Stuffed Nutria’s Omelets

Ingredients:

1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons green peas
3 table spoons finely diced carrots
2 tablespoons finely diced onions
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
3 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon fish sauce (you will get in supermarkets)

Garnish with:
Chopped cilantro leaves
Sliced red chilies

Preparation:

Heat half the oil in a wok. Add all ingredients except eggs, garnishes& remaining oil, and stir-fry 2 minutes more.

Heat an omelet pan and add a drop of the remaining oil.

Pour in enough egg to thinly cover the bottom of the pan.

Brown the omelet lightly on both sides, flipping over halfway through cooking.

Repeat until all the egg is used.

Place a tablespoon full of the vegetable mixture in the center of each omelet.

Fold two opposite sides toward the center& then fold in the remaining sides so that it resembles a square.

Place the omelet on serving plate. Repeat until all omelets and vegetable mixture are used.

Garnish with cilantro leaves and sliced red chilies on top or around the plate.

Sweet and Sour Prawns - เปรี้ยวหวานกุ้ง

INGREDIENTS :

Vegetable oil 3 tbsp.
Prawns, peeled and cleaned 8 oz.
Green bell pepper, cut into bite sized pieces 1/2
Onion, cut into bite sized pieces 1/2 head
Cucumber, cut into bite sized pieces 1/2 cup
Pineapple 1/2 cup
Tomato cut into wedges 2
Sugar 2 tbsp.
Vinegar 2 tbsp.
Soy sauce or fish sauce 1 - 2 tbsp.
(2 servings)

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a saute pan or wok, then add onion pieces and bell pepper. Stirfry until hot.

2. Add prawns and toss quickly. Immediately add cucumber and tomato and pineapple. Cook everything over a very high heat.

3. Season with sugar and vinegar. Add fish sauce or soy sauce for a touch of saltiness as this dish is usually sweet and sour.

4. Spoon this dish onto a plate and serve hot with other main dishes.

Tips…
This Thai sweet and sour dish differs from the Chinese variety in that the sauce has no starch thus the dish is much lighter and more delicate. It also does not have tomato ketchup in it.

Thai cooking can sometimes prove difficult due to the fact that Thai ingredients vary in taste and intensity. One bottle of fish sauce tastes different to another and may also be saltier. So, when cooking Thai food, you have to taste your food as you cook, season it bit by bit and correct the taste as you go along.

COCONUTS YOUNG (ma prao oon)

COCONUTS YOUNG (ma prao oon): Are a light green color and contain a clear coconut juice that is clean and refreshing to drink. It is very different than the juice from mature brown coconuts. The flesh of young coconuts is transparent and soft and is often used in desserts, the juice may be sold as a refreshing drink. In Thailand you will see people walking around with young green coconuts in hand, drinking the juice from a straw.

Yam Hua Plee

Ingredients :
•Banana blossom 1 each
•Pork, thin sliced and steamed 100 grams
•Peanuts, coarsely ground roasted 1/4 cup
•Coconut, grated and roasted 1/2 cup
•Garlic, sliced and fried 3 tablespoons
•Shallots, sliced and fried 2 tablespoons
•Fresh red chili pepper, finely shredded 1 each
Dressing

Ingredients :
•Dried chilies, roasted and ground 2 each
•Garlic, roasted and ground 1 tablespoon
•Shallots, roasted and ground 2 tablespoons
•Palm sugar 3 tablespoons
•Fish sauce 3-4 tablespoons
•Tamarind juice 1 cup
Note: Dressing directions: Mix all the ingredients together. Bring to boil on a medium heat, stir constantly until the texture is richer, and remove from the heat.

Preparation:

1. Remove the hard parts of banana blossom, cut it into two pieces, rub in lemon juice, cut a spine out , slice and soak its flesh in lemon juice before cooking.

2. Place the sliced banana blossom and pork in a mixing bowl. Add dressing and stir lightly. Add roasted grated coconut, coarsely ground roasted peanuts, fried sliced shallots, and fried sliced garlic.

3. Spoon the salad onto a plate, top with fried sliced shallots and red chili peppers. Serve with cha-plu leaves.

Correct Characteristics of Yam Hua Plee:

•Banana blossoms used for cooking this dish must be crisp and not dark in color.
•Yam Dip must be well mixed with banana blossom flesh.
•This dish must not be watery but taste mild.

Cooking Tips:

•Only fresh banana blossoms should be used, finely sliced, soaked in water mixed with lime juice, and placed in a strainer until water leftover is removed before being brought for cooking.
•Ingredients in Yam Dip must be finely ground. The dip must be cooked until rich.
•Fruits can be used in place of banana blossoms.

