Wun Gati Bai Toey (Coconut & Pandan Dessert)

I’ll be honest, this Thai dessert was something of an acquired taste but it did look really pretty. It’s two distinct flavours, a sweet coconut milk jelly and a very unusual pandan leaf extract one that was a sort of a sweet grassy flavour. This was the second recipe I did with the pandan; pandan being a really popular Thai ingredient for desserts too.

For servings for 4 or even more use:

• 2 sachets (2 x 5g) of agar agar or vegegel


• 525ml of water


• 150g sugar


• 250 ml coconut milk


• 4 pandan leaves (finely chopped)

Start by pureeing the leaves and 100ml of the water then strain this to get rid of the tough fibres, you’ll be left with bright bright green liquid.

Heat 300ml of water in a pan, add in the agar agar, stirring quickly so it all dissolves before adding in the sugar and letting that dissolve too. Add in and stir the green pandan juice. Leave on a very low heat so it doesn’t set.

In another pan, heat the remaing 125ml of water adding your other sachet of agar agar, dissolving fully. Add in the sugar, dissolve and then add in the coconut milk. Keep this mixture also on a very low heat.

In a serving dish or jelly mould, pour in a thin layer of coconut jelly, let this set- it happens very quick in about 3 minutes, then add a pandan layer and so on until all the mixtures are used. Let the whole thing firm up in the fridge, again it doesn’t take long. 

When you cut it up, take it very steady as it’s slippery and the layers can separate out again!

Gaeng Phed Gai (Red chicken curry)

I tend not to make too many coconut based curries, partly just because there’s so many other Thai dishes to make and red/ green curries crop up just about everywhere but since I was in the mood for one, and I hadn’t covered the recipe for it to date, saw no reason not to include it; there’s a reason it’s one of the most well known Thai dishes! I’ve mentioned it before in the post I did for Green curry http://iwishiwasinthailand.tumblr.com/day/2014/07/27/  but I prefer to use a thinner, less sweet sauce so use half coconut milk half water. By all means if you prefer a thicker, sweeter sauce, use all coconut milk.


For 4 small portions/ 3 big, use:

• 2 small chicken breasts/ 4 skinless thighs, chopped into small cubes


• 50g of red Thai curry paste- use a good one without unnecessary fillers such as Maesri or Mae Ploy


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


• 200ml water


• mixed crunchy vegetables- I used a packet of pea aubergines, 8 baby corn, halved, a small tin of bamboo shoots and a small handful of green beans, trimmed and halved


• 5 red chillies, chopped


• a nobble of galangal, peeled and finely shredded


• a big splash of fish sauce


• a big pinch of sugar


• 4/5 kaffir lime leaves, rolled into a cigar and finely shredded


• half a packet of Bai Horapha leaves (Thai sweet basil)


• small splash of vegetable oil for frying

Heat the oil in a wok and throw in the curry paste- many kudos if you’ve decided to make your own version (I’m just too lazy and I think the Thai branded versions are excellent). Stir fry the paste for about 30 seconds, making sure it doesn’t burn before adding the coconut milk. Keep stirring, and you should start to see some of the red oils on the top. After 5 minutes of so, add in the raw chicken- stir, and cook for about 5 minutes before adding in the water and tougher vegetables such as the pea aubergines and green beans. Give it another 5 minutes or so before adding in the rest of the veggies, fish sauce, galangal and sugar and cook for a final 5 minutes. When cooked, lightly stir through the sweet basil leaves, they don’t need any cooking as such and sprinkle over the shredded lime leaves and red chilli.

Gai Haw Bai Toey (Chicken Wrapped in Pandan Leaf)

Totally fallen in love with these little guys! I’ve had them once or twice before in Thai restaurants but they always seemed dried out and kind of bland- not so with this recipe. Pandan (or screwpine) is basically just a stiff spiky leaved South East Asian plant that has a slightly perfumed/ grassy flavour when fried. The leaves are just a wrapper, and are not meant to be eaten. I did make a pandan and coconut jelly with the spare leaves but that’s another story for another day….

for 2 people/ starters for 4, use:

• two chicken breasts/ 4 thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into chunks bigger than bite size


• a pack of pandan leaves (only available at Asian grocers), banana leaves are a good substitute.


