Thai Cooking at Home, 2007 – 2012

[sanrensho]

Sanransho:

Great ideas!  Thanks.

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I forgot to suggest cilantro, and the bun/rice sticks might need some oil (such as sesame oil, or scallion/garlic oil) to keep from sticking together.

Oh, and roasted peanuts are a nice touch as well.

Edited October 7, 2007 by sanrensho (log)

[Jamie Lee]

Rasmalaysia:

Are the eggs "hard" cooked? Are they coated with anything before frying? (Your pic looks like they have some sort of breading, but since I've never deep fried a cooked egg before, I have no idea how they'd look....

For the tamarind "juice", approximately how much water would you use for 4 TBL of tamarind pulp? (I've never used it before, although I have some hanging out in my pantry...)

I read somewhere that these were called "Son in Law" eggs because a prospective bride had to make them for her future MIL to assure her that the bride could cook! Wonder what modern western cultures would use as a comparable litmus test.... chicken divan? green bean casserole? grilled cheese? ha ha (and yet sad!)

[C. sapidus]

We made some Thai food for a dinner party last night. My brother made chicken larb (larb gai)

Stir-fried beef with spices (Neua pat nahm prik pao kaeck)

Chicken in Southern-style red curry {kaeng phed kai meng dai)

[Dejah]

I wanted something that didn't require my standing in front of the stove, so I made seafood curry wirh shrimp, basa fillets, and baby octopus with a commercial Thai red curry paste. I added fresh lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves because I love these 2 ingredients so much!

The octopus was simmered in the sauce of curry paste and coconut milk in the oven. The shrimp and fish were added about 30 minutes before eating. I found the octopus too tender, but the rest of the seafood was just right.

Cooked up some jasmine rice and microwaved spaghetti squash to eat with the curry. This gave me extra prep. time before teaching my evening ESL class.

[prasantrin]

Has anyone ever made corn patties? (thot man khao phot)

How does one prevent the corn from splattering/popping when you fry the patties? Do you chop the corn kernels? I like to keep the kernels as whole as possible, but I suppose if I have to chop them, I will! But any advice to prevent that would be appreciated!

[Peter Green]

Has anyone ever made corn patties?  (thot man khao phot)

How does one prevent the corn from splattering/popping when you fry the patties?  Do you chop the corn kernels?  I like to keep the kernels as whole as possible, but I suppose if I have to chop them, I will!  But any advice to prevent that would be appreciated!

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You should be okay for just frying them. Try cooking the corn lightly first, then put it in the patties. The moisture in the patty should keep things under control, as you need dry heat to pop.

[prasantrin]

You should be okay for just frying them.  Try cooking the corn lightly first, then put it in the patties.  The moisture in the patty should keep things under control, as you need dry heat to pop.

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Can't cook them first! That would be a sin! It works best with kernels just sliced from the cob. When I make my cornballs (not their real name, but I don't know what they are in Thai because I don't know anyone who made them except my dad, but they're fried pork and corn meatballs), the corn always pops in the oil. It doesn't pop like regular popcorn, but it splits and the released moisture causes a lot of hot oil splattering about. Sometimes the corn does actually pop out of the pan (burned my carpet!).

With my cornballs, I've started chopping up the kernels before adding them to the pork, but I really want to try to keep them whole.

[Jamie Lee]

This will not likely crack you up, but it did me. As a single adult, with severe eating limitations, I couldn't believe the bounty of coconut milk I discovered in my pantry as I prepared to move! Who, other than Bruce, needs this much coco milk!

[Peter Green]

This will not likely crack you up, but it did me.  As a single adult, with severe eating limitations, I couldn't believe the bounty of coconut milk I discovered in my pantry as I prepared to move!  Who, other than Bruce, needs this much coco milk! 

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You can never have too much coconut milk around the house!

[C. sapidus]

You can never have too much coconut milk around the house!

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I get the shakes if we don’t have at least two cans in the cupboard.

By the way, do you prefer Chaokoh or Mae Ploy coconut milk?

