Thai Cooking at Home, 2005 - 2006

[Chef Metcalf]

Here is a great website you may want to check out Susan.

They have a recipe section for Thai dishes that are all very authentic and Steve and Trish give you a lot of cooking tips for using ingredients from SE Asia.

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Edited January 15, 2005 by Chef Metcalf (log)

[bbq4meanytime]

I spent one summer making curries every which way, using all the differnet pastes , panang, red, green, yellow and massaman, both homemade (from Thompsons book) and store bought (mae ploy).

I'd highly recommend doing that until you've found your balance. It was a ton of fun too. Keep notes on proportions, you'll find some recipes better than others. And buy coconut cream too (as opposed to coconut milk). Some recipes call for higher amounts of coconut cream and you can only scrape off about 1/2c from a can of coconut milk.

[fifi]

I like to have coconut cream on hand as well as the milk. Oddly enough, it is sometimes hard to find here. Whereas, they will have cases of the milk stacked up at the ends of the aisles.

My nephew ran into some large cans at the dollar store, of all places, and brought them home. He wanted to make coconut ice cream. Following a recipe that called for coconut cream that I found for him he made a batch. What he neglected to notice was that the coconut cream that he bought was the sweetened stuff for mixing drinks, sort of like Coco Lopez. That ice cream was so sweet it was almost inedible.

[snowangel]

The coconut cream vs. milk discussion revolves more around whether you like a thinner curry (which I do) or a thicker curry.

Edited January 16, 2005 by snowangel (log)

[fifi]

I also tend toward a thinner curry. I do have to say that the Chaudoc brand that I use typically yields more than a quarter cup of cream. I get at least a half cup, maybe more, per can. It might be worthwhile mentioning here since it may not be obvious. To be sure you can get some cream off when you open the can, let it sit in the pantry for a good long time. I have no idea what that means. I just get one of the cans from the back of the shelf that I know has been sitting around undisturbed for who knows how long. I carefully move it to the fridge so as to not shake it up. Then I open it and lift the cream off. I have noticed that some brands separate more than others. One of the "grocery store" brands I have used in a pinch never would separate. Maybe some brands are "homogenized" somehow.

[peanutgirl]

I think it's best to try a few different options, as the strength of the tea seems to vary a lot -- plus of course there's your taste. It's very inexpensive, though, so you can run a few experiments and let us know!

That's a good idea. I'll post my results after running some taste tests on my husbands palate.

Oooh! Give details.... [Homer]Laarrrb... (drool)[/Homer]

Larb nuea? Beef... lot's of chilies, added mint which we haven't previously and some Thai basil. Also, I threw in a handful of bean sprouts for no reason other than I have a large bag from my shopping spree the other day and didn't want to waste any of the 85 cents worth I bought . Of course I used the homemade toasted rice... I made extra this time so we can have more larb in a few days ( have leftover lamb in the fridge right now).

Here is a great website you may want to check out Susan.

They have a recipe section for Thai dishes that are all very authentic and Steve and Trish give you a lot of cooking tips for using ingredients from SE Asia.

Thanks for the link... looks informative.

What is Thai Tea? I'm wondering if I saw it served in a Thai restaurant I recently found, and if so, I wonder if it was typical... it looked like a glass of iced tea with whipped cream on top?

Peanutgirl, how did your larbing go?

Sounds about right Susan. I don't know if it's ever served hot... my husband always gets his iced. As for larb... !

Thanks to snowangel and her friend for clarifying the meal breakdown. Now I wish I had a noodle cart dinging outside my door ... I do have a bowl though .

My palm sugar is in a jar. Here's a tip. I put the jar in hot water to warm the sugar. Then you can spoon it out.

Fifi... did your sugar come in the jar, or do you just store it in one?

Noodle dishes...I've tried making Pad Thai a few times, likewise with some soups. Once I recieve my armful of books I recently ordered, I suspect some inspiration. If not... there's always...LARB !

I'd like to get into making some good curried dishes... not too spicy so the kids will eat & enjoy the meals. Any favorite ones... anyone?

Edited January 16, 2005 by peanutgirl (log)

[fifi]

Sorry, I didn't make that clear. I buy the palm sugar in a jar. I'm not sure about this but it looks a little moister than the chunks as well.

[peanutgirl]

Thanks. I bought mine in a disc wrapped in plastic... it's hard enough to use as a doorstop. Maybe I'll transfer it to a jar or another container so I can try warming it as you suggested.

[fifi]

Maybe add a very little moisture to the jar before sealing it. I remember years ago before you could get brown sugar in the plastic baggies, my mother used to sit an apple slice in the box where the sugar had gotten like a brick. After a while, the sugar softened up. Then she would throw out the apple slice before it got yukky.

[chezcherie]

Thanks. I bought mine in a disc wrapped in plastic... it's hard enough to use as a doorstop. Maybe I'll transfer it to a jar or another container so I can try warming it as you suggested.

←

have you tried microwaving it a bit? that seems to help me get it into workable consistency.

