Som Tam--Papaya Salad

Som Tam

Ingredients:

1 medium dark green papaya

4 garlic cloves

6 green Thai chilies

2 tomatoes

25gm dried shrimp

1/2 cup chopped green beans, in 1-in pieces

2 tablespoons anchovy sauce

1/2 teaspoon sauce

1/4 cup(60 ml) lime juice or tamarind juice

How to cook:

1.Peel and shred the papaya,Put the shredded in the fridge.

2.Pound the garlic and green thai chilies together in a pestle and mortar.

3.Separately pound the peanuts together with the shrimp, but only until coarsely broken up, not reduced to dust or paste.

4.Mix the tamarind, juice, lime juice, fish sauce and the sugar.

5.Chop the tomatoes into quarters

6.Mix all the ingredients together

served with stream sticky rice and grilled chicken---Yammy!!

Thai Green Curry with Chicken

Thai Green Curry with Chicken

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp green curry paste (according to taste)
1 tbsp soft dark brown sugar
1-2 thick stalks lemongrass, fat ends bashed with a rolling pin (optional)
750g/1½lb skinless, boneless chicken, cut into chunks (use breast and/or leg meat)
6-8 kaffir lime leaves, torn into pieces (if unavailable, use the grated zest of 1 lime)
400ml/14fl oz coconut milk
good shake of Thai fish sauce or light soy sauce
small handful of coriander, roughly chopped
½-1 lime, juice only

Method

1. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the green curry paste and sugar and cook over a fairly high heat for about a minute, stirring with the lemongrass, if using. Reduce the heat slightly and stir in the chicken pieces and lime leaves or zest until coated in the paste. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce or soy sauce and bring to a simmer, cooking for 25-30 minutes until thickened slightly. Stir in the coriander and lime juice. Check for seasoning, adding more fish sauce or soy sauce if needed.

2. The curry is now best left to sit for a few minutes so the sauce becomes creamier. You will also taste the true flavours of the curry paste ingredients when it's slightly cooler. Serve with lots of fragrant Thai jasmine rice.

Thai Green Curry Paste

Ingredients:

2 fresh green chillies
1 small onion
1 tsp ground coriander
1 lime, juice and rind
1 stalk lemon grass
1 clove garlic
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup fresh coriander, stalks & leaves
1 tbls grated fresh ginger
2 tbls oil (vegetable)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a food processor. Blend for a few minutes until well processed.Use in green Thai curries.

Tom Yum Kung

Tom Yum Kung

Ingredients

200g (4 oz.) Tiger Prawns

3 cups Chicken Stock or Water

2 cloves of Garlic

2 Shallot Sliced

1 tbs Lime Juice

1 tbs Fish Sauce

1 tsp Commercial Tom Yam Paste (optional)

1 tbs Lemongrass, cut into 2.5 cm.(1 inch) long pieces and pounded slightly

3 Kaffir Lime leaves

2 slices Galangal

2 Fresh Thai Chili, pounded slightly

1/2 cup Sliced Straw Mushrooms (or as needed)

Fresh Cilantro/Coriender for garnishing

Directions

1. Boil the chicken stock in a pot, and add the prawns. boil until the prawns is throughly cooked. Remove the prawns and set aside.

2. Add Tom Yam Paste (optional), fish sauce, garlic, shallots, lemongrass stripes, chilies, mushrooms, and sliced galangal into boiling soup.

3. Add Lime Juice and adjust the seasonings to taste. There should be a pronounced sour tastefollowed by a salty and hot taste. Add cooked prawns.

4. When serving, garnish with fresh cilantro/coriender.

Pad Thai

Pad Thai

2-4 Servings

8 oz Thai rice noodles
1/4 cup tamarind paste
1/4 cup warm water
4 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast
4 oz fried tofu6 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts
3 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp sugar2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 cup vegetable oil1 tsp chopped garlic
8 large shrimps, shelled and deveined (50 oz)
2 eggs
1 cup bean sprouts
2 stems green onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 tsp roasted chilies
Strips of red pepper
Fresh coriander leaves
Wedges of lime


1. Soak noodles in plenty of cold water for at least 1 hour.

2. Combine tamarind paste with a 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl and let soak for at least 15 minutes.

3. Slice the chicken into 1/4-inch strips. If you find it difficult to cut thinly through fresh meat, leave it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden slightly and then slice. Reserve.

4. Slice the fried tofu into 3/4-inch cubes. Reserve.

5. Blend or process peanuts into coarse meal. Reserve.

6. Return to your reserved tamarind paste in its water. Mash it and transfer the mud-like mixture to a strainer set into a bowl. Mash and push with a spoon, forcing liquid to strain into the bowl. Scrape off the juice that clings to the underside of the strainer. You will have about 5 tbsp of tamarind juice. Add to it the fish sauce, sugar and lime juice. Beat to thoroughly mix and reserve. Discard the solids left in the strainer.

7. Heat oil in a wok (or large frying pan) until it is just about to smoke. Add garlic and stir, letting it cook for about 30 seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add tofu and shrimps and stir-fry for 1 more minute. Break eggs into wok and let them fry without breaking them up for 1-2 minutes.

8. While eggs cook, quickly drain the noodles and then add to wok, giving them a quick fold, stir-frying for 1 minute from the bottom up. Add reserved tamarind juice, etc. (from step #6) and continue stir-frying, mixing everything together for 1-2 minutes. Your noodles will have subsided to half their original volume and softened up to al dente.

9. Add about 2/3 of the reserved ground peanuts and stir. Add about 2/3 of the bean sprouts and all the green onion pieces. Stir-fry for 30 seconds and take off heat.

l0. Transfer noodles to a serving dish and sprinkle with roasted chilies. Top with the rest of the ground peanuts, the rest of the sprouts, some strips of red pepper and fresh coriander leaves. Stick a couple of lime wedges on the side and serve immediately.