In a world of docile salads, it is difficult sometimes to imagine greens as decisive, as powerful, as flavors coiled and ready to strike.
Yet one need only travel to Buddha Thai Kitchen in Middletown to learn just how expressive a handful of lettuce and other leaves can be, especially in the right setting.
The restaurant’s spring rolls involve lettuce, mint, cilantro, basil and julienned carrots — all fresh — folded into a sticky, translucent parchment of rice. One can add protein, such as chilled shrimp, but the construction remains unpretentious. Spring rolls are preliminaries to the main bout, on-the-go grabbers … until that first bite forces you to stop.
These are simply beautiful. Each bite conjures cooling menthol, crisp grassy flavors along with hints of tingling pepper, husky herbs, bright citrus and a brooding sensation resembling licorice. The shrimp adds an earthy funk that serves to underscore the rest.
And this is all before you sample the roll with Buddha Thai’s sweet and sour sauce.
“It works really well,” observed Charlie McFarling, who owns the restaurant with his wife (and chef), Ting. “We came up with what we believe is balance.”
They serve larger than normal rolls for a bit more punch, but no single ingredient gets in the way of another, at least for long. The basil complements the mint. The cilantro picks up on the basil’s rougher instincts. Carrots find common ground with the cilantro. And yet it remains a bunch of regular old greens.
While peanut sauce is an option, McFarling and crew prefer their ruddy sweet and sour. The tart edge burrows into the greens, losing force all the while. The sweetness cools the whole even more. Instead of dousing the flavors, the sauce contributes something extra. It even lends a hand to the cilantro, building on its lingering peppery bite.
If there is a key to the dish it must be the mint. The spring rolls are refreshing, cool even to the touch.
It is doubtful spring rolls cause such reverie in Southeast Asia, where they are common fare. Some believe the rolls originated in China — and Thai cuisine includes several imports — and spread. Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, South Korea all favor variations of the dish.
But consider your reaction to a regular old side salad and then take a bite of Buddha Thai’s spring roll. Both are preliminaries and both are prosaic, at least when deconstructed. The difference between the two, however, is simply stunning.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
