A blog post by Lianne Lessard
As Summer is drawing to a close, my tomato plants have been kicking the bucket. Tomato plants often
produce much later into the season than the end of August, but with 3 flights of stairs to climb down
and then 3 flights to climb up hauling my watering cans my plants started to suffer, I couldn’t find it in
me to water them as much as they needed. I accepted the fate of all of my plants and harvested
everything they had to offer, I picked over 40 jalapeno peppers, maybe 5 red tomatoes and 15-20 green
tomatoes. Over the Summer I brought various items from my garden to a Vietnamese family that runs
the corner store down the street from my house. I brought them fresh garlic stems (from Common
Roots BiHi) and plenty of jalapenos. After the mighty harvest from my backyard fire escape
garden, I went to the corner store and asked Danny what I should do with this surplus of peppers and
green tomatoes! He described to me a salad they make in his culture using fried beans, sliced green
tomato and sliced jalapeno peppers, it sounded amazing. I went home and searched google for a recipe
and made it straight away! It is called ‘chin thi thoke’ or ‘green tomato salad’. I didn’t quite have all of
the ingredients (I used lemon juice instead of lime) but by sifting through the recipes online I can tell
that improvisation is welcome. The tanginess of the citrus juice with the fish sauce is something I never
would have tried before, with the salt and crunch of the peanuts and the warmth of the freshly fried
beans, it is to die for. Chin thi thoke is an amazing, fresh dish to try at this point in the season. With
green tomatoes, fresh beans, a spicy pepper of some kind, an onion and a few sauce ingredients you
could try this recipe at home. It is perfect for the remaining hot days of the Summer.
Here’s the recipe – I hope you love it!
Chin Thi Thoke
- half a pound of green or yellow beans
- 2 jalapeno peppers (seeds removed)
- half of a yellow onion or 2 shallots
- 2 small or 1 large green tomato
- 1/4 cup roasted, salted peanuts (or other nut if you like)
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1.5 tbsp lime (or lemon juice)
- 3 tsp fish sauce
In a medium frying pan, fry your beans on medium heat with oil, keep the beans moving to avoid burning and to get nice, even cooking. After those are done chop your onion or shallots into strips and place in cold water to remove the astringent taste. Slice your green tomatoes and jalapeno peppers into half moons and divide into two bowls. Remove your onions from the water and place in the bowls. Add beans to each bowl then sprinkle your nuts and seeds. Lastly mix the citrus juice and fish sauce in a cup and pour half over each bowl. Toss and serve! Another great addition to this would be fresh cilantro, you can also replace the pepper with a more spicy pepper if desired! Enjoy!
Recent Comments