Thai Shrimp Fried Rice

It has been really hot out here lately, so I was not very keen on cooking. Our dinners have so far consisted of mostly salads or chopped up watermelons. However, if cooking, Thai cuisine remains my summer favorite. The dishes are light, juicy and refreshing. When Mallugirl of Malabar Spices announced her Summer Express Cooking, this was the one that popped into my mind immediately. I just needed a little push to make it. Tomorrow, I was going down to Slovakia for my sister´s wedding last week, so it had been a fridge clear-up week. Trying to use up all the rice and veggie leftovers, I could not think of a better excuse for a simple fried rice and a carrot salad. That was a final push for making a great Thai meal - Shrimp fried rice and Som Tam Thai Salad.

Here is a detailed explanation of how to make both in less than 30 minutes, without stressing out too much or multi-tasking. There is only one think to be time-cautious about. Chopping, slicing and grating...

First, prepare ingredients for both, Som Tam Thai Salad and

THAI SHRIMP FRIED RICE:
(kao pad kapi)

spice ladder: **

prep time: under 30
serves: 1 couple

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 red Thai chili
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp shrimp paste
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp water
• ½ tsp brown sugar
• 1 cup cooked rice
• lime juice
• Vegetables and other leftovers*
• 3 carrots
• 1/2 cucumber
• iceberg salad leaves
• 150 g mushrooms
• 1 tomato
• 1 onion
• 1 red chili
• salt, black pepper
  

* Note: The aim is to fry the rice in spices and then surround it with shredded fresh vegetables, omelets, seafood or meats. Traditionally, shredded green papaya and cucumber, chopped spring onion and snake beans, sliced tomatoes and onion, omelet stripes, shredded chicken or stir-fried shrimps are used, but you can use pretty much anything what your fridge offers. Here is what I used:


(Today, my fridge was smiling at me with fresh carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and cucumbers. Somewhere in the back, there were also a few leaves of iceberg salad.)

Timing of course varies according to the ingredients used, so I will stick with the one on the pic above:

1. Prepare the mushrooms (1 - 4 minutes)
Chop up the onion and chili. Keep aside a few slices of onion and fry the rest with the chilies on a tablespoon of oil. Meantime, slice the mushrooms, thinly. After three minutes, add the mushrooms to the onions and stir well. Add black pepper and salt, which will help the mushrooms release some water. Meantime:

2, Prepare the Som Tum Salad (5 - 15 minutes)
Wash and shred the carrots, place in a salad bowl and keep aside. Chop up the tomatoes, garlic and chilies. In a mortar, crush all the ingredients roughly following the recipe. Once ready, keep the salad mixture in the mortar, do not mix with the carrots. (This would make the carrots loose its juices and get all soggy with the salad mix).

2. Prepare the veggies for fried rice (16 - 23 minutes)
Check on the mushrooms, they should be ready by now. Take off the fire and let sit. Wash the vegetables and shred them finely (no need to peel, maybe carrot roughly). On a plate arrange piles of shredded vegetables and mushrooms.

3. Prepare the fried rice (24 - 29 minutes)
In a wok, heat up the oil. Saute the garlic and chilies for a minute. Add the shrimp paste and fry until the odor disappears (shrimp paste is made from dried fermented shrimps, so it s quite stinky when heated. Opening the windows helps a lot, though.) Add the fish sauce, sugar and water, each ingredient after 30 seconds. Add the rice and mix thoroughly, until all the grains are coated with the shrimp mixture.


















(This time I also added finely chopped fresh green beans when frying the rice.)

4. Final decoration minute
Place the fried rice in the middle of the plate and garnish with lime wedges and a few onion slices. Combine the shredded carrots with Som Tum mix and voilla! Thai feast in no time...

To eat, mix up all the veggies and rice until the original picture is completely spoiled. Sprinkle some lime juice on top. Additionally, I have some chili flakes on side as garnish.


















Half eaten dish... a prove of its tastiness ;-)
Mallu, enjoy!

Som Tam Thai Salad Dressing

Last week I received a very cute request from one lady to post a recipe for Som Tam Salad. I didn't hesitate for a second, because that definitely is one of my absolute favorites. I learned to make it (again) while I was living in Thailand by my wonderful friend Punch. She did a great job and until today, my family and friends ask for this one over and over again...

Som Tam Thai is a very simple Thai mixture of fresh spices, that together with snake beans (which I never could get in here, in Europe) is enjoyed widely as a dressing traditionally to shredded green papaya. Since 'SOM TAM' means 'Sour pounded', the name reffers to a method rather than a specific dish. Therefore, do not worry about not having green papaya on hand and experiment with other firm vegetabes... In Krabi town, there is this little hidden Som Tam place that only makes these little yummy guys, served with sticky rice. Their menu boasts of at least 20 different salad types with a variety of fresh veggies, such as shredded papaya, green mango, carrots, seafood, radish (daikon), coconut flesh, young bamboo, or even pre-fried shredded yam or potatoes. Yup, little 'french-fries wanna-bees'.