[djyee100]

My stash, and for me, a moderate amount. I recently used 3 or 4 cans for various recipes. Hmmm...I just noticed I have only the 19 oz cans of Mae Ploy. Usually I stock both the 13 oz and the 19 oz cans. Time to go to the store again...

I prefer Chaokoh for flavor and Mae Ploy for abundant cream. Depending on what I want in the dish I'm cooking, I'll make my choice between the two. I often use Mae Ploy for a curry because you're simmering the curry paste for awhile in the cream to spread the flavors throughout the dish. I'll use Chaokoh in a recipe that simply calls for a dose of coconut milk for flavoring.

[Jamie Lee]

Holy smokes!

I'm a Mae Ploy girl.

Guess I'm coconut milk impaired after all! Funny what you find in a move!

I'm sure I have some more interesting things!

[milgwimper]

This will not likely crack you up, but it did me.  As a single adult, with severe eating limitations, I couldn't believe the bounty of coconut milk I discovered in my pantry as I prepared to move!  Who, other than Bruce, needs this much coco milk! 

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This is funny because when I was getting ready to move I had the same thing. I had cans and cans of coconut milk and there is only 2 people in the house. Now though I have one Chaokoh left, and lamenting I can only find goya and some other brandI can't remember. No Chaokoh or mae ploy in sight.

[iii_bake]

Rasmalaysia:

Are the eggs "hard" cooked?  Are they coated with anything before frying?  (Your pic looks like they have some sort of breading, but since I've never deep fried a cooked egg before, I have no idea how they'd look....

For the tamarind "juice", approximately how much water would you use for 4 TBL of tamarind pulp?  (I've never used it before, although I have some hanging out in my pantry...)

I read somewhere that these were called "Son in Law" eggs because a prospective bride had to make them for her future MIL to assure her that the bride could cook!      Wonder what modern western cultures would use as a comparable litmus test.... chicken divan?  green bean casserole?  grilled cheese?  ha ha (and yet sad!)

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May i cut in?

I am not Rasmalaysia but i have been eating and making this for life and think i may be able to help!

The egg can be cooked as per your preference...as long as the white is hard enough to hold the shape when peeled. ( not the liquid yolk though!)

Before you fry the eggs, make sure they are well dried or else the oil will spatter all over.

When fry, use medium heat...too hot the oil the egg white will be chewy.

...just fry the egg...no coating.

For the measurement of the palm sugar, it is approximately 200 grams per cup ( unbelievable, it is the same as granulated !)

For easy dealing with hardened palm sugar...heat it breifly in the microwave...this will help soften it. Do not heat the whole bottle with lid on...it will burst and the lava of hot syrup will hurt you.

For the tamarind, just add water enough to soften it and get the extract..If you add a lot of water...you will need more of the (thin) extract for the sauce...

For this recipe, you have to reduce the sauce to the sticky consistency...This means it will take longer using the thin extract.

Please note also that the degree of sourness of tamarind pulp can vary...do not seriously stick to the measurement...taste it...the sauce should be well balanced ( the saltiness, the sweetness and the sourness)..

Edited October 22, 2007 by iii_bake (log)

[Jamie Lee]

No Chaokoh or mae ploy in sight.

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I think this is why I have four cans of coconut milk... I can only find Mae Ploy at my asian market, so I buy more every time I go. And buy more, and more.

To those who think this a "normal" stash, I'm in a one person household, and one curry dish lasts for ages!

Guess you have to live here to find this amusing!

[milgwimper]

No Chaokoh or mae ploy in sight.

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I think this is why I have four cans of coconut milk... I can only find Mae Ploy at my asian market, so I buy more every time I go. And buy more, and more.

To those who think this a "normal" stash, I'm in a one person household, and one curry dish lasts for ages!

Guess you have to live here to find this amusing!

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We have a two person household and DH says I store and squirrel away things for a family of 15. But he never goes hungry. It is nice to know I am not alone!

[prasantrin]

I'm trying to make hoi tod (oyster "pancake"), but I'm not having any success with the recipes I've found. I think it's the batter that's my problem. I like my hoi tod to be a big chewy, but with patches of crispiness on the outside.

