Easy Thai Dinner

Red Thai Curry Noodles

Yield: 4

A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason, this is also an account of what happens when I make this dish, so you’ll understand each step. Of course when you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don’t like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour, you have to add your own!

I love being a culinary tourist in my own kitchen! The flavours of Thailand are easy to cook with when you understand that they’re just the ingredients that surround Thai cooks. They may seem exotic – and may take some hunting to find – but use them a few times and they’ll be as familiar to you as anything else in your kitchen.

Ingredients:

Red Thai Curry Noodles

• 2 x 398 ml cans of coconut milk
• 2 tbsp of red curry paste
• 1 bunch of cilantro, roots and leaves chopped separately
• 2 x boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• 3 cups of chicken stock
• 6 x lime leaves
• 1 x small ginger root, frozen
• 3 tbsp of fish sauce
• 2 stalks of lemon grass, tops cut off and the bottoms split open
• 1 x 227 gram package of rice noodles
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 4 x green onions, minced

Directions:

Red Thai Curry Noodles

1. Preheat a large saucepan over medium-high heat then scoop the thick coconut cream from the top of one of the cans into it. Add the red curry paste as the cream melts into coconut oil. The mixture will start to sizzle as the oil then heats up. Add the cilantro roots and chicken and stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the coconut juice from the first can as well as the entire contents of the second can of coconut milk, chicken stock, lime leaves, fish sauce and lemon grass. Grate the frozen ginger into the broth - noting how much easier it is to work with when it's frozen! Use a microplane grater if you have one or the side of a box grater. Simmer for 20 minutes, until the broth has begun to thicken slightly. Add the bean sprouts and simmer another minute or 2. Remove from the heat.
3. Place the rice noodles into the broth where they will quickly soften in about 5 minutes. Add all but 2 tablespoons of the cilantro leaves and stir gently.
4. Ladle into large bowls and garnish with the green onions and the remaining cilantro.

Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason, this is also an account of what happens when I make this dish, so you’ll understand each step. Of course when you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don’t like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour, you have to add your own!

Ingredients:

Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

• 2 cups of peanut butter
• The juice and zest of four limes
• 1 tsp of chili flakes or hot sauce
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar or honey
• 1/2 cup of soy sauce
• A large bunch of mint

Directions:

Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

1. Toss everything into your food processor or blender then puree until smooth.

Cucumber Mint Salad with Spicy Asian Dressing

Ease of Preparation: Easy
4-6 Servings (dressing about a cup)

This quick and easy dish is inspired by a common salad in Thai cooking. Like all Thai food it’s full of nicely balanced flavours. The sweetness of the cucumbers is sharpened by the sourness of the spicy dressing, which in turn is cooled by the refreshing mint.

Cucumber Mint Salad with Spicy Asian Dressing

For the Salad:

A large cucumber
A thinly sliced red onion
A handful of mint leaves

For the Dressing:

A cup of rice wine vinegar
Two heaping spoonfuls of Thai chili garlic sauce
Two heaping spoonfuls of sugar
A sprinkle or two of salt

For the Salad:

Thinly slice the cucumber and toss it with the red onion, mint and a generous splash of the dressing. Serve immediately or let rest for a few minutes.

For the Dressing:

Whisk everything together until a smooth dressing forms using an old-fashioned whisk and bowl.

Pineapple With Cilantro

Ease of Preparation: Easy
4-6 Servings

My buddy, pastry chef Thomas Haas, introduced me to this flavour combination. It seemed a bit odd at first - until I tasted it. The assertive flavour of cilantro perfectly matches the sweet tartness of a ripe pineapple. It’s a match made in heaven – and in your kitchen!

Pineapple with Cilantro

A ripe pineapple, trimmed and cut into thin wedges
A few handfuls of cilantro leaves, reserve a few for garnish
One-half cup or so of white sugar
A generous sprinkle of shredded coconut

Toss the cilantro leaves and any stems into the bowl of a food processor. Add the sugar and begin pulsing the machine until they become a gritty, sandy, almost-puree.

Toss the pineapple with most of the sugar mixture reserving some to sprinkle on top of each portion. Serve in bowls topped with the remaining cilantro leaves and a sprinkle of grated coconut.



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