Thai Red Chicken Curry

You will need:

- 1 can (4 oz.) Red Curry paste
- 1 can (14 0z.) coconut milk
- 2 cups bite-size piece chicken thigh, or breast
- 2 cups bamboo shoot strips, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes and strained a few times, or until the water is no longer yellow.
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. palm sugar
- 2 Tbsp. Thai fish sauce (Nam Pla)
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup julienned red bell pepper
- 1 jalapeno pepper, julienned
- 1 cup loosely-packed fresh Thai basil leaves

Directions:

1. Pour 1/3 can of coconut milk in cooking pot over medium-high heat. Once heated, add Red Curry paste. Stir to mix together, then simmer until fragrant and oil breaking from the mixture, about 3 minutes.

2. Add chicken to the pot and stir to mix well with the curry sauce. When chicken is cooked, add bamboo shoot strips.

3. Then, add the rest of coconut milk (2/3 can), and add 1 cup of water to the pot as well. Bring it to a boil, and simmer for about 5 minute over medium-high heat.

4. Add palm sugar and fish sauce. Taste and adjust the flavor if needed. The curry sauce shouldn't be runny, nor too thick. Add a little more water if too thick.

5. Add red bell pepper and jalapeno pepper. Stir to mix into the curry. I like my pepper al dente, so I would turn off the heat at this point. If you like them cooked, leave the heat on for a couple more minutes.

6. Finally, add Thai basil leaves to the pot, after you turn off the heat. Mix well.


You can serve this curry with steamed rice, over rice noodle, or even over spaghetti noodle.

Thai cooking made easy! Enjoy :)

Stir-fried Chicken with Roasted Chili Paste

Stir-fried Chicken with Roasted Chili Paste
(Gai Pad Nam Prik Pao)

You will need:

• 2 C bite-sized chicken slices (I use meat from 2 thighs)


• 1 C sliced onions


• 1 C cut green bean, or haricot vert


• 2 green onions, cut


• 6 cloves of garlic


• 6 fresh chili peppers (adjust to your preference)


• 3 TBsp vegetable oil


• 2 TBsp oyster sauce


• 1 TBsp light soy suace


• 1 TBsp roasted chili paste, or chili paste with soya bean oil ("Nam Prik Pao" in Thai)


• 1 tsp sugar

Directions:

• Mash, or finely chop, garlic and chili pepper together. Set aside.


• Mix oyster sauce, soy sauce, roasted chili paste, and sugar together. Set aside.


• In a wok or sauteed pan over medium-high heat, add vegetable oil. Then, add prepared chili-garlic and saute until fragrant, but not yet brown.


• Add chicken. Stir well for a few minutes or until half-way cooked.


• Add green bean and white onion. Stir well to cook.


• Add the chili paste mixture and green onion. Stir until everything mixed well altogether, and chicken & vegetable are cooked through.


• Check seasoning, then adjust to your preference.


• Serve with steamed rice.

Chicken Massaman Curry

Considering a wide variety of curries in Thailand, Massaman is more influenced by Muslim food. This is a curry dish that develops its complexity very well, and tastes even better if you let it sit overnight. Usually, Thai Muslims make this dish with beef, but since I had chicken handy in my refrigerator, it's going to be Chicken Massaman today.

The ingredients that give Massaman curry paste a distinctive taste include: dried red chilies, roasted shallots, roasted garlic, lemongrass, galanga, shrimp paste, roasted coriander seeds, roasted cloves, roasted cumin, roasted cadamom pods, and salt, which are all pounded together to make the paste. I am taking advantage of canned paste from Asian grocery store, and find Mae Sri brand deliver pretty satisfied outcome.

You will need:

• 2 lbs. chicken (5 drumsticks in this recipe)
• 1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk
• 1 can (4 oz.) Massaman curry paste
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 Idaho potato, peeled and cut into big chunks
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into big pieces
• 1/4 cup roasted (whole) peanut
• 2 dried Bay leaves
• 1 TBSP palm sugar
• 2 TBSP fish sauce
• 2 TBSP tamarind concentrate

Directions:

1. Fry Massaman 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 chicken pieces and fry until outside is sealed.
3. Add the rest of coconut milk and water, then bring it to a boil. Then, lower the heat to medium and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
4. Add potato, onion, peanut, and bay leaves. Cover and simmer under medium heat for another 10-15 minutes, or until potato is soft.
5. Add palm sugar, fish sauce, and tamarind concentrate. Simmer for another 5 minutes so that all the flavors blend. You can adjust the seasonings to your taste before turning the heat off.

