Thai Cooking at Home, 2005 - 2006

[vinelady]

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.

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How did you prepare it. Did you simmer the Lemongrass and galangal in the stock or just add them at the same time as everything else?

[patti]

How did you prepare it.  Did you simmer the Lemongrass and galangal in the stock or just add them at the same time as everything else?

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I brought the coconut milk and the chicken stock to a simmer, and then added the chicken, the galangal, lime leaves, and lemongrass to the mix and simmered 20 or so minutes. I added the straw mushrooms, fish sauce, and fresh lime juice right at the end.

[peanutgirl]

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).

Thanks Susan. Yours look amazing as always as well!

Actually it was 2 days. The day before, I marinated the pork and made the peanut curry sauce to serve with... also made the Hot & Sweet Dipping sauce ( from Hot Sour Salty Sweet).

To be honest, the curry paste & sweetened chili sauce were store bought, and pretty good we thought... and as for the coconut milk...canned.

Then on the day of the blizzard, I quickly busied myself to avoid having to help with the shoveling . The spring rolls were by far, the most difficult to get the hang of rolling w/o the rice papers turning to mush before I burned my fingers getting them out of the hot water in one non-globulous blob. In the end, they did turn out better than I thought they would.

I agree, so far, for me it hasn't been a quick to get on the table sort of cuisine... but I'm still learning and enjoying... otherwise why in the heck would I now have 4 kinds of fish sauce in the pantry ?!

Patti, the recipe you posted looks tasty. Maybe more lime & fish sauce? Just guessing.

I just received a box of books from Jessica's Bisquit today. The shipment included The 2 DT books, It Rains Fishes, French Laundry, Are You Hungry Tonight? and Cuisines of Hidden Mexico.

Looks like I have a lot of reading to do . Starting with It Rains Fishes... it's a colorful paper back that seems interesting so far.

I'd like to do some soups & if I can get my pad Thai to taste as good as Behemoth's picture looks... I fear we'll never go out to our Thai place again .

[patti]

Thanks, peanutgirl. I added more fish sauce and more lime juice (although I had used all of my fresh limes and had to resort to lime juice from a bottle for the additional juice). The flavor was definitely improved, but still not just right. Perhaps I need to try a different recipe.

[ScorchedPalate]

Don't be afraid to keep adding more fish sauce and lime/tamarind/vinegar until you get the mix right. Sometimes it takes a lot more than you think.

[reesek]

Thanks, peanutgirl. I added more fish sauce and more lime juice (although I had used all of my fresh limes and had to resort to lime juice from a bottle for the additional juice). The flavor was definitely improved, but still not just right. Perhaps I need to try a different recipe.

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patti,

your recipe looks to me like there's a heck of a lot of coconut milk. there's also no sugar and no chilis.

if you still have some left, i'd add a bit of sugar (i would have added about 1tsp to the whole pot) and a big squeeze of sriracha, or some chopped bird chilis or something with heat - chopped serranos even. if you're sensetive to heat - don't add much, maybe take one or 2 thai peppers and slice them in half. you can fish them out later.

i like to think about thai food as that balance between salty (fish sauce) sour (lime, lemograss,) sweet (sugar) & hot (chilis)

next time, try it first with half that amount of coconut milk. the milk tones down the flavors...so you need to make sure you're stepping up the rest of the spicing.

when my thai doesn't taste quite right - it's always one of those 4 that's missing.

good luck!

[lovebenton0]

Great thread, Susan. Everyone's photos have me craving some Thai for tonight. Think I'll have to succumb to some curry and jasmine rice.

Thanks to some much needed guidance from snowangel, and the eGCI course, I have been cooking a lot more Thai food (which I have enjoyed eating for years) over the past several months. Making the paste by hand is not a good option for me, but I do like the tubs of Mae Ploy, Maesri, and Maesai I have used. Maesri makes an excellent prikh king paste and it's one of my favorite dishes. Coconut green curry with Asian eggplant (which we grow) and chicken or beef has become a staple around here when the eggplant is fresh from the garden.

