Keith's Blog

Stir fry vegetables, Northern Thai style

This dish you can use any vegetables you like.  It is made quickly to maintain the colour and texture of the vegetables.  Below is a suggestion of vegetables only.

1. Quickly blanch all the vegetables and put to one side to drain
2. Quickly, in a wok put vegetable oil on a high heat
3. Add garlic, and cook until it starts to turn golden brown
4. Throw in all the vegetables and toss quickly to combine with oil and garlic
5. Add soy, oyster and sugar. Toss until the sugar is dissolved, if the sauce is too dry add more stock. Taste and adjust
6. If you want to thicken up the sauce (Chinese style) add a few drops from a 1 Tab corn flour/2 Tab cold water mix and mix in.  Ad more if the sauce require to be more thick
7. Serve

Roast duck curry

1. Make the paste by pounding in a mortar the white pepper corns, coriander seed and cumin seed until powder
2. Add dried chillies, bird’s eye chillies and salt and pound until it makes a paste
3. Add lemongrass, coriander root, garlic, onion, galangal, kaffir lime and pound to a paste
4. Add shrimp paste and stir in to paste. Put the paste to one side
5. On a high heat put oil in a wok
6. Add paste to the wok and keep moving until the oil changes colour
7. Turn the heat to medium and add 1/2 the coconut cream. Cook until the red oil forms around the bubbles. Ensure it doesn’t burn by moving the mix occasionally (you still want to see the oil forming around the bubbles)
8. Add the duck and pineapple. Allow to come to the boil again
9. Add remaining coconut cream, and stock. Wait for the mix to come to a vigorous boil
10. Add pea eggplant, tomatoes, grapes, and chillies. bring back tot he boil. If the mix starts to dry out or there isn’t enough liquid for a curry when serving, add a little more stock now
11. Turn heat to low and add fish sauce, and palm sugar. Dissolve the sugar and ‘taste and adjust’
12. Add the sweet basil leaves and mix into the curry while still on the heat. Turn heat off and serve

These two dishes take some time to prepare but the time is worth it.  The tastes and textures in these dishes are great and are something we haven’t covered before in the course.  Give these two a go.

Day 26 – Deep fried egg noodles, Northern style
Day 26 – Stir fry prawn rice with fresh pineapple

Deep fried egg noodles, Northern style

1. Make the paste by pounding in a mortar the white pepper corns until powder
2. Add dried chillies and salt and pound until it makes a paste
3. Add lemongrass, garlic, onion, turmeric, galangal, kaffir lime and pound to a paste
4. Add shrimp paste and stir in to paste. Put the paste to one side
5. Deep fry 1/2 the noodles until they are brown and put to one side to drain
6. Quickly wash in cold water the other 1/2 of noodles to remove flour and put to one side
7. In a pot on a high heat put the oil
8. Reduce to a medium heat and add the paste to the pot and cook until fragrant
9. Add chicken and curry powder.  Cook for 60 seconds
10. Add the coconut cream, fish sauce and palm sugar.  Dissolve sugar and taste
11. Increase the heat and wait for mix to come to a vigorous boil and take off the heat
12. Accompaniment 1: Heat oil until it is hot. Put chilli powder in and allow to bubble for approximately 30 seconds. Take off heat and put in a small dish for serving
13. Accompaniment 2: Chop the greens and place in a small bowl for serving
14. Accompaniment 3: Place coursley chopped pickled cabbage in a small bowl for serving
15. Serve in a large bowl and top with deep fried noodles and 3 accompaniments as side dishes. The side dishes should be tipped in before eating.

Stir fry prawn rice with fresh pineapple

1. Deep fry the Chinese sausage and put to one side to drain
2. the next piece has to be done quickly as the garlic and the prawns do not like to be cooked for too long.  Keep the mix moving until the rice is added to prevent over cooking.  You can then mix to distribute heat and colour through the rice
3. In a wok put vegetable oil on a high heat
4. Add garlic, fry until fragrant
5. Reduce heat to medium and put prawns in wok.  Cook until nearly fully cooked
6. Add coconut cream and cook until simmering
7. Add pineapple, turmeric powder and onion.  Mix powder through
8. Add rice and, using big sweeping motions fold the colour through the rice
9. Add the curry powder and fold in and serve.  The pineapple here is cut in half and the meat is removed with a knife cutting from the edge at 45 deg and then through the middle at 90 deg.  This meat is used in the dish.

