Gaeng Jued Woon Sen (Clear Broth with Vermicelli Noodles)

Yesterday I had a poorly sick husband and unfortunately even this soothing bowl of gaeng jued (plain or clear broth) didn't help; it did mean I got to take it to work for my lunch though!!! As this is such a nutritious, dare I say it- plain dish (and by plain, it's far from boring; it just doesn't have the usual variety of herbs, spices and chillies that usually feature in Thai food) I had been saving making it for the next time my husband was feeling under the weather, which doesn't happen very often so it's been on my to do list for ages now!

In this recipe the vegetables, not the meat are the main ingredients, it can easily become vegetarian or vegan by using a vegetable stock, and substituting the meatballs with more tofu and mushrooms. 

Those of you paying attention may wonder where the curry is; 'Gaeng' is the somewhat unspecific Thai word for a soupy sauce or stew, it just so happens that most dishes with 'gaeng' in the title (Gaeng Massaman, Gaeng Kari, Gaeng Kiew Wan etc.) are what we in the west traditionally lump under the generic term 'curry'. Gaeng Jued, fits much better in the 'stew' category.

That cleared up, here's the recipe; it's a versatile dish- as long as there's lots of vegetables, feel free to chop and change your veggies and proteins. It is quite a long list but as everything is just getting boiled up together in a pot, it's not too onerous.

For 2 big bowls use:

• 200g pork mince
• 6 shitake mushrooms (soaked in boiling water for 20 mins)
• a small handful of Chinese jelly/wood mushrooms (soaked in boiling water for 20 mins)
• a small tube of soft egg tofu, cut into slices
• 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
• 5 leaves of Chinese cabbage, cut into large chunks
• 4 spring onions, cut into chunky slivers
• a good handful of coriander, stalks separated from leaves
• 1 nest of vermicelli (cornstarch/mungbean) noodles (soaked in boiling water for 10 mins)
• 500ml of pork stock
• 2 lemongrass stalks, lightly bashed
• vegetable trimmings (carrot peelings, spring onion trimmings, a celery stick
• a teaspoon of black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• a small splash of fish sauce

Start off by making your stock [I admit I had a head start as I already had some concentrated pork stock in the freezer that I had left from another recipe. I added 500 ml of water to the jelly stock to make it liquid again.]

To make the stock even more flavoursome add the trimmings of carrot, spring onion, coriander stalks (reserving the leaves for later) and a bit of celery, plus the lemongrass stalks into a large pot and cook over a low heat for around an hour, topping up with water if it gets too low.

While the stock is cooking make the meatball mixture. First pound up half of the coriander leaves, garlic and black pepper into a smooth paste. Mix this through the mince with the splash of fish sauce. Leave to one side for later.

After an hour, use a strainer to scoop out and discard all the solids, leaving behind a rich light brown clear broth. You still need about 500ml of liquid.

With all ingredients prepared and ready to go, heat the broth over a medium heat. Pop in the carrots and let them soften for about 5 minutes before adding both mushroom (sliced if they are large) for a further 5 minutes. Next in goes the noodles (loosen them in the broth) and the Chinese cabbage, cooking for a minute.

Grab the meatball mixture and use a large spoon to make egg shaped meatballs by pressing the mixture against the side of the bowl. Very carefully, push the mixture into the simmering broth; don't stir but flip them over after a couple minutes.

Finally slide in the tofu slices and heat through for a final minute.

Scoop a big ladleful of ingredients into a bowl along with plenty of broth, topping with a sprinkling of spring onions and some of the remaining coriander.

Gaeng Som Cha Om (Sour Curry with Acacia Omelette)

Gaeng Som must be one of the few 'curries' I've yet to touch on; my preference for Northern and Central Thai cuisine means I often overlook dishes from South Thailand, perhaps unfairly. To this end today's recipe and the next will focus on southern Thai food.

