"Sawatdee Krab". That means "Hello" in Thai. I am very glad that your internet wanderings have brought you here. My name is Don, and I am an American, currently living in Thailand, with my wonderful wife Roong, and our two daughters Palmy and Pukky.One of the first things I discovered when I moved here, was all the delicious food. I remember that going to a Thai restaurant in the USA was always a special treat, so now I consider myself very fortunate to be smack dab in the middle of all of this. I am starting this page in hopes that I can share some of the amazing Thai food recipes that I have found here.
In watching my wife cook our meals almost every day, I have noticed how easy she makes it all look. She seems to be able to do everything armed with only a rice cooker, and her trusty wok. Roong normally makes 3 dishes for our evening meal. Both she and our girls don't eat nearly as much meat as I do, so these dishes usually consist of 1 vegetable dish, 1 meat and vegetable dish, and then one dish that is mostly just seasoned meat for me. Of course all of this is eaten with a healthy supply rice or noodles. No matter what she makes, it always tastes fantastic, and fills me up (which in itself is no easy task!).
The Thai food recipes I will post on here will come from many places. Most will come from Roong, or our friends here in Thailand. I have found quite a few recipes on the internet and in cookbooks that work very well, and have passed the official "Roong scrutiny" test. I will be posting Thai food recipes from all these sources. My main concern is that they taste good and are easy to make. Face it, time is precious these days, but that doesn't mean that you cannot still have great tasting food that doesn't take half a day to prepare. Here's the first one, I hope you enjoy it.
Kow pad
Ok, Lets start off with an easy one. Kow pad is a staple here. It's easy and quick to make. Kow pad is great, because it's just basically fried rice with leftovers thrown in. You can do just about anything you want to with it, and not hurt it. Be creative, and come up with your own special recipe for this quick and tasty dish!
Ingredients
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tomato, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons soy sauce - mushroom
1 teaspoons fish sauce
1 cup cooked rice
3 Thai chili pepper
1/3 cup pork (Optional)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 lime
1 green onion (Optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced (Optional)
2 eggs (Optional)
a pinch of ground pepper
Directions
1. When the pan is extremely hot (smoking hot), pour in the oil and follow with meat. Stir quickly. It can get real smoky. If you see that there is juice coming out from your meat and pooling on the bottom and not evaporating, your pan is not hot enough.
2. When the meat is cooked, set it aside or just put it on the side of the pan if you can. Add the egg and scramble the egg until the egg is all cooked.
3. Put the egg aside or just push it aside and make some room on the bottom of the wok. Add the fish sauce and soy sauce and stir. Keep stirring and mixing the rice with ingredients. Add all vegetables. Stir for 1 or 2 more minutes. Sprinkle ground pepper.
4. Serve hot with a 1/4 wedge of lime and whole green onion.
Pad thai
Every family here in Thailand has their own secret recipe for this dish. It is very forgiving and you can mix and match ingredients to suit your taste without any problems. It's a great quicky meal that you can whip up in just 30 minutes with a bit of practice.
Ingredients
1/2 package (16oz) wide rice noodles
2 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic
1/4 lb. pork, cut into 1" by 1/4" pieces
3 tbsp. dried shrimps, small size
2 tbsp. salted radish, chopped (optional)
2 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tbsp. thin soy sauce
2 1/2 tbsp. coconut palm sugar
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 cup bean sprouts
1/4 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, crush them up or chop with a chef's knife
Cilantro to garnish
Preparation
1. Boil 3 cups of water. Pour over noodles in a large bowl and soak for 20 minutes until softened. Drain.
2.Heat oil in wok, until hot but not smoking. Add smashed garlic. Add pork. Fry until meat is no longer pink.
3. Add noodles, dried shrimps, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and bean sprouts. Stir fry for another 3 to 4 minutes until mixed up and heated through.
4. Add salted radish, if using (rinse if very salty). Stir fry another minute. Toss in the peanuts, tossing to mix.
5. Toss it in a bowl or on a plate, and garnish with cilantro. Serves 2
Yum Hed Fang (White Mushroom Salad)
Ok folks....this one is a favorite, and is quick and easy to make. There are many different Yum (salad) recipes here in Thailand, so I am sure you will find a favorite fast. This one is made with mushrooms as a main ingredient. Here's what you need to have ready......
Mushrooms (washed)................10 oz.
Shrimp (peeled + deveined)........4 0z.
Lemon grass (minced)..............1/2 cup
(If not available,then leave out)
Kaffir lime leaves (minced).......1 tblspn.
(Substitute: Use lime zest)
Mint leaves.......................1 cup
Black chili paste.................2 tblspn.
(Substitute: Any quality Asian chili paste)
Lemon juice.......................2 1/2 tblspn.
Sugar ............................2 tspn.
Fish sauce .......................2 tblspn.
(Substitute: Salt, or lite Soy sauce)
Directions:
1. Scald the mushrooms and shrimp in boiling water, until the shrimp is cooked. When finished, set them aside. Be careful not to cook the the shrimp too long and make them rubbery. The mushrooms will be fine by then too.
2. In a bowl, mix the black chili paste, lemon juice, sugar, and fish sauce. This will give you the salad juice.
3. Now, to your salad juice, add the mushrooms, shrimp, lemon grass, and kaffir lime leaves.
Serving:
Use a big spoon to put it on each plate. Make sure to get lots of juice with each spoonful, because that's where the unique Thai flavor is. Sprinkle with Mint Leaves, and have a wedge of lime on the side. Squeezing a bit of lime juice over it all gives it a real tangy flavor.
Kow tom gai
Hi gang! This past few months has been a very busy time for me. This being the case, I have noticed how my wife's cooking has altered a little bit to accommodate that. She has been making these dishes that are the quickest of the quick and easy. Kow tom is basically rice soup. You can put chicken, shrimp, pork, beef, or anything you can think of in it.
It's quick and easy to make for breakfast, or a light lunch or dinner, plus, it's good for you. I am going to give you the basic recipe here, but as always, feel free to add whatever you want to suit your taste buds. This recipe is for 2. Have fun....
Ingredients
2 cups light chicken stock
1/3 cup cubed cooked chicken
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 tblspn fish sauce (sub: lite soy or salt)
2 small eggs
Garnishes: 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger root; 2 teaspoons minced cilantro; 1 minced green onion; 1 teaspoon golden friend onion flakes (which you can make by tossing dried onion flakes in an oil slicked frying pan); and 1/8-1/2 teaspoon dried red chilis, minced, or anything you want, have fun with it. You can't hurt it!
Directions
In a saucepan, bring the stock to a boil and add the cubed chicken, and stir it up. Reduce heat to a simmer, stir in the cooked rice, and simmer for 2 minutes. Season with the fish sauce or lite soy or salt.
When ready to serve, break a whole egg into each individual bowl. Bring the soup to a boil and ladle over the egg yolks. Garnish and cover the bowls with lids, let sit for a minute to let the egg poach, then serve.
*Please be sure to experiment with this recipe. Thai food is just about indestructible, so don't be afraid to mix and match, and change things to your liking. If it tastes good, throw it in there. Every family here has a different way of making the same thing, and they all taste great!
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