelized onion, ham and even pepperoni.
Variations include making chili mayo,
chili béchamel sauce, sweet chili honey,
glazed pineapple and chili salsa with onion,
cilantro and sweet peppers.
* Pickled onion, peppers, bean sprouts
and carrot. The combinations are endless.
Use the chili jam above or with green apples
or Asian pear with vinegar, fennel seeds,
coriander seeds, ginger, salt and sugar. These
will keep for a long time in the refrigerator
and marry well as a finishing item with
fresh cilantro.
* Thai Curried Onions. Probably the
biggest bang for the buck is simply roasting
your makeline onions with Green, Red or
Yellow Thai chili paste, a little oil and water.
The onions transfer the flavor and sweeten
the curry to make either a sauce with a
blender or just on strong cheeses like feta,
provolone and Romano. The surprising
addition of maple-glazed ham or pork is a
real winner.
CAMBODIAN KHMERE
SAUSAGE PIZZA
This sausage pizza is all about preparation.
Once the sausage, mayo and carrots are
prepared, you'll be ready to go. Much of the
lovely part of this pizza is the freshness and
crunch of the after-oven items of what most
Southeast Asian aficionados call the " Holy
Trintiy " of cucumber, cilantro and carrot. You
may make additions to this like peanuts but
may turn off anyone who is allergic to them.
For the pickled carrots:
½ cup sugar
1 ½ cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups raw grated carrots
Put all the ingredients into a glass bowl
and mix. Let sit under refrigeration for
30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as
needed.
For the Khmere Sausage:
1 pound ground pork
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons Panko breadcrumbs
1 ½ tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon dried porcini dust from
spice grinder (optional)
1 tablespoon lemongrass chopped very
fine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh jalapeño (or
½ tablespoon Thai red chili pepper)
1 teaspoon sriracha fermented hot sauce
1 teaspoon lime zest grated fine
½ teaspoon salt
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
Once mixed well take 2 pinches from
either side of the mix and place in a hot
sauté pan to taste. Adjust seasoning as
needed. (Some of these condiments are
saltier than others.)
Place in an airtight plastic bag and let
flavors meld for at least one hour.
For the Cambodian Basil-Chili Mayo:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Sambal Olek chili sauce
1 tablespoon chopped Thai Basil
2 teaspoons chili oil
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
Cover and refrigerate until topping.
For the Cambodian (Khmere) Sausage
Pizza
One, 19-ounce proprietary pizza dough
2 tablespoons wing sauce
6-8 ounces proprietary aged mozzarella
or mozz/prov mix
10 ounces of the Khmere Sausage mix
(recipe above)
4-6 tablespoons chili mayo (recipe above)
1.5 cups whole cilantro
¼ cup cucumber, sliced thin on a
mandolin (yield approx. 25 slices)
¼ cup pickled carrot (recipe above)
Make a 14-inch round pizza dough. Top
with your proprietary hot or mild wing sauce.
Place cheese on pizza followed by
quarter-size pieces of the raw Cambodian
sausage across the pizza making good
coverage. Bake in a 500F degree oven for
12 minutes until the sausage is cooked, the
cheese is melted, and the crust is golden.
When the pizza is out of the oven, you
may either slice the pizza now for better
presentation or slice later. Spread the chili
mayo across the pizza with a spoon or a
squeeze bottle.
Tear the cilantro and place across the
pizza and on top of the chili mayo. Place
the cucumbers across the pizza. Squeeze
the liquid out of the pickled carrots and
spread across the pizza.
Eat. Yum. n
JOHN GUTEKANST owns Avalanche
Pizza in Athens, Ohio.
Pizza Today - March 2022

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