433 replies to this topic

[little ms foodie]

I would wholeheartedly recommend any recipes from Kasma Loha-unchit, including those on her Web site, Thai Food and Travel, and her two books: It Rains Fishes and Dancing Shrimp.

The website also features articles about the best brands of ingredients (Mae Ploy is her answer to your red curry question, and I agree) and a directory of markets that carry Thai ingredients.

Hope that helps,
~Anita

Anita thanks for the link on the good brands. I was shopping at Uwajimaya today and I remembered the pictures and was able to get some good stuff. We are experiementing this weekend and next week!

[ScorchedPalate]

Anita thanks for the link on the good brands. I was shopping at Uwajimaya today and I remembered the pictures and was able to get some good stuff. We are experiementing this weekend and next week!

Always happy to turn folks on to Kasma

I actually made a list of her favorite brands that I sync to my Palm, so I always have it handy when I am shopping. I don't buy these items often enough to remember!

One of the coolest things we did in Kasma's beginner class was a coconut milk tasting of about 15 brands. Mae Ploy won, followed closely by the widely available (and cheaper!) Chaokoh ...which is not to be confused with the nearly identical Chaodoc, which came in close to last. The mnemonic she gave us for telling them apart is hilarious: Chaokoh is "A-OK" (its middle 3 letters) and Chaodoc will make you feel like you need to see the doc.

Scrolling back to Patti's tom kha recipe question: We also made a curry where we added the fish sauce a tiny bit at a time, tasting as we went, to see how the flavors opened up. It was an unforgettable lesson in using your mouth, not your measuring spoon, to tell you when you've got enough. (Ditto with palm sugar.)

~A

Edited by ScorchedPalate, 28 January 2005 - 03:21 PM.

[ludja]

Nice thread...

Just as an aside, we found it pretty fun to have Thai potluck dinners with some of our more adventurous cooking friends.

Easy for each person to make, say 2 dishes and then come together for a Thai feast!

[little ms foodie]

Chaokoh ...which is not to be confused with the nearly identical Chaodoc, which came in close to last. The mnemonic she gave us for telling them apart is hilarious: Chaokoh is "A-OK" (its middle 3 letters) and Chaodoc will make you feel like you need to see the doc. 

~A

I used this method at the store, remembered it from reading the site!

[ScorchedPalate]

I was prowling around on Kasma's site, and I found this article on "cooking to taste" that explains better than I was able to upthread. The third paragraph from the bottom, in particular (and the article it links to) has some useful hints on tweaking dishes that don't taste right.

~A

[Susan in FL]

The mnemonic she gave us for telling them apart is hilarious: Chaokoh is "A-OK" (its middle 3 letters)...

I used this method at the store, remembered it from reading the site!

So did I, and got the correct coconut milk!

It wasn't Thai cooking at home last night, but I went to one of the two decent Thai restaurants in our area. Let's call it research for Thai cooking at home... I haven't made Pad Thai or spring rolls yet, so I wanted to taste good examples in a restaurant before I do make them. Both were really good, and so was the ginger ice cream for dessert.

[Anna N]

I will probably get voted off this thread for this non-authentic "rice" but I served it as an appetizer and just did not want rice. It was still yummy served on a bed of mixed greens! It is the Spicy Chicken and Thai Basil dish (using shrimp as suggested) from Kasma's website.

[Susan in FL]

Anna, no way would you get voted off this thread! Actually, I love the idea of a Thai or Thai style appetizer or first course, and I would do without the rice in that case also. I might copy your idea one of these nights soon. I can't seem to tire of Thai, so that's a good way to keep it in the menus, but not eat Thai exclusively. Oh my, so many foods, so little time.
I hope you keep us posted whenever you fix Thai Anything.

When I was shopping at the Thai market this week, in with their "meats" (and seafood, etc.), there were some really nice quail and I bought some. I'm going to do some searching to see if there is a usual Thai preparation for quail, but if in the meantime any of you know of something, please do tell.

