Paknam Seafood and Trade Fair

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If you live in Samut Prakan then you might be interested in the Paknam Seafood and Trade Fair. It is going on from now until Saturday 4th April 2009. It is taking place in the area in front of the city hall, alongside the river. They have a large stage set up for concerts during the evening with dining tables set up in front of it. Down one side are rows of food vendors. More than half the stalls in the city hall area are clothing and household goods. The rest are food. There are also rides for the kids like merry go round. If you are in the area then it is certainly worth visiting. It is open from late afternoon.

 

How to cook... Boiled Stuffed Bitter Gourd

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Boiled Stuffed Bitter Gourd (gaeng jeut ma-ra yat sai)

This week we have another plain soup for you which isn't spicy. It is called Boiled Stuffed Bitter Gourd or "gaeng jeut ma-ra yat sai" in Thai. I am not too fond of bitter gourds but it is apparently good for your health and is used a lot in natural medicines. I have to be honest and admit that we cheated a little today. I bought this as a pack at Tesco Lotus for 25 baht. Sometimes it is easier and cheaper as nothing is wasted. All you have to do is cook! In the picture of the ingredients below, you can see bitter gourds stuffed with a mixture of minced pork, mung bean noodles (wun-sen) and carrots. On the right there is carrots, stock cube and Chinese soup celery.

Wash the bitter gourd and then cut it into three inch sections. Remove the insides with a fork. Next prepare the pork mixture. Soak the wun sen in cold water. Mix this with the minced pork and chopped carrots and season with a little fish sauce. Stuff this inside the bitter gourds. Place them carefully in a pot and add some stock. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently until the bitter gourd is tender. Add the Chinese soup celery to the soup once you start simmering. Taste the stock and add more fish sauce if you like.

Mung Bean Noodles Spicy Salad

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Mung Bean Noodles Spicy Salad (yum wun-sen)

This is a Thai salad that uses mung bean noodles (wun sen) and minced pork. In Thai it is called "yum wun-sen". You can also add fresh shrimp but we didn't have any in stock. You might find this a little spicy but it is up to you how many chillies you add. In the ingredients pictured below, you can see chopped onion, red chilli, lime, roasted peanuts, mung bean noodles, cooked minced pork, spring onion and chopped tomatoes in the middle.

You need to prepare the noodles by first soaking them in cold water for ten minutes and then briefly dipping them into boiling water. Then back to the cold water. Then drain them. Mix the noodles together with the minced pork that has already been well cooked. Add some crushed red chillies. Season with an equal combination of fish sauce and lemon juice. Taste it first and then add sugar for the desired amount. Sprinkle on top the spring onion and roasted peanuts.

Stir-fried Bitter Gourd and Egg

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Stir-fried Bitter Gourd and Egg (pad ma-ra sai khai)

Today we are cooking a stir-fried dish with bitter gourd and egg. In Thai it is called "pad ma-ra sai khai". It is another one of those simple dishes that doesn't take long to prepare or cook. In the ingredients shown below, you can see two eggs and sliced bitter gourd.

You need to prepare the bitter gourd first by washing it and then slicing it in half lengthwise. Remove and discard the insides and then cut into slices like in the picture above. Heat some oil in the work and then add the sliced bitter gourd. Cook until it becomes tender. Season with light soy sauce and oyster sauce. I only had normal soy sauce so hence the darker look. Finish by breaking the eggs into the wok. Give it a good stir until the egg is cooked through.

Stir-fried Beans and Mushrooms

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Stir-fried Beans and Mushrooms (thua khaek pat het)

It is good to have some vegetarian dishes every now and then. This is another good example that is also not spicy. It is Stir-fried beans and mushrooms or "thua khaek pat het" in Thai. As you can see in the ingredients below, there are two different kinds of mushrooms. Starting from the top, you have rice-straw mushrooms, carrots, bean curd skin, green beans and shiitake mushrooms in the center.

