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Archive for the ‘Pranee’s Culinary Tales’ Category

~Amok Banana Leaf-Cup, how to make~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, Thai Cooking School: How to series, tagged , , , , , on June 5, 2010| 2 Comments »

How to make a banana leaf-cup for Amok, Kratong

Banana leaf-cup should hold about 1 cup of serving

It is hard to believe that it has been almost three months now after I returned home from Southeast Asia trip. I have been eating and traveling  through all the big cities: Hanoi, Hoi An, Saigon, Siem Reap and Bangkok. This week, I am working on the photos and recipes  from our trip. As I work on this project, I would like to share with you stories, recipes, food photos. Working on these photos and writing a food blog has helped me with “flavor-memories”. It is easy for me to recall Southeast Asian flavors because I am familiar with all the ingredients and the techniques used in these cuisines. I treasured my time with tour members in Siem Reap, savoring Khmer foods as much as we could in three days. Last month I posted Kroeung, Khmer Curry Paste Recipe and Amok, Khmer Curry Fish Stew Recipe and now it is time for me to share photos and steps of making banana leaf-cups. After trying a few times, it should be easy. Banana leaves are available in Asian Markets. In Seattle, if you have fig leaf in your garden, I would recommend you to try that first. Have fun!

How to make a banana leaf-cup for Amok, Kratong

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Thai & Khmer Banana leaf-cup for Amok or Hua Mok in Thai cuisine

Remove frozen banana-leaf package from the freezer over night or leave at room temperature for 2 hours before making.

Tear banana leaf into 6 inch width and clean with damp paper towel. Need 12 pieces to make 6 leaf-cups.

 
 
 

To make a cup, lay 2 banana leaves on top of each other with the  beautiful green side facing outward. Trim with scissors to make a 6″ by 6″ square. Fold in the center of each side to make 1 1/2 inch deep and 1 inch over lappin., Secure with staple. Repeat the same process three more times on three sides of the square.

 
 
 
 

It is done and ready for using to serve Amok, steamed jasmine rice, or any Asian dishes.

 

Banana Leaf Package

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~KanEang @ Chalong Pier, Thai Restaurant Review~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, Pranee's Restaurant Reviews, tagged , on June 1, 2010| 1 Comment »

Eat Like a Local in Phuket, Thailand

Kan Eang @ Pier

Each visit to my home town, Phuket, I make sure to visit Kan Eang @ Chalong Pier and eat my favorite dishes. I would recommend this restaurant to any visitors (Thai or foreigner alike) that love local Thai foods and plan on taking a tasteful trip there. All the dishes are delicious and tested and tasted by my family over the years, and all these are dishes that I have always a longing for in each visit.

Pranee at Kan Eang 1 ~ Grilled Jack Fish with Phuket Tamarind Sauce

First make a reservation for the table next to the beach, perhaps before a sunset which is around 6pm. I always make sure to order grilled jack fish right way, because it grills over coconut husks charcoal 3 feet above the flame. It takes at least 30 minutes or longer depending how busy they are. The flavor of the grill fish is uniquely Phuket Islander flavor–aroma of coconut husk and banana leaf combined. It is served with Phuket style tangy sweet tamarind-soy sauce.

Phuket Prawn Tempura Bua Tod

Enjoy Phuket Prawn Tempura (Bua Tod) with Phuket spicy chili dipping sauce  (Nam Chau) for a starter. Enjoy it while you browse through 10 pages menu. This will allow you to leisurely read through the menu without a hurry and a chance to enjoy the scenery around you.

Sour Curry Prawn with Cha-Om Omelette

Sour Curry with Prawn with a chunk of Cha-Om (type of herb) omelet. This is a Southern Thai cuisine, a curry without coconut milk with a sour flavor from tamarind paste.

Here’s a tip for you. If you are afraid of spicy food, order a glass of milk on the side to help you, when you experience the heat but never discuss the heat level with a local. In Thailand the food never too hot, they cook and use chili appropriate to the dish. If you start to discuss the spiciness, they will cook you a tourist food which means either too sweet or too much coconut milk depending on the dish.

