Pad Thai

Pad Thai

200g Rice Noodles (3 to 5 mm vermicelli)

1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil

1 Chicken Breast, sliced thin on angle

1 tsp minced shallot

5 Large Shrimps, shelled, de-veined, and butterflied

3/4 Cup Pad Thai Sauce (recipe below)

2 Tbsp Oyster Sauce

1/4 Cup Tofu, cut to 1cm cubes

2 Eggs

1/2 Cup Bean Sprouts

4 Chives, cut to 2" lengths

2 Tbsp Dried Shrimps (ground into powder)

1/4 Cup Unsalted Peanuts, toasted and chopped coarsely

Garnishes:  Lime wedge, chile powder, sugar

1)  Soak the rice noodles in room temperature water for at least 3 hours

2)  Head the oil in a wok or large pan.  Add chicken and fry until cooked.  

3)  Add shallot and shrimps and continue to cook 1-2 minutes until pink.

4)  Add the Pad Thai sauce, oyster sauce, and tofu.  Let simmer a few minutes, removing the shrimps when cooked.

5)  Add the noodles and cook until noodles are soft and shiny.

6)  Push noodles to one side.  Crack the eggs into the pan, and break the yolks.  Cover with the noodles.  When eggs are cooked, turn off the heat.

7)  Add bean sprouts, chives, and dried shrimp  Mix well.

8)  Top with peanuts. Garnish plate with lime wedge, chile powder, and sugar. 

Pad Thai Sauce

1/2 Cup Tamarind Paste*

1/2 Cup Water

125g Palm Sugar

2 Tbsp Fish Sauce

1)  Bring tamarind paste, water, and sugar to a boil over medium heat.

2)  Add fish sauce, and simmer for 2 minutes.

*To make tamarind paste, use a ratio of 1 lb seedless tamarind paste to 1 L water.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Put through a mesh strainer.

Coconut Custard with Fried Shallots

This is a really simple and delicious dessert.  The fried shallots offer an interesting contrast, though I could do without them.

Ingredients:

• 3 Duck Eggs (or 6 chicken eggs)
• 1/4 Cup Rice Flour
• 1 1/2 Cups Palm or Brown Sugar
• 1 L Coconut Milk

• 1/8 Cup Fried Shallots (see below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F with convection

1. Beat the eggs in a large bowl.  
2. Whisk in the rice flour and sugar, 1/3 at a time.
3. Whisk the coconut milk 1/3 at a time.  Combine well.
4. Strain the batter through a mesh strainer.
5. Pour mixture into a baking pan or ramekins, 2/3 full.
6. Bake until dark golden brown, about 10 minutes for ramekins or 15 minutes for baking pan.
7. Sprinkle fried shallots on top.  Serve warm or chilled.

Deep Fried Shallots:

1. Julienne 1 large shallot
2. Heat vegetable oil on medium, to 325F, and salt the oil.
3. Fry the shallots, stirring constantly and watching carefully.  When golden, remove immediately with a slotted spoon and spread onto paper towel.

Thai Green Curry Chicken

This is the best green curry chicken that I've ever made, and the recipe comes from GBC's Thai Cooking Class.

We made the green curry paste from scratch - a bit of an ordeal and requires some special ingredients,  One definite advantage of making the paste is that you can control the heat.

Green Curry Paste

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp Ground Coriander
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1 tsp White Peppercorns

• 1 pc Lemongrass, tender parts sliced
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 1 1/2 tsp Cilantro Root*
• 1 tsp Galangal, chopped*
• 2 Tbsp Shallots, chopped
• 1 to 6 Green Thai Chiles ("Bird's Eye Chiles")*
• 1 Green Spur Chile*
• 1 Tbsp Kaffir lime zest
• 1 tsp Salt

• 1 1/2 tsp Shrimp Paste (alt: Miso Paste)

Directions:

1)  Lightly toast the Coriander, Cumin, and Peppercorns in a pan for 1 minute.  Transfer to a mortar and pestle and grind to a fine powder.  Set aside.

2)  Pound the Lemongrass in the mortar and pestle.

3)  Add the Garlic, Cilantro Root, Galangal, Shallots, Thai and Spur Chiles, Lime Zest, and Salt and pound to a paste.

4)  Mix in the Shrimp Paste.
5)  Mix in the spices from Step 1.

*Notes:

1)  "Cilantro Root" is the root and first 2 inches of the cilantro stem.  Break off each piece of step to check that there is no sand/ grit trapped inside.  

2)  Galangal is a root that looks like ginger and is available in Asian supermarkets.

3)  Chiles - use as many chiles as you want.  The spur chile is there for substance and colour, and the Thai chiles add heat.  Cutting out the seeds and veins will reduce the heat.

4)  Colour - Green Curry gets its name from the chiles that are used.  To get the very green colour that's typical in restaurants, you can add green food colouring, kale juice, or a bit of kale leaf.

Green Curry Chicken:

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Coconut Milk - boxed AROY D brand recommended
• Green Curry Paste (1 recipe, or about 4 Tbsp)
• 6 to 8 Boneless Chicken Thighs, cut into 6's (skin on)
• 1 Cup Eggplant, cut in 3/4" chunks (round Thai eggplants recommended)

• 1 Tbsp Palm or Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Fish Sauce

• 1 Cup Thai Basil Leaves

• 2 Kaffir Lime Leaves

1)  Use the fat from the coconut milk to fry the curry paste, 1 to 2 minutes.

2)  Add the chicken and cook 1-2 minutes.

3)  Add the eggplant and cook 1 minute.

4)  Add the coconut milk and cook 1 to 2 minutes until chicken and eggplant is cooked

5)  Add sugar and fish sauce to taste, being cautious that the fish sauce is salty.

6)  Add the basil, and mix thoroughly into the curry to wilt.  (This will also prevent the basil from turning brown.)

7)  Add the kaffir lime leaves:  roll them in your finger, then pull out the stem.