Yesterday, we had our friend Corey over for dinner. I decided to make a nice Thai dinner. It came out pretty good, a great combo of Panaeng vegetable curry (Panaeng Pak), Oyster sauce green leaf stir-fry (Pak Boong Fai Deang), sticky rice (Khao Niaw) and ... coincidentally :

SOM TAM THAI :
(Thai Salad Dressing)

spice ladder: ****

prep time: 7 minutes
servings: 2

(clockwise as shown on the pic)

• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 big ripe tomato
• 1 tbsp roasted peanuts
• 2 tbsp fish sauce *
• 1 tbsp dried shrimps *
  
• 1 tbsp palm (or brown) sugar
• 3 red chilies
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 string beans (I didn't have any)

+ 150g firm shredded vegetables (the most common are raw papaya or raw mango. I have used blanched broccoli and cucumber, cut into "moons" - as shown on the pic above)

* For a vegan Som Tam Thai, substitute fish sauce for soy sauce and simply skip the dried shrimps.

First, prepare all the ingredients: Peel the garlic, chop roughly the chilies and tomatoes. Cut the string beans (if used) in 3 - 4 cm long pieces.
Crush the peanuts roughly and set aside.
Do the same with dried shrimps.

The number one rule when grinding a paste in a mortar is the DRY-TOWARDS-WET rule. Meaning that you should always start with the dried stuff and add other ingredients one by one, according to their moistness, from the driest to the liquid ones. Having said so, I think you got the pattern:
Garlic, chilies, (string beans), tomatoes, lime juice and fish sauce. Now add the peanuts and shrimps and adjust sugar to taste. Add the shredded vegetables, crush here or there and you are done.

Serve with sticky rice and a plate of fresh veggies (traditionally cucumbers, cabbage and Thai basil leaves).

Update (July 31st) :
Today, I used shredded zucchini instead of green papaya. Not bad at all, very juicy and refreshing :)

* This salad is usually prepared in a tall mortar (15 - 20 cm high), so all the veggies fit in. You can make the dressing extra and than simply pour over the shredded vegetables). Not so authentically cool (lacks that impressive 'tam tam tam' sound), but I also do it like that and trust me, its fine.

* THIS IS NOT A PASTE. It means that you are not supposed to grind the hell out of the ingredients, bur just to crush them here and there in a lazy mode... Like this:

On my last trip to Thailand, I ran into one of the souvenier stores to look for 'stuff'. I ran into a gorgeous little collection of hand-drawn postcards of traditional Thai food, accompanied with a recipe. It was so sweet, I had to buy them all. Here is the one for Som Tam Salad. It is slightly different from the one I make, but only slightly...

Thai Green Leaf Stir-Fry Sauce

This is my personal number one recipe when it comes down to the green leaf vegetables. I was taught this one by my Thai friend Ying more than three years ago. However, it still is a frequent side dish on my dinning plate.

This traditional stir-fry sauce is super easy to prepare and will take only a couple of seconds to make. Easy as it is, delicious as it should be:

Spice ladder: ***

prep time: 5 minutes
yields: 2 people

(clockwise as shown on the picture)

• 2 cloves garlic
  
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 fresh chili
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce

+ 100 g green leaf vegetables

As I already mentioned, you can use any kind of green leaf veggies, you can get: spinach, mangold, morning glory, bak choi, jungle veggies, even parboiled broccoli or iceberg salad.

My absolute favorite is the very traditional Pak boong fai daeng, a dish that uses morning glory (water spinach, swamp cabbage or 'pak boong' in Thai) as the main green leaf ingredient.

PAK BOONG FAI DAENG:
(oyster sauce morning glory stir-fry)

Cut the ends of the morning glory and wash. Cut in three (leaves, stems included). Splash oyster sauce, say sauce and some water over it. Set aside.
Peel the garlic.
Wash the chilies and make a slit in the middle.
Heat oil in a wok, add garlic, chilies and fry for a minute or until they crack and turn brown. Add the morning glory, continue frying. If you like your dishes milder, add a teaspoon of sugar. Once the leaves shrank and the stems are soft, you are done.

Update (July 15th):
Once served, sprinkle white sesame seed.
Add a couple of fermented soy beans in the oyster and soy sauce mix.

Thai Panaeng Curry Paste

Last year when I was living in Thailand, I was asked back home to write an article about my food experience in Krabi. That was the final kick up my butt to offer help to my Thai girlfriends to help them with cooking for their street stand. Not knowing what I was about to experience I 'signed up' for a four day cooking course...