[Susan in FL]

I'm learning a lot about coconut milk, coconut cream, the separation, etc. I finally caught on to the fact that the liquid in a fresh coconut is not the milk or cream, but rather that comes from a pressing of the meat. Thanks for the continuing links, too. One of our recipes for tonight came from Kasma Loha-unchit's site.

We made Basil Shrimp by using her recipe for Spicy Basil Chicken, since there was a boatload sale of fresh local shrimp yesterday. It was delicious. We also had a larb-like dish, Lao Style Beef Salad, recipe from ImportFood.com. It was good, but not outstanding. Russ said it just tasted like hamburger with lime juice, but with the condiments and some extra fish sauce and some of the all-purpose table sauce I made a week ago, it was fine. I cooked a lot of sticky rice and as before, I like that waaay too much. I am still amazed that I like something so much which has no salt or anything added to it. I think I was meant to be born Asian. Tonight we served the sticky rice from a soup tureen, so it didn't dry out as quickly.

Still to come is the coconut sticky rice with mangoes for dessert. I decided to make due with the supermarket brand of canned coconut milk, since I haven't yet sought out the recommended brands. I figured there is something to be said for our first experience to be the inferior quality brands... that way we will really appreciate it when we have good stuff.

Another thing that I have learned from these Thai cooking adventures is that fish sauce is good. I had only had horrible stinky stuff before, until we bought a bottle from one of the local Thai markets. We ran out of it tonight.

I'll report back on dessert.

[snowangel]

Thai tea. When we had it there (and at Thai restaurants here), it's always iced. It's iced tea with sweetened condensed milk.

[Susan in FL]

This was pretty good. I think it turned out OK for the first try, with supermarket coconut milk. I wasn't sure how creamy the consistency should be, since I reduced the recipe. It sat for quite a while and absorbed a lot of the liquid.

(Millenium Barleywine was a good match!)

[Daniel]

I have the book Hot, Salty, Sour, Sweet and the Beautiful Thai Cookbook.. I prefer the Beautiful Thai Book.. There have been things I have made from this book that you couldnt find prepared better in a Thai Restaurant.

[Chris Amirault]

I just spent the better part of the afternoon making David Thompson's beef panang (sp?) curry, which is one of the two or three most amazing things I've ever made. That's three for three in that book.... Ohmigod...

I spent the bulk of the time making the paste and dealing with fresh coconuts. While I was banging away with my mortal and pestle, some paste flew into the corner of my eye -- -- but I forged ahead.

I still think that blending the paste ingredients in this way makes a huge difference, as does using fresh coconuts. Though it took nearly an hour for this one step, it was worth it to shell, grate (in the blender), and thus cream and milk the coconuts; I then braised the beef in the milk and later sauteed the curry paste in the cream, then added them together at the end. Magical....

But I'm stumped about preparing the coconut more efficiently -- so stumped that I created a thread about it. Surely someone has a better concept than I do!

[Behemoth]

But I'm stumped about preparing the coconut more efficiently -- so stumped that I created a thread about it. Surely someone has a better concept than I do!

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That book is amazing, isn't it. I still use a mortar and pestle to pound the curry paste but I have given up on making my own coconut creme. I can't find fresh coconuts here in any case, and when I have tried using packaged (from an indian store) it simply doesn't yield enough. I have found a couple of good thai canned coconut milk brands that have a lot of creme in them. Like fifi, I just leave them sit for a while, then open carefully and scoop out the creme. Otherwise, I just find myself putting off the whole project. The results have been better than what I have been able to produce from scratch. Meh.

Oh, I used leftover ingredients to make DT's pad thai again tonight. No shrimp or salted radish leftovers to use, but it still came out well.

[andiesenji]

There are three Asian markets here in Lancaster and all carry the Thai frozen coconut "milk"

which is thicker than the canned stuff and much fresher tasting. The huge Mexican supermarket also now carries it along with other tropical things that are cross-cultural.

Frozen coconut milk.

At least one regular market has also added it to their "ethnic foods" frozen section.

Look for a small market that carries asian foods. They are tucked away in many cities and towns now as the Asian population has spread everywhere.

[fifi]

andiesenji comes up with yet another terrific web site. That one is definitely well done and in my favorites list now.

[Behemoth]

Will frozen coconut milk produce enough cream?

[pam claughton]

My step-mother is Thai, and two Thai mixes that she often uses are easily found in most Asian markets, both under the brand MAESRI, one is a chilli garlic seasoning mix, a sauce packet that you heat and serve over fish, and another sauce packet that you stir fry with chicken and cashew nuts. Both are excellent.

I also took a Thai cooking class a few years ago, and the one thing I have made over and over again are the fresh spring rolls, with soft, pasta like wrappers, filled with thin rice noodles, mint or cilantro leaves, chopped veggies, and shrimp, and served with a spicy sweet dipping sauce. They are addictive, light and delicious.

Pam

[FoodMan]

Great thread! I'm still pretty new to cooking Thai food at home and my reference has been David Thompson's book. I spent a good time reading through it before attempting anything since like someone mentioned it could be pretty intimidating.

