Thai Food - Chicken Coconut Soup

"Tom Kha Gai (chicken coconut soup)" is on my favourites list that I decided to have a go at cooking it.

My first stop was my collection of cookery books. I soon discovered that although each book had a recipe for Tom Kha Gai they were quite different from each other. From my memory of eating this dish I decided to use the recipe from "Thailand The Beautiful Cookbook". I made a list of the ingredients before setting off to the supermarket. I needed: coconut milk, galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice, coriander leaves and some chili. They wanted green but I wanted red.

(Left): galangal (Right): lemon grass

On the left is the galangal (kha). As you can see, it is similar in appearance to ginger. It is pinkish and has a peppery flavour. The label on the pack said it cost 45 baht per kilo. This pack cost 5.75 baht. More than enough. On the next shelf I noticed another pack with both lemon grass (right), galangal and kaffir lime leaves (below right). These are the ingredients for Lemon Grass Soup (more famously known as Tom Yum). As this was only 7 baht I decided to go for that. (1 US$ is presently 38 baht.) As far as I understand, although these two dishes have similar ingredients, Tom Yum focuses more on the lemon grass and Tom Kha Gai focuses more on the galangal. If you are wondering at this stage what "tom" means then I will tell you that it means "boiled".

(Left): coriander (Right): kaffir lime leaves

Next I needed the coriander or "pak chee" in Thai. There were two varieties on the shelf. One was "pak chee tai" and the other "pak chee jeen". I guess the former was Thai and the latter Chinese. As "pak chee jeen" was translated into "coriander" on the label I knew which one to pick. This only cost 4 baht. Next on my list was the small green limes, coconunt milk, chilis and of course the chicken. Oh yes, did you know that the red chilis that are labelled in English as "red bird chili peppers" are called in Thai "mouse shit chilis"! I wonder why they didn't translate that properly in the supermarket?

Tom Kha Gai - Chicken coconut Soup

Ingredients:
2 cups of coconut milk
6 thin slices of galangal
2 stalks of lemon grass (cut into 1 inch strips and crush with cleaver)
5 fresh kaffir lime leaves (torn in half, not cut)
250 g of boneless chicken
5 tablespoons of fish sauce (naam blaa)
2 tablespoons of sugar
Half a cup of lime juice
1 teaspoon of black chili paste (nam prik pow)
Quarter cup of coriander leaves
5 green chili peppers (I will use red chilis)

Method 1:
(1) Combine half the coconut milk with the galangal, lemon grass and lime leaves in a large saucepan and heat to boiling. Add the chicken, fish sauce and sugar.
(2) Simmer for about 4 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked. Add the remaining coconut milk to the saucepan and heat just to boiling.
(3) Place the lime juice and chili paste in a serving bowl then pour the soup into the serving bowl.
(4) Garnish with the torn coriander leaves and chili pepers, and serve.

Other recipes I have read don't include the lemon grass. I also saw another one that said add the chili at the same time as the chicken. I will do that. This next version of the same recipe comes from a book called "Simply Thai Cooking". I am thinking I will go for a mixture of the two. However, they say add lemon juice which I don't have!

Method 2:
(1) Slice the chicken into thin strips.
(2) Smash lemon grass with the flat side of a chef's knife once and then cut into 1 inch pieces; slice galangal into thin rounds; tear lime leaves into thirds; cut chilis in half.
(3) Heat coconut milk and water in a saucepan for 2-3 minutes. Don't let it boil. Reduce heat to a medium and add lemon grass, galangal, lime leaves, chilies and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring continuously and not letting it boil.
(4) Add chicken strips and cook for 5 minutes, stirring over medium heat, until the chicken is cooked.
(5) Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and quarter tablespoon of sugar. stir, and continue cooking for another minute or two/
(6) Transfer to a soup bowl and serve immediately, garnished with fresh corriander leaves.

Well, I think everything is ready.

