Haw Mok Pla (Steamed Curry Fish Custard) ห่อหมกปลา

Recipe from: Colonel Ian F. Khuntilanont-Philpott

Haw mok is a rarity: a dish intended as an appetizer or snack. It is essentially a custard made from curried steamed fish. A non curried set of ingredients is included as an "afterthought", though to avoid repetition I won't repeat the method - I leave that to the experience and imagination of the lovers of bland food. In Thailand this is steamed in little cups made from banana leaves, pinned together with tooth picks, but you could just as well use ramekin bowls.

2 eggs
1 pound white fish (cod), cut into small bite sized chunks
5 tablespoon finely chopped phak bung (swamp cabbage)
6 tablespoon red curry paste
6 tablespoon finely chopped, freshly toasted peanuts
3 tablespoon finely chopped bai makrut (kaffir lime leaves)
6 tablespoon thick coconut milk
2 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoon prik ki nu daeng (red birdseye chilis) julienned

Mix all the ingredients but the peanuts, julienned chilis, phak bung and fish in a food processor. Line the bowls with the phak bung, then put the fish in the bowls. Stir the peanuts and chilis into the sauce mixture and pour over the fish. Leave a little expansion space at the top of the dish. Place the filled bowls in a steamer, and steam for 15 to 20 minutes (until the fish is cooked and the sauce has set into a custard like consistency).

Either serve the dishes 'as is' with the usual Thai table condiments, or for a more formal occasion, whip some thick coconut milk, and garnish each bowl with a couple of teaspoons of the whipped coconut milk and a slivered red chili.

Haw Mok (Fish Custard, Non-Chile Version)

4 egg yolks
2 cups coconut milk
2 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoon corn starch

Follow the instructions for haw mok, the normal version.

Green Curry Chicken -Gang Kheaw Wan

Ingredient

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, cut in 8 wedges
1 green bell pepper, cut in 8 wedges
1 stalk lemongrass, white bulb only
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh ginger
3 tablespoons Thai green curry paste, recipe follows
2 kaffir lime leaves
3 cups unsweetened coconut milk, 2 (13.5 ounce) cans
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut in 1-inch strips
Sea salt
1 lime, juiced
Fresh Thai basil leaves
Fresh cilantro leaves


Lime wedges, for garnish Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat and coat with the oil. Saute the onion and green peppers for 3 minutes to soften. Split the piece of lemongrass down the middle and whack it with the flat side of a knife to open the flavor. Add the lemongrass, ginger, curry paste and lime leaves to the skillet and stir for 2 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk and chicken broth. Lay the chicken pieces in the mixture to poach; add a pinch of salt. Stir together and simmer over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Squeeze in the lime juice and shower with basil and cilantro; serve in dinner bowls with lime wedges.

Thai Green Curry Paste:

2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
8 fresh Thai green chiles
2 shallots, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, smashed
Small handful of fresh cilantro sprigs
2-inch piece galangal, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 lemon grass stalks, white part only, coarsely chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves, torn
2 teaspoons dried shrimp paste
1/2 cup water Heat the coriander, cumin seeds, and peppercorns in a small dry skillet for 2 minutes until fragrant. Put the seeds in a clean coffee grinder or spice mill and buzz the spices to a powder.

Put the spice blend and remaining ingredients in a food processor, and pulse to combine. Pour in the water to help grind everything down into a paste.

Thai Noodle Soup

The breakfast choice for many Thais. Everywhere in Thailand there are shops selling noodle soup. They are open all day but I just love it for breakfast.

Ingredients

Chicken Broth

Meat or seafood

Vegetables

Fresh rice noodles

Method

Bring the broth to a rapid simmer

Now depending on what you are going to add you will need to change the order of when you add things to ensure the food is properly cooked. For My noodles soups I use a Vietnamese pork roll or cooked seafood paste, with both of these cooking is not required you just need to heat it up. If you are using raw meat it should be added first.

Add your noodles to the broth and allow the broth to recover for a minute or two

Add in your meat and vegetables and allow to heat through

Season with Fish Sauce, sugar, rice vinegar and chillies

Enjoy!

