Steamed Fish in Banana Leaf [Hor Mok Pla]

originally uploaded by P Family.

While these folded packets are a delight to serve in small numbers, for a larger group the leaves can be folded into a large boat shape and the mixture steamed in larger portions with an extended cooking time.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb (500 g) white fish fillets, cut into chunks
• 1 large banana leaf, cut into 4 pieces, each 8 X 8 inches
• 1 cup shredded lettuce, blanched
• 1 cup sliced zucchini/courgette, blanched
• 1 cup sweet basil leaves (bai horapa)
• 2 green jalapeno peppers (prik chee fa), sliced
• 1/4 cup cilantro/coriander leaves (bai pak chee)
  

Sauce's Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (4 fl oz/125 ml) red curry paste (nam prik gaeng ped)
• 2 cup (16 fl oz/500 ml) coconut milk
• 4 egg yolks (reserve whites for topping)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch/cornflour

Topping's Ingredients:

• 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) coconut cream
• 4 eggs white
  

HOW TO:

1. Marinate the fish chunks with the combined sauce ingredients and place in the refrigerator to chill for about 15 minutes.
2. Beat the topping ingredients together with a fork.
3. Wipe each piece of banana leaf with a damp cloth before use. Place a quarter of each of the blanched vegetables and of the fish in the center of each piece of banana leaf. Spoon on a quarter of the topping. Top with a scattering of basil leaves, pepper slices and cilantro leaves.
4. Bring the sides of each square together and fold in the ends. Secure with a small piece of wood or a toothpick.
5. Arrange the packets in a steamer and steam for 15 minutes or until done. Alternatively, the packets can be baked in the oven at 350 Fahrenheit (180 Celsius) for 20 minutes.

Sour Curry with Vegetables and Shrimp [Gaeng Som Gung]

originally uploaded by bigcityb.

INGREDIENTS:

• 16 fresh prawns
  
• 4 cups of chicken stock
• 2-3 tablespoons of sour curry paste
• 1/4 cup fish sauce (nam pla)
• 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate mixed with 3 tablespoons water
  
• 1-2 tablespoons palm sugar (to taste)
• 2 cups of very coarsely chopped green vegetables

HOW TO:
1. Peel, de-vein, and behead the shrimp, leaving only the small tail shells on.
2. Add the sour curry paste
3. Mix and leave to marinade for one hour.
4. Heat a wok and then stir fry the prawns in the marinade until they just starts to change colour.
5. Remove from the stove and set aside
6. Heat the stock to simmering point.
5. Add all the ingredients except the prawns, and return it to the boil.
6. Add the prawns, and the marinade and simmer until the prawns are cooked through.
7. Add the pineapple, bring to the boil and then serve.
note: that this can also be prepared as a stir fry dish by simply omitting the chicken stock.

**TIP:If it is a little dry, then add a couple of tablespoons of stock to the wok.**

Pineapple Fried Rice [Kao pad suppalod]

originally uploaded by Geoff604.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tb Garlic; chopped
• 1/2 c Oil
• 1/2 c Pork, thinly sliced, Ham
• 1/2 c Chicken, thinly sliced
• Eggs
• 12 c Cooked rice, cooled
• 1 1/4 c Diced pineapple
• 2 tb Sugar
• 6 tb Fish sauce; (Nam Pla)
• 1 c Green onions, cut 1" pieces
• 6 Fresh pickles; or
• 2 Cucumbers, sliced
• 1 tb Chili peppers; or to taste
• 1/2 c Cilantro; chopped
• 2 ts Ground white peppers
  

HOW TO:
Fry garlic in oil until golden brown over medium heat. Increase heat to medium high and add chicken, pork and Ham. Cook until meats are almost done, add eggs and scramble. Cook half way through, add rice and pineapple and mix quickly. Sprinkle sugar, white peppers, fish sauce, green onions and mix well, cook about 2 minutes longer,stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Serve hot with sliced pickles and chili peppers with chopped cilantro sprinkled on top. Makes 12 servings. NOTE: cook rice with a little less water than you normally would because rice will absorb juice from the meats, therefore, it wont be soggy.

Spicy Thai salmon salad [Lab Pla Salmon]

Foodstylist & Carving, originally uploaded by wtimm9.

