Perfect Thai Ten (Week 4 - Thailand)

Yes I have done it! My husband scored a 10 for the green curry I made, which I was a little unsure about as I don't really like coconut. But, to my amazement it tasted nothing like I expected, it was creamy but not heavy and not really nutty either. I have always avoided green curry as I knew that it was coconut milk based, but I will not be so quick to judge now. Our son did not love it as much, hence the score, but he did enjoy dipping in Thai crackers, which I found in the supermarket, in the sauce. It was quite simple to make, and although the list of ingredients seemed long, there were not that many I did not have.


I have only ever been to Bangkok airport, and that was enough of an experience to pop Thailand on my Bucket List. I love the food, the beauty of the landscape and by all accounts, it is a friendly place. After the recipes, there is some information about Thailand and its cuisine that helps understand the country more.  Maybe one day...


We also had Phad Thai, which I love. I will be honest, I didn't stick to the recipe - although I have made this in the past. I did have some things left over, so popped them in too "waste not, want not", for instance the green beans, and coriander from the green curry. The original recipe is listed, rather than my version as I made too many changes to remember. From what I have read about Thai cuisine it is all about the harmony of the flavours, and I tried to follow that concept with my changes - I just wish I had taken more care with remembering what I had done! We also had Pineapple rice, and I reduced the amount of chilli for our tastes. My son loved this, although wanted a glass of milk with it as it was a little hot. I should have taken more time to chop the pineapple smaller, but other than that it was tasty; although a little bland compared to the curry!


My son loved this food, as it means he gets to use his chopsticks, although cutlery is more common in Thailand than China.


Next week we are off to Slovenia, which my husband hopes will be a meat fest!

Cooked:

Green Curry.....................90

Phad Thai.........................70
Pineapple fried rice..........73
 

Green Curry

Source: “Chicken, simple, straightforward recipes” Gina Steer
Serves 4
Ingredients
   1 onion, peeled and chopped
   3 lemon grass stalks, outer leaves discarded and finely sliced
   2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
   1 tbsp freshly grated root ginger
   3 green chillies
   Zest and juice of 1 lime
   2 tbsp groundnut oil
   2 tbsp thai fish sauce
   6 tbsp freshly chopped coriander
   6 tbsp freshly chopped basil
   450g / 1lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into strips
   125g / 4oz fine green beans, trimmed
  400ml can coconut milk
  Fresh basil leaves to garnish
  Freshly cooked rice, to serve

Method:

1. Place the onion, lemon grass, garlic, ginger, chillies, lime zest and juice, 1 tbsp of groundnut oil, the fish sauce, coriander and basil in a food processor. Blend to a form a smooth paste, which should be of a spoonable consistency, If sauce looks thick, add a little water. Remove and reserve.
2. Heat the wok, add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and when hot add the chicken. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, until the chicken starts to colour, then add the green beans and stir-fry for a further minute. Remove the chicken and beans from the wok and reserve. Wipe the wok clean with absorbent kitchen paper.
3. Spoon the reserved green paste into the wok and heat for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk and whisk to blend. Return the chicken and beans to the wok and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5-7 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked. Sprinkle with basil leaves and serve immediately with freshly cooked rice.

 

Pad Thai

Source: “Chicken, simple, straightforward recipes” Gina Steer
Serves 4
Ingredients
  225g / 8oz flat rice noodles
  2tbsp vegetable oil
  225g / 8oz boneless chicken breast, skinned and thinly sliced
  4 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
  2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
  4 spring onions, trimmed and diagonally cut into 5cm / 2inch pieces
  350g / 12oz fresh white crab meat or tiny prawns
  75g / 3oz fresh bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
  2 tbsp preserved or fresh radish, chopped
  2-3 tbsp roasted peanuts (optional)

For the sauce:

  3 tbsp thai fish sauce (nam pla)
  2-3 tbsp rice vinegar or cider vinegar
  1 tbsp chilli bean or oyster sauce
  1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  1 tbsp light brown sugar
  1 red chilli deseeded and thinly sliced.

