Thai Red Salmon Curry

I had doubts about blogging this as it is fairly similar to the Panang fish curry I have previously posted but in the end decided that it was different enough to warrant it.

We had this on a Sunday evening when I was back from visiting mum and bf (as was) from dropping off the boy so I what I wanted was speed. To that end I used ginger & garlic pastes but of course you can just use a crushed garlic clove and an equivalent amount of grated ginger instead. Galangal & kaffir lime leaves are purely optional although they will lend a depth and complexity of flavour, and if can’t get Thai or Holy basil use some of the normal Italian stuff.

Curry pastes differ wildly in strength & heat so adjust accordingly. I used 2 tablespoons as I like it strong and spicy but do adjust according to taste. Mae Ploy is a particularly good brand to get if you can. The tubs are quite big but they last well in the fridge and most closely resemble, to my mind, what a pounded Thai curry paste would look like if you made it yourself. If you use Mae Ploy it will also matter less if you don’t have galangal, kaffir and thai basil as they are already so well flavoured.

We used salmon obviously but you could just as easily use a white fish such as cod or haddock or in fact quite easily use chicken instead of fish, although obviously it will require a longer cooking time. Similarly I have added sugar snaps, mushrooms and baby corn but you could add whatever veg you like really


Quick Thai Red Salmon Curry
serves 2

½ tbsp rapeseed oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
½ tsp galangal paste (optional)
1½ -2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
165ml coconut milk
150ml vegetable stock
½ lime, juiced
½ tbsp Thai fish sauce
½ tsp palm (or brown) sugar
75g sugar snap peas, sliced in half on the diagonal
100g baby corn, sliced lengthways
75g mushrooms, chopped
200g salmon fillets, cut into 2.5cm (1in) cubes
½ tsp Thai basil paste
½ tsp sliced kaffir lime leaves
small handful coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Heat the oil in a frying or sauté pan over a medium heat and add the shallots. Fry for 3–4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, ginger & galangal pastes and fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.

Add the red curry paste and fry for a further minute or so, stirring to coat the shallots.

Pour in the coconut milk and vegetable stock and bring to a steady boil then turn down and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar. Stir in the vegetables and simmer for 3 minutes.

Add in the fish pieces and simmer for 3–5 minutes until just cooked.

Stir through the basil and limes leaves, simmer for 1 more minutes then serve over rice in bowls, garnished with the coriander.

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Spicy Prawn & Vegetable Noodle Soup

This is an adaptation of a recipe that I have posted before here but there are enough subtle changes, and the original was posted long enough ago, that I thought it worth posting.

Again I have used a fish stock cube but if you are able to get raw prawns in their shells then make the shells from the prawns to make your own stock (it is a very light stock anyway) or even just use chicken or vegetable stock.

The beauty of this - and other similar soups or broths - is that the world is your oyster really when it comes to what vegetables you add. You can use as many or few as you like and really ring the changes to make it a different proposition each time.

Whatever you go for it will be delicious I am sure.


Spicy Prawn & Vegetable Noodle Soup
serves 2

2 tsp of sesame oil
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 inch knob of ginger, peeled & finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, cut in half and crushed (whack with a rolling pin)
2 birds eye chillies, deseeded, deveined and cut into slivers
700ml weak fish stock (ie use half the amount of stock to water that the instructions suggest)
1 tsp of chilli sauce, Linghams or Sriracha if you have it
1 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of fish sauce
175g raw prawns
65g babycorn, quartered lengthways
50g mangetout, cut into thin lengths on the diagonal
6 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1-2 nests of dried noodles (about 75g)
juice of 1 lime and rind of ½
1 spring onion, finely sliced into 3cm lengths
small handful coriander, chopped

Gently heat the sesame oil in a large saucepan then add the garlic, ginger, onions, lemongrass and most of the chillies. Sauté gently for about 5 minutes without letting the contents colour.

Add the stock and bring to the boil, then add the chilli, soy & fish sauces. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the babycorn, mangetout and mushrooms and simmer for a few minutes more, then gently add the noodles and prawns and simmer until the prawns and noodles are cooked (about four minutes).

Finally, stir in the the lime juice and the grated rind. Spoon into large bowls and sprinkle over with the chopped coriander, shredded spring onion and the rest of the chilli slivers.

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Quick Thai Jungle Curry

I absolutely love jungle curry - it is definitely my favourite of the Thai curries - but when making it authentically it can be a bit of a faff with a fairly long list of ingredients that are hard to get hold of outside a Chinatown or oriental food store. That can be seen with the version that I have posted previously here.

With this one though all the ingredients can all be found in the high street supermarkets: Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose and so on. Yay!

