Barbeque Pork – Moo Dang

2	tablespoons	sugar
2	tablespoons	soy sauce
1	tablespoon	salt
1	lb	pork
1	teaspoon	Chinese five spice

 

 

 

Tips and substitutions

 

 

Barbequed pork can be frozen for future use and re-heated in the microwave. Frozen barbequed pork makes future lunches much faster.

Select pork that is a big chunk and not a pork chop. If you like pork loin, that is great. But you don’t have to get pork loin. Asian markets normally have the right cut of pork for sale as 4 inch by 5 inch by 3 inch chunks of meat. Cut the pork with the grain into long pieces, 2 inches x 2 inches cross-sectional and any length you like. Marinade with the rest of the ingredients for at least half an hour or overnight.

Heat the oven to 350 and bake for an hour on a tray, cast iron pan or piece of aluminum foil. When done, the pork should be reddish, firm and dry but not burned. Of course, you can also cook the pork on the grill, but the oven is convenient year-round.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barbeque Pork on Rice – Kow Moo Dang

 

2	tablespoons	vinegar
1	tablespoon	sesame seeds, toasted and ground
2	tablespoons	all purpose flour
1		cucumber, sliced
1		green onion	Optional
1		egg	Optional

 

 

Tips and substitutions
The recipe describes the Kow Moo Dang that you can expect to find in Thailand. Without the egg, sauce or green onion, the dish still tastes pretty good. It is up to you. Make it the way you like!

You can substitute dark sweet soy for the marinade.

Short cut: Buy already made barbeque pork from any Chinese restaurants.

Medium hard boil the egg.

In a small sauce pot or pan, heat up any left over marinade from the barbequed pork (or, if you have purchased moo dang from a store, make 1/2 cup of the marinade). Peel the egg and drop it in the sauce to give the color to the egg. Add 2 tablespoons of flour to 2 cups of water and mix well. Add the flour water to the sauce to thicken the sauce. Turn the egg over to coat it in the sauce until the white part turns brownish red (like the sauce). Bring the sauce to a boil, remove the egg and set it aside. Add the vinegar and the toasted sesame seeds. Taste the sauce. It should be a little salty and sweet. Add more soy sauce or sugar if needed.

Put the cooked rice on a plate. In Thailand, the cook often compresses the rice in a small bowl first and then flips the bowl onto the plate so that rice is neatly formed. Slice barbeque pork into very thin slices. Arrange the pork on the dish. Garnish with sliced cucumber, green onion, and sliced egg. The onion should be about 6 inches long from the white part to the green leaves. Spoon a couple of spoons of sauce on top. It is ready to serve.

 

 

 

 

Grilled Pork – Moo Ping

 

2	tablespoons	sugar
1	teaspoon	salt
1	lb	pork
3	cloves	garlic
1	tablespoon	fish sauce
1	tablespoon	coconut milk	Optional
1	package	bamboo skewer	Optional

 

 

 

 

Tips and substitutions

 

Try the same marinade with pork chops!

Soak the bamboo skewer in water at least 1/2 hour (while you marinade the pork), to prevent them from burning while on the grill.

Slice the pork into thin long strips, a quarter of an inch thick. If you are planning on using the skewer, inch wide strips are better. If you are grilling the pork on the grill directly, a bigger piece will help it from falling into the coals.

Press or mince the garlic. Mix all ingredients together and marinade for half an hour or even over night.

If you are using the skewers, thread a skewer through the pork. Grill the pork until it is well done.

 

 

 

 

Fried Wontons – Geow Grob

1/2	package	wonton skin
1/2	cup	vegetable oil
1	tablespoon	soy sauce
1/2	cup	ground pork
1	pinch	ground pepper
1	clove	garlic
2	sprigs	cilantro	Optional

 

 

 

 

Tips and substitutions
Substitute ground chicken or turkey for the ground pork if you like.

Make sure you don’t over stuff the wonton. The skin will get burned before the pork is cooked.

For filling: Mince garlic and cilantro. Mix all ingredients together, except for the wonton skin and vegetable oil.

To make the wonton, put half a teaspoon of the filling in the middle of the skin. Pick up one corner and fold it to the diagonal corner. Pick up the 2 ends that have 45 degrees angle (the ones where the fold is) and wet them with a dab of water on you finger. Pinch the two corners together. You will want to prepare all of your wontons before frying them, so that you are not trying to manage both the hot oil and getting the wontons folded.

Heat up the oil in a frying pan or wok at medium heat. To test when the oil is hot enough, stick a wooden chopstick in the oil. When the oil is ready the bubbles will come up from the chopstick. Fry the wonton until golden brown. Watch the heat carefully. Keep turning them to cook them all the way through. You may want to break open the first couple wontons to make sure that the centers get cooked.

This recipe will make 25 wontons.

 

 

 

 

Fried Tofu with Peanut Dipping Sauce – Tou Hu Tod

1

bag

tofu – cubed deep fried

 

 

Tips and substitutions
In Thailand, peanuts are used. However, I have successfully substituted almonds.

Cut the tofu cubes into half and place them in a toaster oven or oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit on a cookie sheet, cast iron pan or a piece of aluminum foil for a few minutes. You just want to toast them. If you like them crispy, use lower heat and leave them in the oven longer. Flip every few minutes to toast all sides.

If pre-fried tofu cubes are not available, I suggest taking extra firm tofu, cutting it into bite size pieces and deep frying the pieces in oil until golden brown.

Serve hot with cilantro, peanut sauce below.