Method:

1. To make the sauce, whisk all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and reserve. Put the rice noodles in a large bowl and pour over enough hot water to cover. Leave to stand for about 15minutes until softened. Drain and rinse, and then drain again.
2. Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat until hot, but not smoking. Add the chicken strips and stir-fry constantly until they begin to colour. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate. Reduce the heat to medium-high.
3. Add the shallots, garlic and spring onions and stir-fry for 1 minute. Stir in the noodles, then the reserved sauce, mix well.
4. Add the reserved chicken strips, with the crab meat or prawns, bean sprouts and radish and stir well. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until heated through. If the noodles begin to stick, add a little water.
5. Turn into a large shallow serving dish and sprinkle with the chopped peanuts, if desired. Serve immediately.
    

Pineapple Fried Rice

Source: “Around the World in 450 Recipes”
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
  1 pineapple
  2 tbsp vegetable oil
  1 small onion, finely chopped
  2 green chillies, seeded and chopped
  225g / 8oz lean pork, cut into small dice
  115g / 4oz cooked shelled prawns
  675 -900g / 1 ½ -2 lb cooked cold rice
  50g / 2oz roasted cashew nuts
  2 spring onions
  2 tbsp fish sauce
  1 tbsp soy sauce
  10 – 12 mint leaves
  2 red chillies, sliced to garnish
  1 green chilli, sliced to garnish

Method:

1. Cut the pineapple in half lengthways and remove the flesh from both halves, by cutting around the inside of the skin. Reserve the skin shells. You need 115g / 40z chopped fruit, reserve the rest for a dessert.
2. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the onion and chillies and fry for about 3-5 minutes, until softened. Add the pork and cook until it is browned on all sides.
3. Stir in the prawns and rice and toss well together. Continue to stir-fry until the rice is heated thoroughly.
4. Add the shopped pineapple, cashew nuts and spring onions. Season with the fish sauce and soy sauce.
5. Spoon into the pineapple skin shells. Garnish with the shredded mint leaves and red and green chillies.

THE COUNTRY

Thailand is a hot humid country, and many tourists flock here for its stunning scenery and beautiful beaches. The country is covered in forest and paddy fields. Tantalum is produced in Thailand, which is used in game consoles, mobile phones and laptop computers, pineapple and mangoes are other major exports.  There are 1,000 different species of butterfly, and one of the most beautiful is the Golden Birdwing. In the countries capital, Bangkok, is the now famous floating markets, where people sell their fruit and vegetables from long narrow boats on the canals. Thailand (Land of the free) is Asia’s primary travel destination and offers a host of places to visit including 3,219kmm of coastline.

 
Yet despite this vast influx of visitors, Thailand’s cultural integrity remains largely undamaged – a country that adroitly avoided colonization has been able to absorb Western influences while maintaining its own rich heritage. Though the high-rises and neon lights occupy the foreground of the tourist picture, the typical Thai community is still the farming village, and you need not venture far to encounter a more traditional scene of fishing communities, rubber plantations and Buddhist temples. Around forty percent of Thais earn their living from the land, based around the staple rice and they are the largest exporter of rice, which forms the foundation of the country’s unique and famously sophisticated cuisine.

Through all the changes of the last sixty years, the much-revered constitutional monarch, King Bhumibol, who sits at the pinnacle of an elaborate hierarchical system of deference covering the whole of Thai society, has lent a measure of stability. Furthermore, some 85 percent of the population is still practicing Theravada Buddhists, a unifying faith that colours all aspects of daily life – from the tiered temple rooftops that dominate every skyline, to the omnipresent saffron-robed monks and the packed calendar of festivals. This may also explain why they are considered one of the friendliest countries in the world.

