Thai Food

[Minni]

Hi guys,
I know that the recent popular cuisine had been Thai. Well, I myself frequent many a Thai restaurant in my area.
Thai cuisine is essentially a marriage of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something uniquely Thai. The ideal Thai meal is a harmonious blend of the spicy, the subtle, the sweet and sour, and is meant to be equally satisfying to eye, nose and palate.
Well, I thought starting a new thread, we can all share our favourite recipes of this wonderful cuisine.
Hope to see you all pitch in.

-Minni

[Minni]

Well, I am a Vegetarian and cook only Vegetarain, thus my area of interest had been strictly vegetarain. I'd like to post some of the recipes that I tried and liked. I shall however post the shortcuts to make them as well, when there is a time crunch, you'll still be able to present a delicious meal in no time. I keep experimenting from time to time as I entertain a lot of Thai cuisine fans. There is still a lot that I had not tried yet, so I appreciate any enthusiasts like me, suggest their favourite recipes.

I'd like to mention that the proportions that I suggest are just suggestions and there is no need to stick to them, feel free to vary as per your comfort and palate.

Special Ingredients needed for this cuisine:

1.Galangal(also called Thai ginger):

This root is similar to ginger root, but more delicate in flavor and texture. Preferably fresh , but also available dried in slices or ground. I like fresh, but unfortunately, in United States, getting it fresh is often not so easy. Some fresh market produce retailers stock it, your challenge is to find which one it is. I had very little luck in my area, so I adopted to the following ways.
1. I get it when I visit Atlanta, GA.
2. I persuade my local restaurant to supply me with a small quantity for a little price.
3. I sometimes find it in the frozen section of an Asian grocer- Mostly at chinese.
I freeze the remains.

2. Lemon Grass

Its a very aromatic citrus-flavored tropical grass is a must for homemade Thai curry paste.
Again finding it may be difficult. But I could find it at the local grocer.
The advatage of find it is that, you can survive it a glass or vase of water for as long as want. You need to change the water as often as you would change for any water susrviving plant. It develops roots, so it survives for as long as two years(the longest I could survive it for). I know how to grow it at home. I can post the information if someone's interested in knowing more about it.

3. Kaffir lime leaves

This is distinctly a Thai ingredient and is essential to many dishes.
The leaf is a wonderful aromatic addition to soups like "Tom yum". Also added to stir fry, curry and salads the results are fragrant and exotic.
I find it somewhat similar to the lemon leaves that Andhrites use in sour butter milk(dabbaku majjiga as its called).
I find it in the frozen section of my local chinese grocer. I am not sure whereelse one can find them.

4. Kaffir lime

The juice of kaffir lime enhances the sourness of the dish.
I could not find it as often as I want, so I use Key lime or regular limes.

5. Coconut Milk

The milk is made from fresh coconut by adding just enough water to cover the grated meat, squeezing, and straining. The coconut meat is disgarded after all the juice is extracted.
Well, to admit frankly, I do not follow this elaborate procedure either because I do not keep a fresh coconut handy or because I want to whip up the dish in a jiffy. Instead, I stock on those Coconut Milk cans.

6. Basil

Basil is what we see as tulasi in India, and there are several different varieties of that family. Thai basils are used in traditionally, but I could not get either their seeds or fresh sources to find them, so I mostly rely on the local grocer's variety.
Omitting them in a dish is like ommiting Oregano in Marinara sauce.

7. Corainder/cilantro

Surprisingly, thai cuisine doesn't waste any part of this plant. They use the root, stems, leaves, and even corainder seed. I read/heard that the root brings in a very good flavour but I could not yet test it myself. Unfortunately, I do not find coriander that I find with many grocers is harvested above the ground level. I am yet to grow it myself to attest the above said claim.

8. Thai chillies

Fresh:
Interestingly, they use the ripe red (green) chillies, the smaller variety. Though Andhrites use a different variety to make pickles out of, I have not seen it being used it in everyday cooking. I have started using the ripe ones in my regular cooking, and I liked it very much. They use the green chillies as well.
Every Indian store stocks them, so its not such a hard to find ingredient.

They use the dry red chillies as well.

9. Tamarind

Tamarind extract is used in the thai cuisine as well.

10. Turmeric

11. Last but not the least: GARLIC
Garlic is used extensively in their dishes. I read that they use Elephant Garlic, but I use regular garlic.


So thats about the special ingredients that I can think of.

Most of the informationand recipes are collected from various sources like books, magazines, restaurant chefs that I've befriended, other forums that I frequent, and also many websites over period of time. So I do not claim originality of the posted material.

[bhargavi.raj]

Dear Minni,
This is truely an interesting thread. One of my Fav cusines other than Indian is Thai, May be because its more like Indian and its very simple and nutritious.You did a good thing by posting the main ingredient lists ,it seems very helpful.
I like the coconut milk thats put in each dish and the vibrant colors and strong flavors of every thai curry.
I love padthai's and red curry a lot. In the curry paste that u get in the supermarkets they usually have fish /shrimp paste in it,and since i am a vegeterian too, i don't wanna use that.
Can you post the recipe for thai red curry if you know and hopefully I can try it soon.
so keep up your good work,and all the best
Bhargavi.Raj

[kavithasenthil]

Wonderful job minni. I like to try thai recipes. Awaiting to c the recipes.

[US]

Very interesting beginning Minni..looking forward eagerly for the recipes

[sujathakannan]

Hi Minnie,

Interesting thread. Looking forward for your recipes. I have few veg and non-vegs Thai recipes that I have tried. So if you guys are interested I can post a few.