Tom Yum soup from Pim's website was very good. I think it saved me during the last ravages of the flu.

I also got one of the stacked steamers and I love it. The sticky rice with coconut and mango is a favorite dessert at the big Thai dinners that my friend would have. But I do have a guilty secret that my friend discovered. She was running out of time, and cook top burners, for one of her dinners. We have the same rice cookers, one of those fancy fuzzy logic things, and she had borrowed mine. She dumped the sticky rice in those, chose the sticky rice setting, and it came out perfect.

Fifi, I have a question about the "sticky rice setting" on your rice cooker: Do you recall how long the rice has to cook? I have rice steamer, but no such thing as the sticky rice setting. Mine sets by minutes.

[patti]

Don't be afraid to keep adding more fish sauce and lime/tamarind/vinegar until you get the mix right. Sometimes it takes a lot more than you think.

Thanks, peanutgirl. I added more fish sauce and more lime juice (although I had used all of my fresh limes and had to resort to lime juice from a bottle for the additional juice). The flavor was definitely improved, but still not just right. Perhaps I need to try a different recipe.

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patti,

your recipe looks to me like there's a heck of a lot of coconut milk. there's also no sugar and no chilis.

if you still have some left, i'd add a bit of sugar (i would have added about 1tsp to the whole pot) and a big squeeze of sriracha, or some chopped bird chilis or something with heat - chopped serranos even. if you're sensetive to heat - don't add much, maybe take one or 2 thai peppers and slice them in half. you can fish them out later.

i like to think about thai food as that balance between salty (fish sauce) sour (lime, lemograss,) sweet (sugar) & hot (chilis)

next time, try it first with half that amount of coconut milk. the milk tones down the flavors...so you need to make sure you're stepping up the rest of the spicing.

when my thai doesn't taste quite right - it's always one of those 4 that's missing.

good luck!

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Thanks, Scorched Palate and reesek. I finished off this batch, but I'll know better next time I attempt it. Your tips and advice are very helpful and much appreciated. I like heat, and I'm not afraid to use it. I had some serrano chiles on hand, but wasn't sure if they were appropriate. Now I'll know!

[fifi]

. . . . .

Fifi, I have a question about the "sticky rice setting" on your rice cooker: Do you recall how long the rice has to cook? I have rice steamer, but no such thing as the sticky rice setting. Mine sets by minutes. 

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Hoo boy . . . This is going to be a big guess since the cooker doesn't work on time but by sensors that detect the temperature rise that occurs when the water has been absorbed. Normal procedure is just wait for the chirping sound. I am thinking that I usually allow at least 45 minutes for purposes of meal assembly. Perhaps the manufacturer of your cooker has some instructions on-line that will be helpful.

I have been meaning to try the coconut mango rice recipe with the short grain brown rice that I love so much. Has anyone tried that?

[lovebenton0]

. . . . .

Fifi, I have a question about the "sticky rice setting" on your rice cooker: Do you recall how long the rice has to cook? I have rice steamer, but no such thing as the sticky rice setting. Mine sets by minutes. 

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Hoo boy . . . This is going to be a big guess since the cooker doesn't work on time but by sensors that detect the temperature rise that occurs when the water has been absorbed. Normal procedure is just wait for the chirping sound. I am thinking that I usually allow at least 45 minutes for purposes of meal assembly. Perhaps the manufacturer of your cooker has some instructions on-line that will be helpful.

I have been meaning to try the coconut mango rice recipe with the short grain brown rice that I love so much. Has anyone tried that?

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Thanks, fifi. I hadn't thought about going online to look at their web site.

I'll do that.

