Let's talk Thai!
- Thread starter jjsmom
- Start date
Ooooh, Thai! I'll post my favorite recipes, but it's sort of a quandry. I never measure.
I like chicken, stir-fried with green onions, some diced spicy red ciles, ginger, tofu, and plenty of mung bean sprouts. Add some fish sauce (I don't remember what the Thai name is, I call it by the Filipino name), cilantro, lime juice and a pinch of salt. Serve it hot, over rice, while the bean sprouts are still a bit crisp. Heaven!
Oho, there's also spicy Thai squid stir fry. It's straight squid--no veggies. Stir-fry the squid (cut into pieces) over very high heat, with plenty of spicy red chile, minced garlic & ginger, a dash of fish sauce and a little salt. Put the chile into the wok first, so the spiciness can permeate the oil. If you're doing it right, it should probably take about 30 seconds or less. Squid is an extremely fast-cooking fish. The squid should be white and starting to curl a bit at the edges, but still melt-in-your-mouth tender. If it's rubbery, you overcooked it.
I like chicken, stir-fried with green onions, some diced spicy red ciles, ginger, tofu, and plenty of mung bean sprouts. Add some fish sauce (I don't remember what the Thai name is, I call it by the Filipino name), cilantro, lime juice and a pinch of salt. Serve it hot, over rice, while the bean sprouts are still a bit crisp. Heaven!
Oho, there's also spicy Thai squid stir fry. It's straight squid--no veggies. Stir-fry the squid (cut into pieces) over very high heat, with plenty of spicy red chile, minced garlic & ginger, a dash of fish sauce and a little salt. Put the chile into the wok first, so the spiciness can permeate the oil. If you're doing it right, it should probably take about 30 seconds or less. Squid is an extremely fast-cooking fish. The squid should be white and starting to curl a bit at the edges, but still melt-in-your-mouth tender. If it's rubbery, you overcooked it.
I love making the coconut curry stuff, but I also like doing more simple stir fry type dishes with the flavor staples of Thai- hot peppers, fish sauce, lime juice, and lots of basil. I like doing a pesto made with garlic and cilantro, then marinading chicken legs or firm fish like tuna or salmon or swordfish with the pesto, lime, and soy and then grilling it. Here's something I make a lot, it's fast and easy and my wife likes it. She's not a curry fan, and I can temper the heat pretty easy in this. Ingredients are all estimated, I don't measure anything.
1-1.5lbs boneless chicken in thin slices
half a large onion in slices
about 2 cups of a veggie or 2. I like one green one and then something else- mushrooms, something like that.
2-3 hot peppers like serranos or cayennes, or 1 good sized jalapeno. Slice into fingernail size chunks, and take a couple of the chunks and dice them small for garnish
about 1" of ginger, minced
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
about a cup of fresh basil, loosely packed
fish sauce
lime juice
dark sweet soy sauce (if you don't have this, use a bit of regular soy and some brown sugar)
corn starch
black pepper
cooked white rice
peanuts for garnish
Slice the chicken, place in a bowl, and dust with corn starch and some black pepper, mix it around and let it sit while you chop the veggies. Heat a pan or wok over high heat, add a bit of oil, stir fry the chicken for a minute, then add the onion, ginger and garlic. Continue to stir fry for a couple more minutes until the chicken begins to get cooked on all sides. Add in the veggies, stir fry for a few more minutes until they begin to soften. Add about 1tbs of the dark soy, 2 tbs of fish sauce, and 2tbs of lime juice. Keep cooking until the chicken is done and the veggies are crisp/tender. At the last minute, add in almost all the basil, stir it in, and cover and let cook for another couple minutes.
Serve over white rice, garnish with some of the leftover basil, some chopped chile peppers, peanuts, and additional fish sauce and lime juice to taste.
You could use any meat and any veggies for this. I've done it with shrimp and beef, and have used any thing from green beans, sugar snaps, zuchinni, yellow squash, mushrooms, brocolli, etc as the veggies. If you don't like it hot, reduce or eliminate the chiles, or add more if you really like the burn like I do. The key is the basil, fish sauce and lime juice. Fish sauce smells nasty but it is really tasty in southeast asian food.
1-1.5lbs boneless chicken in thin slices
half a large onion in slices
about 2 cups of a veggie or 2. I like one green one and then something else- mushrooms, something like that.
2-3 hot peppers like serranos or cayennes, or 1 good sized jalapeno. Slice into fingernail size chunks, and take a couple of the chunks and dice them small for garnish
about 1" of ginger, minced
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
about a cup of fresh basil, loosely packed
fish sauce
lime juice
dark sweet soy sauce (if you don't have this, use a bit of regular soy and some brown sugar)
corn starch
black pepper
cooked white rice
peanuts for garnish
Slice the chicken, place in a bowl, and dust with corn starch and some black pepper, mix it around and let it sit while you chop the veggies. Heat a pan or wok over high heat, add a bit of oil, stir fry the chicken for a minute, then add the onion, ginger and garlic. Continue to stir fry for a couple more minutes until the chicken begins to get cooked on all sides. Add in the veggies, stir fry for a few more minutes until they begin to soften. Add about 1tbs of the dark soy, 2 tbs of fish sauce, and 2tbs of lime juice. Keep cooking until the chicken is done and the veggies are crisp/tender. At the last minute, add in almost all the basil, stir it in, and cover and let cook for another couple minutes.