Eating Culture:

Yam is one of major dishes in the main meal which fulfills nutritional value and promotes the taste of other dishes in the main course.
It can be served either as the first course or with the main meal.

How to Serve:

Spoon the salad onto a plate, top with fried sliced shallots and red chili peppers. Serve with cha-plu leaves. Serve either as the first course or with the main meal for eating with rice.

Pineapple Fried Rice

Ingredients:
1 pineapple, medium sized
4 oz. sliced chicken
3 tablespoons of chopped shallots
1/2 tablespoon ginger, ground
1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons of dried shrimp
3 tablespoons of garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups steamed rice

Preparation:
1. Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise, and scoop out the fruit. Cut the fruit into bite sized chunks.
2. In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil, and fry the dry shrimp until crispy. Set it aside, and drain the skillet.
3. Add one more tablespoon of oil, and fry the garlic until its becomes golden brown. Turn to medium/high heat Add in the rice, and stir.
4. Add in the fish sauce and sugar; continue to stir for about a minute. Add in the pineapple and the shrimp that you set aside earlier, and continue to stir for about another minute.
5. Put the contents into the halved pineapple, and serve. Garnish with some fresh cilantro and / or sliced beets.

What is Fish Sauce?: Nam Pla / Nuoc Mam

What is Fish Sauce?:
Fish Sauce, or "Nam Pla" in Thai, is one of the basic ingredients in Thai cooking. It has a rich translucent reddish-golden brown color, and is used liberally in nearly all Thai dishes. It is often used as a marinade for fish and meat, as well as a condiment (usually mixed with fresh-cut chilies and lime juice) - you may have come across this "sauce" on tables in Thai restaurants. In fact, Thais would add a little fish sauce to their meal the same way we would use salt and pepper.
What is Fish Sauce Made of?:
Good fish sauces are made from a mixture of fish and salt that has been allowed to ferment for 1 year to 18 months. Anchovies are typically used, although some fish sauces are also made from other types of fish or squid. The basic ingredients of a good fish sauce are: fish, water, and salt. Sugar may also be added, but isn't necessary.
Where Can I Buy Fish Sauce?:
These days, some of the larger grocery chains are starting to carry fish sauce (in their Asian section); however, I find the type they sell to be watered down and not nearly as authentic or tasty as the type sold in Asian food stores. You'll find a good selection of fish sauces at nearly any Chinese/Vietnamese/Thai food store. Look for tall bottles with "Fish Sauce" and the ingredients displayed on the label (fish extract, salt, and water - other ingredients aren't necessary). Look for fish sauce made in Thailand or Vietnam.
What Can Vegetarians use as a Substitute for Fish Sauce?:
Vegetarian fish sauce exists - and it's quite good! So far I've yet to find it in a Thai food store, but nearly all the Vietnamese food stores carry it. Sometimes it's difficult to tell whether a store is Vietnamese-owned or Chinese, Thai, etc... - you just have to go in and poke around, and don't be shy to ask for it. Some store owners will order it in for you if they don't have it. What are ingredients of Vegetarian Fish Sauce? They vary, but usually it's a mixture of soy beans, salt, sugar, water, chili, and citric acid as a preservative (since this type isn't fermented).
Fish Sauce & Sodium: What to Do if You're Worried About Salt Intake?:
For those who are concerned about their sodium intake, using fish sauce can be a bit of a dilemma. Not to worry. While the sodium content of fish sauce seems outrageous when you look at the serving size on the label, remember this amount will be distributed throughout the dish you're cooking (for example, a Thai curry), so you won't be consuming all of it - at least not in one portion or sitting. Add only a portion of the fish sauce called for in the recipe, then top up the remainder with sea salt. Sea salt has only a portion of the sodium found in regular table salt, and is much better for you in other ways too.
How Do I Store my Fish Sauce, and How Long Will it Keep?:
Fish sauce is fermented, and therefore does not require refrigeration (saves you fridge space!). It will keep indefinitely. Vegetarian fish sauce contains citric acid (vitamin C), so it doesn't need to be kept in the refrigerator either. A cool, dark place is probably best, like a cupboard near the stove so your fish sauce is close at hand when you're cooking. Enjoy!

