Yum Tua Pu (Wing Bean Salad)

I made this recipe a few weeks ago now and wings beans, for me were a totally new ingredient. I went away and did a bit of research on the most popular ways to cook them and came out with this- Yam Tua Puu. It’s a side dish on it’s own but could definitely be a main dish for one over rice. It’s also quite hard to describe- the beans have a satisfying crunch to them and the sauce is creamy, sweet, salty, vinegar (rather than lime) sour. It’s a really moreish dish- if you can get hold of wing beans from an Asian supermarket, please give it a go.

For a small side dish use:

• 1 packet of wing beans, trim off the ends and cut them into inch long pieces. Use green beans otherwise

 

Wing beans (pic courtesy of ‘the food canon’)

• ½ an onion, finely sliced


• 3 cloves of garlic


• 3 red chillies


• 200ml coconut milk (if using a tin freeze other half)


• a small handful of peanuts (crushed)


• a big splash of light soy sauce


• a big pinch of sugar


• a big splash of white wine vinegar


• juice of half a lime


• vegetable oil for frying

Start off by heating plenty of oil in a wok or frying pan and deep fry the onion slices until their dark brown (but not burnt!) and crispy. Drain them on kitchen paper. Next pre cook the wing beans for just 2 minutes in boiling water, then drain them and set aside.In a pestle and mortar, crush the garlic cloves and chillies into a rough paste.

Back to the wok/frying pan, heat the remaining oil and very briefly, fry the garlic/ chilli paste, a few seconds later add all the sauce ingredients- coconut milk, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and let this cook down for three or four minutes before adding the beans back in, along with the lime juice and cook for just a couple more minutes. Have a taste to check on the seasoning before pouring it out into a dish. Sprinkle over the crushed peanuts and crispy onions.

Gaeng Massaman Gai (Muslim Curry with Chicken)

The name reflects this curry’s historic roots. Massaman or Matsaman is a deviation of the word Muslim and this dish borrows it’s flavours from southern Thailand and Malaysian cuisine where the local population is of a majority Muslim faith. That said, you won’t find pork in this curry, unlike many other Thai dishes from central or Northern Thailand where the majority faith is Buddhism and pork is widely eaten. Massaman curries are easy to make, have very few ingredients, are creamy, salty, a little sweet and are very mild due to the lack of chillies.

For 3 big or 4 smaller portions, use:

• 2 big chicken breasts, cubed


• 2 big potatoes, cut in large chunks


• 1 onion, cut into large pieces


• a small handful of peanuts (lightly salted or unsalted)


• 50g Massaman curry paste (I’ve used Aroy- D brand but some supermarkets sell their own Massaman pastes)


• 1 can (400ml) coconut milk


• 1 cup water (maybe more, maybe less depending how thin you want your curry to be)


• a big pinch sugar


• a big splash of tamarind concentrate (use more lime juice if you don’t have access to an Asian supermarket for this) 


• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla)


• a lime for squeezing over

Boil a pan of water, when boiling add the cubed potatoes and par boil for just 5 minutes. Drain and save them for later. In the now empty pan, heat on high and add the coconut cream- the thick part of the contents of the tin, throw in the curry paste and stir to mix through, you should start to see the red oils separate. When this happens, add the chicken and stir for a moment before adding the thin coconut milk, stir and turn the heat down to a simmer. Add the water. I prefer a thinner curry so use almost equal amounts of water and coconut milk. If you prefer a thicker curry, use less or even no water. Let this cook for 10 minutes before adding the onions and potatoes. Add in the fish sauce, sugar and if you have it, the tamarind (or lime juice). After another 5 minutes it should be ready. Stir half the peanuts through and sprinkle the other half over the top of the curry when you dish it out. Squeeze more lime over and serve with hot fluffy white rice.

Guay Tiew Reua (Boat Noodles)

Boat Noodles are a Bangkok speciality; a spicy bowl of aromatic broth, filled with rice noodles, meat and/ or fish, raw veggies and herbs before being adjusted to the taste of the eater with lime, fish sauce and sugar. They are usually served up in small bowls and it’s common to order up numerous bowls during the course of a meal! These aren’t totally authentic due to my squeamishness; the real ones usually contain liquid pig’s blood to thicken and darken the broth. Once the broth is made, everything else is literally dipped into the broth for a few seconds to heat through before being piled into a bowl. This is a recipe for the committed; it takes a while to make and prepare!

