Emerald – The color of a country and its cuisine

Satellite images of Thailand are lavishly, extravagantly green. And while there are many aspects to Thai cuisine, the namesake color of Emerald (the restaurant) either predominates or is a running theme throughout most of its dishes.

Emerald has only recently opened in the building formerly occupied by Saigon 1 -indeed, Emerald’s owner has only had the time and opportunity to place a temporary banner to cover the old sign. But the restaurant’s very young age should not put you off from checking it out. There’s a sure hand in the kitchen.

The new owners have touched up the interior somewhat, and the overall impression is soothing. Oriental accents on the walls and cool colors schemes are the reasons. It’s hard to create such an oasis in a strip mall, and Emerald does a creditable job of it.

The menu doesn’t overwhelm with too many choices. In fact, I rather see a limited selection instead of what one sees in some oriental restaurants – a seemingly endless selection of a bewilderingly large number of choices that don’t appear to be all that different (but may be if one had the time and inclination to try them all).

No, give me a menu that keeps it simple and concentrated.

There are eight appetizers, three salads, seven soups, four varieties of curry, 17 entrees, nine noodle and rice dishes, and three desserts.

On our fist trip, we tried the Laab Gai appetizer, which is a unique-looking and tasting dish made with ground chicken cooked with roasted rice and dried galanga powder, chopped scallions, red onions and lime juice. It’s always a thrill to discover a dish that surprises and delights.

The chicken, not so much ground as seemingly shredded, blended perfectly with the rice and other ingredients. And all of the listed ingredients, while moderately cooked, maintained their individual traits. In other words, the Laab Gai was a wonderful blend of ingredients, not an overly-cooked goulash.

I’m guessing it was the “dried galanga powder” that gave the dish such an exotic but a pleasing taste.

We tried the Tom Yum Khong soup, which was a clear broth with shrimp, lemongrass, the aforementioned galanga, chili, lime juice, mushrooms, cilantro, and scallions. I’m not a big fan of most clear oriental soups. They often seem to be dispirited affairs with few solid particles and sometimes fusty odors.

Not this soup – it was brimming with shrimp and the other listed items and had a robust aroma and flavor. Good to the last drop.

Curries are an essential staple of Thai cooking. It’s essentially a gravy with added beef and chilies, coriander, and cumin as the main flavorings. The best of them are not clotted with too much thickening agents.

We tried Emerald’s red curry and found it to be a very respectable example of the species. Other ingredients of this potent sauce include shallots, garlic, lemongrass, bamboo shoots, peas, coconut milk, and basil. Jasmine rice is served on the side and we mixed it with the curry for a textured balance.

We also tried the Shrimp Basil. This comes with a clear stock brimming with its namesake herb. Besides shrimp, the usual vegetable suspects were there -mushrooms, baby corn, bamboo shoots and broccoli. The dish had a sweet side to it, and when combined with its aromatic foundation, made it a winner.

On our next trip we tried the Satay Chicken as an appetizer. These are shish kabobs marinated in coconut milk and various spices then grilled. They came served with a peanut sauce and small cucumber salad.

The meat was fairly generous and perfectly cooked, and the by – now – familiar spices didn’t disappoint. The peanut sauce, however, was the star of the show, as it imparted the right combination of nuttiness, sweetness, and tartness. The cucumber salad was too small but very good. It had a pickled taste, but not overly so.

We ordered the Shrimp Ginger and Pork Pad Thai as entrées. The shrimp dish was a lot like the previous basil version, with ginger (surprise) taking the lead role in flavor enhancing. Again, the flavors blended beautifully together with individual strains still able to be identified.

The Pad Thai was also a hit. It had a serious garlicky cast to it and the peanuts and soy sauces were irresistible together. There could have been a bit more meat, however.

Emerald opened before it got its liquor license (which may have been corrected by now), so we had no choice but to order the Thai Iced Tea, which was advertised as a “secret recipe.” Basically it’s iced tea, very sweet, and laced with a generous dollop of half and half on top. It had a unique flavor which was initially off-putting, but which we gradually warmed to after three or four sips. We recommend you try it to make your own decision.

The wait staff was, as per usual in new restaurants, as green as the restaurant’s name. The lack of deep knowledge about things Thai was more than made up for, however, by enthusiasm and friendliness.

Houma has grown to the size where it can attract and, one hopes, support ethnic restaurants such as Emerald that cater to more exotic tastes. And we Houmans are the richer for it.

[By the way, no, I didn’t lie – last month’s article, was supposed to be my last. Instead, I will be apparently called in from the bullpen from time to time to pitch a couple of innings in relief. I just didn’t think it would be so soon, though.]

Emerald – The color of a country and its cuisine