Thai Food

[gaya3usa]

I would like to contribute my Tom Kha soup recipe to this thread -

5 cups of Chicken stock
2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 fish sauce
5 pc dried galang root
3 or 4 lemon leaves chopped or use grated lemon zest
8oz chopped mushroom
1 cup cooked bone less chicken breast - chopped
2- fresh green chillies splitted
2 sp chopped cilantro
1 sp sugar

In a large sauce pan, add all except the green chillies & Cilantro
Bring to a boil . When the mushroom is cooked, garnish with gr.chillies and cilantro . Serve hot.

Try this favourite thai soup ..

Gayathri

[kavithasenthil]

Hello minni,

Eagarly waiting for ur post.

[sujathakannan]

Hi Sagi and gaya3usa, your recipes looks good. I will try it out soon.

Hi Minnie, waiting for your posts.

Here is one other quick and easy workday recipe. I have made is number of times. The secret is cutting the chicken to real thin pieces and yo ucan adjust the spice level to your taste. I always reduce the red curry little bit and don't too much sugar too.

Thai Chicken with Green Beans

A quick, low-fat curry. Serve with rice noodles or jasmine rice


2 Tbsp fresh lime juice (1 lime)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp Red Curry Base
1 medium red onion, sliced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 & 1/4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced into bite size pieces
1 Tbsp Fish Sauce
1- 9 oz (225 g) package frozen French-cut green beans, thawed and drained

Directions:
1 In a small bowl whisk together lime juice, brown sugar and cornstarch until combined. Set aside.

2 Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet or wok. Add curry base and stir until dissolved and bubbly.

3 Add onions and garlic. Stir fry 2 minutes or until onions begin to soften.

4 Add chicken and fish sauce. Stir fry 2 to 3 minutes or until chicken is just cooked.

5 Mix in lime juice mixture and green beans. Toss until heated through.

[sujathakannan]

Hi Minni when you started this thread I was very interested in your recipes. Please don't let this thread die out.

Here is another one of my favourite

Red Curry Chicken With Basil

Serve this classic curry over jasmine rice for a traditional Thai meal.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 & 1/2 Tbsp Red Curry Base
1 can Coconut Milk, shaken
1 & 1/2 lbs ( 750 g ) boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into bite size pieces
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp Fish Sauce
1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced
10 large basil leaves, chopped

Directions:
1 Heat the oil in the frying pan over medium heat.

2 Add the curry base and simmer for 2 minutes, so that it is dissolved and foaming.

3 Stir in the can of the coconut milk. Cook over medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4 Add the sliced chicken. Simmer for 4 minutes.

5 Stir in the sugar, fish sauce and bell pepper. Simmer until the chicken is cooked, about 3 minutes more.

6 Add the chopped basil. Season to taste with more sugar or seasoning sauce as desired.

7 Serve over rice.

[Minni]

Well, guys, I am very pleased to see ppl sharing their tried and tested recipes. Offlate I had been on one such phases of "cooking is the last thing on my mind". So, pardon for the slack time.
Well, back to pavillion now, I have more news, information and facts to share.

Saji, I have seen Tarla Dalal's recipes. I understand that the recipes posted on bawarchi.com as well as tarladalal.com are closest possible to authentic recipes, excluding the traditional galangal, kaffir lime leaves, shallots and importantly the lime rind. Thats because of the lack of availability of the some of the ingredients. Hence, would suit the circumstances of the same. I've substituted onions for shallots previously when someone said that they have a very mild flavour, mostly like a cross between garlic and onion. But recently, I started using them, and trust me, they are the best for the pastes. I cannot explain how they felt like. But its not only made the pastes more fragrant, but made them taste more authentic. So, I would advise the use of Shallots instead of onion when available.

Well, now I intend to post couple of exotic, easy to prepare appetizers and the types of noodles and the availability of the ingredients in the Chicago Land area-- result of my latest discovery.

To ease browsing of the recipes, I would like to segregate the postings.

[Minni]

I need to stress the importance of stone grinding for the distinctive taste advantages it brings. Due to time crunched entertaining or life styles, I'd suggest you use your wet grinders to make the sauces and pastes- an alternative to mortar and pestle grinding. I'd suggest you use your dry grinders only when using wet grinders is not an option.
Also, substituting fresh ingredients when called for with dry ingredients does make significant difference in the taste. Hence please exercise caution for more authentic flavours.
Not sure of its Thai name, but here is the recipe for :

Hot, Sweet and Sour Sauce

Ingredients:

2-3 finely Sliced Shallots- say approx 3 Tbsp if you are using red onion
1-2 crushed Garlic clove
1 or 2 Dried red chillies with their seeds
1/2 in sliced Galangal (Suggested substitution: regular ginger )
2 tablespoons Fresh grated Coconut(Suggested substitution: 1 tbsp dried if unavailable)
3 tbsp Tamarind juice(Suggested substitution 1 tbsp concentrate)
3 tbsp Peanuts - Roasted - Do not salt - chopped
2 tbsp Palm sugar(Suggested substitution: regular cane sugar/ light brown sugar)
2 cups Water.
Pinch of salt.