Serve over white rice, garnish with some of the leftover basil, some chopped chile peppers, peanuts, and additional fish sauce and lime juice to taste.
You could use any meat and any veggies for this. I've done it with shrimp and beef, and have used any thing from green beans, sugar snaps, zuchinni, yellow squash, mushrooms, brocolli, etc as the veggies. If you don't like it hot, reduce or eliminate the chiles, or add more if you really like the burn like I do. The key is the basil, fish sauce and lime juice. Fish sauce smells nasty but it is really tasty in southeast asian food.
I mentioned Cilantro pesto in my prior post. This is a great ingredient and can be made ahead of time. It keeps a couple weeks in the fridge.
Take a big bunch of cilantro, stems and all, and roots if they are attached. At least 2 cups packed. Pick it over and remove any junky parts and wash it real good. Roll it in some paper towels to dry. Take about a head of garlic and smash the cloves with the flat side of a knife and remove the skins. Or, use 2-3 elephant garlic cloves. Put this all in a food processor. Add about a teaspoon of ground black pepper. Begin to process, stopping to scrape down the sides from time to time. Once it's getting into a finer consistency, (about 30 seconds of pulsing) drizzle in a bit of canola or other light flavored oil (not olive!) so it pulls the paste together. Put in a tupperware bowl in the fridge.
I will use about 2-3 tablespoons of the pesto, 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce, and 2-3 tablespoons of lime juice mixed together as a marinade. It's especially good on chicken legs. Marinade it for several hours and grill it, the skin is crisp and the taste is just awesome. You can also use some of the pesto to flavor veggies or rice. It's very versatile.
Take a big bunch of cilantro, stems and all, and roots if they are attached. At least 2 cups packed. Pick it over and remove any junky parts and wash it real good. Roll it in some paper towels to dry. Take about a head of garlic and smash the cloves with the flat side of a knife and remove the skins. Or, use 2-3 elephant garlic cloves. Put this all in a food processor. Add about a teaspoon of ground black pepper. Begin to process, stopping to scrape down the sides from time to time. Once it's getting into a finer consistency, (about 30 seconds of pulsing) drizzle in a bit of canola or other light flavored oil (not olive!) so it pulls the paste together. Put in a tupperware bowl in the fridge.
I will use about 2-3 tablespoons of the pesto, 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce, and 2-3 tablespoons of lime juice mixed together as a marinade. It's especially good on chicken legs. Marinade it for several hours and grill it, the skin is crisp and the taste is just awesome. You can also use some of the pesto to flavor veggies or rice. It's very versatile.
I love curry, but alas, I can't cook it often. Grr. Hubby hates curry, even the smell of it.
Oh, grilled eggplant! Forgot about that. Take some baby asian eggplant, between 4-7 inches long. Throw them directly on the grill and cook until soft. Dice a tomato, put it into a bowl, then add about 2-3 tablespoons of fish sauce and mix well. Dip the grilled eggplant into the tomato/fish sauce mixture and enjoy. It's wonderful. No additional seasoning required. The tomato mixture also tastes good over hot rice afterwards. We always get into fights over the eggplant at our house.
Oh, grilled eggplant! Forgot about that. Take some baby asian eggplant, between 4-7 inches long. Throw them directly on the grill and cook until soft. Dice a tomato, put it into a bowl, then add about 2-3 tablespoons of fish sauce and mix well. Dip the grilled eggplant into the tomato/fish sauce mixture and enjoy. It's wonderful. No additional seasoning required. The tomato mixture also tastes good over hot rice afterwards. We always get into fights over the eggplant at our house.
I've used lemongrass the same way you'd use ginger- mince it up real fine and add it in. Not really a sauce per se, but it adds that citrus element. The Thai place we go to makes 2 good lemongrass based soups- one is a reddish broth, the other is coconut and lemongrass. I think for that, you take chicken stock and add the whole lemongrass stalks in, let them steep, and remove them.
We grew lemongrass a few times and then harvested it before it froze over and put it in freezer bags. It's the same thing as citronella.
We grew lemongrass a few times and then harvested it before it froze over and put it in freezer bags. It's the same thing as citronella.
Thanks for the Lemongrass info Dan! I definitely want to try making a lemongrass sauce sometime soon. 
As much as I LOVE to cook, I don’t much Thai because I live in a city that has the most amazing Thai and Indian restaurants close by. I also tend to cook pretty healthy and not all those recipes are the best for you. I often cook recipes from cooking light magazine and here is one that I LOVE from there. It combines 2 of my favorites, curry and fish! YUMMY!
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=348346
As much as I LOVE to cook, I don’t much Thai because I live in a city that has the most amazing Thai and Indian restaurants close by. I also tend to cook pretty healthy and not all those recipes are the best for you. I often cook recipes from cooking light magazine and here is one that I LOVE from there. It combines 2 of my favorites, curry and fish! YUMMY!
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=348346