Thai Cooking at Home, 2007 – 2012

[Ktepi]

I can only suggest the items i am sure what they are:

Tamrain Leaves:..Fresh??? I have never seen them dried though. The tamarind leaves are used in Soup called Tom Klong...a kind of Tom Yum seasoned with Tamarin pulp extract ( instead of lime)...the leaves are a bit sour and lend the sourness to the soup.

Shrimp Fat in Oil, i think it is the tomalley ( see perparation for Thai River Prawn for the photo).  Use this in Shrimp fried Rice to get the Full Shrimp Flavour. ( add just before you mix in the rice)

Pork Fu...Eat with Boil Rice for breakfast ( and other boil rice condiments).

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Yep, the tamarind leaves are fresh -- really fresh, by the looks of them. I don't know if someone is growing tamarinds here, or if they're imported. I love good Tom Yum, so a variant on that sounds like a good use!

The Pork Fu is pretty tasty -- I just opened it up to try some, I can see how it'd be good that way. Cool, I thought that might be how it was used.

Thanks for the help!

[Dejah]

Bitter melon leaves

U Toy (some kind of green)

Green beans (they look like green crabapples, the price tag says "fruit," the sign said "green beans")

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I didn't know you eat the bitter melon leaves, tho' I've eaten lots of bitter melons.

U toy / Yu choi is a variety of Chinese greens. They are wonderful quickly stir-fried with chopped garlic and ginger, and drizzled with oyster sauce or sesame oil just before serving. I also like them blanched and eaten with noodle / wonton soup.

Green beans that look like crab apples? Were they mis-labelled and are actually Thai eggplant?

[Ktepi]

I didn't know you eat the bitter melon leaves, tho' I've eaten lots of bitter melons.

U toy / Yu choi is a variety of Chinese greens. They are wonderful quickly stir-fried with chopped garlic and ginger, and drizzled with oyster sauce or sesame oil just before serving. I also like them blanched and eaten with noodle / wonton soup.

Green beans that look like crab apples? Were they mis-labelled and are actually Thai eggplant?

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Oooh, U toy sounds excellent, then. I love Chinese greens in general (I picked up others, these were just the only ones I didn't recognize) -- I may have those for lunch.

The "green beans" aren't eggplant, they're definitely a fruit -- tart, astringent, sort of apple-like in texture, and sold with a small packet of what I think is chile-salt tucked into the package. I'll try to get a good photo of them -- they might not be Asian, they could be Latin American.

[C. sapidus]

Bill: Good luck cooking your interesting finds!

Gabriel: Thanks for the information on the sauce and fish balls. I have been eyeing that green curry, so your recommendation will push it up the list.

Tonight we made chicken with red chile and cashews from True Thai. This was a Chinese stir-fry with Thai flavors. With twelve cloves of garlic, dried chiles, onions, scallions, chicken stock, oyster sauce, fish sauce, palm sugar, and chile-tamarind paste (nam phrik pao), the sauce cooked down to a delicious spicy-syrupy glaze. Good stuff.

As often happens, bedlam erupted while I was stir-frying the chicken. I goofed up the timing, so the chicken turned out nicely but the scallions were mushy. Somehow, the five minutes that I need to concentrate on a hot wok seems to attract chaos.

Kai phat met ma muang

[iii_bake]

I can only suggest the items i am sure what they are:

Tamrain Leaves:..Fresh??? I have never seen them dried though. The tamarind leaves are used in Soup called Tom Klong...a kind of Tom Yum seasoned with Tamarin pulp extract ( instead of lime)...the leaves are a bit sour and lend the sourness to the soup.

Shrimp Fat in Oil, i think it is the tomalley ( see perparation for Thai River Prawn for the photo).  Use this in Shrimp fried Rice to get the Full Shrimp Flavour. ( add just before you mix in the rice)

Pork Fu...Eat with Boil Rice for breakfast ( and other boil rice condiments).

←

Yep, the tamarind leaves are fresh -- really fresh, by the looks of them. I don't know if someone is growing tamarinds here, or if they're imported. I love good Tom Yum, so a variant on that sounds like a good use!

The Pork Fu is pretty tasty -- I just opened it up to try some, I can see how it'd be good that way. Cool, I thought that might be how it was used.