Gaeng Som is more soup like than other curries and has a simple and aromatic paste making it an easy dish to pull off. It's sourness comes from a combination of tamarind paste and lime juice. Any combination of crunchy vegetables can feature in a gaeng som but keeping it traditional, I've just used bamboo shoots. A popular addition; acacia omelette (kai jeow cha om) helps to provide a pleasing textural contrast and soaks up some of the broth.

For 4 small bowls use:

• 200g peeled prawns
• 200g of drained and rinsed bamboo shoots, sliced
• 50ml of taramind concentrate
• juice of 1 lime
• small handful of peeled Thai shallots
• small handful of dried red chillies
• 4 or 5 fingers of krachai (galingale) chopped
• 1 teaspoon of shrimp paste
• 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
• a big splash of fish sauce

and for the accompanying acacia omelette follow this recipe

Begin by making the acacia (cha om) omelette, cutting it into squares and keeping warm while you make the curry.
Make the curry paste by pounding the dried red chillies, shallots, shrimp paste and krachai in a mortar, working it until you have a well blended red paste. The krachai will be one of the predominant flavours of the dish whilst the chillies give it it's orangey/red colour.
Boil the chicken stock in a large pan and pop in all the prepared paste, mixing well. Turn down the heat to a simmer.
Add in the bamboo shoots and cook for 2 minutes, then add in the tamarind and fish sauces.
Next in go the prawns- 3 minutes or so for raw, 1-2 for pre-cooked.
Finally squeeze in the lime juice, give everything a final quick stir and stir with freshly cooked rice.
Serve the acacia omelette both in and on the side of your gaeng som.

Guay Tiew Nam Moo (Pork Noodle Soup)

There's nothing quite like slurping down a bowl of well seasoned noodles in a savoury broth and guay tiew nam (rice noodle soups) are perfect for that. They can be more or less whatever you want them to be using any kind of combinations of ingredients and seasonings. They are both hearty and filling but very healthy too, just right for a cold February evening. You'll find noodle soup sellers up and down Thailand on any available street corner working from restaurants, stalls and push carts and they're one of the easiest and most popular dishes to grab on the go.

For two big bowls use:

• a small pack of fresh rice noodles (around 200g) (or 2 leaves of dried- prepared to pack instructions), loosened and separated into individual strands
• 2 handfuls of beansprouts
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 200g pork mince
• 1 litre water
• 2 handfuls of chicken bones, raw or cooked, meat on or off. I used chicken wing tips and will save the wings for another recipe.
• half a bulb of garlic, 1 clove finely chopped, the rest just cut in half
• a handful of coriander- half finely chopped, half just very roughly cut
• a tablespoon of black pepper
• a small splash of fish sauce

And for seasonings, choose from: chilli flakes, sugar, sliced chillies & garlic in vinegar or in fish sauce, lime wedges, peanuts, shredded coriander- it's your choice!

Place the broth ingredients: water, chicken bones, the roughly cut garlic and coriander and 3/4 of the black pepper in a large pan. Bring to the boil and simmer slowly for at least an hour for the flavour to develop.

While the broth cooks make the pork balls; mix mince, finely chopped garlic and coriander, the last 1/4 tablespoon of pepper and the fish sauce together in a bowl. Using your hands, form them into golf ball sized meatballs and leave to one side.

When the broth is ready, use a small sieve or strainer to scoop out and discard all the solids. Turn up the heat and drop in the rice noodles, not for long, around 20 seconds, much longer and they'll turn to mush. Scoop out and place in bowls along with a little broth so they don't clump together.

Into the simmering broth, gently place the pork balls which will cook quickly; around 3 minutes- cut one if half to check if need be. Scoop them out when cooked and place onto of the noodles.

Finally, put in the beansprouts and blanch for no more than 20 seconds so they don't lose their crunch. strain and place in the serving bowl before ladling  over a decent amount of broth to fill the bowl.

Sprinkle over the chopped spring onions and whatever seasoning you like. Feel free to slurp, it's good manners!!

