Thai Cucumber Salad

A simple salad recipe to go along some hot and spicy Thai dishes!

Ingredients:
Cucumber (shredded) - 1
Carrot (shredded) - 1/2
Onion (thinly sliced) - 1
Lime juice - 1 tsp
Peanuts (ground) - 10-12
Salt to taste

Just add in the cucumber, carrot and onion in a bowl. Add in the lime juice and salt. Give it a good mix. Serve it on a plate and garnish with some ground peanuts. That's it!
(P.S: Add in some cut bird's eye chillies to give it a spicy twist.)

Minced Basil Chicken

A very simple yet tasty dish! My 8 year old cousin loved it. I made hers minus the chillies :)

Ingredients:
Chicken (minced) - 100g
Tofu (minced) - 1
Shallots (diced) - 1
Garlic (diced) - 3 cloves
Bird's eye chili - 2
Basil leaves - 4-5
Lime leaves (slit) - 2
Fish sauce - 1 tbsp
Dark soy sauce - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Heat the wok with oil and add in the shallots, garlic, and chillies. Stir awhile before adding in the minced chicken and basil leaves.
Add fish sauce, dark soy sauce, salt and pepper. When the chicken is almost cooked, and in the minced tofu and lime leaves. Continue to stir.
Check for salt and spice levels. Dish it out on some warm rice.

Mango Pudding

Decided to try out this mango pudding dessert from About.com to accompany my Thai dishes. My little cousins loved it!

Ingredients:
Ripe mangoes - 2
Gelatin - 3 tsp
Hot water - 1/2 cup
White sugar - 1/3 cup
Coconut milk - 1 cup

Scoop out the fruit. Place the fruit in a food processor and blitz to create a smooth mango puree. Leave the mango in the processor.
In a saucepan, heat up the water until it reaches a rolling bowl. Remove from heat. While stirring the water with a whisk or fork, sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the water and stir briskly in order not to have any lumps.
Add the sugar to the hot water/gelatin mixture and stir to dissolve.
Add this mixture to the mango in the food processor. Also add the coconut milk. Blitz briefly until ingredients are combined.
Pour into dessert bowls or cups and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Serve cold on its own, or with some fresh fruits. (I served mine with some Nata de Coco and diced fresh mangoes.)

Green Prawn Curry

I decided to cook Thai dishes just the other day. Made some green prawn curry, minced basil chicken and cucumber salad. I thought my green curry turned out well, but it wasn't spicy enough for me. I guess I was too cautious when adding in those chillies (that's also why the green curry is pale in color) Sigh! Anyway here's how I prepared it..

Ingredients:
Prawns
Kaffir lime leaves - 4
Fresh basil - 5
Coconut milk
Capsicum (cut into chunks) - 1
Green curry paste:
Thai green chillies - 4 (add more if you prefer your curry to be spicy)
Shallots - 1/2
Garlic - 4 cloves
Ginger (grated) - 3 tbsp
Lemongrass - 1 stalk
Ground coriander - 1/2 tsp
Ground cumin - 1/2 tsp
Shrimp paste - 1 tsp
Fresh coriander leaves (chopped) - 1 cup
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Fish sauce - tbsp
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Lime juice - 2 tbsp

Place all the "green curry paste" ingredients together in a food processor and blend it into a paste. Set aside.
Cut the lime leaves into strips.
Heat the wok with some oil and add the green curry paste.
Stir-fry briefly till fragrant , then add 3/4 of the coconut milk, reserving 2-3 tbsp per serving portion for later.
When the curry sauce comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium, until you get a nice simmer.
Add prawn and cover. Allow to simmer 3-5 more minutes stirring occasionally.
Add capsicum and lime leaves.
Taste for salt, adding 1-2 tbsp fish sauce if not salty enough.
Serve this curry with some warm rice.

Tomyam

Tomyam is a soup dish which originated from Thailand and is widely served in neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Tomyam is characterized by its distinct hot and sour flavors, with fragrant herbs generously used. This is my first attempt to prepare this famous soup. Recipe adapted from Shiokfood with some changes.

