Index of Recipes
| Miang Kam
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
A version of this article was originally printed in the
San Jose Mercury News.
Another delightful street food is miang kam -- a very
tasty snack that involves wrapping little tidbits of
several items in a leaf, along with a sweet-and-salty
sauce. Chewing all the myriad ingredients together
gives taste receptacles on the tongue and mouth a thrilling
experience -- from the rich, roasted flavors of
coconut and peanut, to the tanginess of lime with zest
and the pungent bursts of diced ginger and chillies.
My students have found that it makes a great party food!
Ingredients:
Large leaves
from 1-2 bunches of spinach; or 1 head of leafy lettuce, tear leaves into
3- to
4-inch round
or square pieces
Filling Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted
roasted peanuts
1/4 cup small
dried shrimp
1/2 cup roasted
unsweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup diced
ginger (about the size of a pea)
1/3 cup diced
shallots or onion the same size as the ginger
1 lime, cut
into small peanut-size wedges, each with both peel and juice sacs
4 heads pickled
garlic, stem removed and bulb cut into peanut-size pieces
6 serrano
peppers, cut into thin half circles; or use Thai chillies ( prik kee noo),
cut into thin rounds
1/3 cup cilantro
leaves
Sauce Ingredients:
1/4 cup finely
ground dried shrimp
1/2 cup roasted
shredded coconut
1/4 cup unsalted
roasted peanuts
1/4 cup palm
or coconut sugar
2 Tbs. fish
sauce ( nahm bplah), or to taste
1/2 cup water
To roast coconut, place unsweetened fresh or dried shredded
coconut in a dry cast iron pan over medium heat. Stir frequently until
the coconut shreds are evenly a golden brown and very fragrant. Pickled
garlic is available in jars from Southeast Asian markets.
Arrange the spinach or lettuce leaves and filling ingredients
on a large serving platter, piling each separately and aesthetically for
a pleasing presentation.
To make the sauce, grind the dried shrimp, roasted coconut
and peanuts separately and as finely as possible in a clean coffee grinder.
(For the dried shrimp, measure out 1/4 cup after the shrimp is ground.)
Place in a small saucepan together with the palm sugar,
fish sauce and water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, stirring
frequently to make sure all the ingredients are well blended and the sauce
as smooth as possible. Cook about 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture has
thickened to the consistency of light batter. Transfer to a sauce bowl
and allow to cool to room temperature before using. The sauce will thicken
more as it cools.
To eat, take a spinach or lettuce leaf, fill it with a
little bit of everything, top with a dab of sauce, roll or wrap up, stuff
the entire leaf packet into your mouth and chew everything all at once.
Enjoy the explosion of flavors!
|
| Dtom
yum Gkoong
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
This recipe is found on pages 98 to 99 It Rains Fishes:
Legends,Traditions and the Joys of Thai Cooking, by Kasma Loha-unchit.
Published by Pomegranate Artbooks, 1995. Click here for information about
the book.
Ingredients
1/2 lb. prawns,
or medium- to large-size shrimps, shells removed and butterflied (save
shells for soup stock)
2-3 stalks
fresh lemon grass
1 quart water,
or mild soup stock, salted with fish sauce (nahm bplah) to the desired
saltiness
6 thin slices
fresh galanga (kah), or 2 dried pieces
3 fresh or
dried kaffir lime leaves (bai ma-gkrood)
8-10 whole
Thai chillies (prik kee noo), stem removed and bruised with the back of
a cleaver;
or substitute
with 2-3 sliced jalapeno or serrano peppers
1/2 a small
onion, halved again and sliced crosswise
1/4-inch thick
1-2 Tbs. roasted
chilli paste (nahm prik pow)
3-4 Tbs. tamarind
water: a chunk of wet tamarind, about the size of 1 Tbs., with the soft
parts
dissolved
in 1/4 cup water, pulp removed
1 cup fresh
brown mushrooms, sliced in 1/4-inch pieces, or 1 can whole straw mushrooms,
drained
1 small tomato,
cut in bite-size wedges (optional)
2 green onions,
cut in thin rounds
Juice of 1-2
limes, to desired sourness
1/2 cup cilantro
leaves or short cilantro sprigs
Cut the bottom tip off the lemon grass stalks and discard
the loose outer layer(s). Then cut each stalk into 1-inch sections at a
slanted diagonal all the way up to the greener end, near the start of the
grass blades, exposing the inner core. Smash each piece with the side of
a cleaver or the end of a large knife handle to bruise, releasing the aromatic
oils. Place the cut lemon grass along with the prawn or shrimp shells and
the water or stock in a soup pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to
low and simmer with a lid on for 15-20
minutes to draw out the flavors. Strain out the shrimp
shells and some of the lemon grass.
Add the sliced galanga, kaffir lime leaves, bruised Thai
chillies (or substitute) and sliced onion. Simmer a couple of minutes,
then add the roasted chilli paste (nahmm prik pow), tamarind water and
fresh brown or straw mushrooms. Heat stock to a boil and simmer for a couple
of minutes. Stir in the tomato wedges (if using), green onions and prawns
or shrimps. After 20-30 seconds, turn off heat, add lime juice to the desired
sourness and the cilantro. Do not let the prawns or shrimps overcook. Serve
immediately.
Notes and Pointers:
Dtom yum is a light soup with practically no oil, and
it contains the four main flavors -- hot, sour, sweet and salty -- accentuated
with fresh aromatic herbs. It is the most popular soup in Thailand and
can be found in the tiniest mom-and-pop village rice shop to the fanciest
restaurant in Bangkok. No menu is without it, even in Thai restaurants
overseas, and if there is no menu, as is the case in Thailand's rural areas,
just speaking the magic words"dtom yum" is enough to procure a steaming
bowl of the fragrant and
stimulating soup.
Dtom yum can be made with just about any type of seafood
or meat, or vegetables for vegetarians. You can have a dtom yum gai (gai
= chicken), dtom yum bplah (fish), dtom yum talay (mixed
seafood), dtom yum hed (mushrooms), and so on.There are numerous
ways of blending flavors, as you will notice from eating Dtom yum in various
restaurants here or in Thailand. Flavors vary from place to place, from
chef to chef and from pot to pot. But basically,dtom yum is hot and sour
-- hot from some kind of chilli pepper and sour primarily from lime juice
-- and has lemon grass as the leading hherb flavor.
Most Dtom yum in Thailand is made, of course, with Thai
people's favorite chillies, prik kee noo, known now in the western world
as "Thai chillies." In this recipe, the chillies are kept whole, so you
and your guests can spot them easily and not bite into one unless you choose
to. Simmering the hillies in the broth will flavor the soup with its special
spicy flavor. If you can find red ones, they make the soup prettier and
are even easier to spot, but if you want to insure a zero chance of a fiery
accident, you may wish to simmer the chillies in the soup stock a few minutes
and then strain them out entirely. Remember, the longer you cook chillies,
them ore their heat will cook out into the surrounding broth.
Alternatively, for a stronger roasted flavor, you may
wish to use dried red chillie peppers. Roast them on a dry pan directly
over a burner until the pods are dark red, turning frequently so they do
not burn. Cut each roasted pepper into two or three segments and add to
the soup. Keep in mind, however, that the nahm prik pow in the recipe already
provides some roasted flavor. |
| Dtom Kah Talay
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
This recipe is found on pages 118 to 119 of It Rains Fishes:
Legends,Traditions and the Joys of Thai
Cooking, by Kasma Loha-unchit. Published by Pomegranate
Artbooks, 1995. Click here for information
about the book.
Ingredients
A 2 to 3-inch
section fresh or frozen Thai galanga, or 6-8 dried pieces
2 stalks lemon
grass
3 cups rich
coconut milk
3 cups water
8 medium-size
prawns
1/2 tsp. salt
4-5 whole
squid
8-10 mussels
in the shell
1/2 tsp. baking
soda
1/2 a dungeness
crab, preferably uncooked
8 large sea
scallops
1 small onion,
quartered and sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
3-4 red jalapeno
or fresno peppers, to desired hotness cut in large slivers
4 fresh kaffir
lime leaves, thinly slivered
2 cups fresh
mushrooms, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
4-6 Tbs. fish
sauce (nahm bplah), to taste
Juice of 1-2
limes, to desired sourness
1-2 Tbs. palm
sugar, to taste
1/4 tsp. freshly
ground white pepper
A handful
of cilantro leaves or short sprigs
With a sharp knife, slice the galanga root thinly; it
is not necessary to peel unless the outside has turned
old and brown. Cut and discard the bottom tip of the
lemon grass and remove the loose outer leaf or
leaves. Slice at a long slanted angle, about an inch
apart, all the way up the stalk to near where the grass
blade starts. Smash and bruise with the flat side of
a cleaver to release the aromatic oils and flavor. Place
both galanga and lemon grass in a soup pot.
Spoon as much of the thick cream off the top of the coconut
milk as you can and reserve for later use.
Add the remaining watery part along with 3 cups of water
to the herbs in the pot. Bring to a boil, then
simmer covered over low heat for 10-15 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the seafood and remaining ingredients.
Shell and butterfly the prawns. Sprinkle
with 1/2 tsp. salt and a 2 Tbs. of water. Mix well and
set aside for about 10 minutes. Then rinse a few
times to remove all the salt. Clean the squid, cutting
the tube-like body into 3-4circles about an inch apart.
Leave the tentacles whole. Store in cold water until
ready to use.
Scrub the mussels to remove any sand and mud from the
shells. Cover with cold water with 1/2 tsp. of
baking soda added. Pull off the crab legs and claw. Use
only the top half of the legs; disjoint the claw in
two pieces. Crack each leg and claw piece with the back
of a cleaver or heavy knife. Cut the body half
into 2-3 pieces. Leave the scallops whole. Prepare the
remaining ingredients as indicated above.
When the herbs have simmered sufficiently to draw out
their flavors, add the sliced onion, slivered chillies
and kaffir lime leaves. Simmer 2-3 more minutes. Then
add the mushrooms and reserved coconut cream.
Stir well to blend into the broth and season to taste
with fish sauce. Bring to a slow boil over medium
heat. Drain the mussels and squid. When the soup has
just reached the boiling point, add the mussels and
crab pieces. Stir. After 15 seconds, stir in the remaining
seafood. Add half the lime juice. Stir, then taste;
if you wish the soup to be more limy, add more lime juice.
Adjust the sour and salty flavors with enough
palm sugar to return the sweet, rich taste of the coconut
milk.
The seafood should be ready in about a minute or so. Turn
off heat and sprinkle with freshly ground
white pepper. Stir well, then transfer to a soup tureen,
or ladle into individual serving bowls, and garnish
the top with cilantro.
Notes and Pointers:
This recipe is written with canned coconut milk in mind.
Either the Mae Ploy or Chao Koh brand, with a
rich-tasting, nutty flavor is preferred, or use an equivalent
brand that you like. If you are using freshly
made coconut milk, start with the lighter milk from the
second or third pressing to simmer the herbs,
reserving the richer cream for the later addition.
This recipe is rich, using one part coconut milk to one
part water. For a lighter soup, blend one part milk
to two parts water. Because it is a rich soup, Thai people
eat it more like a curry -- just a few spoonfuls
with some rice -- and seldom will eat an entire bowl
by themselves, like Westerners, who are used to rich
cream soups, will do.