Note: This is an updated version of my old post, which got buried under more and more of the new ones. Massaman Curry is such a staple dish that you could always find it in menus of most Thai restaurants. Many of Thai food fans I know often ask me for the recipe, so I thought I re-post it :)

Tom Kha Gai: Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

Tom Kha Gai is another well-known Thai soup, besides Tom Yum Goong, that is served in every Thai restaurants, in Thailand or any part of the world. The unique flavor of this dish comes from the main ingredients of galanga and coconut milk - that create the mild, rich, and creamy taste - with the perfect balance of sweet, sour, and spicy combination from lime juice and chili peppers.

You will need:

• 1 C coconut milk
• 1 1/2 water (or chicken stock)
• 1 stalk of lemongrass, cut into 2" pieces and crushed with clever
• 6-8 thin slices of Galanga, crushed (preferably fresh, otherwise frozen)
• 1 C bite-size pieces of chicken
• 1 C mushroom, thinly sliced
• 3-4 fresh (or frozen) Kaffir lime leaves, TORN in half
• 3-4 fresh chili peppers, crushed
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1/4 C chopped cilantro

Galanga (also known as Galangal. Laos Root, and Thai or Siamese Ginger) - or "Kha" in Thai - is the main herb flavor that gives this rich and aromatic soup its fame. If fresh galanga is not available, frozen galanga will work great for this dish. I've seen many recipes suggest using ginger as a substitute. Believe me, it's completely different soup you would make there! Ginger doesn't have distinct peppery and lemony flavors galanga has. ... So, for me -- if there is no galanga, there is no Tom Kha Gai soup. Anyway, if you find galanga root at Oriental market, it can be stored in freezer really well; just slice into pieces and put then in zip-lock bag. Same thing can be done with lemongrass as well; just cut into 2" pieces before freezing them. In the meantime, dried galanga might be found easier, but I don't recommend using it as it doesn't give as good flavor as fresh or frozen ones.

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan, combine coconut milk, water, galanga, and lemongrass, then bring to a boil.
2. Add chicken, fish sauce, salt, and sugar. Reduce heat to medium-high.
3. Once chicken is cooked, about 2-3 minutes, stir in mushroom, chili peppers, and kaffir lime leaves.
4. About another 2-3 minutes until mushroom is cooked and the flavors are all married, then turn off the heat. Stir in lime juice, green onion, and cilantro. Serve immediately.

Note:

• Some recipes call for adding "Nam Prik Pao" (or Thai Roasted Chili Paste) to the soup. It is optional. The chili paste adds some color and spices up the dish.
• For a vegetarian version, medium or firm tofu is a good substitute for chicken.
• Remember, you can always adjust the flavor to your preference. Fish sauce and lime juice are the main seasonings you can add more or reduce.
• Just like most Thai dishes, this soup is not a separate course, but one of the many dishes that are on the dinner table, to be eaten with jasmine rice.

Chicken and Celery w/ Black Bean Sauce

Friday evening is always a busy night, since there is so much going on -- with the boys. Either having soccer training, going to soccer or football game, going to a movie, or just hanging out together, it's so nice to be kids - no worries :) Anyway, between running around, I made it to come home and cook a real quick dinner! After checking my refrigerator and pantry, I had a dish figured out. While the rice was being cooked in the cooker, about 15 minutes, I got this Chicken and Celery Stir-fry with Black Bean Sauce together.

I cut up some yellow onion, green onion, celery, then sliced a couple pieces of ginger, and chopped up some garlic. Had some bite-size chicken thigh leftover handy, so I used that up.

Once I had everything ready - including all the seasoning and sauce, I stir-fried chicken in vegetable oil with garlic and ginger until meat was cooked.

Then, I added black bean sauce, oyster sauce, a little bit of hoisin sauce, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir well, and add all vegetables - then move them around over high heat real quick. Finally, I drizzled a few drops of sesame oil, turned the heat off, and made the last stir to well-mix all ingredients. Voila!

Thai Fried Rice: The Basic

Fried rice is considered fast food in Thailand. It's quick and you can make it with mostly any ingredient you like for the variation. Everyone makes fried rice a little differently, you can always experiment, once you know the basic technique.

As quick and easy this dish is, there are essential tips needed to keep in mind if you want to make "good fried rice". As some say, fried rice is more of a formula than a single recipe.

• Leftover cooked rice: The best rice to use is leftover rice that's been lying in the fridge for at least a day. You cannot make fried rice with freshly cooked rice! The grains of leftover rice is firmer and have no excess moisture, which makes it much easier to separate. You would only get "fried mush" instead of fried rice if you made with freshly-cooked rice. However, if you can't wait a day, you can at least let the rice cool for a few hours in an airy spot. Break loose the rice with your wet fingers.
  
• Hot wok or large skillet: The reasons that restaurant-made fried rice has that smoky flavour is the high temperatures and the seasoned carbon steel woks that they use. The hot wok will caramelize rice with the soy sauce, and keep rice from sticking to the wok. It's all about high heat, and movement (from constant stirring)!
  
