Kao Na Kai (Thai Chicken Gravy Serve with Rice)

Another Thai food craving of mine! This chicken gravy will taste really (really!) good when it is marinated at least six hours to one day in advance. First, I start from adding sliced jalapenos into white vinegar and letting it sit in the fridge until serving time. Then, I slice chicken breast and begin marination. Add soy bean paste, soy sauce, a pinch of sugar, pepper, one teaspoon of tapioca flour and water to chicken and mix together. Let it marinate in the fridge for at least six hours. While the chicken starts to cook, I add oyster sauce, soy sauce and chicken stock to intensify the flavour. So, it will balance out after I add tapioca flour that is well mixed with water. Tapioca water creates the sticky and gravy-like texture for this dish. The recipe of this dish is very similar to Rad Na (Thai gravy noodle); however, this chicken gravy is served with rice and jalapeno vinegar.

Bitter Melon Soup

I was so excited when I saw bitter melon in Chinatown. I automatically grasped it and told my husband that I will make it for dinner. He had no idea what it was but it certainly frightened him. I have been eating bitter melon since childhood and I know that it won’t be extremely bitter if I make it myself. I used pork ribs to be my soup base and added soaked shitake mushrooms, frutus lychi, five cloves of garlic, salt and pepper. While I am waiting for the soup to start boiling, I clean the bitter melon by cutting it in half and scraping the inside by spoon. Rinse it again and chop into three inch length pieces. Put them in the soup that start boiling and lower the heat. Let it simmer for 3-4 hours and splash with soy sauce before serving. The bitter melon helps balance the heat in the body. Eating bitter melon a week, keeps the doctor away. Any South-Asian will tell you this.

Green Curry Pork

People here (in New York) keep asking me which curry is less spicy or which curry is the spiciest. Honestly, I can’t tell the difference between spices because I eat spicy food all the time. According to my grandparents, green curry is spicier than red curry. I like to serve my green curry with rice noodle that Thai people call “Kanom Jean”.  It’s very easy to find green curry paste from any Asian grocer nowadays. The crucial part is the beginning when the curry paste needs to be stirred initially in hot oil and then adding any kind of meat (the most popular is chicken, pork and beef). Stir meat and curry paste until the meat is cooked half way. Add fish sauce and coconut milk to keep the meat soft and a little bit of sugar. You can add any vegetables you like, but can’t forget basil (try to add it at the very end to keep the fresh colour). The most common addition is bamboo shoot. It’s best when it’s hot.

Pad Si Ew

Pad si ew is a close friend of Pad Thai for foreigners because they are put in the same category (noodle) in Thai restaurants. It is essentially stir fried noodle that my husband and I can get enough of. I finally found broad noodle in Asian groceries in my neighbourhood. I have a little secret that I’ve been given by a chef from a Thai restaurant. Start cooking the meat and egg in hot oil and add the noodle when egg is almost cooked through (can’t add the noodle right away because the noodle will become soggy). You have to add when it’s a little wet, so it will attach to the noodle. Stir the noodle with sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce and a little bit of vinegar to balance the saltiness and then stir in Chinese broccoli. Try not to overcook the vegetables because they will look like a leftover dish.

Kuay Jubb (flake rice noodle soup)

Kuay Jubb is known as the other Vietnamese style noodle besides Pho in Thailand. Originally, organs are the big components of this dish. I have adapted the soup and put only my favourite ingredients. My father taught me to make it this way. I cooked chopped shallots and garlic in oil until they became translucent. Add pork ribs, star anise, clove and cinnamon stick to infuse the meat. Add brown sugar when pork is cooked half way and wait until the colour changes to dark brown (it will burn very fast in this process, so you have to be careful). Pour chicken stock and add soy sauce. Lower the heat and let it simmer until the ribs are tender.

Dried Noodle with Ground Pork

Dried noodle is requested for lunch at least once a week from my hubby. This time, I add extra crispy wonton like they do in Thailand. I have adapted how to make this noodle in 10 minutes. I boil the water to cook noodle and I fried minced garlic and take it out for topping. In the same pan, cook ground pork and add soy sauce and fish sauce and a pinch of sugar to pork. Then mix in cooked egg noodle into pork pan. Mix in Thai chilli flake and one piece of lime to taste. Sprinkle fried garlic, scallion, pepper and bean sprout. Serve with fried wonton. It’s authentic and unbeleivably fast.

Tomato Goat Cheese Tart