Kan Eang’s specialties are sea food and local dishes. A few more dishes to consider: Hua Mok (steamed fish curry wrapped in banana leaf), Yum Talah (seafood salad), Gai Tom Prade (devil sweet and sour chicken soup), Pak Bung Fai Daeng (stir-fried morning glory with salted soy bean) and more.

Kin Hai Aroy!  (Bon apetit!)

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Kan Eang @ Pier
http://www.kaneang-pier.com/
Chalong
Phuket
Thailand

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~Thai Crab Salad with Mango Recipe~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, Pranee's Thai Cooking Videos, Thai Gluten Free Recipe, Thai Salad Recipe, tagged , , , , , , , on May 15, 2010| 4 Comments »

Eating in Southeast Asia

Traveling through Vietnam in 2009 as a culinary tour leader was an interesting and heartwarming experience. The local people are so eager to share their country’s wonderful cuisine and culture and spend time with you. You’re treated more like a welcome guest than a tourist.

Back home in Phuket with my traveling companion, we rested and strolled on the beach and enjoyed the best food in Phuket: local seafood.

We were lucky to become friends with Chef Tony of the popular Rockfish Restaurant after savoring our first plate of his Thai crab salad. He generously agreed to share his recipe and do a cooking video for my newsletter to welcome our mango season here in America.

Chef Tony Wringley has been working at Rockfish Restaurant as executive chef for the past 6 months. His recipe was inspired by local and seasonal ingredients from Phuket Island such as local crab, fresh mango and coconut. Chef Tony has captured the flavors of the tropical island of Phuket with this Thai crab salad.

Thai Crab Salad with Mango and Shaved Coconut

Thai Crab Salad with Mango and Shaved Fresh Coconut Recipe

Yum Pu Mamuang Maprow

Recipe by Chef Tony Wrigley
Executive Chef, Rockfish Restaurant
Kamala Beach, Phuket, Thailand
Rockfish Restaurant

Serves: 1

½ cup cooked crab meat
½ cup diced mango, about half mango
¼ cup sliced red spur chili or Anaheim pepper
2 green onions, chopped into 1-inch long pieces
3 sprigs cilantro, torn into large pieces
10 Thai basil leaves or sweet basil, torn in half
¼ cup chili peanuts or dry roasted peanuts
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice, about 1 lime
¼ cup fresh shaved coconut or dry coconut chips
1 teaspoon chili oil for presentation

Gently combine crab, mango, red spur chili, green onions, cilantro, Thai basil and chili peanuts. Add fish sauce, sugar, olive oil and lime juice, and fold just to mix. Place crab salad on the plate, garnish with shaved fresh coconut on top and decorate the plate with chili oil. Makes one serving.

How to shave fresh coconut with a peeler

© 2011 Pranee Khruasanit Halvorsen

I Love Thai cooking Pranee teaches Thai Cooking classes in the Seattle area. Her website is: I Love Thai cooking.com .

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~Amok, the Khmer Fish Stew Recipe from the Wall of Angkor Thom~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, Recipes, Thai Curry Recipe, Thai Gluten Free Recipe, Thai Main Dish Recipe, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 3, 2010| 3 Comments »

The Making of Amok, Angkor Thom in 1300

Amok
Khmer Fish Stew

Servings: 4
3 tablespoons canola oil
8 tablespoons Khmer curry paste (please see Khroeung, Khmer Curry Paste Recipe)
3 cups spinach, amaranth, la lot (wild pepper leaf) or pea vine
1 pound catfish filets or any white fish cut into a bite size
6 tablespoons coconut milk
1 egg
2 teaspoons fish sauce
½ cup Thai basil

Heat canola oil and curry paste in a frying pan until fragrant. Stir in spinach until wilted and then stir in fish. Add coconut milk and egg and fold in until the fish is cooked. Then stir in fish sauce and Thai basil until Thai basil is just wilted.  Serve with jasmine rice.

