Panang Gai (Thai Panang Chicken Curry)

INGREDIENTS

2 cups coconut milk
1/4 cup Panang curry paste (available at Indian Foods Company)
1,1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into ??-thick slices
3 tbsp. fish sauce (available at Pacific Rim Gourmet)
2 tbsp. dark-brown sugar
2 cups chicken stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 kaffir lime leaves, sliced thin (available at Grocery Thai)
4 sprigs basil, to garnish
Cooked jasmine rice, to serve


INSTRUCTIONS

Bring coconut milk and curry paste to a steady simmer in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat; cook, stirring, until oil begins to separate, about 12 minutes. Add chicken; cook, stirring, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add stock, fish sauce, and sugar; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper. Ladle chicken and sauce into bowls; garnish with lime leaves and basil, and serve with rice.

Yum Nam Tok (Thai Spicy Beef Salad)

INGREDIENTS

-  200g (7oz) topside beef
-  1/2 Spanish onion, thinly sliced
-  A handful of chopped coriander
-  A handful of chopped shallots
-  1 tbsp lemon juice
-  1/2 tbsp fish sauce
-  1/2 tspn sugar
-  Mint leaves
-  Fresh chilli




METHOD

Grill or barbecue beef to your liking and thinly slice. In a large bowl or pot, combine the cooked topside with the onion, shallots, coriander, lemon juice, fish sauce, sugar and chilli. Toss to mix well. Rip mint leaves, add to the bowl and mix well. Serve at room temperature.

Nam Prik Kapi (Thai Shrimp Paste Chile Sauce)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons shrimp paste
4 cloves garlic
5-6 dried shrimp
5-7 fresh Thai chile peppers
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2-3 tablespoons palm sugar
1 tablespoon tiny Thai eggplant

Method

In a mortar and pestle, pound dried shrimp into a coarse powder, remove from mortar and set aside. Place shrimp paste and garlic in mortar, mash and grind together then add the dried shrimp back into the mortar. Add Thai chile peppers and eggplant (leaving a few eggplant aside for later). Pound the mixture together, adding palm sugar, lime juice and fish sauce to suit your taste. Spoon it into a dish and add a few eggplants for visual appeal, it should look like this.

This can be served in a wide variety of ways. Spoon over fresh steamed jasmine rice, or use as a dipping sauce for fresh or boiled vegetables such as cucumber, string bean, cabbage or bamboo shoot. It's also a wonderful accompaniment to Lao style vegetable curry. In Thailand this is very popular to eat with fried mackerel fish (pla tu).

Nam Prik Ong (Thai Spicy Pork and Tomato Dip with Veggies)

Ingredients

-  450    g ground pork
-  490    g plum tomatoes
-  18    g minced garlic
-  55    g onion
-  1    tbls grapeseed oil
-  3    tbls fish sauce
-  1    tbls of sugar
-  4    tbsp lime juice (1 lime)
-  20    chili peppers (10g, or less if you don't care for mouth fire)
-  118    ml water


Directions

1. Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. When pre heated, toss in your whole tomatoes to dry roast them (No oil is needed) Let cook turning occasionally until cooked through and browned/blackened all over  5 - 10 minutes. Remove and set aside

2.  Repeat the same dry roasting procedure with the shallots, chilis and onions. Again, remove and set aside.

3.  Add the pork to your skillet (if it is too blackened, get a new skillet fired up) and cook through.

4.  In a mortar and pestle, squish squash the chili, shallots and garlic very well (you may use a blender if you don?t have a mortar and pestle here). When well smashed up, add in the tomatoes and squish them up too.

5.  Throw another heavy skillet on the stove top, and heat it up to medium high. When hot, add in the Tbls of oil and the pork, the chili-tomato-garlic-shallot paste, and the remaining ingredients, the water, fish sauce, sugar and lime juice.

6.  Heat it all up to a vigorous boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer until it is well combined and uniform, and has the consistency of a thick Bolognese pasta sauce.

7. Taste for seasoning and serve with fresh cut slices of cucumber and wedges of crisp cabbage , pork rinds are also a traditional accompaniment.