Boneless chicken breast (cut into small pieces) - 50 gm
Prawns - 10
Galangal - 1 tbsp
Fresh or frozen lemongrass - 1-2
Kaffir Lime Leaves - 2-3
Chili paste - 2 tbsp
Thai bird's eye chillies - 4-5
Fish sauce - 2 tbsp
Lime juice - 2 medium lime
Onion (sliced) - 1/4
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - 4 tbsp
Prawn stock (Boil some prawn shells with water and lemon grass. This will give you prawn stock.)

With the flat side of a heavy object, pound and bruise the lemongrass. Cut into 2 inch segments.
Put lemongrass, galangal, fish sauce, chili paste and stock into a pot and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Uncover the pot and add the Kaffir lime leaves, chilies, onion, sugar and chicken pieces.
Simmer for 2-3 minutes, then add prawns. Simmer for yet another 2 minutes.
Turn off the heat, add lime juice and garnish with coriander leaves.
Test for saltiness and sourness. If required, adjust with more fish sauce (salt) and lemon juice (sour).

This makes a medium-hot bowl. To make it more spicy, just add in more bird's eye chillies!

Spiced Lamb Chop

I first tasted this lamb chop many many years back. My aunt thought me how to prepare this dish and it's surprising how simple it is. The only down-side is it takes a rather long time to cook. This lamb chops are best prepared with lamb ribs, but I couldn't find them and ended up using lamb shoulders.

Ingredients:
Lamb - 5-6 ribs
Onions - 2
Ginger - 1
Garlic - 3 cloves
Chili powder - 4 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 2 sticks
Water - 5 cups
Eggs - 1

First, blend the onions, ginger and garlic in a food processor.
Heat a little oil in the pan and add in the blended mixture together with cinnamon. Add in the chili and turmeric powder and stir awhile.
Pour in the water. Once boiling, put the ribs in, and let it boil, stirring occasionally until the ribs are coated with the thickened gravy. (This process should take about an hour.) Keep the ribs aside to cool.
Beat an egg in a bowl and heat some oil in the frying pan. Coat the ribs with egg before frying them. Remove once brown and place on a serving plate.

Stir-fried Long Beans

Every time my mom asks me to cook some vegetable for dinner, I normally look for beans or cabbage in the fridge. Both are easy to cook and they go well with Indian curries. This long beans recipe is particularly good with fish curry. It requires minimal ingredients and I have cooked this just too many times.

Ingredients:

Long beans (cut diagonally)
Onions (chopped) - 1
Garlic (crushed) - 2-3 cloves
Grated coconut - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 5-6
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Heat some oil in the pan and put in the mustard seeds.
Add onions, garlic and curry leaves.
Next, add in the coconut and turmeric powder along with a pinch of salt.
Put in the long beans and stir occasionally till the beans are cooked.
Add a dash of pepper and adjust salt levels.
Tadaaa.. It's ready to be server along with some rice and curry.

Fried Instant Noodles (Maggi Goreng)

Made this non-spicy version of maggi goreng a few weeks back. You can spice it up by adding in some bird's eye chillies.

Ingredients:
Instant noodles - 1 packet
Onions (thinly sliced) - 1
Garlic (crushed) - 1
Dried shrimps (crushed) - 10-15
Carrot (thinly cut into strips) - 1
Cabbage (thinly cut into strips) - 1/4
Chicken breast (cut into small pieces)
Fish ball - 3-4
Eggs - 1
Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Soak the instant noodles in hot water. Drain them once soft and springy. Set aside.
Heat up the wok with some oil. Put in the crushed garlic and dried shrimps and then the onions. Add soy sauce and salt. Then add the chicken pieces and sliced fish balls. Once the chicken is cooked, add the cabbage, carrots and instant noodles. Continue to stir until everything is well mixed.
Separate the noodles to the sides of the wok and break the eggs in the middle. Once the eggs are almost cooked, give everything a good stir.

Dish out and serve with some sliced cucumber.