Day 25 was great (another great one).  the deep fried crab was to die for, the fish with the sticky sauce was phenomenal (regardless of the fish looking like it’s been attached by other fish) and the pork….. OMG really great.  Here is the menu from today:
Sour fish soup (Gaeng Son Puu Ruam)
Thai salad with green apple and pork
Deep fried fish with sticky sour sauce
Deep fried Blue Crab

Deep fried Blue Crab

1. In a mortar pound white pepper until it is a powder
2. Add garlic and coriander root and pound to a paste. Put to one side
3. In a bowl add crab meat, chicken, soy sauce, white sugar, and onion.  Massage mix until well combined
4. Either create balls (about 3cm in radius) and place into individual ceramic containers or fill a crab shell.
5. Place meat in a steamer for approximately 15 minutes
6. Remove from steamer and coat all exposed meat with egg mix
7. Place egg covered crab in hot oil to deep fry. Remove when golden brown

Deep fried fish with sticky sour sauce

1. In a mortar pound dried chillies until they form a paste
2. Add bird’s eye chillies, garlic and red onion and pound to a paste. Put to one side
3. Remove any unnecessary liquid from fish by patting down with paper towel. Deep fry on a high heat the fish until they are crispy by placing whole in very hot oil. Remove the fish and put aside to drain
4. In a wok on a high heat put vegetable oil
5. Put paste in the wok and cook until the oil has the colour from the paste. Make sure you keep the paste moving
6. Turn the heat down to medium, add tamarind, sugar, salt and stock
7. Dissolve the sugar, taste, adjust and remove from the heat. If the mix dries out too much add a little stock. This need to be a sticky sauce for covering the fish
8. Place fish on a plate and serve cover with sauce. You can make a little dipping sauce by finely cutting up 1 tab red onion, 1 tsp finely chopped red spur chillies and 3 tab finely cut young cucumber with 1 tsp of white wine vineger

Thai salad with green apple and pork neck

1. Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl
2. Add meat to bowl and, using your hands, massage marinade into meat
3. Allow the meat to sit for at least 1 hour. Otherwise, leave uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours (it must dry out in this time)
4. If you have left the meat to sit then, put the meat in the oven, uncovered and separated at 200degC for 20 minutes
5. In a mortar (while fish is cooking, if you haven’t made this already for today’s recipes) pound salt and chillies until they are a paste
6. Add lemongrass, garlic and red onion and pound to a paste
7. Add shrimp paste to the mortar and mix in
8. Put to one side
9. Cut green apple into 2mm slices and place in salted water
10. In a wok heat vegetable oil
11. Add Paste to wok and cook until starts to change colour
12. Turn heat down to medium and add onion.  Cook quickly until the heat is removed from the wok
13. Turn heat to low and add sugar syrup and fish sauce.  Cook until the mix is a delicious brown sauce. Take off the heat
14. Cut the meat into 2mm slices and serve on a plate.  Cover with the sticky sauce from above and dress with green apple, red onion and any other condiments you desire

Bring a wok on a medium heat. Dry roast the 1/2 cup of sticky rice, 6 Kaffir lime leaves, and 2 lemongrass whites (finely chopped) for 8-10 minutes until very brown or if you want it smokier, allow it to reach a light grey colour.  Ensure you keep the mix moving throughout the process.

Transfer to a mortar and pound to a fine powder. This can also be done in a spice or coffee grinder.  It is best used fresh, but can be stored in an airtight container in a cool dark place for several weeks.  Allow to cool before transferring to a container.

Sour fish soup (Gaeng Son Puu Ruam)

I need to come clean about this one….  On first taste I wasn’t a fan, it was just finished and way too ‘fishy’ for my tastes.  We then put it aside for a 15 minutes to cool and then put it in the fridge overnight. It was reheated the next day, the sharp flavours had calmed down and it was great.  In the UK it would have to go into the fridge covered straight off the stove.  This would be a problem because it cools uncovered and vents some of the unpleasant flavours (I can only assume similar to wine and the sulfur dioxide etc) I think this is important.  I would try putting it in the fridge uncovered to cool and then cover overnight.

1. In a pot boil chicken stock
2. On a medium heat place fish and finger ginger in stock
3. In a mortar (while fish is cooking, if you haven’t made this already for today’s recipes) pound salt and chillies until they are a paste
4. Add lemongrass, garlic and red onion and pound to a paste
5. Add shrimp paste to the mortar and mix in
6. Remove paste from mortar (DO NOT CLEAN) and put to one side
7. Remove fish from stock and place in mortar.  Stir and mix until the fish is a paste in the mortar.  Remove any bones in this process
8. In the stock put the chilli/garlic and white radish. Stir and allow to cook for 2 minutes
9. Add melon to the stock and cook for an additional 1 minute
10. Put in tamarind sauce, humming bird flower and 1 tablespoon of fish mix (from mortar)
11. Turn heat down to low and add sugar and fish sauce.  Taste and adjust.
12. Turn off heat (with soup uncovered) and place in a fridge for 15 minutes.  Cover and leave overnight for best results.

