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OnigiriFB

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  1. What a fun and informative thread seeing this Thai cook-off with participants in Thailand, Iowa and Paris!  Now I have a new Thai dish that I must try as well...

    Thank you all for linking to recipes and for showing steps of the dish as well as the finale!  I looked in one of my Thai cookbooks and interestingly they used stew beef rather than chicken.  Is this a known version or just an American cookbook ("True Thai by Victor Sodsook)variant?  (I did notice that Pim mentioned on her site that it is *usually* made with chicken).

    Each of you raised the bar in some way so it is too difficult to proclaim a real winner in my eyes...  Of course I also have no qualifications to judge really...

    Congrats and thank you!

    Hi Ludja,

    Welcome to our battle khao soi thread. I hope you try it out! You can make khao soi with beef also my personally preference is just chicken. No worries about the judging I just hope people with try the dish as it's one of my favorites. If you try it I hope you will post pictures for us to see. :smile:

    Onigiri

  2. Heads up! Over on the Cooking forum is a new Cook-Off -- Asian Noodle Soups.  I've provided a link on that topic to the Battle of the Khao Soi topic.

    But, two things.

    I had my first Khao Soi in Chieng Mai in the late 1960's, and the taste of that dish has stayed with me.  I've had it, in Chieng Mai, with beef or chicken, and I'm not sure which I prefer.  But, the fried noodles are essential, IMHO.  I'm hot to make khao soi, but I think my pounding technique is off because my pastes never look like they should.  Tips and tricks appreciated.

    Be sure and visit the Asian Noodle Cook-Off.  I have some questions about ba mee nam.

    I'm in but I'm still trying to figure out what kind of noodles I want to do. Yes I had another bowl of khao soi and put the fried noodles and it does make a difference. So no more being lazy next time! Umm.. the only thing I remember about making paste is that we made sure to roast them really well. Our family cook had this unglazed clay pot that she would put all the ingredients in (shallots peppers etc) into to roast them on the stovetop. When it came out the were nicely charred and she would skin them. From what I remember is should come out like roasted peppers and be easy to make into a paste. The dry stuff went in first to be pounded and then the roasted stuff. Then I would pound away while scraping the bowl until it looked like what Ptipois on her blog posted a picture of. Did that help?

  3. Last year in LA a friend of mine took me to a Chinese vegetarian place that was very good. We had "beef", "shrimp" and "chicken". I didn't miss meat at all. I have no idea how the did it but I swear everything tasted like it was supposed to be. I think my friend told me it was made from gluten except the "chicken". I still drool thinking about the "chicken' dish. It was batter fried mushrooms in a sweet sauce. Yum!

    Asian vegetarian dishes don't seem to be that popular over here. In LA I was probably the only non chinese person and there were no "whites" in the restaurant. No one I know here understand how complex vegetarian food in Asia can be. There were so many place in Thailand and so many dishes we could get when we didn't want to eat meat. There are days now that I get tired of eating meat and could go for some nice tofu and veggie dishes. Alas, to have my street stalls back.

    Are there good Asian markets in Montreal? I thought there were? Or am I thinking Toronto? I would think most of those tofu products would be found in a good Asian market. I think I can get everything but the tofu skins but then I've never looked for them.

  4. Very nice! You even did the fried noodles which me and Austin left out. Good job Ptipois. But the questions is... how did it taste? This was your first time trying it out right? Did you like? I've been eating mine for the past few days and find that the curry sauce gets better as it sits. In fact, I think it's time for a late dinner of khao soi. Austin, the bum, left for the southern part of Thailand on Monday and then he's off to Laos for a bit so dunno when he'll be back to see how you did. Personally I think we are all winners for making the dish!

  5. I have to admit I'm not the greatest fan of phad thai. I never order it here because they usually don't do it right. But even in Thailand it was a dish I rarely ate. There were so many other dishes to eat! If Thai restaurants abroad are putting KETCHUP!!!???!!!? :wacko: in phad thai I'm wondering why it's so popular here. Blech!

  6. Your congee looks fine MizDucky. I do the same thing when I'm sick and then I'll eat it with various pickles and stuff. There are two styles of congee (someone else help me here as to where they originated) one it the soupy kind like you've just made and the other is the kind that looks more like gruel. In Thailand you can find both and both are delicious. I happen to prefer your style the best. Because I love the various things you can make and eat with it. Keep up the good works. Still loving this :wub:

  7. I once broke up with a guy because I saw him eating a banana in a way that just made me cringe.   Like a monkey.... peeling it like some sort of primate between bites?