There are a few things you need to do first to prepare for this dish before you can start cooking. Firstly, you need to soak the shiitake mushrooms in water overnight in order to soften them. The bean curd skin is often bought dried so you need to soak this in water for about thirty minutes. Once you are all ready, heat some oil in the wok and when it is hot enough, add the mushrooms, beans, carrots and bean curd skin. You will also need to add some water so that it doesn't dry out. Season with sugar and soy sauce.

Fried Shrimp with Basil Leaves

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Fried Shrimp with Basil Leaves

Fried Shrimp with Basil Leaves (pad grapao goong)

Some people might find the dish this week a bit too spicy, but it is not unbearable. It is Fried Shrimp with basil leaves or "pad grapao goong" in Thai. You could also cook it with chicken if you like. In the ingredients pictured below, you can see holy basil leaves and shrimp on the left and bird's eye chillies and garlic cloves on the right.

You need to prepare the chilli and garlic cloves first by pounding them with a mortar and pestle. Heat some oil in a wok and when it is hot, add the chilli mixture. When it becomes fragrant add the shrimps that have already been prepared. Stir well so that everything is well combined. Season with fish sauce and sugar. You could use oyster sauce if you like. Don't cook for too long. At the end, add the basil leaves and give a good stir.

Fried Battered Mushrooms

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Fried Battered Mushrooms (het naang fah chub bpaeng tod)

Today we have a simple dish called Fried Battered Mushrooms or "het naang fah chub bpaeng tod" in Thai. As you can see in the picture below, there are only two basic ingredients. On the left there is a pack of tempura flour and on the right oyster mushrooms.

Cooking is of course very simple. Wash the mushrooms then set them aside to drain. Mix the flour with an equal amount of water. Some people also add an egg. Dip the mushrooms into the batter one at a time and then fry them in hot oil until golden brown. This is best served with chilli sauce.

Chu Chee Tofu

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Chu Chee Tofu (chu chee tao-hoo)

Today we have another vegetarian dish. It is Chu Chee Tofu or "chu chee tao-hoo" in Thai. As you probably know, tofu is often used as a meat substitute in many Thai dishes. In many cases, the finished product looks like the "real thing". In the ingredients below you can see the red curry paste and coconut milk at the top, white tofu on the right and red chilli, palm sugar and kaffir lime leaves on the left. You can use yellow tofu if you like which you will find to be a little saltier.

Cut the tofu into slices much like you do for a cake. Fry this in a pan of oil. Next, heat some coconut cream in a pan until the oil surfaces. Add the red curry paste. Stir it well. You may need to add a bit more coconut milk in order to make a smooth paste. Season it with light soy sauce and palm sugar. Next, add the fried tofu and some more coconut milk. If it is too salty then add some more sugar and coconut milk. I haven't said how much seasoning as it is normal to adjust to your own taste. Finish by adding the kaffir lime leaves and spur chilli. We pre-fried the kaffir lime leaves but you don't need to do that.

Crispy Egg Salad

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Crispy Egg Salad (yum khai foo)

This week we have a crispy egg salad for you which is called "yum khai foo" in Thai. In the ingredients pictured below, you have on the left onion, bird eye chilli, palm sugar, tomatoes and two eggs. On the right you can see carrots, lime, Chinese celery and blanched ground pork. You can also add some garlic.

To cook you need to fry the egg first until crispy. Take it out and drain on some tissue before cutting into bite-sized pieces. Mix together bird eye chillies, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar. Lightly crush it with the flat blade of the knife. Next add the blanched ground pork, sliced onions, tomatoes and carrots and mix it well. Finally add the sliced egg and chopped Chinese celery. We will have another Thai Food Recipe for you

Tom Yum Mushroom Soup

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Tom Yum Mushroom Soup




There are many different kinds of "tom yum" though for me I prefer "tom yum kung" which comes with fresh shrimp. This one is called "tom yum het sot" which is the sour and spicy soup with three kinds of mushrooms. In the ingredients pictured below, you can see, from the top, lemon grass, galangal, Chinese celery, shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, rice-straw mushrooms and kaffir lime leaves. I cook tom yum nearly every week as it is supposed to be good for your health. I normally use chicken and one kind of mushroom. Lately I have been cooking "egg noodle tom yum" a lot which I will share with you later.
 