Yam Nua Yang (Spicy Thai Grilled Beef Salad)

Ingredients

For the Beef and Marinade:
-  1 beef flank steak (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds)
-  3 tablespoons soy sauce
-  2 tablespoons asain fish sauce
-  2 tablespoons sugar
-  3 cloves garlic , minced
-  1 tablespoon ginger , minced fresh

For the Dressing:
-  3 cloves garlic
-  1 to 6 Thai, bird, seranno, or japapeno chiles, thinly sliced (for a milder dressing, seed the chiles)
-  1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
-  3 tablespoons asain fish sauce
-  3 tablespoons lemon juice , fresh

To Finish The Salad:
-  1 head lettuce , Boston or Bibb, separated into leaves, rinsed and spun dry
-  1 cucumber , peeled and thinly sliced
-  1 sweet onion , small, such as Maui or Vidalla, very thinly sliced
-  12 cherry tomatoes , cut in half
-  12 mint leaves , fresh
-  1/4 cup cilantro leaves, fresh
-  1/4 cup peanut , dry-roasted, coarsely chopped

Directions:
1. Lightly score the flank steak in a crosshatch pattern, making the cuts 1/4 inch deep. Place the meat in a glass baking dish. Combine the soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, and ginger in a mixing bowl and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Pour this mixture over the steak and let marinate, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or as long as 8, turning several times.

2. Preheat the grill to high.

3. Prepare the dressing. Grind the garlic, chiles, and sugar to a paste in a mortar with a pestle. Work in the fish sauce and lemon juice. Alternatively, the dressing ingredients can be pur้ed in a blender.

4. Prepare the salad. Line a platter with the lettuce leaves and arrange the cucumber slices, onion, cherry tomatoes, and mint leaves (if using) on top.

5. When ready to cook, drain the steak. Oil the grill grate, then place the steak on the hot grate and grill until cooked to taste (4 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare), using tongs to turn. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let cool slightly or completely. The salad can be served warm or at room temperature. Thinly slice the steak across the grain on the diagonal. Spoon the dressing over the salad and arrange the beef slices on top. Sprinkle with the cilantro and roasted peanuts and serve.

Gai Pad Med Mamuang Himmapan (Stir-fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts)

Ingredients
1 cup Chicken
1/3-1/2 cup Cashew nuts
1/2 head of Yellow onion
1 tablespoon Minced garlic
2 stalks Green onion
5 Dried chili
1 tablespoon Potato flour
1 tablespoon Sugar
2 tablespoons Oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Thai light soy sauce
2 cups Vegetable oil

 
Preparation
-  Clean chicken and cut into small bite size pieces.
-  Peel off garlic skin. Clean, pat dry and mince garlic.
-  Peel off onion skin. Clean, pay dry and cut into 1/2" cubes.
-  Clean and cut green onions to 1" in length.
-  Cut dried chili to 1" in length.



 
Directions
-  In a bowl, mix patoto flour with chicken.
-  Heat oil in a small pan, fry dried chili until it turns dark red in color. Remove from oil. Set aside.
-  In the same pan, fry chicken until chicken is cooked. Take care not to burn and overcook. Remove from oil. Set aside.
-  In a small bowl, add sugar, oyster sauce and Thai light soy sauce. Mix well.
-  Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan. On medium-high heat, add minced garlic in the pan. Stir fry until fragrant.
-  Add onion and fried chili. Stir for about 1 minute.
-  Add prepared sauce. Stir well for about 1 minute.
-  Add fried chicken and cashew nuts. Stir until the sauce is almost dried up.
-  Turn off heat. Add green onions. Stir well. Remove from heat.
-  Serve on plate.

Goong Pad Priew Wan (Thai Sweet and Sour Shrimps)

Ingredients :

150         grams                     peeled shrimps
50           grams                     diced cucumbers
30           grams                     tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
40           gram                      pineapple, cut into bite-size pieces
30           grams                     diced onions
10           grams                     spring onions cut into inch-long length
10           grams                     chopped garlic
1/4            cup                         stock
2              tablespoons          vegetable oil for frying
1              tablespoon            fish sauce
1/2            tablespoon            sugar
3              tablespoons          tomato ketchup


Directions :

1. Fry the shrimp quickly and set aside.

2. Fry the pineapple, cucumber, tomato and onion and set aside.

3. Mix the seasoning; tomato ketchup, sugar, fish sauce and stock, well.

4. Heat the oil. Fry the garlic until it becomes aromatic. Add the vegetables, shrimps and half of the spring onions and stir-fry.

5. Serve on a plate. Garnish with the rest of the spring onions.


Tips :
- Stir-fry the vegetables only briefly to maintain their crispiness.

