Todd mon kung

            Todd mon kung or Shrimp cake or as my hubby calls shrimp nuggets (He can eat 10 of them easily).  This dish actually is one of the new generations that created this dish (about 10-20 years ago).  It’s very popular in any restaurant in Thailand.  It’s very easy to make and very easy to eat, because it’s not spicy and of course it’s fried food served with sauce called “Num jim bouy” or sweet and sour plum sauce if you cannot find use sweet and sour just like in Chinese food is find.  In the original recipe use the fat of pork in it to make it soft in texture, but for me in America I can’t find it in a regular grocery store.  So I try to use something else to substituted pork fat in order to taste like the original.

Ingredients

1 ½ pound shrimp peeled and deveined.

¼ pound ground pork

¼ cup corn starch (for marinate shrimp)

1 Tsp. corn starch

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. Pepper

1 egg white

2 beat egg

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup panko bread crumb

4 cup Oil for deep fried

Sweet and sour plum sauce

Cooking instructions

1.      Marinate shrimp with ¼ cup corn starch about 5-10 minutes then wash it and pad dry

Shrimp after marinate and pad dry

2.      In the food processor put the shrimp into it blend it about 30 seconds.

ground shrimp

3.      Add ground pork mix it about a couple of pulses (food processor).

4.      Add 1 tsp. corn starch, salt, pepper mix it well

5.      Add egg white mix it well



The shrimp mixture



6.      Meanwhile preheat oil until 350 F

7.      Mix all-purpose flour, salt, pepper put in to one plate set aside

8.      Beat 2 egg set aside  and put panko bread crumbs into a separate plate to get ready to be fried

9.      Scoop the shrimp mixture about 2 tbsp. make it into a ball, press it into an all-purpose flour, make flat tick about ¼ inch (in picture) coat with flour on both sides

press shrimp mixture into flour

10.  Dip it into egg and coat into panko bread crumbs again.

after coat with egg and panko

11.  Put it into hot oil fried until golden brown on both sides ( about 2-3 minutes each side)

12.  When it’s done take it out and put it on a paper towel.

13.  Serve with sweet sour plum sauce  

Back to cooking!!! Steamed Fish with salted Chinese plum.

Steamed Fish with Salted Chinese plum

Thai food culture comes from southern Chinese that moved and lived in Thailand a long time ago bringing culture of Chinese foods like soy products and a lot of Chinese cooking techniques to Thailand with them.  Also Indians came with the Buddhist religion bringing curry and coconut milk.  Thai people developed all of those techniques and ingredients together becoming Thai food that become famous all around the world. 

Why do I talk about this story?  Because this dish is a basically from China so you can also find it in some original Chinese restaurants too(not the take out ones).  We call “Pra-Nung-Bouy” this dish is light and delicate.  We steam the fish with the sauce until it is cooked and top with herbs for aroma.  In Thailand I usually use whole fish to make this dish, but in America I made this dish with filet fish.  I use filet fish for 2 reasons 1^st it’s easier to find and 2^nd when I use the whole fish it’s scare American folks (like my husband and his dad).  But if you’re not scared and want to make the dish like the original one I recommended using whole fish, because it is a lot tastier.  Let’s get started (I’m getting hungry)

Ingredients

1 Cleaned whole fish or 2 pieces of filet (Any king of white and mild fish Ex. Tilapia, Grouper, Founder)

2 tbsp. soy sauce

2-3 salted Chinese plum with liquid



salted Chinese plum with liquid



1 tsp. sugar

¼ cup. water

¼ cup green onion cut into 1 inch.

¼ cup ginger

Cooking instructions

1.      In a bowl brake down Chinese plum with liquid add soy sauce, sugar, water and mix well

2.      Lay fish in a baking bowl (picture) top with plum sauce.

3.      Cover with foil, bake at 400 ^o F  until the fish cooked

a.      Whole fish 20-30 minute

b.      Filet fish 4-6 minute per ½ inch thick

 Note: If the fish seem dry add more water

4.      When the fish done add green onion and ginger cover and bake about 1-2 minute.

Microwave Instruction:  Just do everything as above microwave it at high heat for ½ pound of fish for 2-4 minutes, 1 pound of fish 3-5 minutes.

9 Thai good luck dessert

3 Thai good luck dessert

            This blog actually continues from the Kho Kret blog that I wrote last time about all Thai dessert.  My mom told me all of the desserts I bought were called good luck dessert. Good luck desserts are desserts that Thai people believe will bring good luck for you, so when Thai folk have ceremonies they always use good luck desserts to celebrate.  Usually the  name of the good luck dessert means gold or wealthy.  Start with

1.“ Tong Yip” is made from egg yolk and flour then cooked in flower syrup ( flower syrup is made from water that sits in flowers over night and then makes syrup) by making  the shape like a little pan cake then using fingers to pick it up and put it into a small cup it makes it look like a flower( it’s hard to make).  Also it tastes really sweet. 

Tong Yod

2. “ Tong Yod” is  made from egg yolk and flour then cooked in flower syrup just like “Tong Yip” but they have a special technique to drop the batter to make it look like a drop of water and it tastes the same as “Tong Yip”.

Foy Tong

3. “Foy Tong” is made from egg yolk then poured into a banana leaf cone (or a can that has a small hole) and let it drip like a string into flower syrup.  It comes out like golden strings that taste so good.  The meaning is rich.

Kanom Chan

4. “ Kanom Chan” is made from rice flour, tropical flour, coconut milk, sugar, poured onto a mold and then steam until it is cooked.  This process is repeated 9 times forming 9 layers for good luck. (in Thai nine or “Kao” mean forward).   

Tong Ake

5. “Tong Ake” is made from flour egg yolk sugar and coconut milk.  This dessert takes a lot of time and experience to make it.  It tastes sweet and soft.

Mea Kha Noon

6. “Mea Kha Noon” is made from mung bean cooked with coconut milk and stir it to thicken into a ball, then dip into egg yolk and cook it in syrup.

Ja Mong Kud

7. “Ja Mong Kud” this dessert is very difficult to make because it has a shell part just like a tart shell and decorated with watermelon seed candy then put Tong Ake (dessert number 5.) into a shell and top with real gold.  That’s how they make it (don’t worry I’m not making it)

8. “Kanoom Touy Fu” This is a dessert almost like sponge cake but uses rice flour and is steamed instead of baked.   

Sa Nhae Chan

9. "Sa Nhae Chan"   This dessert almost is made like “Tong Ake” but put some of Thai palm( call Luk Chan) powder mix into it and make a shape like a Thai plum.