INGREDIENTS :
For 4 servings

• Grilled salmon 1.5 lbs.
• Shallots, peeled and sliced thin 1 cup
• Onion, sliced thin 2 tbsp.
• Mint leaves 1/2 cup
• Toasted raw rice kernels, ground 3 - 4 tbsp.
• Red chili powder 1 - 2 tbsp.
• Fish sauce 1/4 cup
• Fresh lime juice 1/3 cup
• Red spur chili peppers, sliced 2 tbsp.
• Chopped fresh galangal (optional) 3 tbsp.
  

HOW TO:
1. Baste the pieces of salmon lightly with vegetable oil and grill until cooked. Take off heat and let cool.

2. With a fork break salmon pieces into a crumble. Add the rest of the salad garnishes except the fresh lime juice. Toss all the ingredients together, then add fresh lime juice to taste. It should be tart enough at first taste but not overpowering.

3. Spoon this salad over decorative lettuce cups and garnish with fresh mint leaves and julienne red spur chili peppers.

Miang Kam

originally uploaded by SauceSupreme.

Miang Kam is a very tasty snack often sold as street food. It involves wrapping little tidbits of several items in a leaf, along with a sweet-and-salty sauce. Chewing all the myriad ingredients together gives taste receptacles on the tongue and mouth a thrilling experience – from the rich, roasted flavors of coconut and peanut, to the tanginess of lime with zest and the pungent bursts of diced ginger and chillies. It makes a great party food!

INGREDIENTS:

Large leaves from 1-2 bunches of spinach; or 1 head of leafy lettuce, tear leaves into 3- to 4-inch round or square pieces

Miang Kam Filling Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup small dried shrimp
• 1/2 cup roasted unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/3 cup diced ginger (about the size of a pea)
• 1/3 cup diced shallots or onion the same size as the ginger
• 1 lime, cut into small peanut-size wedges, each with both peel and juice sacs
• 4 heads pickled garlic, stem removed and bulb cut into peanut-size pieces
• 6 Serrano peppers, cut into thin half circles; or use Thai chillies ( prik kee noo), cut into thin rounds
• 1/3 cup cilantro leaves
  

Miang Kam Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup finely ground dried shrimp
• 1/2 cup roasted shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup palm or coconut sugar
• 2 Tbs. fish sauce ( nam plah), or to taste
• 1/2 cup water
  

HOW TO:
To roast coconut, place unsweetened fresh or dried shredded coconut in a dry cast iron pan over medium heat. Stir frequently until the coconut shreds are evenly a golden brown and very fragrant. Pickled garlic is available in jars from Southeast Asian markets.

Arrange the spinach or lettuce leaves and filling ingredients on a large serving platter, piling each separately and aesthetically for a pleasing presentation.

To make the sauce, grind the dried shrimp, roasted coconut and peanuts separately and as finely as possible in a clean coffee grinder. (For the dried shrimp, measure out 1/4 cup after the shrimp is ground.) Place in a small saucepan together with the palm sugar, fish sauce and water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, stirring frequently to make sure all the ingredients are well blended and the sauce as smooth as possible. Cook about 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of light batter. Transfer to a sauce bowl and allow to cool to room temperature before using. The sauce will thicken more as it cools.

To eat, take a spinach or lettuce leaf, fill it with a little bit of everything, top with a dab of sauce, roll or wrap up, stuff the entire leaf packet into your mouth and chew everything all at once. Enjoy the explosion of flavors!

Spicy Lemongrass With Shrimp Salad

originally uploaded by Kra-Jeab.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lb raw shrimp clean, devined, and tail in
• 4 stalks lemon grass thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons lime juice
• 4 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 stalk cilantro chopped
• 10 stalks fresh mint discard stalks (some of garnish)
• 4 small shallots thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon of dried roasted red chili peppers or fresh red pepper chopped
• 2 green onions chopped
• pinch of msg (optional)
• 2 tablespoon of roasted rice finely blended
• 1 tablespoon of fish paste juice (optional) For garnish: lettuce leaves, cilantro (coriander leaves), orange slices, lime wedges

HOW TO:

1. Cook shrimp until just pink by plunging into a pot of rapidly boiling water, drained and set aside in a mixing bowl. Bruise lemon grass well, slice very thinly into rounds and place in bowl. Combine lime juice, fish sauce, roasted rice, dried red pepper, msg and pour over lemon grass. Set aside to allow flavors to blend.
2. To serve, combine with remaining ingredients and toss well. Place on a bed of lettuce or on the side, garnish with mint and it ready to serve...Best serve with Jasmine rice or sticky rice.
   