You can use chicken (or duck) instead of pork or even up the veg and make it entirely vegetarian (obviously you can use vegetable stock if that is the case). While not as amazing as the original this is definitely giving a go if you don’t have the time or inclination for the former.

Be aware that commercial Thai curry pastes can vary considerably in taste and strength - I use Mae Ploy which actually being Thai in origin is quite pungent (in a good way) but you may need to alter the paste quantities given below depending on what you have, and of course, to taste.


Quick Jungle Curry
serves 2

400 ml weak pork (or chicken) stock
40g red curry paste (about 2 tbsp + 2 tsp)
½ tsp galangal paste
½ tsp ginger, grated
1 birds eye chilli, finely sliced
300g pork (I used fillet), sliced thinly
5 tsp fish sauce
½ tsp sugar
75g tinned bamboo shoot (mine came in strips)
100g baby corn, cut in half length-ways
50g shitake mushrooms, sliced
75g green beans, cut in half
4-5 kaffir lime leaves
10 basil leaves

Heat up a wok and add in the stock, red curry paste, galangal, chilli & ginger. Bring to the boil, stirring to combine.

Reduce heat to a simmer and add the beans and babycorn.

Cook the veg for a minute then add the pork and cook for another minute.

Add the fish sauce and sugar. Stir to mix then gently stir in the bamboo shoot, mushrooms and kaffir leaves into the wok. 

Cover the wok and bring to boil. Turn the heat to medium and let it cook for 5-6 minutes. Add in the basil leaves. Give it a quick stir and cook for 2 minutes. Serve with jasmine rice.

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Khao Tom Gai

In Thai, Khao Tom (ข้าวต้ม) means rice soup and Gai is chicken (in this instance I used turkey but same, same..) so with this Thai-inspired soup, rice is cooked in a broth that is generously seasoned with lemongrass, shallots, and garlic and then minced turkey or chicken are later added along with fish sauce and lime juice to finish.

It is basically a thinner Thai-style congee and as such often eaten for breakfast as well as lunch or dinner. Whatever time of day it is eaten however it is simple comfort food, packed with flavour and extremely satisfying.


Khao Tom Gai
serves 2

750ml chicken stock
1 shallot, finely diced
1 lemongrass, trimmed & halved lengthwise
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp minced ginger
85g short-grain rice
150g turkey mince
2 tsp fish sauce, plus more to taste
sea salt
½ lime, juiced
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
15g sliced spring onions
½ red chilli, finely chopped
60g firm tofu (I used marinated)
fried shallots to serve (optional)

Into a large saucepan add the shallots, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, stock, a tiny pinch of salt and the rice and bring to a simmer.

Cook until the soup is thickened and the rice is tender, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.. Reduce heat to very low. Remove the lemongrass and discard.

Add the turkey mince, fish sauce and the lime juice. Simmer for 2 or 3 minutes.

Stir in half the coriander, half the green onions, half the chili and the tofu.

Heat gently for a couple of minutes or so until the tofu is warmed through. Check the seasoning carefully and add more fish sauce and / or salt to taste as necessary.

Divide the soup between bowls, then top with remaining coriander, spring onions, chillies and fried shallots and serve immediately.

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Pad Thai

The bf & I both love pad thai but in all honesty I’m really not sure that I love cooking it. Rice sticks (and rice noodles generally) are a beast to work with. No matter how hard I try I always seem to get an unwieldy tangled lump that doesn’t want to incorporate the other ingredients. Which of course results in a beast to photograph too. As you can see.

Luckily it tasted pretty good so we at least have that.

I went with prawns and tofu here but you can have a chicken version too - or a combination of whatever you fancy. Or the mother of all pad thais with everything chucked in. Or really pare it back and go veggie.

What you are looking for is a little bit spicy, a little sweet and a little sour so do adjust your flavourings carefully to get a perfect (for you) balance.


Pad Thai
serves 2

120g 2-3mm wide flat rice sticks
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
100g extra-firm tofu, chopped into small cubes
8-10 large prawns
1 large egg, cracked into a small bowl
25g preserved salted radish, chopped
1 tbsp small dried shrimp
100g beansprouts
½ small bunch chives, chopped
50g roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
For the sauce

2 tbsp pad thai paste
1.5 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp tamarind paste or concentrate
1.5 tsp palm sugar
1-2 tsp Sriracha or pinch of chilli powder, to taste
⅓ cup water
For garnish

Lime wedges, chilli flakes, chopped peanuts, chopped coriander, fish sauce

Soak the rice sticks in warm water for 15-30 minutes until softened but al dente. Drain and set aside.

Combine the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside.

Put a wok on a high heat and add half the oil before adding the garlic, stir fry for a few seconds then add prawns into the wok and stir until half cooked. Take them out and set aside.

