Grill Roast

Gai Gor Raeh or Thai southern style grill chicken skewers

9:43 AM MC 0 Comments

This Thai southern style grill chicken skewers or Gai Gor Raeh, is originally from Malay or Melayu ethnic who are inhabiting the Malay Peninsula including the southernmost of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Brunei.

This dish is not a common and well known dish in other parts of Thailand, it is not like satay which is very similar, they both are from the same region and has similar process and flavour. Malay or Melayu ethnic’s food has very strong Indian and Arab food influence.

In general, majority of Thai people have very little knowledge and understanding about Malay ethnic’s culture, believes and language, except the unrest situation in that part of Thailand on media, even myself who were born, and raised and lived, there until my late teen. Is it because the differences of believes, cultures and languages?!  It is the nature of human to try to protect their ethnicity by dividing themselves from the others but it is too bad to reduce the chances to learn from each other.

Thai government and local leaders from different groups and believes are trying to solve the conflicts that have been occurred for a long time and hope to bring peace to the region.

I admit that I know only few dishes from Malay ethnic’s food. One of them is a rice dish called Khao Yum. Khao Yum is my favourite dish; I will have it every time when I visit my hometown. It is interesting and yummy dish. I will write this original real Khao Yum dish (recipe) after I go to visit my hometown next time.   


Gai Gor Raeh or Thai Southern Style Grill Chicken Skewers
 *** Mild hot
Curry Marinade * this recipe is for 3 kg meat.
Ingredients
8                      Shallots
12 ea.               dried red chillies (4-5 inches long chillies, it’s not very spicy chilli) soak in warm water until soft- remove seeds.
6                      cloves   garlic
2 tsp.                Turmeric powder
3 tsp.                Coriander seeds
1 can                (560 ml ) coconut milk
1 tbsp.              Lime juice
1 tsp.                Cinnamon powder
1 tsp.                Cumin powder
3 tsp.                Shrimp paste, roasted (wrap in foil and roast on the heat)
1 can                (114 g) red curry paste
3 cakes.           Palm sugar
1 cup.               Water
2/3tsp               Salt
2tbsp                fish sauce

Instruction

    Curry Marinade
  1. Puree everything in a blender except the palm sugar.  Put in a pot, add palm sugar, and heat until boiling.  Add salt and fish sauce to taste. Remove from heat. Lets it cool, pour the marinade over the meat (cut 1½ inch chunks). Mix thoroughly – leave in the fridge over night.
  2. Thread the meat onto the skewers- ready to grill (on charcoal, broil in the oven or pan grill.) Serve with Ah-Jad or cucumber pickles (see recipe below).

 

Ah-Jad or Cucumber Pickles


Ah-Jad is a side dish. Many different grilled meant dishes from Southern Thailand or Malayu ethnic will serve with this side dish, including Satay. It is basically a pickle dish.  

Ah-Jad
Ingredients
1               Cucumber, cut into quaters lengthwise and slice into ¼ inch thick.
3               Shallots, slice thin
1- 2          Jalapeno pepper, slice thin
Coriander

Salad Dressing

1 cup         Sugar
1¼ cup        White vinegar
1¼ tsp          Salt

Instruction
  1. In a high-sided saucepan over medium – medium high heat, bring white vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil for 6 - 8 minutes or until the liquid turn into syrup-like. Remove from heat and lets it cool.
  2. Combine cucumber, shallots and jalapeno in a bowl. Pour the dressing on the top and mix well. And garnish with coriander. Serve as a side dish with Gai Gor Raeh or Satay.

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Appetizers

Crunchy Fried Shrimp with Tamarind Sauce

11:07 AM MC 0 Comments


Evolution of creating food is very interesting; in the past the process moved slowly and since we have had technology (communication) like TV and internet that bring more people be able to access the source easily and in a mass. There are lots of cooking shows on TV and internet like Youtube that are interesting. I like to watch cooking shows, especially Iron Chef Thailand (and sometimes with Iron Chef America), to see diffident and new techniques for cooking for example: they use a torch to blaze only the surface of the food to create slightly burning flavour, or use a vacuum chamber machine for sous-vide or slow cooking in low and control temperature, another interesting is some chefs use liquid nitrogen for cooking, for this method there is still a safety issue – not for households use yet. For me it is more like a circus on TV show, its fun and exciting.