You know?
Lemon Grass:
This erect annual plant resembles a coarse grey-green grass. Fresh leaves and grass are used as flavouring. Lemongrass contains a 0.2-0.4 volatile oil.

Thai Spicy Beef Salad

originally uploaded by Kwanjai Si@m.

INGREDIENTS:
Salad:

• 1 1/2 lbs (680g) flank steak
• 1/2 tsp (3g) salt
• 1/2 Tbs (2g) freshly ground pepper
• 6 cups (340g) red leaf lettuce, torn into pieces
• 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
• 1 tomato, cut into pieces
• 3 green onions, sliced diagonally
• 1/3 cup (10g) fresh mint leaves, chopped (optional)
  

Dressing:

• 1/3 cup (80mL) fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup (9g) fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
• 2 Tbs (20g) brown sugar
• 1 Tbs (15mL) soy sauce, low sodium
• 1 Tbs (15mL) water
• 1 Tbs (15mL) fish sauce, bottled
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 serrano pepper, or red Thai pepper, seeded and minced
  

HOW TO:

1. Preheat grill or broiler.
2. Prepare dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a jar or bowl; mix well. Set aside.
3. Salt and pepper both sides of steak. Place steak on a grill rack or broiler pan coated with vegetable oil spray. Cook 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices. Cut each slice into 2-inch pieces.
4. Prepare salad mixture (lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes green onion and mint leaves).
5. Combine salad mixture, steak and dressing in a large bowl, tossing to coat.

Chicken Coconut Soup (TOM KHA GAI)

originally uploaded by Walker the Texas Ranger.

INGREDIENTS :

• Chicken stock 2 cups
• Coconut milk 3/4 cup
  
• Fish sauce 2 - 3 tbsp.
• Fresh chicken thigh, cubed 6 oz.
• Kaffir lime leaves, torn 3 leaves
• Bird's eye chili peppers 2 tsp.
• Coriander roots from one plant
• Young galangal root, sliced 2 tbsp.
• Lemon grass, sliced 1 tbsp.
• Fresh lime juice 4 - 5 tbsp. (2 servings)
  

HOW To:
1. Combine chicken stock and coconut milk, add kaffir lime leaves, coriander root, bird's eye chili peppers, young galangal and lemon grass, bring to the boil in a pot. Allow to boil for one minute.
2. Add cubed chicken pieces to the soup and bring back to boil. Boil the chicken until just cooked.
3. Season the soup with fish sauce and lime juice. The soup should taste slightly tart followed by a saltiness and a creaminess from the coconut milk. Take the soup off the heat and serve in a bowl. Garnish with coriander leaves.

**Tips **
Coconut milk is available in cans or sealed pouches. Shake the can or the pouch before use because the cream of coconut milk is usually lodged at the top.

Fried Noodle with Shrimp [Pad Thai Goong Sod]

originally uploaded by yuichi.sakuraba.

INGREDIENTS :

• Vegetable oil 1/3 cup
• Garlic, chopped 1 tbsp.
• Pressed beancurd, sliced into small pieces 1/4 cup
• Prawns, fresh and peeled 6 oz
• Chanburi rice linguini, soaked in water and drained 2 cups (packed)
• Fish sauce 1 - 2 tbsp.
• Coconut sugar 1 - 2 tsp.
• Unsalted, toasted peanuts, chopped 2 tbsp.
• Thai chili flakes (prik pon) 1 tsp.
• White vinegar or tamarind pulp juice 1 - 2 tbsp.
• Bean sprouts, roots picked 1 cup
  

GARNISHES :

• Omelet julienne 1
• Fresh red spur chili peppers, julienne 1 tbsp.
• Spring onion, julienne 1 tbsp.
• Fresh lime wedges 2 (2 servings)
  