[Anna N]

Anna, no way would you get voted off this thread!  Actually, I love the idea of a Thai or Thai style appetizer or first course, and I would do without the rice in that case also.  I might copy your idea one of these nights soon.  I can't seem to tire of Thai, so that's a good way to keep it in the menus, but not eat Thai exclusively.  Oh my, so many foods, so little time.
I hope you keep us posted whenever you fix Thai Anything.

When I was shopping at the Thai market this week, in with their "meats" (and seafood, etc.), there were some really nice quail and I bought some.  I'm going to do some searching to see if there is a usual Thai preparation for quail, but if in the meantime any of you know of something, please do tell.

Thank you, Susan. I have looked at quail when it's available (frozen) but I have never been brave enough to give it a try. Maybe, just maybe, one of these days - I'll watch what you do with it first though!

[Susan in FL]

Oh yum, looking for Thai quail recipes I found this recipe for frog legs from True Thai. I love frog legs, and the Thai market had them, too. Next time I'll buy them.

[little ms foodie]

We made a little mish mash of asian food last night and among them was a nice pot of tom kai gai



I had originally found the same online recipe as Patti and after reading some of the feedback I tweaked it. It came out great, next time we will add more chilis but other than that the flavor was delish!

[Susan in FL]

Looks good, Wendy!
Most of the ideas I have found for Thai Quail have been from online restaurant menus, with their descriptions of the dishes. I've found only a few actual recipes. This may be my first Thai Improv!

[Anna N]

I do know that quail are not game hens but there is a recipe for Thai-Curried Game Hens in the Feb 2005 issue of Bon Appetit - don't know if you could riff off it.

[Susan in FL]

Pad Thai!

The plan was to have the Pad Thai first and then "Thai Quail" with Thai stir-fried vegetables, but the Pad Thai was very filling. So now we have much of the prep done for tomorrow night's dinner. The quail are marinating in a heavenly smelling mixture of lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, garlic, fresh galangal, shallots, bird chilies, fish sauce, a little peanut oil, a a shot of honey.
I went mostly by the Kasma Loha-unchit recipe for the Pad Thai, using shrimp, and added a little less of this and a little more of that, and incorporated some ideas from the Hot Sour Salty Sweet version. It was very good. This dish does indeed have hot, sour, salty, and sweet flavors.
Thanks for thinking of me with the curry idea, Anna. I'll check out that recipe in Bon Appetit. We have had quail quite a few times, but mostly they have been the pre-seasoned and butterflied version that they have in Publix. I was pleased to find these, not butterflied or seasoned. Are you thinking of making a Thai preparation when you have them, or are you up for some other ideas? One of my favorites is to have quail as part of a mixed grill, cooking outdoors.

[patti]

I made larb for the first time last night! Yesterday I made chicken stock according to Fat Guy's eCGI's method. I've made chicken stock many times before, but decided to give this method a whirl. One of the things Fat Guy mentions is that early on in the stock making process, he removes the chicken breasts and uses them for something else. Last night I decided that my something else would be larb. I'm guessing from the pictures of chicken larb that I've seen that either dark meat is usually used, or raw chicken is the starting point, rather than cooked, because mine doesn't look exactly like other pictures. Anyway, here's my result:




I have to admit I've only ever tasted larb twice before. After reading (most of) the larb thread, I wanted to taste what all the fuss was about, so a couple of weeks ago I got take-out beef larb from two different restaurants. Wow! The interesting thing to me about Thai food is how incredibly different the flavors are from what I've grown up eating (Cajun). It's really a nice adventure for my taste buds. Mine might be more of a variation of larb, but it was really pretty damn good!

[Susan in FL]

Horray! Like they say on the larb thread, it's always good to know someone else has lost her larbinity.

[snowangel]

Susan's pic of her pad thai reminds me of another favorite noodle dish -- guay teow (not sure of the phonetics of this one, I've seen it spelled a ton of different ways). Basically, fresh wide rice noodles, greens, meat or seafood with a "gravy." I know (I do recall a recipe for this in Hot Sour Salty Sweet). Gravy, as I recall, is a mix of soy sauces, etc., although I have seen it made with oyster sauce.

