Thai Cooking at Home, 2007 – 2012

[Icanmakeit]

Although I occasionally make my own curry paste, I have tubs (you can buy cans or tubs; the tubs are much more economical) of all sorts of curry pastes -- masaman, red, green, yellow, panang -- in the pantry at all times.

I use the tubs too and was told by a Thai freind once that not too many people make their own curries anymore unless it is a special occasion. I have made my own a couple of times. The first time making the mistake of lifting the lid off the blender full of chilies, garlic etc and putting my nose right into it. It burned for days!

Best coconut milk is Mae Ploy, fish sauce is Tiparos, I also use the Mae Ploy curry pastes.

I am luck enough to live in a place with a lot of Asian markets. My favorite is the storeowner who grows Thai sweet basil year round in her green house.

[Ce'nedra]

Ce'nedra,

Strongly suggest you  check out this video: http://www.thaifoodtonight.com/thaifoodton...TUBEPadThai.htm

Excellent depiction of preparing the pad thai sauce with tamarind, as well as making the dish itself. Plus, a great series of visual how-to-s for a small number of Thai dishes.

Do let us know if  you you found these helpful.

gautam

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Thank you for the recommendation

Oh and thank you Gabriel Lewis for the clarification It seems the Chinese travelled to many countries (well duh, which country DOESN'T have a Chinese person?!) and left a dent (a good one at that) in many cuisines.

Popiah in many South East Asian cuisines (such as Filipino, Indonesian, etc) is also of Chinese origin. You can also see many Chinese influences in Vietnamese cuisine as well (naturally).

Edited September 22, 2007 by Ce'nedra (log)

[Ce'nedra]

Thai Fish Cakes with Vermicelli

[C. sapidus]

Ce’nedra: Looks good - how did you make the fish cakes?

Tonight we made two dishes from Thai Food.

Shrimp and ginger soup (dtom som gung maleng puu, I think)

We fried the spice paste – cilantro stems, garlic, shallots, ginger, white peppercorns, and a touch of shrimp paste – in rendered pork fat (trimmings from yesterday’s pork shoulder). The soup had a chicken stock base, richly flavored with tamarind, fish sauce, palm sugar, and shredded ginger, and garnished with scallions, cilantro, and white pepper.

Minced prawns simmered in coconut cream (lon gung)

We simmered minced pork fat in coconut cream and chicken stock, seasoned with tamarind, palm sugar, and fish sauce, added the minced shrimp, and finished with sliced shallots, red chile, cilantro, and more coconut cream. The rich sweet/sour flavor – with a touch of heat – reminded me of Asia’s eggplant curry from Cradle of Flavor.

I liked each dish individually, but in retrospect having two sweet-sour tamarind-based soupy dishes wasn’t the most inspired combination.

[Ce'nedra]

C. sapidus: I used fish paste (that was already slightly seasoned when bought), red curry paste, coconut milk, kernals from a medium sized corn, crushed garlic, fish sauce, salt, cornstarch, breadcrumbs (or panko), and sliced green onions

For the sauce, it was a mix of little bit of water, white vinegar, sweet chilli sauce, finely chopped unsalted roasted peanuts, a bit of soy sauce and a bit of sugar.

Btw, your Minced prawns simmered in coconut cream is a stunner! Looks so rich and yummyyy...is the minced pork fat necessary though or can I do without it?

Edited September 29, 2007 by Ce'nedra (log)

[insomniac]

Ce'nedra, enough already with the prolific cooking and posting.....you are going to fail uni if you keep up the pace here......and you never seem to sleep, I don't want to see any more posts after midnight your time, now GO TO BED

[Ce'nedra]

Ce'nedra, enough already with the prolific cooking and posting.....you are going to fail uni if you keep up the pace here......and you never seem to sleep, I don't want to see any more posts after midnight your time, now GO TO BED    

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You're right hahaha! (I will sue eG if I fail my degree ) But it's still early here -in fact, it's almost time for dinner woohoo!

[v. gautam]

Ce'nedra

These folks from less-favored climes are just jealous because you can grow a Thai lime tree outside all year round and have fresh herbs and cilantro from even a tiny herb patch out back, or pots at will, every day of the year!!