Thai Food - Chicken and Wax Gourd curry

Today I want to show you an example of “gaeng kua”. This soup is generally regarded as being a mild one and can have tastes such as sweet, sour and salty. The dish I want to show you today is called Chicken and wax gourd curry or gaeng kua fak in Thai. The vegetable call "fak" (despite sounding like a swear word in English) is wax gourd which is sometimes also known as a winter melon. It is cucumber shaped and even has green skin and pips inside. To prepare for cooking, you need to first peel the wax gourd and then scoop out the pips. Then cut into one inch chunks. This is then added to the soup. As well as gaeng kua you can also add it to gaeng liang. When cooked, the wax gourd maintains its shape but has a rather bland flavour.

The ingredients are wax gourd, chicken, gaeng kua paste, coconut cream, coconut milk, red spur chili, kaffir lime leaves, and seasoned with palm sugar, fish sauce and tamarind juice. Heat the coconut cream in a pan and then fry the chili paste until fragrant. Add the chicken and cook until nearly done. Pour in the coconut milk and then add the wax gourd chunks and continue cooking until done. Season the soup and then just before serving add the torn kaffir lime leaves and red chili. Credit:www.enjoythaifood.com

Thai Food-Massaman Curry

In Thailand we are blessed with a variety of curries such as green curry, red curry, yellow curry, massaman curry and panaeng curry. The two former curries are probably the most popular and what most people would label as genuine Thai food. The other curries are more influenced by Indian and Muslim food as they contain spices such as cassia, cumin and cardamon.

I usually eat these mulsim curries at the weekend when I go to watch a movie or do some computer shopping at Seri Center on Srinakarin Road. In the food market in the basement, there is a food stall run by some muslim ladies. They have four or five different curries for sale. You can choose to eat the curry with either rice or a fresh roti. I usually go for the latter just to make a change from the rice I normally eat during the week. This meal is relatively expensive at 40 baht (about US$1). I don't usually spend so much money on meals but these curries are really filling. And of course they are all really delicious.

Normally I would eat this meal at Seri but today I thought I would do it as a take-away so I could share it with you. I don't mean I am going to let you taste any. I just wanted to share with you the pictures of my lunch today! By the way, to take food home, you just tell them to "sai toong" which means put in a bag. So, they poured the massaman curry into a plastic bag and tied it up with a rubber band. The cucumber relish was put in another and then the roti in a third bag.

Thai Muslims of course usually eat this dish with beef. But today, I decided to eat gang masaman gai which is with chicken. There are different recipes for this dish, but some of the main ingredients include: coconut milk, potatoes, roasted peanuts and onions. It is seasoned with cardamon pods, cinnamon sticks, palm sugar, tamarind juice and lemon juice.

Of course, it is the massaman curry paste which gives it is distinctive taste. The ingredients for this include: red chilies, roasted shallots, roasted garlic, sliced galangal, sliced lemon grass, roasted coriander seeds, roasted cumin, roasted cloves, white pepper, salt and shrimp paste. This is all then pounded together to make the paste. Of course, you have a choice to do all this yourself or just buy a packet of massaman paste for about 5 baht! I bought some today at Foodland and will try to cook some massaman curry later this week.

This curry has a side dish of cucumber relish. You may remember me talking about this a few months back in my blog about satay pork as they both use the same relish. As you can see, this is made up with red chili, sliced cucumbers and sliced shallots. it is then mixed in a sauce of vinegar, salt and sugar.

If you like, when I go to Seri Center next weekend, I will buy you a different curry. Hope I am not making you too hungry!. Credit: www.enjoythaifood.com

Sour Curry with Vegetables and Shrimp (gaeng som )

Most of my favourite Thai curries are coconut based. But there are a couple of spicy ones that are not. The most famous is probably gaeng som, which is a sour soup. It is a bit like a thick vegetable soup that we have back home but it is both hot and sour. For a long time I always thought that this soup was called gaeng som because it looked orange. So, I always referred to it as the orange soup. But reall, here "som" means "sour" even though it is spelled the same.

