Tom-Yum-Kung : spicy and sour shrimp soup.

     

Tom Yum Kung

Another famous Thai soup that has gone international!!! Tom-yum made from 2 words in Thai.  Tom means soup and yum means sour and spicy salad, so if you hear tom-yum that means spicy and sour soup, but the most famous kind is shrimp or “Kung” but you can use any kind of meat you like (pork, chicken, fish, seafood).  Almost every Thai restaurant in America has to have it, but not too many make it tasty like the original.  Also they have 2 kinds in Thailand.  One has milk (for shrimp and fish) and another one is without milk (tastes spicier).  The key of tom yum is galangal, Lemon grass and Kaffir leaf.  If you don’t have those 3 we don’t call it tom-yum (it’s going to taste just like sour & spicy water!).  I know it is hard to find it in a grocery store.  You can find them at Thai grocery stores, but trust me it’s worth it to find in a Thai grocery store.  In GA I have found them in a frozen version.  They still almost have the same amount of freshness (but the fresh is still the best!).  Anyway If you really cannot find it, use tom yum paste or tom yum cube (but I still recommend the real thing, it tastes way better). Also the original recipe calls Num-Prik-Pow for seasoning.

Num Prick Pow

 Num-Prick-Pow is a special Thai chili paste (Not like curry paste) and is made with dried chilis, shallots, garlic, shrimp, tamarind juice and sugar then pan fried.  The paste itself has chili oil in it (comes from pan fried) tastes sweet and is not too spicy (for Thai people).  A lot of Thai folk mix Num-Prik-Pow with rice and eat it with a hard boil egg and vegetables just like that.  You can find it in an Asian grocery store, but if it is too much trouble to find them all just leave those ingredients out of the recipe.

Tom yum kung

½ pound Shrimp (peeled and de-veined)

4 Kaffir leaves (Tear it about 4 pieces per one leaf)

1 lemon grass (pound and cut into 1 inches)

2 pieces galangal (pound)

1 cup mushroom

1 ½  cup water or chicken broth or seafood broth

1 tbsp. fresh Thai chili (pound or chop)

1 lime juice (about 3 tbsp.)

2 tbsp. fish sauce

1 tsp. Num-Prik-Pow (special Thai chili paste)

½  cup of half & half (optional for creamier)

1  tsp.  Cilantro

Cooking Instructions:

1. In the medium pot bring water or chicken broth or seafood broth to boil add galangal, Lemon grass, Kaffir leaf let boil about 2-3 minute for aroma from herb season the soup.
2. Add shrimp cook about 2-3 minute or until it cooked.
3. Add mushroom bring it to boil.
4. Add chili and half & half at the end turn the heat off.
5. In the large bowl add lime juice, fish sauce and Num-Prik-Pow then pour soup into the bowl sprinkle with cilantro.
6. Serve with jasmine rice.

Note: For me I love to eat tom yum soup with rice and Thai style omelet. Oh yes I can eat it all day long!! 

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Curry Tart

       

Curry tart

     This dish actually is a snack in Thailand called “Ka Ree Pup”.  It has chicken potato and curry powder filling.  I believe Thai people get this recipe from western style cooking because Thai food doesn’t use fried dough and potato.  “Ka Ree pup” is very popular in one of our cities called “Sara-buri”, like when you go there you have to buy it for a souvenier (yes… in Thailand a lot of our souvenier’s are food).  In the original recipe you need a special dough that just tastes like fried pie filling with potato chicken curry stuffing.  It tastes savory and you cannot have just one!!!  For me I don’t know how to make the original dough on the outside, so I tried to make it my modern Thai Food way and I discovered 2 ways that came out pretty good.  My 1^st way is to use a frozen puff pastry and it came out very good and the second one I made a tiny little tart (recipe from better home and garden 2000 cook book) and put the stuffing back in it and it tasted good and looked cute too. So let’s get started!!!

Ingredients

Stuffing

1 cup chicken breast ground or cut into ¼ inch cube (for vegetarian use mushrooms)

2 cup cooked potato cut into ¼ inch cube

1 cup dice onion cut

1 cup dice cooked carrot (if you don’t like it leave it out)

2 tbsp. curry powder (or 1 tbsp. turmeric powder)

2 tbsp. sugar

1-2 tbsp. salt

2- tsp. ground pepper

1 tsp. oil

Cooking instructions

1. Heat large pan on medium high heat add oil wait unit the oil hot add onion stir it till it is cooked
2. Add chicken and 1 tsp. sugar, salt, pepper  stir it until cooked
3. Add cooked carrot and potato then add sugar, salt, pepper and curry powder stir it until mixed well.
4. Adjust the taste till you like turn the heat off let it cool before filling

Tart

½ cup cold butter

1 ¼  cups all-purpose flour

1 beaten egg yolk

2-3 tbsp. Ice water

Cooking instructions

1. In a mixing bowl cut butter into flour till pieces are pea-size. Stir together egg yolk and 1 tbsp. Ice water.  Gradually stir egg yolk mixture into flour mixture.  Add remaining water, 1 tbsp. at a time. till all the dough is moistened. Gently knead the dough just till a ball forms.
2. Divide the dough into a small size about 1 inch diameter and mole into small muffin pan use your finger to make a cup shape.
3. Bake in 375 F about 15 minute or until golden brown.
4. Let it cool. When it’s cool stuff with chicken curry stuffing garnish with cilantro and thin slice bell pepper.