Plus, and this is going to drive them so wild, you have the best wild barramundi, pla kapong kao, at your doorstep; not just one, but at least 3 different populations. They probably have not tasted fresh wild barramundi anyway, which is why God truly is termed the Merciful and Compassionate!!!

And your yabbies!!

And your great mangoes!!!

Pineapples from Fiji whose taste is beyond comprehension!

So, C, although i love my good friend the the Tasty Crab very much, show no mercy to the others!!!!

Re: Univ., in my native tongue, Bengali, a well-known saying emphasizes: study hard and you will perish in sorrow; learn to catch fish and live happily ever after! See, Bengali todayis one among the seventh largest languages spoken on earth; so there is something to be said for that!

g

Edited September 29, 2007 by v. gautam (log)

[insomniac]

Ce'nedra

These folks from less-favored climes are just jealous because you can grow a Thai lime tree outside all year round and have fresh herbs and cilantro from even a tiny herb patch out back, or pots at will, every day of the year!!

Plus, and this is going to drive them so wild, you have the best wild barramundi, pla kapong kao, at your doorstep; not just one, but at least 3 different populations. They probably have not tasted fresh wild barramundi anyway, which is why God truly is termed the Merciful and Compassionate!!!

And your yabbies!!

And your great mangoes!!!

Pineapples from Fiji whose taste is beyond comprehension!

So, C, although i love my good friend the the Tasty Crab very much, show no mercy to the others!!!!

Re: Univ., in my native tongue, Bengali, a well-known saying emphasizes: study hard and you will perish in sorrow; learn to catch fish and live happily ever after! See, Bengali todayis one among the seventh largest languages spoken on earth; so there is something to be said for that!

g

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I totally agree v. gautam.....I have to, I'm an Aussie who lived in Fiji for nearly 5 years

ps. love your Bengali saying but I will hide it from the kids.... just for the time being.....

...........basically, I'm just jealous of the boundless energy of youth

[C. sapidus]

Btw, your Minced prawns simmered in coconut cream is a stunner! Looks so rich and yummyyy...is the minced pork fat necessary though or can I do without it?

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Ce’nedra: Thank you! The minced pork fat (1 or 2 tablespoons) probably added a contrasting texture for the minced shrimp, but you could leave it out if you like – the lon is certainly rich enough without it.

Re: Univ., in my native tongue, Bengali, a well-known saying emphasizes: study hard and you will perish in sorrow; learn to catch fish and live happily ever after! . . .

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I will go along with insomniac here – that particular saying, delightful as it is, will not be shared with the boys for at least a decade.

[Ce'nedra]

v. gautam: You make Australia sound like a truly magical land

(why, but it is!)

I am on my holiday break atm (though it really is an excuse to actually complete all of my quickly piling up assignments arghh!) so I guess I can take some time to contribute...right right?

(truth be told, I am addicted now...)

But it's a good thing insomniac gave me a bit of a wakeup call lol!

Btw, the US has cheaper lobsters than us Aussies though

But I guess our other great produce makes up for it hahaha!

insomniac: If I was a parent, I'd hide it from my kids too. And while I'm at it, I'll hide the remote control, set a password to the computer, etc etc

C. sapidus: I'm sure the added fats would make it particularly delightful in the mouth but the only reason why I'm asking is because my parents, again, might make a fuss out of it! Argh!

[Ce'nedra]

Btw v. gautam You should write a book...really!

[v. gautam]

Insomniac,

Forgive me for saying this: born in that unspoilt paradise on earth, Australia: from Tasmania to Q'land, any climate worth living on the globe is yours ! And with clean air and nice people too! Sunlight! Clean seas! Friendly dolphins, even!

Great purebred Wagyu, and not just that, but having the bulls Monjiro and ShigeShigenami as their sirebloodlines!

Many avocado cultivars, including the incomparable Sharwil grown to perfection.

High commodity/mineral prices will see a good economy for the future.

The greatest cricket team on earth that never rests on its laurels; look at Greg Chappell and his coaching philosophy.

Smart people that cracked the USAF radar codes for own legitimate defense needs.