For two people ( a few bowls each) use:

For the broth:

• half of a pork tenderloin


• 1 litre water


• a big splash of light soy sauce


• a small splash dark soy sauce


• a big piece of galangal (available in some supermarkets) or ginger, in slices


• 2 or 3 lemongrass stalks, bashed up and left whole


• a small handful coriander stems/roots, ripped up


• 4 garlic cloves, bashed up


• a big pinch sugar


• a big pinch pepper


• 5 star anise (supermarkets sell this in the spices section

Fillings:

• The cooked pork tenderloin (see broth)


• Two nests/packets of dried rice noodles


• A packet of pork or fish balls (only available in Asian supermarkets- substitute more meat, veggies or seafood


• half a bag of bean sprouts


• a handful a green leafy veggies (pak choi, choi sum, spinach) 


• 4 spring onions, finely sliced


• a small handful of coriander leaves

Toppings:

• 1 lime, cut into wedges

and mix together:

• a big splash of nam pla (fish sauce)


• red chillies, chopped fine


• 1 clove garlic, chopped

Start with the broth. Put all the broth ingredients into a very large pan. Bring it slowly up to the boil before turning it down and letting it simmer gently for an hour or so. Top up with more water if needed. After an hour, take out the pork and put to one side. Sieve out all rest of the solid broth ingredients and get rid of them, they’ve done their job. Slice the pork loin thinly and leave for the assembly stage.

Assembling the noodles. Put the pork or fish balls into the simmering broth and let these cook through for 5 minutes. In the mean time, prepare the dried rice noodles as per the packet instructions, usually they need soaking for a few minutes first. For this next bit you’ll need a small sieve or metal slotted spoon or a Chinese spider utensil in which to dip and cook your filling ingredients in the broth. Place half the noodles into your utensil and lower them into the hot broth until they are just submerged. Swirl them about in the broth for about 20 seconds to cook before turning them out into 2 bowls. In turn, repeat this process with the half the leafy veg, then half the bean sprouts. Next the sliced pork loin- dip and place a few slices over the noodles. Scoop out a few of the floating pork or fish bowls and add these to your bowl before sprinkling over some of the sliced spring onions and a few sprigs of coriander. 

Finally (breathing a sigh of relief) sprinkle over some of the chillies in fish sauce and squeeze a lime wedge over before sinking in to your well deserved bowl of boat noodles (don’t forget you still have equal amount of ingredients for bowl number 2!)

Pad Thai Talay (Seafood Fried Noodles)

I’ll say straight up, Pad Thai, despite being probably the second most famous Thai dish, sitting just after green/red curries, is one of my least favourite Thai meals, but it is one of my husband’s favourites. I’ve been cooking a lot of dishes with rice on the side recently so promised him a noodle dish for a change. I also had both squid and prawns in so a seafood Pad Thai it was. Saying that, I did still really enjoy it!

For 3 smaller portions/ 2 hungry portions use:

• Rice noodles (made to packet instructions- usually pre soaked then stir fried to finish ) or 3 sachets of ready to wok rice noodles (Amoy’s brand aren’t bad)


• seafood of your choice- I’ve used half a bag of raw king prawns and 100g baby squid, cleaned, trimmed, scored in a cross hatch pattern on both sides so it’ll curl up when fried then cut into inch square pieces


• a really big handful of bean sprouts


• 2 eggs, beaten in a cup


• a small handful of coriander, loosely ripped


• a small handful of peanuts, roughly broken in a pestle and mortar


• 3 spring onions, finely chopped


• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped


• a big splash fish sauce (nam pla- available in all supermarkets)


• a big pinch of sugar


• juice of 1 lime, plus another sliced in half for squeezing over


• a few chillies, chopped for sprinkling over


• a big splash of vegetable oil for frying

Heat the oil up in a wok until it’s really hot and throw in the garlic for just a few seconds before adding the seafood, keep stirring and fry for 2 minutes until the prawns are pink nearly all over. Shove this off to one side of the wok and pour the beaten eggs into the empty side. Let them sit for a few seconds, then scramble, leave and scramble, repeat until the eggs are fully cooked then stir everything back together. Throw in the spring onions and bean sprouts, stir frying for another minute before putting in the drained noodles (or sachet noodles if using ready to wok). Stir fry for 1 minute, leave them to sit for a minute if you like a bit of char on your noodles. Next add in the fish sauce, sugar and lime juice, stir and have a taste to see if it needs any more.