The bird’s nests today where a great little starter.  They did give rise to the question ‘why some much time for a lot of enjoyment in a short period of time’.  You can draw your’ own conclusions from that but here is today’s menu:

Bird’s nest (Rhoom)
Clear fish soup (Tom Sum Plah)
Drunken Noodles
Stir fry beef with oyster sauce (Nua Nan Mum Hoi)
Ruby in coconut cream

Bird’s nest (Rhoom)

The making the bird’s nest is here

This makes about 5 serves….

1. Take the chicken eggs and break into a bowl (preferably without shell:-))
2. Beat eggs until well combined
3. Heat a non-stick frying pan to hot. Put 1/2 Tab of oil in to the pan. Using paper towel distribute oil around entire pan and remove almost all the oil
4. As in this video, using your hands, create the bird’s nest in the pan. Take note the way the chef uses his hand to gather the egg and release it with his fingers spread across the pan. Expect to have 2 – 3 failures. Remove each nest by finding a strong point of egg on the side of the nest and prying the nest off when cooked. Create at least 3 nests (15 for all the mix from above) and put to one side
5. In a mortar pound the white pepper into a powder
6. Pound coriander and garlic until they are a paste.  Put to one side
7. On a high heat in a wok put 2 Tab of oil
8. Put contents of mortar into the pan.  Keep moving and cook until fragrant (very quick)
9. Add chicken mince and cook mince until it is 75% cooked (a little pink).  Ensure you keep the mince moving
10. Add onion and combine in wok
11. Turn heat down to medium and add nuts, fish sauce and sugar. Combine and cook until the mix darkens. Taste and adjust
12. Turn off heat and put to one side.  Allow to cool slightly (so it can be handled)
13. Take one of your bird’s nests and put on a flat surface. Take 3-4 coriander leaves and create a base in the middle of the nest.  Put about 1 Tab of the mix on coriander leaves. Fold nest over the mix.  Roll nest over the mix and fold the two arms on either side of the mix under.  Cut off any extra ‘nest’ and serve with some fresh lettuce

Clear fish soup (Tom Sum Plah)

1. To make the paste add the White pepper corns to a mortar and pound to a powder
2. Add salt, coriander root and onion and pound to a paste
3. Add shrimp paste and mix. put to one side
4. In a pot on a medium heat boil stock
5. Add the 1Tab of the paste from above and boil until combined
6. Add mushrooms and ginger.  Mix and bring back to the boil
7. Add fish fillet.
8. Allow to simmer for approximately 5 minutes.  Skim any scum from the top of the soup
9. Add fish sauce and palm sugar.  Dissolve sugar and taste and adjust
10. Add red spur chilli and spring onion and serve

Drunken Noodles

The story behind these noodles is ‘you have to be drunk to eat them’. Personally I think they were OK but at the end of the day you are in charge of your own spiciness, make it as hot or as not as you like.

Marinade (6 portions)

1. Slice the beef into thin slices and put to one side
2. In a bowl mix together all the marinade ingredients.
3. Add beef to bowl. This can be left covered in the fridge overnight (best) or more than 1 hour
4. In a mortar put the Chillies and garlic together.  Smash them until the chillies are broken up and mixed with the garlic.  Put to one side
5. Once the beef has sat for a period; in a wok heat the vegetable oil on a high heat
6. On a high heat put oil in a wok add 1 Tab of garlic/chilli mix (more or less to your taste).  Turn the heat down to medium
7. Add beef and cook until it is 50% done  (Centre still very pink).
8. Add kaffir lime leaves, fresh pepper corns, and carrot.  Mix and wait 30 seconds.
9. Add chicken stock, sugar, fish sauce, and oyster sauce. Taste and adjust
10. Add hot basil quickly stir and serve

 Stir fry beef with oyster sauce (Nua Nan Mum Hoi)

1. Slice the beef into thin slices and put to one side
2. In a bowl mix together all the marinade ingredients.
3. Add beef to bowl. This can be left covered in the fridge overnight (best) or more than 1 hour
4. Once the beef has sat for a period; in a wok heat the vegetable oil on a high heat
5. Turn the wok down to a medium heat and add garlic.  Heat until the garlic is fragrant (very quick)
6. Add the 80g of beef and cook until the beef is 10% done (brown around the edges)
7. Add stock and mix with beef. Once the stock is boiling. If this mix starts to dry out add more stock
8. Add light soy, pepper and sugar. Taste and adjust
9. Turn the heat down add dark soy for colour, chillies and spring onion
10. Add a splash of vegetable oil for shine and serve

Ruby in coconut cream
This couldn’t be any easier and is quite sweet and tasty.

