Simple Thai Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

* 2 large chicken breasts, cubed
* 1 stem lemongrass, roughly chopped
* 2 kaffir lime leaves
* 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 1 red pepper, cored, deseeded and chopped
* 8 cherry tomatoes
* Handful coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Curry paste

* 1-2 red chillies
* 1 small onion
* 2" root ginger, peeled and grated
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon turmeric
* 3 tablespoons fish sauce
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 4 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
* 1 tablespoon lime juice
* 1 tablespoon tomato puree
* ½ pint coconut milk

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 190oC, gas mark 5.

Place all the curry paste ingredients in a liquidiser and whiz until well-blended and smooth. Mix with chicken cubes, lime leaves and chopped lemongrass, put in a casserole dish and cook for about 45 minutes.

Add the potatoes, pepper and tomatoes, and mix before returning to the oven for another 20 minutes or until both the chicken and the potatoes are cooked.

Adjust the seasoning to taste adding more fish sauce if necessary. If it's too salty, add extra lime juice.

Serve garnished with coriander.

Hang Lay Curry

Ingredients:
500 grams pork neck, cut into 1 inch cubes
7 grams hang lay powder
50 grams pre-prepared hang lay curry paste
50 grams roasted peanuts
50 grams pickled local garlic (small and roundish)
100 grams fresh garlic
100 grams shallots
200 grams onions, sliced
50 grams ginger, shredded
50 grams tamarind juice
50 grams palm sugar
20 grams light soy sauce
10 grams dark soy sauce

Method:
Combine the pork with the hang lay powder, curry paste, peanuts, fresh garlic, shallots, onions, ginger (all but a few teaspoonfuls), tamarind, sugar and both types of soy sauce.
Marinade for one hour.

Heat up a pot, add the marinated pork and simmer over low heat until the pork is tender.
Add the pickled garlic and reduce the heat to very low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for another 30 minutes.

Garnish with the remainder of the ginger before serving with steamed rice.

Miang Tuna (Seared Herb-crusted Tuna in Pandanus Leaves)

Miang Tuna (Seared Herb-crusted Tuna in Pandanus Leaves)

Ingredients:

1 ½ teaspoon nam pla
1 ½ teaspoon lime juice
1 ½ teaspoon rice vinegar
¼ pound tuna steak, cut into 6 by 1 ½ inch pieces
1 tablespoon uncooked rice, roasted and ground (See khao khua)
¼ cup jasmine rice, cooked
3 scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 slices lime
1 teaspoon pandanus leaves, shredded
6 pandanus leaves, cut into 1 by 3 inch pieces
6 small wooden skewers
vegetable oil for deep-frying

Method:
Combine nam pla, lime juice and vinegar in a bowl and add the tuna pieces. Add ground rice, jasmine rice, scallions, garlic and pepper. Squeeze the juice from two lime slices onto the tuna and add the shredded pandanus leaves. Leave the mixture to marinade for one hour.


Wrap each piece of tuna in a piece of pandanus leaf. Thread onto a wooden skewer. Deep-fry the tuna skewers in plenty of vegetable oil for about 10 seconds.


For the Sauce:
2 cups tamarind water
1 cup nam pla
½ cup palm sugar


Mix all the ingredients together and simmer over low heat until it thickens. Allow to cool.


For the Condiments:
1 teaspoon lime, sliced
1 teaspoon shallots, sliced
1 teaspoon ginger, sliced
10 peanuts, roasted
10 dried shrimp, fried
6 pork rinds, fried
6 fresh betel nut leaves


Unwrap the tuna pieces. Place each on a betel nut leaf. Put a little bit of each condiment on the tuna. Pour on a teaspoon of sauce. Eat in one mouthful.

Som Tam (Som Tum) Bla Rah (Bla La) Spicy Papaya Salad

Fried vegetables

Ingredients:
250 g (8 oz) Thai broccoli
400 g (13 oz) babycorn
100 g (3 1/2 oz) mushrooms
3 spring onions
3 clove garlic

oil
2 tb fish sauce
3 tb oyster sauce
1 tb sugar
2 tb sherry

Method:
Cut broccoli into bite-size pieces. Cut babycorn into halves.
Cut mushrooms into halves.
Cut spring onions into 2 cm long pieces. Chop garlic.
Heat oil in a wok or a pan. Add garlic and spring onions and stir-fry for one minute. Add vegetables and continue to stir-fry for five minutes.
Season with fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and sherry

Sadao - Nam Pla Wan

Sadao - Nam Pla Wan is a dipping that is eaten during the cold season because it is the time that the neem flowers (dork sadao) and river prawns become plentiful.

In the old days the dish was eaten with baked river prawns which were plentiful during the cold season, as proved by the old saying: "kung pao, sadao luak, nam pla wan." Nowadays the dish is served with grilled catfish.

The dish shows off the cleverness of people in the old times who mixed a bitter vegetable such as neem flowers (dork sadao) with the sweetness of nam pla wan to bring about just the right combination.

Stir Fried Spicy Spaghetti with Seafood

Ingredients:

* 400 grams seafood (shrimp, fish fillet, green mussel, squid, etc.)

* 400 grams spaghetti, soak in hot water until done

* 2 tablespoons minced garlic

* 2 tablespoons soy sauce

* 2 tablespoons fish sauce

* 1/2 teaspoon sugar

* 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

* 3 red+green chili peppers, coarsely chopped

* 50 grams baby corn

* 1/2 cup holy basil

* cooking oil

Preparations:

1. Wash prepared seafood in clean water. If you use fish fillet or squid, cut into well pieces before cooking. Or if you use green mussels, you may need to scald in boiling water before cooking.

2. Heat oil in a wok over medium heat. Add garlic, and stir until golden and fragrant. If you like hot taste, you may add chopped chili and stir fry with garlic during this process. Then add prepared seafood, and keep stirring until nearly cooked.

3. Add spaghetti and baby corn. Season with soy sauce, fish sauce, ground pepper and sugar. Lastly add holy basil and red+green chili pepper. Turn up to high heat. Stir fry quickly until all ingredients mixed well. Remove from heat.

4. Transfer to a plate and serve immediately