© 2009  Pranee Khruasanit Halvorsen

I Love Thai cooking

Amok, Khmer fish curry in banana leaf-cup

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~Lychee & Mint Smoothie Recipe~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, Recipes, Thai Beverage Recipe, Thai Gluten Free Recipe, Thai Recipe for Kid, Thai Vegetarian Recipe, tagged , , on March 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Drink a memory of a tropical garden in Bangkok

Lychee & Mint Smoothie

น้ำลิ้นจี่กับใบสะระแหน่ปั่น

Lychee & Mint Smoothie

Just two weeks ago I was in Bangkok at the famous Jim Thompson’s house near the National Stadium. I always enjoy taking a break at the restaurant near the lily pound. I had Lychee & Mint smoothie, a very simple refreshing drink that was just perfect for a mid-day break in the month of March when the heat can climb up to 95 degrees during the day.

To make this smoothie is as simple as putting all these ingredients in a blender: 5 Lychee fruits and ½ cup juice from a can plus ½ cup  crushed ice and ¼ cup fresh mint leaves. Add sugar to taste before blending in a blender and serve. Garnish with a mint sprig. That’s all there is to it, but don’t forget to imagine that you are looking at a beautiful old Thai house surrounded by a  beautiful garden while sipping this refreshing smoothie.

Related articles

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~Thai Chinese New Year Feast, Phuket Hokkien Style~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, tagged on February 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Chinese New Year Feast, Phuket Hokkien Style

Both of my parents are Phuket Hokkien Baba (similar to Paranakan in Malaysia and Singapore), descendants of Chinese men and Siamese women. After Chinese immigrants married local Thais and they settled down in Thailand. The first generation born and their children are called Baba. We preserve Chinese traditions with day-to-day Thai lifestyle and local culture.  As a result of the blended Thai and Chinese cultures, our traditions are celebrated in a unique way.

As a child growing up in Phuket, Chinese New Year was my favorite time of year.  The week before was set aside for a thorough cleaning of the house – a time when my grandmother said to brush away all the bad luck and to welcome the prosperous New Year.  And a special communal feast dedicated to our spiritual ancestors was intended to contribute to our family’s future fortune. Several days in advance, we would focus on preparing the banquet feast and creating  red paper cut out decorations to depict symbols of good blessings. Early in the morning before sunrise, I would wake up  to the sounds of a chopping clever, a swirling spatula and a sizzling wok  –  these meant it was time for me to get up and help in the kitchen.  By 11 am, the table was filled with traditional foods and in front of the ancestors’ altar. My family typically celebrated with the dishes I’ve shown in the photo above: tea, whiskey, steamed rice, roasted duck, stir-fry Phuket Hokkien Mee, 3 to 5 different kinds of vegetable stir-fries, and braised pork with five spices. Fruits and sweet delicacies were important desserts to complete the meal.

After the worship and burning of paper money, all family members gathered around the dinner table to enjoy the feast.  And this is the only time my family served foods with chopsticks!

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Chantanee Thai Restaurant, in Bellevue

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, Pranee's Restaurant Reviews on January 16, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Lettuce Wrap Catfish Salad

http://chantanee.com/

601 108TH AVE NE.
STE 100A
BELLEVUE WA 98004

Tel.: (425) 455 3226

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~Kabocha Blossom and Leaf~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, tagged on December 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Kabocha Blossom and leaf

Kabocha Blossom and Leaf

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~Sea Thai Restaurant in Wallingford~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, Pranee's Restaurant Reviews on November 29, 2009| 4 Comments »

Sea-Thai Pumpkin Curry with Prawn

After three months of busy schedules, Chef Rachel Duboff, my colleague and owner of personal chef services Thyme to Nourish, and I finally had an opportunity to visit our favorite Thai restaurant in Wallingford. It’s called Sea Thai. I have known the owner, Renoo Ramstad, for 18 years, as long as I have lived in Seattle. Many local Thai chefs love Renoo’s Southern Thai cuisine and desserts, and her impeccable attention to fresh ingredients. The restaurant “takes pride in offering the finest homestyle cooking available without going to Thailand.” Both Chef Rachel and I have been long time fans of Sea Thai. 

After looking over the menu, Rachel and I decided that we would each order our favorite dishes and share. To tempt your appetite, I’ve included photos of our dishes on Facebook here for you. 