No Thai food last night either. Dizzy and slept through dinner! So planning on massaman coconut curry with chicken/potato/onion tonight. Stir-fried baby bok choy. And a friend just dropped by unexpectedly with some fantastic whole shrimp, ground pork, lime and thai chili rolled and fried in eggroll wrappers. Wow! What a nice surprise. Serving them on the side too.

[little ms foodie]

I would wholeheartedly recommend any recipes from Kasma Loha-unchit, including those on her Web site, Thai Food and Travel, and her two books: It Rains Fishes and Dancing Shrimp.

The website also features articles about the best brands of ingredients (Mae Ploy is her answer to your red curry question, and I agree) and a directory of markets that carry Thai ingredients.

Hope that helps,

~Anita

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Anita thanks for the link on the good brands. I was shopping at Uwajimaya today and I remembered the pictures and was able to get some good stuff. We are experiementing this weekend and next week!

[ScorchedPalate]

Anita thanks for the link on the good brands. I was shopping at Uwajimaya today and I remembered the pictures and was able to get some good stuff. We are experiementing this weekend and next week!

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Always happy to turn folks on to Kasma

I actually made a list of her favorite brands that I sync to my Palm, so I always have it handy when I am shopping. I don't buy these items often enough to remember!

One of the coolest things we did in Kasma's beginner class was a coconut milk tasting of about 15 brands. Mae Ploy won, followed closely by the widely available (and cheaper!) Chaokoh ...which is not to be confused with the nearly identical Chaodoc, which came in close to last. The mnemonic she gave us for telling them apart is hilarious: Chaokoh is "A-OK" (its middle 3 letters) and Chaodoc will make you feel like you need to see the doc.

Scrolling back to Patti's tom kha recipe question: We also made a curry where we added the fish sauce a tiny bit at a time, tasting as we went, to see how the flavors opened up. It was an unforgettable lesson in using your mouth, not your measuring spoon, to tell you when you've got enough. (Ditto with palm sugar.)

~A

Edited January 28, 2005 by ScorchedPalate (log)

[ludja]

Nice thread...

Just as an aside, we found it pretty fun to have Thai potluck dinners with some of our more adventurous cooking friends.

Easy for each person to make, say 2 dishes and then come together for a Thai feast!

[little ms foodie]

Chaokoh ...which is not to be confused with the nearly identical Chaodoc, which came in close to last. The mnemonic she gave us for telling them apart is hilarious: Chaokoh is "A-OK" (its middle 3 letters) and Chaodoc will make you feel like you need to see the doc. 

~A

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I used this method at the store, remembered it from reading the site!

[ScorchedPalate]

I was prowling around on Kasma's site, and I found this article on "cooking to taste" that explains better than I was able to upthread. The third paragraph from the bottom, in particular (and the article it links to) has some useful hints on tweaking dishes that don't taste right.

~A

[Susan in FL]

The mnemonic she gave us for telling them apart is hilarious: Chaokoh is "A-OK" (its middle 3 letters)...

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I used this method at the store, remembered it from reading the site!

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So did I, and got the correct coconut milk!

It wasn't Thai cooking at home last night, but I went to one of the two decent Thai restaurants in our area. Let's call it research for Thai cooking at home... I haven't made Pad Thai or spring rolls yet, so I wanted to taste good examples in a restaurant before I do make them. Both were really good, and so was the ginger ice cream for dessert.

[Anna N]

I will probably get voted off this thread for this non-authentic "rice" but I served it as an appetizer and just did not want rice. It was still yummy served on a bed of mixed greens! It is the Spicy Chicken and Thai Basil dish (using shrimp as suggested) from Kasma's website.

[Susan in FL]

Anna, no way would you get voted off this thread! Actually, I love the idea of a Thai or Thai style appetizer or first course, and I would do without the rice in that case also. I might copy your idea one of these nights soon. I can't seem to tire of Thai, so that's a good way to keep it in the menus, but not eat Thai exclusively. Oh my, so many foods, so little time.

I hope you keep us posted whenever you fix Thai Anything.