• a big hefty shake of oyster sauce


• a big splash of light soy sauce


• a small splash of sesame oil


• a small splash of Shaoxing rice wine/ sherry


• a pinch of sugar


• a small handful of fresh coriander, roughly torn


• 4 cloves garlic, peeled


• a big pinch of black pepper


• vegetable oil for frying

Pound up the coriander into a paste, add in the garlic cloves and black pepper until you have a reasonably fine paste. Throw this into a bowl and on top, add the four sauces and sugar. Put into this mix the chunks of chicken and give everything a good stir through. Leave to marinade for one hour, making the dipping sauce in the meantime.

For the dipping sauce, gently warm through…

• a big splash of light soy sauce


• a small splash of dark soy sauce


• a small splash of water


• a finely chopped red chilli


• a sprinkle of sesame seeds

There are basically two ways to wrap up your chicken in the pandan leaves. The easiest way is to take half a strip and just keep wrapping it round the meat, pinning in place with a cocktail stick. The other way is to use the top halves of two leaves ( the pointed tip end); hold these in a V shape, with the base of one leaf on top of the other. Place the chicken ontop of the intersection of the leaves folding left over, then right over, alternating until you reach the end and everything is encased in a little parcel. See my photo above for both types of wrapping.

Set up a steamer/ colander over boiling water and steam the pandan parcels for 10 minutes. They’ll now be cooked but look pasty and dull. Fill the bottom on a wok with oil and now fry them for 5 minutes or so until the leaves are crisp and the chicken has taken on a golden brown colour.

Unwrap and discard the leaves (they’re not meant to be eaten) and dip into the sauce.

Sa Coo Maphraw (Tapioca Coconut Pudding)

I finally used my tapioca pearls to make this gorgeous little dessert Sa Coo Maphraw. Tapioca pearls have a great chewy texture that contrasted really nicely with the creamy sweet, rich coconut and there’s some young coconut blended through and on top for a bit of a slippery crunch. A perfect way to round off a Thai meal.

For two huge portions (or 4 smaller ones) use:

• Half a packet of pre made (coloured) tapioca pearls- the sort used in bubble tea. Had to buy at an Asian grocery shop


• 1 can (400ml) of coconut milk


• 1 young coconut (if available) or half a regular one.


• half a cup of sugar

Start with the whole coconut. Use whatever method works for you to hack your way into the coconut, enjoy the water inside as it’s not needed for the recipe and scrape nice long pieces of coconut from the shell. Leave these for now. Heat a pan of water and boil the tapioca pearls for 5 minutes or however long the packet recommends. While the tapioca pearls are cooking, gently heat the tin of coconut milk and sugar in a separate pan but don’t let it boil. Stir regularly to make sure the sugar is fully dissolved. When the tapioca pearls are done, drain them and put them straight in to the coconut milk or they will start to stick together. Add in half of your fresh coconut peelings and stir everything together. You’re done- just divide the mixture amongst your serving glasses and top off with the remaining fresh coconut. Best served warm but can be left to go cool if you  prefer.

No to Mediterranean Basil in Thai Food !!!

This winds me right up- so much so I just made the silly sign above to prove it. Thai restaurants in the UK (and in the US too?) that use Mediterranean basil instead of Thai basil.

I went out to a Thai restaurant for a friend’s birthday last night and ordered my favourite meal- chicken with Thai sweet  basil and let me say, on the menu had the Romanised Thai name Phad Bai Horapha which means sweet basil. What was otherwise a pleasant dish came with feckin Italian basil leaves on the top!! Nearly every Thai restaurant I’ve been to in the last 5 years does this. Every time I feel cheated and it does nothing for the flavour. ARRRRGGGGHH! Thai restaurants of the UK- for God’s sake if you can’t source Thai basil, holy, sweet or otherwise, stop pretending your customers are too stupid to tell the difference between something that should be on top of a pizza and something that should belong in a Thai curry! Rant over.

