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This is made from the green curry paste, dry fried cumin seeds and coriander seeds that are pounded into a powder and mixed into coconut cream and then put into an ice cream maker. The cones are made from the rice flour, plain flour, lime water and salt mix that can be found here.

I have been talking about this for the whole time I was in Thailand and I have finally managed to make it ‘work’… Here is the deal:

I wanted a double choc shell with the out shell being a dark chocolate, then a mango purée surprise, another chocolate shell and then sweet coconut sticky rice. The problem was making the chocolate shells. I have managed to make it work using a silicone cup cake mould. I haven’t nailed it yet but check out the video of the first attempt. I used very sweet coconut milk as the surprise and coconut praline to top the chocolate. I need to sort out how to make the moulds reliably and how to seal the lot once it is full.

Here is the video of opening up the chocolate http://youtu.be/trOZ4HEWguA

Chatuchak Weekend Market (JJ Market)

I incorrectly described this market to someone recently as Bangkok’s ‘Vic Market’.  I couldn’t have been anymore wrong.  This market is a thriving amalgamation of cool, food, tourists and locals all looking for something special that, if you have a lot of time to look, you will probably find.

The market is tucked away at the end of the tube line but is easy to get to and has plenty of options as far as stations are concerned.  I exited at Kamphaeng Phet station because I knew over the road there was a local food only market that I wanted to investigate (Or Tor Kor market which is an extremely clean market across the road but that’s for another post).  The market appears to, at first glance (and due to most of the stalls out side) to be full of rubbish but spend a little more time and you find quite the opposite.  The market is broken up into 6 sections; Antiques, Handicrafts & Souvenirs ; Clothing & Accessories; Eating & Drinking; Housewares & Decor; Pets; and Plants & Gardening.  in each of these sections there’s something cool to check out.  It’s crammed into little corridors so nearly impossible to photograph but if you’re only in Bangkok for a short time I would recommend checking this out (and don’t miss the market across the road).

Then there is the cool clothing…..

I would love to spend a couple of weekends here going from stall to stall to stall and picking up little designer wears that are small runs made by people who care (not knockoff crap that they want to get rid of ASAP before the shape changes in the humidity).

Duck hair flower salad

1. Pound the bird chillies to a rough paste. Put to one side
2. Boil pork in a pot with chicken stock until pork is cooked. Put to one side
3. Prepare a bowl of ice water.
4. Boil a pot of water and place duck hair flowers in the pot for 30 seconds.  Remove and put in ice water.  Allow to remain in ice water
5. Put chillies, garlic, red onion, lime juice, and spring onion in a bowl and combine. Put to one side
6. Put the duck hair flowers on a plate then the pork on top.  Pour over the chilli sauce, fish sauce and sugar syrup.  Place prawns on top and serve

Garlic

Then add:

Squeeze lime juice

Add chopped spring onion

Mix with the boiled pork over the flowers.

Pour dressings over and garnish with coriander and shallots sprinkle 1tsp dry shrimp

Sweet dark noodles

1. In a bowl combine the Stock, dark soy, soy, sugar, oyster and sesame oil. Mix to attempt to dissolve the sugar
2. In a pot place the pork fat on the bottom and then place the (in order) ginger, coriander root, spring onion, garlic, pepper, Chinese spice, noodles and prawns
3. Pour sauce from the bowl across the contents of the pot and put pot on low heat. Wait for the sauce to start to boil, wait 2 minutes, drain and pour over the ingredients once again. Repeat the boil/2 minute wait/drain/pour step until there is very little liquid remaining. Serve

 Steamed Chinese squash soup with chicken

1. In a pot with boiling water add chicken and boil until there is no ‘red’ showing (not completely cooked, just the outside).  Empty pot and put to one side
2. In a bowl add  mushrooms, garlic and squash and pickled lime, chicken and chicken stock
3. Put bowl in a steamer and steam for 2 hrs on medium heat
4. Remove lime before serving

I broke my own rule with this one. This guy was amazing so I am including a few photos of the tricks he was doing to mix the tea with the sweetened condensed milk and sugar. I am linking this on into the JJ Market post because this is where it belongs.

As the Thai cooking extravaganza draws to a close, I have 5 more recipes to prepare.  No longer to I have to ‘fix’ my curries, the chef just looks at me, I quiver and he says ‘OK’ and moves on.  I think I’ve done OK, I only hope that I can replicate what has become second nature back in Australia… Anyway enough sobbing in my beer, I still have to not chop off my fingers tomorrow.  As far as today’s recipes go I really like the soup, it needs the plums but don’t do what I did and eat them (they won’t kill you but I really didn’t like them).  The chicken is a great crowd pleaser without too much work and the pork curry was great.  By virtue that I have included today’s dessert must give you some indication of my feeling towards it, I will certainly be including it in my repertoire.  Enjoy today’s recipes, from tomorrow it’ll be lots of photos of people doing their stuff and probably a heap of occupational health and safety stuff.