 

CUISINE

Thai food is widely known for being hot and spicy since almost all Thai food is cooked with basic ingredients such as garlic, chillies, lime juice, lemon grass and fresh coriander leaf and fermented fish sauce (nam pia) or shrimp paste (kapi) to make it salty.

Since rice is the staple food in Thailand, it is usually eaten at every meal with soups, curries, fried vegetables and nam phrik a hot sauce, prepared in a variety of ways and differs from region to region in general, the basic ingredients of nam phrik include shrimp paste, garlic, chilli, fermented fish sauce and lemon juice.

Thai cuisine is found all over in Thailand and naturally the beaches and islands are the best places to get fresh seafood, often grilled and served upon the beach. Other favourite dishes include the following: green curry (gaeng kieow wan) usually includes poultry or fish and both a hot curry (kaeng phet), and a milder version (kaeng phanaeng) are all based on coconut milk. Also very popular with Thai’s and visitors alike are Tom Yam, the famous hot and sour soup, and Tom Kha Gai, a creamy coconut milk soup made with chicken. Yam, the tangy salads, is an invention from central Thailand. Haw mok, little banana leaf cups filled with a souffl.-like mix made from red curry paste, egg and coconut milk with seafood added are a popular snack item. Phat pet is a stir-fry with basil and curry paste. Som tam, the spicy green papaya salad is a highly popular dish in the Northeast. Khao soi, a curry broth with egg noodles and chicken, pork or beef is a northern specialty, particularly in Chiang Mai; Khanom chin nam yaa is soft thin rice noodles with pork rib, tomatoes and black bean sauce.

Other common seasoning in Thai food include galingale (khaa), blackpapper, ground peanut, tamarind juice, ginger and coconut milk. As a result, it takes hours to prepare a proper Thai meal in the traditional way as it involves so much peeling and chopping and pounding so it needs time to prepare in advance.

Like most countries, the food varies from region to region, in some rural areas, certain insects are also eaten e.g. crickets, silk worm larvae, red ant larvae. The basic characteristic taste of Thai food in different parts of the country can be described in different ways:

• Central region, food is hot, salty, sweet and sour. Rice is served with different types of nam phrik and soups e.g. tom yam kung (prawn soup with lemon grass. Dishes usually contain a lot of condiments and spices.
• North, food is mild or hot, salty and sour, but never sweet. Sticky rice is served with boiled vegetables, nam phrik oong and soups or curries.
• Northeast is hot, salty and sour. Their favourite foods include papaya salad (som tam), sour chopped meat salad "koi", sour minced meat salad (lard) . People use a lot of condiments but not many spices. Their meals generally consist of sticky rice and nam phrik pla raa accompanied by a lot of vegetables including those found growing wild.
• South is renowned for being very hot, salty and sour-tasting. Curries are popular and made with a lot of spices and condiments. Khao yam (a mixture of rice) raw vegetables and fermented fish sauce or boo doo is also a common dish. Generally southern people eat little meat and other varieties of nam phrik are not so popular, the most common one is nam phrik kapi.

 Above all, the tastes of Thai cuisines can be amended to suit individual desire, for example, by reducing the amount of chillies in certain dishes to lower the heat or increasing amount of lime juice to increase sourness.

Flying Fish and Conkers (Week 3 - Barbados)

Barbados is the most easterly of the Caribbean islands, which is part of North America. It was colonised by Britain in 1625, and flew the British flag until 1966 when the country became independent. Its name is believed to originate from the Bearded Fig Tree. The Portuguese ‘los barbados’ means ‘bearded ones’, which describes the fig trees trailing branches. The small island is surrounded by the Atlantic, is a high exporter of rum.

 

CUISINE

The island of Barbados is known for excellent and diverse cuisine; Barbadians love their food and there are many dishes and delicacies unique to the island. An amalgamation of a strong English, Indian and African influence fused with the availability of freshly grown local produce has added further impact to what is now known as Bajan foods.

