Thai Spicy Beef Salad - Yum Nua

Flavor profile of this Yum Nue, or Thai Spicy Beef Salad is the balance of sour, salty, sweet, spicy, and umami flavors.

You will need:

- 1 lb. boneless chuckeye steak
- 1 tomato, sliced
- 1 cup sliced cucumber
- 1/4 cup shallots or red onions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup Chinese celery, or celery heart, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

- 3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp. palm sugar, or brown sugar
- 1-2 Thai chili peppers, or 1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Combine lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and chili pepper in a small bowl. Stir until sugar dissolved and well-mixed. Adjust the taste to your preference. Set aside.

2. Season steak with salt and pepper. Then, grill or broil steak to your preferred doneness. Allow the cooked steak to rest 5 minutes, before you slice into bite-size strips.

3. In large bowl, add steak strips, cucumber, tomatoes, shallots, celery, cilantro, and the dressing. Toss gently to combine all ingredients.

4. Serve as a side salad, or a main dish if you like. You can also serve on a bed of lettuce, or salad greens.

Pad Se-Ew Beef with Broccoli

Pad See Ew is one of Thailand's most popular street foods. This recipe features beef and broccoli stir-fried noodle dish seasoned with soy sauce mixture.


You will need:

• 8 oz. dried flat rice noodle, or 1 lb. fresh flat rice noodle


• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely


• 1 cup thinly slice beef (other choices: pork, chicken, shrimp, or extra-firm tofu)


• 2 cup broccoli florets (unless you can find Chinese broccoli)


• 2 eggs


• 1 cup 1 1/2" cut green onion


• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil


• 2 Tbsp dark sweet soy sauce


• 2 Tbsp light soy sauce


• 2 Tbsp oyster sauce


• 1 Tbsp sugar


• Ground white pepper (black pepper works as well)


• Red chili pepper flakes (optional)
  

Directions:

• Soak dried rice noodle in hot water, until soft. Drain and set aside.


• Blanch broccoli florets in boiling water and shock with cold water. Set aside.


• Mix together dark sweet soy sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, pepper, and red chili pepper flakes.


• Heat wok on medium high heat and add vegetable oil.


• Add chopped garlic, quickly stir, and add beef. Stir to cook.


• Add noodle, and 1/4 cup of water to help cook the noodle. Once the noodle is cooked and soft (add more water if needed, little at a time), mix in the prepared soy sauce mixture, and broccoli florets.


• Stir to mix together all ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning sauces if needed. Then push to side of wok to make room.


• Crack the eggs into wok, and scramble until almost cooked. Then fold in the noodle, and add green onions and pepper.


• Stir to mix well, and turn the heat off.
  

Keep in mind that you can always adjust the seasoning to your preference while cooking.

Enjoy!

Spicy Basil Beef

I made this dish quickly out of what I had in my refrigerator. The method of cooking is the same as how I make Thai Spicy Basil Shrimp, which you can find the recipe here. I just added sliced green beans to the dish instead of carrot matchsticks. Also, I added some dark soy sauce to give it a little color. We enjoyed it with steamed jasmine rice as usual, and it was wonderful.

Spicy Ziti

Another version of my favorite dish, Thai-style drunken noodle.
Today I used ziti pasta, instead of rice noodle.
With ground beef, bamboo shoot strips, tomatoes, and Thai basils.

Absolutely tasty and delicious weekend lunch!

Here is the recipe from the old post.

Pumpkin Curry with Beef & Thai Basil

I am still in the mood of loving Fall. Keep seeing the charm of Kabocha Squash, or Japanese Pumpkin, at the Oriental Market... Finally, I decided to cook with it again, though I just made Thai Pumpkin Custard last week.

This dish is basically a Thai red curry dish that I use Japanese pumpkin as the main ingredient. Beef is my choice of meat in the dish for I grew up always having beef in this pumpkin red curry - cooked either by my mom's or restaurant's'. However, I can see tofu, fried or soft, would work out great as well.

