Thai Style Grilled Pork

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

Tonight I felt like a Thai inspired meal – which started with Vegetarian Penang Curry – I wanted a protein to grill that would complement the sauce and flavour of the curry. This was perfect – my only disappointment was that as it was ready – the skies opened up with crazy rain, hail, thunder and lightning. Nope, no grilling going on here. So – it was grill pan. Second best always, but it turned out quite delicious!

DIPPING SAUCE

1/3 cup white sugar

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp white pepper, freshly ground

Blend well and set aside for serving.

PORK

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp low salt soy sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp freshly ground ginger

1 tsp chili flakes

1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper

3 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely minced

1 pound pork steak, or tenderloin

(be flexible with the pork – tonight’s was pork steak on a grill pan – but this would be great threaded on to skewers)

I let this marinate for an hour before grilling, but up to 24 hours would be even better.

This is easiest if you mix the marinade in a ziplock bag or tightly closed container, add the pork and allow to marinate until ready to cook.

Grill pork, sprinkle with fresh cilantro and green onions – serve with dipping sauce.

The meat is great all by itself, but served with the dipping sauce it is over the top yummy.

We served it tonight with Penang Curry and Jasmine rice.

Chinese 5 spice Chicken

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

serve with chinese noodles for a quick dinner

3 lbs chicken pieces

1/3 cup dark soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp 5 spice powder

3 crushed garlic cloves

1 tbsp minced ginger

2 tbsp sesame oil

Put chicken in ziplock bag or container with a tight seal. Combine the rest of the ingredients, mix well and pour over chicken. Refridgerate – the longer the better. (In a pinch I have just thrown it all together and roasted – still fabulous!)

Arrange in a single layer in a roasting dish and roast at 350 for 30 minutes – turn over and roast for a further 30 minutes, basting.

This recipe is for chicken pieces – with skin, and on the bone. If you are using boneless/skinless chicken the cooking time will be much less.

Red Curry Corn on the Cob

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Chatty Kathy

When the corn from the garden is fresh in season I usually love it best with just butter and salt. Today the corn got picked for the first time when I was making dinner inspired by Thailand. This red curry butter was incredible on freshly picked, steamed cobs of tender sweet corn – next time I will try it on grilled corn!

Freshly steamed corn ready for the red curry butter.

There are lots of fool proof methods of boiling corn on the cob. Use your family’s method, or mine…. which is pretty forgiving.

Bring a pot of water to boil, with enough space for the cobs to bubble around a bit in the boiling water. There are lots of people that prefer to add sugar to the boiling water, but I like a bit of salt. Allow corn to boil gently for 10-12 minutes depending on the size of the cobs. Remove from heat and allow them to remain in the hot water until serving time so they don’t dry out.

Dare I tell you how easy the red curry butter is?

Soften 1/2 cup butter, add 2 -3 tsp red curry paste – depending on your family’s love of heat. Taste and add a bit of salt and pepper if necessary. Allow butter to harden up enough for the curry and butter to be well incorporated when you mix them.

Serve with your fresh corn – so yummy……..as an added bonus any leftover curry butter is amazing tossed with popcorn.

Spicy Thai Sesame Noodles

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Chatty Kathy

I love the flavours in this dish – serve it either hot or cold – even when you are making it the kitchen smells so inviting, you are sure to have company!

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup tahini

Blend well then add:

1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon red chile flakes & 1/2 teaspoon of Siracha (Rooster Sauce)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1/2 cup canola oil

1 lime – squeezed

1 pound rice noodles or chow mein noodles – softened or cooked

Amy did an amazing job slicing, dicing and mincing vegetables for the salad

1 English cucumber, halved and 1/8-inch slices
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1/3 cup finely diced red pepper

1/2 cup chopped roasted (salted) peanuts for garnish

1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro and scallions

In a bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, sesame oil, vinegar, chiles, siratcha, and soy until smooth – add lime juice and oil. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Cook or soften noodles

Prepare vegetables – use your imagination when preparing this – I have suggested a few, but go ahead – throw in some snap peas, or carrots, or radishes ….

Combine all ingredients and stir well. Garnish with peanuts, scallions and cilantro.

This is the perfect accompaniment to Thai Barbecued Chicken – check out that recipe too!

Penang Style Thai Curry

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Chatty Kathy

Thai curries are always perfect if you really are looking for lots of flavour in every bite. In Thailand, 1 chicken breast easily serves a family of 4 in a curry dish – lots of vegetables help out, and of course you won’t want to miss a drop of the curry so your rice is perfect to soak it all up. This version is vegetarian, served with barbecued chicken, but it is easy to add whatever protein you are inclined to use.