 

Barbados has been christened "The Land of Flying Fish" so it is no wonder that the island's national dish is cou-cou and flying fish. Most of the foods found throughout Barbados carry names that we had never heard of, such as jug-jug, Pudding and Souse and conkies.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Barbados, now there is a country that we have not eaten from before, apparently it is also reported to have the third oldest Parliamentary democracy in the world. I knew that macaroni was popular, but I needed to find something else as I do not eat cheese. There were groans from the others, so I might make them one. We certainly had a mixed experience of the food and tried more than one meal! We started off with Curried Mushroom Chicken, which was a very simple recipe and one that I did make alterations to, I also served it with a rice and pea dish, which seemed fitting for the Caribbean and would do it again. Cutters, seems to be the Barbados equivalent of a big roll, which we all loved and had with fish cakes, lettuce and tomatoes as per the research. “A posh fish finger sandwich” was my husband’s verdict, and he was right – it tasted great.

My husband and I had the pudding and souse and I am not sure if I cooked this correctly, we were a little apprehensive about it, if we are honest but we really enjoyed it. I had done pork sausages, as I don’t like cold pork and it tasted better the cooler the sausages got. We also did the Conkies, or conkers as my son called them, which I did reduce the amount of sugar in. I had intended to make cou cou, but this went wrong - very wrong, and then I tried to do couscous, which I often do and this went wrong, so the fish (salmon) I was going to serve with the cou cou, was served with the conkie instead – maybe not right – but we felt it went well. My husband loved it, whereas my son and I enjoyed it, but were not sure if we wanted it again. I did make the boys a macaroni cheese, which they thought was odd with corn in! Next week we are off to Thailand.

So, here is a summary of what we had and our score, which I am doing out of 100:

 

Curried Mushroom Chicken Recipe................80

Barbados Cutters.....................................83

Pudding and Souse...................................75

Conkies................................................67

Macaroni...............................................60

 

 

Curried Mushroom Chicken Recipe

Source: Brett Callaghan

 

 Ingredients for 4

    4 pieces of chicken  [I chopped them into bit size bits]

    1 can cream of mushroom soup

    1 dessert spoon curry powder [I used a blend of different spices: cinnamon, coriander, cumin, ginger]

NB: I added a chopped onion and sliced mushrooms

 

Method:

 

1. Fry the onions and place in a Pyrex dish, which the chicken pieces on top [I browned mine off a little]
2. Mix the soup and curry powder [blended spices] and pour over the chicken
3. [I added the sliced mushrooms on top]
4. Bake 375F, 190C, GM5 for about an hour.
5. The chicken will spring its own juices and blend with the soup to make a creamy curry sauce.
   NB: I served boiled rice with this that was flavoured with cinnamon, turmeric, coriander, and peas.
    

Pudding and Souse

Recipe

 

Source: www.barbados.org. This is the complete original recipe, which I am not sure how many it serves, so I adjusted accordingly for the two of us]

 

Souse Ingredients:

2 lb pork shoulder cut into 1 inch pieces

one large onion, diced

Two cucumbers, grated

Scotch bonnet pepper (or chilli of your choice), finely diced

Juice of 3 limes

Chopped fresh parsley

 

 Method:

 

1. Boil the pork in salted water, until tender.
2. Combine the cooked pork with the grated cucumber, onion, pepper, lime juice and parsley. Add salt to taste.
3. Refrigerate and serve cold with the pudding. Diced sweet potato or pickled breadfruit is usually served on the side.

 [I used pork sausages, and combined the other ingredients together and served separately]

 

 

 Pudding Ingredients:  

 

1 ½ lb grated sweet potato 

½ tsp thyme 

½ tsp marjoram 

1 tsp chives, chopped 

Scotch bonnet pepper (or chilli of your choice), finely diced 

Pinch of sugar 

Pinch of salt 

2 tsp oil 

2 oz butter 

Colouring (optional) [I did not use]

 

 Method:

1.  Combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Colouring (browning) gives the pudding a characteristic dark brown colour but can be omitted.
2. The pudding may be steamed in a bowl over a pot of boiling water, or baked in a greased baking dish, until an inserted skewer comes out clean.  

