I experimented with Coq Au Vin because my grandmother-in-law always says she makes French dinner for my husband and me. For some reason it looks different from what I expect. That little thing inspired me to attempt this dish. It came out nicely even though it was my first attempt. Thank you Ina Garten for the recipe from Food Network.
Friday is usually Taco night. We celebrate the beginning of the weekend (at least, for our little family) because it’s fun to assemble them yourself. My first taco cracked because I stuffed too much of everything. After that, I learned from observations that smaller sized ingredients are less messy and easier to eat.
Summer Rolls are healthy and fortunately easy to make. I have learned to make summer rolls from working in a restaurant watching cooks make them repeatedly. The trick is when you soak rice paper, you MUST use cold water. Hot or warm water makes rice paper soften quicker, but the rice paper will crack after you finish rolling them within 10-15 minutes. The filling is all fresh vegetables and cooked shrimp or hand made pork balls (optional). Basic filling is green leaf lettuce, cucumber, carrot, basil, vermicelli noodle). There are two kinds of dipping sauce that is usually served with summer rolls. One is a clear sauce that made from fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and chilli flakes (optional). Another is made from the combination of hoisin sauce, cooked carrots, pineapple and Sriracha (hot sauce). Personally, I prefer the second sauce because the it enhances the flavour of the vegetables and shrimp more.
On his last visit, my father brought me salted fish from Thailand. Preserved food is very common in Thailand and people use it to enhance the flavour of the food. Some examples are preserved garlic, plum and seafood products. Salted fish fried rice is the perfect way to balance the saltiness from the fish with rice and vegetables. I prefer using Chinese broccoli. The first thing is infusing oil with salted fish and adding cooked jasmin rice. Don’t rush to add vegetables. Cook rice and salted fish together until you smell the rice, then add soy sauce (the amount depends on how salty your salted fish is) and vegetables. Sprinkle chilli flakes for the finishing touches and you will have an authentic Thai version of the dish.
Larb is a spicy meat salad that people know in this country. It is very well-known dish in Thailand that you can find it in Som Tum (papaya salad) places. Larb is papaya salad’s cousin. It’s a warm meat salad. I normally use grilled meat or ground meat (pork, chicken or beef), but in Thailand you will also find duck and catfish available for this dish as well. Larb has one crucial ingredient that enhances the texture and fragrance the dish. It is by toasting rice with galanga, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves together, then grinding them.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