Penang Style Curry served with Thai Barbecued Chicken and fragrant jasmine rice

Whatever vegetables you use are totally up for discussion – take what is in season and use that, or if you need to scrape something together at the last moment keep a jar of baby corn, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots in your pantry!

You will need:

whatever vegetables you plan to use chopped and ready

any meat sliced very thin and ready to go in

For this basic curry use:

1 tbsp red curry paste

1 tbsp massaman curry paste

1/2 onion, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced or sliced

1 inch ginger, minced or sliced

galangal root (fresh if you can get it, but powdered if not available in your area)

lemongrass (again fresh is best but powdered is a decent standby)

tamarind paste

1 can coconut milk or cream

kaffir lime leaves

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp raw sugar

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

peanut oil

cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

Heat peanut oil, stir in onion, garlic and ginger. Allow to soften but not brown. Stir in curry pastes, and allow curry to cook for a couple of minutes, then add galangal, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. Slowly add half the coconut milk, and allow the sauce to fully incorporate. Gently simmer ….. then add most of the coconut milk – reserving some in case your curry is too spicy.

Add as many vegetables as you like – if you want this to also be a meat curry, this is the time to add raw, thinly sliced meat.

During one of my cooking classes in Thailand I was advised to add the meat, then NOT TO STIR until the meat is cooked through.

Allow the meat and vegetables to cook through, and taste. This is plenty spicy enough for our family, but if you like more heat add either freshly chopped chile or red chili flakes. If, on the other hand, your family is not keen on spice at all just start with 1 tsp of each of the curry pastes, and oh so gently, gradually increase the amount of paste.

When you remove the curry from the heat stir in the lime juice, sugar, fish sauce and soy sauce. All Thai dishes contain the 4 essential elements of sweet, sour, salty and spicy from these ingredients.

It may take a bit of playing around to get the taste of Thailand into your kitchen, but you will be so glad you did!

Thai Barbecue Chicken

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Chatty Kathy

Wherever you go in Thailand you can smell barbecue chicken! At home I can’t reproduce that smoky, cooked over an old grate on top of wood smell and feeling, but this chicken is amazing. So simple too. I have another recipe I use for bbq’d Thai chicken that contains about 30 ingredients. The simplicity of this recipe makes it winner for anyone to try.

1/2 fresh chicken, cut into small pieces, OR 4-8 fresh chicken thighs

MARINADE

2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
1 tsp. dark soy sauce (OR 1 more Tbsp. regular soy sauce)
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
3 Tbsp. sherry
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. black peppercorns, crushed with mortar and pestle or spice grinder (or more or less pepper to taste)
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. grated or minced ginger

DIPPING SAUCE/GLAZE

1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ginger, minced
1-2 fresh red chilies, minced – or 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Combine all marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag and stir/squeeze well to dissolve the sugar. Put chicken in bag and give it a generous massage.

This is amazing with even just 1 hour to marinate, but if you leave it in the fridge overnight, so much better. (One of my favorite tricks is to do this ahead of time and just put it in the freezer until you need a quick meal!)

To make the dipping sauce/glaze, place all the ingredients in a sauce pan. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally and allow it to thicken and reduce until it is that perfect blend of all Thai dishes – a mixture of sweet, sour, salty and spicy.

Tip: this sauce can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold, so you can easily make it ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator until needed.

Brush or spray grill, then grill the chicken, turning occasionally. Brush the chicken with the leftover marinade for the first 10 minutes or so, then discard marinade.

Serve with the dipping sauce on the side, OR spoon a little sauce over each piece of chicken as a glaze before serving. We loved it served with a Thai curry and jasmine rice … soooo yummy!

Tan Tan Noodles

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Chatty Kathy

This has been one of our family favorites for years, and one the girls always request when coming home – I hope you like it just as much!

Cooking with Asian ingredients may look intimidating at first, mainly because the ingredient list is so lengthy, but once you have all the supplies it is quick and easy to do so many different dishes. I always recommend having all the ingredients chopped, and at hand before you start cooking. Wok cookery is quick!