Add the noodles and a splash of water. Stir fry until they're drying out, then add the sauce. Fry until they are almost soft enough to eat (they should be slightly chewy).

Push the noodles to the side of the wok and add the rest of the oil. Add the tofu and prawns back into the pan and stir continuously.

Push to the side and add the egg. Pierce the yolk and when it starts to set, quickly scramble.

Stir through the noodles, and add the radish, dried shrimp, beansprouts, chives and peanuts.

Stir fry until well combined, then serve with the garnishes on the table so that they can be added according to taste.

 

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Spicy Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

Adding to my collection of Asian-inspired soups this is another that is also very adaptable: it can be made vegetarian by upping the veg content even more (and using vegetable stock of course); you can use chicken breast rather than thighs to make it a little healthier (although thighs I don’t think can be beaten on the taste front), or prawns or mixed seafood, fish and so on.…

I actually wanted to use pad thai noodles but I couldn’t get hold of any so instead used plain old egg noodles which were still good. But again, use what noodles you like or even have it without noodles and have it as is or even with a small bowl of rice alongside.

This is filling and delicious - always a good combination.


Spicy Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

Serves 3 

groundnut oil
2-3 tbsp tom yum & / or red Thai curry paste
350g chicken thigh fillets, thinly sliced
1 tin coconut milk
800ml chicken stock
2 nests noodles, cooked and drained.
1 kaffir lime leaf, shredded
1 stick lemongrass, tough outer leaves & top third removed, halved and bashed with a rolling pin
2 tsp garlic & ginger paste
3 spring onions, finely sliced
1-2 red chilies, deseeded and finely sliced
150g button mushrooms, halved
1 tbsp fish sauce
pinch of sugar
80g babycorn, sliced on the diagonal
65g sugar snaps, sliced in half on the diagonal
½ red pepper, sliced
1 handful coriander leaves, roughly chopped plus extra for garnish
Juice of 1/2 lime, plus lime wedges for garnish

In a splash of groundnut oil, gently saute spring onions, chili and garlic & ginger paste for about a minute until fragrant. Add the lemon grass and shredded lime leaf and cook for 30 seconds.

Add the Tom Yum / curry paste and stir fry for about 30 seconds - 1 minutes.

Add the chicken and stir around until the pieces are all coated and the chicken has just lost its pinkness.

Add the vegetables then splash in the fish sauce and add a pinch of sugar and the stock & coconut milk.

Bring the soup to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 10-20 minutes until the chicken is just cooked through and the vegetables tender but retaining a bit of bite.

Add the cooked noodles and stir well. Check for seasoning and adjust carefully with fish sauce / sugar as necessary then stir through the chopped coriander & lime juice.

Serve in large bowls with a little extra coriander sprinkled over and lime wedges alongside.

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Panang Fish Curry

I’m pretty much laughing in the face of any authenticity here: this is purely a Panang curry by virtue of the fact that I am using a Mae Ploy Panang curry paste. Well that and the fact that I have made this with fish whereas usually it is made with beef or chicken.

But anyway it is good all the same and as one of the milder Thai curries I personally think it is a good match with white fish and there is the added advantage that this can be thrown together in a little over ten minutes.


Panang Fish Curry
serves 3

265g white skinless fish fillets, cut into chunks
120g green beans, halved
160ml coconut cream
200ml stock
2 tbsp Panang (or red curry) paste
1 tbsp (20g) palm sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
small handful, basil leaves
1 red chilli, sliced (reserve a few slivers for garnish)

   

Put half of the coconut cream into a wok and fry for 3-5 minutes, stirring continuously, until the coconut oil begins to separate out.

Add the Panang curry paste and fry for 1-2 minutes.

Once the paste is cooked add the stock and add the green beans and red chillis, cook for a couple of minutes so the beans are starting to be tender.

Add the fish and cook for a minute more before adding the rest of the coconut cream, the palm sugar, half the kaffir lime and the fish sauce.

Simmer for a minute or so until the fish is cooked through then stir in half the basil leaves.

Turn off the heat and serve garnished with shredded kaffir lime leaves, red chilli slivers, and basil leaves.

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Thai Pork Stirfry with Basil & Chillies

This is a Thai recipe that is supposed to be made with pork mince - however I had already bought some pork loin to make tried and trusted Pork with Beans & Green Peppercorns when I decided to ring the changes and remembered that I’d made notes from various recipes for a spicy pork with basil.

It was only on closer inspection that I remembered that it needed mince, not pork bits! Oh well - to be honest I decided that I’d still give it a go, with a bit of a spin. But then, as it happens, I found David Thompson’s recipe - again, with mince, BUT, and this is quite important, he states: “I find a rather coarse mince yields the best result – ideally done by hand”. So essentially, that is what I did.

