THAI VERMICELLI SALAD WITH SHRIMPS [Yum Woon Sen]

originally uploaded by moonberry.

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 medium size shrimps
• 100 grams ground pork
• 40 grams mushroom
• 20 grams chinese celery, cut into 1" long
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• 20 grams shallot, sliced
• 6 chilies, coarsely chopped
• 20 grams peanuts
  
• 40 grams glass noodle
• 4 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 5 tablespoons lime juice
  

  (For 2 Serving)
  

HOW TO:

1. blanch pork and shrimp in boiling water, drain
2. blanch mushroom and glass noodle until soft, set aside
3. Mix all ingredients in a big bowl, then season with fish sauce, sugar and lime juice . Transfer to a serving dish. Serve immediately with fresh vegetable such as cabbage, cucumber, string bean, etc.

Pineapple Prawn Curry [Kaeng Khua Supparod]

originally uploaded by kepibear.

This dish does not take long to cook and the main characteristic of this curry is that it does not have very much sauce. The sauce is fairly thick and creamy. If you are unable to find kaeng khua curry paste, red curry paste is a good substitute.

INGREDIENTS :

• Vegetable oil 2 tbsp.
• Kaeng khua curry paste 2 tbsp.
• Coconut milk 1/2 to 1 cup
• Prawns or shrimps, fresh and peeled 1 lb.
• Fish sauce1 - 2 tbsp.
• Sugar 1 - 2 tsp.
• Pineapple, peeled and cubed 1/2 cup
  (1 - 2 servings)

HOW TO:
1. Using a sauce pan or a deep frying pan, heat up the vegetable oil until hot and add the kaeng khua curry paste to the oil. Use a medium heat and take care not to burn the curry paste. Should the paste become lumpy and become difficult to spread and stirfry, add a little coconut milk.

2. Cook the paste for 5 minutes over a low to medium heat. Add coconut milk and blend well. Bring the sauce back to a boil.

3. Once the curry sauce is boiling, add the prawns and quickly season the curry with fish sauce and sugar. When the prawns are almost cooked, add the pineapple and mix well. The curry should be fairly thick, almost the same consistency of white sauce. Spoon this curry into a bowl and serve with rice.

**Tips**
Should your curry be too runny when finished, spoon out the prawns and pineapple and cook the curry sauce until thick, Cream can be used to replace coconut milk but you will not get the coconut aroma in your curry. Again this dish should be eaten with steamed rice or crusty French bread.

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.**

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.