You will find lots of different recipes, though it is often seen with either fish or, in the above case, with prawns. The vegetables in this version are long beans, Chinese cabbage and carrots. The paste is made up with red chilis, chopped red shallots and shrimp paste. The ingredient that is mainly responsible for making it sour is the tamarind juice. A good side dish for this spicy soup is omelette. Try it, it is a different experience. Credit: www.enjoythaifood.com

Food from the Northern Region of Thailand

Thai food of the north, in some way, is cooked with the sole thought for the taste for the northern people. The recipe consists of vegetable and ingredients available in their immediate vicinity. The common meal includes steamed glutinous rice, chili sauces which come in a host of varieties, such as "namprik noom", "namprik dang", "namprik ong" and chili soups (gang) such as gang hangle, gang hoh, gang kae. In addition there are also, local sausages such as sai ua, and nham; steamed meat, roasted pork, pork resin, fried pork, fried chicken and vegetable to go with them.

The northern people have penchant for medium cooked food with a touch of salty tastes almost to the exclusion of sweet and sour tastes. Meat preferred by the northern people is pork followed by beef, chicken, duck, bird etc. Sea food is the least known on account of the remoteness of the northern region from the sea.

Thai food of the north does not lack in varieties. These are dishes to be consumed at different times of the day. The northern breakfast known in the local dialect as khao gnai consisting mainly of steamed glutinous rice. Cooked in the early hours of the day, steamed glutinous rice is packed in a wicker basket made from bamboo splints or palmyra palm leaves. The farmer takes the packed basket to the working rice field and eat the glutinous rice as lunch, known in the dialect as "khao ton". Dinner or "khoa lang" is an familiar affair is served on raised wooden tray or "kan toke". The tray which is about 15 to 30 inches in diameter is painted in red.

Traditional Method of Serving Northern Food

The northern people are known to follow their traditions in a very strict and faithful manner, in particular the tradition of serving and partaking of the evening meal. Food is placed in small cups placed on "kantoke" which could be an inlaid wooden or brass tray depending on the economic status of the house owner. Served together with "kantoke" is steamed glutinous rice that is the staple food of the northerner packed in a wicker basket. There is also a kendi containing drinking water nearby. Water is poured from the kendi to a silver drinking cup from which water is drunk. After the main course come desserts and local cigars to conclude the evening meal.

Credit: enjoythaifood.com/

Fish Curry in a Cup - Thai Food

You know me, I just love blogging about Thai food. I love cooking Thai food and I love eating Thai food. If I am walking down the market and I see my favourite dish in the distance, I will cross the road just to buy it. That is what I did yesterday afternoon when I spotted haw mok being sold by the side of the road near Paknam Market. I haven't had this dish for such a long time.

This curry dish can be made with either fish, chicken or pork. I don't particularly like seafood but I love this dish. (Sorry, I think I said that already.) Anyway, it is quite simple to make. Stir red curry paste with one cup of coconut milk and mix in the fish. Break in an egg and season with fish sauce (I will try and do a blog on sauces soon). Add some more coconut milk and keep stirring and stirring for up to 20 minutes! Then add half a cup of basil leaf, two tablespoons of coriander and one tablespoon of kaffir lime leaves. Stir again.

Next, make cups out of banana leaves. Line the bottom with plenty of basil leaves. Fill the cup with the mixture and then steam for about 15 minutes. Next you add the creamy topping. This is made from coconut milk and rice flour. Sprinkle on top some chopped coriander and a kaffir lime leave. Add a slice red chili for a bit of colour. Steam for a further one minute and then it is ready. Delicious!

You can find this recipe in an excellent cookery book by the advertising above.

