Tantalising Thai…

Can you believe it’s our second last class for the Term? With all this fabulous warm weather it was a perfect opportunity to make some Thai food. Tantalising, just like the thought of summer…
Had to make a few changes as I couldn’t source any green papaya for the salad. Luckily you can substitute green mango pretty easily in this dish. If you don’t have a mandolin you can make cuts in the flesh and then shred the mango/ papaya with a veggie peeler. Be careful, this can be quite a tricky procedure!

SOM TOM: GREEN PAPAYA SALAD
A popular street snack, now a spicy Thai signature dish
Serves: 4 as part of a meal
Preparation time: 15 minutes.
Equipment: board, knife, mandolin, mortar and pestle, large mixing bowl
Ingredients
6 hot Thai chillies, chopped (to taste)
4 cloves garlic
4 cups unripe papaya(or mango), julienned
½ punnet cherry tomato, quartered
1 carrot, julienned (optional)
½ cup roasted peanuts
1 cup snake beans, cut into 2cm pieces
Sauce:
2 limes, juiced
3 Tablespoons tamarind water
3 Tablespoons mushroom-flavoured soy sauce
3 Tablespoons palm sugar
½ Tablespoons roasted chilli powder (to taste)
Garnish:
Wedge of cabbage
Cucumber slices
Lime wedges
Method:
1. Pound the chillies and garlic in the mortar and pestle
2. Add the lime juice, tamarind, soy sauce, palm sugar and mix well
3. Add the snake beans and cherry tomatoes and pound lightly
4. Place mixture in a large mixing bowl
5. Toss through papaya & carrot (if using)
6. Taste and adjust flavours: salty, sweet, sour and chilli
7. Serve with wedge of cabbage, cucumber slices and wedge of lime
 

THAI PUMPKIN & ZUCCHINI STIR FRY
A satisfying dish to serve with rice or as part of a meal.
Serves: 4 (as part of a meal)
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Equipment:
knife, chopping board, wok, chan, small bowl for rubbish, measuring spoons

Ingredients:
500 grams Pumpkin, peeled and sliced chopped into 5cm lengths
500 grams Zucchini, cut in ½ cm matchsticks 5 cm lengths
3 Eggs
3 Spring onions, sliced into 5cm lengths
2 tablespoon Canola oil
2 Garlic cloves, finely sliced
100 ml Water
2 tablespoon Vegetarian oyster sauce
2 tablespoon Mushroom soy sauce
½ teaspoon Sesame Oil
1 tablespoon White sugar
¼ teaspoon Ground white pepper
Coriander leaves to garnish
Method:
1. Cook the pumpkin till just soft in microwave or steamer.
2. In a hot wok, fry the garlic in the oil till just golden
3. Add the eggs and stir till half cooked
4. Add the pumpkin, zucchini, water, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, white pepper.
5. Stir fry for 5 minute till all combined.
6. Add the spring onion and stir to heat through.
Serve garnished with coriander leaves and a sprinkle of white pepper.

Thai Red Curry Paste (Vegetarian)
Most commercial red curry pastes are made with fish sauce or shrimp paste. Make a fresh batch of this paste and it will keep for months in the fridge or freeze portions to use throughout the year.
2 tablespoons coriander seed
1 tablespoon cumin seed
1 tablespoon whole peppercorn
7 large red chillies, de-seeded
10 small dry red chillies
5 red shallot
7 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon chopped coriander root
2 inch piece galangal
2 lemongrass stalk
2 teaspoons kaffir lime rind
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons black soybean paste (or miso paste)
¼ cup coconut milk
Vegetable oil for storing in jar
1. Dry roast coriander, cumin and peppercorns in a frypan until fragrant.
2. Pound the the roasted seeds in mortar and pestle until they are powdered.
3. Place the next set of ingredients in the food processor with the pounded spices and pulse.
4. When all are combined add the soybean and coconut milk and blend till smooth.
5. Spoon into a sterile jar, top with vegetable oil and refrigerate till use.
6. Keeps a minimum of two months.
7. Always fry/ cook paste before use.
 

THAI RED CURRY w/ VEGETABLES AND TOFU
A rich, fragrant curry with seasonal vegetables
Serves: 6 as part of a meal
Preparation time: 15 minutes.
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Equipment: board, knife, wok, chan, ladle
Ingredients
1 cup coconut cream
2 cups coconut milk (1 ½ cups cream + 1 cup water)
¾ cup red curry paste (less if using a stronger commercial curry paste)
2 cups puffy fried tofu, cut in half (optional)
1 cup small eggplant, cut into chunks
¼ small winter “hairy” melon, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes (optional)
2 cups button mushroom, wiped with a damp cloth, trimmed and quartered
1 cup carrot or pumpkin peeled, cut and par cooked
½ red capsicum, cut into 2 cm pieces
2 cups green vegetables (broccoli, bok choy, snake beans etc par cooked if necessary)
2 tablespoons palm sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Garnish
6 kaffir lime leaves, torn
1 cup sweet Thai basil leaves, whole
1 long fresh chilli, sliced
Method:
1. Heat the wok over a medium heat
2. Add the coconut cream and reduce for 8 minutes, scraping down the sides occasionally
3. Once the oil separates, add red curry paste and fry for 6-8 minutes till fragrant. Stir continuously.
4. Add puffy tofu and coconut milk, bring to the boil
5. Add palm sugar, soy sauce and then the carrots (or pumpkin) and capsicum
6. Add the eggplant, mushrooms and winter melon cook 10 mins.
6. Add the green vegetables and warm through.
6. Garnish with Thai basil, kaffir lime leaves and chilli slices.
7. Serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice.
 

SWEET STICKY RICE W/ MANGO & COCONUT
A traditional Northern Thai dessert, with a modern cooking method!
Serves: 6
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Equipment:
Microwave, oven at 180C to toast shredded coconut, glass bowl, cling film, chopping board, knife, small saucepan, baking tray

Ingredients:
1c white sticky/ glutinous rice
1c coconut milk
2 Tbs sugar
2 pinches salt
Warm water
2 mangoes, peeled and sliced (or lychees, pineapple, papaya, bananas etc)
Garnish: Toasted coconut and palm sugar syrup
½ c shredded coconut, toasted in the oven on a baking tray
½ c palm sugar
½ c water
Method:

1. Soak the sticky rice in warm water for 10 minutes.
2. Drain and place in a glass bowl with 1 cup water, cover with cling film.
3. Cook in microwave for 3 minutes.
4. Carefully peel back cling film and stir rice thoroughly.
5. Replace cling film and cook a further 3 minutes.
6. Whilst rice is cooking heat coconut milk, sugar and salt in saucepan.
7. Check if rice is cooked, if not cook a further 3 minutes.
8. When rice is cooked, stir through ¾ of the hot coconut milk.
Palm sugar syrup:

1. Chop ½ cup of palm sugar and combine with ½ cup water in a saucepan.
2. Bring to the boil and stir till dissolved.
3. Set aside to cool.
To serve: may be served hot or cold.
Spoon 2 tablespoons of sticky rice into a bowl and serve topped with mango slices, remaining warm coconut milk, palm sugar syrup and shredded coconut.