How To:
1. For best results, this dish should be cooked in a wok, Prepare all your ingredients in advance and have them ready beside you. Heat up the oil in a wok until almost smoking.
2. Add the chopped garlic and pressed beancurd to the wok. Stirfry until cooked but not browned; add the prawns and stir quickly.
3. Prawns cook very fast so do not over cook them. Once the prawns are slightly white add the flat thin rice noodle from Chanburi province. This noodle has to be soaked in water to make it pliable but not soggy, and drained before use.
4. While stirfrying the noodles, season this dish with fish sauce, coconut sugar, chili flakes and vinegar. The liquid from the prawns and seasoning sauces will make the noodle soft yet " al dente" . Add peanuts and toss to mix well.
5. Finally add the bean sprouts and quickly toss in the hot wok to warm them up but do not over cook them. Garnish the dish on top with a julienne thin omelet, red spur chili peppers and julienne spring onions with a few fresh bean sprouts and a lime wedge on the side.

**Tips**
This dish is very famous in Thailand and the world over. It's a great lunch item and our national pasta dish. Chanburi noodles are easily found in most Asian grocery stores, they come dry packed in a bundle wrapped in plastic. Ask your Thai or Asian grocer for phat thai noodles. Eating and seasoning tips: Westerners usually season their pasta dishes with salt, pepper and parmesan cheese but each phat thai dish is seasoned by the diner with fish sauce for saltiness, sugar for sweetness, lime juice for sourness, chili flakes for spiciness and peanuts for crunchiness.

Papaya Salad [Som Tum]

originally uploaded by yuichi.sakuraba.

INGREDIENTS :

• About 2 cups shredded green papaya and carrots
• 2 tablespoon fish sauce1
• ½ tablespoon palm sugar, if not available can substitute it with regular sugar
• 3 tablespoon lime juice
• ½ cups tomato, wedged
• 1/3 cup dried shrimp
• ¼ cup peanuts
• 3 or more green/red chilli
• 3 or more cloves garlic
  

How To :
1. To make the dressing, combine all the dressing ingredients together and set aside.
2. Grate the carrots or any of the vegetables mentioned above, rinse in cold water and drain well.
3. Toss the salad with the salad dressing adding the creshed bird's eye chili peppers should your salad spicy. Add a teaspoon of the peanuts and ground shrimps and toss thoroughly.
4. Plate the salad and garnish with ground peanuts and ground shrimps.

**Tips**
Som tam became famous during the Vietnam war when American G.l'.s came to Thailand for R and R and were introduced to this salad from the North East. Raw papaya is difficult to get in some countries so we suggest you use carrots or cabbage instead. It is recommended that once this salad is tossed it should be eaten immediately since Thai salad dressings do not have oils which help salads stay fresh longer.
Do you know that the flesh and oil from papaya is used to make meat tenderizers? NO wonder it helps your digestion.

Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

Ingredients :

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 lb.)
• 2 Tbs. soy sauce
• 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. curry powder
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup crunchy natural peanut butter
• 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 tsp. light brown sugar
• Pinch cayenne
  

About 32 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 20 minutes

---

Directions :
Remove the chicken tenders, if still attached, and trim any excess fat from the chicken breasts. With a sharp knife, cut the breasts lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices (you should have about six slices per breast). Cut each slice in half crosswise to make about 32 pieces total. If you have tenders, cut those in half, too.

Combine 1 Tbs. of the soy sauce and 1 Tbs. of the lemon juice with the oil, garlic, curry powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, and a few grinds of pepper in a medium bowl. Add the chicken and toss well to coat. Let the chicken marinate at room temperature for least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1 Tbs. soy sauce and 1 Tbs. lemon juice with the peanut butter, coconut milk, brown sugar, cayenne, and 1/8 tsp. salt in a small saucepan.

Position an oven rack as close to the broiler as possible and heat the broiler to high. Thread one chicken piece onto the end of each skewer. Set the skewered chicken on a broiler pan and broil, turning the skewers once halfway through, until the chicken is lightly browned and cooked through, about 7 minutes total. While the chicken cooks, warm the sauce gently over medium-low or low heat. If the sauce seems very thick, thin it with about 1 Tbs. water. Let the chicken cool slightly and then serve the satés with the peanut sauce for dipping.

*Tips*
You can marinate the chicken, refrigerated, for up to 24 hrs.