Sukiyaki (Thai Hot Pot)

Sukiyaki is a beautiful marriage between a Chinese hot pot and Japanese shabbu shabbu, blended with Thai ingredients and flavours to create something that's colourful, fun, beautiful and really healthy to eat. In an ideal world, you would have a tabletop stove with a pot designed to bubble away while you sit around. Unfortunately I don't have one and you may not either; don't let it put you off; it's really not that difficult to cook in a big pot on the stove and nip back to cook and fill each bowl of ingredients you build. The great thing is the more ingredients that get cooked, the more flavour the basic stock gets.

There are no rules when it comes to ingredients, so create your own mix of meats and/or tofu, seafood, vegetables and fungi, noodles and seasonings, I've used what was available to me and what took my fancy. The sauce you serve with it should be salty, sour, spicy and sweet- put a spoon into the bottom of each serving bowl before pouring in the broth and use it as a dipping sauce to perk up each mouthful.

For two people use:

For the sauce:

• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 small red chillies, finely chopped
• a small splash of light soy sauce
• a small splash of fermented yellow bean sauce
• juice of 1 lime
• a big splash of sriracha chilli sauce
• a pinch of sugar
• a pinch of sesame seeds

For the sukiyaki: (remember you can choose whatever ingredients you like)

• 8 very large prawns
• 2 chicken thighs, sliced very thin
• a small pack of fish balls (10 or so)
• a small pack of enoki mushrooms, ripped into thin bundles
• several stalks of choi sum, cut into large chunks
• a bundle of morning glory, cut into large chunks
• 1 litre of chicken stock

Make the sauce by mixing up all the ingredients, set to one side.

Heat the stock in your largest pot/pan on a medium/high heat until gently boiling.

Using chopsticks, put in the chicken, waving around to cook in the broth. Make sure the chicken is fully cooked and then start adding combinations of whatever ingredients you want to use, cooking until just done. Pop some of the sukiyaki sauce into your bowl, ladle yourself some broth over, mixing with the sauce and top off with the cooked ingredients.

Giew Nam (Dumpling Soup)

What could be better than fragrant pork stuffed wontons in a savoury broth topped with crispy fried garlic? I love this recipe and it's a firm favourite in our house. It doesn't take as much time to make as you might expect and is just what you want on a dark wintery evening. There's a clear Chinese influence with this dish but with a subtle twist to make it firmly Thai. Enjoy slurping your way through your bowl of giew nam, just make sure there's enough for a second bowl!

For 4 bowls of giew nam use:

• A pack of wonton dumpling skins (I buy them frozen but leave them to slowly defrost still sealed in their packet throughout the day)
• around 300g of pork mince
• a fist size chunk or thereabouts of napa cabbage, very finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• a few springs, stalks and roots of coriander
• a spoonful of oyster sauce
• a small splash of soy sauce
• a big pinch of black pepper
• 3 spring onions, sliced finely
• 300ml of chicken stock
• half bulb garlic, cloves peeled and chopped finely
• a big glug of vegetable oil for frying the garlic

Make a quick paste out of the 3 garlic cloves, coriander and black pepper and mix this well with the pork mince. Add in the oyster and soy sauce and then the chopped napa cabbage and mix into a smooth paste.

Take up a wonton skin and dipping your finger into a small cup of water, wet lightly around the edges of the skin. Place a walnut sized ball of the pork mixture in the middle and press the sides evenly together, sealing in the meat- if you want to be fancy, try pleating the edge! Leave them to one side for now...

Heat the vegetable oil in a small pan on a fairly low heat. Add in all of chopped half bulb of garlic- it should gently sizzle. Cooking it over a low flame will take about 5-6 minutes to turn the garlic crispy and light golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the garlic and drain onto kitchen paper.

Heat a large pot of water until boiling and working in batches, gently place the prepared dumplings into the water. As they cook, they will rise to the surface. Three minutes should do it.

Scoop them out and place to one side on a large plate. Don't try and drain all the water off them- keeping them in some of the residual hot water will stop them sticking to the plate and each other.

Heat the chicken stock and when ready to serve, quickly heat the dumpling up in the stock for a couple of minutes before ladling out a helping of the broth with 8 or so dumplings in. Sprinkle over the chopped spring onions and a good helping of the crispy fried garlic. 