Lemongrass Soup With Shrimp - Thai Food

Probably one of the most famous Thai dishes around the world is the one called tom yum kung. In English, it is sometimes called Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup or Lemongrass and Shrimp Soup. I took the above photograph at Pornsiri Kitchen in Samut Prakan this afternoon. This version has shrimp, but you could also cook it with chicken if you like. The basic ingredients are all the same. Shrimp, straw mushrooms, lightly crushed hot red chilis, sliced galangal, lemongrass stems, torn kaffir lime leaves, coriander, and seasoned with fish sauce, sugar and some lime juice. Use chicken stock to make up the soup. It is very quick and easy to make. In the supermarkets in Thailand, you can buy the starter kit with most ingredients for only about 8 baht!

If you would like to see how this dish was cooked, then visit our free downloads section:

www.enjoythaifood.com

This dish is number 21 in set 3. This video is 13 MB. If you have a slow internet connection or would like a better quality video clip you can now purchase CDs of the downloads. At the same time you will be helping to support the running cost of having so many free downloads! The pad thai video is the most popular one so far with over 1200 downloads in the last 7 days.

Noodles in a thick vegetable gravy -Thai Food

One of the first Thai meals I really enjoyed when I came to Thailand was this one - rat naa. It not only tasted good but the name was memorable too. I remember writing home and telling people that I had eaten a Thai dish made from rat (I was young back then). And not forgeting of course the other delicious meal made from cow pat (khao pat). Anyway, this meal is basically noodles served with a thick gravy containing kale (Chinese broccoli) and pork. However, I once had a version with seafood. The type of noodles is up to you. In the picture above you can see that I chose sen yai (the wide noodles). But, I sometimes have mee grob (deep fried noodles) with this dish to make a change. You can see that noodle in the picture below.

The recipe for rat naa varies a lot so some people, like myself, will cross town just to find the perfect version. Actually, I don't have to travel far as my local rat naa food shop is at the top of Tetsaban 4 Road where my school is located. It is easy to tell this is a popular shop as there is always a line of Thai people waiting to buy. There are two shops in my soi that cook rat naa. They are Ok but not perfect. So, I have to cross Sukhumwit Road to buy my noodles in gravy. A word of warning, if you go to my favourite shop then make sure you are very hungry. A normal serving costing only 25 baht will easily fill a big bowl. They give you a lot of gravy unlike other shops. For an extra 5 baht you can order special but don't do that unless you can eat for two people!

The recipe for rat naa that I want to share with you today is for food shops. The ingredients here are enough for 40 plates and apparently will only cost you 150-200 baht.

The main ingredients are:

• เส้นก๋วยเตี๋ยวเส้นใหญ่ - wide noodles ( 2 kilograms)
• เนื้อหมูสันในหั่นชิ้นพอคำ - sliced pork fillet (1.5 kilograms)
• ผักคะน้าหั่น - sliced kale (1 kilogram)
• กระเทียมสับละเอียด - chopped garlic (quarter of a cup)
• พริกไทยป่น - ground pepper (1 tablespoon)
• แป้งข้าวโพด - corn flour (6 tablespoons)
• เต้าเจี้ยวดำ - fermented soybeans (quarter of a cup)
• น้ำตาลทราย - sugar cane (quarter of a cup)
• ซีอิ๊วขาว - light soy sauce (three quarters of a cup)
• ซีอิ๊วดำ - dark soy sauce (quarter of a cup)
• น้ำปลา - fish sauce (three quarters of a cup)
• น้ำซุป - stock (half a cup)
• น้ำมัน - oil (one and a half cups)
• น้ำส้มพริกดอง - chili sauce in vinegar

Mix the pork with the light soy sauce, ground pepper and one tablespoon of sugar cane. Leave to marinate for one hour. Mix together the noodles and dark soy sauce. Add one tablespoon of oil to a wok. Once it is hot, add the noodles and fry until it is ready. Take out and place on a plate. Add the remainder of the oil to the wok. When it is hot, add the garlic and fry until it is fragant. Add the fermented soybeans and stir as you fry. Add the sliced pork and fry for a little longer. Then add the kale and stock. Season with sugar cane and fish sauce and give it a good stir. When it is boiling, add the corn flour which has been mixed with water. When it is ready, serve.