1. In a pot on a medium heat put coconut cream and bring to a boil
2. Add sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved.  remove from the heat
3. Put water chestnuts in a pot of boiling water until they start to float.  When floating scoop out and put in drinking water
4. Add the red colouring to the water and stir
5. In an individual serving bowl place some chestnuts to cover the bottom + a little.  Put some ice on the chestnuts and lay the jack fruit on top.  Pour some coconut cream mix over the fruit to the height of the jack fruit and serve

My Hasselblad 120mm Macro lens decided to have a shutter problem today (and this is the only time I’m going to complain).  I called the supplier in Thailand and they would have to send it to Sweden to get it fixed.  Not a massive one, I have 1 month left.  The only issue is I didn’t buy it here and they say there will be problems with customs getting it out and in.  From now on I will be shooting with an 80mm lens that has a minimum focus distance of 70cm rather than the 10cm of the 120mm.  I need to work out the best way to use the lens so in the mean time I apologise for the quality for the images.

Deep fried catfish with curry (Pko Phed Pra Dook Krob)
Thai Chicken soup
Stir fry shrimp with garlic (Goong pud gra-taeu)
Roll’d Soldiers (Roy Suay)
 

 Deep fried catfish with curry (Pko Phed Pra Dook Krob)

1. In a mortar put the white pepper corns and pound until they are a powder
2. Add dried chillies and salt and pound until there aren’t any obvious large chilli pieces
3. Add lemongrass, galangal, coriander root, red onion/shallot and garlic.  Pound until the mix is a paste (no pieces of anything obvious).  Put to one side
4. In a wok heat the vegetable oil on a high heat
5. Turn the wok down to a medium heat and add the curry paste.  Heat until the paste turns a darker colour
6. Add sugar and fish sauce.  Taste and adjust
7. Turn heat to high and add stock, finger ginger and kaffir lime leaves.  Mix together.  If the mix is drying out and sticking add more stock
8. Add catfish, turn mix over and cook briefly without too much interaction
9. Serve

Thai Chicken soup

1. On a high heat put chicken stock in a pot and bring to the boil
2. Turn to a medium heat add garlic, cardamom seed and simmer for a few minutes
3. Add chicken, onion, potato, and carrot. Simmer for around 8 minutes (until carrot and potato are cooked to al dente)
4. If you want this to not be less ‘spicy’ (hot) you can leave the chillies to just before serving or add tomato and chilli. Boil for an additional 2 minutes
5. Serve

Stir fry shrimp with garlic (Goong pud gra-taeu)

1. Put black pepper in a mortar and pound to a powder
2. Add coriander, and garlic to the mortar and pound to a paste.  Put to one side
3. In a wok put the oil on a medium heat fry paste from mortar in to wok and fry while stirring until fragrant
4. Quickly add shrimp, oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar to the wok and cook until the shrimps are cooked
5. Serve and dress with fried garlic to your taste

Soldiers

1. On a low heat add sugar, vinegar and water to a pot.  Boil until the sugar is dissolved. Put to one side to cool
2. In a blender add coriander, chilli and garlic.  Add this mix to the cooled pot from above.  Put the dipping sauce to one side
3. Put the lettuce, sweet basil, mint and prawns along the centre of a sheet of square of rice paper
4. Roll the rice paper around the contents of the rice paper.  Cut into bite size portions and present with dipping sauce

Today’s menu was great. Even the very scary ‘Southern style stir fried pork (Kuah Kling)‘ with all of its chillies was delicious. I recommend the gravy created with the chicken (just put the corn flour in a little cold stock to dissolve it and make the gravy in much the same way). The steamed banana cakes don’t have the great colour of the pumpkin version but using the mix as a pancake is really great.