Don't forget to add chillies or rice vinegar if you would like and eat as the Thai's do with soup dishes- use a spoon for the broth and chopsticks for the noodles (or wontons in this case)

Thai Soup Collection

It’s almost that time of year again- soup season!! Bringing you my recipe collection of four Thai soups I have cooked over the past year or so.

From top-bottom:
Tom Kha Gai (Galangal Chicken Soup)
Tom Saeb (Hot & Sour Pork Rib Soup)
Tom Yum Boran (Ancient Soup)
Tom Yum Goong (Hot & Sour Shrimp Soup)

Tom Saeb (Hot & Sour Pork Rib Soup)

This will probably be the last Thai soup for a while now; the weather is beginning to warm up here so thoughts are turning to lighter meals. This is a great comfort dish though and with it’s powerful herbal broth is definitely going to do you some good and help fight off any colds. It is fairly similar to two other Thai soups I featured before Tom Yum Goong (this has prawns, mushrooms, chilli paste and a little sweetness) and Tom Yum Boran (has beansprouts, peanuts, pork slices and noodles). This is apparently a pretty fashionable dish in Thailand right now; don’t ask me why though!
For two portions use:

• 4/5 small/medium pork ribs,use a cleaver or ask your butcher to chop them into inch pieces
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 4 dried red chillies
• (optional) 3 or 4 small birds eye chillies
• 5/6 kaffir lime leaves, ripped up
• a chunk of galangal, cut into slices
• 3 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 2 stalks of lemon grass, sliced
• a small handful of fresh coriander
• juice of 1 large or 2 small limes
• a big splash of fish sauce
• 4 cups of water

Into a large pan add the water, pork ribs, dried and (if using fresh chillies), kaffir lime leaves, garlic, galangal and lemon grass and turn on the heat. Cooking the ribs in the liquid will create the stock that will give your soup all of its rich flavour. Cook over a medium heat for 30 minutes or so, the ribs won’t fall off the bone but should be soft. Use a slotted spoon or spatula to sieve out all the tough herbs- lime leaves, galangal and lemon grass (unless you want to leave them in). Drop in the spring onions and fresh coriander. Give it a stir, then turn the heat off and pour in the fish sauce and lime juice. Stir briefly before serving.

Tom Yum Boran (Ancient Soup)

And so it’s the end of the year and a final post for 2014. Tom Yum Boran (Ancient soup) a little known, old fashioned Thai recipe that was very easy to make,being sort of a cross between a Pad Thai and hot and sour soup or quite like a Thai version of a bowl of Japanese ramen. It is an excellent one for clearing heads and is both light and cleansing too. A perfect healthy new year food.


In just 6 months I’ve gained 233 lovely followers, thanks for your support and I hope you continue to enjoy reading my blog and hopefully are inspired to try out some of the recipes. Have a wonderful 2015! Naomi x


For two people, use:

• Two small nests of dried egg noodles


• a small handful of thinly sliced lean pork


• Two handfuls of bean sprouts


• Juice of a lime 


• 4 spring onions, chopped


• a small handful of peanuts, crushed


• a pinch of chilli flakes


• half a pint of water


• a big piece of galangal,bashed


• two stalks of lemongrass, bashed


• 3 cloves of garlic,bashed


• 2 small Thai chillies, split


• 6 ish kaffir lime leaves, ripped up


• a splash of fish sauce (nam pla)


• a big splash of tamarind concentrate or if you can’t get this, an extra half juiced lime

In a large pan, heat the water with the meat, galangal, lemongrass, garlic, chillies and lime leaves on a gentle heat for around 30 minutes to infuse the flavours of the herbs. If the water reduces too much,add a bit more. After the infusing time, strain out and discard all the solid herbs, leaving the meat behind. Add in the tamarind, lime and fish sauces before stirring briefly.

In a separate pan, boil water and cook the noodles before straining out and dividing the noodles between bowls. Briefly boil the bean sprouts, 30 seconds will do, before scooping out and topping the noodles with them.