When the waiter asked how spicy we would like our food, I replied “as the chef recommends what is best for the dish.” Rachel and I love spicy Thai foods, but we wanted the chef to decide which heat level is appropriate for each dish, based on the dish’s personality. 

The first dish we ordered was a tidbit, Miang Kao Tod, a crunchy fried rice and pork. At it turns out, it’s not a fried rice dish at all but almost like a salad and is eaten with a leaf. Americans usually use iceberg lettuce; in Asia, the most common choice is Chapoo (also know as la lot in Vietnam). This is a great starter dish. 

Phad Kee Meo is a drunken noodle dish that features stir-fried fresh rice noodles (chow fun). This dish is almost as popular as Phad Thai. The noodles are usually served with a pork/Chinese kale combo, but Sea Thai’s version has an unusual twist. Instead of pork, it contains seafood with rice stick flake, a type of dried noodle about 2 inches by 2 inches that rolls when it’s fried. The texture is so seductive that I could have the dish all by itself for lunch and dinner. 

Pumpkin Curry with Prawn is a must this time a year. Renoo blends her own curry paste every week for her restaurant. Hers has a very good heat that cools down perfectly with the texture of pumpkin. To serve with the curry, Sea Thai uses Khanom Jean, a fried rice vermicelli noodle. Most restaurants in Seattle have this noodle available by request, as well as steamed sticky rice. 

Sea Thai head chef is Pa Juk, a delightful 69-year old cook who came to the table to greet us. After seeing our sweaty foreheads and red cheeks, she sent us complimentary black sticky rice with custard dessert to cool down our palate. Before leaving Sea Thai, Renoo generously gave me a box of her red curry paste with citrus flavor to bring home. 

I hope you too will visit Sea Thai and sample some of these dishes. Tell Renoo that Pranee sent you, and be sure to let me know what you think about Sea Thai’s food. 

Details 

Sea Thai 

http://seathai.com/ 

2313 North 45th Street
Seattle, WA 98103-6905
(206) 547-1961 

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~Banh Mi, my way~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, Thai Sauce & Condiment Recipe, Thai Snack & Street Food Recipe, tagged , on November 15, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Pranee's Banh Mi

My obsession for food this week is all about Banh Mi, a lucious Vietnamese baguette sandwich filled with meats, crunchy pickled veggies, herbs, mayo and heat from chilies. It’s the product of the French influence on Vietnamese culture at its tastiest.

As much as I have heard about Banh Mi and sampled it in Seattle Vietnamese sandwich shops, my real love affair with Banh Mi began less than a year ago in the Banh Mi home city of Saigon. I still remember the experience vividly – I was on a mission to find the best Bahn Mi in town. Late at night and by myself, after managing to get lost a few times, I was finally munching my sandwich on the street corner while watching a wave of motorbikes flow by. It was a blissful culinary moment.

I admit to not being much of a sandwich fan – with the exception of a French baguette – but everything about this Vietnamese sandwich and its explosion of flavor was perfect – the aroma of fish sauce and vinegar, the texture of cucumber, carrot and daikon, piles of savory meat and pate on light, crusty bread. I fell in love at first crunch.

Now back home in Seattle, I have made many versions of Bahn Mi, as I continue to create recipes for my Vietnamese cooking classes. By chance, the one I prepared today in my kitchen was the closest in taste to the ones I had in Saigon. And I included my own special ingredient – Washabi mayonnaise. Let’s keep it a secret between us!

Next time, you’re wanting to expand your Vietnamese culinary horizons, search out a Bahn Mi sandwich shop and enjoy.

Banh Mi, unstacked by NY Times

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~Kabocha Pumpkin, A Queen of Squash~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, Thai Cooking School: How to series, tagged , , , , on October 29, 2009| 4 Comments »

Kabocha Pumpkin

Kabocha

Kabocha Pumpkin

Kabocha is a hard skinned variety of  Japanese pumpkin and winter squash. It has an amazingly sweetness, dense and silky texture and almost fibreless with dark green thick skin and bright yellow-orange flesh. This variety is preferred for Thai cooking and Thai people incorporate it in soup, curry, stir-fry and dessert dishes. Buttercup squash or Hubbard belongs to the same species and can be substituted for Kabocha. Pumpkin is a squash, but pumpkin is also a term that applies to almost all hard-skinned winter squash, not summer squash like zuchini. There are two known types of pumpkin that are used in Thai cooking – niho kabocha with a bumpy surface and kuri(seiyo) kabocha that has pale vertical stripes.

