Thai Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

• Half of a telegraph cucumber, scored, sliced and halved
• 1 echelon shallot, cut lengthwise and sliced
• 4 tablespoons white vinegar
• 5 tablespoons white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 small red chilli, sliced into thin rings

Method

• Put the sliced vegetables into a salad bowl.
• Pour the vinegar, sugar and salt into a saucepan and gently bring to the boil.  
• Simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved and then leave to cool.
• Once cool, pour over the cucumber and shallots and mix well.
• Chill well before serving.

Tod Mun Pla - Thai Fish Cakes

Ingredients

• 500 grams snapper, redfish or cod, skinned and boned
• 2 tablespoons red curry paste
• 2 fresh kaffer lime leaves, roughly torn
• 2 spring onions, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 tablespoons coriander, finely chopped
• 3 snake beans (30g), finely sliced (substitute with found French beans if necessary)
• 2 small fresh red Thai chillies, finely chopped
• Oil for deep frying (preferably peanut)

Method

• Slice the fish into small pieces and the blend or process the curry paste, lime leaves, spring onions, fish sauce and lime juice until it forms a smooth paste.
• Transfer fish mixture into a medium sized bowl and add coriander, beans and chilli.
• Wet your hands and roll a heaped tablespoon of the mixture into a ball then flatten into a cake shape; repeat with remaining mixture.
• Heat oil in a wok or large saucepan and deep fry cakes in batches, until they reach a golden red colour
• Drain on kitchen paper and serve with cucumber dipping sauce.

Wonton Soup

Ingredients

1 packet wonton wrappers (40 pcs)
8 cups beef or chicken stock
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon soya sauce
2 baby bok choy, quartered length wise and trimmed
2 spring onions, finely chopped
Salt and white pepper, to taste

Filling

• 200 grams minced pork
• 150 grams shrimps, finely chopped or minced
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon water chestnuts, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced 
• 1 tablespoon cornflour mixed with 3 tablespoons of water
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soya sauce
• 1 teaspoon shaohsing wine or sherry

Method

• Combine the ingredients for the wontons and mix well.  Set aside for 30 minutes to marinate.
• Place wonton wrappers under a damp cloth and work with one wrapper at a time, spooning one rounded teaspoon of filling onto the centre.
• With dampened fingers, wet the four edges. Make a triangle by folding the wrapper in half over the filling, making sure the ends met and the filling is centered and then seal by pressing the edges together firmly.
• Wet two corners and bring together and press to seal, transfer to an oiled plate and cover with a damp cloth to prevent drying out.
• Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
• Blanch the vegetables in a saucepan with boiling water and ½ tsp of salt. Cook for about a minute, drain and set aside.
• Bring a saucepan of water to a boil with a few drizzles of cooking oil. Cook the wontons for 4 minutes. Remove the wontons with a slotted spoon and divide the portions into each bowls.
• Bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the sesame oil, soya sauce, shaohsing wine, and salt to taste.
• Ladle the chicken stock into the bowls of wontons. Top with vegetables, chopped spring onions and some white pepper. Serve immediately.

Char Siu Pork

Ingredients

• 1 kg pork tenderloin (fillet), whole
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice
• 1/2 tbsp red food coloring

Method

• Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well.
• Add pork loin to the marinade and massage well with your hands.
• Store in the fridge for 24-48 hours.
• Remove from fridge 1 hour prior to cooking and pre-heat oven to 220 degrees Celsius.
  
• Place the pork on a wire rack over a roasting tin filled with 4 cm of water to catch the drips.
  
• Roast for 8 minutes then reduce heat to 180 degrees Celsius and roast for a further 13 minutes.
• Remove the pork from the oven and cut across the grain into approximately 1cm slices
• Serve with fried rice and stir fried spinach.
  

Japanese Miso Soup

Ingredients

2 cups dashi or water
2 tablespoons dark miso paste
4 medium or 2 large mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and very finely sliced
1 spring onion (scallion), finely sliced
1/3 cup dried chopped seaweed, torn watercress, or torn baby spinach
45 grams silken tofu, cubed
Snipped chives to garnish
Method

1. Warm the dashi or water in a medium saucepan.
   
2. Place the miso in a bowl, and ladle in about 1/2 cup of the warm dashi or water. Mix with a fork or whisk until the miso is well blended.
3. Bring the remaining broth or water to a simmer (not a boil), and add the dissolved miso. Mix together but do not allow to boil.
   
4. Add the, mushrooms, tofu, spring onion and seaweed, watercress or spinach. Bring to a simmer, and remove from the heat.
   