Fish Fritters

I came across a recipe for Thai Fish Cake online but I didn't have all the ingredients needed. Instead, I had an idea to make my own fish fritters with what I had and it actually turned out pretty well.

Ingredients:
White-fleshed fish fillets - 500g
Coriander leaves (chopped)
Onions (chopped) - 1
Ginger (grated) - 1 tsp
Fish sauce - 2 tbsp
Corn flour - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Rinse fish and pat dry. Cut into chunks and place in a bowl. Mesh it up a little. Add remaining ingredients; onions, coriander leaves, ginger, corn flour, fish sauce, salt and pepper. Mix them well.
Heat up some oil in a pan. The mixture will be very sticky so it's best to scoop it with a spoon before dropping it into the oil.
Once brown, drain the fritters onto a plate lined with paper towel. Serve with Thai sweet chili sauce.

Telur bistik

This is another easy to make recipe and goes very well with some warm rice and a bowl of tomyam soup. One of my favourite dishes to make!

Ingredients:
Eggs - 3
Onion (chopped) - 1
Garlic (chopped) - 1
Frozen mix vege - 1/4 packet
Chicken breast (chopped)
Cilli sauce - 4 tbsp
Oyster sauce - 1 tbsp
Plum sauce - 2 tbsp
Chicken stock - 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Beat the eggs with a little salt and pepper. Fry them and set aside.

Heat the wok with some oil and add the onions and garlic. Stir till fragrant. Add in the chopped chicken and stir well. Put in the mix vege and then the chilli sauce, oyster sauce, plum sauce and chicken stock. Continue to stir for a few minutes. Add in some salt and pepper to taste.
Pour this gravy over the pre-fried egg and serve with some warm rice. A simple and tasty dish!

Nasi Lemak with Prawn Sambal

Nasi lemak is said to be the national food of Malaysia. It is typically eaten for breakfast, but these days, we even have it for dinner.
Traditionally, this comes as a platter of food wrapped in banana leaf, with cucumber slices, dried anchovies (ikan bilis), roasted peanuts, hard boiled egg, and hot spicy sauce (sambal) at its core.
So, here I present you nasi lemak, a truly Malaysia dish. I replaced the usual sambal with prawn sambal. and the hard boiled eggs with fried eggs.

Ingredients:

Coconut milk rice:
Rice - 2 cups
Screwpine leaves (tie into knots) - 3
Ginger (grated) - 1 tsp
Coconut milk
Some water
Salt to taste

Prawn sambal:
Prawns - 15-20
Dried chillies - 8-10
Red onion - 1
Garlic (crushed) - 1 clove
Shallots -3
Carrot - 1/4
Tomato - 1
Belacan (prawn paste) - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

Other ingredients:
Eggs
Dried anchovies
Cucumber (sliced) -1

Rinse the rice and drain. Add the coconut milk, grated ginger, a pinch of salt, and some water. Add the pandan leaves into the rice and cook your rice.

Fry the anchovies until they turn light brown and put aside.
Roast the peanuts and cut the cucumber into slices.

For the prawn sambal, blend half of the red onion, shallots, garlic, carrot (I use a little carrot because it gives a nice colour to the sambal), prawn paste and deseeded dried chilies with a food processor. You can also use a mortal and pestle. The latter gives a better texture and taste.
Slice thinly the remaining red onion into rings.
Heat some oil in a pan and fry the spice paste until fragrant. Add in the onion rings and then the tomatoes. Alternatively you may also use tamarind paste instead of the tomatoes.
Put in the prawns and give it a good stir. Add in salt, and sugar.
Simmer on low heat until the gravy thickens. Set aside.

Dish up the rice with some prawn sambal. Serve with fried eggs, cucumber slices, fried anchovies and roasted peanuts.

Japanese Egg Tofu

Japanese Egg Tofu - These are vacuum packed in plastic tubes, medium-soft textured in a slightly off white colour. It turns a mild shade of yellow when cooked and has an eggy taste to it as it melts in your mouth. This is a family favourite when we go to Chinese restaurants where it's typically served on a hot plate. I tried to re-create something similar in my kitchen.

