Thai Cooking at Home, 2005 - 2006

[Behemoth]

Has anyone tried making David Thompson's raat nar muu /Rice noodles and pork with thickened "gravy", or knows what the dish is supposed to taste like?

I found it almost unbearably salty, and was wondering if a) yellow bean sauce is called something else over there b) there's something wrong with the recipe c) it's supposed to be that way.

Everything else I've made out of the book so far has been just outstanding, so this is such a curious exception.

[SuzanneW]

Has anyone tried making David Thompson's raat nar muu /Rice noodles and pork with thickened "gravy", or knows what the dish is supposed to taste like?

I found it almost unbearably salty, and was wondering if a) yellow bean sauce is called something else over there b) there's something wrong with the recipe c) it's supposed to be that way.

Everything else I've made out of the book so far has been just outstanding, so this is such a curious exception.

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I never found raad nah to be particularly salty, so if it feels overloaded with salt, you should adjust the recipe. I can't remember if I've tried Thompson's version exactly, but every version I've made has about that same amount of dao jiao (the soy bean sauce) in it. I've usually had a mixture of fish sauce, sweet soy and dao jiao. I'd suggest cutting back some of the soy sauce rather than cutting down on the dao jiao, or replacing some of the soy with fish sauce if your soy is really salty. Or just use less sauce the next time, since maybe your ingredients are particularly salty.

Made chicken laap and sticky rice last night, but my laap was kind of flat for some reason. Not enough chili powder or maybe not enough shallots. Oh well.

[eJulia]

Okay, folks, I need some help...

I just bought (no, invested in ) Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet.

I am overwhelmed. The recipes seem so complex, the ingredients so foreign, I just don't know where to start, or if I should just give up and return the book.

I do good veggies, good Italian, respectable Mediterranean, getting good at braising.... but maybe I'm not ready for this!

Can you recommend a growth path into Asian cooking? A recommended pantry list? Alternatives to specialized cooking vessels?

I should mention that my food processer, blender and other cool cooking tools are in storage 2500 miles away. I have a hand-held blender, a few decent knives and desire. And, of course, a $45 cookbook who wants me to have much more!

Should I chuck it in? Return the cookbook? Or, are there recipes and/or ingredients you can recommend for an Asian food neophyte?

[snowangel]

Julia, do not let this book intimidate you. Yes, it can be an intimidating list of unfamiliar ingredients. I would start with the soups and noodle dishes. Don't hesitate to use prepared curry paste (I think that the Maesri and Mae Ploy brands are best). Many of these dishes are far simpler than they look!

One thing to do is sit down with the book, and make a list of some of the pantry staples (fish sauce, curry paste, soybean paste (which is actually in a bottle, not a jar, and is an odd yellow color) and make a trip to an Asian market and spend some time wandering the aisles and picking up some of these things. You'd be amazed at how inexpensive most of these items will be.

I'll spend a little time with the book today and come up with some ingredients which I think are indispensible and report back!

[little ms foodie]

julia I felt the same way when I first got my book. But everything has been great! I also am starting with some soups and also the spring rolls. I like to follow the thread and then go to the book when things strike my interest!

[eJulia]

Julia, do not let this book intimidate you.  Yes, it can be an intimidating list of unfamiliar ingredients.  I would start with the soups and noodle dishes.  Don't hesitate to use prepared curry paste (I think that the Maesri and Mae Ploy brands are best).  Many of these dishes are far simpler than they look!

One thing to do is sit down with the book, and make a list of some of the pantry staples (fish sauce, curry paste, soybean paste (which is actually in a bottle, not a jar, and is an odd yellow color) and make a trip to an Asian market and spend some time wandering the aisles and picking up some of these things.  You'd be amazed at how inexpensive most of these items will be.

I'll spend a little time with the book today and come up with some ingredients which I think are indispensible and report back!

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Okay, I think my breathing is a little more regular now!

I have a can of coconut milk, red chili sauce, thai fish sauce, thai red hot sauce (probably not too authentic), tamari (as opposed to traditional soy sauce), and other hot sauces...

I love pad Thai, and so have rice noodles.

I have yet to explore the wonderful asian markets in the Portland area... I've instead been a regular at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods on occasion.

Snowangel, all and any advice you can offer will be gratefully accepted... just be gentle!

[SuzanneW]

Okay, folks, I need some help...

I just bought (no, invested in  ) Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet.

I am overwhelmed.  The recipes seem so complex, the ingredients so foreign, I just don't know where to start, or if I should just give up and return the book.

I do good veggies, good Italian, respectable Mediterranean, getting good at braising....  but maybe I'm not ready for this!

