Tuna Salad

                At first I have to apologize that I have been lazy lately posting a blog, because a lot of things are going on so I almost don’t have time to write or cook Thai food, but I will try to do it better.

                Today I will have an easy menu for everyone that loves tuna and this recipe is so lean, because usually American Tuna salad is used in mayonnaise to make it, but for this recipe mayonnaise is not involved.  This is a Thai style Tuna salad, just a spicy salad that you can serve with rice or on lettuce as a salad or as an appetizer in a celery boat.  It is so easy that you can whip it up in 10 minutes!!!

Ingredients

1 can of Tuna in vegetable oil drained

¼ cup thin slice onion

2-3 Thai chilis or 1 jalapeno chili

2 tbsp. lime or lemon juice

2 tbsp. fish sauce or 1 tsp. salt

3-4 spring mint

Lettuce or celery cut it into 1 inch (optional)

Cooking instructions

1.       Add all of the ingredients except lettuce or celery  in the mixing bowl and mix well

2.       If you like it in celery boats put the salad in the middle of celery and serve cold or serve over lettuce.

I told you that was easy!!!

Thai beef noodle soup

                This recipe was inspired by one of my readers wanting to know about Pho recipe.  Pho is a Vietnam rice noodle soup that is similar with Thai noodle soup, but in Thailand we have all kinds of noodle soup.  Ex. pork noodle soup, slowly cooked chicken noodle soup (not like American at all), beef noodle soup, boat noodle soup (we did not put a boat in the soup just the name of it) duck noodle soup, tom yum noodle soup, etc.  Just for the noodle soup in Thailand you can eat it in every meal for one week and it will not be the same style at all.  Because a lot of Thai people love noodle more than rice (my sister is one of them) that’s why all kinds of restaurants will create all different kinds of noodle soup to make it unique for their restaurant.   

Today I will make beef slow cooked noodle soup.  It is a noodle with clear beef soup and served with Thai basil and any kind of vegetables you like, but today I have bean sprout.  You can also add Asian style meat balls.    This is my made up recipe that tastes very good and is very easy to make, you should try it!!!

Ingredients

Soup and meat parts :

1 lb. stew meat beef

½ onion

1 stock celery

5 globes of garlic

4 tbsp. oyster sauce

2 tsp. corn pepper

1 bunch cilantro stock

 1 tsp. salt

2 cube beef bouillon

1 tbsp. black soy sauce (for the color)


1 pack  asian meatball (about 10 oz)

Noodle parts :

2 cups of dry rice noodle

1 cup Bean sprout or lettuce (or any kind of vegetables you like)

Basil leaves (optional)

Fried garlic (optional)

Cilantro

Cooking instructions

1.       In a slow cooking pot add all of the soup and meat parts in to it to let it cook on low heat for overnight or high about 4 hours.

2.       After the soup is ready, keep boiling water in another pot and divide noodle for each portion about ½ cup dry per person.  Then add noodle,meatball and vegetable (about ¼ cup), cook about 2 minutes then drain it off and pour it into serving bowl.  

3.   Then add the soup and meat garnish with fried garlic, cilantro and basil.

Easy egg fried rice : for the side dish

                This is almost like a side dish that a lot of people ask me for the recipe, because sometimes if you don’t know the technique it doesn’t come out like you wanted!  I have 2 techniques for the perfect fried rice, first you have to use rice that is left overnight after it was cooked and it will come out better and another one is that you have to cook egg first before adding the rice into the pan.  All of this I already talked about in the shrimp fried blog, but this time it was just an egg fried rice for the side dish. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients : 1 serving

1 cup of rice

1 egg

1 globe of garlic

1 tbsp. oil

1 ½ tbsp. soy sauce

Cooking instructions

1.       Preheat the pan then add oil and garlic, cook garlic until golden

2.       Add egg stir it like scrambled egg, when the egg is cooked add rice and soy sauce then stir it until mixed well.  Turn the heat off.

3.       Serve as a side dish.

Chicken tamarind sauce: Gai tod sauce Ma kham

                 This dish I got the idea from the last time I visited Thailand.  They have one popular dish called shrimp tamarind sauce.  They use fried shrimp and then toss with tamarind sauce, it tastes sweet, sour and a little touch of spicy.  I guess the sauce is almost like pad Thai sauce which makes me want to try it in order to use my left over pad Thai sauce in refrigerator.  Today I decided to use chicken instead because that is the only meat I have in my kitchen anyways, but who doesn’t like chicken!!!  It came out very good (my hubby like it!!!) and also it was still good on the second day.  Now let’s get to the recipe.

Ingredients: serving for  1

1 chicken breast cut into bite size

½ cup. Corn starch

½ tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper

½ cup Pad Thai sauce (recipe in Pad Thai blog)

3 tbsp. water

1 tbsp. fried shallot

1 tsp. chili flake or fried chili (optional)

1 tbsp. chopped green onion

 Oil for deep frying chicken

Cooking instructions

1.       Add salt and pepper into chicken, mix well then add corn starch and mix until every piece of chicken is coated with corn starch, then set aside for 45 minutes

2.       Preheat the oil until 350 F or use bamboo stick to dip into oil and have a bubble come out from the stick

3.       Fry chicken in the hot oil about 5-6 minutes or until chicken become golden, then take the chicken off the oil and set aside

4.       Preheat the pan then add Pad- Thai sauce, water and chili (optional) stir until sauce bubbling then add fried chicken toss it until the sauce is coated all over the chicken.