How to pick a good Kabocha squash

Kabocha should be fully ripe 45 days after it is harvested – when the starch has had a chance to convert to carbohydrate content. The flesh color then will change from yellow to a deeper color or orange. I choose a dark green skin pumpkin that has a hollow sound when I thump it.  The best way to judge whether the Kabocha is ready is to buy a cut one so you can see its color and the texture inside.

Pranee’s Tips

To cut Kabocha in half, I first use a big knife and hammer to open it.  The rest is easy. I then cut it into 1 – 1½ in wedges, and use the back of the knife or spoon to remove the seeds.  I only peel it based on the recipe. Personally, I love the skin and it has more nutrients than the yellow part.

To prepare Kabocha for dumpling or pie, simply remove skin and seeds and cut into 1- inch chunks, steam about 15 minutes until tender and use a ricer to make a fine mash.

For soup, you may choose to leave the skin on which is tender when cooked. Remove the seeds and cut into the size according to the recipe.

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~My First Wok, how to season a wok~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, Recipes, Thai Cooking School: How to series, Thai Stir-fry Recipe, tagged , , , on September 12, 2009| 3 Comments »

Thai Cooking with Wok

As far back as I can remember, my family kitchen contained only a few cooking utensils and cookware. The most versatile cookware was a wok. We use woks for all tasks, from stir-frying, steaming and blanching vegetables to making cooking oil from lard and coconut milk. It is possible that every household in Thailand will have an average of 3 woks in various sizes. For a community kitchen, the wok can be as wide as three to five feet wide. This wok is used for cooking curry, frying and steaming rice for a function with more than 300 people. A wok allows you to have total control to stir and mix a large quantity of foods with a large shovel. Owning a new wok is a new beginning of your culinary adventure in your kitchen.

A wok made of mild steel will rust; therefore a well-seasoned wok will protect it and make it easy to cook foods and prevent them from sticking.

Ladle & Shovel (Spatula)

Depending on the style of your wok, a ladle or spatula can be used. A ladle fits well in a deep bowl shaped wok and a shovel can be used for either a flat bottom or deep bowl wok.

How to Season a Wok

This is the summary on how to season a wok according to the “The Breath of a Wok” by Grace Young. 

First step to handling your new wok is to clean it with hot soapy water to remove the protector. Then season it by using a few tips below.

~ Cook pork in a bone in boiling water.

~ Pan fried tofu to absorb metallic taste, and then stir-fry chives.

~ Use scallions, garlic chives, pork and ginger to remove the metallic taste.

~ Use high heat with salt.

This is a recipe for seasoning a wok for the first time before cooking a meal for serving:

2 to 3 tablespoons pork fat

1 cup garlic chives

½ cup ginger, shredded

Clean the new wok according to instructions. In general, clean and rinse well with hot water. Dry with a paper towel. Open all of the windows and turn the range hood on high. Bring the wok to a high heat, when it starts to make a layer of smoke, add in a pork fat, ginger and chives, and with a shovel or spatula stir-fry the ginger/chive mixture to cover the entire surface area of the wok. Reduce the heat to medium-high and keep stirring until the wok darkens. Discard the ginger/chives. Rinse the wok with hot water and bring back to high heat to dry the wok. Your wok is now ready.

The best way to season and to develop the wok patina is to constantly use it. I like to use the wok for deep frying, and the shape of the wok also helps to use less cooking oil.