Tom Yum Goong - Tom Yum Goong

Ingredients :

4 cups of water
2 stalks fresh lemon grass, trim off the very end of the root and smash with the side of a cleaver of chef's knife; cut into 1 inch pieces; or 2 pc dried
3 slices fresh galangal root(smashed) or 2 pc dried
3 fresh kaffir lime leave or 4 pc dried
1 Tbsp. tamarind paste, with or without seeds
1 Tbsp. fish sauce, Golden Boy preferred
3/4 lb shrimps, medium to large size, shelled and de-veined; butterfly if desired
12 fresh Thai chili peppers, whole or 2 medium sized jalepenos, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch strips.
1/2 small white onion, cut 1/4 inch slices
2 Tbsp. roasted chili paste (nam prik pao)
1 (16 oz.) can straw mushrooms, drained and rinsed
1 small ripe tomato, cut into wedges 1/4 inch thick
1 small lime, squeezed
2 sprigs fresh cilantro

Preparation :

Bring water to boil over high heat in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the lemon grass, galangal, kaffir lime leaf, fish sauce and tamarind paste (break apart the tamarind paste with your fingers as you add it). Add the shrimp, bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes. Add the onion, nam prik pao and straw mushrooms. Boil for another 7 minutes until the shrimp is cooked through. Add the chile peppers and tomatoes. Turn off the heat. Add the lime juice. Taste to adjust the seasoning, adding fish sauce to taste. Garnish with cilatantro if desired and serve. Serves 3 to 4.

Papaya - How to Buy, Cut, & Prepare Fresh Papaya

Papaya was called "fruit of the angels" by Christopher Columbus, and for good reason. One of nature's wonders, fresh papaya improves digestion and prevents heart disease, arthritis, lung disease, and eye disorders. And with it's antioxidants, flavoniods, plus loads of vitamins and minerals, papaya will help you fight off cold and flu viruses and help keep you healthy through the winter. Papaya is high in: vitamins C, A, K, E, plus magnesium, folate, beta carotene, and lutein, and more.
Papayas come in various shapes and sizes. Hawaiian papayas are smaller and are pear-shaped, while Carribean and Asian papayas are long and quite large (like this one). Both are delicious.

When shopping for a ripe papaya: look for skin that is turning from green to yellow. Also, you should be able to press your thumb slightly into the flesh. If it's too soft or mushy, or if it has a sweet smell to it, the papaya is overripe. Finally, look for skin that is fairly smooth, not cracked or torn.

Thai Yellow Chicken Curry

Ingredietns:
1 1/2 Boneless chicken breast* (cut into 1½-inch strips)
1 1/2-2 tbsps Yellow Curry Paste
2 Medium peeled potatoes (cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes)
1 can Coconut milk(13.5 FL.)
3 tsps Fish sauce
3 1/2 tsps Sugar
6 Yellow chili peppers, optional (cut in half lengthwise)
Hot steamed Jasmine rice (or ½ package of rice noodles)

Preparation:
1. In a sauce pan, heat 1/2 cup of coconut milk and yellow curry paste on high heat until curry paste bubbles.

2. Add chicken, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce and 2 teaspoons of sugar; stir continually and cook for about 5 minutes.

3. Then, add 1/2 cup of coconut milk, potatoes, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, and 1 1/2teaspoons of sugar; stir occasionally until chicken is cooked.

4. Garnish with yellow chili peppers. Serve with hot steamed Jasmine rice.

*Can be substituted by boneless and skinless beef or chicken.

What is Thai basil ?

Thai Sweet Basil, or Anise/Licorice Basil (Bai Horapa): This tropical variety of sweet basil provides the unusual basil flavor present in so many Thai dishes that it has come to be identified as "Thai basil" in America, even though the Vietnamese and Laotians also use lots of it in their cuisines. Its leaves are deep green, smaller and not as round as Western sweet basil. They grow on purplish stems, topped with pretty, reddish purple flower buds. Both leaves and edible flowers are sweetly perfumed with a mix of a distinctly basil scent and that of anise or licorice. Therefore, it is, therefore, sometimes referred to as "anise basil" or "licorice basil," though it is not the same as the Western strain of these basils stocked by local plant nurseries.

Plentiful in Thailand, bai horapa is eaten almost as a vegetable. It is used in large quantities, in whole leaves and sprigs, in many types of dishes, including curries, stir-fried dishes, salads and soups. I am reminded of the wonderful clam dish my mother frequently made during my youth, a favorite of the family. Big handfuls of this basil were tossed in the hot wok with the very sweet, succulent and tasty thin-shelled hoi lai ("clams with a patterned shell"), garlic, roasted chilli paste (nahm prik pow) and fish sauce – delicious!