One recipe I used called for tapioca flour and soda water, but the end product resulted in a mucillaginous mess. At least the middle was mucillaginous. The outside was properly crisp, I thought. But it soaked up all the oil in the pan, and it was quite a bit of oil.

The other recipe called for equal amounts of all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and tapioca flour, water, and egg mixed in (the first one had beaten egg poured onto the batter after it has been poured onto a hot pan). This one was more like a regular pancake, so it wasn't right, either.

The perfect hoi tod should be like the one in this video (warning, annoying background music).

Any ideas how to duplicate the batter recipe?

[C. sapidus]

Rona: Sorry, I can offer no help whatsoever on hoi tod. I hope someone else can answer, though.

We are starting to get light frosts, so we harvested a good chunk of the garden for Kasma's spicy basil chicken (gai pad gaprow). This was chock-full of flavor, as it should be with 10 Thai chiles, 12 garlic cloves, sliced shallots, black soy, fish sauce, white pepper, and huge amounts of basil for a pound of minced chicken thighs. I loved it, but Mrs. C asked me to dial back the chiles next time.

Edited for punctuation and politeness.

Edited November 1, 2007 by C. sapidus (log)

[heidih]

Rona: Sorry, I can offer no help whatsoever on hoi tod. I hope someone else can answer, though.

We are starting to get light frosts, so we harvested a good chunk of the garden for Kasma's spicy basil chicken (gai pad gaprow). This was chock-full of flavor, as it should be with 10 Thai chiles, 12 garlic cloves, sliced shallots, black soy, fish sauce, white pepper, and huge amounts of basil for a pound of minced chicken thighs. I loved it, but Mrs. C asked me to dial back the chiles next time.

Edited for punctuation and politeness.

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That is SO intense and beautiful that I need a hit of a rice shot to even it out!

[snowangel]

We are starting to get light frosts, so we harvested a good chunk of the garden for Kasma's spicy basil chicken (gai pad gaprow). This was chock-full of flavor, as it should be with 10 Thai chiles, 12 garlic cloves, sliced shallots, black soy, fish sauce, white pepper, and huge amounts of basil for a pound of minced chicken thighs. I loved it, but Mrs. C asked me to dial back the chiles next time.

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Bruce, this is indeed one of my very favorite dishes, and is equally good with pork or fish. Sadly, we were up at the cabin when we had our first frost here, so my plants were toast before I could harvest it all! Fortunately, I have easy access to Thai basil year round.

Last time I made this, I actually made two batches -- one for Diana and I and one for the lightweights (Paul and Peter).

[Jamie Lee]

Thai Cooking Buddies... Please see this thread and HELP ME!

Durian

[C. sapidus]

This was based on a Thai Food recipe for salad of Murray trout with apple eggplant (yam pla gap makreua), substituting shrimp for trout (making it yam gung gap makreua?). We mashed garlic with salt, fried it until golden, and then added shrimp and a little water. When the shrimp turned pink, we killed the heat and mixed in thinly-sliced lemongrass and apple eggplant, mint leaves, shredded long-leaf coriander, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and roasted chile powder.

Salad of shrimp and apple eggplant

[SuzanneW]

I haven't cooked Thai in ages, but am always so inspired when I come back to this thread.

I am going to have a gang over for khao soi in two weeks. This is not a Thai cooking question, but can any of you think of what might work as a pre-khao soi cocktail? I wouldn't want it to clash.

[C. sapidus]

I am going to have a gang over for khao soi in two weeks.  This is not a Thai cooking question, but can any of you think of what might work as a pre-khao soi cocktail?  I wouldn't want it to clash.

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How about a daiquiri or other lime-soured drink?

[Domestic Goddess]

This was based on a Thai Food recipe for salad of Murray trout with apple eggplant (yam pla gap makreua), substituting shrimp for trout (making it yam gung gap makreua?). We mashed garlic with salt, fried it until golden, and then added shrimp and a little water. When the shrimp turned pink, we killed the heat and mixed in thinly-sliced lemongrass and apple eggplant, mint leaves, shredded long-leaf coriander, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and roasted chile powder.

Salad of shrimp and apple eggplant

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That looks so yummy, is the apple eggplant raw or cooked beforehand?