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~Steamed Prawns with Sea Salt and Kumquat Recipe~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, Recipes, Thai Main Dish Recipe, Thai Sauce & Condiment Recipe, tagged on May 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »

 

Sea Salt, Kumquat & Prawn

After soaking up the sunshine in Seattle, I missed the simple and delicious food of Vietnam. One memory that rises above the others is now of steamed prawns with Chinese celery served with Vietnamese sea salt and sour Kumquat. I savored the dish in the boat while cruising along the Halong Bay just less than two months ago. While the boat slowly took us through Limestone Mountain, my friend, Babs, and I leisurely enjoyed our meal. While we chatted, our hands busy peeling cooked prawn to dip into sea salt with sour Kumquat. As our eyes gazed through the mountains and into the horizon, we tasted the sweetness of fresh prawn, Vietnamese sea salt that has a hint of metallic and sour from the kumquat. A few good ingredients have made a statement. I am planning to do the same dish tomorrow while the sunshine compliment Southeast Asia flavors and the experience will bring back my memories all over again.

1 pound fresh local prawn, whole
1/4 cup cut Chinese celery or any
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 whole kumquat, cut into wedges
 
Mix prawns and celery together and place over pre-heat steamer. Cook until pink and cook all the way through, about 5 minutes. Enjoy with sea salt and Kumquat juice as snack or with meal. 

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~Culinary Adventure in Vietnam~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, tagged on March 27, 2009| 2 Comments »

 

Market in Hoi An, Vietnam

Market in Hoi An, Vietnam

 

 

The culinary discoveries in Vietnam were irresistible. Although Thai and Vietnamese ingredients are similar, their aromas and flavors have distinct dimensions. The way they prepare and enjoy their foods is very different as well. Vietnam was a gastronomic wonderland with many great restaurants, cooking schools, market scenes and local food experiences.

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~Thai Omelette Recipe, Kai Jeow~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, Pranee's Thai Cooking Videos, Recipes, Thai Gluten Free Recipe, Thai Side Dish Recipe, tagged , , , on March 15, 2009| 3 Comments »

Pranee with her mom and sister

Three Women Cook

 

I spent a good week with my mom and sister in March 2009. We would like to share with you our rustic style cooking. My mom was a chef of the village. Today my sister owns a fast-food wok restaurant in Thalang, Phuket.

I only have one sister and her name is Rudee. Her nick name is Kleuy which means “banana”. I love my sister cooking and you will also. She will contribute a lot of her recipes for my Thai cooking blog and also a basic Thai cooking video.

 Here are my sister’s cooking demonstration and recipe on how to make Thai omelette.

 

 

How to Cook Thai omelette

Thai Omelette Recipe 

Kai Jeow

Servings: 2
 
1/2 cup canola or peanut oil
3 eggs
3 drops fish sauce
1 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce or Thai Kitchen spicy sauce
 
Place three eggs into medium size bowl, use fork or whisk to beat the egg for 30 seconds. Heat a wok until hot and pour in canola oil. Pour the eggs mixture to the wok steady 12 inches above the wok, the omellet will puff, let it cook until golden. Flip over and cook another side until golden. Drain with slot spatula and serve right away with hot sauce and steamed jasmine rice.
 

© 2010  Pranee Khruasanit Halvorsen
 I Love Thai cooking
 
Pranee teaches Thai Cooking class in Seattle areas, her website is: I Love Thai cooking.com

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~Grandma’s Steamed Fish with Lemongrass Recipe~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, Recipes, Thai Gluten Free Recipe, Thai Main Dish Recipe, Thai Recipe for Kid, tagged , , , , , on February 15, 2009| 2 Comments »

By now, you have a handle on how useful lemongrass is when you prepare Thai foods. This herb is easy to grow in Thailand and luckily it is now a staple in American supermarkets as well.

 

I hope you enjoy my grandmother’s recipe for steamed trout with lemongrass. I have a fond memory of her cooking this in a clay pot.

Rainbow trout steamed on the bed of lemongrass

Pla Nueng Takrai

Grandma’s Steamed Fish with Lemongrass Recipe

My grandmother, Kimsue, used lemongrass to line the clay pot before placing the fish on top. Lemongrass helps prevent the fish from sticking to the pot while it adds scent and flavor to the fish and a wonderful aroma to the kitchen. You will have fragrant steamed fish for a healthy dinner.