5.       Pour it into serving bowl then garnish with fried onions and green onions

6.       Serve with steamed rice or egg fried rice (recipe next blog)

Eggplant Stir fried with Thai Basil

                It was one of my childhood recipes that my dad cooked for us.  Usually my dad did not cook much, but when he cooked he always surprised us and this recipe is one of them.  Because when I was a kid I didn’t really like eggplant much, but my dad made eggplant at another level of tastiness.   

This is a vegetarian recipe.  All of the ingredients are almost like Thai basil stir fried, but you have a little soy bean paste( I have the details on a sauce blog) in it.  This dish tastes salty sweet.  Try it and you might find yourself in love with this dish like me!!!

Ingredients: 1 serving

2 Chinese eggplants or ½ Italian eggplants (cut into bite size)

½ cup basil leave

1 sliced fresh Jalapeño (optional)

2 globes chop garlic

2 tbsp. soy bean paste

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. water

1 tbsp. vegetable oil.

Cooking instructions

1.       Chop garlic

1.       Heat the pan at medium heat, when it is hot add vegetable oil then fried garlic until golden pull garlic off on the side for garnish later.

2.       Add eggplant, sugar, soy bean paste stir it well then add water and turn the heat down to medium low and cover it about 2-3 minutes or until the eggplant softens then add Jalapeño.

3.       Turn the heat off and add basil leave stir until mixed, then pour into serving plate then put fried garlic on the top and serve with steamed rice.

Asparagus and shrimp stir fried : Pad Nor Mai Farung Kub Kung

                This is one of another common type of Thai dish that is fast and very easy.  This dish is not spicy the ingredients are easy to find.  We stir fried Asparagus with any kind of meat or without meat but the most famous one is shrimp, because it tastes good and looks pretty (green and pink) so let’s get started!!!

Ingredients : 1 serving ; cooking time : 7 minute

½ lb. asparagus trim the woody end off cut into 1 inch pieces

7 shrimp

1 tsp. oyster sauce

2 tsp. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 globe minced garlic

1 tbsp. water

1 tbsp. oil

Cooking instructions

1.       In the hot pan add oil and garlic cook garlic until golden brown

2.       Add shrimp stir it until shrimp cooked (turn pink) then add asparagus stir it then add all of the ingredients stir it until mixed well and the asparagus is cooked.

3.       Turn the heat off, serve with steamed rice or as a side dish.

That is how easy it is!!!

Pad Prick On : chicken jalapeño Stir fried

                Ok now you will have a question why jalapenos are in Thai food??  Actually this dish in Thailand we use one kind of chili that looks like a banana pepper, but as spicy as a jalapeno and because it is easy for me to find jalapeno anyway that is why I use it instead.  This dish is one of my favorites when I was a kid, because it is not too spicy (for me) but it’s got a little kick to the taste of the dish.  It will be a little spicy, salty and a little sweet but it is very good with rice.  I hope you will like it.

 Ingredients : 1 serving

1 chicken breast cut into bite sizes

½ onion

3  jalapenos

2 tbsp. oyster sauce

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. fish sauce

1 tsp. sugar

3 tbsp. water

1 globe minced garlic

1 tbsp. oil

Cooking instructions

1.       Add a pinch of sugar and ½ tsp. of soy sauce into chicken and marinate about 5-10 minutes

2.       Meanwhile cut onion into a half-moon and jalapeno into strips.

3.       In the hot pan add oil and garlic, cook garlic until golden brown

4.       Add chicken stir it until cooked then add onion and jalapeno stir it 2 times then add all of the ingredients stir it until mixed well and the jalapeno is cooked.

5.       Turn the heat off and serve with steamed rice.

Phar nung ma now : spicy lime/lemon fish

                 I have been craving for something spicy and healthy after my cough was gone.  I haven’t gone to the Asian grocery for over a month what am I going to eat!  After I opened my refrigerator and freezer I found tilapia, lemon and cilantro.  In my pantry I have garlic and in my garden I have fresh Cajun chili….Alright I will make my version of spicy lime fish by using the lemon instead of lime and fresh Cajun chili instead of fresh Thai chili.  It came out very good, the lemon worked beautifully with the fish and fresh Cajun chili because it is not too spicy (over powering) but spicy enough to make the dish tasty. Amm.. The more I talk the more my mouth is watering let’s get started…

Ingredients

2 pieces of filet tilapia fish ( you can also use the whole fish)

3-4 globes of thin sliced garlic

2 tbsp. chopped fresh chili

2 tbsp. lime juice or lemon juice

2 tbsp. fish sauce

3 tbsp. water

2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

3 tbsp. chicken stock

 Some salt

Cooking instructions:

1.       Place the fish In the baking dish and season it with a little bit of salt then add water and cook it

a.       Microwave Instructions:  at high heat for ½ pound of fish for 2-4 minutes, 1 pound of fish 3-5 minutes.

b.      Steaming instructions : steam it in a steamer about 5 minutes per ½ pound of fish

c.       Oven instruction  : Cover with foil, bake at 400 ^o F until the fish cooked

-  Whole fish 20-30 minutes

-   Filet fish 4-6 minutes per ½ inch thick

2.       Meanwhile add the rest of the ingredients except cilantro into mixing bowl and mix well

3.       Place the fish onto a serving plate then pour sauce over the fish

4.        Garnish with cilantro serving with steamed rice

Khaw mun Gai

This dish is one of my favorite street foods.  Khaw mun Gai is a twin of Singapore chicken and rice.  The dish will come with boiled chicken, rice cooked in chicken stock, chicken soup, cucumber and special sauce.  In Thailand you can find this dish almost anywhere on the street which I call a comfort food to me.  Since I moved here I don’t really see Khaw mun Kai much, so I tried to make it myself. Fortunately my friend and sister in law “Benz” knows how to make it.  She told me the recipe and I made it for the first time when I was staying with my host parents.  I brought it to them to test the results…. they love it!!  Since then this dish became my favorite menu to cook for my friends and family.  My hubby and my little one love it.  Amm… since I cook this dish I never see anyone who doesn’t like this dish that is how good it is, so you should try it!!!

Note:  The recipe sounds complicated, but I will separate it to 3 easy steps to follow

1. Chicken and soup

2. Rice

3. Sauce 

Ingredients : serves 6 ; cooking time 2hrs 30 min

Step 1. Soup and chicken

4 quarts of water

4 -5 lb. whole chicken

1 branch cilantro

1 head garlic cut into a half

1 tsp. salt

6 tsp. soy sauce

Cooking instructions

1.       In a large pot (about 6 quarts) add water and turn the heat on to high heat and bring it to a boil

2.       Meanwhile add the garlic and cilantro into herb bag and close

Note: herb bag is the bag I sew it myself by using a thin white cloth made into a bag to keep the herbs together in the stock.

3.       When the water is boiling add chicken, salt, herb bag and soy sauce into it, bring it to a boil again then lower the heat into medium heat.  Let it cooked for 1 hr.

4.       After 1 hr. skim the fat, part of the stock is reserved for cooking the rice with the stock.

Rice

6 cups chicken stock with fat part

3 cups jasmine rice

3 gloves of garlic

Note: in the original recipe use 1 cup of sticky rice and 2 cups of jasmine rice it will take a longer time to cook it (about 1 hr.)will make the rice a little bit stickier.

Cooking instructions

1.       Bring the stock to a boil then add rice and garlic stir 1 time then turn the heat to low and let it simmer about 30- 45 minutes

   Sauce

¼ cup Soy bean paste

¼ cup chicken stock

3 tbsp. sugar

3 tbsp. fine mince ginger

3 tbsp. fine mince garlic

2 tbsp. lime juice

1 tbsp. chop chili (optional)

Cooking instructions

1.       in the blender add all of the ingredients  into it then blend it about  1-3 pause

2.       serving with rice chicken and soup with cucumber.

Pad Khing

                 If you go to Thai Restaurants sometimes they have 2 menus that almost are the same name they are “Pad Khing” and another one is “ Pad prik khing”.  They both are totally different.  When I was the server I had to explain it a lot of times about this dish and now I will tell you again just in case you never knew about it.  Actually this name is confusing for Thai people too because “Khing” means ginger, but one of them it does not have anything to do with ginger at all and that dish is “ Pad Prik Khing” is a stir fried green bean with red curry paste and meat, but  the one I will cook today is “Pad Khing” .

Pad Khing is stirred fried chicken or pork with ginger mushrooms.  For this dish it is very healthy.  Because ginger is one of the good herb that will help with digestion, removing toxins from the body, cleansing the bowels and kidneys.  So this dish I would recommend for breast feeding moms to eat it in order to pass through the goodness of ginger to the baby for helping the baby’s  digestion.  (I  had  a lot of this dish when I was breast feeding).  Now do you want to know the recipe.  Here it is.

Ingredients : 2 serving

1 chicken breast (about 5-6 oz) cut into bite size

½ cup julienned cut ginger

½  cup sliced half-moon onion

½ cup mushrooms

1 tbsp. green onion cut into 1 inch.

1 tsp. chopped garlic

1 tbsp. soy bean paste

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. sugar

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tbsp. water

Cooking instructions

1.       Preheat the pan in medium high heat  add vegetable oil and garlic then cook it until golden brown.

2.       Then add chicken stir it until chicken is cooked then add mushrooms, onions, gingers, soy bean paste, soy sauce, sugar and water.  Keep stirring until it is cooked and mixed well.

3.       Add green onions at the end and stir it till mixed well then turn the heat off.

4.       Pour it into serving plate serve with steamed rice.