Thursday, December 16, 2010

Thai Spicy Eggplants Dip with Tilapia


Thai Spicy Eggplants Dip with Tilapia or "Soup Ma Kuea: ซุบมะเขือ" in Thai. Here is another Esarn food that I would like to share with you. I try to remember how my mother make it. This is very healthy food. I like it very much.

Ingredients:
1) 7 Thai eggplants
2) 5 Shallots
3) 6 Thai chilies
4) 6 cloves garlic
5) 2 green onions
6) 3 sprigs cilantro
7) 5 Lao cilantro (Optional )
8) 1 filet Tilapia
9) 4 cups of water
10) 3 Tbsp fish sauce
11) 1 tsp salt

Preparation:
1) Wash tilapia and set aside.
2) Peel garlic and shallots then wash dirt, pick the stems from chilies and Thai eggplants then wash them well.
3) Slice Lao cilantro, cilantro and green onions.
4) Pour 4 cups of water in the pot. Add 1/2 tsp of salt.
5) Then bring Thai eggplants, chilies, shallots and garlic to boil.
6) When the water is boiling, add filet of tilapia to cook in the pot.
7) In the mortar, add cooked shallots, garlic and chilies and use the pestle pound gently,

8) Add cooked Thai eggplants in the mortar then use the pestle pound it gently.

9) Add cooked tilapia then well pound tilapia until well blend with all ingredients.10) Add fish sauce then taste for your own favor.
11) Add sliced Lao cilantro, cilantro and green onions.
12) Mix all together well and serve with fresh vegetables such as carrots, Chinese cabbage, and cucumber.

Thai Spicy Bamboo Shoot in Bai Yanang Juice Salad

Thai Spicy Bamboo Salad or Soup Nor Mai: ซุบหน่อไม้ in Thai. This is another Esarn food that I want to learn to make for myself at once. I like the taste of Soup Nor Mai, very sour and hot. I got a bottle of bamboo shoot in Bai Yanang Juice. Let's see how can I make my new dish.

Ingredients:
1) 1 bottle of bamboo shoot in Bai Yanang Juice.
2) 4 shallots.
3) 2 Green onions
4) 3 sprigs cilantro
5) 5 Lao cilantro (Optional)
6) 1/2 Tbsp lime juice
7) 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
8) 1 Tbsp toasted rice powder
9) 1/2 Tbsp ground dried chili pepper
10) Mint and sesame seed for garnish

Preparation:
1) Prepare the ground dried chili pepper. Those photos show you big amount because I made for the next time . It's easy to find and you can buy any store. Put dried chili pepper on the pan with medium heat.
2) Stir constantly to avoid burning until dried chili pepper turn to dark red.
3) Here I used mortar and pestle to grind the dried chili pepper. You can use the electric grinder for more convenient.
4) Set aside ground dried chili pepper for the dish.
5) Bring 1/2 cup uncooked rice to toast.
6) Stir constantly to avoid burning until rice turn to dark colour.
7) Bring toasted rice to grind , you can use the grinder to save sometime and more convenient
8) Set aside toasted rice powder.
9) Peel shallots and wash dirt.
10) Then slice into small pieces.
11) Wash green onions, cilantro and Lao cilantro.
12) Cut into very small pieces.
13) This is a bottle of bamboo shoot in Bai Yanang juice. You can get in Asian grocery.
14) Open the bottle and bring to boil for 10-15 minutes.


15) Add toasted rice powder, ground dried chili pepper, fish sauce and lime juice.
16) Mix well until all ingredients get together.

17) Add sliced vegetables.
18) Stir well and taste. It should be a little bit hot and sour. I hope you enjoy my new dish.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

North Eastern Thai Spicy Mackerel Dip

North Eastern Thai Spicy Mackerel Dip or " น้ำพริกปลาทู Num Prik Pla Tu" in Thai or you can call in Esarn Pon Pla Tu; ป่นปลาทู. Pon Pla Tu or Num Prik Pla Tu is Northeast of Thailand food. It is Thai spicy mackerel dip that we like to serve with rice or sticky rice. There is so many ways to make Num Prik Pla tu but I will show you how to make it with Esarn style that I remember from the street vendor. I am pretty sure I have the main ingredients to make it really good and healthy dish. We like to serve with fresh vegetables like cabbage, cucumber, Thai eggplants or long green beans. This is very simple to make it and I am really like the dish. This is one of favorite of Esarn food in our kitchen.

Ingredients:
1) 1 steamed mackerel (You can see 2 of mackerels in the photos but I used only one)
2) 5 Roasted Thai chili
3) 7 Roasted shallots
4) 8 Cloves Roasted Garlic
5) 1 and 1/2 cup of water
6) 3 sprigs cilantro
7) 1 green onion
8) 1 and 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
9) any fresh vegetables to serve with like Thai eggplant, cabbage or cucumber.

Preparation:
1) This is steamed mackerel that I got it from the Asian market.
2) Then bring the mackerel to defrost.
3) Peel garlic, shallots, remove chili stems, wash dirt, and pat dry.
4) Bring mackerel, garlic, shallots and chili to grill. Here I used an oven to roast the steamed mackerel garlic, shallots and chili with 350 F for 45 minutes or until cooked.



5) Wash dirt from cilantro and green onion.
6) Slice cilantro and green onion into small pieces.
7) While you are roasting the mackerel, garlic, shallots and chili in the oven, pour 1 cup and half of the water into the pot, add pinch of salt, cilantro root to boil. When the water is boiling add 1 and 1/2 Tbsp of fish sauce into the pot and turn on the low heat.
8) In a pestle and mortar, pound together the roasted chilies, garlic, shallots into a paste.

9) Pick out only the meat of one grilled mackerel and put into the mortar.
10) And pound everything together.
11) Add the soup from the pot for 3/4 cup.
12) Adjust the seasoning with fish sauce for saltiness.
13) Add sliced of green onions and cilantro.
14) Then mix all ingredients together. If the paste is too thick add a little soup from the pot to the paste to make it soupier.
15) Spoon Spoon the dip into a bowl and serve with fresh vegetables you like.