BROTH

2 tbsp peanut oil
6 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp chile oil
8 tbsp Chinese black bean paste
6 scallions (green onions) chopped finely
2 tbsp Chinese chile paste
5 tbsp LOW SODIUM soy sauce
6 tbsp peanut butter
4 tbsp tahini paste, even better with Chinese Sesame paste
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

For Tan Tan deluxe – 1 pound ground beef or pork

ASSEMBLY

thin asian noodles, cooked and drained
green onions – sliced thin
cilantro – chopped
peanuts – chopped and toasted
bean sprouts – rinsed well

METHOD

In a medium saucepan, with heavy bottom, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes – or until they begin to turn golden brown – watch carefully so they don’t darken too quickly (burnt garlic is bitter). Add sesame oil, chili oil and the black beans. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add green onions and cook 2 minutes. Stir in the chile paste and soy sauce – stir to create a smooth sauce. Add the peanut butter and tahini, again stirring to create a smooth paste. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

It’s important to take time to cook all the above ingredients as listed, it helps build the flavor.

Add the broth slowly and reduce the heat to medium low. Let the sauce simmer for at least 15 minutes to allow flavours to blend and the broth to thicken. Taste, taste, taste!! You should have a rich broth, full of flavour and layers of tastes. If you like it richer, play with all the broth ingredients until you get the balance you personally prefer – you may like it spicier so go ahead and add more chili oil or even some chili flakes. If you like more of a peanut flavour, add more peanut butter – all so easy to do and get your preferred flavour balance.

To serve place noodles in bowl, add broth. Scatter green onions, cilantro, bean sprouts and peanuts over top.

If you like the Deluxe Version – brown the ground meat and drain off any fat – add 1 or 2 ladles of the broth and allow the beef to soak up the liquid. When serving, sprinkle the meat on top of the noodles before adding the broth.

Have everything ready before you start cooking. Yes, I know broccoli isn’t listed, but I couldn’t resist serving some steamed broccoli on the side.

If you want the rich flavour, stop here, if you want it more soup like, add more chicken stock.

Kung Pao Chicken

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Chatty Kathy

1 1/2 # boneless, skinless chicken thighs – cut into bite size pieces

1/4 cup roasted peanuts

8 dried, red chilies (deseeded and cut in half)

peanut oil

5 slices fresh ginger, sliced thinly and into thin strips

3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced on the diagonal

1 cup red pepper, cut into aprox 1/2 ” pieces

1 stalk scallion (green onion) – sliced in 1/2″ pieces

MARINADE

1 tbsp corn starch

3 tbsp LOW SODIUM soy sauce

2 tbsp chile paste

3 tbsp rice vinegar

Combine all marinade ingredients – mix well – and stir in chicken pieces. Keep in fridge until ready for use (at least 30 min)

SAUCE

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

1/2 tsp chile flakes

2 tbsp chile paste

1 tbsp corn starch

Put all sauce ingredients in jar and shake well – set aside.

Heat wok – add oil – remove chicken from marinade, trying to leave behind most of the liquid, stir fry chicken pieces until about cooked half way. Remove from heat and set aside.

Wipe out wok, add fresh oil – then garlic, ginger and red pepper – saute until just tender – remove from heat and add to reserved chicken.

Wipe out wok (yes, again) and stir fry dried chiles along with peanuts just until they are aromatic. Add to chicken/veg mixture.

Wipe out wok, add sauce and cook quickly until the sauce has thickened and become shiny (corn starch will always taste kind of murky in a dish unless you achieve that glossy look) Return the rest of the ingredients to the wok and toss quickly to coat.

Garnish with scallion slices and serve over rice.

Sesame Soy Vinaigrette

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Chatty Kathy

Give this vinaigrette a try – it will quickly become a household favorite – we love it on salads, as a marinade for grilling vegetables, and is the reason “Red Rice Rocks” is such a popular one dish meal.

1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2 generous tbsp tahini paste

2 cloves garlic, crushed

red chili flakes (optional)

1 1/4 – 1/2 cups vegetable oil

Using small processor, or immersion blender combine all ingredients except the oil and blend until smooth – then gradually add the oil until you have a delicious creamy dressing.

Coconut Chili Vegetables

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Chatty Kathy

This recipe was created spur of the moment, when I needed another dish to round out dinner – Chinese Grilled Pork and Fried Rice … even with all the chopped vegetables in the rice dish, we needed more greens. This was so simple, and could easily be turned into a full meal by adding any protein you were inclined to add. The best thing is the simplicity – throw it all in a pot!

1 cup coconut milk

1 tbsp sambal oelek

1 tbsp minced garlic

bok choy

chinese mushrooms

red onion

Heat coconut milk, garlic and sambal oelek just until boiling point – add onions. When slightly tender stir in the rest of your vegetables and allow to simmer just until cooked through – being careful not to overcook them or they will lose their vibrancy and wilt.

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