Reversed from dtom yum soup recipe in previous chapter
where lemon grass is the main herb flavor and
galanga is in a supporting capacity, this soup is accentuated
with the hearty taste of galanga, hence the
name dtom kah ("boiled galanga"). Use lots of galanga
so that the herb's flavor comes through the rich
taste of the coconut milk.
Thai people usually do not strain herbs out of their soups,
but if you find the fibrous lemon grass and
strong galanga to be distracting, you may wish to remove
them before adding the rest of the ingredients.
This may be a wise idea if you are having guests for
dinner who have never had Thai food and may not
know what to do should they bite into a piece of hard
lemon grass or pungent galanga.
|
| Gaeng Liang Fak
Tong
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
A version of this article was originally printed in the
San Jose Mercury News
Ingredients
1 - 1 1/2 lb.
well-ripened kabocha squash, pumpkin, or other sweet and golden winter
squash
Juice of half
to one lime
1/3 lb. fresh
shrimp
2-4 fresh
red jalapeno or fresno peppers
2-3 shallots
1 Tbs. shrimp
paste
1 cup water
4 cups, or
2 cans coconut milk
2-3 Tbs. fish
sauce, or to taste
1-2 Tbs. palm
sugar, or as needed to balance flavors
1 cup fresh
lemon basil, lemon mint, or substitute with fresh Thai sweet basil - leave
leaves
whole, use
flowers also
Cut the kabocha squash in half, remove the seeds and peel.
Then cut the golden orange flesh into 1 to 1
1/2-inch cubes (should yield about 5-6 cups). Sprinkle
and coat the pieces with lime juice and set aside.
Shell the shrimp and cut into small pieces. Slice the
peppers into rounds and chop the shallots into small
chunks. Do not remove the seeds from the peppers unless
you do not wish your soup to be spicy. Blend
the shrimp, peppers, shallots and shrimp paste in a food
processor or blender. Add a quarter to half cup of
water to help puree the mixture until smooth and until
the ingredients are no longer distinguishable.
Reserve two cups of the creamiest part from the top of
the two cans of coconut milk.* Set aside. Pour
the remaining lighter milk, along with the remaining
water into a medium-size soup pot. Stir in the pureed
shrimp-chilli mixture. Mix well with a wire whisk to
blend the paste in with the liquid, smoothing out any
lumps.
Bring the soup mixture slowly to a boil over medium heat,
stirring frequently to as smooth a consistency
as possible. Add the kabocha squash chunks. Return to
a boil and simmer over low heat until the squash
is soft and just about to fall apart (15 to 30 minutes,
depending on the squash). Do not be concerned at
this point with the appearance of the soup as it will
change considerably with the addition of the coconut
cream.
Add the reserved coconut cream and gently bring to a simmer.
Season with fish sauce to the desired
saltiness. The squash should impart a lovely golden color
to the soup. If it is not sufficiently ripe to
sweeten the soup, add palm sugar to sweeten and bring
forth the nutty taste of the squash. Simmer a few
minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Stir in the lemon
basil, lemon mint or Thai basil leaves and flowers
and when they have wilted, turn off heat. Serve warm,
garnishing the top of each bowl with a fresh sprig
of the herb.
*Adding the coconut cream near the end of cooking ensures
a smoother, creamier soup and minimizes the
likelihood of the cream curdling. Coconut cream, particularly
from canned coconut milk, will tend to
curdle if boiled with water for too long or over too
high a heat.
Notes and Pointers:
The squash I grew up knowing as "pumpkin" is a much different
variety from the bright orange ones that
are carved and decorated as jack-o'-lanterns for Halloween.
Smaller, flatter and more disc-shaped, its
mottled dark green peel turns to a dull greyish green,
tinged with spots of yellow and light orange as it
ripens. Inside, the flesh is a vibrant golden yellow,
hence we call it "golden squash." Relatives to the
golden squashes of home are the kabocha and the kalabasa.
Tasty and sweet, both these varieties revive
recollections of my favorite flavors from childhood.
Brought to us here by Japanese American farmers,
the kabocha (meaning "little pumpkin") is now widely
available not only in Asian markets, but in
supermarkets and neighborhood grocery stores as well.
It is prized by Southeast Asian immigrants as can
be seen by its availability in most of their markets,
to the exclusion of other "pumpkins." Kalabasa, on the
other hand, is only beginning to become popular and its
availability is still limited.
Besides desserts and sweet treats, we use golden squashes
in different stages of ripeness for a wide
variety of dishes, including soups, salads, appetizers,
pickles, vegetable courses and curries. Try the recipe
for "Golden Pumpkin Coconut Soup." It is simple and nutritious,
but because it is very rich, in the tropical
heat, we usually eat only a few mouthfuls of it along
with rice, much as we would eat curry and other
dishes at a meal. With the colder Northern Californian
climate, however, the richness of this soup can be
fully appreciated, giving warmth and comfort. Try this
soup with some of the hearty sourdough bread for
which the Bay Area is known.
For a delicious pumpkin soup, use a ripe kabocha squash
- one with peel that has turned a lightt greyish
green, splashed with splotches of yellow and orange.
But it shouldn't be so old that it has dried out. Pick
one with a good weight for its size. If the squash is
under-ripe (i.e., still deep green in color), use a natural
sweetener such as palm or coconut sugar to help bring
its nutty flavor through the coconut milk. A green
kabocha squash will ripen when stored in a well ventilated
area for several weeks, or even a few months,
so I always have one on hand. It is pretty to look at
in the hanging basket in my kitchen. If you are not
able to find kabocha, substitute with a good variety
of winter squash that has a sweet and buttery flavor.
|
| Som Dtam
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
A version of this article was originally printed in the
San Jose Mercury News.
Ingredients
8-12 Thai chillies
(bird peppers), each cut into 3-4 segments
8 cloves garlic,
peeled and cut each into 2-3 pieces
2 Tbs. small
dried shrimp
4 cups julienned
peeled unripe papaya - in strips 2-3 inches long and 1/8 inch thick
1 cup cut
long beans - 1 1/2-inch-long segments
1 julienned
carrot
1/4 cup tamarind
juice the thickness of fruit concentrate
Juice of 2-3
limes, to taste
2-3 Tbs. fish
sauce, to taste
2-3 Tbs. palm
sugar, melted with 1 Tbs. water into a thick syrup - use as needed
2 small tomatoes,
cut into bite-size wedges; or 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chopped
unsalted roasted peanuts
Prepare the ingredients as indicated. Make tamarind juice
by starting with 1 Tbs. of compressed tamarind
in 1/3 cup of warm water. Work the tamarind with your
fingers to dissolve the soft fruit; gather up
remaining undissolvable pulp, squeeze to extract juice
and discard. Add more tamarind or water as
necessary to make 1/4 cup of concentrate.
Divide the ingredients into two batches and make each
batch as follows: Using a large clay mortar with a
wooden pestle, pound the garlic and chillies to a paste.
Add the dried shrimp and long beans and pound to
bruise. Follow with the green papaya and carrot. Stir
well with a spoon and pound to bruise the vegetables
so that they absorb the heat and flavor of the chillies
and garlic.
Add the tamarind and lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar.
Stir and pound a bit more to blend the
vegetables with the flavorings and seasonings. Taste
and adjust flavors to the desired
hot-sour-sweet-and-salty combination. Then add the tomato
pieces, stir and bruise lightly to blend in with
the rest of the salad. Transfer to a serving plate and
sprinkle with peanuts. Serves 6-8.
Notes and Pointers:
Green papaya has a very mild, almost bland, taste, but
it is the medium through which robust flavor
ingredients take body and form. It picks up the hot,
sour, sweet and salty flavors, giving them a unique
crisp and chewy texture unlike that of any other vegetable.
When made into salad, you wouldn't know
that it was mild and timid; you remember it only as bold
and spicy.
Unripe papayas are readily available in various sizes
and shapes during the summer at many Asian
markets. Select one that is very firm with shiny green
peel suggesting that it is as freshly picked as
possible. Even green fruits will eventually ripen and
turn soft if allowed to sit around for some time.
There are many ways to make green papaya salads, with
varying degrees of hotness, sourness and
sweetness. The hottest salads are probably made in northeastern
Thailand and Laos where they are eaten
with barbecued chicken and sticky rice as a staple food
of the populace. There, the salads are made by
bruising julienned green papaya with garlic and very
hot bird peppers in a large clay mortar with a wooden
pestle, then seasoning with lime juice, fish sauce and
other flavorings.
|
| Yum Makeua Yao
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
A version of this article was originally printed in the
May 28, 1997 edition of the San Jose Mercury News.
Grilling Over Mesquite Adds a Rich Smoked Flavor to Spicy
Eggplant Salad
The hot tropical climate of Thailand lends itself to outdoor
cooking. In fact, the kitchens of most
traditional homes are in open shacks behind the main
house. In the countryside, farmers still live in airy
wooden houses on stilts, their kitchens in the open area
beneath, or on the verandah. Besides making
cooking more bearable in the heat of day, the openness
of the kitchens and their separation from the main
living quarters keep the fumes from charcoal stoves from
smoking up the house.
Charcoal was the primary source of cooking fuel while
I was growing up in Thailand. I remember the
heaving call of the "charcoal man" as he pushed his heavy
cart of black logs through our neighborhood
each week. Mother would buy her load for the week, keeping
the charcoal in a wooden bin in our kitchen
behind the house and breaking the logs into smaller chunks
when needed to fit into the different size
burners. She trained me to be the fire starter, a duty
I most enjoyed and learned to do with great
proficiency. When we eventually converted to natural
gas, our family enjoyed the cleanliness of the new
convenience but missed the wonderful flavors that charcoal
cooking added to food - whether grilled,
boiled, or stir-fried.
Modernization has brought cleaner gas and electric cooking
to urban areas, but country folk and the
poorer of the urban population still rely on less expensive
charcoal for their cooking. The charcoal is not
highly processed and does not come in uniformly square
briquettes as most Americans know charcoal to
be; rather, they are irregular charred logs that, like
mesquite, impart a delightful smoked flavor to food.
Because of this, grilling and roasting over hot coals
continue to be popular cooking techniques in Thai
cuisine. Fine restaurants around the country know well
to keep a section of their kitchens fueled on
charcoal, and along city streets, sidewalk food vendors
grill all kinds of food over wood coals - from
chicken, pork, meatballs, squid on skewers, fish and
sausages to bananas, corn, sweet potatoes and yams,
coconuts and even whole eggs.
One of my vivid memories from childhood is helping Mother
skewer and sizzle large green chillies over
hot coals. These were followed by succulent eggplants,
roasted and charred to perfection. Both were then
skinned, cut up into bite-size strips, arranged beautifully
on a serving plate and dressed with a limy hot
sauce.
As you fire up your barbecue kettle or hibachi on hot
days this summer, grill up some eggplants and
chillies along with your chicken and meat for a spicy,
lip-smacking dinner.
Spicy Mesquite-Grilled Eggplant Salad
Ingredients
Mesquite charcoal
and a small handful of mesquite wood chips
4 long Asian
eggplants
4 jalapeno
or fresno peppers
10-15 Thai
chillies (bird peppers), finely chopped
Juice of about
2 limes, to taste
2-3 Tbs. fish
sauce, to taste
2-3 tsp. sugar,
to taste
2 shallots,
thinly sliced
1/4 lb. small
fresh shrimp, shelled and butterflied
1 hard-boiled
egg, cut into small wedges (6-8 pieces)
A small handful
of short cilantro sprigs
Start a batch of mesquite charcoal in a barbecue kettle
and soak the wood chips. While waiting for the
coals, trim the tops off the eggplants and the peppers.