5. Garnishing each bowl with chives and serve immediately.

Guri Pak (Thai Curry Puffs)

I just made these today for lunch and I am happy to say that my 17 month old tucked into them with vigour! These little Thai curry puff parcels get more addictive every time I make them. They are very easy to assemble and make a great entree to any South East Asia meal. These are the Thai equivalent to the Indian Samosa, Cornish Pasties, British Sausage Rolls, and Spanish Empandas. Serve with Sweet Chillie Dipping Sauce. Here's how to make Thai curry puffs.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons coriander root, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
100 grams beef mince (minced twice)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons fish sauce (substitute with soya sauce if vegetarian)
1 tablespoon water
1 medium sized potato, finely diced
2 sheets puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten
Vegetable oil for deep frying

Method

• In a wok heat the peanut oil and add the coriander root, onion, garlic and minced beef, stirring until beef is no longer pink.
• Add turmeric, cumin and ground coriander, stir frying until it becomes fragrant.
• Add fish sauce and water and simmer, uncovered, until the mixture thickens.
• Evenly mix in mashed potato.
• Lightly dust work top with flour and cut four circles from pastry, approximately 10 cm diameter.
• Place a teaspoon of the mixture onto the centre of pastry and brush lightly around the edge of the pastry with the beaten egg.
• Fold pastry over to encase the filling and seal edges.
• Heat oil in a saucepan and deep fry curry puffs in batches until crisp and golden.
• Drain on kitchen paper and serve with sweet chilies dip.

...Sweet Chillie Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

12 fresh small red chillies, roughly chopped
8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons tamarind paste

Method

• Combine all ingredients into a saucepan and stir, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved.
• Simmer, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes and slightly thickened.

Goan Pork Vindaloo

Here's how to make Goan Pork Vindaloo, a dish loved globally!

Ingredients

• 500 grams pork shoulder, cut into chunky cubes
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 5 whole black peppercorns
• Seeds of 2 cardamom pods, discard pods
  
• 3 whole cloves
• 3 cm piece of cinnamon bark
  
• 2 heaped tbsp fresh grated ginger
• 7 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
• 3 fresh red chillies
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• Salt to taste
  
• 3 tablespoons ghee
  
• 1 small brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

Method

• Prepared the marinade the night before you intend to cook the vindaloo.
  
• Process the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns, cardamom seeds, cloves and cinnamon stick until it breaks down to a powder.
• Blend the ginger, garlic, chillies and white wine vinegar into a paste in a food processor or a blender.
• Mix the spice mixture with the paste, then season with salt.
• Massage mixture all over the pork using your fingers and then cover and leave to marinade over night.
• Heat half of the ghee in a non-stick pan and add the onion and fry until clear .
• Add the marinated pork pieces, together with the marinade and fry until all the pieces are golden on all sides.
• Reduce to a low simmer and cover, stirring occasionally for 40 minutes, adding small amounts of water if mixture becomes dry.
• Serve with basmati rice.

...and that's how to make Goan Pork Vindaloo!

Sambhar

Here's how to make sambhar, a typical South Indian vegetarian dish.

Ingredients

225g too dahl, soaked
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
10 black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon funugreek seeds
1 tablespoons grated coconut
1 tablespoon roasted chana dahl
6 dried chillies
6 french beans, cut into 2.5 cm lengths
2 carrots, chopped into cubes
1 cup chopped cauliflower
1 brown or red onion, roughly chopped
125g eggplant, chopped into cubes
50g small okra, topped and tailed
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
10 curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida

Method

• Drain the dahl and place into a saucepan, adding 1 litre of water.
• Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 2 hours, or until tender.
• Heat a small frying pan over a low heat and dry roast the coriander, peppercorns, fenugreek, coconut, chana dahl and chillies, stirring constantly until the coconut turns a golden colour.
• Grind this mixture in a mortar and pestle or blender until fine.
• In a saucepan, bring 750 ml water to the boil and add the beans, carrot and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the onion, eggplant, okra and cauliflower and simmer until cooked. Add more water if needed.
• Transfer the cooked dahl, ground spices, vegetables (together with their stock) and tamarind paste into a large saucepan and slowly bring to the boil.
• Reduce heat and gently simmer for 30 minutes.
• Season with salt to taste.
• In a separate small frying pan, heat the oil over a medium head and add the mustard seeds. Cover and gently shake pan until you hear the seeds pop.
  
• Add curry leaves, turmeric, asafoetida and a pinch of salt.
  
