Thai Chicken Green Curry

Greetings from Malaysia! I am currently travelling with my family in South East Asia. Hence, I may not be able to post recipes on regular basis. We pretty much enjoy our trip with lots of eating, photographing and many more. Stay tuned! In the meantime, please enjoy the Thai Green Curry Recipe.

This is probably one of take-out favourites in Canada! There are 3 different kinds of Thai curry: red, yellow and green (funny, just like a traffic light). Each of them share the same base: shallots, garlic, lemon grass, lime leaves, hot peppers and fish sauce. Red curry uses more red chilis while yellow curry has more yellow chilis and turmeric. On the other hand, green curry has cilantro, Thai basil and green chilis. Out of all, I personally find that green curry is the spiciest and the most pungent with a hum of fresh herbs. It is my most favourite Thai curry.

One can spend a good 10 dollars for a serving of Thai curry in a restaurant but believe or not, you can serve this dish at home for less than 10 dollars! And no, I do not expect you to cry in your kitchen peeling shallots and pounding chilis to make this dish. Thanks to the globalization and the world of convenience, you can now purchase a tub of Thai curry paste in any grocery stores. My favourite brand is Aroy-D. They also make the best coconut milk.

The Thai Chicken Green Curry featured on this blog is super easy and takes less than 30 minutes of cooking in your kitchen. Moreover, the vibrant colours of peppers and vegetables added into this curry will stir up your appetite and make you salivate. No kidding! Try this recipe and soon enough, you no longer need to dine in a Thai restaurant.

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 4 - 6

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pieces of boneless chicken breas, cubed
• 1 cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
• 1 can baby corn, drained and rinsed
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 1 green bell pepper, julienned
• 1 lemongrass (optional), bruised
• 3 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• 4 tbsp Thai green curry paste (use less if you prefer mild)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

METHOD: 

1. In a pot, heat up 2 tbsp of cooking oil. Add in the curry paste, water, coconut milk, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves
2. Once boiled and the curry paste has dissolved, stir in the cubed chicken breast. Return to boil and cook for another 5 minutes 
3. Add in the red and green peppers, baby corn and green peas
4. Season with fish sauce and sugar. Return to boil and cook for another 5 minutes
5. Serve with a plate or bowl of steamed jasmine rice and fresh Thai basil

Spicy Thai Noodle

Thailand, a country located in South East Asia, is known for its beautiful white sand beaches, sacred Buddhist temples and its flavourful cuisine. Thai cooking puts a lot of emphasis on fresh and strong aromatic ingredients. Its cuisine is known for its balance of sweet, sour, spicy and saltiness. Needless to say, I have not met anyone who doesn't love Thai food.

Whenever I visit my family and friends in Indonesia and Malaysia, I make sure that I do not miss visiting Thailand as well. Instead of visiting Thai beaches, I put food adventure as my top priority. My family and I will make trips to Thai fresh markets every morning for local breakfasts. We then indulge ourselves with traditional Thai desserts, local fruits and cakes. Nevertheless, I will return to Canada with a few extra pounds of weight (not extra pounds of luggage!).

My craving for Thai food hit me the other day and I couldn't think of any better idea but to cook a Spicy Thai Noodle. I stir fry fresh rice noodles with several ingredients and incorporate in Thai basil for a sweet, peppery flavour. Like any stir fries, you will need to cook this dish in high heat, thus I recommend you spreading out all ingredients on kitchen counter. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

Skill Level: Easy 

Serves: 4 - 5 

INGREDIENTS:

• 400 g of fresh rice noodles (if not available, you can substitute with dried rice noodles and follow instructions on package)
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced 
• 3 green onions, cut into 1.5 inch length
• 1 crown of broccoli, cut into bite sized
• 5 Thai bird chillies, sliced
• 1 onion, thinly sliced 
• 10 to 12 Thai basil leaves
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 eggs
• Cooking oil 
• Ground white pepper to taste
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Seasoning for the Noodle (A):

• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• Dash of white pepper

Marinade Ingredients (B):

• 12 to 15 shrimps
• 12 to 15 thinly sliced pork
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• Black pepper, to taste

Gravy:

• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 cups water
• 3 tbsp corn starch 
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp chicken flavoured powder (bouillon)

 METHOD: 

1. Microwave the fresh rice noodles for a minute or if you use dried rice noodles, cook according to instructions on package 
2. In a bowl, beat eggs lightly with a fork 
3. Heat up a wok, add in 2 tbsp of cooking oil and scramble the eggs till well done. Scoop and place on a plate
4. In the same wok, heat up 4 tbsp of cooking oil. Stir in sliced onions and garlic and cook until fragrant 
5. Add in item (B), cook under high heat for 3 minutes. Mix in green onions, Thai chillies, red bell peppers and broccoli. Cook for another 2 minutes
6. Add in the rice noodle and seasoning (A). Stir and cook for another 4 minutes. Add a dash of white pepper and mix in the scrambled eggs as well as Thai basil 
7. Scoop up the noodle onto serving plates 
8. In the same wok, heat up 1 tbsp of cooking oil and pour in 2 cups of water. Let it boil and mix in salt, dark soy sauce as well as chicken bouillon 
9. Mix corn starch with water to make a slurry. Pour into the sauce until thicken
10. Pour the gravy over the noodle, serve with lime wedges and enjoy!
    

Thai Mango Salad

Have you ever found yourself stressing about what to make for summer parties or potlucks? You want to make something exotic and memorable that keeps everyone talking about your dish long after the food has been consumed - something different from your regular garden salad, pasta salad or coleslaw. But then, thinking of the word "exotic" alone, you start to wonder if you can find the required ingredients in your local grocery store.

BBQ season doesn't officially begin until the long weekend of May. However, with the unusually warm weather that we have had, it is not surprising that my neighbourhood is filled with lingering and intoxicating smells of barbecue. My blog partner's sister, G, happened to visit Toronto last week and I decided to throw a Thai-themed dinner and made Thai Mango Salad as a starter and the verdict from my guests: absolutely must be featured on this blog! 

Traditionally, Thai Mango Salad is made with half-ripened mangoes for tanginess and crunch. Ingredients such as shallots, Thai hot peppers and lemongrass are pounded in a mortar with dashes of fish sauce. But because I had limited time to prepare this appetizer, I decided to take a short-cut! I flavoured the mango salad with Thai sauces I have on hand. I complimented my ripened mangoes with Granny Smith apples for a balance of sweet and sour. Let me assure you that this quick and easy recipe still has its authentic flavour.

All ingredients required in this recipe can be found easily in most grocery stores (Canadian Superstore, Loblaws, etc.) and Chinese groceries.

Skill Level: Easy 

Serves: 8 - 10

INGREDIENTS: 

• 6 mangoes
• 2 Granny Smith apples
• 1 red bell pepper
• 8 shallots or 1/2 red onions
• a handful of mint and cilantro, each
• 1 cup roasted cashew nuts, unsalted
• 3/4 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
• 5 tbsp fish sauce

 METHOD: 

1. Cut mangoes and apples into julienned strips
2. Similarly, cut red bell peppers into thin julienned strips
3. Slice thinly red onions or shallots
4. Finely chop mint and cilantro
5. In a big salad bowl, mix all ingredients and sauces together
6. Add in cashew nuts
7. Serve right away or fridge for an hour