Thanks for the help!

←

forgot to tell to use Dried Red Chilli instead of fresh Bird eye chilli..and it wouls be nnice to char them a bit under flame. Do not burn them though.

Charred shallot is sometimes added as well.

[Jamie Lee]

I did a "wild hog" trip to my now-favorite asian market, and among other things, scored a two pound bag od key limes...

(There's a new thread on Cooking about how to use this bounty!)

My question here is...

Three portions of "herbs" (That's all they say...)

One is mint (I think) the other smell like basil but..

help?

[C. sapidus]

My question here is...

Three portions of "herbs" (That's all they say...)

. . .

One is mint (I think) the other smell like basil but..

help?

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Hard to tell - try comparing the leaves with pictures of basil or perilla on Gernot Katzer's web site.

[Dejah]

My question here is...

Three portions of "herbs" (That's all they say...)

One is mint (I think) the other smell like basil but..

help?

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Hard to tell - try comparing the leaves with pictures of basil or perilla on Gernot Katzer's web site.

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The centre one is perilla.

The one on the right could be basil.

[Jamie Lee]

Thank you all so much! It is indeed perilla. I now know to search for recipes with the proper name. I know the picture is rough, but with the perilla identified, I am sure the other is thai basil and the other is mint.

All are delicious with my "larb-inspired" pork or minced chicken thighs...

[iii_bake]

[i do not know the name in English, but the one on the right is not basil.

It is not for central Thai dishes. It comes with the north eastern part, Lao and Vietnamese dishes.

That doesn't help much, does it?

[Dejah]

My question here is...

Three portions of "herbs" (That's all they say...)

One is mint (I think) the other smell like basil but..

help?

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From the pictures in Andrea Nguyen's book, I wonder if the ones on the left could be wild betel leaf. From the long-leaf shape in the right package, they could be sorrel OR "hung" a variety of mint.

[C. sapidus]

Tonight we enjoyed fried striped bass with chile-tamarind sauce from True Thai, served with jasmine rice, sweet corn, and salad. The recipe called for a whole striped bass, but we found thick fillets and reduced the frying time accordingly. Any one of Jamie Lee’s "herbs" (whatever they turn out to be) would probably have topped this dish nicely.

The delicious sauce, served on the side, contained chile-tamarind paste for spice and tang; garlic, scallions, and cilantro for aroma; red bell peppers and sugar for sweetness; chicken stock for body; and of course fish sauce for salt. We will definitely make the sauce again.

Pla kaphong tod lad na nam phrik pao

[heidih]

One is mint (I think) the other smell like basil but..

help?

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The one on the right looks like Ngo gai aka mexican coriander, saw leaf or tooth herb.

I have only had it on the herb platter for Vietnamese dishes like pho and those that wrap fresh herbs in rice paper with other ingredients

[FoodMan]

Last night's dinner, all from Thompson's Thai Food:

Pork Shin and Peanut soup. I made a 4X batch and used a large hock following the intro to this recipe. I blanched and also shallow fried the hock to get it golden brown. The soup is delicious with obvious roots from China (soy sauce, Shao Xing cooking wine, ginger in the paste,...)

Green Mango salad (Buying a Bron Mandolin was one of the best purchases I've made recently...I love the thing). I used his recipe for green papaya salad minus the green beans. I used green mango because I could not find green papaya in my local Asian store. This was tart, sweet, fishy, nutty and spicy...in short awsome.

Chicken Larb , one of my wife's favorite dishes

All was served with sticky rice

Dessert- Steamed coconut pudding with young coconut. I also followed one of his recommendations and steamed it in the husk of the coconut. I embelished it with a cool topping of coconut cream and served with a sliced dragon fruit. Another winning dish that looks pretty neat.

[snowangel]

No Thai here lately, but there will be sometime after the tomatoes and corn is spent.

But, eat your hearts out. At the farmer's market last week, I espied a tiny Hmong grandma dutifully trimming the roots off a whole mess of cilantro. Nice long roots. I asked about them, and was rewarded with a stuffed ziplock sandwich-sized bag just for the asking. I now have more cilantro roots in the freezer than should be legal.

[Sentiamo]

Hello everyone...I poke my head in here fairly often and must get my camera sorted so I can join in! This is a wonderful thread.