...Each day started at 4.p.m with us three girls running around the Krabi Morning Market, shopping for fresh spices, vegetables and meats. Then, we drove back to the hotel and started wildly chopping, grating, grinding, frying,.. etc. Different colorful curries were done shortly before 9.00, all from scratch. Tough work was then sold for a few baht, accompanied with a scoop of rice, all finished before 14.00. That was the time to pack it all up, go back home and take a rewarding nap...

This was a very brief back flash of my Thai cooking days. What has been left for me in a long run though, were all these amazing secret recipes for home-made traditional Thai curries. Having said all this, I believe, this is the right time to reveal one of them. I have to admit that I am not a big fan of 'a few of these, a splash of that,... ok, maybe a bit more..., some of that...' cooking style, so while sticking to the basics, I consulted a few recipes out there for more accurate amounts, ... and this is what has come out:

PANAENG THAI CURRY PASTE :
A wonderful blend of chilies and roasted peanuts, a base for making traditional Thai curries with meats, or vegetables, such as potatoes, mushrooms, baby eggplants, or tofu.

prep time: 50 minutes
yields : 1 cup

• 8 red chilies (or 2 tbsp powdered) *
• 1 tsp shrimp paste **
  
• ½ cup (120g) chopped shallots
• 10 cloves garlic
• 3 stems lemongrass
• 1 tsp lime rind
• 5 cm fresh galangal
• 4 fresh chopped cilantro roots
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp fish sauce **
• 1 tsp salt
• >½ cup (3 tbsp) peanut butter (I like the crunchy kind)

Prepare the chilies:
If using fresh - wash them, discard the green top and chop them roughly.
If using dried - soak them in ½ cup hot water for about 15 minutes, drain and chop roughly.
If using powder - you are cool just like that.

* If you don't fancy hot curries, get out of my blog, de-seed the chilies first.

** For a vegan version of Panaeng Curry Paste, substitute fish sauce for soy sauce and shrimp paste for soy bean paste (if so, skip the grilling).

Prepare the fresh spices:
Peel the garlic and galangal, and chop finely. Remove the outer layers from the lemongrass and chop finely (white part only).
Cover the shrimp paste in tin foil and dry fry or bake in the oven for 3 minutes from each side(or until slightly dried, but not burnt).

Put all the ingredients into the mortar, one by one, as the recipe says, and grind to a paste. It takes a long time, but the smoother paste you achieve, the more compact curry sauce you get.

NOW THE FUN PART :

Lets say, you have made the curry paste. There are zillion ways of preparing. The most traditional one is, of course, the one that Thai people make (duh). To do this one for 2 people, you will need:

• 2 (generous) tbsp Panaeng Curry Paste
• 1 tbsp oil or coconut fat
  
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 50 ml water
• 250g veggies
• kaffir lime leaves
• 1 tbsp fish sauce **
  
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• fresh chili (optional)

Update (July 27th):
I substituted water and coconut milk for soy milk. It was lot less fatty, actually. I think I ll stick with this method more often...

A lot, eh? Well, nothing difficult.
First, chop the chili into the so-called Horse Ear cuts. This means, slice the chili kind of diagonally, so you can see the 'flower' formed by the seeds and veins.

Heat oil in a frying pan, add the paste and fry over the medium heat for about 5 - 7 minutes, or until the strongest fragrance has disappeared. Add coconut milk, water, lime leaves and half of the chili. Let simmer for 3 minutes or until the liquids have combined. Add the vegetables and let simmer until soft. (Hard ones like potatoes should be parboiled). Add the rest and taste. DO NOT use salt, for the fish sauce is the salt itself...
Garnish with the remaining chili and there you go. Grab a bowl of rice and Bon Apetit! If you crave for a real Thai ultimate filling feast, the traditional Pak Boong Fai Daeng (Green Leaf Stir-Fry) or Som Tam Thai (Green Papaya Thai Salad) goes really well.


















Today, I made my panaeng curry with mixture of broccoli, Brussels sprouts and mushrooms.

There are other wonderful ways of preparing the Thai Panaeng Curry Paste.

• Panaeng curry fried rice:

Fry some on oil, add shrimps and cook for a minute. Splash in some fish sauce, sugar and lime juice (quantity-wise as described above) then add leftover rice from the day before (sticks better) and fry until crispy and fragrant. Serve with lime wedges.
(Substitute noodles for rice, can´t go wrong with that one).

• Panaeng Curry steamed 'Sushi':

Try this one. Prepare shrimps or chicken as described above, but skip the rice. Now, prepare sticky rice and form into a thumb long squares or like when making nigiri sushi. Scoop the shrimp mixture onto the rice, wrap the whole 'sushi' into a banana leaf (or tin foil) and steam for 10 minutes. Absolutely fun-tasty-c.

I am sure you guys have your own little tricks. Wanna share ? ... Please ? :)