• Basic ingredients: Cold rice, eggs, soy sauce, and green onions are my foundation of basic fried rice. However, with the more adventurous versions, this would differently applies according to recipes.
  
• Add-on ingredients: You can use any kind of meats and seafood (shrimps, crab meat) you like, or leftover cooked meat in your fridge, or anything handy (ham, Chinese sausage, BBQ pork, or even Spam!) And for vegetables - peas, carrots, corn, tomato, bell pepper, Chinese broccoli, pineapple, raisin - any of these, and more, will do. Experiment with what you like.

I cook fried rice quite often, it's a quick one-dish meal, and a good way to clean out my refrigerator, or use up any leftover. You can be creative here, just use your judgement.. Normally, I don't have "a recipe" for cooking this dish. There is quite a variety of different versions of fried rice. I add seasonings while cooking, taste it, and adjust the flavor to my taste. I really had to take the time figuring the following recipe out, and I did test the final recipe a few time. So, here it is -- the basic recipe of Thai fried rice.

Chicken Fried Rice

You will need:
(for 3-4 servings)

• 4 cups refrigerated cooked rice
• 2 cups bite-size sliced or cubed chicken breast
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 small onion, sliced
• 1/4 cup vegetable, or other cooking oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (I like Golden Mountain brand, or Mushroom flavor light soy sauce)
• 1 Tbsp black/dark soy sauce (optional - for color)
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 4 eggs
• 4 green onions, chopped
• White pepper powder (black pepper will do just fine)
• Chopped cilantro
• Lime wedge and cucumber slices (authentic Thai style)

Directions:

1. Heat the wok over high heat. Add half of the oil. Once the oil heated up, add eggs, scramble until almost cooked through, then push it to the one side of the wok.
2. Add the rest of the oil. Then add garlics, onions, and chicken. Stir quickly, until chicken is cooked and onion is soft.
3. Add rice and give it a good stir. Keep moving and gently press the rice with the back of spatula to loosen and mix in the ingredients. Stir and scrape - add a little more oil if you have to.
4. Add soy sauce, black soy sauce, and sugar. Stir to mix thoroughly.
5. Add green onion and white pepper powder. Stir just a little bit more to mix well.
6. Garnished with chopped cilantro. And serve with lime wedge (squeeze juice on top of rice before eating), then eat with the cucumber slides as a side. Enjoy!

Mom's Chicken Soup

This is a simple soup recipe ,but so full of flavor, that my mom made quite often growing up back at home. Chicken meat was simmered with cherry tomatoes until tender. And it's right before serving when I would add crushed fresh Thai chili pepper, fish sauce, fresh lime juice (note: fresh - never bottled one), and chopped cilantro. I love the tangy and spicy blend of this soup, it's light and refreshing which goes so nice with just the plain steamed rice.

Thai Ginger Chicken

Thai Ginger Chicken, or Gai Pad Khing, is a simple dish that its balanced flavor is enhanced by ginger - the key ingredient, given a delicious and healthy dish that is easy to make at home.

For the stir-fried dish to come out at its best, you need to cook over high heat with a short period of time. That's why all the ingredients need to be cut up and ready to go in once you start cooking. This Thai Ginger Chicken dish is always served with rice, .. Jasmine rice for my family.

When I cook Thai food, I usually don't have a recipe, everything is by estimation, then adding seasoning and adjust the flavor while cooking. Besides chicken, this dish can also be made with pork, beef, or even shrimp. My mom always put Cloud Ear mushroom (also known as wood ear, and black fungus). Most of the time, I also put thinly sliced Shiitake mushroom, but today I didn't have enough time to soak the dried mushroom, so went without it.


You will need:

• 2 cups bite-sized pieces chicken, I use skinless chicken thigh
• 1 Tbsp chopped garlic
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup finely striped ginger
• 1/2 cup striped red bell pepper (optional, but I like the color)
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
• 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 Tbsp light soy sauce, or mushroom soy sauce (either one works)
• 2 Tbsp cooking wine
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar, or adjust to your taste
• 1/2 cup chicken stock, or water
• 1/2 cup 1"-pieced green onion
• 2-3 Tbsp slurry (a mixture of corn starch and water 1:2), to thicken the sauce

Directions:

1. Mix together oyster sauce, light soy sauce, cooking wine, dark soy sauce, and sugar. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok or large pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, yellow onion, and chicken, stir fry until fragrant and chicken is partially cooked.
3. Stir in seasoning sauce mixture and ginger, toss the ingredients around until chicken is cooked and everything is mixed well, about 2-3 minutes. Add stock or water if too dry.
4. Add bell pepper and green onion. Stir for just a few moment. Season to taste.
5. Add 2-3 Tbsp of slurry to thicken the sauce. Stir briefly.
6. Serve hot with rice.