Put some water in a pot and add the sliced galangal, lemon grass, kaffir limes leaves and chillies. You need to tear the kaffir limes leaves and not cut them. Once it comes to the boil add the three kinds of mushrooms. Season with sugar and light soy sauce. Once everything is cooked, add the celery and turn off the heat. Finally add the lime juice. You need to taste it to make sure that you have a good balance.

Khao Tom Mad

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Khao Tom Mad

 

On the first day of every month, we have the Paknam Food Festival in our town down by the river. During the recent event they promoted the sale of traditional Thai food. One of my favourites is this glutinous rice dessert that contains a banana and black eye peas. In Thai it is called "khao tom mad" or sometimes "khao tom pad". Other ingredients include thick coconut cream, salt and sugar. It is wrapped in banana leaves and tied together with thin strips of bamboo. Everything is natural and certainly beats the modern practice of using foam boxes as containers.

 

Here is a brief outline on how to cook. Wash the long grain glutinous rice and then soak in water for three hours. In the meantime, mix thick coconut cream, salt and sugar together and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add this to the rice. Next put this mixture into a pot over a low heat and stir until it dries out. Next, put some mixture onto a sheet of banana leaves. Place on top some black eye peas and the ripe banana. Then add some more rice mixture. Wrap this up in the banana leaves. Tie two of these packages together. Finally, steam them for two hours.

Stuffed Fried Squid

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Stuffed Fried Squid 

 

Where we live in Paknam, it is close to the sea, so we have access to a large variety of seafood. Today we will show you how to cook "pla meuk yat sai tod". Our version here is stuffed with minced pork. In the picture of the ingredients below, you can see the washed squid on the right and the minced pork mixture on the left.





You need to wash the squid thoroughly and then slice it open at one end. Next, use a mortar and pestle to gently pound garlic, black pepper and the minced pork. We also added soy sauce and an egg to this mixture. This was then stuffed into the squid. We then used a matchstick to close the end and then deep fried it in hot oil. For the sauce we used bottled chilli sauce. But, you could also make one using a combination of vinegar, sugar, salt and spur chillies. Put the first three ingredients in a pot and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the spur chilli and keep stirring until it thickens.

Stir-fried Chicken with Garlic Plant

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 Stir-fried Chicken with Garlic Plant



The Thai food recipe we have for you this week is Stir-fried Chicken with Garlic Plant. In Thai it is called "gai phat ton gra-thiam". As you can see in the picture below, there are only two main ingredients: chicken and garlic plant. This needs to be sliced diagonally and washed.

 

Heat some oil up in a pan and when it is hot add the chicken. Add some stock so that it doesn't dry out. When it is nearly cooked add the garlic plant. Season with oyster sauce and light soy sauce. To thicken the sauce, you need to add an equal amount of corn starch and water. Taste again and add more seasoning as desired.

Stuffed-Squid Soup

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Stuffed-Squid Soup 

 

Today we have a plain soup for you called "gaeng jeut plaa meuk yat sai". If you like seafood and don't like it to be spicy then you might like this. In the ingredients pictured below, you can see coriander, spring onion, minced pork mixture and washed squid.

You first need to wash and clean the squid. Then prepare the stuffing with a mortar and pestle. Gently pound together the pepper and garlic and then mix in the minced pork, soy sauce and one egg. In the meantime, bring a pot of stock to the boil. Add the stuffed squid and cook until done. Add the chopped coriander and spring onion. Season with soy sauce to match your taste. Sprinkle on top some fried garlic.

