Tom Yum Kung

Sour and spicy shrimp soup or "Tom Yum Kung" in Thai. Tom Yum is the most famous of Thai soup. I can say Tom Yum soup is very popular in Thai restaurant in the US. It's clear soup which is flavoured with fresh lemon grass, galangal and kaffir lime leaf. The most well known version uses shrimp but you may also use with fish, chicken or seafood. If you read every entries of my blog I think you are very familiar with the word " Kung". Shrimp is Kung in Thai. I will do entry about Thai language with Thai food on next time. You can learn some more Thai and understand some Thai words.

Ingredients:
1) 15 shrimps
2) 4 cups of water
3) 3 stalks fresh lemon grass
4) 3 " length of galangal
5) 4 kaffir lime leaves
6) 1 onion
7) 1 1/2 cup grape tomato
8) 4 fresh chilies pepper
9) 3 sprigs fresh cilantro
10) 1 1/2 Tbsp lime juices
11) 1 cup tamarind juice
12) 2 Tbsp Chilli Paste in soy bean oil ( Numprik pao)
13) 2 cup mushrooms
14) 3 Tbsp fish sauce or lite soy sauce.
15) 1/8 tsp salt
16) 5 fresh cilantro roots

Preparation
1) Clean and peel shell.

2) Clean cilantro roots and cut fresh chilies i and kaffir lime leaves into half

3) Slice galangal roots.

4) Trim off the very end of the root of lemon grass and smash with pestle then cut into 1 " length.

5) Cut tomato into half.

6) Clean the mushroom very well and cut into 4 pieces.



8) Chop cilantro for garnish Tom Yum

9) Slice onion.

10) Bring 4 cups of water to boil over high heat in pot with salt, sliced galangal, cut lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and tamarind juice.

11) Let it boil for 3 munites.

12) Then add Chilli Paste in soy bean oil ( Numprik pao)and mushroom into the pot.

13) Let mushroom for cook for a minute then add sliced onion.

14) Add shrimps into the pot.

15) After the shrimps is cooked and add cut of fresh chilies.

16) Add tomatoes.

17) Stir well and seasoning with fish sauce and lime juice. Before you serve garnish with cilantro.

Thai Green Curry with Shrimp

Thai green curry with Shrimp or "Kaeng Khiaw Wan Gung" in Thai. This is another simple Thai green curry dish. Green curry paste made from fresh chilies, shallots, garlic, galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime rind, coriander root, white peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, sea salt and shrimp paste. I will make curry paste next time. Here I use green curry from a can. The ingredients should have with Thai green curry is Thai eggplant. It makes the result is very aromatic and beautiful of Thai green curry. After I am back from Naples, Florida. I still feel exhausted and green curry is be suited for me today. It is quick and easy to make it but great recipe.

Ingredients:
1) 15 Shrimps
2) 1 cup coconut milk
3) 1/2 Tbsp palm sugar
4) 1 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
5) 1 cup Thai basil
6) 3 fresh chillies
7) 3 kaffir lime leaves
8) 6 Thai eggplants
9) 2 Tbsp Green Curry Paste

preparation:

1)Peel shrimps and clean very well


2) Cut kaffir lime leaves and fresh chillies into half


3) Wash Thai sweet basil and pick only sweet basil leaves from stems


4) Clean Thai eggplants, remove stem, cut into 4 pieces.



5) Heat 1 cup of coconut milk over medium heat until the oil surfaces


6) Add green curry paste and stir constantly for 2 minutes until fragrant and green oil surfaces


7) Add cut of Thai eggplants into the pot and let it cooks for a minute.


8) Add shrimps into the pot until shrimps is cooked.


9) Season to taste with fish sauce and palm sugar, stir well.


10) Add cut kaffir lime leaves.


11) After that add Thai basil in the pot.


12) The last add fresh chillies into the pot


13) Stir quickly to heat sweet basil, kaffir lime leave and fresh chillies so they retain their colour, then remove from heat. enjoy!

Florida Trip

Finally, our show of year 2010 is about starting. This is our first trip of year. We went to Naples, Florida for a show last week. This is my favorite part of the trip that we can visit our family on the way to Florida. We stopped by my husband's brother 's house in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and we stopped to visit my husband's father in Tampa, Florida. We stayed with great uncle and his lovely wife of my husband at Naples, Florida while we did a show the whole time. We really enjoyed to see them all the time and really appreciate everything that they had been done for us. I was touched that they offered to help. The best part of our trip for a show is find great Thai restaurant to eat and remember their recipe to cook at home. We had 3 Thai restaurants, one is in Sarasota, Florida, second one is in Tampa, Florida and we had lunch at Savannah, Georgia. Non of them satisfy my husband. Maybe I spoiled my husband too much. It is really hard to find authentic Thai food in the restaurant because here is America and they have to make the best Thai food for American taste. I saw friend of mine order Panang Curry with shrimps and they put broccoli, mushroom, green bean and asparagus with Panang Curry. I feel like they wanted to get rid of those fresh vegetables on that dish but I totally understand that they have to adapt the ingredients for American. I always learn from the menu in Thai restaurants and adapt to my kitchen. So every time I went to Thai restaurants and I can't wait to come home and cook authentic Thai food in my kitchen.