Make a hot-and-sour sauce by mixing together the
chopped Thai chillies, lime juice, fish sauce and sugar.
Let sit for the flavors to blend and mingle.
Prepare the remaining ingredients. Blanch shrimp in boiling
water for 30 seconds to cook. Drain well and
set aside.
Grill the eggplants and peppers whole over the hot mesquite,
turning occasionally until they are slightly
charred on the outside and have softened. For a stronger
smoked flavor, add damp wood chips to the red
coals and cover the barbecue kettle after each turning.
Place the grilled eggplants and peppers in a paper sack
for a few minutes to steam. When cool enough to
handle, peel off the charred skin and thin outer membrane.
Cut each eggplant crosswise into segments
about 1 1/2 inches long, each segment in half lengthwise,
and each half in 2-3 strips, depending on the
size of the eggplant. Arrange on a serving platter and
spread the sliced shallots over the top.
Cut the skinned peppers into long, thin strips. Do not
remove the seeds if you want an extra spicy salad.
Arrange in an attractive design over the eggplants and
shallots and top with the cooked shrimp.
Taste and adjust the spicy lime sauce so that it is equally
sour and salty with a hint of sweetness. Spoon
evenly over the salad. Garnish with egg wedges and cilantro.
Serve at room temperature. Serves 6-8.
|
Lahb Gkai
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
Ingredients
1 lb boneless
chicken, chopped or ground
1 Tbs. peanut
oil
6 cloves garlic,
minced and pounded to a paste
1 stalk lemon
grass (optional), trimmed and sliced into thin rounds or chopped
1 shallot,
finely chopped
2 green onions
(use white part only), finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped
fresh mint leaves
2 small pieces
dried galanga, toasted and then ground finely
2-4 tsp. ground
roasted dried Thai chillies
3+ Tbs. fish
sauce (nahm bplah), to taste
Juice of 2-3
limes, to desired sourness
1/2 to 1 tsp.
sugar as need to balance flavors
2 Tbs. ground
toasted rice
An assortment
of raw or lightly steamed vegetables and aromatic herbs, such as: sprigs
of
various tropical
basils and mints, green beans/long beans, Thai eggplant, cabbage, morning
glory/water
cress, cucumber/squash/zucchini, lettuce, etc.
Cook the chopped or ground chicken in a little bit of
oil in a wok until thoroughly cooked, breaking into
small bits. Set aside.
Prepare the garlic, lemon grass (if using), shallot, green
onions and mint. Toast the galanga in a small dry
pan over medium heat until the pieces are darkened and
slightly charred. Let cool before grinding in a
clean coffee grinder to a fine powder. Then roast a handful
of whole dried Thai chillies in the pan, turning
frequently until they are darkened and slightly charred.
Grind into a fine powder.
Toss the cooked chicken with the garlic, lemon grass,
shallot, green onion, mint, ground toasted galanga
and chillies, fish sauce and lime juice. Mix well. Taste
and adjust flavors to desired sourness, hotness and
saltiness. Add sugar only as needed to pull the flavors
together. Toss the toasted rice powder into the
mixture and serve salad at room temperature with a tray
of assorted vegetables and herbs.
Note: If you are not able to find ground toasted rice
in Southeast Asian markets, it can be made by
browning uncooked glutinous rice in a dry skillet (preferably
cast iron), stirring frequently until the grains
are evenly a rich brown color and fragrant. Allow to
cool to room temperature before grinding in a clean
coffee grinder. Adds a wonderful toasted aroma.
|
| Gkaeng Kiow
Wahn Moo
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
This recipe is found on pages 138 to 139 of It Rains Fishes:
Legends,Traditions and the Joys of Thai
Cooking, by Kasma Loha-unchit. Published by Pomegranate
Artbooks, 1995. Click here for information
about the book.
How to make
a curry paste from scratch.
Ingredients
2 cups or 1
14-oz. can coconut milk
2-3 Tbs. green
curry paste
1 lb. pork,
cut against the grain of the muscle into bite-size strips about
2 x 1 x 1/4
in.
1/2 lb. small,
round Thai eggplants (ma-keua bprawh), cut in
halves or
quarters, or substitute with 2 long Asian eggplants, cut in bite-size chunks
1/2 cup small
pea eggplants (ma-keua puang), or substitute with shelled fresh peas
2 kaffir lime
leaves (bai ma-gkrood)
Fish sauce
(nahm bplah) to taste
2 tsp. palm
sugar, or to taste
1/2 to 1 cup
fresh Thai sweet basil leaves and flowers (bai horapa)
Slivered chillies,
to desired hotness
Do not shake the can of coconut milk before opening, so
that the cream remains on top. Spoon about 2/3
cup of this thick cream into a medium-size saucepan and
heat over medium to high heat. Reduce until
smooth and bubbly and until oil begins to separate from
the cream. Add the curry paste and fry in the
cream for a few minutes to release the aromas. Then pour
in the remaining milk.
Bring to a boil and add the pork. Return to a boil, reduce
heat and simmer 5-10 minutes uncovered before
adding the Thai eggplants and pea eggplants. Simmer a
few minutes more, then stir in the peas (if using
instead of pea eggplants) and kaffir lime leaves. Season
to taste with fish sauce (may not be needed if the
curry paste is already salted). Add palm sugar to balance
and enhance the spice and herb flavors to your
liking. Continue to simmer until eggplants and peas are
tender. Stir in the basil and chillies (as desired for
added hotness) and cook another minute. Serve hot over
plain steamed rice.
Notes and Pointers:
The preferred canned coconut milk for this recipe is Chao
Koh, and Mae Anong is a good choice for a
prepackaged paste. It comes in plastic pouches with the
picture of a young woman (Mae Anong herself)
on the upper right hand corner and is also identified
as "Lemon Grass Brand." Rather than the translated
name of "green curry," this brand labels the curry with
the Thai name, "Kang Kiew Wan" (a different
spelling from mine).
There are many kinds of small eggplants in Thailand. Round
ones the size of tomatillas, which we call
ma-keua bprawh, are very good in this curry. Deeper green
on top and graduating to a lighter bottom,
these are seedy eggplants and taste nothing like the
large purple aubergines. Cooked until softened, they
soak in the curry flavors and add a thickness to the
sauce. Other smaller members of the eggplant family
are ma-keua puang and resemble large green peas, though
their taste is entirely different. They are bitter,
but when simmered in the curry sauce they impart an extraordinary
roundedness to the sauce. Much of
their bitter bite dissipates when they have completely
softened with sufficient cooking. Both these
eggplants are available in Thai and Southeast Asian markets,
especially during the warmer months of the
year, though the latter is usually harder to find. Specialty
produce markets and gourmet supermarkets
have also started to carry them.
Using this recipe, a red curry can be easily made by substituting
a red curry paste and cut-up boneless
chicken. For a fabulous roasted duck curry, buy a roasted
duck the next time you visit the Chinatown
near your home and use it instead of the pork. Toward
the end of cooking, skim off the fat that has
cooked out of the duck and add two small, firm and still
slightly green tomatoes, cut in bite-size wedges.
|
| Gkaeng
Kiow Wahn Loogchin Bplah/Gkung
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
This recipe is found on pages 140 to 141 of It Rains Fishes:
Legends,Traditions and the Joys of Thai
Cooking, by Kasma Loha-unchit. Published by Pomegranate
Artbooks, 1995. Click here for information
about the book.
How to make
a curry paste from scratchq.
Ingredients
2/3 lb. ground
fish paste, or small white fish fillets
2/3 lb. fresh
shrimp, shelled and chopped finely
1/4 tsp. ground
white pepper
3-4 Tbs. fish
sauce (nahm bplah), to taste
1-2 Tbs. tapioca
flour
4 cups coconut
milk (about 2 cans)
Homemade curry
paste (see below)
1-2 Tbs. palm
or coconut sugar, to taste
2 long Asian
eggplants, sliced at a slanted angle 1/4-inch thick;or 12 round Thai eggplants
(ma-keua bproh),
halved or quartered
1/2 cup pea
eggplants (ma-keua puang), if available; or use fresh shelled peas
2-3 kaffir
lime leaves; tear each into 2-3 pieces
1-2 green
jalapeno peppers, each cut into 6-8 long slivers
1-2 fingers
gkra-chai root (finger-shaped rhizome), thinly sliced in diagonal pieces
1 cup Thai
sweet basil leaves and flowers (bai horapa)
Green Curry Paste:
4 dark green
jalapeno or serrano peppers, chopped
15-20 green
Thai chillies (prik kee noo), chopped
10 white peppercorns,
finely ground
1 Tbs. coriander
seeds, lightly toasted till aromatic, then ground
1/2 tsp. cumin
seeds, ground
1 tsp. course
sea salt
2 Tbs. chopped
lemon grass (use the bottom end of stalk, sliced thinly in rounds before
chopping)
1 tsp. chopped
Thai galanga
1 tsp. grated
zest of fresh kaffir lime; or substitute with finely chopped reconstituted
dried
kaffir lime
peel
2 tsp. finely
chopped cilantro roots, or substitute with 1 Tbs. chopped stems
3 shallots,
chopped
6 cloves garlic,
chopped
2 tsp. gkapi
shrimp paste
Prepare the paste ingredients. If using dried kaffir lime
peel, soak first to soften. For galanga, use the
fuller-flavored, reddish brown root imported from Thailand.
Grind the dry spices finely in a dry stone
mortar or spice grinder.Set aside. Pound the herbs a
little at a time, starting with the hardier ones, until
each is reduced to a paste. Combine the pounded herbs
and ground dry spices and pound together with
the gkapi shrimp paste to form a fine, well-blended paste.
Set aside.
If ground fish paste is not available in Asian fish markets
in your area, use small, white-flesh fish fillets
and chop as finely as possible with a cleaver or in a
food processor or blender. Then pound the fish with a
heavy stone mortar and pestle until it is completely
reduced to paste and no longer distinguishable as fish.
Do likewise with the shrimp. Keeping them separate, sprinkle
some ground white pepper, a little fish
sauce and about one tablespoon tapioca flour to each.
(You do not need to add these ingredients to
ground fish paste bought from the fish market.) Knead
into the ground fish until sticky, then the shrimp.
Set aside.
In a large pot, heat about a cup of the thick coconut
cream from the top of a can of coconut milk (or the
rich milk from the first pressing of coconut pulp) over
medium to high heat. Reduce until oil begins to
separate or the cream looks thick and bubbly. Add the
curry paste and fry in the cream for a few minutes
until aromatic. Pour in the remaining coconut milk and
bring to a boil.Season to taste with fish sauce and
balance with palm sugar. If using pea-eggplants, add
them next and simmer about 10 minutes over low
heat, uncovered, before adding the other eggplants and
kaffir lime leaves. If substituting with peas, add
them together with the sliced eggplants. Bring sauce
back up to a boil and simmer a few minutes or until
the eggplants begin to soften.
Using two teaspoons, drop the fish and shrimp paste mixtures
in small, bite-size chunks into the curry
sauce. Return to a boil and add the slivered jalapeno
peppers and gkra-chai pieces. Continue to cook until
eggplants are tender and the dumplings cooked through
(they float when cooked). Stir in the basil until it
wilts. Remove from heat and serve hot with lots of plain
steamed rice.
