“One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble. Not much between despair and ecstasy”
Theme song by Murray Head “One Night In Bangkok” from Chess
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With music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (you know, the ABBA guys) and lyrics by Tim Rice (you know, the Andrew Lloyd Weber lyric guy), I’m sure there was every expectation Chess would be a Broadway hit. I mean – just look at the elevator pitch for the story:
“The story involves a politically driven, Cold War-era chess tournament between two grandmasters from America and the USSR and their fight over a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other. ”
Sounds like a swell evening at the theatre to me. While it had some success in Britain, it only lasted two months on Broadway. It also resulted in a glorious mess of a concept album with Murray Head’s one and only chart-topping claim to fame: the absurd earwig that is “One Night In Bangkok”.
Over the years, I have created a variety of Thai inspired sandwiches named Thai Your Mother Down. It started in my BBQ days with a pulled pork, collard greens kimchi (yes – I know kimchi is Korean), and a Thai peanut sauce sandwich. I then swapped out the kimchi for Thai chili relish and quick-pickled cucumbers and applied it to a burger. When I started Music & Food, I resurrected the name for a roasted cauliflower sandwich with pickled vegetables and Thai peanut sauce.
So when it came time to write a Thai inspired hot dog recipe for the Music & Food project, I decided to find new musical inspiration. That came in the form of a One Hit Wonders playlist and Mr. Head’s claim to fame.
I prefer a grilled hot dog, especially a charcoal-grilled dog. Nothing beats the added smoky flavor and grilled char. Unfortunately, I often want hot dogs but not the steps required to set up the grill and start charcoal. That’s where a cast-iron skillet and a split dog come to the rescue. This is the method I most often use to cook dogs. Heat the cast iron over high heat – cut the hot dog lengthwise leaving a hinge – spread the dog out cut side down in pan – cook – flip – cook – working each side for optimal char. It’s really the only way to cook a hot dog indoors.
Any leftover chili relish and peanut sauce can be combined with some pasta for a quick spicy sesame noodle. The lime slaw works great on pretty much any sandwich but I found it really pairs nicely with a simple tuna salad.
A word of caution, this recipe can be spicy AF. I definitely went WAY too hard on the relish. Use sparingly to start. If you can handle the heat, crank it up. The sambal mayo only adds to the overall heat. You could swap out just Kewpie mayo to help cut the heat, but honestly, the fire does die away fairly quickly.
ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK
All beef hot dog, lime slaw, Thai chile relish, peanut sauce, and sambal mayo
Makes 2 dogs
2 all-beef hot dogs
2 hot dog buns
Thai Chile Relish (see recipe below)
Peanut Sauce (see recipe below)
Lime Slaw (see recipe below)
Sambal Mayo (see recipe below)
Toast the buns and set aside. Heat a cast-iron skillet (or heavy skillet if you don’t have cast iron) over high heat. Carefully split the hot dogs lengthwise, gently spread open, and place cut side down in the hot skillet. If you have a grill weight, use it to press the dog into the pan. Otherwise, use a spatula to flatten the dog. Cook for a minute or so until it gets crispy and slightly charred. Flip dogs and cook for another minute until lightly charred.
Place dogs in toasted buns. Drizzle on a teaspoon of Peanut sauce. Add Lime Slaw and a spoonful of Thai Chile Relish. Finish with a bit more Peanut Sauce and a spoonful of Sambal Mayo.
Thai Chile Relish
4 ounces of Thai chilies (or a mix of Thai, Anaheim, and long red), fine chop
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 bunch scallions, fine dice
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
Place all ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir to thoroughly combine. Let rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Peanut Sauce
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled
1 small garlic clove
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 -1/2 teaspoons Aleppo pepper
Place ginger and garlic into a blender and blend until finely chopped. Add peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, Aleppo pepper, and 1/3 cup water and blend, adding more water by tablespoonfuls if needed to thin, until smooth. Transfer to a small container, cover, and chill. Bring to room temperature before using it.
Lime Slaw
1 cup green cabbage, shredded
1 cup purple cabbage, shredded
1 medium carrot, grated
2 limes, juiced
1 teaspoon of rice wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and toss to combine. Let rest at least one-half hour before using.
Sambal Mayo
3 tablespoons mayo
2 tablespoons sambal olek
1 teaspoon of rice wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl. Thin with water if needed.