[Minni]

Thanks Bhargavi, Kavitha, US and Sujatha, for the encouragement. I beg your pardon for the delay in continuation of teh posts as I have been busy the past 4 days. I shall start posting the ecipes from today.

Sujatha, please do post your tried and tested recipes as well, started this thread so as to be able to exchange recipes and find new ones.

Bhargavi, about store bought red curry paste, it may not have fish sauce/shrimp paste in it. The only curry paste that has fish sauce/shrimp paste is Yellow curry paste. This had been my observation among the two to three brand that I used so far. Check the ingredients to double check. I shall post red Curry paste , other curry pastes and Padthai recipes in the next few days.

I would like to start by posting recipes for a few appetizers and soups.

Thanks.
Minni

[sujathakannan]

Minni is correct the red curry or green curry paste I got didn't have non-veg pastes in it. Here is a easy recipe for Pad thai with the ready-made pack availble in most supermarkets. I got this recipe from the website. Tried it both adding vegs and non-veg. It is really good and easy for a weekday dinner.

Pad Thai for Two


Ingredients:

1 box A Taste of Thai Pad Thai for Two
(Includes Rice Noodles and Pad Thai Sauce)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Optional Garnish:
Lime wedges
1/3 cup chopped peanuts

Directions:
1 Soak Rice Noodles in hot water for 25-30 minutes, stir occasionally. Drain.
2 In wok or skillet heat oil on medium-high.
3 Add drained Rice Noodles. Stir fry 4-6 minutes or until noodles are firm but tender (al dente).
4 Add Pad Thai Sauce and stir fry until combined. Serve hot with lime wedges and peanuts.

[Variations]:
In step 2
Scramble one beaten egg in hot oil before adding noodles.

In step 2
Stir fry until cooked: 1/2 lb thinly sliced chicken, shrimp, ground pork or tofu after scrambling egg.

In step 4
Add 1/3 cup chopped peanuts, 4 chopped scallions and 1 cup bean sprouts with Pad Thai Sauce. Cook until combined, about 1 minute.


Try and let me know.

[kavithasenthil]

Eagarly waiting to see ur recipes minni. Here is a noodle recipe which i posted in another thread.

Chinese/Thai Style Rice Noodles

1/4 pack Asian best brand noodle
Soak the noodle in hot water for 20-25 mins. Drain well.
---
1/4 of medium sized Onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 dry whole chilli(more if you want hot)
grind the above in to fine paste.

4 green onion(cut in to small pices)
1/4 cup frozen peas
1 tomato(Remove the juice and seeds and dice them)
1/4 cup cucumber(Remove the seeds and dice)
Soy sauce

Take 2 tb spoon of oil in a non stick wide pan. when the oil becomes hot add the ground mixture and fry well in med-low fire till the raw smell goes off. Add green onion,tomato,peas,cucumber.
Fry for some time say 2 mins. Now add the noodle and mix well.
Add soy sauce little by little(say 1 ts at a time),mix well in low fire.Taste it. If you feel enough salt then stop adding soy sauce and fry till most of the moisture evauporated. Otherwise repeat the process of adding soy sauce.

Fry till you get almost dry noodles.(Drain the water well after soaking)
In this recipe u r not adding salt separatly. The salt in the soy sauce is enough.

You can add other vegies like carrot,beans,sprouts,fried tofu ect.
In my opinion,try simple verson first.

Non.Vegitarians can add fried shrimp or egg.

[saji]

Hi all.

I saw these recipes on Tarla Dalals website. If any of you want veg thai, go for it.


THAI RED CURRY

A traditional fiery red Thai curry simmered with assorted vegetables. An excellent complement to steamed rice.


Cooking Time : 15 mins.
Preparation Time : 10 mins.

Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients

6 to 7 tablespoons red curry paste
2 cups coconut milk
1 tablespoons cornflour, mixed in water
1/2 teaspoon soya sauce
15 basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup baby corn, diced
2 brinjals, diced
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon oil
salt to taste

Method


1.Mix the cornflour and coconut milk.
2.Heat the oil in a large pan, add the red curry paste and fry for a few minutes.
3.Add the coconut milk, soya sauce, basil leaves and all the vegetables.
4.Simmer for 10 minutes till the vegetables are tender.
5.Add salt.
6.Boil for 1 to 2 minutes till the curry thickens.
7.Serve hot with steamed rice or noodles.

RED CURRY PASTE

Preparation Time : 10 min.

Makes 1 cup.

Ingredients


10 red chilles, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes and drained
1 onion, chopped
4 clove garlic , peeled
1 tablespoon ginger , grated
2 stalks lemon grass
6 stalks coriander
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

1.Grind all the ingredients to a paste in a mortar or a food processor using a little water.
2.Store in an airtight container (for upto 1 month). Alternatively, freeze for upto 3 months.
3.Use as required.

THAI FRIED NOODLES

A very pleasing presentation of soft noodles and bean curd combined with fresh vegetables and crunchy peanuts.


Preparatiuon Time : 10 min.
Cooking Time : 10 min.

Serves 4.

Ingredients


3 cups rice noodles
1 cup tofu, cut into cubes and fried
4 spring onions , chopped
1cupbeansprouts
2 tbsps roastedpeanuts,chopped
3/4 teaspoon chilli powder
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons soya sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons oil
salt to taste

For the garnish
2 tablespoons chopped peanuts
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
1 lemon wedge


Method

1.In a wok, heat the oil and add the crushed garlic
2.Add the fried tofu, spring onions, beans sprouts, peanuts and noodles.
3.Add the chili powder, sugar, soya sauce, lemon juice and salt.
4.Serve hot, garnished with the coriander and chopped peanuts.
5.Place the lemon wedge on the side of the plate.