Notes and Pointers:
There are many kinds of small eggplants in Thailand. Round
ones the size of tomatillas, which we call
ma-keua bprawh, are very good in this curry. Deeper green
on top and graduating to a lighter bottom,
these are seedy eggplants and taste nothing like the
large purple aubergines. Cooked until softened, they
soak in the curry flavors and add a thickness to the
sauce. Other smaller members of the eggplant family
are ma-keua puang and resemble large green peas, though
their taste is entirely different. They are bitter,
but when simmered in the curry sauce they impart an extraordinary
roundedness to the sauce. Much of
their bitter bite dissipates when they have completely
softened with sufficient cooking. Both these
eggplants are available in Thai and Southeast Asian markets,
especially during the warmer months of the
year, though the latter is usually harder to find. Specialty
produce markets and gourmet supermarkets
have also started to carry them.
There is a variety of long eggplants in Thailand that
is green in color rather than purple like the ones you
find in Chinese and Japanese markets. They are sweet
and very flavorful and are excellent in greet curry.
From time to time, I have seen them sold at farmer's
markets. If you can find them, try them in this
recipe. |
(Gaeng
Ped Gai )
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
Ingredients
1 lb. boneless
chicken
2-3 long Asian
eggplants (Thai, Japanese, Chinese or Filipino)
2 cups, or
1 can coconut milk
2-3 Tbs. red
curry paste
Fish sauce
to desired saltiness
1-2 tsp. palm
or coconut sugar
2 kaffir lime
leaves
Slivered chillies
to desired hotness
1 cup fresh
Thai sweet basil leaves and flowers
Trim the chicken of any visible fat and, if you wish,
pull off the skin. Cut against the muscle into bite-size
chunks. Set aside.
Eggplants may be roasted a few hours or a day ahead of
time. Poke them with a fork in a few places and
roast over hot mesquite coals with a small handful of
damp mesquite chips added. Cover barbecue kettle
to smoke the eggplants, turning them occasionally until
they are partially softened and the skins slightly
charred. Remove from coals and place in a brown paper
sack for a few minutes to sweat. Then peel off
the thin film on the surface of the skin and cut crosswise
into 1 1/2- to 2-inch segments and each segment
into half lengthwise.
(Eggplants may also be roasted directly on the stove by
holding them with a pair of tongs through the
flame of a gas burner until they are partially softened
and charred. They may also be broiled. However,
roasting over mesquite will add a wonderful smoked aroma
to the curry.)
If using canned coconut milk, do not shake the can before
opening, so that the cream remains on top.
Spoon 2/3 to 1 cup of this thick cream into a medium-size
saucepan. (If you are making your own
coconut milk, use the cream from the first pressing of
coconut pulp for this step.) Heat over medium to
high heat and reduce until the cream is smooth and bubbly
and the oil begins to separate. Add the curry
paste and fry 3 to 5 minutes in the cream to release
the aromas and flavors. Then add the remaining milk.
Bring to a boil, stirring to mix the curry paste thoroughly
into the sauce to a smooth consistency. Season
with fish sauce to taste and balance with enough palm
sugar to bring forth a fuller range of spice and herb
flavors, with just a hint of sweetness in the back of
your tongue. Stir in the chicken pieces and return
sauce mixture to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer
uncovered about 10 minutes, or until the chicken is
almost cooked through.
Add the roasted eggplants, kaffir lime leaves and slivered
chillies as desired for extra hotness. Simmer a
few minutes to warm and cook the eggplants to the tenderness
of your liking. Toss in the basil and stir
until the leaves are just wilted. Spoon chicken, eggplants
and sauce into a serving dish and serve with
plain steamed rice. |
| Moo
Gratiem Prikthai
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
A version of this article was originally printed in the
September 25, 1996 edition of the San Jose Mercury
News.
This recipe can be used for chicken and all kinds of seafood
as well. I especially like it with shrimp. Use
medium-size white shrimp and fry with the shells and
tails on, even better if the heads are still attached.
Fry 3-5 minutes, or until shells are crispy. Eat shrimp
shells, tails and all. They are better than chips and
add a natural source of calcium to your diet.
Ingredients
1 1/2 lb. pork
chops
2 Tbs. white
peppercorns, coarsely ground
10 large cloves
garlic, chopped
1 1/2 Tbs.
tapioca (or corn) starch
2 Tbs. fish
sauce (or light soy sauce)
2 cups peanut
oil for deep-frying
A handful
of short cilantro sprigs
6 cloves garlic
Remove the bone from the chops and save for soup stock.
Slice the meat against the muscle into thin
strips about 1 1/2 inches long. Grind the peppercorns
in a clean coffee grinder and chop the garlic. Add
both to the pork and mix well.
Then sprinkle in the tapioca (or corn) starch and fish
sauce (or soy sauce). Using your hand, mix the flour
and sauce in with the meat, feeling to make sure the
pork pieces are evenly coated with all the ingredients.
If the mixture feels too dry and the flour is lumping,
sprinkle in a small amount of water to help distribute.
Heat the oil in a wok until hot. Test with a piece of
garlic; it should sizzle quickly on the surface and not
sink to the bottom. Gently add the pork. There should
be enough oil to submerge the pork pieces; if not,
fry in two batches. Use a fork or a pair of chopsticks
to separate the pieces that are sticking together.
Fry about 5 minutes, or until the pork is a rich brown
color and the surface is dried and slightly crisped.
Remove from oil with a slotted spoon or wire spatula
and drain on a wire-mesh basket balanced over a
bowl. Use a fine wire-mesh spatula to collect the loose
pieces of garlic from the oil.
Cool a minute or two before transferring to a serving
plate. Top with the loose garlic pieces and cilantro
sprigs. Serves 4 to 6.
Allow the oil to cool in the wok, then strain and store.
Use this garlic- and pepper-flavored oil to add a
delicious flavor to your stir-fried dishes.
|
| Gkai Pad Gka-prow
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
This recipe is found on page 100 of It Rains Fishes: Legends,Traditions
and the Joys of Thai Cooking,
by Kasma Loha-unchit. Published by Pomegranate Artbooks,
1995. Click here for information about the book.
Ingredients
1 lb. boneless
chicken thighs, coarsely chopped, or cut into small bite-size pieces
4-6 cloves
garlic, finely chopped
2-3 shallots,
thinly sliced (or substitute with 1/2 cup sliced onion)
2-3 Tbs. peanut
oil for stir-frying
2 tsp. black
soy sauce (the semi-sweet kind)
1-2 Tbs. fish
sauce (nam bplah), to taste
1 cup fresh
Thai holy basil (bai gka-prow), or substitute with:1/4 cup dried holy basil,
soaked
to soften
plus 1/2 to 1 cup fresh Thai sweet basil (bai horapa )
2 small kaffir
lime leaves (bai ma-gkrood), very finely slivered (optional)
2-3 fresh
jalapeno or fresno peppers, cut into large slivers; or 5-10 Thai chillies
(prik kee noo),
chopped and
pounded with a mortar and pestle
Dash of ground
white pepper
Prepare the ingredients as indicated. Leave the fresh
basil leaves whole; the flowers may also be used.
The dried holy basil will soften when soaked in tap water
for 10-15 minutes. Pull off and discard the hard
stems. Drain.
Heat a wok until the surface is smoking hot. Swirl in
the oil to coat the wok surface. Wait a few seconds
for the oil to heat, then stir in the garlic, followed
a few seconds later with shallots. Stir another few
seconds before adding the chicken. Stir-fry a minute
or two, or until most of the chicken has started to
change color on the outside and is no longer pink. Toss
in the chillies, slivered kaffir lime leaves and
reconstituted dried holy basil (if using). Sprinkle black
soy sauce over the mixture and stir-fry another
15-20 seconds. Then add fresh basil leaves and fish sauce
to taste. Stir and mix well. Stir-fry another half
a minute, or until the basil is wilted and the chicken
is cooked through. Sprinkle with white pepper. Stir
and transfer to a serving dish, or spoon directly over
individual plates of plain steamed rice.
Notes and Pointers:
This is a good and easy stir-fried dish and one of the
favorites among Thai people. It is served over rice
as a one-dish meal -- for breakfast or for lunch, often
topped with a crispy fried egg. Of course, it also
appears frequently as one of the courses in a shared
family-style meal.
If you are not able to find fresh holy basil, this recipe
can be substituted with any fresh basil. I have also
tried it with a mixture of fresh Thai sweet basil (bai
horapa) and fresh mint leaves with good results.
The smaller the chicken is cut, the greater the surface
area to coat with the flavors of the aromatic herbs
and sauces, and the more flavorful the stir-fry will
be. Some of my students have reported good results
using ground turkey. In Thailand, this dish is often
made with chopped pork, or bird meat, especially in
fast-food, curry-rice shops (rahn kao gkaeng), where
an enormous variety of dishes are prepared ahead
of time and served over steaming white rice to order.
When I travel in the rural areas, I often stop at such
rice shops in small towns for lunch. Some of the bestpad
gka-prow can be had at these inconspicuous,
no-frills, open-air places. They are made particularly
spicy to help preserve the meat, as the dishes are
prepared early in the morning and served throughout the
day until they are sold out.
Try the above recipe also with fresh seafood (in this
case, no need to chop) -- shrimps, scallops, mussels,
clams, crab and firm-flesh fish, such as fresh halibut
and salmon. |
| Kao
Pad Gai Krapao
There is no such thing as a single recipe for fried rice.
In fact, an entire volume can be written about the
many types of fried rice just in Thailand, and I have
actually seen such a cookbook (written in the Thai
language) that contains only recipes for fried rice!
Fried Rice in Thailand depends on the rice shop or
restaurant where you ate it at and what kind they made
for you - as one can order many types of fried
rice from the same place by specifying what kind you
would like at a particular moment, such as chicken
fried rice, vegetarian fried rice, basil fried rice,
seafood fried rice, etc, each with varying ingredients that
make it unique tasting from the others.
Ingredients
1/2 lb. boneless
chicken, cut into small bite-size pieces
6 cloves garlic,
chopped
3-4 shallots,
thinly sliced (or substitute with a small onion)
2-3 cups young
Asian broccoli
2 jalapeno,
serrano or fresno hot chilli peppers
4 cups cold
cooked leftover rice
3-4 Tbs. peanut
oil
2 tsp. black
soy sauce -- the semi-sweet kind (or substitute with regular soy plus sugar)
2 Tbs. fish
sauce (nam pla), or to desired saltiness
1+ cups basil
leaves and flowers
Liberal sprinkling
of powdered white pepper
1 lime, cut
into four wedges
Prepare the ingredients where instructed above. For the
Asian broccoli, cut the stem ends at a very
slanted angle into thin strips about 1 1/2 inches long
and the leafy portion in segments about the same
length. Keep the stemy pieces separate from the leafy
pieces. Slice the chilli peppers into half circles or
short slivers; do not remove the seeds if you wish a
spicier fried rice (skip if you don't want your fried
rice to be spicy).
Crumble and break up the cold leftover rice so that the
grains are no longer stuck together in big chunks.
(If you do not have leftover rice, cook rice earlier
in the day and cool completely before frying. Freshly
cooked rice makes mushy fried rice if used when it is
still warm.) Set aside.
Heat a wok over high heat until hot. Swirl in the oil
to coat its surface and wait a few seconds for the oil
to heat. Add the chopped garlic, followed a few seconds
later with the chicken. Stir-fry half a minute, or
until the chicken begins to lose its raw pink color.