Turn the Pad Thai out onto a plate and top with the crushed peanuts, coriander, chopped chillies and squeeze over half a lime.

Moo Pad Med Mamuang Himmaparn (Pork fried with cashew nuts)

I love the Thai name for cashew nuts- mamuang = mango, himmaparn = paradise. Mangoes from paradise! How did we end up with that? It’s not a healthy dish as the pork is deep fried, in fact it’s very much like a something you’d get from a Chinese takeaway, from where this dish originates. I remember eating this stir fry on the night train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai back in 2006. Along with traders hopping on and off the trains to try and sell you snacks, there’s also a kitchen car on board and at some point in the journey a man will come round with a laminated menu, you pick what you want and some hours later at dinner time, your styrofoam box arrives with your order…

For 3 portions use:

• 300g of lean pork, cut into small chunks


• a small handful of green beans, chopped into inch pieces


• 1 small onion, cut into big pieces


• 4 dried red chillies


• a big handful of unsalted cashews


• 3 spring onions, cut into inch long pieces


• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped


• 1 cup plain flour


• a big splash of soy sauce


• a big splash of oyster sauce


• a small splash of dark soy sauce


• a small splash of sesame oil


• a small splash of fish sauce


• a pinch of sugar


• vegetable oil for deep frying/ frying

Start by heating some oil in a frying pan. Throw in the dried red chillies and heat on high, the chillies will turn darker, but don’t let them burn. After 30 seconds, take them out and drain on kitchen paper. Keep the oil on and now fry the cashew nuts, this will take about 2 minutes, keep them moving and again, don’t let them burn but let them take on some colour. Spoon out and drain on kitchen paper. Put the flour in a bowl or clean plastic bag and add all the pork, shaking it about so it’s fully coated in flour. 

In a deep pan or wok, heat enough oil up to deep fry. When it’s very hot, add the pork, shaking off the extra flour. Do it in batches if you need to and deep fry until crispy for about 3-4 minutes. Once again, when all the pork is fried, put it into kitchen paper to drain.

Back to the frying pan, and add a little bit more oil if it needs it. Start by frying the onions, let them get a bit of char, after 2/3 mins add in the garlic and green beans. Fry for 2 more mins and now throw in the cooked pork and spring onions. Cook for 2 more minutes and add the cashews and chillies, stir for a minute or so more before adding in all the sauces and seasoning. Just a few more minutes of stir frying and it’s ready to eat!

Moo Pad Prik Gaeng (Pork Stir Fried in Red Curry Paste)

After an eventful weekend back home involving running down mountains in a thunderstorm, getting wasps in places where wasps definitely shouldn’t be and spending some quality time with friends at weddings and indoor BBQs, it was time to cook up a simple and quick Thai dish when I got back to Yorkshire. This quick street food dish needs just 6 ingredients…


For two portions use:

• 200g lean pork, sliced thinly


• a handful of green beans, cut in half


• 50g of red curry paste (Mae Ploy is a good one if you can get it)


• a big splash of Nam Pla (Thai fish sauce)


• a pinch of sugar


• about 6 kaffir lime leaves (Sainsburys sell them fresh, use lime zest otherwise), ripped up


• Vegetable oil for frying (and no I’m not counting this as an ingredient!)

Heat a splash of oil in a wok, when it’s hot, add the curry paste, stir fry for around 30 seconds- it should be smelling really pungent. Add in the pork and stir fry for 3 minutes until it’s almost cooked. Throw in the beans, cook for another minute before adding the fish sauce, sugar and lime leaves- and that’s it. Serve with rice.

Told you this was quick one!