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Som-Tum Modern Thai Food Style (Non-Mortar recipe)

           

Som tum

         This time is I will show you how to make Sum Tum without use mortar and pestle for a lot of people that don’t have them in your kitchen(I know not too many kitchen in America have it). Also if you cannot find green papaya you can use cucumber or carrot instead so you can enjoy real Sum tum Thai taste without too much trouble!!! 

Ingredients : Modern Thai Food Style (Non-Mortar recipe)

1 medium carrot chopped

1 hand full chopped green papaya

Note: for slice carrot and cucumber I use potato peeler, peeled it looks like a ribbon.

2-3 cherry tomatoes cut in half

1 globe of garlic

1-1 ½ lime juice

1-2 tbsp. fish sauce

1-2 tsp. Sugar

3 tbsp. peanut

3 tbsp. Dried shrimp (But If you can’t find it don’t worry about that)

1-7 Thai chili (depend on you spicy level)

Cooking Instructions : Modern Thai Food Style (Non-Mortar recipe)

1. In a large ziplock bag put garlic and Thai chili and 1 tbsp. peanut and dried shrimp pound it with a pan or pounder (whatever you have that’s heavy) until it’s become chunky paste.
2. Add lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and mix it well.
3. Add carrot cucumber and tomatoes mix and massage it together till mixed well.
4. Pour Som-tum on serving plate, garnish with remaining peanut and dried shrimp.

 

Serve with sticky rice, Grilled chicken (from earlier) Ammm… yummy!!!

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Spicy seafood salad

       

spicy seafood salad

          Spicy seafood salad is eastern Thai food (where my family came from),  because east Thailand is close to the ocean.  So most of eastern food has seafood for an ingredient.  It’s very easy to make and find the ingredients in America.  Amm…The more I talk the more I’m getting a craving, so let’s get started.

Ingredients

2 cup mix seafood (Shrimp, squid, mussel, crabs stick)

½ cup onion slice half moon

½ cup tomato slice in wedge or cherry tomato cut half

1 Green onion cut into 1 inch.

¼ cup Chinese celery cut into 1 inch (or celery leave)

2 tbsp. Lime

2 tbsp. fish sauce

2-3 Tsp. slice Thai chili or Jalapeno (it’s up to you hot level)

1 tsp. sugar.

3 cup. water

Cooking Instruction

1. In the medium bowl add lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, stir until sugar dissolved. Add chili set aside.
2. Put medium pot on high/medium heat, add 3 cup water. Wait until it boils.
3. Add seafood into pot, stir until it is cooked about 2-4 minute (Shrimp turns pink, squid turns white) then drain it.
4. Pour cooked seafood in to lime mixer bowl.
5. Add onion, tomato, green onion, stir until mixed well
6. Arrange on a serving dish, garnish with sprigs of celery and serve.

Note: This dish is very spicy.  Be careful!!!

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Thai spice

In Thailand we have a lot of spices, but for me I use some of them that are easy to find in the USA and apply for something else. This is a list of spices you should have to cook Thai food in America.

Dried Thai chili

 

1. Dry Chili: ”Prick Hang”.  It’s a dry chilies that we use to make curry paste.  We also toast and ground it, use in a lab and for seasoning the food after it is cooked.  Can be stored in a dry container for a year.
2. Garlic  : “Ga-Tuim”.Thai garlic is smaller, but spicier than western garlic.  Used for almost everything. Store in a dry place. 
3. Shallot : “Hom Hou lak”. It’s a small red onion or called a red pearl onion. Used in curry paste, Thai spicy dip and more.  Storage is the same as garlic.
4. Tamarind juice or paste. “Ma-Kham”.  It’s a brown fruit from a big tree and tastes very sour.  It comes as a skinless fruit after it is processed and sold in stores.  You need to put the skinless fruit in hot water and sit for 5-10 minutes.  Then you squeeze the seed and fiber out of the fruit.  But in the USA I found they have juice that ready to use in a Thai grocery.  Use in Pad Thai, sour curry and more.  Store in a refrigerator.
   

   Ready to use tamarind juice

5. Dry Turmeric :”Ka-min” It’s in the ginger family having an earthy, slightly bitter, slightly hot peppery flavor and a mustardy smell.  Also used in Indian cuisines.  Became known as Indian saffron. Usually in Thai we use the fresh root but in America I use dry turmeric ,because is easy to store. Used in curry paste, marinades and more.  Store in a dry container.
   

   Dry turmeric

6. Cardamom : “Ka Wan” .  Actually we use this for some curry pastes like masaman curry.  For myself I did not have it in my pantry because I just don’t use it for anything that much.  Store in a dry container.

That’s all I can think of for now, but if I have something else I will add it in the recipe later.

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