Can you recommend a growth path into Asian cooking?  A recommended pantry list?  Alternatives to specialized cooking vessels?

I should mention that my food processer, blender and other cool cooking tools are in storage 2500 miles away.  I have a hand-held blender, a few decent knives and desire.  And, of course, a $45 cookbook who wants me to have much more! 

Should I chuck it in?  Return the cookbook?  Or, are there recipes and/or ingredients you can recommend for an Asian food neophyte?

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No, don't give up (gee, what a surprise response on this thread!).

This may sound "duh," but jumping right into recipes can be intimidating. I'd first read just the text and explanatory sections, so you feel like you have some basic knowledge. It will make the recipes seem simpler.

Then, as said, you need to do a leisurely shopping trip to an Asian market and really dig for stuff. I recognize it can be hard, though, especially with recognizing herbs--I didn't know how to find a lot of stuff until after I took a vacation in Thailand where I just poked around markets. If you don't live near one, there are great online resources.

Start with soups--your basic tom kha gai can be very easy and rewarding--and salads (aka "yum" or similar names). The chicken and basil stirfry is also easy and good, or the other basic stir fries. You'll soon find the basics are simple--it's perfecting the balance that takes practice. But what fun practice...

[snowangel]

Snowangel, all and any advice you can offer will be gratefully accepted... just be gentle! 

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Trust me, I'll be gentle. In a "stupidest move ever," I grew up in Thailand. We had a Thai cook (outstanding), and we ate almost exclusively Thai food. Did I ever spend any time in the kitchen getting lessons, or just learning by watching? Heck no, I was never going to cook because I was going to be president of something or other.

[Meez]

Finally got around to making the sweet pork belly; definitely worthwhile. I made a little starter out of it:

Crispy sweet pork belly with grapefruit salad

eJulia, you might have a look at my blog. I'm cooking a lot of Thai this summer, and one point I'm trying to get across is that it is actually not as weird or mysterious as it seems, especially if you already know how to cook, which you clearly do.

This is a link to all the Thai posts; start at the bottom.

Best wishes.

[Shaya]

Meez I just looked at your blog, in particular the section on Thai cooking, and it is outstanding.

Your photographs are stunning, but more importantly you get right to the heart of what I want to express to so many people I know who "don't cook". It really is about selecting a cuisine, reading as much as possible about it, stocking up a pantry, and becoming familiar with a nuimber of basic cooking techniques. It is so true when you say that so little of "cooking" actually involves standing over the hot stove; a great proportion of time is spent in preparation (ingredients, tools, produce) for those final moments of combining the ingredients over heat.

Bravo, and thank you, you make me homesick for the time I spent in Thailand.

Edited June 10, 2006 by Shaya (log)

[Meez]

Thanks, Shaya, I'm so glad you like it.

[little ms foodie]

last night was Dayne's night to cook and he chose to do some things from Hot Sour Salty Sweet

spicy cucumber salad- layou huanggua

then aromatic steamed fish curry on rice- mawk pa

everything was excellent!!

Pinapple pocky for dessert

[onehsancare]

I have the book Hot, Salty, Sour, Sweet and the Beautiful Thai Cookbook.. I prefer the Beautiful Thai Book..

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Daniel, is that the Panurat Poladitmontr Thailand the Beautiful Cookbook ? Non e-Gullet Amazon link

[Austin]

Finally got around to making the sweet pork belly; definitely worthwhile. I made a little starter out of it:

Crispy sweet pork belly with grapefruit salad

eJulia, you might have a look at my blog. I'm cooking a lot of Thai this summer, and one point I'm trying to get across is that it is actually not as weird or mysterious as it seems, especially if you already know how to cook, which you clearly do. 

This is a link to all the Thai posts; start at the bottom.

Best wishes.

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Meez: the dinner looks great, although I've never seen pork belly sold by street vendors as you mention in your blog! Those interested in trying to make sweet pork belly can find a recipe here.

eJulia: you might want to start with my sweet pork belly recipe above, it's very, very, very easy and requires only a few staple ingredients. I'm from Portland (Sandy, actually, up near Mt Hood) and recall a pretty good Thai grocery called Lily over Halsey. Although if I were in Portland right now I'd say sod off to the Thai food and buy a loaf of ciabatta at the Pearl Bakery! But that's just me...

Austin

[Meez]

Meez: the dinner looks great, although I've never seen pork belly sold by street vendors as you mention in your blog!

Well, I read it in a book, so it must be true!

Seriously, thanks; I think I'll do some editing.