Toss in the sliced shallots and chillies. Stir and follow
15 seconds later with the broccoli stems. Stir-fry another
20 seconds before adding the leaves. Toss until
leaves are partially wilted, then add the rice and toss
well with all the ingredients in the wok.
Continue to stir-fry until the rice is well coated with
the oil and has softened and begun to brown. Sprinkle
evenly with some black soy sauce, enough to lightly color
the grains. Stir some more, then sprinkle with
fish sauce to the desired saltiness. Stir-fry until the
broccoli is cooked to your liking, preferably still crisp
and a vibrant green color. Toss in the basil and stir
quickly for a few seconds to wilt and mix in with the
rice. Sprinkle with white pepper. Stir well and transfer
to serving plate(s).
Serve with a wedge of fresh lime for each serving. Squeeze
the juice over the rice, as desired, before
eating. Serves 2-3 as a one-dish meal.
Notes and Pointers:
Use this recipe as a starting point for you to experiment.
The important thing though is to become familiar
with all the Thai ingredients and sauces so that you
can use them to duplicate the flavors you remember
tasting in Thailand. Branch out from here by using pork
or seafood instead of chicken, and substitute
other kinds of firm, crisp vegetable you prefer. Add
tomato wedges if you like.
Remember that Thai cooking is an art and not a science,
and just as Thai people are easy going in their
mannerisms, so are they in their cooking. They do not
stick to recipes, they like variety, and most
important of all, what they make depends on what looks
fresh at the market and what they have on hand.
Most of the best fried rice are made from leftover rice
and ingredients from the day before thrown
together with seasonings in the wok.
|
| A
Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
A version of this article was originally printed in the
San Jose Mercury News
1 lb. fillet
of sea bass (about 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick)
1-inch section
ginger
4-6 cloves
garlic
1 green onion
1/4 cup soy
sauce
1 tsp. sesame
oil
1/2 tsp. powdered
dried red chilli
1/2 tsp. rice
vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
Place the fish in a 2- to 3-inch deep heat-proof serving
dish that fits inside the rack of a stacked steamer.
If you do not have a steamer, use a pot large enough
and deep enough to accommodate the dish for
steaming.
Peel the ginger and slice into thin pieces. Stack several
pieces at a time and cut into fine slivers. Peel the
garlic cloves and slice into thin oval pieces. Arrange
both evenly over the fish.
Cut the green onion into 2-inch segments, using both the
white and most of the green parts. Then cut
each segment lengthwise into fine slivers. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, powdered
chilli, vinegar and sugar. Stir well to blend.
Spoon over the fish without dislodging the garlic and
ginger.
Bring 2 inches of water to a boil in a steamer pot before
placing the dish holding the fish on a rack above
it. Or, if substituting with a large pot, fill with 1
to 1 /2 inches of water, place a trivet, inverted bowl, or a
vegetable steamer rack with the handle removed, inside
the pot to lift the dish holding the fish from the
bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil, then cover and steam
over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
(Steaming time will depend on the thickness of the fillet.)
Then reduce heat to low, lift the cover and wait for the
hot burst of steam to dissipate before sprinkling
the slivered green onion over the top of the fish. Replace
cover, return heat to medium and steam 1-2
minutes longer, or until the fish is cooked through.
Serves 4 with plain steamed rice and other dishes in a
shared family-style meal.
Notes and Pointers
My family loves fish, and every year there seems to be
a particular fish and way of preparing it that
emerges as our favorite of the year. In 1997 our fish
of the year has been none other than the absolutely
divine, yet simple, steamed sea bass with ginger, garlic
and a tasty sesame and soy sauce. We have made
it countless times not only for ourselves, but also for
numerous friends who came to our home for dinner.
An adaptation of a common Chinese recipe with an added
punch, this delicious fish is very easy to make,
healthy to eat, and at the same time, can make an impressive
presentation. Prep time takes a mere ten
minutes or less, cooking time not much longer and without
the need for doting attention.
I usually have the fish all ready to go before dinner
guests arrive - sitting on a lovely serving dish with a
little bit of depth to hold the sauce and to catch juices
that steam out from the fish, with the aromatics
arranged prettily on top. About fifteen minutes before
dinner, I merely need to turn on the burner under
the steamer pot, spoon the pre-mixed sauce over the fish,
gently lower the dish into the steamer, cover
and set the timer for ten minutes (or longer if it is
a very thick fillet).
When the buzzer sounds, green onions slivers are sprinkled
on the fish and it is steamed another minute
longer. Then, with mitts on, the hot dish is carefully
lifted out of the steamer and brought to the table.
The white, succulent flesh of the sea bass contrasts
beautifully with the dark sauce it swims in, further
textured and colored with the aromatics.
Of course, freshness is the key to the success of this
simple dish. The sea bass should be of top quality
and freshness and always use fresh garlic and ginger.
The type of soy sauce and sesame oil matters, too,
and a little sugar is important as a harmonizing agent
to pull the flavors of all the ingredients together. My
favorite soy sauce to use for this dish is a naturally
brewed, premium dark soy imported from Taiwan
under the label "Kimlan." There are a few different grades
with differing sodium levels and prices - the
best being their "super special" at a hefty $4 or more
for a small 20 oz. bottle. It is worth the price,
especially when you will be using it on a fish that can
cost you close to $10 a pound.
Use pure sesame oil that has not been mixed with other
oils (check label for ingredients). I am partial to
the more pronounced aroma of black sesame oil.
Instead of rice vinegar, I sometimes prefer to use a little
more of the milder Chinese black vinegar, whose
musky flavor mixes wonderfully with the dark soy sauce.
Skip or cut back on the powdered dried chilli if
you wish the fish to be mild tasting.
Try this recipe with other kinds of fish. In Chinese cuisine,
fish is more often steamed whole. Use rock
cod, sea perch, snapper or striped bass. With whole fish,
first pan sear in hot oil a minute or two on each
side before arranging on the platter on which it will
be steamed and served.
|
| Bplah
Doog Tod Kamin
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
This recipe is found on pages 186 to 187 of It Rains Fishes:
Legends,Traditions and the Joys of Thai
Cooking, by Kasma Loha-unchit. Published by Pomegranate
Artbooks, 1995. Click here for information
about the book.
This is one of the top ten favorite recipes at our house.
I first ate it at one of my all time favorite
restaurants in Thailand, Reuan Mai (Wooden House) in
Krabi. When I got back to the states, I came up
with this version.
Ingredients
1 fresh whole
catfish, weighing approximately 1-1/2 lbs.
2 fingers
fresh turmeric, or about 1-1/2 to 2 Tbs. chopped
8 cloves garlic,
chopped
1 tsp. sea
salt
1 tsp. white
peppercorns, freshly ground
4 cups peanut
oil for frying
About 1/4
to 1/2 cup flour to coat fish for frying
Cucumber,
tomato, pineapple and/or orange slices for garnish
Hot-and-Sour Sauce:
8-10 Thai chillies
( prik kee noo), thinly sliced in rounds 2 shallots, halved and sliced
thinly
1/4 cup white
vinegar
3-4 Tbs. fish
sauce ( nahm bplah), to taste
2-3 tsp. granulated
sugar, to taste
Clean the catfish and leave whole, with the skin on and
head still attached. Remove any oil sacs there
may be from the body cavity. Rinse and drain. Cut slanted
diagonal gashes to bone level, about an inch
apart, on both sides of the fish, from behind the head
all the way down to the tail. Set aside on a platter.
Peel the turmeric and chop finely. Place in a mortar along
with the chopped garlic, sea salt and freshly
ground white pepper. Pound to mix and blend the ingredients
into a coarse paste. Rub the paste evenly
over the catfish, including the body cavity, head, tail
and inside the gashes. Set aside to marinate for at
least half an hour. Fish should be brought to room temperature
before frying.
Make the hot-and-sour sauce. Mix the sauce ingredients
and allow to sit at least half an hour before
serving.
In a large wok, heat about 4 cups of peanut oil, or enough
to submerge at least two-thirds of the fish
during frying. Allow the oil to heat until it is smoking
hot. Just before sliding the fish into the hot oil, brush
the chopped garlic and turmeric pieces off the fish and
coat with a thin layer of flour, including the inside
of the body cavity and the gashes, the head and tail.
This will help reduce splattering during frying and
also adds a texture to the crispiness of the fried fish.
Reserve the marinade for frying later.
Fry the fish 10-12 minutes on each side, or until the
fish is dry and crispy. If you have a very hot stove,
fry at medium heat; otherwise, use high heat. While frying,
tilt the wok occasionally from side to side,
allowing the head and tail to be submerged from time
to time in the hot oil. When the fish is browned and
crispy all around, from head to tail, add the marinade
to the oil and fry with the fish until the chopped
pieces of garlic and turmeric are also brown and crispy.
Holding the wok spatula under the fish from its top edge,
tilt it up on one side of the wok above the oil.
Allow excess oil to drain out of the body cavity before
sliding the fish gently out of the wok onto a serving
platter. Using a fine wire-mesh strainer spoon, remove
the crispy bits of fried marinade from the oil.
Spread over the fish.
Serve while still warm and crispy with the hot-and-sour
sauce, and, if you wish, sliced cucumbers,
tomatoes, pineapples and/or oranges arranged on the side
of the serving platter. Strain and refrigerate oil
for future use in frying fish.
Notes and Pointers:
It is imperative to coat the catfish with flour before
frying. Once I forgot to and ended up with a string of
mini-explosions, as tiny oil sacs near the top of the
skin and juice oozing out from inside the fish reacted
violently with the hot oil. The coating of flour dries
and seals the fish, making frying a pleasant and easy
experience. You do not want to remove the skin of the
catfish, because it fries to a nice crisp, makes the
fish look good and adds great flavor.
The catfish can be fried ahead of time and refried with
the marinade to re-crisp it a few minutes before
serving. |
| Guay Tieow Neau Nahm Khon
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
A version of this article was originally printed in the
November 27, 1996 edition of the San Jose Mercury
News.
Ingredients
A 2 -lb. package
of fresh rice noodles
1/2 lb. tender
cut of steak, thinly sliced in bite-size strips (optional)
8-10 beef
meat balls, cut in half or leave whole (optional)
1/2 tsp. ground
white pepper
4 cups fresh
bean sprouts
4 cups green-leaf
lettuce pieces
1 cup short
cilantro sprigs
4 green onions,
white and green parts, cut in thin rounds
Fried garlic
oil - 8 cloves of chopped garlic fried in 1/4 cup of peanut oil
Stewed Beef Soup:
A whole beef
shank (about 1 1/2 to 2 lb.), or other cut with tendon
8 cups water
2 star anise
2 stalks lemon
grass, cut in 2-inch segments and crushed
2-inch section
fresh or frozen galangal, crushed (or use 6 dried pieces)
4-5 kaffir
lime leaves
1 head garlic
cloves, crushed whole
20 white peppercorns,
cracked
1/2 cup cilantro
roots and stem sections, crushed
5 green onions,
leave whole including roots
2 Tbs. black
soy sauce
1 Tbs. palm
or brown sugar, to taste
1 tsp. sea
salt
4 or more
Tbs. fish sauce or light soy sauce, to taste
Hot Chile Sauce:
10 red and
green Thai chiles, chopped
2 red serrano
or jalapeno peppers, chopped
6 cloves garlic,
chopped
1/3 cup white
vinegar
2-3 Tbs. fish
sauce, to taste
2-3 tsp. sugar,
to taste
Place the whole beef shank and all the herbs, spices and
flavor ingredients in a large pot. Add water and
bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered
until the shank is tender (3+ hours). Remove
shank and strain the broth. Slice into bite-size chunks
and return to strained broth.