Yam Hua Plee Gai (Banana Blossom & Chicken Salad)

This was one tasty salad- a bit like my favourite Som Tam, it’s kind of an addictive salad- fresh, crunchy, nutty, salty, hot, sweet and sour- it’s pretty much perfect! I think there must be a lot of Vietnamese/ Cambodian influence in this salad as it’s so similar in style- lots of mint and crunchy raw veggies. The banana blossom although looking beautiful isn’t really essential and could easily be substituted with white cabbage.

For two portions use:

• two chicken portions ( thigh/drumsticks or breasts)


• half a red onion, shredded


• 1 banana blossom or ¼ of a white cabbage


• white (wine) vinegar if using a banana blossom


• a small handful of peanuts


• 1 lemongrass stalk, trimmed, outer layer peeled off, finely chopped


• a few kaffir lime leaves (optional) ripped into small bits


• a big handful of mint leaves


• 4 cloves of garlic, 2 finely chopped


• 2 red chillies, roughly chopped


• a teaspoon or so of chilli flakes


• juice of 1 lime


• big splash of fish sauce


• a big pinch of sugar


• a small amount of veg oil for frying

Start by poaching your chicken, plain water is fine, until they are fully cooked, 30-40 minutes should do it.

While this is going on, prepare the banana blossom if you are using one. In a bowl fill it half way with cold water and add a hefty splash of white vinegar- this will stop the banana blossom oxidising and going brown after its peeled. Start by peeling off all the purple outer petals, stopping when you get to the creamy white ones. Trim the stalk and tip and cut the whole thing in half lengthways. Place the flat side down on your board and slice thinly widthways. Get the sliced blossom submerged in the vinegary water straight away. 

Make the dressing- pound up the chillies and 2 whole garlic cloves until you have a rough paste. Add in the sugar, pound, then stir in the fish sauce and lime juice. Leave this to one side for now.

The frying bit- add a small amount of oil to a wok or frying pan and heat quite high. Fry the red onion until it starts to get a bit crispy, throw in the chopped garlic, lemongrass, peanuts and lime leaves for the last minute or so and then turn the whole thing out into a bowl. 

Once the chicken’s cooked, leave it to cool for a while before shredding all the meat. Mix this with the cooked ingredients, mint leaves, chilli flakes and (drained) banana blossom. Tip the dressing over and use your hands to give everything a good stir though. If you’ve used them, serve the salad on top of the banana petals.

Pla Pao (Salt Crusted Baked Fish)

More lovely fish :) One of the good things to have come out of my move to North Yorkshire is access to a new supermarket (Morrisons) which (imho) has much better fish than the other major supermarket chains. So I’ve been eating much more of it of late. This is a great recipe, fun to do and fairly quick and easy- the salt crust keeps everything really juicy inside.

For two people you’ll need:

• Two fish (tilapia, sea bass, bream etc.) LEAVE SCALES ON THE FISH! Very important!!


• 500g salt


• a handful of flour


• a splash of water


• a few sticks of lemongrass, bashed

and for the Nam Jim seafood sauce use:

• 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

Heat the oven to about 180 degrees/ 350F/ gas 4. In a bowl mix up the salt, flour and splash of water- you should have a thick paste. Take the fish (and remember the fish wants it’s scaled LEFT ON for this recipe) and stuff the bashed lemongrass stalks inside the cavity. Place the fish onto a baking tray and press a thin coating of the salt paste all over the fish but avoid getting in inside the cavity. Bake it in the oven, very gently turning it over after 20 minutes or so. Altogether it should take about 30-40 minutes or until the crust is rock hard and brown. 