Chicken with Thai gravy
Southern style beef curry
Southern style stir fried pork (Kuah Kling)
Steamed banana cake
Fried banana pancake

Chicken with Thai gravy

1. In a bowl coat the chicken in the corn flour.  If the chicken is not coated add a little more or, if there is too much take some flour out of the bowl
2. In a wok put the oil on a medium heat
3. Add chicken to the wok
4. Add 1/2 of the chicken stock.  Keep the chicken and stock moving
5. Slowly add the remaining stock not allowing the sauce to get too wet.
6. Add the oyster, light soy and sugar.  Taste and adjust
7. Add sesame oil and dark soy and serve

Southern style beef curry

1. In a pot on a medium heat boil coconut cream ensuring you keep the liquid moving
2. Add chicken stock and boil once again
3. Add beef and galangal ginger.  Bring to the boil once again
4. Turn the heat down, add fish stock and sugar.  Taste and adjust
5. Add kaffir lime leaves and turn off.   Dress with finely chopped kaffir lime leaves and chillies

Southern style stir fried pork

Quite spicy but don’t let the chillies in the paste scare you off.  The amount of paste created is more than is required for this one serve (approximately 5 serves) and if you are concerned about being too spicy you can use less paste.

1. To make the paste put the black pepper corns in the Mortar and pound to a fine powder
2. Add lemongrass, tamarind and ginger.  Pound until well combined and approaching a paste
3. Add chillies and pound until a paste
4. Add remaining paste ingredients and pound until a paste is formed with no large pieces of chilli or lemongrass. Put to one side
5. On a medium heat put paste in a wok (no oil!!)
6. Cook for around 5 minutes, if the paste starts to stick or dry out add a little stock
7. Add 1/2 cup of stock and pork.  Keep mix moving
8. Turn to a low heat, add lemongrass, 3/4 of kaffir lime leaves and cook for approximately 3 minutes (once sauce starts to thicken)
9. Add fish sauce and white sugar.  Taste and adjust
10. Add fresh pepper corns mix, dress with kaffir lime leaves and serve.

I can’t see how the department can be closed from 7:30pm to 7:00 pm.  In Unix that would mean it was closed 24 hours.  Perhaps it’s open for 1/2 hour between 7 and 7:30?

I know the title of this is English misunderstanding but if you look at the Thai version it appears to be the same.

We still have a curfew although I don’t know how heavy handed they are at enforcing that, there still appears to be traffic around well after the 22:00 (10PM) deadline.  I am told today is the last day of the curfew. The weekend appears to have gone off without a hitch, there were supposed to be protests in the city but they were a bit of a fizzle (or so we are told) some yelling and screaming but not too much excitement. Interestingly there the local media reported 100 at a protest yesterday whereas the Australian media reported 200.  Still a small number but a 100% difference.  Things are closing as close to the time they can to enable their staff to get home (usually 21:00 instead of the 20:00 on the first night). 7-11’s seem to have a lot of tourists in just before closing getting beer etc but there is plenty to go around now.  There is still ‘security’ at the university but these guys do little more than more the barrier just before the car arrives so it doesn’t have to slow down too much

There was one difference.  Uni and schools have closed as a byproduct.  The markets around the university are empty.  this one below is usually full of people.  As you can see (at lunch time).  Not exactly pumping.

Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha) is a must-do for any first-time visitor in Bangkok. It’s contains the giant gold leaf covered reclining Buddha that is 15 metres tall and 46 metres long. It’s an easy ten minute walk between here and the Grand Palace although in 38deg heat I would do them separately. Wat Pho can be easily reached by the tourist boat which is next to the Saphan Taksin Skytrain (BTS) Station (stop 8 for the Buddha and 9 for the Grand Palace). For us guys it’s easy (it seems shorts are OK here), just take your shoes (and hat) off, girls, cover shoulders or they will lend you a rather ‘attractive’ green gown. The pictures are a little so/so in their compressed form.  Click on the pics for a full sized image.

Around every corner there are great little things happening.  You can easily spend 3 hours here just wandering around.  All that said, there are gold Buddhas everywhere so contain your excitement early and wander around and take the place in.

I love the old boy laughing at the young buck shaking his thing.

The area is huge and there’s heaps going on.  Below is the map.

A lot of the out lying areas are under repair but they are doing a great job.  This bloke was doing the do not enter signs by hand. Wat Pho is a must see but if you are limited in time make sure you get to the Grand Palace.

These two guys were stationed at the ferry port for the Wat Pho tourist location (which backs on to a military base). The only two military personnel I have seen in the 3 weeks I have been here.  The photos compressed by WordPress are fairly crappy.  You can click on them for a considerably larger file (usually about 18Mb).