Date: Mon, 2 Aug 93 14:21:29 CDT
Eggplant with Tofu -- from Keo's Thai Cuisine by Keo Sananikone
3/4 lb Japanese eggplant (about 3 cups sliced)
1/4 lb tofu
6 T oil
2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 to 5 red chili peppers, seeded and chopped
10 to 15 sweet basil leaves
1 to 3 T yellow bean sauce (yellow bean sauce from Thailand is
saltier than sauce from Hong Kong or China, so season to
taste)
Slice unpeeled eggplant crosswise into slices 1/8-inch thick.
Cut tofu into 1/2-inch cubes. Heat oil in skillet; add garlic and
stir-fry until light brown (don't burn!). Add eggplant and tofu
and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Add remaining ingredients; mix
gently. Serve immediately, since eggplant and basil turn dark
if dish sits after cooking. Makes 3 to 4 servings.
Thai Chicken Coconut Soup -- Posted by Tamar More based upon an ingredient list
3-4 cans coconut milk (make sure it's the unsweetened kind)
3 tbsp chopped scallions
1 to 3 tsp lemon grass
cilantro (preferably fresh. I sometimes leave this out. Niels says
that's defeating the whole point, but I think it still comes out
great)
tofu, cubed into smallish pieces.
chicken, also cubed to bite size.
mushrooms
1 carrot, grated
juice from loads of limes (8? i can never put in enough)
serrano chillies (or any other hot chili pepper, again preferably
fresh, but powdered will do)
1 tsp galanga powder
Heat the coconut milk in a pot. Add everything else. As the lemon grass is
inedible, put it in a tea ball and immerse the ball in the soup so you can
retrieve it later. Cook until the chicken is done and the soup is hot (30
minutes?). Taste to see if it needs more limes (it always does) or more hot
peppers (it's better to start mild and build up to the desired level of
spicyness).
Red or Green Thai Curry -- Carol Miller-Tutzauer (riacmt@ubvms) You can add other things (holy basil, fish sauce, chopped hot Thai chiles, lemon grass, galanga, shrimp paste, etc.). 2 T red or green curry paste (use more for hotter curry; Mae Ploy brand is excellent 3 T vegetable oil 3/4 lb boneless chicken meat, cut into 3/4-inch pieces 2 cans (unsweetened) coconut milk (approx. 3 c in all) 1 c water or chicken broth 1/2 c baby corns 1/2 c straw mushrooms (or substitute other mushroom of your choice) 1/2 c sliced bamboo shoots 5 kaffir lime leaves (dried are fine; these are available in packages on the bottom -- usually dusty -- shelf of the Asian market; they look like dried, curled-up leaves) 1/2 t salt (more or less to taste) if green curry, 10 fresh basil leaves if red curry, 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into matchstick-size strips Fry curry paste in oil in saucepan until fragrant. Add chicken (if using) and saute for about 1 minute over medium high heat. Add remaining ingredients except basil leaves or red bell pepper. Bring just barely to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes. Just before serving, stir in basil leaves or red bell pepper. Serve with cooked Thai Jasmine rice.
Green Bean Curry (aka Country Curry or Jungle Curry)
1 lb fresh green beans [if necessary, you may substitute whole frozen ones]
2 T Thai Curry Paste (I like to use the "Key" brand packets of either
"Country Curry" or "Red Curry"; but they are all flavorful.
Mae Ploy and Tommy Tang are other good brands.
2 T vegetable oil
Bamboo shoots (optional; I like to use a large can of bamboo tips because
they are tender and I can cut them into 1/4 inch thick round slices.
You can also use a couple of the small cans of sliced bamboo shoots,
but they will not absorb the flavor as well. I think carrots cut into
coins would also be good, if you like those. I tried potatoes once,
but they just disintegrated.)
6 c chicken broth
Clean and pick green bean tips. In a dutch oven (or equivalent size vessel),
heat oil. Add curry paste and "fry" until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add
broth, green beans, bamboo shoots (or other vegetable). Bring to a rapid
boil and cook like that for about 15-20 minutes (watching that liquid doesn't
reduce too much; add water as necessary). Reduce heat to a hard simmer and
continue cooking until green beans are VERY done and have absorbed the
flavor of the curry broth. Serve in bowls over rice.