Bai horapa is now readily available year-round wherever there is a sizable Southeast Asian population to support a market of its own. As demand for this great-tasting basil increases, specialty produce markets and gourmet grocery stores are beginning to add it to their herb selections. It is also easy to grow, and seed packets can be purchased from local nurseries, ordered from national seed catalogues. You can root a fresh stem easily by placing it in a glass of water outside the refrigerator. As with many leafy herbs, this basil can be kept fresh by placing it in a glass with the cut ends in water, covering it with a plastic bag and storing it in the refrigerator. Or, you can wrap the herbs in paper towels before bagging them in plastic for refrigerating. They will stay fresh for about a week.

Green Papaya Salad - Som Tum

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 lime
2 cups green papaya, shredded
6 green beans
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon dried shrimp
2 chili peppers
5 cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons peanuts, toasted


Preparation:

Green papaya salad is made using a clay mortar, wooden pestle and a spatula. Smash a clove of garlic first. Then add green beans and halved cherry tomatoes. Pound a few times just to bruise the beans and get the juice out of the tomatoes. Add chili peppers and crush them just enough to release the hotness, unless you like your salad really hot. Add the green papaya, dried shrimp, toasted peanuts, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar. Use the pestle to push the mixture up in the mortar and the spatula to push it down so that the mixture is mixed well.

However, if you do not have a big enough mortar you can crush garlic, tomatoes, green beans. Set them aside in a large bowl. Add dried shrimp, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar to the bowl. Add green papaya and mix well. Serve with sticky rice and a sliver of cabbage, green beans and Thai basil.

For som tum pbooh, omit the dried shrimp and toasted peanuts and add salted crabs instead. I microwave the salted crabs for 30 seconds before adding them to the papaya salad to kill any residual bacteria. Add only half of the fish sauce called for because the salted crab can be quite salty.

Sweet Sticky Rice With Mangoes

Ingredients:

for Sweet Sticky Rice with Mangos (serves 4-5 people)
2 Cups of "Sweet Rice"
1 Cup of Sugar
½ Can (13.5 Fl. oz.) Coconut Milk
2 Ripe Mangos

for Cream Sauce (topping)
½ Can (13.5 Fl. oz.) Coconut Milk
1 Tablespoon of Sugar
½ Tsp.. Salt
½ Tsp. of cornstarch

Preparation:

For the SWEET RICE:
Rinse the rice.
Soak it in water for 30 minutes.
Drain some of the water, leave 1/4 inch of water remaining on top of rice.
Cover container and microwave on high for 10 minutes (Note: Cooking times may vary. High by our standards means that it takes approximately 3 minutes to boil a cup of water. Adjust your cooking time accordingly).
Mix rice after 10 minutes and return to microwave for an additional 4 minutes.
Mix sugar and 1/2 can coconut milk and stir until sugar dissolves.
Pour this sauce over the rice and coat completely.
Cover, and let stand for 20 minutes and serve at room temperature.
Slice mangos into bite size pieces and serve with sweet rice

For the CREAM SAUCE (topping):
Mix sugar and remaining 1/2 can coconut milk and stir until sugar dissolves.
Add salt and cornstarch and put all ingredients in a saucepan. Stir well.
Cook over low heat and stir constantly until just boiling, then turn off heat.
Let cool.

Clear soup [Gaeng-Jued]

Ingredients:

1. Young pig entrails 250 grams
2. Egg 6-7 pieces
3. Clear soup 5 cups
4. Pork chopped 1 cup
5. Cilantro root 1 1/2 teaspoons
6. Garlic 1 teaspoon
7. Pepper 1/2 teaspoon
8. Fish sauce 2 tablespoons
9. Green onion leaves, cilantro

Preparation:


1. Cut all fascias of entrails out.

2. Clean both inside and outside entrails until well. Drain.

3. Leakage testing by fill water into entrails. Cut out leaky part, tied firmly 1 side of entrails ending.

4. Break egg into bowl and stir well. Fill eggs liquid into open side of entrails until fully, Tied firmly (Repeat until completed).

5. Heat water over light heat (not boiling), put filled entrails. After 10-15 min, remove and let them cool,

6. Horizontailly cut into 1/2 inches oval thickness.

7. Grind finely cilantro root, garlic, pepper, and mix cut pieces of entrails until well combined.

8. Heat clear soup until boiling, put small balls of chopped pork until cooked. Season by fish sauce.

9. Put cut entrails into clear soup, heat until boiling, Remove, sprinkle with green onion and cilantro leaves.

THAI FOOD basil chicken fried rice