Cooking or creating food is absolutely the kind of art. Good flavour food is from the right ingredients and right amount of the ingredients and that your taste buds send that message to your brain to your body to produce happiness hormone and you satisfy with what you put into your mouth. Nowadays a good flavour food seems not enough and it is better if it looks good too. I really enjoy watching the chefs doing nice displaying their food; it is really a piece of art on the plate.

This recipe I got from Iron Chef Thailand and I added some more ingredients in it for example they don’t have bread crumbs and ground chilli. Original this recipe modified from Khai Luuk Koei or Son-in-law’s eggs. Khai Luuk Koei is, a common street vendor food, made from fried hard boiled eggs and pour on the tamarind sauce and garnish with crispy shallot.


Shrimp with Tamarind Sauce, the shrimp in this image is without bread crumbs.

  
Ingredients

1 lb.                 Peeled shrimp
Shallots - slice thin.
2                      Eggs, beat.
Flour
Bread crumbs
2 - 3                 Shallots, slice thin.
1 – 2 tsp          Cilantro, chopped
Vegetable oil (for deep frying)

Tamarind Sauce

50 g.               Tamarind (200g package tamarind cake is available at Asian grocery stores)
1 cup              Water
1 cake             Palm sugar
5 tbsp              Fish sauce ( can be 5 and a half tbsp)
½ tsp               Ground chilli (adjustable)

Instruction

    Tamarind liquid
  1. Soak tamarind in water, break and knead tamarind with hand until water becomes thick liquid, discard seeds and pods.
  2. Bring tamarind liquid (about ¾ cup) on medium high heat to boil with palm sugar until palm sugar dissolved, add fish sauce until boiled and mix well.
  3. Remove from heat and add ground chilli and mix well. Put aside.
  4. Beat eggs in a bowl and until frothy. Rise shrimp and dry it on paper towels. Dredge shrimp in flour, shake off excess. Dip shrimp into eggs, then press shrimp into bread crumbs; turn shrimp over and press into bread crumbs again to coat both sides.
  5. Fry shrimp in hot oil until golden and drain oil on paper towels. Fry shallots in hot oil (after shrimp) until golden and drain on paper. Place and arrange fried shrimp on a plate pour the sauce on shrimp (or just serve shrimp with the tamarind sauce in a dipping bowl beside), garnish with cilantro and crispy shallot.

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Salads

Som Tam or Papaya Salad

1:38 PM MC 0 Comments

Original Som Tam or Papaya Salad is a common dish and widely eaten food among people who speak Lao language in Laos and including Isan or North Eastern Thais. Isan or North Eastern Thai is one of the dialects of Lao language. Isan or North-Eastern Thailand is the biggest part of the country with one third of population, majority of people are farmers. Isan is a farm land and also is the driest part of the country so the growing season is only in rainy season. Their life is full of hardship so they become the biggest group of people migrate to Bangkok and other parts of the country, especially when Thailand started to change to be industrialized country 20-30 years ago. They brought their cultures: food, language and music with them. Comedies and music with Isan language have been popular on TV, at bars, restaurants, streets and etc. 

Som Tam becomes popular food where Isan people are and because of Som Tam is such a pleasant food with the tastes of spiciness, sourness, sweetness and saltiness so it is easy for local people to enjoy it too. The most important ingredient in Som Tam Isan is Pla-Ra or fermented fish which is the Isan rural staple food. Many Thai people who are not from Isan are not comfortable eating fermented fish and will adjust their Som Tam to suit their flavour for example Som Tam in Southern Thailand may have shrimp paste with it. Actually we have Som Tam from royal cuisine which original is from royal cookery, this Som Tam, the important ingredient of royal Som Tam is dry shrimp, always comes with Khao Man or Jasmine rice cooked with coconut milk, but this Som Tam is not that attractive compare with Som Tam Isan so people combine Som Tam Isan and Som Tam from royal cuisine to be Tam Thai or Som Tam Thai - remain dry shrimp but Pla-Ra..