Among the absolute best agricultural/horticultural scientists in the world from a continent whose population equals that of Bombay . [i know about the scientists because that is my field]

Strong academic research program in Chinese noodles and steamed buns by West. Australia wheat interests! You can have your cake and eat it too, and only in Australia!

Relatively safe from any nonsense, nuclear or otherwise, launched by you-know-who supported by "tagalong" at wherever.

OK, how many superlatives must i catalogue?

How soon are you going back?

England: Brogdale, Kent: repository of apple germplasm. English apples, Claygate Pearmain, Adam's Pearmain, Roxbury Russet, St. Edmund Russett, Pitmaston Pineapple, Asmead Kernel, Cornish Gilliflower, Ribston pippin.

Irish:Sam Young.

Most not allowed in by Australia. Only advantage of living in England. Turbot equalled by many Australian marine fishes, no Murray River cod, burbot no comparison.

gautam

[Jamie Lee]

All posters to this site rock!

Simple quiz.... what would you do with one or all of the following:

The pics are not too good, but they are "rice sticks", "tapioca strips", shrimp paste, hoisin sauce, tamarind "brick".

I know not all are thai ingredients, but which are and which are not?

Can I use rice sticks and tapioca strips interchangeably with "cellophane noodles".. <embarressed by my lack of knowledge>

But lets play this like a quiz... give me you best ideas, and I'll try to post my results (obviously ingredients are not limited to those above!)

Please excuse the obviously newbie to this cuisine.

[C. sapidus]

The pics are not too good, but they are "rice sticks", "tapioca strips", shrimp paste, hoisin sauce, tamarind "brick".

I know not all are thai ingredients, but which are and which are not?

Can I use rice sticks and tapioca strips interchangeably with "cellophane noodles".. <embarressed by my lack of knowledge>

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Jamie Lee: No reason to be embarassed! Tamarind water and shrimp paste turn up in innumerable Thai recipes, but I associate hoisin sauce more with Chinese and Vietnamese cooking. I don’t know much about noodles, but The Cook's Thesaurus: Other Asian Noodles (click) discusses noodle substitutions.

Tonight we made spicy chicken with basil (gai pad ga-prow) from Thailand the Beautiful. The spice paste contained garlic, shallots, pickled green peppercorns, and lots of jalapenos and Thai bird chiles. Fish sauce, sugar, and about half of our holy basil plant rounded out the flavors.

Served with Indonesian-style green beans in coconut milk and jasmine rice.

[yunnermeier]

I posted this earlier today on the Elsewhere in Asia forum but it's a lot less active than over here so I'll repost and see if anyone can help

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Whilst there is nothing wrong with this recipe, it seems like a dumbed down version. It lacks the strong, more complex flavour of the real thing. The colour is also a lot lighter and there seems to be a little more sauce. The Gai pad Grapow my Thai friend (she makes her living cooking Thai food so I don't even want to ask!) made was very dark and the sauce was somewhat thick with what I assume was the pounded shallots+garlic+chilli combo (little bits everywhere).

Recipe I used

I tried it again with a lot more garlic, chillis and fish sauce . That helped but it's still not right!

p/s: C.Sapidus, looks good!

Edited October 4, 2007 by yunnermeier (log)

[sanrensho]

The pics are not too good, but they are "rice sticks", "tapioca strips", shrimp paste, hoisin sauce, tamarind "brick".

For the rice sticks (called "bun" in Vietnamese cooking), you could make the ubiquitous Vietnamese summer rolls and a dipping sauce with some of the hoisin.

For a cold (or warm) tossed noodle dish, you could just toss the cooked bun with a sauce made from the hoisin, reconstituted tamarind juice, shrimp paste and whatever else you want to add--such as Sriracha for heat and/or fish sauce for saltiness. Adjust the sauce according to your taste. Not necessarily Thai or Vietnamese, but could be pretty tasty nonetheless.

I'd throw in some other ingredients for crunch--roasted peanuts, chopped scallions, fried minced garlic, bean sprouts, etc. Add protein of your choice if you want something heartier. My first inclination would be fried tofu (firm).

[Jamie Lee]

Sanransho:

Great ideas! Thanks.