While the beef is stewing, prepare the hot sauce. Pound
the chopped chiles and garlic to a paste with a
mortar and pestle. Combine with the remaining sauce ingredients
and let sit to allow the flavors to blend
and mingle. Sauce should be equally sour and salty with
a hint of sweetness.
Separate the noodles as much as possible into single strands.
Make the fried garlic oil and prepare the
remaining ingredients.
When the soup is ready, bring a large pot of water to
a boil. Toss the beef meat balls into the pot and
while it is cooking, use a Chinese wire-mesh basket with
a bamboo handle to blanch the noodles, bean
sprouts and lettuce for just a few seconds - a handful
at a time, enough for one serving. Lift basket to
drain quickly. Place in an individual serving-size bowl
and spoon a few pieces of stewed beef and broth
over the noodles.
Next, blanch a few pieces of the sliced steak in the hot
water using the wire-mesh basket, just enough to
cook to medium rare. Arrange beef slices over the noodles
and spoon one or more pieces of meat balls
into the bowl. Sprinkle with green onions, dust with
white pepper and top with fried garlic oil (both garlic
pieces and a little oil) and cilantro. Repeat to make
more bowls of noodles.
Serve immediately with the chile sauce. Makes 8-10 servings.
Notes and Pointers:
Now that cold weather has descended upon us, devouring
a steaming bowl of fragrant, stewed beef
noodle soup is especially satisfying. Not that I stay
away from such delicious comfort food other times of
year, it is a favorite one-dish meal and snack even in
the tropical heat of Asia.
Each Southeast Asian culture has its favorite noodle dishes.
The Vietnamese are fond of their "pho, " the
Thai of their "kuay tiow reua" ("boat noodles"), and
the Malaysians their "laksa." These noodle dishes
share similar roots - they are Chinese in origin, introduced
by immigrants from different parts of China
who settled in the region several generations ago. Their
descendants continue to run the noodle shops that
abound in many Southeast Asian cities, or hawk countless
bowls from push-cart stalls and paddle boats,
adding color and aroma to the sidewalks and canals of
the Orient.
The common origin explains why many noodle dishes of different
Southeast Asian cultures are
suspiciously similar in look and taste. This certainly
is true of beef noodle soup. The Vietnamese "pho" is
not much different from the Thai "kuay tiow reua, " or
the Cantonese beef noodles you get in Chinatown
noodle shops.
There are essentially two kinds of beef noodle soup --
one with clearer broth and a cleaner taste and the
other with a darker, richer and heartier broth. The latter
is what I prefer for the colder seasons of the year
because of its warming qualities.
I like to stew the beef for my noodle soup with a multitude
of herbs and spices, adding a fragrant aroma
that is not only inviting to the appetite but turns the
concoction into something of a preventative medicinal
broth. And because a good, hearty broth is produced by
simmering the beef over very low heat for a
number of hours, the making of it warms and perfumes
the home just as much as the finished soup is
warming to the tummy and the soul.
Asians like a variety of textures in their food and prefer
to stew beef that is laced with tendons.
Well-tenderized tendons give a contrasting gelatinous
texture to the chewier meat. Many westerners are
leery about eating tendon; they often mistake it for
fat and think it is bad for their health. Yet, they do not
realize that this same tendon is the basic stuff that
jello is made out of, and it certainly is not fatty.
For my stewed beef soup, I like to use a whole shank because
it is attached by large tendons to the
muscles and bone. It is readily available from Asian
markets with a meat counter. I simmer it whole until
the entire shank is tender. This takes about three to
four hours. The slower the cooking, the sweeter and
more flavorful the broth.
For further contrast of texture and flavor, tripe may
be added to the stewing pot. Fresh steak slices, lightly
cooked to medium rare, and beef meat balls also frequently
accompany the stewed beef on the noodles.
The latter is available in the refrigerated compartments
of Asian markets. They have a similar elastic
texture to fish balls, but are a darker grayish color.
The favorite noodles served in beef soup is fresh rice
noodles - the same kind used for Chinese "chow
fun." Available in most Asian markets, they come in dense
two-pound packages. Be sure to separate the
noodles into individual strands before using, or else
you will have one big lump in your soup.
The soup is served with bean sprouts and lettuce either
already wilted in the broth, or separately on a side
dish for dunking into the soup as each person wishes.
The Vietnamese like to add sprigs of mint and basil
to the side dish for bites of refreshing herbal flavors.
Finally, each partaker at a noodle meal can spice the
soup any way he or she wishes with chile sauces,
fish sauce and other condiments laid out on the table.
Bottled sauces, such as Chinese chile sauce with
garlic or Sriracha hot sauce, are available from most
Asian stores. I prefer to make my own with fresh
chiles as in the recipe that follows. |
| Sen Lek Dom Yum Haeng
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
This recipe is found on page 205 of It Rains Fishes: Legends,Traditions
and the Joys of Thai Cooking,
by Kasma Loha-unchit. Published by Pomegranate Artbooks,
1995. Click here for information about the
book.
Ingredients
1 tsp. ground
dried red chillies
6-10 chopped
fresh Thai chillies (prik kee noo)
Juice of 2
fresh limes
1 Tbs. vinegar
2 Tbs. roasted
chilli paste (nahm prik pow)
2-3 Tbs. fish
sauce (nahm bplah), to taste
1/2 cup ground
pork
1/2 lb. fresh
thin rice noodles (gkuay dtiow sen lek)
3 cups bite-size
lettuce leaf pieces
1/2 cup thinly
sliced boiled pork, or barbecued pork
1/4 cup thinly
sliced cooked pork liver
1/2 cup chopped
unsalted roasted peanuts
1 stalk green
onion, cut in thin rounds (use both white and green parts)
2 Tbs. chopped
cilantro
Mix the two kinds of chillies, lime juice, vinegar, roasted
chilli paste and fish sauce together. Set aside.
Spread the ground pork loosely over a wire-mesh strainer
with handle and dip in hot boiling water until
cooked through, stirring to break into bits. Drain and
set aside.
Cook the noodles quickly by blanching in hot water for
a few seconds. Drain and toss with the
hot-and-sour sauce. Dish into individual serving bowls
lined on the bottom with lettuce pieces. Arrange
the sliced pork, pork liver slices and ground pork over
the top of each serving. Sprinkle with chopped
peanuts and garnish with green onions and cilantro. As
a breakfast food or for lunch, this recipe serves
two to four.
Notes and Pointers:
This "dry" noodle dish can easily be converted into soup
noodles by adding a broth made by simmering
pork bones with some crushed garlic, cilantro roots and
ground white pepper, and lightly salted with light
soy sauce, sea salt or fish sauce. For added flavor and
sweetness, cook the pork meat, liver and ground
pork in this broth. Adjustment in the amount of fish
sauce, lime juice, vinegar and nahm prik pow in the
chilli sauce may be needed as the broth will likely dilute
the intensity of the sauce.
If you are not able to find fresh, thin rice noodles,
substitute with a 1/4 lb. of dried rice noodles. Soak first
to soften, then cook in boiling water to the firmness
you like. This may take a few minutes.
This recipe makes a very spicy batch of noodles. For milder
palates, simply cut back on the amount of
both dried and fresh chillies, or strain out the chillies
and use only the liquid part of the sauce.
For a change, use chicken, shrimp or a combination of
seafoods in the place of pork.
|
| Gkuay Dtiow Pad Seeyew
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
Ingredients
1 lb. fresh
gkuay dtiow rice noodles ("sen yai" - wide strand)
1/2 lb. chicken
or pork meat
2-3 tsp. light
soy sauce
About 6 stalks
of ka-nah or Chinese broccoli, yielding 4-5 cups cut up
3-4 Tbs. peanut
oil
6 cloves chopped
garlic
2-3 Tbs. black
soy sauce
1-2Tbs. fish
sauce (nahm bplah ), or light soy sauce, to taste
2-3 tsp. sugar,
to taste
3 large eggs,
warmed to room temperature
1/4 tsp. ground
white pepper
Pickled chillies
(sliced serrano or jalapeno peppers pickled in white vinegar)
Rinse the ka-nah or Chinese broccoli. Peel the bottom
part of the thicker stems and cut at a slanted
diagonal into segments about two inches long. Cut the
leaves two to three inches long and keep separate
from the stems.
Slice the chicken or pork against the muscle into thin
pieces about 1 1/2 inches long and half an inch wide.
Sprinkle 2-3 teaspoons of light soy sauce and a couple
of dashes of white pepper over the pieces and coat
them evenly. Set aside.
Take the noodles and, as much as possible, separate them
into individual strands so that they do not lump
up in stir-frying. Place in a bowl. (Do not rinse the
noodles as this may make them soggy.) Just before
cooking, sprinkle the black soy sauce over the noodles
and toss to evenly coat the strands.
Swirl about four tablespoons of oil over the surface of
a well-heated wok until the oil is hot and smoking.
Saute the chopped garlic in the oil for a few seconds,
then add the chicken or pork. Stir-fry until the
chicken or pork pieces start to change color and are
no longer so raw and pink on the outside. Toss in the
noodles along with the remaining drops of black soy in
the bowl. Stir and spread out over heated surface
of the wok. Let noodles pan-fry about half a minute,
then add the broccoli stems. Stir and let fry another
half to one minute before adding the broccoli leaves.
Stir and spread mixture over wok surface and allow
to pan-fry 1-2 minutes more. If you do not have a very
hot stove, avoid stirring too much so that the
noodles can brown and blister. Sprinkle the mixture with
some sugar and fish sauce. Stir and mix well.
Push the noodles up along the sides of the wok to make
an empty space on the bottom. Crack in the eggs,
break the yolks with the edge of the spatula and allow
them to fry and set in large chunks, flipping the
noodles over gently as necessary. When the eggs are cooked
through, break into smaller chunks and toss
in with noodles. Sprinkle liberally with white pepper.
Toss well. Transfer to a serving dish and serve
warm with a pickled chillie sauce.
|
| Pad Thai
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
This recipe is found on pages 206 to 207 of It Rains Fishes:
Legends,Traditions and the Joys of Thai
Cooking, by Kasma Loha-unchit. Published by Pomegranate
Artbooks, 1995. Click here for information
about the book.
Ingredients
1/4 lb. dried
1/4-inch-wide gkuay dtiow or rice noodles (also known as ban pho to the
Vietnamese)
2-3 Tbs. peanut
oil for stir-frying
3-4 cloves
garlic, finely chopped
2 shallots,
thinly sliced (or substitute with half a small onion)
1/4 lb. fresh
small shrimps, shelled and butterflied; or use a combination of half shrimp
and
half pork
meat, cut into thin matchstick strips
1/2 cup firm
pressed tofu, cut into strips about 1-11/2 inches long, 1/2 inch wide and
1/4 inch
thick
2-3 Tbs. small
dried shrimps
2-3 Tbs. sweetened-salted
radish chopped
1-2 tsp. dried
red hot pepper flakes, to taste
2 eggs
2 Tbs. fish
sauce ( nahm bplah), to taste
1 Tbs. white
vinegar
2-3 Tbs. granulated
sugar, to taste
1/4 cup chopped
unsalted roasted peanuts
1 cup fresh
bean sprouts
1/2 cup garlic
chives, cut in 11/2-inch-long segments (optional)
Garnish:
1/2 to 1 cup
fresh bean sprouts
1 lime, cut
into 6 wedges
1/4 cup coarsely
chopped roasted peanuts
A few cilantro
sprigs
2 stems green
onions, cut into 3-inch segments
Soak the dried rice noodles in tap water for about 40
minutes to 1 hour, or until the noodles are limp but
still firm. While the noodles are soaking, prepare the
rest of the ingredients for the stir-fry.