Por Pia Tod (Fried Spring Rolls)

INGREDIENTS

-  wonton pastry, 6-inch diameter 12 sheets
-  finely minced pork 1/4 c.
-  finely minced shrimp 1/4 c.
-  glass noodles, soaked in water and cut into 1-inch pieces 1/4 c.
-  ear mushrooms, finely sliced 1/4 c.
-  coriander root, garlic and pepper 1 tbsn.
-  wheat flour 2 tbsn.
-  water 2 tbsn.
-  cooking oil 1 tbsn.
-  egg 1



Preparation :

1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve wheat flour with water until condensed.

2. In a wok, pour cooking oil over a low heat. Add coriander root, garlic, and pepper. Fry until delicious aroma over a medium heat to low.

3. Add pork and shrimp and continue frying until well mixed and dried. Lift from a wok. Place wonton pastry sheet, put filling in the middle, and roll forward.

4. Wrap both ends and continue rolling. Close both ends with wheat flour. In a wok, pour vegetable oil over a medium heat. When heat, deep-fry spring roll until golden and crispy. Lift     from the wok and let it drain then serve.

Khao Man Gai (Hainanese Chicken Rice)

Chicken And Soup Preparation
* Ceramic Bowl
* Cleaver
* Chopping Board
* Ladle
* Large Saucepan

Thai Ingredients:
* 1 x 1.6 kg fresh whole chicken
* 4 litres water
* 1 large brown onion
* 1 big clove garlic
* 2 small carrots
* 1 small white radish
* 1 tbs sesame oil
* 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
* 1 tsp salt

Flavor & Garnish For The Soup:
* 1 tsp fish sauce
* 1 tsp light soy sauce
* 1/2 tsp ground white pepper

* 3 spring onions (chopped)
* 3 coriander (chopped)
* 2 tbs fried shallots

Other Ingredients:

* 1 tbs sesame oil
* 1-2 cucumber

Method To Prepare The Chicken:

1. Place all ingredients in a large saucepan

2. Add water and boil for 15 minutes before placing chicken with breast side down

3. Reduce heat to simmer and cover

4. After another 15 minutes of simmering, switch off heat leaving chicken in the broth for at least 1.5 hours

5. Carefully lift the chicken into a ceramic bowl and drain off the excess water

6. Then carefully rub the chicken skin with the 1 tbs of sesame oil and leave it to cool in the bowl at room temperature

7. Chop the chicken into pieces and serve with the chicken rice, the sauces, cucumbers and chicken soup

8. Garnish with spring onions, coriander and fried shallots

Tom Kha Gai (Thai Chicken Soup with Coconut Milk)

Ingredients
-  3 cups (24 fluid ounces) sodium-free chicken stock
- 1*1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces across the grain
- 3/4 lb (12 ounces) fresh or canned straw mushrooms (drained)
-  One stalk lemongrass
-  5-6 fresh bird’s eye chilies (more or less depending on your heat preference)
-  2-inch piece of fresh galangal, sliced thinly crosswise
-  4-5 fresh kaffir lime leaves
-  4-5 limes
-  1/4 cup fish sauce (but have more ready)
-  1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
-  1*1/2 cups (12 fluid ounces) full-fat coconut milk

 Instructions
-  First, concentrate the stock. Put the chicken stock in a wide and shallow saucepan (to ensure fast evaporation), bring it to a boil, and reduce it over medium-high heat until the liquid measures half its original volume. [If you have access to very, very good chicken bouillon granules which are not all about salt and very little flavor, by all means, dilute double the amount you normally use in 1*1/2cups of plain water and use that in place of the concentrated chicken stock.]

-  Halve (or quarter) the straw mushrooms into bite-sized pieces; set aside. [You can also use white button, cremini, and oyster mushrooms. Any meaty, mild-flavored mushrooms will do. Portobello mushrooms are fine flavor- and texture-wise, but even with the gills carefully scraped off they still turn the broth into an unappetizing shade of gray. Do not use shiitake; the flavor is way too strong for this. Also, I would never use any kind of dried mushrooms which will change the flavor profile of this dish quite drastically, and not in a good way.]

-  Cut the lemongrass stalk into 1-inch pieces and smash them with the side of a large Chinese cleaver, a pestle, or any heavy object lying around in the house; set aside.