You will need:

1 can (4 oz.) Red Curry paste (I prefer Mae Sri brand)
1 can (14 oz.) Coconut milk (Chao Kao or Aroy-D brand)
1-1 1/2 lbs. Chuck Eye steaks, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 Medium-size Japanese Pumpkin (also called Kabocha Squash), cut into chunks
1 TBSP palm sugar
1 TBSP Thai fish sauce (Nam Pla)
1 cup water
1 cup loosely packed FRESH Thai basil leaves
1 Jalapeno pepper, cut into thin strips (optional - to add heat)

Directions:

1. Fry Red Curry paste in 1/2 can of coconut milk, in a pot until fragrant, using medium-high heat. Keep stirring so it doesn't burn - until it is fragrant and becomes oily, about 3 minutes.
2. Add beef slices. Stir until mixed well with curry sauce and beef is almost cooked through.
3. Add the rest of coconut milk and pumpkin chunks. Then, add water then bring it to a boil.
4. Lower the heat to medium low, and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until the beef is tender, and pumkin is soft but not mushy.
5. Add palm sugar and fish sauce. Stir well. Adjust the flavor to your taste. The sauce shouldn't be runny, nor too thick. You can add some water if it gets too thick.
6. Finally, add Thai basil leaves (and Jalapeno pepper strips), and turn the heat off right away. That way the leaves still maintain their bright green color. Serve with steamed rice, or whatever you like :)

It's such a gorgeous dish. The color is so beautiful, it will brighten up your meal. The creamy texture of cooked pumpkin goes wonderfully with the rich, complex, and spicy red curry sauce. The aroma of fresh Thai basil is just the perfect element to bring everything together.

Red Curry with Beef & Bamboo Shoots

In Thailand, Curry is a staple dish and it is eaten on a daily basis in many families. A typical meal in my family would have at least rice and curry dish, then a vegetable stir-fry and other dishes would be included. Here, another curry dish among dozens of different types of curries (Gaeng) in Thailand I love to make is Red Curry (Gaeng Phed). Its flavor is in between Green Curry (which is pretty spicy), and Yellow Curry (which is quite mild).

The most favorite ingredients that go in the Red Curry are bamboo shoots and Thai eggplants. And then, Thai basil and Kaffir lime leaves are the types of fresh fragrant herbs that are used in the recipe. Don't you just love the smell of fresh Thai basil leaves? I would have a hard time living where they are not available!

This Red Curry recipe features beef but you could also prepared the dish with pork, chicken, shrimp, fish, or tofu. Red bell pepper strips would be a nice color to add in. It is so good with steamed jasmine rice, ... or with pasta for a fusion version!

You will need:

• 1 can (4 oz.) Red Curry paste (I prefer Mae Sri brand)
• 1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk (Chao Kao or Aroy-D brand)
• 1-1 1/2 lbs. Chuck Eye steaks, cut into 1/3"-thick slices
• 3-4 Kaffir Lime leaves, torn in half
• 1 can bamboo shoot strips
• 1 TBSP palm sugar
• 2 TBSP Thai fish sauce (Nam Pla)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup loosely packed FRESH Thai basil leaves

Directions:

1. Fry Red Curry paste in 1/2 can of coconut milk, in a pot until fragrant, using medium-high heat. Keep stirring so it doesn't burn - until it is fragrant and becomes oily, about 3 minutes.
2. Add beef slices and Kaffir Lime leave pieces. Stir until mixed well with curry sauce and beef is cooked.
3. Add the rest of coconut milk and bamboo shoots. Then, add water then bring it to a boil.
4. Lower the heat to medium low, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the beef is tender.
5. Add palm sugar and fish sauce. Stir well. Adjust the flavor to your taste. The sauce shouldn't be runny, nor too thick.
6. Finally, add Thai basil leaves, and turn the heat off right away. That way the leaves still maintain their bright green color. I also like to top it with some chiffonaded Kaffir Lime leaves. Serve with steamed rice.

Summer Hobo Dinner

Hobo dinner is so fun, easy, and delicious! A buddy of my son came back from his three-week summer camp, and brought one of his favorite experience back to share with the gang. Each person makes their own individual meal according to their preference of flavors. We used ground beef, bite-size vegetables (potato, onion, carrot, bell pepper, tomato), BBQ sauce, olive oil, and some seasonings.

The recipe of hobo dinner can be modified in many ways, that there are a number of variation you can always find. Just make sure you use a heavy-duty foil wrap, and close the opening tightly -- then you won't be losing your dinner into the fire! And by putting in ground beef with the vegetables in the foil packets, the flavors of the dinner are blended nicely. Once cooked, open carefully (we then added some shredded cheese), and dig in!

The boys had so much fun making their own mix of ingredients!

Steak for "Dad"

There is nothing more perfect than Big Juicy Steak for a dad on Father's Day. And when it comes to choosing the cut of meat, rib eye is my favorite choice. Rib-eye cuts have beautiful marbling which adds deep beefy flavor and juiciness to steaks.

