Octo Vinaigrette (pg. 107)

The condiment for Fried Chicken (pg. 89) and Grilled Octopus Salad (pg. 105), tonights dinner was the former. It’s fairly simple, but a little more time consuming than expected.

This could have been a one photo post, but, I can’t resist.

Mise en place:

Years ago, I was vacationing in Burma. My friend and I were wandering the streets of Mandalay. The city map was, let’s just say, not to scale, we wondered for what seemed like an eternity. After consulting the Lonely Planet guide, we read the side note: if your going to walk around Mandalay, think first, think again, think one more time, and hire a rickshaw. Our mistake could have been avoided had we simply paid attention to the note!

The experience has reinforced the need to pay close attention to notes or call outs. So, first thing for the Octo Vin prep: heed the note. When preparing the garlic and ginger for this recipe, make sure to take your time and work your knife skills. No garlic press, no ginger grater.

Once the garlic and ginger is finely chopped, everything gets measured. Full disclosure: I used jarred pickled chile’s from the Asian Market in Chinatown. I’ll get around to pickling the chile’s when I can find them and have a couple weeks for the process. The reflection of the chile’s is cool.