Distribute the soup and pork between the bowls and sprinkle over the spring onion, peanuts, chilli flake and an extra squeeze of lime.

Tom Kha Gai (Galangal Chicken Soup)

As it’s getting to winter and getting pretty cold and foggy here in North Yorkshire it’s time to step up the comfort factor. Tom kha gai is a herbal chicken and mushroom soup that hits all the Thai flavour notes- sweet, sour, salty and spicy. It shouldn’t be too spicy and certainly shouldn’t be too sweet although as ever, with all Thai food, these can be customised to your particular preference. As it’s a soup the liquid should be quite thin, not thick like a curry sauce. This dish shouldn’t cause too many problems as most of the ingredients can be found in a regular supermarket.


For two- three bowls use:

• 2 skinless, trimmed chicken thighs/ 1 breast- chopped small


• 1 small red onion, cut into chunky wedges


• a big handful of oyster mushrooms, ripped up


• 2 tomatoes, cut into chunky wedges


• 200ml of  coconut milk


• 200ml of water


• a splash of chicken stock/ 1 stock cube


• some red small chillies (I used 3) cut into a few pieces


• a handful of fresh coriander leaves


• a small chunk of galangal, cut into thin slices


• 6 kaffir lime leaves, ripped (use lime peel if you can’t get leaves)


• 2 stalks of lemongrass, trimmed, outer layer removed and cut into a few pieces and lightly bashed.


• juice of 1-2 limes


• a splash of fish sauce (nam pla)


• optional chilli flakes for serving

Start by heating the coconut milk up gently in a pan and throw in the tough herbs- galangal, lemongrass, lime leaves and chillies. Once it’s hot, cook for about five minutes and add the chicken, poaching in the soup. Give this about 5 minutes, making sure at all times the coconut milk doesn’t boil. Add in the water and stock, onions and mushrooms. Cook for another 5 minutes, watching it so it doesn’t boil and stirring gently from time to time. Next add the tomatoes and a splash of fish sauce. Give it just five minutes more and while it has it’s last few minutes on the stove, squeeze the lime juice equally amongst the serving bowls. Divide the soup out on top of the juice and top each bowl with a few coriander sprigs and (optionally) some chilli flakes. When eating it’s up to you if you want to eat the tougher herbs; I tend to eat it all apart from the lemongrass!

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!)

Tom Yum Goong (Hot & Sour Prawn Soup)

Another Thai classic and another one that features on Thai restaurant menus everywhere. I can highly recommend this one if you have a cold, are feeling under the weather or have been over indulging as it’s full of vitamins and will clear your head! It’s also extremely low fat but has plenty of protein so ideal if you want a healthy Thai option.


For two bowls use:

• 2.5 cups of chicken broth


• a big splash of fish sauce


• 2 sticks of lemongrass, bashed (all supermarkets sell it fresh)


• a few slices of galangal (some supermarkets sell it but use ginger if you can’t get it)


• juice of 1 big lime


• 5 or 6 six kaffir lime leaves, roughly torn (lime zest works well too)


• a small handful of coriander, roughly chopped


• a big pinch of sugar


• a handful of oyster mushrooms (or regular) shredded


• half a packet of large prawns


• 6 red Thai chillies


• 2 cloves garlic


• a small dribble of vegetable oil

Place 4 of the chillies and the garlic in a pestle and mortar, bash until it becomes a smooth red paste and add a little dribble of vegetable oil. Leave to one side. In a pan, add the stock, sugar, lemongrass stalks, galangal and the other two chillies, split down the middle. Let the broth simmer for about 10 minutes while you pour a splash of fish sauce and squeeze half a lime into each serving bowl. After ten minutes simmering time, add the mushrooms, prawns and kaffir lime leaves and let these cook for 5 minutes. Finally, get rid of the lemongrass stalks before adding the chilli garlic paste into the soup and stir, you’ll see some red oil on the top. Spoon the soup into the bowls and add the coriander to the top. Give the soup a mix before eating.