What are your thoughts on palm sugar? I used it before and couldn't taste much difference. I got some again just to be sure, but haven't gotten around to doing anything with it. For example, if you did your pork belly with white sugar instead, do you think you would notice?

[C. sapidus]

Red curry with chicken from Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet. Ingredients (ignore the tomatoes and ginger):

Frying the curry paste and chicken in coconut cream.

Ready to eat with jasmine rice.

This is a delicately seasoned red curry. I liked it, but prefer red curries with a more concentrated flavor. I made extra curry paste, so I will probably play with a few variations.

Edited to add: More fish sauce and a touch of palm sugar improved the leftovers. Apparently, home-made curry paste is less salty than store-bought. I should have remembered that chile pastes (Thai and Mexican) need enough salt to bring out their full flavor.

Edited June 16, 2006 by C. sapidus (log)

[Austin]

What are your thoughts on palm sugar? I used it before and couldn't taste much difference. I got some again just to be sure, but haven't gotten around to doing anything with it. For example, if you did your pork belly with white sugar instead, do you think you would notice?

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I've only ever made it with palm sugar, which I reckon is the norm here, so I really can't say how it would be otherwise. Palm sugar does have a wonderful flavor all its own (I love to eat it raw, and I'm not a big fan of sweets), so I imagine it probably tatstes quite different when carmelized. It can't be too expensive, regardless of where you are, so pick some up and try it!

Austin

[C. sapidus]

What are your thoughts on palm sugar? I used it before and couldn't taste much difference. I got some again just to be sure, but haven't gotten around to doing anything with it. For example, if you did your pork belly with white sugar instead, do you think you would notice?

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I agree that palm sugar has a wonderful flavor, milder than brown sugar. Palm sugar lends a much richer flavor to a curry compared with white sugar. Caveat: if the dish isn't very sweet, it probably doesn't make much difference which sugar you use.

I once made a big batch of green curry paste, and seasoned one batch of the curry with white sugar and one with palm sugar. The palm sugar version was definitely better.

Caramelizing probably reduces the difference in taste between the two sugars. I used palm sugar to make a caramel and coconut sauce for grilled fruits, and it mostly tasted like caramel.

[Shaya]

Tonight we had Som Tam and a Red Thai Curry with chicken. Despite liberal use of Thai chilies, I could have used more heat still to really put me back in Thailand.

Som Tam - Green Papaya Salad

Red Thai Curry

[percyn]

Looks good Shaya, did you follow any particular recipe?

[Torrilin]

If you're using Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet a lot, keep in mind their recipes call for whole, unseeded peppers. I can't take the seeds, so I generally double or triple the number of peppers if I'm cooking for myself, then seed 'em. The authors also note in there somewhere that they frequently use more peppers in their home cooking than they call for in their recipes. So it's clearly toned down for American and Canadian palates.

Emily

[Shaya]

Looks good Shaya, did you follow any particular recipe?

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I've been making this Thai curry for years and years - I simply fry the curry paste, add the chicken, coconut milk and thai chilis, simmer until the chicken is cooked through then add fish sauce and basil leaves. Et voila.

[SuzanneW]

last night was Dayne's night to cook and he chose to do some things from Hot Sour Salty Sweet

spicy cucumber salad- layou huanggua

...

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I just made this cucumber salad for the first time, and loved it. Totally simple, but the depth from the Sichuan peppercorns and roasted chilies is great. Used a bird chili since I didn't have jalapenos. This will be a summer staple.

[SuzanneW]

I'll be on vacation and thus have access to a bbq this weekend, so am grilling gai yang and sai krok and sai oua Friday night (made both of these out of HSSS this weekend and froze them--will post results). Two questions:

1. One guest doesn't eat land creatures, so I'd like to throw something fishy on the grill for her but I don't want to make a whole other dish. Would the gai yang marinade (coriander root, garlic, pepper, fish sauce) work with shrimp? I assume so but can't quite picture it.

2. Any favorite som tam stand-ins? I'll have no access to green papaya or mango, and folks haven't seemed to love my sup nor mai before. I am thinking Thai-inspired, not actual Thai -- a cabbage salad done like som tam? Cucumbers (doesn't seem quite right)?

[ojisan]

A question about Mae Ploy Curry Pastes -

I've tried the green and yellow, and was surprised that they were hotter than I expected, and sometimes hotter than curry paste recipes in cookbooks. If I follow recipes from a cookbook and substitute Mae Ploy, I find that I have to use 1/x the amount. If you have a favorite cookbook and use Mae Ploy, what substitute proportions do you suggest?

Another question - how do you rate the hotness of the Mae Ploys (red, green, yellow, Masaman, Panang), from hottest to mildest?