I have just posted my favourite Thai Shrimp salad with tamarind dressing recipe at RecipeGullet so anyone with a glut of cilantro and mint, and experiencing a scorcher of a day, would maybe like to give it a try. You wont be disappointed!

[Dan-]

One is mint (I think) the other smell like basil but..

help?

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The one on the right looks like Ngo gai aka mexican coriander, saw leaf or tooth herb.

I have only had it on the herb platter for Vietnamese dishes like pho and those that wrap fresh herbs in rice paper with other ingredients

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No it doesn't. Sawtooth herb looks VERY different, like this:

The middle is most definitely perilla. The stuff on the left looks like fish mint. Vile stuff. The stuff on the right could very well be some variety of basil, since there are so many. It's tough to tell on both without taking a leaf out of the packaging, but nothing in the photograph is culantro/mexican cilantro/sawtooth herb/pak chi farang.

[SheenaGreena]

elie, I noticed that you used green mango as opposed to green papaya....does that mean that the green mango was full ripened? I understand that a green papaya is an unripened version and I have no idea where to find one, however I can find green mangos everywhere.

Green mangoes have yellowish orange flesh, correct?

[heidih]

No it doesn't. Sawtooth herb looks VERY different, like this:

Thanks. Further evidence that I have outgrown my over the counter reading glasses....Not a "saw" or a "tooth" to be seen on the original query.

[sanrensho]

Three portions of "herbs" (That's all they say...)

The stuff on the right could very well be some variety of basil, since there are so many. It's tough to tell on both without taking a leaf out of the packaging, but nothing in the photograph is culantro/mexican cilantro/sawtooth herb/pak chi farang.

The herb on the right actually looks like rau ram to me, both from the shape of the leaf and the pattern on the stems/stalks. I've been growing this for the last 2 years.

http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/essentials/herbs.htm

[FoodMan]

elie, I noticed that you used green mango as opposed to green papaya....does that mean that the green mango was full ripened?  I understand that a green papaya is an unripened version and I have no idea where to find one, however I can find green mangos everywhere.

Green mangoes have yellowish orange flesh, correct?

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I could not find green (unripe) papaya either. The mango is definitly not ripe. It is hard to the touch and the flesh is yellowish green. It tastes pretty tart with barely a sweet flavor in there. Good stuff.

[Gabriel Lewis]

I'm suprised people have had trouble finding green papaya; it is readily available in portland, montreal, and california from what I have seen. They are usually rock hard, wrapped in plastic, and kept refrigerated. Green mango is an interesting substitute, I'm assuming you cut down on the tamarind/lime juice substantially, as green mango can be pretty sour. Another possibility you might want to try is chayote squash; while somewhat more fragile than green mango, the texture is quite close.

The color of green mangos can very anywhere from a light green to a pale yellow, depending on how early they were picked and what conditions they have been stored in. To use it in recipes that call for green mango, it should have a crisp texture, and be quite tart, and only a little sweet, if detectably sweet at all. The really green ones can be hard to find, but if this is what you want look for the smaller ones with all green skin, and buy them at a store with a high turnover where they store them refrigerated.

[memesuze]

I've always found green papaya in stock at my local asian markets - Elie, try Hong Kong Mkt if it's anywhere close to you - but never in an american supermarkets or fiesta

[Dan-]

Three portions of "herbs" (That's all they say...)

The herb on the right actually looks like rau ram to me, both from the shape of the leaf and the pattern on the stems/stalks. I've been growing this for the last 2 years.

http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/essentials/herbs.htm

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I think you're right. It's sometimes called 'long leaf coriander', which is maybe Heidi was thinking. I still stand by fish mint for the left. It looks somewhat similar to betel, but isn't as waxy. I bought it once to find out what it was and threw it away once I tasted it. The Asian supermarket near me sells all their herbs marked as Rau Thom or Selected Vegetable, making shopping fun.

[FoodMan]

I've always found green papaya in stock at my local asian markets - Elie, try Hong Kong Mkt if it's anywhere close to you - but never in an american supermarkets or fiesta

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Hong Kong Mkt is exactly the place I was looking at for green papaya. I only found regular ripe papaya. That's where I also got the green mango. Maybe I should've looked in their refrigerated section? Who knows....