Really this should be made with fresh Thai basil if you can get it. Even in London, with Chinatown really not far away at all, I find this a bit of a mission. That said, on my most recent trip I did for once see loads of it: everywhere I turned it seemed. But typically I had nothing in mind - and we would soon be away for a while so it seemed a bit of a waste to get it on the off-chance and have it stagnate in the fridge.

I do have a little jar of Thai basil so what I’ve decided to do here is use a little of that with some fresh Italian basil as well but do alter the recipe to fit with what you have. Using just Italian basil isn't ideal but it will do. Similarly I didn’t have any bird’s eye chillies (I really wasn’t very well prepared was I?) so instead used a long yet fairly thin red one, about 4-5 in long.

I think that when made properly with mince and holy basil this dish is called Pad Krapow Moo, using Thai basil will make it Pad Horapa Moo. In any case we’re basically talking street food here.

I saw a pic online of someone serving this with a fried egg on top which is apparently authentic so did that too. And in case you are interested (and again, I think) - fried egg = kai dao.

Serve over jasmine rice and squeeze a lime wedge over the whole with perhaps a drizzle of sriacha if you’re so inclined.. I’ve not had other versions of this but this, I have to say, was absolutely amazing. Although next time I would probably add a little more chilli.


Thai Pork Stirfry with Basil & Chillies
serves 2

3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 long medium hot chilli (or 4 bird's eye chillies), finely sliced
3-4 tbsp groundnut or rapeseed oil
2 eggs
200-225g finely chopped pork loin
100 g green beans cut into ½ cm pieces
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1-2 tsp oyster sauce (to taste)
large pinch sugar
pinch of white pepper
4 tbsp water
1 tsp preserved Thai basil (in a jar)
a large handful of fresh basil leaves, torn
lime, to serve
sriracha, to serve (optional)

Heat a wok over a high heat until about to smoke, then turn down the heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil.

Crack in the eggs (separately) and fry gently, shuffling the egg to prevent it from sticking, until it has cooked to your preference. Carefully lift out and place on a warm plate while you cook the next egg. Keep the eggs, warm, to one side.

Add another tablespoon or two of oil to the wok and hot, fry the garlic and chillies for a moment, but don't let them colour.

Add the pork and continue to stir-fry for a minute until it is just cooked. Add the beans and stir fry for another minute or so.

Season to taste with the fish sauce, soy, oyster sauce, pepper and sugar but be careful not to make it too salty. Add the water and simmer for a moment.

Stir in both basils and as soon as the Italian basil has wilted remove the wok from the heat.

Divide between two plates, serving with mounds of steamed jasmine rice, perch a fried egg on top of each with the lime wedges and sriracha on the table to add to taste.

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First time post - Stir fried pork with green beans & peppercorns!

OK, so I should really be going to bed now as have to be up for work bright & early in the morning, but, well I've been thinking about doing a blog talking about the things I cook and eat on a daily basis (yes yes I know, like the 10,000 other food bloggers) for years now. And tonight I thought "well there's no time like the present".

So that first rambling paragraph out of the way I'll now attempt to post some photos of tonight's dinner.. Stir fried pork with beans and green peppercorns.  As a lot of people will recognise, this is taken from David Thompson's "pink book" (although sadly my copy isn't pink).  I made a few changes...

Pounding the paste, so to speak.  I couldn't seem to get the chillis any more "pastey" as such but I could definitely smell the difference in the paste - I usually use my mini electric grinder.  You can see a few dried shrimp eyes if you look closely ;) 

Most of the rest of the ingredients - just the limes leaves, thai basil and white sugar missing I think. Also the little pile on the left is a mixture of krachai & ginger as I didn't have quite enough of the former.  Mmmm I love fresh green peppercorns.  I'm quite partial to fish sauce as well.

What Jack & Polly, two of the laziest cats in the world, were doing the whole time I was cooking - not even the smell of dried shrimp could rouse them.

Frying the curry paste!

The rest of the ingredients added - I included some sliced babycorn as I had some in the fridge.

Served with some brown rice - not the greatest photo in the world but it will do.

I've cooked a few othe things from the pink book which have all been excellent and this didn't disappoint.  Was a little apprehensive in using the dried shrimp, particularly as the recipe seemed to call for an awful lot (4 tbsp!) but it certainly helped give the dish depth.  I loved it with the brown rice as well - the nuttiness of the rice worked really well with the relative lack of sauce and oiliness of the stir fry / dry curry.

So there we have my first attempt at posting! :-)

My intention in the future is to write up my take on the recipes I take on but as I said, it really is time for bed... I've recently cooked some fairly interesting meals so I'll try and post some photos of those over the next few days as well as what I cook up each evening (you can probably expect some random photos as well)... in the meantime - Good Night!

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