Credit: enjoythaifood.com

Chicken Yellow Curry or Gang Gari Gai

Today I bought gang gari gai otherwise known as Chicken Yellow Curry.You might be interested to note that "gari" is actually a Tamil word which gave us the English word "curry". Like before, I ordered this meal with a roti. A few readers pointed out that I should really call it a "Parantha" as roti is a single layer and is cooked without oil. That might be true, but Thai people still call it "roti"!

The main ingredients include: coconut milk, potatoes, onion, palm sugar, fish sauce and deep-fried shallots. You could also add cherry tomatoes which I quite like to do in my curries. The meat here can either be chicken or beef. The ingredients for the yellow curry paste include: red spur chilies, roasted shallots, roasted garlic, galangal, ginger, lemon grass, coriander seeds, roasted cumin, curry powder, salt and shrimp paste. This curry has a sidedish of cucumber relish which I told you about last time.

We can adapt Chicken Yellow Curry to another new menu call "Chicken on Yellow Curry Rice" as below.

Fried Rice with Shrimp Paste-Thai Food

This fried rice dish is called khao kluk kapi. I must admit it is not among my most popular dishes. In fact, you don't seem to see it around so much these days. The big difference between this dish and normal fried rice is that the rice is fried with shrimp paste which gives it a brown look (see picture above). It is also seasoned with sugar and fish sauce.

In the above picture, you can see we adding some sweet pork onto the rice. To make this you fry the pork with shallots in a wok. You then season with fish sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar. After adding the pork to the plate, we also garnishes the dish with shallots, thin slices of omlette, grated papaya, chopped long beans, cucumber and lime wedges. we also had a jar of chopped green and red chilis. It is worth trying this as an alternative to normal fried rice. But the strong smell may turn off many people.

Creativity of Thai Cooking

A renowned Australian restaurateur David Thompson once said "Thai cooking is a paradox. It uses robustly flavoured ingredients--garlic, shrimp paste, chillies, and lemongrass--and yet when they are melded during cooking they arrive at a sophisticated and often subtle elegance."
Like many Asian cuisines, Thai cooking is a "mix-and-match" style of cooking that allows much room for creativity. Whether spicy-hot, relatively bland or bitter sweet, harmony and contrast are the guiding principles behind each dish. It is essentially a marriage of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something uniquely Thai. However, characteristics of Thai food depend on the person who cooks it, for whom it is cooked, for what occasion, and where it is cooked. Dishes can be refined and adjusted to suit all tastes.

Thai cuisine has enjoyed an outstanding worldwide reputation for its delicate and unpredictable flavors. Visit any major city in the world, and you will come across a Thai restaurant. Some traditional dishes such as Phad Thai, Tom Yam Gung and Mee Krob have been included in the menu of various hip restaurants in New York and London.

Eating ranks high on the Thai scale of pleasurable activity. The evidence is shown on the streets of Bangkok and other major cities throughout the country.

Regional Cuisine

Thai food may be known for its spicy and hot flavors but that is only a part of the kingdom’s gastronomic creations. The northern cuisine has a reputation for its milder taste with a decided touch of sweetness. Famous northern dishes are Nam Prik Ong (red chili paste), Khao Soi (egg noodles in curry) and Sai Oua (spicy pork sausages). On the opposite end of the country, southern Thailand dishes out some of the hottest curries in Thailand. Some curries like Khaeng Lueng (yellow curry) and Khaeng Tai Pla (vegetables and fish curry) are known to have a fiery taste that even some Thais can’t take it. However, not all southern dishes are made to make eaters cry. The famous Khao Yam has an amazingly pleasant taste, which is a result of a harmonious blend of steamed rice mixed with various types of herbs and served with dipping sauce.

Credit: www.thailandwonders.com

Thai Menu-would you like to try?