When ready to make your pad thai, drain the soaked noodles
and heat a wok over high heat until it
begins to smoke. Add the oil and swirl to coat the wok
surface. Allow the oil to heat up. When hot, toss in
the chopped garlic and sliced shallots (or onion) and
sauté 10-15 seconds. Add the pork (if using), stir,
cook a few seconds, then add the tofu. Sauté another
10-15 seconds and follow with the shrimps. Stir.
Then add the dried shrimps, chopped sweetened-salted
radish and hot pepper flakes. Stir and mix well.
Toss in the noodles and stir-fry with the ingredients
already in the wok. After one to two minutes, or
when the noodles begin to change texture and soften,
push the mass up along the side of the wok, add a
teaspoon of oil to the cleared area and allow to heat
up a few seconds. Crack the eggs into the oiled area,
using the edge of the spatula to break the yolks. Allow
the eggs to set, turning them over as needed until
they are cooked. Avoid scrambling. When the eggs are
set, cut with the spatula into small chunks and toss
in with the noodles.
Sprinkle fish sauce and sugar over the noodles. Mix well,
then add the vinegar and continue to stir-fry. If
the noodles feel dry and still too firm to your liking,
sprinkle a tablespoon or two of water over them. Add
the chopped roasted peanuts, stir, then toss in the bean
sprouts and chives. Stir well and cook until the
vegetables are partially wilted. Taste and adjust flavors
to the desired salty-sweet combination.
Transfer noodles onto a serving platter, or dish onto
individual dinner plates. Serve with raw bean sprouts,
lime wedges, extra chopped peanuts, cilantro and green
onions. Before eating, squeeze lime juice over
each serving. Serve while still warm.
As a one-dish meal for breakfast or lunch, this recipe
makes enough for two to four.
Notes and Pointers:
Pad Thai and noodle dishes do not lie at the heart of
Thai cuisine - they are fast food like hamburgers and
hot dogs in the west. Pad Thai, in fact, is not the Thai
people's favorite noodled dish.
You might be interested to know that there are as many
ways to make pad Thai noodles as there are
cooks, geographical regions and moods. Instead of vinegar
and granulated sugar, fur on instance, other
sources of sour and sweet may be used, such as tamarind
and pa[l sugar. In Thailand many noodle shops
and restaurants use light soy sauce instead of fish sauce;
sweetened black soy sauce in combination with
sugar; or usually ground dried chillies made from darkly
roasted whole chillies. American restaurants
frequently use ketchup in their pad Thai.
If you prefer softer noodles, soak dried noodles in hot
water. However, with some brands of noodles, this
may result in soggy pad thai. If you prefer your noodles
al dente, it is preferable to soak in cool tap
water, adding liquid to the stir-fry as needed to cook
to the desired texture.
The pad thai served in many American Thai restaurants
is liberally flavored with ketchup. Use this
ingredient if you wish as some cookbooks advise, though
it is the exception rather than the rule in
Thailand. Some noodle shops use black soy (the semi-sweet
kind) in their pad thai; others use the orange
chilli sauce called prik Sriracha. Textures and oiliness
can vary, too, so play around with the recipe to get
the combination of flavors and textures you prefer. Add
your own touches to create your own version.
|
Sauce
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
A version of this article was originally printed in the
San Jose Mercury News on August 28, 1996.
Ingredients
6 cloves garlic
2 shallots
Bottom half
of a stalk of lemon grass
1 tsp. minced
fresh or frozen galangal ginger, or substitute with 1/2 tsp.
ground dried
galangal
2 tsp. minced
cilantro roots, or substitute with bottom stems
2 tsp. coriander
seeds
1/2 tsp. cumin
seeds
5 dried red
chillies
1/4 tsp. freshly
ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground
cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground
mace
1/2 to 1 tsp.
shrimp paste
1/2 cup unsalted
roasted peanuts
1 1/2 to 2
cups (or 1 14-oz can) coconut milk
1-2 Tbs. fish
sauce, to taste
1-2 Tbs. palm
or coconut sugar, to taste
1 Tbs. tamarind
water -- dissolve a 1 tsp. chunk of wet tamarind in 1-2 Tbs. water
Cut and discard the root tip of the garlic cloves but
leave the skin on. Do likewise with the shallots. Place
both on a tray in a toaster oven (or oven) and roast
at 400 to 450 degrees until softened (about 10-15
minutes for garlic and 20-30 minutes for shallots, depending
on the size of the cloves and heads).
In the meantime, trim and discard the bottom tip and loose
outer layer(s) of the lemon grass. Cut the stalk
into very thin rounds, then chop. Mince the galangal
ginger and cilantro roots (or stems).
In a small dry pan, toast the coriander seeds over medium
heat until they are aromatic and dark brown,
stirring frequently. Do likewise with the cumin seeds.
Follow with the dried red chilies, stirring constantly
until they turn a dark red color and are slightly charred.
Grind the toasted ingredients in a clean coffee
grinder to a fine powder.
Using a heavy mortar and pestle, pound the lemon grass,
galangal and cilantro roots (stems) until they are
reduced to a paste. Peel the roasted garlic and shallots
and mashed in with the mixture until well blended.
Then add the ground toasted ingredients, plus the nutmeg,
cinnamon, mace and shrimp paste. Pound to
make a well-blended paste.
Grind the peanuts in a clean coffee grinder or blender
as finely as possible. Heat 2/3 cup of the thickest
cream from the top of a can of coconut milk in a saucepan
over medium-high heat. Reduce a few minutes
until thick and bubbly. Fry the spice mixture in the
cream, stirring frequently, until it is well mixed with
the cream and has fully released its aromas and flavors
(3-5 minutes).
Add half the remaining milk and the ground peanuts. Bring
to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer
10-12 minutes, stirring well to blend the ingredients.
Add more coconut milk as needed to constitute a
creamy sauce the consistency of pancake batter. Season
to taste with fish sauce, palm sugar and tamarind
water to the desired combination of salty and sweet,
with a subtle tangy flavor in the background.
Simmer a few minutes more, then transfer to a sauce dish
and cool to room temperature before serving
with your favorite grilled meats, fish, tofu and vegetables.
Notes and Pointers:
I would like to share with you my favorite recipe for
a full-flavored peanut sauce, combining a host of dry
spices common in Indian and Indonesian cooking with herbs
associated with Southeast Asian cooking.
The spices and herbs are cooked with ground roasted peanuts
in coconut milk, seasoned with fish sauce,
shrimp paste, palm sugar and tamarind. My preferred brand
of canned coconut milk for this recipe is
Chao Koh. Shrimp paste is a fermented greyish brown concentrate
available in small plastic containers
from Southeast Asian markets. A small amount of the odiferous
paste goes a long way to adding a whole
lot of delicious flavor.
To me, a peanut sauce made from peanut butter always will
taste like peanut butter. Back in Southeast
Asia, when we make a peanut sauce, we always start with
whole, freshly roasted peanuts, which we grind
and then simmer with other ingredients to give the sauce
a fresh taste of roasted peanuts. A peanut sauce
made this way tastes lighter than when peanut butter
is used and the flavor of the peanuts blends in more
intricately with the spice flavors.
If the multitude of ingredients in the recipe makes it
seem too complicated, please feel free to simplify the
sauce to suit your schedule and taste, by omitting some
of the ingredients you may not readily have on hand.
But if you are like me and appreciate a full range of
flavors, you will do as I do and make a large batch of
the sauce, freezing it in small containers for those
afternoons when you feel like grilling some chicken or
pork, or even tofu and vegetables. With such a tasty
sauce, you won't need to marinate the meat in much
of anything, but maybe a sprinkling of salt (or fish
sauce) and pepper, and perhaps some curry powder
and minced garlic. |
Kanom Bah Bin
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
This recipe is found on pages 120 and 121 of It Rains
Fishes: Legends,Traditions and the Joys of Thai
Cooking, by Kasma Loha-unchit. Published by Pomegranate
Artbooks, 1995. Click here for information
about the book.
Ingredients
1 cup glutinous
rice flour
1/2 cup rice
flour
1 cup granulated
sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg
2 cups finely
shredded fresh coconut
1 cup limestone
water, scented with 1/4 tsp. bai dteuy (pandanus leaf) essence, or 1 tsp.
vanilla
2-3 Tbs. peanut
oil
Mix the two kinds of rice flour, sugar and salt together
and knead with the egg and shredded coconut.
Slowly add the limestone water, which has been scented
with bai dteuy essence or vanilla, and continue
to knead until the mixture is wet and the cream from
the coconut meat is pressed out and blended in with
all the other ingredients.
Grease the heated surface of a griddle with the peanut
oil. Drop the coconut mixture in spoonfuls onto the
hot griddle, molding them into small, flat rounds. Grill
over low to medium heat until golden brown. Flip
over and grill the other side until also browned. Best
when served warm.
The coconut mixture can also be baked in a well-greased
pan in the oven, at about 350 degrees for 20-30
minutes, depending on the thickness of the cake. Brush
a beaten egg yolk over the top after the cake is
cooked through and bake another five minutes at 400 degrees.
Cut into small squares.
Notes and Pointers:
I prefer the cakes grilled in flat pancakes. They brown
and pick up a light crispiness which is lacking when
baked. The baked cake will tend to be more gooey in texture.
For a different twist, use 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and
1/2 cup palm sugar.
For information about bai dteuy or pandanus leaf essence,
see pp 96 to 97 of "It Rains Fishes." Instead of
bai dteuy flavoring, the coconut mixture can also be
"smoked" with a special incense candle (tien ohb)
made of organic matter including herbs and flower petals.
Such a candle is commonly used in the making
of sweetmeats and desserts to add a spicy fragrance and
smokiness. Brown in color, it has a curved shape
and can be lit on both ends. This exotic item as this
may not be easy to find in Western countries; ask for
it in specialty Thai markets in cities with sizable Thai
populations. If you travel to Thailand, look in stores
that carry incense and merit-making supplies. There are
several different kinds from which to choose.
Sniff and discover which fragrance you like. One candle
will last a long time; it will burn very slowly and
produce a lot of scented smoke.
To smoke with an incense candle, put the uncooked coconut
mixture loosely in a bowl and place the bowl
inside a large pot. Light the candle on both ends and
position alongside the bowl. Close the lid tightly,
adding extra weight over the top if necessary -- such
as an inverted stone mortar -- to prevent smoke from
escaping. Allow to smoke 30 minutes to one hour. For
a stronger smoky flavor, relight the candle after 30
minutes to produce more smoke. |
| Sangkaya
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
This recipe is found on page 122 of It Rains Fishes: Legends,Traditions
and the Joys of Thai Cooking,
by Kasma Loha-unchit. Published by Pomegranate Artbooks,
1995. Click here for information about the
book.
Ingredients
1 cup thick
coconut cream
1 cup palm
or coconut sugar
5 eggs
1/4 bai dteuy
(pandanus leaf) essence (optional)
A small yellow
squash, such as kabocha squash
Heat the coconut cream and palm sugar in a saucepan just
enough to dissolve the sugar and blend with
the cream into a smooth mixture. Allow to cool to room
temperature.