Chicken in a padanus blanket
Sweet and sour fish soup with Chinese plum
Southern (not U.S.) style pork rib stir fry
‘Frost on the field’ (Thai dessert)

‘Frost on the field’ (Thai dessert)

1. Mix together coconut juice, white sugar, agar agar and salt in a pot
2. on a high heat bring the pot to the boil and add the green water, coconut meat and slowly add the coconut cream
3. Put in the fridge for 1 hour to set. Serve upside down with the white at the top and the green jelly at the bottom

Southern style pork rib stir fry

1. On a low heat heat the oil in a wok and add paste. Keep moving to prevent sticking. Cook until fragrant
2. Add the pork to the wok and heat until cooked. If mix starts to stick add a little stock
3. Add fish sauce, stock and sugar. Boil until the mix dries out
4. Add pepper corns and kaffir lime leaves and serve

Sweet and sour fish soup with Chinese plum

1. In a pot on a high heat add stock, plum, garlic, onion, mushrooms, ginger and salt.  Heat until boiling
2. Turn heat down to medium and add fish and soy bean paste and heat for 3 minutes
3. Add tamarind juice and chillies.  Taste and adjust. Heat for 3 minutes
4. Add spring onion and turn off heat.  Serve

Chicken in a padanus blanket

1. For the marinade pound the garlic, pepper corns and coriander root in a mortar until it is a paste
2. Add the paste to a bowl and combine the remaining marinade ingredients in the bowl.  Put chicken in the bowl and put to one side (fridge) for 1 – 3 hours
3. In a pot, put all of the dipping sauce ingredients and heat on a low heat until the sugar is dissolved.  Put to one side
4. Once marinaded put the chicken in a steamer with the marinade for 20 minutes
5. Remove from the steamer and cool to allow handling
6. Once cooled wrap in a padanus leaf and deep fry
7. Remove from the fryer once the chicken is a dark brown and serve with the dipping sauce

Today …. ‘easy’…  Crepes and fish….. The crepes have a heap of steps but really it’s worth it, they are crispy and delicious.  Here the street vendors have stopped selling them because the are too many steps and, at 400b ($3.30) they are too expensive.

Whole fried fish with green mango sauce
Vietnam crepes

Vietnam crepes

1. In a mortar pound black pepper corns to a powder
2. Add garlic and coriander root and pound to a paste. Put to one side
3. On a large chopping board place shredded coconut meal and prawns
4. With a knife chop the prawns and coconut meat by chopping the mix and, as it spreads out folding the edges in to the centre.  Continue until the mix is very well mixed (image here)
5. On a high heat put prawn/coconut meat in a wok with shrimp oil, fish sauce, palm sugar, white sugar, salt and white pepper.  Constantly keep moving until the mix is fragrant and brown.
6. Add kaffir lime leaves and heat briefly. Turn off heat and put to one side
7. In a wok on a high heat add vegetable oil and add tofu.  Cook until tofu is browned
8. Add bean sprouts, radish and paste (above).  Quickly combine all ingredients and turn off heat.  Put to one side
9. In a pot on a medium heat put rice vinegar, white sugar and 1 tsp salt.  Heat until sugar is dissolved and out to one side
10. Once vinegar/salt/sugar is cool put in a small bowl with red onion and red spur chilli.  Put to one side
11. To create the crepes; In a bowl whisk rice flour, egg yolk and slowly add lime stone water
12. Combine coconut cream and water in a jug
13. Slowly whisk in coconut cream/water into the crepe mix in the bowl
14. Add palm sugar, turmeric powder and salt and whisk until palm sugar is dissolved.  Put to one side
15. Heat a wok on a high heat.  Oil wok with 1 tab of vegetable, spread oil over the entire surface and remove any excess oil with kitchen paper
16. Pour 1/2 cup of crepe mix into wok while turning wok to distribute mix over the surface making a thin coating across the surface without any gaps
17. Once the edges start to display bubbles use a scrapper to separate them from the wok
18. Pour a little vegetable oil into the edges Video here
19. Cook until the crepe starts to brown, put tofu mix, and prawn mix across the centre of the crepe and serve

Whole fried fish with green mango sauce

1. Mix mango, bird’s eye chillies, onion, lime juice, spring onions, dipping fish sauce and dipping sugar in a bowl and put to one side
2. In a pot stir the additional fish sauce and white sugar and heat on a low heat until the sugar is dissolved
3. Prepare deep frying oil by adding salt to oil (prevents sticking on sides of pot etc) on a high heat
4. Put fish in oil and cook until the fish is a rich brown. Pour fish/sugar mix over the fish on serving
5. Serve with dipping sauce

I know I have said this before and, to be honest, I am a lover of Thai food but everything on today’s menu really didn’t let the side down.  The cucumber soup was a real surprise, it was great (seriously who would have thought?).  We didn’t completely clean the squid and left some soft stuff on the inside, personally I think I prefer it clean but there is some soft stuff there that takes the sauce well and helps to surround your mouth with the punch the sauce offers.

Stir fry seafood with fresh curry
Deep fried chicken thigh with sweet chilli dipping sauce
Soft juicy squid with chilli topping
Cucumber soup with pork stuffing