Nowadays many restaurants sell Som Tam as their main menu; they create many different flavours and toppings, for example: papaya salad with salted eggs, crispy anchovy, grilled chicken, cockle (saltwater clams), cooked fresh shrimp etc. The most common and widely available are Som Tam Thai, Som Tam Thai with salted crabs and Som Tam Isan (with fermented fish).

This recipe is Tam Thai or Som Tam Thai, dry shrimp is one of the ingredients but if you don’t like or are allergy with shrimp you can skip this ingredient.

Tip : Fresh and firm green papaya will create crisp shredded papaya but sometimes the really fresh ones are not available then soak shredded papaya in really cold water until crispy.


Som Tum Thai
 *** Medium hot
Ingredients

Shredded papaya and carrot
2 cup              Shredded green papaya
½ cup             Shredded carrot
1/3 cup           Snake beans or green beans, cut in 1½ inch long, crash
10 - 12            Cherry tomatoes, cut half.
1/3cup            Salted roasted peanuts or cashew nuts
1/3cup            Dried shrimp
2                     Thai fresh chillies, crash (the spiciness is adjustable)
1 clove            Garlic, crash

Dressing

1 cake                  Palm Sugar or ¼ cup of Sugar
Ingredients
¼ cup                   Water
3 tbsp                   Lime Juice (adjustable)
3 tbsp                   Fish Sauce (adjustable)


Instruction

  1. Making the dressing - heat water and palm sugar or sugar in a pot until sugar is melted or boiled for 7 – 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Add lime juice and fish sauce, mix well.
  2. Combine shredded papaya, shredded carrot, snake beans or green beans, chillies, garlic, cherry tomatoes and dried shrimp in a mixing bowl. Add the dressing and mix well and add peanuts or cashew nuts. Serve with sticky rice and grilled or roasted chicken.

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Salads

Laab Gai or Laab Chicken

1:20 PM MC 0 Comments

Laab is Lao language; the meaning of Laab is the same as Yum in Thai means a dish with the process of combining mince meat or slice small pieces of meat with herbs, chilli, lime juice and fish sauce together. It is not quite like salad in Western cooking as mostly the main ingredient for Laab or Yum is meat. It can be any kind of meat: chicken, duck, beef, fish or and pork.

Original this dish is commonly and widely eaten in Northern Thailand and people who speak Lao language like Isan or North-Eastern Thais and Lao in Laos. There are other different dishes that have the same kind of process from the same region for example Sok-Lek, Goy, and etc. This dish is commonly served with sticky rice as sticky rice is the staple food of Northern Thais, North-Eastern Thais and Lao.  

This dish became popular and well-known in Thailand, Thai restaurants and Thai or and Lao communities around the world as the migration of Isan or North-Eastern Thais and migration of Lao as well.

I don’t use only just fish sauce for many of my recipes because some recipes original are from Chinese food and also if using only fish sauce in the food is pretty fishy for many people who are not used to eating fish sauce. In Thailand we pretty much use both fish sauce and soy sauce (and oyster sauce) for cooking.