-  Do to the chilies what you just did to the lemongrass; set aside.

-  Remove the stems and the tough veins that run through the middle from the kaffir lime leaves, and tear them up into small pieces. You can also bruise them a little. Set aside.

-  Juice 2 limes; set aside. (You may need more; you may not. It’s better to have more than you need than not enough.)

-  Put the coconut milk into a 4-quart pot, followed by concentrated chicken stock, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass pieces, and galangal slices.

-  Bring the mixture slowly to between 160'F and 180'F (slightly below a simmer), allowing the herbs to infuse the liquid.

-  Keeping the temperature steady, add the mushrooms and the chicken to the liquid; adjust the heat to maintain the temperature. The liquid should never at any point come to a rapid boil. Don’t worry; at 160'-180'F, your chicken will be thoroughly cooked.

-  Stir gently to ensure that the chicken is evenly cooked.

-  Once the chicken is cooked through, throw in the smashed chilies and remove the pot from heat immediately.

-  Add the juice of 2 limes and the fish sauce to the pot, stir, and taste. Add more lime juice and fish sauce, if necessary. The soup should be predominantly sour, followed by salty. The sweetness comes from natural sugar in the coconut milk.

-  Stir in the cilantro leaves and serve your tom kha gai with steamed jasmine rice as an entree.

Pad Kra Pao (Thai Chicken Basil )

Ingredient
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 lb ground chicken
1-2 packages holy basil
4-7 minced Thai chili pepper
2 tablespoons cooking oil

1.  Mince garlic and chili pepper together. Clean and pick holy basil leaves from their stems. It may appear like a lot of leaves, but the leaves will shrink when cooked and this dish's flavor comes from the leaves.

2.  Fry the garlic and chili pepper in oil over high heat. When garlic starts to turn brown, drop the ground chicken in. Stir constantly. The juice will start to come out. Keep stirring until all the juice is gone. It might take a couple of minutes. Add fish sauce. Then add holy basil. Quickly turn it over a few times to mix the leaves with the meat and then remove from the heat and put the gai pad ga pow in the serving plate or dishes.

3. Serve hot with rice.

Tips and Techniques

-  You can substitute ground turkey for ground chicken. Some people like the meat cut up in bite size pieces rather than ground. I find that ground breast meat is dry and not as flavorful as dark meats. Ground pork or ground beef is a good substitute as well.

-  In Thai restaurants in the US, unfortunately, sweet basil or Thai basil is usually used for this dish. It is not quite the same.

-  Many farmers markets now have holy basil.

-  Holy basil doesn’t stay fresh (or green) long in the refrigerator. So use the basil as soon as you can. However, if it starts to get freezer burn, it can still be used.

Gaeng Massaman Gai (Thai Chicken Massaman Curry)

Ingredients
-  2 Chicken Breasts + half a chicken with bone.
-  2 Tins of coconut milk.
-  3 Onions.
-  4 Potatoes.
-  1 - 1.5 Table spoon of sugar.
-  2 - 2.5 Table spoons of fish souce.
-  2 Lime or 1 lemon juice.
-  Just a little of M.S.G. If you don't like or don't have, dont need it.
-  Water same as 1 tin of coconut milk tin.
-  Dried Fried penuts as much as you like.
-  2.5 Table spoons of Massaman Curry Paste.

Methood
1. Chop chicken to peice, cut onion and potato into 4 quater.

2. Dried Fried penuts.

3. Add coconut Milk into the pot(Try to get the thicker) with 2.5 table spoons of curry paste and put onto the cooker keep stiring untill it mixed.

4. Then add the chicken keep stir untill chicken is silk.

5. Then add more coconut milk, keep it for half a tin. pour the water into the emty tin then add to the curry.

6. Add potatoes into the curry put the lid on turn the heat down to medium wait untill is boil.

7. When its boiled add 1 spoon of sugar, 1.5 spoons of fish souce and littil M.S.G. then taste, it have to be sweet more then salty, if you think it not enough taste for you so add a little more sugar and fish souce,

then add onions put the lid on for 3 minutes then add penuts stir and add lime or lemon juice stir,

then add the rest of coconut milk stir, put the lid on and turn of the heat.

Done Ready to serve.