My memories of this dish are especially fond. Many years ago, when I was a lass of about 10, our friends Gordon and his wife taught my mother and I to scuba dive. We were members of the TSAC and every Sunday morning, we would leave Bangkok early and drive to Pattaya for a day of diving. Before Gordon and I would get on the boat, we would each down a plate of these noodles made with squid, with lots of nam pla and hot peppers. When I crave comfort food, this is one that comes to mind. Fortunately, I have really easy access to fresh rice noodles. This is a fast one-dish meal.

[Behemoth]

Susan's pic of her pad thai reminds me of another favorite noodle dish -- guay teow (not sure of the phonetics of this one, I've seen it spelled a ton of different ways).  Basically, fresh wide rice noodles, greens, meat or seafood with a "gravy."  I know (I do recall a recipe for this in Hot Sour Salty Sweet).  Gravy, as I recall, is a mix of soy sauces, etc., although I have seen it made with oyster sauce.

I think I know that dish, as I order something similar pretty often at my thai place. (Yes, I go there about least twice a week...) But I am confused about the name.
What DT calls "gwi dtiaw haeng" is done with this dried noodles and no gravy, then there is "gwio tio neua" that is a soup. Those are the only noodle dishes with similar-sounding names. Then he has one in gravy that sounds like what you describe which is "raat nar muu". I've been wanting to try that one because the picture looks amazing, but one of the ingredients is yellow bean paste which I can't seem to find.

[ScorchedPalate]

I could be way off base, but I thought that "Gkuay Dtiow" and its variants just meant "noodles".

E.g.,
- Beef Noodle Soup (Gkuay Dtiow Neau Nahm: Noodles/beef/water)
- Stir-Fried Noodles with Soy (Gkuay Dtiow Pad Seeyew: Noodles/stirfried/soy)

Can anyone verify or clarify?

~A

[snowangel]

I was speaking more of Guay Teow Rad (Rat?) Na Nua (beef), gai (chicken) or whatever. Yes, you are correct, guay teow as I recall refers more to the noodle than the style in which is prepared, but I could be incorrect, or my terminology could be very much "street" Thai.

[snowangel]

Further note: nam means with water (or brorth) and hang means dry.

As an example. I hearken back to those nights when my parents would be out for dinner. Sister and I would listen for the bell of the noodle cart. She always wanted Bahn Mi nam (with broth) and I wanted mine Bahn Mi heng (dry). The heng was cooked in broth, but the bowl of noodles and assorted odd meat parts and veg was not served with a scoop of broth.

[jrt]

I will probably get voted off this thread for this non-authentic "rice" but I served it as an appetizer and just did not want rice.  It was still yummy served on a bed of mixed greens!  It is the Spicy Chicken and Thai Basil dish (using shrimp as suggested) from Kasma's website. 

After seeing your picture, I had to make this dish myself. It was my first time on Kasma's site, and I came across her method for steaming Jasmine rice, so I decided to go down the entree route and try her method out (I've never liked my simple method much, and I've never met a rice cooker I really liked).

The result was fabulous. I can't believe how incredibly well the rice turned out -- I will never, ever cook rice another way unless I have a seriously good reason to believe it will compare. I was shocked; it tasted like rice at some of the best meals in my memory.

The shrimp were great, too, but a ricepiphany is (for me at least) a wonderful thing. All that basil was delicious, and the whole dish paired wonderfully with an albarino.

Thanks so much for the link, ScorchedPalate. I've been cooking Thai food routinely for a long time, but tonight it really clicked.

[patti]

Horray!  Like they say on the larb thread, it's always good to know someone else has lost her larbinity. 

I don't know, since my pic doesn't look like the others I've seen, maybe I've still got my larbginity and this was only 'oral'.

[bilrus]

I will probably get voted off this thread for this non-authentic "rice" but I served it as an appetizer and just did not want rice.  It was still yummy served on a bed of mixed greens!  It is the Spicy Chicken and Thai Basil dish (using shrimp as suggested) from Kasma's website.  

After seeing your picture, I had to make this dish myself.