While the fish is baking, make the Nam Jim seafood sauce. 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.

When the fish is done, very carefully lift it out, peeling the whole crust and skin off the fish- try to keep the all the salt away from the freshly exposed fish. Serve alongside some coriander and the nam jim seafood sauce.

Stock up at Nong Fern, Leeds

Took a trip to Nong Fern Thai Leeds yesterday for supplies. Picked up some exciting Thai ingredients so this week will be making banana blossom and chicken salad (Yam Hua Plee Gai) and Tapioca pearl coconut pudding (Sa Coo Mapraw)

Hoi Lai Pad Nam Prik Pao (Clams fried in roasted chilli paste)

I’ve been wanting to make this for ages but despite living on an island, we don’t always have access to great seafood here in the UK, much of it being exported or used in the restaurant trade. However, Booths (which is a top end northern England family supermarket chain) sells fantastic, fresh food, including shellfish so as a treat I collected my pre-ordered clams (and was given a free extra handful- ‘just in case’) which came to just over £8 and would have comfortably served 3 people and toddled off home to make this for tea.

With reference to Thailand, shellfish is not overly expensive and for those living nearer the coast, it is everyday food. It was also the first time I got to use one of my new ingredients- Nam Prik Pao, which is a roasted chilli paste and contains (along with chillies) tamarind, shrimp paste and a host of other ingredients. So overall, I make no apologies- this one isn’t an easy substitution dish as it contains quite a few specialist Thai ingredients.

For two people use:

• 500g of very fresh clams (or mussels), cleaned and dead ones (they don’t close when squeezed) thrown away


• a tablespoon of nam prik pao (roasted chilli paste)


• 4 or 5 red Thai chillies, sliced


• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped fine


• a small splash of fish sauce (nam pla)


• a small splash of oyster sauce


• a small splash of water


• a handful of sweet Thai basil (bai horapa)


• a pinch of sugar


• vegetable oil for frying

Heat the oil in a wok and when hot, throw in the garlic. Stir fry it for a few seconds before adding in the roasted chilli paste. Give this a good fry for about 30 seconds before adding the chillies, sugar and all the sauces/ water. Throw in the cleaned clams and stir fry. Ideally- find a lid or kitchen implement that can cover the wok so the clams begin to steam, Keep frying and gently shaking the clams in the sauce for about ¾ minutes- they should all now be open. For the last few seconds, toss through the Thai sweet basil and serve alongside rice. 

Note- if any clams have failed to fully open, throw them out- they may have been dead before cooking began.

A little bit of inspiration for the day…

courtesy of Erika’s Travel Tips- http://www.facebook.com/erikastraveltips

Sankaya Mamuang (Mango Custard)

Hurrah!! I finally did another Thai dessert! this little lovely is a baked mango coconut custard; it’s very much like a soufflé in that it’s baked in the oven, rises and then sinks a bit after you take it out. It’s also good if you don’t like really sweet desserts. I’m also not totally sure if this is a ‘real’ Thai desert- sankaya is normally used inside a pumpkin and then steams as it cooks, you then get a big wedge of softened pumpkin and creamy custard inside. However, mixing in mango puree into the custard mix is much quicker and gives more predictable results.

For two people use:

• 1 juicy mango, pureed


• 2 eggs, beaten


• a small handful of sugar


• 150ml of coconut milk


• optional- shavings of coconut


• a very small amount of vegetable oil

Get the oven heated up, medium high, about 180 degrees/ 350F/ gas 4. Using just a few drops of vegetable oil, grease the bowls/ ramekins/ pots you will cook and serve in. Mix the pureed mango, beaten eggs, sugar and coconut milk in a bowl and pour this in until the mixture sits about a fingers width below the rim. Put the dishes into the oven and bake for about 35 minutes. Like a soufflé, it will rise and then fall as you take it out. Shave over some coconut flakes to serve and be careful- it will be really hot!