When I was shopping at the Thai market this week, in with their "meats" (and seafood, etc.), there were some really nice quail and I bought some. I'm going to do some searching to see if there is a usual Thai preparation for quail, but if in the meantime any of you know of something, please do tell.

[Anna N]

Anna, no way would you get voted off this thread!  Actually, I love the idea of a Thai or Thai style appetizer or first course, and I would do without the rice in that case also.  I might copy your idea one of these nights soon.  I can't seem to tire of Thai, so that's a good way to keep it in the menus, but not eat Thai exclusively.  Oh my, so many foods, so little time.

I hope you keep us posted whenever you fix Thai Anything.

When I was shopping at the Thai market this week, in with their "meats" (and seafood, etc.), there were some really nice quail and I bought some.  I'm going to do some searching to see if there is a usual Thai preparation for quail, but if in the meantime any of you know of something, please do tell.

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Thank you, Susan. I have looked at quail when it's available (frozen) but I have never been brave enough to give it a try. Maybe, just maybe, one of these days - I'll watch what you do with it first though!

[Susan in FL]

Oh yum, looking for Thai quail recipes I found this recipe for frog legs from True Thai. I love frog legs, and the Thai market had them, too. Next time I'll buy them.

[little ms foodie]

We made a little mish mash of asian food last night and among them was a nice pot of tom kai gai

I had originally found the same online recipe as Patti and after reading some of the feedback I tweaked it. It came out great, next time we will add more chilis but other than that the flavor was delish!

[Susan in FL]

Looks good, Wendy!

Most of the ideas I have found for Thai Quail have been from online restaurant menus, with their descriptions of the dishes. I've found only a few actual recipes. This may be my first Thai Improv!

[Anna N]

I do know that quail are not game hens but there is a recipe for Thai-Curried Game Hens in the Feb 2005 issue of Bon Appetit - don't know if you could riff off it.

[Susan in FL]

Pad Thai!

The plan was to have the Pad Thai first and then "Thai Quail" with Thai stir-fried vegetables, but the Pad Thai was very filling. So now we have much of the prep done for tomorrow night's dinner. The quail are marinating in a heavenly smelling mixture of lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, garlic, fresh galangal, shallots, bird chilies, fish sauce, a little peanut oil, a a shot of honey.

I went mostly by the Kasma Loha-unchit recipe for the Pad Thai, using shrimp, and added a little less of this and a little more of that, and incorporated some ideas from the Hot Sour Salty Sweet version. It was very good. This dish does indeed have hot, sour, salty, and sweet flavors.

Thanks for thinking of me with the curry idea, Anna. I'll check out that recipe in Bon Appetit. We have had quail quite a few times, but mostly they have been the pre-seasoned and butterflied version that they have in Publix. I was pleased to find these, not butterflied or seasoned. Are you thinking of making a Thai preparation when you have them, or are you up for some other ideas? One of my favorites is to have quail as part of a mixed grill, cooking outdoors.

[patti]

I made larb for the first time last night! Yesterday I made chicken stock according to Fat Guy's eCGI's method. I've made chicken stock many times before, but decided to give this method a whirl. One of the things Fat Guy mentions is that early on in the stock making process, he removes the chicken breasts and uses them for something else. Last night I decided that my something else would be larb. I'm guessing from the pictures of chicken larb that I've seen that either dark meat is usually used, or raw chicken is the starting point, rather than cooked, because mine doesn't look exactly like other pictures. Anyway, here's my result:

I have to admit I've only ever tasted larb twice before. After reading (most of) the larb thread, I wanted to taste what all the fuss was about, so a couple of weeks ago I got take-out beef larb from two different restaurants. Wow! The interesting thing to me about Thai food is how incredibly different the flavors are from what I've grown up eating (Cajun). It's really a nice adventure for my taste buds. Mine might be more of a variation of larb, but it was really pretty damn good!