Kang Khiew Wan Gai (Green Chicken Curry)

Ingredients
Vegetable oil     - 2    tbsp.   
Coconut cream    - 1    cup
Green curry paste, (Gaeng Kiew Wan paste)     - 2    tbsp.
Chicken thigh meat, sliced (boneless, skinless) -    600    grams
Coconut Milk     - 4    cups
Kaffir lime leaves     - 4-5    leaves
Palm sugar     - 2    tsp.
Fish sauce     - 2-3    tbsp.
Thai eggplants, quartered     - 5   
Large red Thai chili peppers (prik chee fah), sliced diagonally     - 2   
Sweet basil leaves     - 1/2    cup
(4 servings)



Directions
1. Place a thick-bottomed pot over a medium heat and heat up the oil. Add the green curry paste and fry – the addition of a little bit of coconut cream will ensure it stays smooth and spreadable. Cook over medium-low heat until fragrant and the color turns intensely green (about one minute).

2. Increase the heat and add all the sliced chicken pieces. Stir to cover each piece of the chicken with the curry paste and to seal in the juices. The chicken does not have to be cooked through.

3. Add the rest of the coconut cream and coconut milk. Stir to mix. While waiting for it to come to the boil, tear the kaffir lime leaves over the curry. After it comes to the boil, add the palm sugar. Taste the curry; it should taste slightly sweet, but not overpoweringly so. Balance the flavor with fish sauce and taste again. Now, the curry should taste well-rounded: salty with an underlying sweetness.

4. Add the eggplants and allow to cook for about two minutes. Check the seasoning again before adding the chili peppers. Stir to mix.

5. Before service, turn the boiling curry off and toss in the sweet basil leaves. Stir to infuse the curry with their fragrance. By this time, the flavor profile should be multi-layered: salty, creamy sweet, pungent from the curry paste, and finally a different kind of sweetness from the sweet basil leaves.

6. Spoon into a bowl and serve with steamed rice.

Tips
Green curry paste is available in most Asian grocery stores and comes vacuum packed or in cans. The amount of chili paste used has to be adjusted depending on the saltiness of the particular paste. Consequently all your seasonings have to be adjusted accordingly. Taste your curry before seasoning with fish sauce or sugar.

Pad Thai

Ingredients:
   
- Garlic, minced  : 3 cloves

- Prawns, peeled & cleaned  : 300 grams

- White bean curd, diced   :  200 grams

- Sweet daikon pickle, finely chopped   :  100 grams

- Dry shrimp   : 50 grams

- Thai rice stick noodle Small / Chanburi, soaked and drained   :  600 grams

- Pad Thai sauce   :  500 grams

- Vegetable oil   :  80 grams

- Egg   :  4 each

- Bean sprout, root cut    :  200 grams

- Chives, cut into 3 cm.   :  70 grams

- Unsalted, toasted peanuts, chopped    :  60 grams

- Chili powder   :  as needed

- Lime juice   :  40 grams



Preparation:

1.  In a wok, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add garlic and fry until fragrant, add shrimps, stir fry until pink but not cooked and immediately take out of the wok and reserve.

2.  In the same wok, add white bean curd, sweet daikon pickle and dried shrimp. Stir fry until bean curd browns.

3.  Add the noodle and stir fry to soften the noodles. Add Pad Thai sauce (a little at a time) stir fry to mix quickly. The noodles will soften further and absorb the flavors of the sauce. Taste the noodles to see if it is full of flavor enough before pushing the noodle to one side and add a little oil. Add egg and stir to break up the yolks. Stir fry the noodle and egg together, add bean sprouts and chives, Mix well.

4.  Add the cooked shrimp and stir fry until heated through. Transfer to a serving dish. Top with chopped peanuts. Served with lime wedges, dried ground chili, bean sprouts and chives.


Pad Thai Sauce

Ingredients:

- Pickle garlic   :  300 grams

- Fresh garlic   :  100 grams

- Fresh bird chili peppers    :  170 grams

- Chili sauce    :  3 cups

- Tomato sauce   :  3 cups

- Palm sugar   :  1 kilograms

- Distill vinegar    :  375 ml.

- Tamarind juice    :  3 cups

- Salt    :  3 tablespoons

- Water    :  3 liters


Preparation:

    Place the all ingredients in food processor, blending until smooth. Then transfer the mixture into the saucepan, stir to mix well and bring the mixture to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer in order to allow the sauce to evaporate and thicken. Once the liquid is reduced almost by half. Cool and transfer into a container for use when making pad Thai.