This is one of my favorite Thai dishes in general. I use the recipe from Hot Sour Salty Sweet. I prefer my own version to those in most Thai restaurants because I can control the spice and especially the sweetness. I made this with chicken a week or two ago and posted it elsewhere and your pics have made me want to post the pic again so i can jump into the Thai fun:

[snowangel]

About a week ago, a friend and I got together at my house to make larb (larb-making lesson for her). She had purchased lime leaves from the local market. But, we used the leaves off my tree. What was interesting is that mine were much more pungent, and had a much more oily quality. (This should probably be on the kaffir lime tree thread, which I am too lazy to search for right now) Wonder why?

Further, we also had a curry making lesson. Late last summer, when the frost was threatening, I looked at my Thai and holy basil plants in the garden, it was beautiful and seemed like such a waste to let the frost take it, even though I have easy access to both at our local Asian markets.. Once cut, it seems to have no "shelf" life, nor does it dry well at all. So, I shoved it into the food processor, minced ithem (separately), added some oil (it wasn't olive; perhaps just plain veg oil?), rolled it into a log and froze it. Bingo! Retained the quality that I was looking for. Kind of wish I hadn't minced it, but just bathed whole leaves in oil before freezing.

[little ms foodie]

jrt, are those Palace Kitchen coasters I see???

Too funny as tonight Dayne made Wok seared Albacore with coconut curry from Tom's Seattle Kitchen book. I know this isn't traditional Thai but damn it was good!

Edited by little ms foodie, 31 January 2005 - 09:48 PM.

[little ms foodie]

Horray!  Like they say on the larb thread, it's always good to know someone else has lost her larbinity.  

I don't know, since my pic doesn't look like the others I've seen, maybe I've still got my larbginity and this was only 'oral'.

[jrt]

jrt, are those Palace Kitchen coasters I see???

Too funny as tonight Dayne made Wok seared Albacore with coconut curry from Tom's Seattle Kitchen book. I know this isn't traditional Thai but damn it was good!

Palace? Naturally.

That curry looks great.

[Susan in FL]

Beautiful photos, you guys!

I don't know, since my pic doesn't look like the others I've seen, maybe I've still got my larbginity and this was only 'oral'. 

Sounds like a Clinton defense to me.

I'm guessing from the pictures of chicken larb that I've seen that either dark meat is usually used, or raw chicken is the starting point, rather than cooked, because mine doesn't look exactly like other pictures.

To set joking aside and get back to that... I believe you're right that your picture looks different than most others because you started with cooked white meat, and it often starts with raw whatever and/or a darker meat. But no doubt, it's delicious anyway!

...Kasma's site, and I came across her method for steaming Jasmine rice, so I decided to go down the entree route and try her method out (I've never liked my simple method much, and I've never met a rice cooker I really liked).

The result was fabulous.  I can't believe how incredibly well the rice turned out -- I will never, ever cook rice another way unless I have a seriously good reason to believe it will compare.  I was shocked; it tasted like rice at some of the best meals in my memory.

The shrimp were great, too, but a ricepiphany is (for me at least) a wonderful thing.  All that basil was delicious, and the whole dish paired wonderfully with an albarino. 

Thanks so much for the link, ScorchedPalate.  I've been cooking Thai food routinely for a long time, but tonight it really clicked.

I read that and was interested in trying her method for Jasmine rice. I have been using the Hot Sour Salty Sweet method. I think I was especially thick-headed when I was reading it. Do I understand correctly that a bowl sits in the steaming section of a steamer and in that bowl is the rice AND hot water? With her emphasis on not boiling the rice, it threw me that the rice would be cooking in water.


Snowangel, I really enjoy your contribution to this thread, including your stories. I hope you continue to share your experiences and knowledge.

[Susan in FL]

Our Postponed Thai Quail Dinner

The two table sauces besides fish sauce were Chile-Vinegar Sauce, left over from the night before, and the second batch of Vietnamese Must-Have Table Sauce that I've made since this kick for Thai began. I just love the Must-Have Sauce! In case anybody is interested and doesn't have the book:

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons rice or cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 bird chile, minced
Several shreds of carrot (optional)

The marinade flavored the quail nicely. Even though they marinated 24 hours longer than planned, they still had the quail flavor that we like so much.