Beat the eggs well and mix in with the cooled, sweetened
coconut cream. If you wish, add a few drops of
flavor essence. Stir well. Strain the mixture through
a dampened muslin cloth, or through a fine wire mesh
colander. Spoon out any bubbles that may have formed
over the top.
Pour the mixture into a heat-proof dish or a hollowed
out yellow squash with a small round opening cut
on top. Steam over medium-high heat until the custard
is set, about 20 minutes in a dish, and up to an
hour inside a squash, depending on its size and thickness.
Let cool.
If steamed by itself, spoon the custard into serving bowls
and serve at room temperature. The sweet
custard is more frequently served as a topping over coconut-flavored
white sticky rice (see sticky rice
recipe ). If steamed in a yellow squash, slice the squash
and custard into wedges like you would a cake.
The custard is wonderful eaten along with the golden
squash. |
| Kao Niow Ma-muang
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
This recipe is found on pages 36 to 37 of It Rains Fishes:
Legends,Traditions and the Joys of Thai
Cooking, by Kasma Loha-unchit. Published by Pomegranate
Artbooks, 1995. Click here for information
about the book.
Ingredients
2 cups long-grain
white sticky rice, sweet rice or glutinous rice
2 cups creamy
coconut milk (or one 14-oz. can)
1/2 cup granulated
sugar
About 1 tsp.
salt
Optional flavoring:
2-3 fresh or frozen pandanus leaves ( bai dteuy) or 4-5 drops jasmine (
mali) essence
1-2 ripe mangoes,
peeled and sliced
Rinse the rice once or twice, cover with water 2-3 inches
above the rice line and allow to soak at least 4
hours, or overnight. The grains will absorb much of the
water and grow in size. They will also soften;
pressing them between your fingers will easily break
them into pieces.
When ready to cook, drain the rice and steam dry (without
any water) in a shallow heat-proof dish,
placed on a steamer rack over a pot with 2 or more inches
of water on the bottom. If you are making a
large quantity, use the special sticky rice steaming
basket so that the rice grains cook more evenly. When
making a large batch, it also helps to turn the rice
and sprinkle a little water over the top once or twice
during the cooking time.
When the rice is about 20 minutes into its steaming, prepare
the coconut sauce by heating the coconut
milk, sugar and salt together in a saucepan. Warm the
milk until the mixture is well blended and smooth.
If you wish a bai dteuy (pandanus leaf) flavor, add a
few fresh or frozen bai dteuy leaves and simmer
with the sauce for about 10 minutes. Then, remove the
leaves, and after they have cooled enough to
handle, use your hand to squeeze out all the fragrant
juice until the leaves are dry. Add the pressed juice
to the sauce. If fresh or frozen leaves are not available,
use about 1 /4 tsp. of the green bai dteuy essence.
Or, if you wish a more delicate floral scent, use a few
drops of mali (jasmine) essence instead. Keep the
sauce warm.
When the rice is done and while it is still hot out of
the steamer, pour half the coconut sauce over the rice.
Stir well with a spoon to make sure all the grains are
well coated. The rice should be wet but not
swimming in sauce. Add more of the sauce if needed, reserving
the remainder for dribbling over the top
before serving. Let stand for 15-20 minutes to allow
the rice grains to absorb the flavorings.
When ready to serve, dish the rice onto individual serving
plates, spoon some of the reserved coconut
sauce over each portion and arrange sliced mangoes over
the top. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes and Pointers:
The coconut sauce should have a pronounced saltiness behind
the sweetness. The saltiness will help bring
forth the rich flavors of coconut milk and the delicate
taste of sticky rice. Also, the salty-sweetness of the
flavored rice enhances rather than distracts from the
fruity sweetness of mangoes.
When mangoes and durians are not in season, coconut-flavored
sticky rice is served with a choice of
toppings, ranging from a very sweet coconut-egg custard
called sangkaya (click here for recipe) to a
salty-sweet, minced dried shrimp mixture. The kanom vendor
in the market usually has several
choices,something to satisfy every mood and palate.
|
| Kao Niow Dahm
A Recipe of Kasma Loha-unchit.
This recipe is found on pages 38 to 39 of It Rains Fishes:
Legends,Traditions and the Joys of Thai
Cooking, by Kasma Loha-unchit. Published by Pomegranate
Artbooks, 1995. Click here for information
about the book.
Ingredients
2 cups whole-grain
black sticky rice, sweet rice or glutinous rice
2 cups, or
1 can, coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. toasted
sesame seeds and/or toasted unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
Strawberries
and mint leaves (optional)
Measure the rice into a bowl; run your fingers through
the rice and check for any pebbles or other
noticeable impurities. Rinse the rice a few times until
the water clears. Cover with at least 2 inches of
water and allow to soak 4 or more hours, or overnight.
The grains will absorb water and grow in size.
When ready to cook, drain the rice and place in a heat-proof
bowl with room enough for the rice grains to
expand about a third more than its uncooked bulk. Add
a small amount of boiling water, just enough to
barely cover the rice grains. Place the bowl on a steamer
rack and steam over medium heat about 30-40
minutes. If you do not have a steamer, use a large pot
in which the bowl fits. Place a trivet on the bottom
along with 2-3 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Balance
the bowl with the rice on the trivet and add hot
water to the rice. Cover and steam. Steaming the rice
with a small volume of water will leave the top layer
of grains intact, retaining a chewy texture which pops
in your mouth like nuts. If you wish the rice to be
softer, add more water to the rice.
While the rice is steaming, make the coconut sauce by
heating the coconut milk, sugar and salt together in
a saucepan. Stir to dissolve the sugar and salt and blend
the sauce until smooth. Keep warm.
When the rice is cooked and while still hot out of the
steamer, add about half of the sauce or enough to
thoroughly coat the rice. Stir and mix well. The rice
should be wet but not swimming in sauce. Let stand
15-20 minutes to allow the flavorings to be absorbed.
Reserve the remaining sauce for spooning over the
rice before serving.
The flavored rice can be molded into a round mound on
a serving plate and decorated with toasted
sesame seeds and/or coconut shreds, sliced strawberries
and mint leaves for color. Or dish into individual
serving bowls or custard cups, topped with the reserved
sauce, toasted seeds and coconut and a mint leaf.
For a wetter pudding like texture, the rice may alternatively
be cooked by boiling, the same way as you
would regular rice. Use 2 1 /2- 3 cups of water to each
cup of rice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer
and cook partially covered until the grains are cooked
and surrounded by a thick sauce, stirring
occasionally to prevent sticking and burning. Add sugar
to sweeten to your liking. Stir well, cover and
place on lowest heat setting for another 5-10 minutes.
Make the sauce less sweet but more salty for
contrast with the already sweetened rice. When ready
to serve, dish the rice into individual serving bowls
and dribble some sauce over each serving.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes and Pointers:
Because of its rich, nutty flavor, black sticky rice is
usually eaten by itself and not served with fruits, like
white sticky rice often is with mangoes. For toppings,
stronger flavors like toasted sesame seeds or toasted
shredded coconut do more to accentuate the natural flavor
of the rice. Unsweetened shredded coconut is
available in small packages from Asian food markets or
sold in bulk in specialty food stores. |
|
Making Thai Iced Tea
The tea I use is a 16 ounce package labeled "Thai Style
Spiced Tea" or "Thai Seasoning Mix" and
"packed by Pantainorasingh Manufacturer."
I make it using a traditional Thai tea steeper: it is
a tubular filter made of white muslin or cotton attached
around the top to a metal ring that has a handle.
Balance filter ring above a tea or coffee pot. Fill filter
with the desired amount of tea. Pour in boiling
water and steep to desired strength. Make the tea strong
because it will be diluted later with milk and ice.
You may also use a coffee filter, but you'll need to use
more tea mix to get the strength you wish.
Sweeten the tea partially with sugar and finish off by
adding sweetened condensed milk to taste. Pour
over a glass of ice. Top with evaporated milk.
Take note that the rich orange color of the tea is from
food coloring. The tea mix is made of black tea
roasted with anise or licorice flavorings. |
Poh Piah
(Thai Spring Rolls)
byNoi Buzenas
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Chopped cooked shrimp
1/2 cup Cooked ground pork
2 Tbs. Finely chopped celery
2 Tbs. Finely chopped onion
1/2 cup Soaked and cut mungbean thread
1/4 cup Finely chopped water chestnuts
1/4 cup Finely cut bamboo shoot
1 Tbs. Black mushroom - soak and thinly slice
2 cup Bean sprout - wash
1 Slightly beaten egg
1/4 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Ground white pepper
25 pieces Spring roll wrapper
2 quarts Cooking oil for deep frying
Cooking Method:
1. Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl, except
the wrapper and cooking oil and chill for one hour.
2. Place a generous tablespoon of chilled filling near
the edge of each wrapper. Brush edges with water or egg white.
3. Fold the bottom edge of wrapper up over the filling.
4. Fold in the two sides and roll up, pressing gently
to seal the edges.
5. Place a few at a time in hot oil (375û F).
6. Fry about 6 minutes, or until light golden brown on
all sides.
7. Drain on paper towel.
8. Serve with hot mustard and/or sweet and sour sauce.
Makes 15 Rolls
|
Nam Preo Whan
(Sweet and Sour Sauce)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup Sugar
1 cup Pineapple juice
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 Tbs. Rice wine (optional)
2 Tbs. Ketchup
11/2 tsp. Cornstarch
1 Tbs. Vinegar
1 tsp. Soy sauce
Cooking Method:
Blend all the ingredients well in a sauce pan. Bring it
to boil over a medium heat. Stir it constantly until the liquid is slightly
thick. Serve with spring rolls or use in other sweet and sour dishes.
|
| Stir-fried Eggplant with Chillies and Thai Basil
4 young long Asian eggplants
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 jalapeno, fresno or serrano peppers, cut lengthwise
in thin slivers
2-3 Tbs. peanut oil
2 Tbs. Thai oyster sauce
1 tps. sugar
1 Tbs. fish sauce, to taste
1/2 to 1 cup whole Thai sweet basil leaves and flowers
Trim off the stem end of the eggplants and cut crosswise
into segments about 2 inches long. Then halve each segment lengthwise and
further cut each half into 2-3 strips. Arrange the eggplant strips on a
steamer rack and steam 5-7 minutes over medium heat, or until they have
partially softened. Set aside.
Prepare the garlic, chillies and basil. When ready to
stir-fry, heat a wok or skillet over high heat until the surface is hot.
Swirl in the oil to coat the surface evenly and wait a few seconds for
the oil to heat up. Add the chopped garlic. Stir and follow a few seconds
later with the slivered chillies. Saute a few more seconds, then add the
steamed eggplant strips. Toss well with the garlic and chillies for about
half a minute.
Spoon oyster sauce over the mixture, stir and mix well.
Then sprinkle in a teaspoon of sugar and a little bit of fish sauce to
the desired saltiness. If needed, add 1-2 tablespoons of water to help
cook the eggplants to the tenderness of your liking. Add the basil, stir
till wilted and mixed in with the eggplants. Transfer to a serving platter
and serve hot with steamed rice.
Notes and Pointers:
The eggplants may be steamed in advance and need not
be hot out of the steamer for stir-frying. However, if they had been refrigerated
after they were steamed, bring them up to room temperature, or warm them
slightly before stir-frying.
For a smoky flavor, instead of steaming the eggplants,
smoke them over coals in a barbeque kettle.
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