Method:
Roast(without oil) sliced shallots and galangal/ginger till fragrant. In a wet grinder or dry grinder, grind with the rest of the ingredients(except sugar and water) till fine you get a fine paste. Transfer them to a saucepan, add water and sugar and mix well. Bring to a boil. Then lower the heat to simmer till reduced to a cup/ sauce consistency.

You can double or triple this recipe to make it in larger quantities and can freeze in 1/2 cup quantities for instant use at a later time.
I am sure the shelf life would be upto 2 months when frozen- the longest i've tried, but not sure how much longer it keeps good.
In the refrigerator, it can keep good for 4-5 days.

[Minni]

Leaf Wrapped Savories

Thai names: Mieng Kum/Miang Kum

Its a not so commonly found appetizer in many restaurants. There are several non-vegetarian variations of the same too. In occasional instances one may find such a variety in some restaurants, but the vegetarian version is even more rare to find.

Traditionally, these are made with Cha Plu leaves- which are supposed to be Wild Thai betel leaves. These savouries resemble our traditional Indian pan, but taste very different. They are wonderful flavour packed purses, that release such exotic tingling of taste buds when put in the mouth. Its finger food, and are best for sit down entertaining when ppl get to chat and pass on the ingredients-to-be-assembled bowls to each other and hence can be ice breakers.

As the traditional Cha Plu leaves are not available even in ethnic Thai grocer places, the suggested substitutions are : Basil leaves, Lettuce leaves, Spinach leaves, Arugula and any other edible leaf that is available in the market. An interesting variation can be using petals of Lotus, Rose, or any other reasonably large petal sized edible flower.
Warning: I've tried using Indian Betel leaf, but the result had been disastrous, as the betel was overpowering the other flavours and the result is an undesirable after taste. Hence be wary about the same.

This savoury requires Hot, sweet and sour sauce, the recipe of which was posted ahead of this, hence can be referred to.

Filling Ingredients:

5 tbsp fresh grated Coconut, roasted (Suggested substitution: 5 tbsp dried)
3 tbsp finely diced Shallots
5 Key Limes, each cut into 8 pieces(Suggested substitution: Diced regular Limes)
3 tbsp finely sliced Galangal(Suggested substitution: finely sliced regular Ginger)
5 tbsp Peanuts - unsalted - roasted
2 tbsp chopped (bird's eye)Green Chillies( Also called Thai chillies, are the same as those small green chillies we find in Indian stores)
1 tbsp Coriander leaves - chopped
2 Kaffir Lime leaves, cut into thin strips(optional depending on availability)

Serving suggestions:
Clean the leaves(wash/rinse in water) and spread them like fan on a serving platter. In small bowls fill each of the above filling ingredients. In another bowl, pour 1/2 cup of the prepared hot and sour sauce. Have individual spoons for each ingredient.

Assembly: Pour a tiny amount of sauce on the leaf, and then fill in h the rest of the ingredients in tiny amounts, fold and eat.

The appetizer when served doesn't seem filling, but the blend of the exotic flavours makes it a satisfying experience.

[Minni]

Noodles

Thai name: GueyTeow

It is essential to understand the effect "noodles" had on Thai cuisine for over years. It is probably the Chinese influence that resulted in this branch of Thai cuisine. They are prominently used in several entree, but equally interesting is the fact that they can be used in several soups.

Essentially there are five varieties of noodles, four made from rice flour and one from soya-bean flour.
Further classification is by dry or wet one; that is, into fried noodle dishes or soup noodle dishes.

Five noodles:

1. Sen Yai: Sometimes called "River Rice Noodle" or "Rice Sticks", this is a broad, flat, white noodle. If bought fresh, it is sticky and strands need to be separated by hand before cooking. Can also be bought dried.

2. Sen Lek: A medium flat noodle, about 1/10in or 2 mm wide and is usually sold dried.

3. Sen Mee: A small wiry looking rice noodle, usually sold dried, sometimes called " Rice Vermicelli".

4. Ba Mee: An egg noodle, medium yellow in color, which can be bought fresh in 'nests'; these need to be shaken loose by hand before cooking.

5.Wun Sen: A very thin, very wiry, transparent soya-bean-flour, called either vermicelli, or 'cellophane noodle'. Only available dried.

All dried noodles need to be soaked in cold water for about 20 minutes before cooking, (vermicelli requires less soaking). They are quickly drained and then cooked; usually a matter of dunking them into boiling water for 2-3 seconds. The dry weight will usually double after soaking.

Check the Oriental foods aisle next time you shop at your grocer to find the varieties described here.
My personal experience is that the fresh ones though a bit expensive are far superior for the final out come of the dish. So, if you are willing to part the extra pennies for your taste buds, I'd encourage you to!

[Minni]

Tofu Satay
(Grilled chunks of Tofu on Skewers)

Well, it is as easy as said. Just choose the Extra firm variety of Tofu, cut them into 1 in X 1 in X 4 in strips. Pierce them, two strips per skewer and grill them till you see grill marks.
Serve them with dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce: Hot, Sweet and Sour sauce

[hemakk]

hai all,

if anybody know how to make the orange chicken, pl. post it, i had so manytimes in Mall, now i want to make it at home. thanks in advance