 

Barbados conkies

 

Source: www.barbados.org

 

Ingredients:

 

Makes 8 [I halved the recipe, leaving out the milk, but keeping 1 egg.]

 

2 cups corn flour 

1/2 cup plain flour 

1 cup grated coconut [I used coconut milk, and omitted the milk] 

3/4 lb grated pumpkin 

1/2 lb grated sweet potato 

6 oz melted butter or margarine 

1 cup whole milk 

1 egg (beaten) 

3/4 lb brown sugar [I reduced the sugar, but increased the raisins] 

4 ozs. raisins 

1 tsp spice 

1 tsp almond essence 

1 tsp grated nutmeg 

1 tsp salt

 Fresh Banana leaves (Can be substituted with wax paper or foil.)

 

  

Method:

 

1. Mix the coconut, pumpkin, sweet potato, sugar, spices, raisins, flour, corn flour, and salt together in a large bowl.
2. Add the beaten egg, melted butter/margarine, and milk. Mix thoroughly by hand to combine. You should have a thick mixture that drops slowly from a spoon. Add more flour if the mixture is not thick enough; add a bit more milk if it is too thick.
3. Fresh green Banana leaves are traditionally used to wrap the conkie mixture. If you have these, strip leaves from stalk with a sharp knife then briefly singe them over an open flame to make them more pliable. Cut the leaves into individual 8" squares.
4. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the mixture into the centre of the banana leaf. Fold the leaf around the mixture, taking care not to rip the leaf.
5. Steam the conkies on a rack over boiling water in a large saucepan for 1 hour or until they are firm.
    
    

Macaroni pie

 

A favourite dish on Barbados, often served as an accompaniment instead of potato.

 

Serves 4

 

Ingredients:

 

225g / 8oz macaroni 

40g / 1 ½ oz butter or marg 

20g / ¾ oz plain flour 

450ml / ¾ milk 

5ml / 1 tsp mild mustard 

2.5 ml / ½ tsp ground cinnamon 

175g / 6oz mature cheddar cheese, grated 

1 egg, beaten 

15ml / 1 tbsp butter / marg 

25g / 1 oz chopped spring onions (Scaliion) 

40g / 1  ½ oz canned tomatoes 

115g / 4oz corn kernels 

Salt and black pepper 

Chopped fresh parsley to garnish

  

Method:

 

1. Heat the oven to 180C/350F/GM4. Cook the macaroni in a pan of salted boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain again.
2. Melt 25g / 1oz of the butter in a pan and add the flour. Cook for 1 minute, then add the milk, whisking constantly. Heat until the mixture boils, then simmer gently for 5-10 minutes.
3. Stir in the mustard and cinnamon, with 2/3 of the cheese. Season to taste. Cook gently, stirring frequently, until the cheese has melted, then remove from the heat and whisk in the egg. Cover closely and set aside.
4. Heat the remaining butter or marg in a small frying pan and cook the spring onions, chopped tomatoes and corn over a gently heat for 5-10 minutes.
5. Tip half the cooked macaroni into a greased ovenproof dish. Pour over half the cheese sauce and mix well, then spoon the tomato and corn mixture evenly over the mixture.
6. Tip the remaining macaroni into the pan containing the cheese sauce, stir well and then spread carefully over the tomato and corn mixture.
7. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbly. If possible, leave to stand for 30 minutes before serving, garnished with parsley.
    
   Taken from the book: “The Illustrated Food and Cooking of the Caribbean, Central and South America” by Jenni Fleetwood and Marina Filippelli.

