I love Thailand and I love Thai food. Of course when I go out to Thai restaurants I have my usual favorites. These include chicken satay, fish cakes, phad thai, chicken curry (preferably in green curry), and pineapple fried rice! Yum. The other night I made three Thai dishes and to my surprise it was a success! I always thought Thai food was difficult to make but actually if you have the right spices it's not that bad at all. The guests received the dishes well and here are the recipes for the dishes I made.
Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
(Satay Gai)
Ingredients:
1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast cut into cubes
3 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs cornstarch
2 garlic cloves
1 tbs fresh ginger peeled and chopped
cucumber chopped
12 bamboo skewers
Peanut Sauce:
2 tbs peanut oil
1/2 medium onion finely chopped
1 garlic clove finely chopped
4 tbs peanut butter
5 tbs water
Procedure:
1. Marinate the chicken in soy sauce, cornstarch, garlic, and ginger and refrigerate for 2 hrs
2. Soak twelve bamboo skewers in cold water for at least 30 min
3. Preheat the oven to 375F, divide the chicken cubes between the bamboo skewers, place the skewers on a cookie sheet and bake for about 10 min, make sure you flip it after 5 min
4. For the sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan, then add the onion, garlic, and stir for about 3 min
5. Add the peanut butter, and water and simmer for 3 min, if needed add more water to make it more saucy
6. Serve the skewers with the peanut sauce and the cucumber
Stir Fried Shrimp
(Guan ga tiem)
Ingredients:
2 tbs grapeseed oil
2 garlic cloves
1/2 medium onion chopped
2 scallions roughly chopped
pinch of salt
1 pound raw jumbo shrimp
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs fish sauce
handful of cilantro
Procedure:
1. Heat oil in a wok add the garlic, scallions, then stir fry over medium heat until golden brown
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir fry until the shrimp has turned pink
Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad
(Yum dokralam metmamuang)
Ingredients:
2 tbs grapeseed oil
2 red onions, cut into wedges
1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 small head broccoli, cut into florets
2 tbs yellow curry paste or red curry paste
1 3/4 cups canned coconut milk
1 tsp Thai fish sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted cashews
Procedure:
1. Heat the oil in a wok, add the onions and stir fry until golden brown
2. Add the cauliflower and broccoli and curry paste and stir fry for about 2 min
3. Pour the coconut milk, fish sauce, and salt and gently bring to a boil stirring occasionally, let it simmer until vegetables are tender
4. Top the dish off with the cashews (you can toast the cashews if you desire)