We had our Father's Day dinner at home. I grilled rib-eye steaks, asparagus, and garlic bread. I also caramelized yellow onions as another side dish to our meal. With a little bit of time and patience, the precesses of breaking down and browning natural sugar in the onion provide a melt-in-your-mouth texture and rich flavor caramelized onions.

To season a steak is really up to your own preference. To me a very good cut only need a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper - sea salt and freshlyground whole black pepper.. And in order to add another layer of flavor to a steak, I add some dried bold herbs. Store-bought mix would even do the job. My trick is to also add lots of fresh, minced garlic, then drizzle with a little olive oil. Let the steaks sit a little bit while you prepare something elses, and get the grill ready.

As for the asparagus, I marinated them for about an hour in the mixture of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, minced garlic, minced shallot, salt and pepper. Grill until charred but still retained its bright-green color. When done I toss them back in the reserved marinade before serving.

To cook, I preheated the grill to high heat for 15-20 minutes. I grilled the steaks over direct heat, about 5-7 minutes on each side (depends on the thinckness of your meat). Turning only once, and never use knife, fork, or even thermometer, to pierce steaks to check for doneness. You don't want to drain the juice and the goodness of the steak into the grill. Just try to "feel" it by pressing on the steak. When done and removed from the heat, the steaks need to rest for about 5-7 minutes so that the juice would redistribute into the entire piece of steaks.

Beef Panang Curry

I made Beef Panang curry for dinner tonight. The dish went so great with steamed rice. As I mentioned in previous post of this Panang Curry, here, you can use just any kind of meat you prefer. Fried tofu makes a wonderful vegetarian version of this curry! And for seafood lover, you will find shrimp in the panang curry sauce is just so divine.. Try making with different variety of meat if you like - to find your favorite, or simply just to be adventurous.

Kalbi: Korean BBQ Short Ribs

Kalbi (or Galbi), one of Korea's most famous grilled dishes, is my family's all-time favorite. And the fact that I can always find Korean-style beef ribs at local supermarkets - like Sam's club, Goodrich's - or at Asian grocery stores, makes it easy for me to cook this delicious dish often.

However, if there is none of those stores nearby that you can find, you can still get the Korean-style beef ribs. You just need to ask your butcher to cut the ribs as the "flanken cut", which is 1/4 inch thick. Now that, you can have the main ingredient -- the proper cut of the ribs, there is one more important ingredient that you need, to make the perfect Kalbi, authentic way.

I've learned from my Korean friends of the secret ingredient that makes the ribs come out sweet and tender. They use Asian pears! These round, yellow-skin pears are also called Korean pears, and Apple pears. The crushed Asian pears - with the juice - in the marinade not only make the meat sweet, but also tenderize it.

You will need:

• 3 lbs lean beef short ribs with the bones
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice cooking wine, or sake
• 2 Tbsp honey or sugar
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp grounded black pepper
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 1 Asian pear, peeled and grated

Directions:

1. Soak the ribs in water for 2-3 hours to get rid of the blood. Change water from time to time. Then, rinse and drain.
2. Mix all the ingredients, except the ribs, to make the marinade.
3. Put the ribs and the marinade in a gallon-size Zip lock bag. Make sure all the ribs are covered with the marinade.
4. Marinade in the refrigerator for at least an hour. I usually leave it overnight.
5. To cook the ribs, grill on med-high heat for about 2-3 minutes on each side. (You can also pan-grill them, as well as broil them in the oven.)

I hope you enjoy this Kalbi as much as we do!

Panang Curry

Panang is another one of my favorite Thai curry dishes, that is simple to make using prepared curry paste. It is rather a thick curry, than a soupy one like Red, Yellow, or Green curries. You can use beef, pork, chicken, or tofu, as the main ingredient. I personally prefer beef..

You will need:

• 1 can (4 oz.) Panang Curry paste, preferably Mae Sri brand
• 1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk (Chao Kao or Aroy-D brand)
• 2 lb Chuck Eye steak or roast, thinly sliced
• 1 TBSP palm sugar
• 2 TBSP Thai fish sauce (Nam Pla)
• 2-3 Kaffir Lime leaves, chiffonade

Directions:

1. Fry Panang curry paste in 1/2 cup coconut milk in a pot until fragrant, using medium heat and keep stirring until you see the red oil bubbling up.
2. Add beef slices and fry until beef are mostly cooked.
3. Add the rest of coconut milk, then bring it to a boil. Then, lower the heat to medium and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
4. Add Lime leave shreds, stir to mix.
5. Add palm sugar and fish sauce. Simmer for another 5 minutes so that all the flavors blend. You can adjust the seasonings to your taste before turning the heat off. Served over rice.