[C. sapidus]

I posted this earlier today on the Elsewhere in Asia forum but it's a lot less active than over here so I'll repost and see if anyone can help

--

Whilst there is nothing wrong with this recipe, it seems like a dumbed down version. It lacks the strong, more complex flavour of the real thing. The colour is also a lot lighter and there seems to be a little more sauce. The Gai pad Grapow my Thai friend (she makes her living cooking Thai food so I don't even want to ask!) made was very dark and the sauce was somewhat thick with what I assume was the pounded shallots+garlic+chilli combo (little bits everywhere).

Recipe I used

I tried it again with a lot more garlic, chillis and fish sauce . That helped but it's still not right!

p/s: C.Sapidus, looks good!

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Yunnermeier: Firstly, thank you!

We had a discussion about gai pad gaprow on this topic, starting in Post #374 (click). Check out HKDave’s recipe in the following post – perhaps that will be more to your liking. Otherwise, I sent a couple of recipes to you via PM.

Best of luck finding the gai pad gaprow of your dreams. Your Thai friend sounds like a great resource, why not ask her for advice?

[Ce'nedra]

Those "rice sticks" are SO versatile. You could easily throw in Asian leftovers into a bowl with those, add sauce, peanuts and such as sanrensho suggested, and you're set!

[rasamalaysia]

I made this very yummylicious Thai eggs dish at home called Son In Law Eggs. It's really a very good and simple dish to make at home. Everyone should try it if you like cooking Thai food...

Here is my picture of Son In Law Eggs.

If you would like to try my recipe, here you go:

Thai Recipe: Son-In-Law Eggs

Adapted from Thai Cooking Made Easy

Ingredients:

4 boiled eggs (shelled)

2 big shallots (finely shredded)

Oil for deep frying

Scallion or cilantro for garnishing

Tamarind Sauce

1/2 tablespoon fish sauce (or to taste)

2 tablespoons palm sugar (or to taste)

4 tablespoons tamarind juice (use about a small ping pong ball size of tamarind pulp and mix with water to extract the juice)

1 glove garlic (minced)

1 teaspoon dried chili flakes

1 tablespoon ground peanut

1 tablespoon oil

Method:

Deep-fried the eggs until the skin turns brown. Dish out and slice into halves. Arrange them on a plate. Deep fried the shredded shallots until golden brown, remove and place on paper towel to absorb oil.

Heat up a sauce pan, pour in the oil and saute the minced garlic until light brown. Add the dried chili flakes, ground peanut, do a quick stir, and follow by the tamarind juice, palm sugar, and fish sauce. Bring it to boil and pour the sauce on top of the eggs. Top with fried shallots and scallion/cilantro. Serve hot with steamed white rice.

Edited October 5, 2007 by rasamalaysia (log)

[C. sapidus]

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rasmalaysia: Those eggs are beautiful. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

[Ce'nedra]

rasamalaysia: I have a question For the palm sugar, do you buy it in block form? Because that's the sort we have and it makes it really frustrating to use when recipes call for a 1 tbsp, 2tbsp, etc. Do you shave the palm sugar? I have no idea how to get the right amount when necessary arggh!

[Peter Green]

rasamalaysia: I have a question For the palm sugar, do you buy it in block form? Because that's the sort we have and it makes it really frustrating to use when recipes call for a 1 tbsp, 2tbsp, etc. Do you shave the palm sugar? I have no idea how to get the right amount when necessary arggh!

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I use a grater for the palm sugar. That's worked out well. Before that I was going nuts trying to use the stuff.

[Ce'nedra]

rasamalaysia: I have a question For the palm sugar, do you buy it in block form? Because that's the sort we have and it makes it really frustrating to use when recipes call for a 1 tbsp, 2tbsp, etc. Do you shave the palm sugar? I have no idea how to get the right amount when necessary arggh!

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I use a grater for the palm sugar. That's worked out well. Before that I was going nuts trying to use the stuff.

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Thank you for the answer! I remember I was using a knife...in which was hell for me because it took a verryyy long time to get the amount I needed.

Grater it is then

Wait...I better check if I have one at home, otherwise I've got to buy one..