Servings: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

4 lemongrass stalks
2 whole trout, cleaned (see Village Note)
1-2 teaspoons salt
¼ cup water, or more as needed

To prepare lemongrass, remove about 1½ inches of the hard root end and enough of the leaf end to keep 6 inches of the center part. Save the leaf end for cleaning the trout (see Village Note). With a meat pounder, smash lemongrass to release its essential oil. Lay all 4 smashed lemongrass stalks on the bottom of large pan and lay trout on top. Sprinkle salt and water over the fish, cover and bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat until the fish is cooked, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add more water if the pan is low on water and insert a knife in the thickest part of the fish to see if fish separates from the bone. If it does, the fish is cooked. If not, keep steaming just until fish can be removed easily from the bone.

Village Note: To clean trout, sprinkle 2 teaspoons salt on both sides of the fish and use discarded lemongrass to rub salt onto the surface of the fish; rinse off and pat dry. This cleaning technique is also used to prep casings for sausage. The salt helps to remove impurities and the lemongrass acts like a brush and eliminates fish odors.

© 2010  Pranee Khruasanit Halvorsen
I Love Thai cooking
 
 
Pranee teachs Thai Cooking class in Seattle areas, her website is: I Love Thai cooking.com
 

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~Sawasdee Pee Mai 2009~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, Thai Soup Recipe on January 10, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Sawasdee Pee Mai

Sawasdee Pee Mai

Sawatdee Pee Mai means Happy New Year in Thai. I would like to wish you good health, happiness and prosperity in 2009.

I hope that you continue good healthy cooking at home. Thai cooking is easy and healthy, so think Thai foods when you plan your weekly menus. My featured recipe this month is Thai rice soup, an easy-to-learn soul food to add to your repertoire. I think you’ll also enjoy the lively podcast on Kiro 710 from In the Kitchen with Chef Tom Douglas and Chef Thierry Rautureau. When I was featured on the show earlier this month, I talked about five different types of Thai soup. We focused on Tom Kha Gai with a link to my recipe. We also discussed coconut milk and how to use less of it. Welcome the New Year by filling your kitchen with aromatic and pungent Thai herbs. Add spice to your life a little bit at a time and every day you cook.

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~Thai Garlic Prawn Recipe, Goong Kratiem Prik Thai~

Posted in Pranee's Culinary Tales, Recipes, Thai Gluten Free Recipe, Thai Snack & Street Food Recipe, tagged , , , , on December 20, 2008| 5 Comments »

Cilantro, also known as coriander, is a key ingredient in Thai and Southeast Asian cooking, especially the cilantro root.Thai cooks treasure the roots and in Thailand cilantro is always sold with its roots.The root is very aromatic and has lots of flavor when cooked. It’s a precious ingredient—a treat among herbs—and an important ingredient in curry paste, marinades and meat stir-frys. When the root is not available, substitute four stems for one root. Try the recipe featured below for an opportunity to experience the unique flavor and fragrance of cilantro root.

Kratiem Prik Thai Goong – กระเทียมพริกไทยกุ้ง

Goong Kratiem PrikThai
Sautéed Garlic Prawn Recipe
Servings: 8
Preparation Time: 15 minutes   
Cooking Time: 5 minutes

These garlic prawns have a peppery accent and are an astonishingly easy-to-prepare crowd pleaser. The first six ingredients in this recipe make a classic spicy Thai marinade paste. You can use it to create many simple dishes by using it as a marinade for chicken or a spicy paste for chicken or pork patties. For best results, grind the marinade paste using a mortar and pestle. Otherwise, use a small food processor.

½-1 tablespoon black peppercorns
¼-½ teaspoon salt
10 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 cilantro roots or 5 cilantro stems
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
32 prawns, peeled and deveined
5 tablespoons cooking oil
Cilantro and lime wedges for garnish

In mortar, place black peppercorns, salt, 5 cloves of garlic and cilantro roots; pound with pestle until it becomes a paste. Stir in light soy sauce and brown sugar to make marinade sauce. Pour the marinade sauce over prawns and mix well. Set aside. In a frying pan, fry remaining garlic until golden yellow; remove and set aside. In the same frying pan, fry prawns until cooked. Place prawns on a serving plate and garnish with fried garlic and cilantro leaves. Serve lime wedges on the side.

 
© 2009  Pranee Khruasanit Halvorsen
I Love Thai cooking
 

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