Khao Niew Mamuang (Sticky Rice & Mango)

Okay so it’s about time I did a dessert, even though I’ll admit I’m not a big dessert person. Thai desserts (to me anyway) seem to fall into three categories, heavy starch based dishes; usually sweetened, such as this one, incredibly sweet confectionery based ones or prepared fruits. There’s also the ubiquitous Thai pancake which is always popular with visiting tourist, usually filled with combinations of bananas and condensed milk. This one should be familiar to anyone who’s ever had rice pudding.


For two servings use:

• 1 ripe mango, peeled and cut in half (cut either side of the stone) and cut into wedges.


• 1 cup of rice (risotto, sushi, sweet or Thai sticky) all work


• 200ml of coconut milk (if using a tin, freeze the other half)


• 50g sugar

Start this the day/night before. Put the rice in a bowl of cold water and leave covered to soak until you want to start making the sticky rice. When you’re ready to start drain, (but don’t rinse) the rice. Now I don’t have a rice steamer, if you do, congratulations; follow the instructions on how to use it. Otherwise, get a pan of water boiling, place the drained rice in a sieve over the boiling water, making sure the water is sitting below the level of the sieve, cover it with a tight fitting lid and begin steaming the rice for 30-45 minutes until it’s soft and sticky. While it’s steaming, in a small part, gently heat the coconut milk and sugar until the sugar has dissolved.


When the rice is done, scrape it out into a bowl, pour over half of the sweetened coconut milk, cover it over and leave it to absorb for another 10 minutes or so.


When you’re ready to serve, place a spoonful of the coconut sticky rice next to the sliced mango and drizzle over the rest of the coconut milk.

Pla Tod Gratiem & Nam Jim Seafood

This has been my attempt to re create a dish I first had in Thailand 10 years ago. I can’t even remember exactly where I was when I ate it- I remember sitting nearby a river, it may have been Kanchanaburi. Anyway, it was a deep fried fish with a solid crust of minced garlic- way more garlic than I’ve used in my recipe and the crust of garlic had to be hacked away to reveal the fish inside. When we asked what kind of fish had been used we got a simple answer- river fish, perhaps it had been some sort of catfish. In my recipe I’ve used farmed bream. The sauce is another classic Thai dipping sauce (nam jim just means dipping sauce) and bizarrely, Thai’s do actually called it ‘Nam Jim Seafood’ or Sauce Seafood’!! This dish doesn’t require anything obscure, everything is easily found at a regular supermarket.


For 2 you’ll need:

• 2 meaty firm fish, sea bream worked very well


• 2-3 BULBS of garlic- minced


• a beaten egg


• a big pinch of salt and pepper


• vegetable oil for deep frying


• juice of 1 lime


• a big splash of fish sauce (nam pla) all supermarkets sell it


• 3 more garlic cloves, peeled


• 3 or 4 green Thai chillies


• a small handful of coriander, finely chopped


• a pinch of sugar

Start by making the Nam Jim Seafood. In a pestle and mortar, bash up the 3 garlic cloves and green chillies for a moment till you have a rough paste. Add in the chopped coriander, pinch of sugar, fish sauce and lime juice. Stir it well and pour out in a small bowl for later on.


Next get the fried garlic prepared. Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan. It doesn’t want to be too hot or the garlic will burn, keep the heat quite low. Add the garlic so it just gently sizzles and keep stirring regularly until the garlic lightly browns, may take up to 10 minutes. Once browned, scoop out (reserve flavoured oil) and drain on kitchen paper before transferring to a flat plate. On another plate, pour the beaten egg.


Now get the fish ready. Using sharp scissors, trim off all the fins but leave the head and tail. Most fish will already come gutted but will probably require scaling- don’t miss this, it’ll be horrible otherwise- use a sharp knife to scrape off all the scales under cold running water. Pat dry and cut a few deep slits on each side of the fish. Add more oil to the garlickly oil from just before and heat high. When it’s hot add your fish and cook on high for about 5 minutes either side, use a spatula and a plate to very gently turn them over. When the fish is fully cooked through, lift them out very gently and carefully dip the fish into the beaten egg- on both sides, before transferring it into the plate of crispy garlic, and coat both sides. Transfer the fish back to the hot oil, for just a minute on each side until the crust has formed.


Serve with rice, fresh coriander, a lime for squeezing over and the Nam Jim Seafood.