ISO:THAI RECIPES

Hot-and-Sour Soup with Shrimp, Napa Cabbage and Shiitake Mushrooms
Bon Appétit


1 teaspoon oil
¾ teaspoon Thai red curry paste
3 14-ounce cans chicken broth
2 kaffir lime leaves or 1 teaspoon finely
grated lime peel
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled, halved
lengthwise
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed,
sliced ⅛ inch thick
6 ounces Napa cabbage, cut crosswise into
⅛ inch thick slices
¼ cup lime juice
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped fresh green onions


Heat oil over medium heat. Add curry paste and stir until beginning to stick to pan, about 4 minutes. Stir in broth, lime leaves and minced ginger. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes. Add shrimp and mushrooms. Cook until shrimp begin to turn pink, about 3 minutes. Add cabbage; cook until beginning to wilt, about 30 seconds. Stir in lime juice. Divide soup among bowls; sprinkle with chopped cilantro and green onions. 6 servings.
We couldn’t find Napa cabbage so used regular; the Napa probably would have been prettier.

Thai Iced Tea (Cha Yen)
Chat Mingkwan, Sur la Table class


½ to 2/3 cup Thai tea seasoning mix
¾ cup sugar, more or less to taste
¾ cup sweetened condensed milk
1 pint half-and-half or milk
4 cups crushed ice


Bring 8 cups water to boil, add tea and brew for 10 minutes. Strain through fine sieve and discard solids. Add sugar and stir till dissolved. Cool in refrigerator. Combine milk and half-and-half. To serve, fill a tall glass with crushed ice. Pour tea up to ¾ of the glass and top with milk mixture; stir well. Milk and tea can be combined before pouring.
I liked it in moderation; it is very sweet.

Asian Style Sweet and Sour Pan Sauce with Chicken
Cooks’ Illustrated


4 chicken breasts
¼ cup flour
1½ tablespoons butter
1½ tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon Thai fish sauce
4 medium green onions, sliced thin


Dredge chicken in salt, pepper and flour. Sauté in oil and butter.
Chop garlic, ginger and pepper flakes together to further mince. Sauté in a little fat from cooking chicken until softened, about 1 minutes. Increase heat to high; add next 4 ingredients and accumulated pan juices; boil, stirring to loosen brown bits from bottom, until mixture thickens to a light syrup, less than a minute. Pour sauce over chicken cutlets, sprinkle green onions on top and serve immediately.
The sauce by itself makes a good dipping sauce for wontons or egg rolls.

Thai Chicken
TV


4 tablespoons oil
3 ounces sliced shallots or onion
5 cloves chopped garlic
1-inch cube fresh ginger, grated
2 red chiles, sliced
2 green chiles, sliced
4 ounces fresh basil leaves, divided
1 pound minced chicken
1½ teaspoons brown sugar
5 teaspoons fish sauce


Deep fry 2 ounces basil leaves to use for garnish; drain. In same oil stir fry shallots, garlic, ginger and peppers. Turn up the heat and add chicken and remaining basil. Cook on high heat, breaking up, till chicken shows no pink. Stir in sugar and fish sauce. Garnish with fried basil over top. Serve with rice. Spicy.

This and the tea recipe came from a cooking class my niece and I took. Other little dry red chiles will work if bird's eye aren't available.


Chicken with Cashew Nuts (Gai Pad Med Mamuang)
Chat Mingkwan, Sur la Table


3 tablespoons oil
6 whole dried bird’s eye chiles
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 cups chicken breast, in bit size pieces
1 cup sliced onion
2 cups julienne colored bell peppers
2 cups julienne carrots
2 cups green beans, 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon sweet dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon chicken base
or 1 cube bouillon
1 cup roasted cashews
¼ cup green onion, 1-inch pieces
3 springs cilantro


In wok over high heat, add oil and fry chilies until light brown and crispy. Remove and set aside. Add garlic to the wok and cook until fragrant. Stir in chicken and cook 3 minutes. Add onion, bell peppers, carrot and beans; stir-fry to almost done, about 3 minutes. Add fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and bouillon. Stir to mix well and cook until chicken and vegetables are done. Add nuts and fried chiles till heated through. Transfer to serving platter and garnish with green onion and cilantro. Serves 6.

I like puddingish desserts. This was good, but the tint of green might put people off at first.

Sunkhaya (Thai Coconut Custard)
www.astray.com


1 cup coconut milk
¾ cup palm sugar
½ cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
or half vanilla, half jasmine extract

Whisk all together until thoroughly mixed. Traditionally, the mixing is done by hand, mixing everything together and crushing in pieces of banana leaves or the leaves of an aromatic plant, bai-tey. The leaves are then picked out and discarded. Here, vanilla is used instead. The aroma is not the same but both will serve to hide the raw taste of the eggs. Divide the mixture into suitable containers and steam for approximately 30-45 minutes. Containers may be simply glass bowls or hollowed out small pumpkins or young green coconuts with the top of the shell removed.
Extremely sweet, slight greenish color and more of a pudding texture. I tried it again with an added cup of 2% milk, baked at 300º for 40 minutes, still sweet, more of a custard texture.

Tom Kha Gai (Chicken and Coconut Soup)

2 cups canned coconut milk
2 cups chicken stock
1 small galangal root
2 stalks lemon grass
4 Kaffir lime leaves
6 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 or 2 shallots
Fish sauce to taste
Lime juice to taste
Pinch of sugar if needed
Chile oil to taste
Cilantro leaves

Combine coconut and milk. Pound galangal to release aroma. Coarsely chop lemon grass and pound. Add galangal, lemon grass and lime leaves to milk mixture and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Strain. Cut chicken and shallots into small pieces; add to stock mixture and bring to a boil. Season with fish sauce, lime juice and sugar, if needed. Before serving, sprinkle with a few drops of chili oil and garnish with cilantro and green onion. For a spicier soup, add dried or ground chiles.

Sticky Rice with Mango
3 cups cooked sticky rice
1 cup canned cocnut milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine rice and milk and cook ovcer medium heat until thick. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 2 minutes. Serve warm with chilled mango slices.

My sister sometimes shortuts and uses sweetened condensed milk instead of sugar and cups back a little on the coconut milk. I like it better the way it's posted. cj

So anxious to try these!!! And So very glad I pooped in at the right time to see this thread :)