Some recipes I've tried so far include :

Pad Thai (of course )

Mussaman Curry (Lot's of work, but amazing. the best I've had)

Green Curry (ditto)

Laarb Gai (Chicken Larb, very easy)

the soup on the cover of the book, the chicken with mushrooms and coconut (very light and deliciouse, and looks so pretty)

I definitly want to make the chilli jam soon and store in jars. It sounds like it will add great flavor to lots of dishes.

The book is beautiful, an amazing achievement and I learned so much just by reading the intros and recipes. However, I do have a small problem with serving sizes. He does not specify and mainly says that a dish will serve 4 to 5 people as part of a menu. the "Street Food" recipes are even intended for one person only! What I have been doing is basically doubling or tripling recipes depending on what I'm doing and how I am planning on serving them. At first it was hard but I feel more comfortable dealing with the recipes the more I read them and work with them. Anyone else had this problem with the book?

Elie

[peanutgirl]

Behemoth's Pad Thai looks delicious!

Snowed in on Saturday and feeling inspired by the Crying Tiger cook book:

Spring Rolls

Fried Tofu w/ Sweetened Chili Sauce

Pork Satay w/ Hot & Sweet Dipping Sauce

Pork Satay w/ Peanut Curry Sauce

Stir Fried Baby Bok Choy, Sticky Rice and Red Curry with Chicken

Thai Tea

Bubble Tea Made with Green Tea & Strawberry Puree for The Kids

[Susan in FL]

Great posts, everyone. They are much appreciated. And Peanutgirl... impressive! I am in awe that you did all that in one snowed-in day. That is a testament to your skill and to the book. One thing that Thai is not for me is a whip-it-up quick dinner. It is still a time-consuming project (much enjoyed).

Tonight was what is becoming weekly Thai night, but it was actually Vietnamese and Laotian. I grabbed the Hot Sour Salty Sweet book on my way out the door to work this morning, and then went to the Asian market in the town where I worked today. I bought quite a lot of stuff. Some was restocking staples like fish sauce, chili paste, curry paste, etc. I checked out the fresh produce, and there were nice shallots and scallions, beautiful Chinese broccoli, fresh galangal, lemongrass which looked better than our homegrown so I bought some of it, bird chiles, plenty of fresh herbs, and more. All this was inspired by having leftover Jasmine rice, so between that and what I bought, I decided upon a Vietnamese version of fried rice, accompanied by nuoc cham I made previously and an herb and salad plate, and Laung Prabang Pork Stew with Bitter Greens.

We enjoyed it all, including experiencing some new flavor combinations. We're trying to learn some of the subtle taste differences -- for example, a different brand of fish sauce this time. The only thing slightly objectionable was in the Perfume River Rice (the fried rice), I processed a mixture instead of pounding in the mortar, and the onion and shallots sort of spread some bitterness throughout that I think otherwise would not have been there.

So anyway, this is the Vietnamese Herb and Salad Plate, which I thought looked pretty with the new double flower vase thingie I bought with iris and orchids in it: Basil, mint, cilantro, leaf lettuce, bean sprouts, scallions, lime wedges, cucumber chunks, and bird chiles.

This is the fried rice dish and the pork stew with Chinese broccoli.

We think coming soon will be satay and peanut sauce, and we also want to tackle noodles. Any advice on noodle dishes? I bought some for Pad Thai.

Edited January 26, 2005 by Susan in FL (log)

[Behemoth]

Just needed to share this -- I go to a thai place near my department for lunch on a semi-regular basis. I order larb gai and a side of rice every once in a while. This time a new girl who works there walked out with my order and said "hey, you eat just like thai people. This is what I always have for lunch" I thought it was very cute.

[patti]

Wow, those pictures from Susan, peanutgirl, and Behemoth are intimidating. I'm much, much more of a beginner in every way, but I'll forge ahead anyway.

Today I made Tom Kha Gai for lunch, following the recipe here:

Tom Kha Gai

(Am I allowed to post the ingredient list if I've linked the original recipe?)

1 whole chicken breast

2 chicken thighs

1/2 pound of cleaned shrimp (optional)

4 stalks fresh lemongrass

4 1/2 cups coconut milk

1 1/2 cups basic chicken stock

20 quarter-sized slices fresh galangal

10 whole black peppercorns

12 fresh Kaffir lime leaves

1 cup well-drained straw mushrooms

2 T fish sauce

2 T freshly squeezed lime juice

I didn't use the shrimp (which is optional, anyway) and I didn't add the peppercorns, but I followed the rest of the recipe carefully. While it's okay, it doesn't have the depth of flavor or the oomph of the Tom Kha Gai from the local Thai restaurants. I don't think it's the fact that I didn't use peppercorns, as that doesn't seem to be where the flavor is lacking. It's not sour enough or sweet enough. Or enough enough. Any ideas?

Also, I'm not confident that I prepared the lemongrass correctly. I followed directions from a website, but I'm afraid I'd have more confidence if there'd been pictures showing me exactly what to do. Should I have only included the inner core in the soup? I didn't.