Thai restaurant at Tampa, Florida.


Thai restaurant at Sarasota, Florida.


Thai restaurant in Savannah, Georgia.

Stir-Fried Octopus in Prik Khing Curry Paste

Stir-Fried Octopus in Prik Khing Curry Paste or "Phad Prik Khing Plamuk" in Thai. Here is another dish that simple to prepare and easy to cook. Phad Prik Khing. Today I made with octopus. It is nice flavor. I made with shrimps last time. They are very tasty when stir- fried with Prik Khing curry paste. Actually, we are supposed to be in North Carolina right now. There was snow falling last night and it isn't good idea to drive through the snow all day long. We postpone to be leaving tomorrow morning. So here is another Thai dish.

Ingredients:
1) 1/2 LB. octopus
2) 1 cup green bean
3) 3 Tbsp Prik Khing curry paste
4) 2 Tbsp canola oil
5) 1 tsp lite soy sauce or fish sauce
6) 1 tsp sugar
7) 3 kaffir lime leaves

Preparation:
1) Clean and cut octopus small to bite.


2) Cut green bean 1.5 " length.


3) Slice kaffir lime leaves


4) Put oil into pan with medium heat.


5) When the pan get is hot then add phad prik khing curry and stir well for a minute.


6) Add cut green bean to stir-fried until almost cook


7) Add sliced thinly kaffir lime leaves to the pan and stir for a minute then seasoning with fish sauce and sugar.


8) Add octopus to the pan.


9) Stir very well and until all ingredients get together and octopus is cook.

Rice Noodle with seafood Curry Sauce

Rice Noodle with seafood Curry Sauce or "Khao Soi Talay" in Thai. Today I am going to take you to try noodle recipe from North of Thailand, Chiang Mai. I heard somebody said, whenever you go to Chiang Mai and you don't try this food. It means you aren't really get in Chiang Mai. The original recipe is from North of Thailand. But you can find to eat anywhere in Bangkok. We take from Myanmar to put the curry powder into the red curry paste. The combination between curry powder, red curry paste and ginger with coconut milk. It is just spectacular. Here I made with seafood and I used rice noodle instead of egg noodle. And I put some green bean and cabbage also. I used all vegetable that I have in my refrigerator. So I don't follow all ingredients from the original recipe. I made my own version of Khao Soi. I don't put crispy fried noodles and pickled mustard green that I am supposed to have. But but the results are still tasty. We should eat all fresh vegetable I have here because we are not going to be home for a week. We will be leaving home to go to Florida, Naples. Of course, I will miss my kitchen. In the mean time, I am excited to go to new place and try new restaurant in Florida and I can't wait to get back to my kitchen and try new recipe.

Ingredients:
1) 1/2 Lb. octopus
2) 15 Medium shrimps
3) 1 Tbsp curry powder
4) 1/4 cup slice ginger
5) 1 cup slice cabbage ( optional )
6) 1/2 cup slice thinly green bean ( optional )
7) 1/2 palm sugar
8) 2 Tbsp fish sauce
9) 1 cup coconut milk
10) 1 Tbsp red curry
11) 1/2 cup water
12) 1 Tbsp lime juice
13) 2 shallots
14) 3 sprigs cilantro
15) 1 Tbsp canola oil

Preparation:

1) Soak rice noodle for 20 minutes.


2) Clean octopus then cut small pieces and peel shrimps


3) Slice cabbage and green


4) Chop shallots and cilantro



5) Cut ginger into small pieces



6) Then use mortar and pestle to pound very well.





7) Add red curry to the mortar


8) Then crush until well blend


9) Heat oi l in a pot on medium heat


10) When the pot is hot add crushed red curry and ginger in the pot.


11) Stir until fragrant.


12) Then add seafood into the pot.


13) When the seafood is getting cook then add curry powder.


14) Stir very well until all ingredients is mix together.


15) Add coconut milk into the pot.


16) Let the mixture simmer for 1 minute.


17) Then add 1/2 water, season with fish sauce, sugar and lime juice.


18) Stir well then remove from the heat.


19) put water on the pot to boil for cook the rice noodle after soak 20 minutes.
When the water is getting boiling cook noodle only 30 seconds.


20) Bring to soak with cold water and drain.


21) Put sliced cabbage and green been on the bottom of the bowl.


22) After that place cooked rice noodle on top.



23) Then pour the sauce from the pot and garnish with chopped cilantro and shallots. Enjoy!