• Add to the simmering vegetable and dahl mixture and mix well.

...and that's how to make sambhar!

Tandoori Chicken

Here's how to make tandoori chicken, a British....I mean Indian favourite

Ingredients

1 cup natural yogurt
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon garam massala
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon tumeric powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
Juice of 1 lemon
8 cloves garlic, crushed
1 inch of grated ginger
Few drops of red food colouring
4 pieces of skinless chicken on the bone
Melted butter for basting

Method

• Mix all of the spices together in a bowl and add the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and ginger.
  
• Add the red food colouring until you get a bright red colouring.
• Score the chicken every 2cm and place in the marinade, massaging it into the chicken and sit for at least one hour.
• Grill until cooked and juices run clear, basting with the melted butter in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
• Serve with rice and roti.

...and that's how to make tandoori chicken!

Tom Yum Talay

This is how to cook Tom Yum Talay, similar to Poh, a favourite in Thailand and other parts of South East Asia.

Ingredients

• 5 cups fish or chicken stock
• 1 stem of lemon grass, sliced diagonally into 2.5cm pieces and crushed
• 8 kaffir lime leaves, whole
• 2.5 cm piece of galengal, sliced
• 6 tablespoons lime juice
• 4 large red whole dried chillies
• 1 cup straw or button mushrooms, quartered
• 1 teaspoon red dried chillies crushed
• 2 teaspoons peanut oil
• 4 green lipped mussels, shell on, beard removed and cleaned
• 12 king prawns, shelled with tail remaining and deveined
• 150 gram fillet of snapper (or other firm white fish), sliced into 4 even pieces
• 150 gram squid hoods, scored and sliced into 2.5cm pieces
• 1/2 cup thai basil, torn
• 6 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons coriander, torn

Method

• Bring stock to the boil and add the lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, lime juice, whole chillies and mushrooms and lightly simmer for 20 minutes.
• Mix crushed chillies with peanut oil to form a paste. Add to stock.
• Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, but discard any muscles that have not opened.
• Serve in individual bowls, evenly distributing the seafood.

...and that's how to cook tom yum talay!

Phad Thai (Thai Fried Noodles)

Here's how to make phad thai with chicken and prawns, a staple on any Thai menu

Ingredients

400 grams rice noodles
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
1 small chicken breast, cut into 2 cm cubes
16 raw king prawns, shells off with tails intact, deveined
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon shrimp paste
2 tablespoons pickled white radish (optional)
50 grams tofu, cut into 2cm cubes and lightly fried
1/2 teaspoon dried chillies, chopped
1/2 cup spring onions, sliced
1 cup beansprouts
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, chopped
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons nam pla (fish sauce)
2 tablespoons tamarind paste
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons coriander, roughly chopped
1 lime, cut into slivers
extra beansprouts

Method

1. Soak rice noodles in boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain, but keep a little of the water back as this need to go into the wok and will soften the noodles.
   
2. Mix together the tamarind paste, sugar, crushed peanuts and lime. Set aside.
   
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok and fry chicken until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.
4. Cook prawns until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.
5. Add the rest of the oil into the wok and add the shrimp paste, pickled radis, tofu and chillies. Then add the noodles, beansprouts, spring onion and stir fry for 1 minute.
6. Add the chicken and prawns and then add the tamarind mixture.
7. Push contents to the edge of the wok, making a circle in the middle, to which you add the the eggs. Lightly scramble the eggs and mix into the main ingredients.
   
8. Stir fry till heated through.
9. Serve with the extra beansprouts, peanuts, coriander and lime.

...and that's how you make phad thai!

Kimchee (Korean Pickled Cabbage)

Ingredients

2 large Chinese (Napa) Cabbages

1 Chinese radish or daikon, sliced thinly

2 bulbs garlic

10 cm piece of ginger

4 medium onions

1 pear, roughly cut into chunks

1 apple, roughly cut into chunks

1 cup chilli powder (this will be very hot, but it's the way they like it in Korea!)

1/3 cup nam pla (fish sauce) or alternatively replace with soya sauce or anchovy paste

1/4 cup honey or sugar

1. Wash cabbage and cut into 2.5cm slices and pre-soaked for 3 hours in a brine solution of 10 litres water and 1 cup salt
2. Remove cabbage and rinse thoroughly.
3. Gently squeeze water out of the cabbage and place into a large container.
4. Blend garlic, ginger, and onions in a hand held blender.
5. Add the pear, apple, chilli, nam pla and honey and blend until well combined.
6. Pour into the dish containing cabbage and mixe well.
7. Cover and sit for 1-3 days at room temperature to ferment, then refrigerate in self sealing bags (to contain the smell).
8. Kimchee will keep indefinitely.