Ingredients:
Egg tofu - 3 packets
Onions (chopped) - 1
Minced prawns - 7-8
Minced chicken - 100g
Minced fishball - 100g
Spring onion (chopped) - 1
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Oyster sauce - 1 tbsp
Corn flour - 1/2 tbsp
Chicken stock - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Cut the tofu into one inch slices and pan fry both sides until lightly brown, then set aside.
Sautee half of the spring onions, onions, minced prawns, chicken and fishball.
Add in the soy sauce, thick soy sauce, chicken stock and salt.
Stir in the cornstarch, cook to a boil and let it simmer for a minute or so.
Add in a dash of pepper. Pour gravy over tofu. Garnish with the remaining spring onions.
Serve with warm steamed rice.
(P.S: You could also stir in an egg when the gravy is boiling for an added oomph.)

Fried beehoon

This is a simple and easy to make dish. I usually prepare this for breakfast over the weekends.

Ingredients:
Rice noodles - 1/2 bag
Onions (thinly sliced) - 1
Garlic (crushed) - 1
Dried shrimps (crushed) - 10-15
Carrot (thinly cut into strips) - 1
Cabbage (thinly cut into strips) - 1/4
Chicken breast (cut into small chunks)
Eggs - 2
Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Soak the rice noodles in warm water. Drain them once soft and set aside.
Heat up the wok with some oil. Put in the crushed garlic and dried shrimps. Give it a good stir and add in the onions. Add the chilli powder, soy sauce and salt and cook until the rawness of the spice is gone. Put in the chicken pieces and stir well. Next, add the cabbage, carrots and rice noodles. Continue to stir until everything is well mixed and add in the eggs.
(I usually fry the eggs separately before adding them in.)
Dish out and serve.

Apple Crumble

An apple crumble will take less time and ingredients to prepare than an apple pie, but it's just as delicious and comforting. I've made this a few times and my family loves it. It goes very well with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. The combination of hot apples and cold ice cream is heavenly!

Ingredients:
Granny Smith apples - 5-6
Plain flour - 200g
Sugar - 200g
Butter - 120g
Cinnamon stick -1
Ground almonds

Peel and core the apples and dice them into smaller chunks. Put the apples into a pan, add 3/4 of the sugar, cinnamon stick and cover the pan. You can add a little water here. Let it stew gently for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lightly mash the apples. The apples should be soft but not pureed.

Put the apples into a serving dish and allow to cool.

To make the crumble, mix flour, ground almonds, the remaining sugar and butter with your fingers until it becomes breadcrumb like. Sprinkle the crumble and cover the entire surface of the stewed apples. Bake for 30-40 minutes until it's golden brown, and serve it with ice-cream.

Fish Curry

Welcome to my very first blog post :)
My brother went fishing during the weekend and brought home a huge fish. (Sorry, but I have no idea what fish it was.) I had a hard time deciding what to do with it and finally decided to make fish curry with it. Fish curry is a well known South Indian dish and can be made using any fish with firm white flesh. This recipe is adapted from Adukala Vishesham with some minor changes.The outcome was pretty good for a first timer and it tasted even better the next day!

Ingredients:
Fish
Shallots (chopped) - 2-3
Garlic (crushed) - 1 tsp
Ginger (crushed) - 1 tsp
Tomatoes - 2-3
Green chillies -2
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Chilli powder - 2 1/2 tbsp
Fish curry powder - 2 tbsp
Coconut milk - 1/2 cup
Water - 1 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Heat some oil in the pot. Once hot, put in the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, onions, garlic, ginger, curry leaves and green chilli. Once the onions start to get cooked add the turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder and fish curry powder. Stir for a few minutes and add water and tomatoes. Once the tomatoes are nearly cooked, add in the fish and bring it to boil. Add coconut milk and let it simmer. Sprinkle a dash of pepper. Give it a good stir and check the salt and spice levels. Garnish with some curry leaves and serve with warm steamed rice.