 

  

That's not Foreign! (Week 2 - England)

My son was so disappointed that when he picked out "England" as our second country. I pointed out to him that to people from other countries, our food is foreign but I am not sure if he believed that. He just complained that the food would be 'boring' and that there would be no pasta! My husband, on the other hand, was a little more excited as his instant thought was 'man food' and he has been happy with what we have had...

 

I know the idea was to do at least one dish, but I have done several. We had a lovely beef casserole, with onions, mushrooms, carrots and dumplings (forgot to add the pearl barley). Then we had home made fish and chips, Roast chicken and I used the rest of the chicken for chicken and mushroom pie and I am in the process of making a chicken soup for tonight, with some lovely crusty bread. I also did a apple crumble. No English cakes this week, as I had some blueberries I needed to use up ( I turned them into muffins, which are American more than English).

 

This morning we pulled out the country for next week, which my son is excited about - Barbados, so that should be interesting and maybe a little more exciting for him than England!


Chat more next week, need to do some research!

 

Cooked with score (out of 100):

Beef Casserole..............87
Chicken Pie..................90
Chicken Soup................90

 

 

Beef Casserole

 

Ingredients:

Serves 4

 

1lb braising steak, bite sized tossed in seasoned flour

1 onion, sliced

(Optional: pearl barley, mushrooms, carrots)

 

Gravy:  2 Oxo cubes,

2 rounded tsp Bisto powder

1 heaped tsp cornflour

 

Method:

 

1. Fry the onion, until golden and place in the casserole dish. Fry the seasoned meat until golden and place in the casserole dish, with the sliced mushrooms, chopped carrots and pearl barley if using.
2. Boil 1 pint water and crumble in oxos, lower the heat. Add bisto and cornflour (which has been combined in a little cold water). Stir to avoid it going lumpy.
3. Pour over the meat and place in pre-heated oven on GM4, 180C, 350F, when bubbles lower oven to 140C, GM1 275F for 2 ½ hrs. (or it can be cooked at GM4, 180C, 350F for 2 hours)
   NB: Dumplings can be added 20 mins before serving. It can also be served with lovely greens and mash, or rice and other veg.
    

Chicken Pie

Makes 1 pie (8”)

Ingredients

Left over chicken from a roast (I cook a roast, I always cook a big bird to get the leftover meat)

Packet Puff Pastry (or you can use short crust)

Mushrooms

Onion

Veg stock cube 

 

Method

1. Lightly fry off the mushroom in a big pan, add the chicken and mushrooms and let it warm through.
2. At the same time roll out the 2/3rds of the pasty to line the bottom of the tin.
3. Make a well in the centre of the pan mixture and put in the vegetable stock cube with a small amount of water.Crush down the cube and then mix it through the pie filling.
4. Pour the filling into the pastry case and then roll out the remaining pastry to make the top. (You will have some left over, which you could turn into a jam roly-poly and pop into the freezer for another day)
5. Make a hole into the top of the pie and pop into the oven for 20-30 minutes at 180C

 

 

Chicken Soup

 

Ingredients

 Left over chicken carcass

 Onion

 Root vegetables: we prefer carrots, sweet potatoes and parsnip

 

 

Method

 

1. After picking off most of the meat for the pie put the carcass into a large pan and cover with cold water. Bring the water to boil and skim off any fat off the top. Simmer for at least 1 hour, but not more than 2 hours. You might need to top up the water a little.
2. Strain the liquid and pick off bits of meat and pop into the stock. You have now made your base for your soup.
3. Making the soup. Pop some butter / oil in a large saucepan and put in the chopped onion (if using). Prepare the vegetables and add to the saucepan along with the stock (it will look like jelly when cold)
4. Again, bring to the boil and then simmer for at least 1 hour, no more than 2 hours. You may need to add more water. Also, you could add lentils or pearl barley or chick peas if you want more of a meal.
5. We just love this as is, with fresh crunchy rolls.