Laab Gai
Ingredients

2                  Boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 350g), minced
1 clove        Garlic, minced
¼ tsp           Sea Salt
1tbsp           Vegetable oil
1 tsp            Soy Sauce
¼ cup          Water
3 tbsp           Lemongrass, finely chopped (see picture)
3 tbsp          Galangal, finely chopped (see picture)
2 tsp             Kaffir Lime leaves, finely chopped (see picture)
2                   Shallots, slice thin
2                  Green Onion, cut into ¼ inch
¼ cup          Culantro, cut into ¼ inch (optional) (see link)
3 stems        Mints, leaves.
3 tbsp          Ground roasted sticky rice
1 tsp            Ground chilli pepper (you can adjust the spiciness; some kind of chilli is very spicy)
4 -5 tbsp      Lime juice (adjustable)
3 tsp            Fish Sauce (adjustable)

Instruction

    Roasted Sticky Rice
  1. Roast sticky rice with a frying-pan at medium heat until lightly golden. Grind in a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder to a fine powder.
  2. Marinate chicken with garlic, salt, oil and soy sauce. Cook the marinated chicken with a pot or frying-pan at medium heat, and add fish sauce and water while stirring and breaking up any lumps with a spoon until it changes colour and totally cooked. Remove from heat and let it cool down a bit so that when you add fresh herbs in the chicken they are still fresh green.
    3. Chop Lemongrass, Galangal and Kaffir lime leaves very fine.
  3. Add lime juice, ground rice, ground chilli, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, shallots, green onion and culantro, and mix well.

    Slice and cut herbs
4.  Serve with steamed rice or sticky rice.


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Noodles Rice

Sticky Rice or Glutinous Rice

12:55 PM MC 0 Comments


Sticky rice or glutinous rice is an important staple food of North and North-East Thais. In general people in other parts of Thailand consume ordinary rice or long grain rice. It is not only Northern and Northern-Eastern Thais who eat sticky rice as the daily staple food but Lao in Laos also eat sticky rice as their staple food, in history they were the same group of people in an ancient kingdom before forming Thailand - Laos.

Sticky rice is very popular at Thai restaurants. Everyone loves to eat sticky rice, even kids who don’t eat rice as the staple food at home they love eating sticky rice, for example every summer my whole family in laws will get together, we will share to do cooking for everyone and when I take the turn I will make Thai food and kids will ask for sticky rice!

How to cook sticky rice is a question for people who don’t eat rice or sticky rice as a staple food. I am going to show you how and if you have a sticky rice steamer it is pretty easy. You can get this sticky rice steamer at Asian grocery stores, they are from Thailand.

This traditional cone-shaped woven bamboo weaved basket(see the picture below) is, an incredible intelligent invention, produced excellent sticky rice as sticky rice can not absorb a lot of  water so cooked sticky rice will not be swollen much. The way to cook sticky rice is at least soak it in water for more than three hours or just leave it cover with water over night – sticky rice will be saturated with water so when you cook you have to drain all water before transfer sticky rice into the bamboo basket, and because this bamboo basket has a cone shape all the extra water that is still in the rice (as you can not drain it completely) will drain itself and the bottom completely dry out as it is not flat. If you use flat bottom streamer the sticky rice will come out wet and mash. This cone-shaped woven bamboo weaved basket always comes together with its pot but a lid. The reason they don’t have a lid is, that this bamboo basket can contain any amount of rice; more rice needs a bigger lid to fit the cone so you can just find the right lid from your kitchen.  


Cooked Sticky Rice

Ingredients

Thai Sticky Rice or Glutinous rice  any amount (remember that sticky rice will not be swollen much.)
Tap Water                                       enough to cover sticky rice   

Instruction

1.      Rise sticky rice one time with water.
2.      Cover sticky rice with water at least 3 hours or over night.
Sticky Rice Steamer
3.      Heat water with the sticky rice streamer pot on high until boiled with stream coming out.
4.      Drain water from sticky rice totally and then transfer it into the bamboo basket.
5.      Place the bamboo basket with sticky rice on the pot and cover the basket with a pot lid, lower the heat to medium high and steam for 35 -45 minutes or until rice is cooked.
6.      Remove from heat, served hot with yummy Thai food.

PS ** After the rice is cooking on the heat for about half way, rotate the rice by remove the basket from the heat (just use your two hands hold the top of basket, it’s not hot because it’s made from bamboo and also it doesn’t touch the heat directly) and shake to loosen the rice from basket and then toss to rotate the rice and then put the rice back to the pot until rice is cooked totally. 


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