patricia

Thank you all for the responses. Heidih, I, too, love a marinated pink flank steak. Wonderderful flavor. I would like to offer a beef roulade, I'll try top round next, any other suggestions? I can't afford to waste, so I will trying braising my experiment today and hopefully eating the result.

Flank steak was cut in half (supposed to be butterflied). I spread my dressing leaving about 3/4 in around the edges. Rolled and tied. Dry roasted 400 for 15 minutes then turned the oven down to 350 for 30 minutes. The roll stretched the string and stuffing and meat was sticking out. The meat was very tough. I cooked this for myself, I will put this back in the oven tomorrow morning for a moist braise hoping to tender up the meat. Where did I go wrong? Maybe the meat should have been marinated... May I should have asked the butcher to run it through a tenderizer... If I make this for company, do you have any suggestions on how to keep the stuffing in and the meat tender?

I will have the problem in the future. They had "bean threads". and when I asked I was told that they were not mung bean noodles, nor did they have any. The store was very crowded, rhe clerks too busy to help was the feeling I got.

Exactly. I would agree with much of what has been said if the question didn't start with "as a beginning personal chef". A personal chef who tells the clients what they won't do because it's not authentic is in the fastlane to no longer being a personal chef. It's fine to offer advice and guidance but at the end of the discussion, what the client pays you to do is what you do. We can trot out examples of dictatorial chefs who tell the customer what they will or won't do and get away with it but I'm willing to bet almost anything that every one of them put in a lot of years of doing whatever the customer wanted before they got to that point in their success. Customer wants brown rice with their waterfall beef, customer gets brown rice with their waterfall beef... without a side of "that's wrong". I agree. That's what makes the service "personal". This has been a learning experience. I was supposed to have a proposed menu to her yesterday, instead I emailed her that I would send it the following morning because of a missing ingredient. I went to my local asian store and wasn't able to find mung bean noodles. I had decided on Pan Woon Sen. She called last night and said don't worry about the Thai. Didn't want me to stress. What a sweetheart. So a lesson in communication. I will relace the dish, and after the cook date discuss her request for Thai. I will print a menu and we'll look over it together. Thank you all so much for your help. I have written down your suggestions and will use them in the future. There are many asian stores to explore.

Which are generally rice noodles..... You also stated "For this cook date, they have already requested fish, so beef, pork, chicken." Does this mean you are only looking for a fish dish or??? Also if you describe the vegetable dish prep it would give us an idea of what you consider "Thai" Poorly written. I should have said that they already have requested a fish dish. So the Thai should be beef, pork, or chicken. I don't know Thai, that's why I'm here. I googled this recipe after looking a a menu. Thai Snow Peas 1 1/4 cups (4 oz) Snow Peas 3/4 cup Sliced shitake mushrooms 1/4 cup Shredded ginger 2 teaspoons Kikkoman soy sauce Oyster sauce (optional, add if you want more flavor 1 teaspoon Sesame oil 1/2 tablespoon Thai light soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon Sugar 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil 1 cup Shitake water

Thanks for all the help, I could use even more. They do want Thai, I'm sure when they are at a Thai restaurant, they just order noodle dishes.

Thank you for all of the responses. Yes, they do eat brown rice.

Hello all chefs! As a beginning personal chef, I have been asked to cook some Thai. I've never cooked it (shhh, don't tell) and only eaten it a few times. The client wants protein, starch, veg. No casseroles, stews, dishes where these are all combined. They are moderate to high moderate heat. For this cook date, they have already requested fish, so beef, pork, chicken. So far, I have found a recipe for snow peas with shitake mushrooms. Sounds wonderful for the veg, but I could use your help with the protein, starch. Thank you for any help you might provide. Forgot to add they don't eat white rice.