    Uh, human's are primates, and how else are you supposed to eat a banana?

    *in my best posh british accent* why with a fork and a knife, course. Humph, heathens.

    :rolleyes::wink:

  8. No second date for the guy who held his fork with a fist and shoveled food into his mouth like it was an eating contest. After finishing in 10 minutes he got bored and kept telling me I ate too slow. I said Bu-bye to him and avoided his calls until he got the hint.

  9. I noticed that both versions omit the deep-fried noodles. Is this more of a condiment and not an essential part of khao soi? I've been thinking about making this dish for quite some time, but was put off by the deep-fried noodles (I dislike deep-frying).

    Also, is the dish typically made with a wide or narrow noodle? Fresh noodles are the norm, I take it?

    I'm sorry I must have missed this post somehow. Umm.. I er.. forgot! Totally spaced tthe fried noodles. I knew I was missing some crunch factor but beyond that they don't add much. You can substitue chow mein noodles found in grocery stores instead of frying your own. I recall khao soi in Chiang Mai using narrow flat noodles that look similar to linguine noodles. Yes fresh noodles are the norm. But you can substitue whatever you would like to use. In a pinch for fresh noodles I've been known to boil some 10 cent ramen noodles (leave out the flavoring package) and using those in various things. While this may not be authentic you'll still get the flavors of the dish as long as the curry follows the recipes. THe only thing I really think you NEED is the pickled mustard green. Without it the dish seems a bit one note and flat to me. Then again that might be my palate. Hope you give it a try! :smile:

  10. THanks Ptipois! Umm... will an italian marble mortar be able to withstand the pouding? Thai mortars are rock solid and wiegh a ton. I'd be scared of cracking marble one.

    Hrm I swear she has one! But I don't think its linked. If I remember right she made red curry for a Thai dinner in London. But when that was I have no idea. I read through her entire blog this summer so it might have been in the beginning or something. Sorry I know I'm not a lot of help. Maybe you can email her? She's one up on me since I have no idea the exact ingredients of kreung gang. Our cook (who I used to hang out with in the kitchen to try and absorb knowledge from) never measured. She just threw a bunch of stuff in this claypot to roast it and then dumped it into a mortar. Occasionally she would give me the priviledge of pounding the curry into paste. (It can be a fun way to get your exercise in and frustrations out! Always wondered how an 80 lb woman could lift these huge bags of rice and heavy pots of curry. I think making your own paste gives a person a good workout. :raz: )

    PS If you email Pii Pim ask her if she's been sneezing a lot lately. We Thais have a saying that if you sneeze once someone is thinking about you, if you sneeze twice someone is talking about you behind your back. I'm sure she's been sneezing up a storm! :laugh:

  11. Oooo someone wants to make khao soi! Yes, someone else has got to show up Austin. *sigh* Alas, this poor Thai girl is so ashamed at not making her own kreung gang.

    In my defence, I would like to say that I did this contest mainly to show my my blog audience how easy it is to make khao soi no matter where you live. Austin, living in Thailand, with it's abundance of fresh vegetables might have an easier time making curry paste then someone in po-dunk Iowa. Not to mention the fact that many of my readers (san eGulleteers) wouldn't know what a mortar and pestle is! By using store brought curry paste I didn't have to post a complicated ingredients list. I also know that major supermarkets in the States actually carry red curry paste making it easier for the average cook to give this one a try. Otherwise, many of my friends think whats available at Thai restaurants (good and bad) as authentic while it may not be. I'm hoping the exposure of my blog plus what Austin can create in Thailand will let others know that you Thai food is not all that complicated, but at least more authentic then what commonly found in Thai restaurants in the States. Khun Pim's recipes, without having to make my own curry paste, was a cinch. Took all of twenty minutes of cook time and all the ingredients could be purchased at the supermarket minus the noodles (which you could substitue with ramen or even fresh linguine noodles) and the pickled mustard greens (umm no idea what a sub for this would be). Either way, neither Austin nor I, had nothing to gain by doing this. We just, like many of you, like Thai food, have blogs, and wanted to share. And it was also a lot of fun, ribbing each other back and forth. So in the end I feel we are both winners.

    [Onigiri's non-diplomatic side chimes in: Whatever! I declare a mistrial! There were only TWO people who judged! This isn't over by a long shot Austin! I refuse to submit to defeat! Just you wait... ]

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