Evil Jungle Prince with Chicken (or with Mixed Vegetables) Keo's Thai Cuisine by Keo Sananikone, Ten Speed Press, 1986, 1/2 lb boneless chicken breast (or 1/2 lb mixed vegetables, see note below) 2 to 6 small red chile peppers 1/2 stalk fresh lemon grass 2 kaffir lime leaves 2 T oil 1/2 c coconut milk 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 to 4 T fish sauce, based on personal taste (omit for veggie version) 10 to 15 basil leaves 1 c chopped cabbage Thinly cut chicken into 2-inch strips. (If doing veggie version, cut vegetables into thin strips.) Grind together red chili peppers, lemon grass, and kaffir lime leaves in a food processor or pound in a mortar. Heat oil to medium-high and saute pepper mixture for 3 minutes. Stir in coconut milk and cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken (or vegetables) and cook for 5 minutes or until cooked (same time for veggies). Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in fish sauce (if using), salt, and basil. Serve on a bed of chopped cabbage. Makes 3 to 4 servings. Note: For mixed vegetables, choose from among bell peppers, string beans, water chestnuts, tomatoes (small cherry tomatoes are best), bamboo shoots, miniature corn, asparagus, cucumbers, zucchini, Japanese eggplant, and mushrooms. I particularly like string beans or asparagus, a few cherry tomatoes, shredded (rather than sliced) bamboo shoots, miniature corn, and some straw mushrooms or slender (Japanese) eggplant.
Yellow Curry Chicken
1 lb bnls, skinless chicken breast, cut in bite-size pieces
2-3 c fresh veggies: mushrooms, asparagus, onions, zuccini, ...
2 potatoes, peeled and cut in pieces, pre-cooked
1-2 carrots, cut in bite-size pieces, pre-cooked
1/2 c or so frozen peas
1-2 T veg. oil
1 T red curry paste
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
3-4 T fish sauce
dash salt
1-2 T sugar
1 T yellow curry powder
1/2 c water or chicken stock
1/2 bay leaf
1A. Pre-cook potatoes and carrots. Don't cook them too done, since
they will simmer with the main dish later.
1. Cut boneless, skinless chicken breast into bite-size pieces.
2. Wash and cut fresh vegetables into bite-size pieces.
3. In a heavy saucepan on medium heat, heat the veg. oil, red curry paste,
and about one third of the coconut milk. Heat 5-10 minutes, stirring,
until it forms a thin gravy.
4. Turn the heat to high, add the chicken, and cook until the chicken is
half cooked, maybe five minutes.
5. Add the fish sauce, sugar, salt, and rest of the coconut milk, and
mix well.
6. Stir in the curry powder, potatoes, carrots, and water/stock. If
desired, add 1/s bay leaf. Let simmer just a minute or two.
7. Add the fresh vegetables and the frozen peas, and let simmer for
3 to 5 minutes, until fresh veggies are just done.
8. Serve (with jasmine rice...).
Thai chicken and coconut milk soup
1 12-ounce can coconut milk
1/4 pound chicken breast, cut into small chunks
The juice and grated peel of 1 lime
1 4" piece of lemon grass, cut into very thin (1/16") slices on the
diagonal
3 or 4 slices of galanga (fresh ginger may be substituted)
Hot chile peppers to taste -- preferably Thai birds, with serranos
an acceptable substitute, cut into thin circles
Cilantro for garnish
Pour the lime juice on the chicken and let stand while you prepare
the rest of the soup. In a medium saucepan, place the coconut milk,
lemon grass, grated lime peel, galanga or ginger, and (optionally)
chiles. (The optional part is that if you don't want the whole dish
to taste spicy, add the chiles later; the earlier you add them, the
hotter the resulting dish.) Bring the coconut milk to a simmer.
When the soup is simmering, add the lime-soaked chicken pieces and
stir to distribute them. Reduce the heat so the soup stays just
below a boil and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or till the chicken
pieces are finished cooking. Remove from heat and serve immediately
with fresh cilantro leaves for garnish.
Now, the *best* way I ever had this soup was with pieces of fresh
grouper instead of chicken. I also added slices of kumquats instead
of the ginger, and used the sweet Fresno chiles instead of Thai birds.
We also served it over Vietnamese rice noodles. If you can't find
grouper, it'd be good with any tender, delicate white fish -- sole,
maybe, or a very fresh sea bass, or maybe little chunks of monkfish.
I believe I've had this with shrimp as well.
Tom Kha Gai 2 boneless chicken breast - cut up bit sized 2-3 stalks of lemon grass - cut up into 2" pieces and separated 6 pieces of dried galangal 1 can coconut milk 2 Tbs sugar 2 tsp salt 1 tsp dried crushed red chilis (optional) 7 cups water Place the chicken, lemon grass and galangal in a soup pot. Add the water and cook over medium for about 30 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes. You may need to adjust the salt, sugar and water as I find the taste varies with the brand of coconut milk used. Serve with extra chilis and white rice.
Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science (SCS) graciously hosts the Recipe Archive. We encourage you to learn about SCS educational programs and research.