A Taste of Thai. March 19, 2013.
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Inspired by her recent trip to Thailand, Diva N chose Thai food for the theme this month. Ever-enthusiastic, the Divas trekked to Asian grocery stores in search of such ingredients as sticky rice, palm sugar, wonton wrappers and dried shrimp (which - unfortunately - look and smell just as you'd expect them to). East met West and Old met New when the Divas employed rice cookers, blenders and Diva A's triple-decker steamer in making their delicious Thai delicacies. Thai take-out's got nothing on us!
Pork Dumplings
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Prepare the filling; combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl.
1 lb ground pork
1 cup grated carrot, squeezed dry
¼ cup loosely packed chopped thai basil
¼ cup scallion greens, chopped on the diagonal
8-10 water chestnuts, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 T red curry paste
3 T fish sauce
2 ½ T sugar
Salt and pepper
3 T coconut milk
30 round white dumpling/wonton wrappers
Prepare the filling; combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl.
Place a dumpling skin on work surface. Using your finger, wet around the edges with water. Place 1 1/2 tablespoons filling in the center. Fold dumpling skin over to enclose. Pinch the edges together to form a half moon. Pleat the rounded edge. Set aside. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.
Just before serving, bring a large pot, fitted with a steamer insert lined with lightly oiled parchment paper with a few holes poked in it, to a simmer. Add dumplings and simmer until cooked through. (Note, in my big steamer appliance, it took about 15 minutes to cook 15 dumplings.
Remove dumplings from steamer, sprinkle with garlic oil, and serve with dipping sauce.
Garlic Oil
3 T vegetable oil
2 T chopped garlic
Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and stir fry until golden brown.
Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup Sriracha chile sauce
1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/4 cup dark-brown sugar
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat gently, whisking, until emulsified. Be sure not to boil. Set aside to cool.
1 lb ground pork
1 cup grated carrot, squeezed dry
¼ cup loosely packed chopped thai basil
¼ cup scallion greens, chopped on the diagonal
8-10 water chestnuts, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 T red curry paste
3 T fish sauce
2 ½ T sugar
Salt and pepper
3 T coconut milk
30 round white dumpling/wonton wrappers
Prepare the filling; combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl.
Place a dumpling skin on work surface. Using your finger, wet around the edges with water. Place 1 1/2 tablespoons filling in the center. Fold dumpling skin over to enclose. Pinch the edges together to form a half moon. Pleat the rounded edge. Set aside. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.
Just before serving, bring a large pot, fitted with a steamer insert lined with lightly oiled parchment paper with a few holes poked in it, to a simmer. Add dumplings and simmer until cooked through. (Note, in my big steamer appliance, it took about 15 minutes to cook 15 dumplings.
Remove dumplings from steamer, sprinkle with garlic oil, and serve with dipping sauce.
Garlic Oil
3 T vegetable oil
2 T chopped garlic
Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and stir fry until golden brown.
Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup Sriracha chile sauce
1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/4 cup dark-brown sugar
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat gently, whisking, until emulsified. Be sure not to boil. Set aside to cool.
Chicken with Basil (Phad Kaprao Gai)
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1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, diced (or you could use ground chicken)
3 T oil (soybean or palm)
20 cloves crushed garlic
1 1/2 c. long beans, diced
8-10 hot chiles, seeds removed and diced
4 c. holy (thai) basil leaves
4 T fish sauce
4 T oyster sauce
2 tsp. sugar
1 c. onions, diced
Heat the oil in the wok on medium-high heat (until almost smoking). When oil is hot, add garlic, onion and chiles. Stir until fragrant. Add chicken and stir until cooked through. Add long beans, fish sauce, sugar and oyster sauce. Stir until just mixed. Add basil leaves and stir once again, just until basil is wilted and bright green.
Serve with rice.
Recipe courtesy of the Thai Farm Cooking School.
3 T oil (soybean or palm)
20 cloves crushed garlic
1 1/2 c. long beans, diced
8-10 hot chiles, seeds removed and diced
4 c. holy (thai) basil leaves
4 T fish sauce
4 T oyster sauce
2 tsp. sugar
1 c. onions, diced
Heat the oil in the wok on medium-high heat (until almost smoking). When oil is hot, add garlic, onion and chiles. Stir until fragrant. Add chicken and stir until cooked through. Add long beans, fish sauce, sugar and oyster sauce. Stir until just mixed. Add basil leaves and stir once again, just until basil is wilted and bright green.
Serve with rice.
Recipe courtesy of the Thai Farm Cooking School.
Mango Passion CocktailSeveral ripe mangos, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup vodka 1/4 cup lime juice Pinch of salt 1-2 Tbsp simple syrup 1 bottle champagne In a blender, mix the mango pieces, vodka, lime juice, salt, and syrup to make a puree. The mixture should be sweet and sour. Pour into a pitcher, and add the bottle of champagne. |