Deep-fried Prawn in Red Curry

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How to cook... Deep-fried Prawn in Red Curry 

 

The Thai dish this week is Deep-fried Prawn in Red Curry or "chu-chee koong tod". The word "chu-chee" comes from the sound when you put something into hot oil. If you don't have prawn you could use fish, pork or chicken as an alternative. In the ingredients pictured below, you can see shredded kaffir lime leaves, green chillies, palm sugar and red curry paste on the left, fresh shrimp in the middle, and coconut milk and flour on the right.

There are two stages to cooking this dish. First you need to mix the flour and water equally to make a batter. Dip the prawns into this batter and then deep fry them until golden brown. Set aside on some tissue paper. Next, heat some vegetable oil up in a pan and stir fry the red curry paste. Add some coconut milk so that it doesn't dry out. Season with fish sauce and palm sugar. This is a careful balance so you need to adjust to your own taste. The red curry paste is then poured into the serving dish. Add the fried prawns and sprinkle with shredded kaffir lime leaves and either green or red spur chilli.

Grow Dragon Fruit

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 How to Grow Dragon Fruit



Last year, I wrote a short blog with pictures about How to Eat Dragon Fruit. It proved to be quite popular with people searching on Google. The bright pink fruit is not native to Thailand and can be found in other regions of the world. I enjoy eating this fruit though in the supermarkets of Bangkok it can be expensive at about 40 to 60 baht a kilo depending on the time of year. The main season is May to October when you will find it at a cheaper price.

One of the main growing regions for dragon fruit in Thailand is Chanthaburi where I am now. We were driving down the road yesterday when I spotted this dragon fruit orachard. The fruit doesn't grow on a tree but on a cactus that likes to grow up a wall or a pillar as in this picture.

The cactus has a bright yellow flower that I am told only fully flowers at night-time. By morning it starts to wilt as you can see here. This then develops into the green fruit which you can see in the picture below. Finally it turns red when it is nearly ready to harvest. In town I saw them selling this fruit for 10-15 baht a kilo.

I haven't made an effort to grow one yet though I will try when I get back. There are apparently two options. One is to grow from a cutting of the cactus. The second way is to use the black seeds inside the fruit. It should be fairly easy to find this plant in town but I will also try growing from seed. Check out our Thai Food Forums for updates and also the latest pictures of my effort to grow pineapple and lemon grass.

Fried Spare-ribs Marinated in Pineapple Juice

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How to cook... Fried Spare-ribs Marinated in Pineapple Juice




The dish we are cooking this week is Fried Spare-ribs marinated in pineapple juice. In Thai it is called "si-khrong moo thot". It is not really much of a traditional Thai dish but I see it a lot on menus at restaurants. In the picture of the ingredients below you can see spareribs at the top and garlic and black pepper on the left with pineapple juice on the right.

Prepare the spare-ribs first by washing them and cutting them into bite-sized pieces. Next marinate them in fresh pineapple juice for about half an hour. While this is marinating, prepare a mixture of dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, fish sauce, crushed garlic, black pepper, sugar and ground coriander seeds. Then rub this into the spare-ribs and leave to marinate for a while longer. Prepare your wok with about an inch of oil. Once it is hot add the spare ribs a few at a time until golden brown. Serve on a plate with some lettuce and fresh pineapple.

Stuffed Omelet

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How to cook... Stuffed Omelet 

One of my favourite dishes in Thailand that isn't spicy is "stuffed omelet" or "khai yat sai" in Thai. It is a little tricky making the egg envelope. It works best with a big wok and a gas flame. In the ingredients pictured below, you can see carrots, onion, minced pork, tomato, coconut milk, 4 eggs and peas in the middle. Make sure that everything is chopped up small. You can also use garlic if you like.

Heat some oil up in the wok and then add the minced pork. Stir fry for a few minutes and then add the carrots, onions, peas and tomatoes. Season with light soy sauce, oyster sauce and a pinch of pepper and salt. If it tastes too salty then add some sugar. When cooked put to one side. Heat some oil in a wok again making sure that the sides heat up as well. Beat the eggs together with some coconut milk. Once the wok is hot enough, pour a small amount of egg into the wok and tip it back and forth in order produce a thin layer all around the wok. Once it is nearly done, add several spoonfuls of your minced pork mixture.