Learn more about this and other similarly prepared Pan Fry or Deep Fry Dishes (Tod) recipes

Peanut Dipping Sauce for Fried Tofu – Nam Jim Tou Hu Tod

 

1	tablespoon	vinegar
2	tablespoons	sugar
1	pinch	salt
2	tablespoons	peanuts, toasted and crushed
1	teaspoon	ground fresh chili paste
5-7	sprigs	cilantro, sliced

 

 

 

Tips and substitutions
When I make this, I use toasted and crushed cashew instead of peanuts.

In a microwavable bowl, combine sugar, ground fresh chili paste, salt and vinegar. Heat up for a minute or until sugar is dissolved. Mix in the sliced cilantro. Top with toasted and crushed peanuts.

 

Crispy Catfish Green Mango Salad – Yum Pla Dook Foo

2 Servings

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1/3	cup	vegetable oil
3-5		Thai chili pepper, minced
1	teaspoon	sugar
2		shallots, thinly sliced
1		lime
1/3	cup	green mango
2	tablespoons	fish sauce
1/2	lb	catfish
1/4	cup	cashew	Optional

Tips and substitutions
1/2 lb of catfish is about 1 filet.

There are two ways of frying the cat fish.

The traditional way is to place the catfish fillet on a cutting board and, using 2 forks, break up the fish into very small pieces. Heat up the oil in a wok or skillet on medium low heat and deep fry the fish until golden brown.

I recommend that instead of the traditional method, you bake it first and then drain the juices and then fry the whole filet on medium low heat. As you are frying the filet, break it up with your spatula into very small pieces.

It takes a few minutes to brown all the pieces to be very crispy. Drain the cooked fish on paper towel.

Mince the chili pepper. Mix the minced chili pepper, sugar, fish sauce and lime juice together.

Slice the shallot thinly.

Peel and grate mango with a large hole grater. In Thailand, as in the pictures, people sliver the mango by first chopping along the length of the mango many many times so that the blade goes just a little below the surface and then cutting the thin pieces away.

If your cashews are uncooked, toast them in a pan until golden brown.

Mix all ingredients together and serve.

 

 

Northern Thai Curry with Chicken and Peanuts

Ingredients

• 3 large, dried red chile peppers
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mace
• 2 tablespoons peeled and chopped galangal
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced lemon grass
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 teaspoons fermented shrimp paste
• 1 tablespoon peeled and chopped fresh turmeric root
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons palm sugar
• 2/3 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
• 1 (2 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
• 2 tablespoons tamarind juice
• 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts

Directions

1. Place the chili peppers in a bowl; pour enough water over the chili peppers to cover. Allow the peppers to soak until softened, about 10 minutes; drain. Chop the peppers and set aside.
2. Grind the cumin, turmeric, coriander, and mace using a mortar and pestle into a fine powder. Add the galangal, lemon grass, salt, shallot, garlic, shrimp paste, fresh turmeric, and reconstituted chile peppers and grind into a paste. Stir the fish sauce and palm sugar into the paste. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Add the chicken to the paste and toss to coat the chicken evenly; allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes, or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook the chicken until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir the water, 1/2 cup peanuts, ginger, and tamarind juice into the chicken, bring to a simmer, and cook until thickened, 20 to 30 minutes. You can also cook this at a lower temperature for up to 2 hours. Garnish with 2 tablespoons peanuts to serve.

Thai Spicy Basil Chicken Fried Rice

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut oil for frying
• 4 cups cooked jasmine rice, chilled
• 6 large cloves garlic clove, crushed
• 2 serrano peppers, crushed
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips
• 1 red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups sweet Thai basil
• 1 cucumber, sliced (optional)
• 1/2 cup cilantro sprigs (optional)

Directions

1. Whisk together the oyster sauce, fish sauce, and sugar in a bowl.
2. Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat until the oil begins to smoke. Add the garlic and serrano peppers, stirring quickly. Stir in the chicken, bell pepper, onion and oyster sauce mixture; cook until the chicken is no longer pink. Raise heat to high and stir in the chilled rice; stir quickly until the sauce is blended with the rice. Use the back of a spoon to break up any rice sticking together.
3. Remove from heat and mix in the basil leaves. Garnish with sliced cucumber and cilantro as desired.

 

 

 

 

 

Thai Green Curry Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 2 tablespoons green curry paste
• 2 green onions with tops, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions

1. Toss chicken first in 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, then in the flour, coating pieces evenly. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Place chicken in the skillet, cook and stir chicken until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken.
2. Reduce heat to medium and stir in curry paste. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant, then stir in green onions, garlic, and ginger; cook an additional 2 minutes. Return chicken to the skillet, stirring to coat with the curry mixture. Stir the coconut milk, fish sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and sugar into the chicken-curry mixture. Allow to simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes until the chicken is tender. Serve garnished with cilantro leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

Thai Chicken with Basil Stir Fry

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked jasmine rice
• 1 quart water
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger root, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 3 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 5 green onions, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

1. Bring rice and water to a boil in a pot. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes.
2. In a bowl, mix the coconut milk, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, and red pepper flakes.
3. In a skillet or wok, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion, ginger, and garlic, and cook until lightly browned. Mix in chicken strips, and cook about 3 minutes, until browned. Stir in the coconut milk sauce. Continue cooking until sauce is reduced be about 1/3. Mix in mushrooms, green onions, and basil, and cook until heated through. Serve over the cooked rice.