Chinese mixed seafood with vegetables

Ingredients

100 grams tiger prawns, de-vained and cut into three sections
6 large scallops, sliced into three pieces
100 grams squid
1 1/2 tea spoons salt
pepper
6 table spoons vegetable oil
5mm piece of ginger, sliced into match sticks
1 medium green chili, sliced on an angle
2 spring onions, sliced on an angle in 2cm pieces
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 each of green and red pepper cut into chunks
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced on an angle
1 rib celery, thinly sliced on an angle
2 tablespoons chicken stock (preferably home made)
1 tablespoon light soya sauce
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Method

1. Mix together sherry and cornflour to form a paste and set aside.
   
2. Clean squid under cold running water and made a criss-cross score (being careful not to go all the way through the flesh). Do this about 1cm apart, then cut the squid into 2 cm chunks
3. Coat seafood mixture with salt, pepper to taste and 1 1/2 teaspoons oil
4. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a wok or frying pan and add prawns, scallops and squid
5. Cook over a high heat for 1 1/2 minutes the remove from pan and set aside
6. Add remaining oil and add ginger, garlic, spring onions, peppers, carrot, celery and chilli.
7. Stir fry for 30 seconds, then add stock, soya sauce and sherry and cornflour paste
8. Bring to boil and add the cooked seafood and cook for a further minute
9. Add sesame oil and serve with steamed rice or fried noodles.
   

Thai Satays

Peanut Sauce (nam jim tua)

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted roasted peanut
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 red chillies - medium strength
1/2 teaspoon of your favourite curry powder
2 teaspoons tamarind paste or lemon juice
1 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon fish sauce

1. Blend peanuts until finely chopped.
2. Heat oil in a wok or sauce pan and add onion, garlic, chillies, tumeric and stir until onion is soft (do not over cook or brown the onions).
3. Add crushed peanuts, tamarind or lemon and gently mix in the coconut milk.
4. Add sugar and fish sauce and stir through until hot.
5. Serve with satays.
6. The sauce will thicken as it sits so you can thin it out by adding a little more coconut milk or even water. Store in an air tight container in fridge for up to two weeks. This can also be frozen.

Chicken Satays

Ingredients

1 dozen or so bamboo skewers
700g chicken breast cut into long strips 2cm wide
3 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon corriander
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespon oil
2 tablespon brown sugar
1 tablespon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped chillie or sambal oelek

1. Soak bamboo skewers in a shallow dish long enough to accommodate them and weigh down with something to keep them submerged. Soak for a minimum of 1 hour or over night if possible.
2. Push the chicken onto the skewers, trying to keep the meat centred and skewer running up the middle of the chicken.
3. Mix together the remaining ingredients to form a paste.
4. Pour paste over chicken and massage into the meat so it is evenly coated.
5. Cover and marinade for a minimum of 1 hour or over night if possible.
6. Cook over a bbq, or in a heavy based frying pan with a little oil until tender.
   
7. Serve with peanut sauce.
   

Thai Green Curry Prawn or Chicken (Gang Keow Wan Goong/Gai)

Ingredients

Serves 4

3 tbsp vegetable oil

2 large chicken breasts cut into thin strips

or 24 tiger prawns shelled, devained and butterflied with tails intact

1 tin of bamboo shoots sliced into matchsticks

Two 400 ml tins coconut milk

4 kermit eggplants (optional depending on availability)

6 french beans cut in half

1/2 red pepper sliced into long strips

1/2 green pepper sliced into long strips

2-3 desert spoons thai green curry paste***

2 desert spoons of brown sugar

1 tblsp nam pla

1/4 cup of roughtly torn corriander

Additional corriander for garnish

Method

1. Heat oil in a wok or large frying pan and add paste. Gently fry this until it becomes aromatic.
2. Slowly add coconut milk, stiring that paste in as you go.
3. Bring to the boil and then add chicken or prawns, then add vegetables
   
4. Turn down heat and gently simmer for 10 mins if using chicken and 5 mins if using prawns.
5. Add sugar, nam pla and corriander.
6. Serve curry in individual small bowls with garnish and accompany with steamed jasmin rice
   

***I prefer to use the manufactured Thai curry paste. It is just better than any recipies I have tried myself. Make sure you get one that is authentically Thai though, as some of the "less authentic" pastes just don't make the grade.