SON-IN-LAW EGGs

This Thai Clear Soup menu is easy to make. Serve hot as part of a main meal...

Ingredients for Spice Mixture :

1. 8 eggs
2. 2 tablespoon oil
3. 2 tablespoons soft brown sugar or palm sugaror
4. 1 tablespooon fish sauce
5. 2 tablespoons tamarind puree
6. 1 teaspoon chopped red chillies optional
7. 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves chopped

1. Place the eggs in a pan of cold water.Bring the water boil and cook the eggs for 7 minutes.Drain and run under cold water until cool Remove the shell
2. Heat the oil in a work or frying pan Add the eggs to the work in batches and turn frequently over medium heat. When they are golden brown and blistered,remove the eggs from the work and keep warm.
3. Remove excess oil from pan; add brown sugar,fish sauce, tamarind and chillies.Bring to boil;boil rapidly for 2 minutes or until mixture resembles a syrup.Serve eggs with syrup poured over,sprinkled with coriander leaves

With permission from : Ting, E.Thai Cooking Step by Step.Bangkok : Asia Book.

Kai Yat Sai (Omelet) ไข่ยัดไส้

Kai Yat Sai (Omelet) ไข่ยัดไส้
Recipe from: Royal Thai Cuisine
Servings: 4

Kai Yat Sai is square stuffed omelet.

¼ cup (60 ml) oil
150 g ground pork or chicken
3 tablespoon diced cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoon fresh or frozen green peas
2 tablespoon minced onion
2 teaspoon sugar
1 ½ tablespoon fish sauce
¼ tspn black soy sauce
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
3 eggs, beaten
2 sprigs coriander leaves (cilantro) to garnish
1 finely sliced red chilli, to garnish

Heat half of the oil in a wok high heat and stir-fry the meat for 2 minutes or until cooked. Add the tomatoes, green peas, onion, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and pepper. Stir-fry another 2 to 3 minutes until cooked then set aside.

Heat a small skillet or omelet pan 12 to 20 cm in diameter and add a drop of the remaining oil. Pour in enough egg to thinly cover the base. Brown the omelet lightly on both sides, being careful to turn the omelet over gently halfway through cooking.

To stuff the omelet, place 1 to 2 spoonfuls of the meat mixture in the center, fold two opposite sides toward the center and then fold in the remaining sides so that the omelet forms a square. Place on a serving plate and repeat until all the egg and pork mixture is used up.

Garnish with coriander leaves (cilantro) and finely sliced red chilli. Serve accompanied by rice.

Kaeng Leuang (Hot Yellow Fish Curry) ​แกงเหลือง

Recipe from: Colonel Ian F. Khuntilanont-Philpott

This curry is hot, as a complement to it I suggest the Kai Yang Isan recipe. This is a curry that is best if you have an angler in the family. You can probably prepare it with anything that you catch that doesn't eat you before you get it on the plate. I particularly like it done with catfish. If you don't have access to fresh caught fish, you can use any shop bought fish. Mackerel is a good staple.

1 pound filleted fish (catfish or mackerel)
¼ cup fish sauce
½ cup shallots
½ cup crushed garlic
/12 cup prik ki mu
2 tablespoon kapi (fermented shrimp paste)
5 cups water
2 tablespoon palm sugar
1/3 cup tamarind juice
½ cup long beans
½ cup bamboo shoots

If using mackerel discard the head and tail, cut the fish in half along its belly, discard the backbone. If using catfish just chop it into chunks, and warn the diners about the bones. Briefly fry the kapi to bring out it's flavor. In a blender or food processor, place a cup of water, the fish sauce, shallots, garlic, thinly sliced prik ki nu and fermented shrimp paste. Blend to a coarse paste, and add to 4 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the fish, palm sugar, tamarind juice, sliced long beans and sliced bamboo shoots. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat until it is just boiling and the fish is cooked (about 5 minutes).

Serve over Thai Jasmine rice.