Odorless Kimchi

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What’s kimchi without the strong garlicky odor?  Right?  In this morning’s LA Times, there’s a story about Kim Soon-Ja who is the annointed Kimchi Master of South Korea, and about how she pursued the creation of an odorless kimchi.  This was ignited by a comment during a trip to Europe: ”My tour guide asked me not to take out my kimchi in public because it can be distasteful to foreigners.”  Ouch!
After much research and diligence, she has created a “new type of freeze-dried pickled cabbage that doesn’t smell even after water is added, appealing to both foreigners and the fussiest Korean eaters.”
The obvious reason for such a pursuit is to better globalize kimchi by making it more appealing by the suppression of the kimchi smell.  The South Korean government is making large investments in the midst of the global recession to evangelize Korean food around the world, and kimchi is one of the central pieces of both Korean food and culture.  However, the raging debate from the purist is that the odor of kimchi is what makes kimchi so unique.  Do you take out the olive oil in Italian cooking?  What do you think?  Should kimchi go odorless?  Remember when you were a kid and you invited your non-Korean friends over to the house and your mom busted out the kimchi next to the sandwiches and turkey.

Restaurant: Cho Dang Gol

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The warm weather lately has been good and bad. Thinking back, I realize how long of a winter we’ve had this year. On the cold, wintry nights, I often found myself craving a bowl of hot tofu stew (soondooboo chigae) from Cho Dang Gol, a favorite restaurant of mine. Tucked away from the fluorescent lights of Korea Town on 32^nd Street, this relatively unknown gem is a real treat for fans of authentic Korean cuisine.
The woody, rustic interior of Cho Dang Gol offers a subdued, calm haven away from the bustling streets of K-Town.
One thing I love about Korean restaurants is the unlimited small plates, panchan, which encompass all sorts of foods – grilled fish, fresh kimchee, fried zucchini pancakes, just to name a few. Although the panchan here does not include my favorite steamed egg (served at Kunjip), the majority would agree that the kimchee is far superior, with just the right marinade of soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, sesame oil, and hot chili peppers.








Tofu, the highlight of the menu, is made fresh daily on the premises, and featured in a variety of specialty dishes. We start off with the traditional Seafood Tofu Soup, whose bright redness gives it a deceivingly spicy facade. The piquant broth (which actually isn’t very spicy) is made from kimchee, kochukaru (red pepper powder), seafood, saewoojeot (salted shrimp), sesame oil, and various ingredients depending on the chef. The tanginess of the stew balances the tofu, which has a chunky, crumbly texture that differentiates itself from the cartons of processed tofu usually available in Asian supermarkets. The stew is served with sticky purple rice, which not only tastes delicious but is also rich in anthocyanin antioxidants, which have been proven to help combat free radicals in the body. If you are not a fan of seafood, the Kimchee (with Pork) or the Vegetable are also excellent choices.


 


Fortunately, pork is still safe to eat these days. The Herbal Pork Belly, Bo Ssam, is one of the signature dishes at Cho Dang Gol. Fresh slices of marble pork belly marinated in traditional herbs, giving it a slight medicinal taste, are arranged neatly in an iron pot and kept warm by a portable stove. Then the ornamentation begins. The pork belly slices are placed on thin, round translucent sheets of daikon and garnished with shrimp sauce (that is also the acting agent in fermenting kimchee), soybean and chili pepper paste, shredded sesame leaves, and raw onions. Then simply fold the daikon in half. Voila! The succulent pork fat melts quickly in the mouth, and is perfectly balanced by the raw onions and the crisp, refreshing slices of daikon.
We finish up our meal with a cup of hot ginger lemon tea complimentary of the restaurant, preparing us for entering into the cold again. All in all, a deeply satisfying meal, and pleasantly, without the side effects of MSG.