Tag Archives: Thai food

Thai Inspired Steak Salad

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It’s hard to spot the salad underneath, but it’s there! A tangle of wheat noodles and crunchy salad greens is the base of this – go ahead and use rice noodles or just omit the noodles entirely.

I love a full meal deal salad! This tangle of vegetables, both fresh and grilled, served mixed with noodles and garnished with steak and nuts is just the best. It’s on repeat around here. Go ahead and splurge for the best steak – you don’t need much to make it a complete meal.

This dressing is the star of the show – it is light and bright with just the perfect amount of zing.

  • 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp fresh lime juice
  • 2-3 tbsp chili garlic sauce
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce (reduced sodium)
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 1/2 tsp raw sugar (or honey)
  • 1 tsp minced ginger
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp fresh Thai basil, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp fresh mint, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
  • 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds **
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1/3 cup peanut oil
  • kosher salt to taste

** I’m a big fan of toasting nuts or seeds as it adds so much flavour. Watch closely because they go from deeply toasted (my personal favourite) to black …. beware. (yes, I speak from experience)

Whisk all the ingredients, except the oils, together in a bowl. Once combined, slowly drizzle in the oils and continue to whisk until well blended. This is the part where you taste, and adjust if needed – sometimes you need a bit more lime juice, salt or sweetener. If you prefer your dressing on the spicy side, add in a bit of Thai chili or chili flakes.

This recipe is just as versatile as whatever you have on hand. Tonight this dish included:

  • Chinese wheat noodles (cooked)
  • salad greens
  • mint leaves
  • basil leaves
  • cilantro leaves
  • cucumber
  • tomato
  • bean sprouts
  • grilled red pepper
  • grilled zucchini
  • steamed baby bok choy
  • grilled beef tenderloin
  • toasted cashews
  • toasted sesame seeds

I like to make a salad out of the cold cooked noodles and fresh vegetables, and pile that in the bottom of my bowl. Arrange the cooked vegetables around the sides along with the grilled steak. Drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle the cashews and sesame seeds over.

If you have time, and have a steak that needs marinating, just use a bit of the dressing. This works equally well with chicken, pork or tofu. If you want to use shrimp make sure to only give it a quick marinade.

When grilling the vegetables, drizzle with a little of the dressing before and after grilling.

When you start with a fresh salad as the base, everything is tastier!!

Thai Salmon

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It doesn’t happen often, but every so often Grant isn’t home for dinner …. and he doesn’t like salmon, so that is the first thing I think of making.  Loved this spicy, tasty salmon with a bit of sauce to drizzle over rice or vegetables.

Thai Salmon 4

Not only was this tasty, spicy, and packed with flavour, it was super easy and didn’t require any cleanup!  How fantastic is that?

  • 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
  • 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 teaspoon Sriracha, optional
  • 2 pounds salmon
  • 1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

    • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
    • To make the sauce, whisk together chili sauce, soy sauce, garlic, fish sauce, ginger, lime juice and Sriracha in a small bowl; set aside.
    • Place salmon onto prepared baking sheet and fold up all 4 sides of the foil. Spoon the chili sauce mixture over the salmon. Fold the sides of the foil over the salmon, covering completely and sealing the packet closed.

Thai Salmon 1

Just a few items needed, wrap this little salmon up in flavour and bake!

Thai Salmon 2

Preheat your oven to 375 and prep the salmon.

Thai Salmon 3

Drizzle with the seasoning, wrap and bake.  (I lined my foil with parchment)

Pull it out of the oven and sprinkle with cilantro, green onions, peanuts and sesame seeds.  Enjoy!

Thai Salmon

 

Thai curry with duck breast

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Thai duck curry 2

Flavourful Thai curry with plenty of vegetables and just a few slices of duck breast – serve with a handful of noodles.

We just got home from three weeks in Mexico, and that always makes me turn to Asian dishes in the kitchen.  Well, that and the old comfort foods like roasted chicken and mashed potatoes, which are always a family favourite.

Thai curries come together very quickly, and are very easy if you take a few moments to get everything ready first.  This is one of those recipes that works more like a guideline – we made this for dinner for two, but double it up for a group.

Cook noodles according to the package directions and set aside.

Duck breast is really easy to cook, and not something to be intimidated by.  I don’t know why I didn’t take a moment for a photo doing this …. maybe next time.  Score the fat on top of the desk breast lightly, not through to the meat.  Set in a cast iron skillet (or non stick if you don’t have cast iron) and gently heat on med/low so the duck fat can release and the top gets nice and crispy.  Every stove top is different, so just watch yours.  When it has reached that golden layer of crispy goodness, flip it over and cook until preferred doneness.  170 degrees is the golden rule, but if you prefer medium rare, go a little less.  Whatever temperature you desire, make sure to remove it from the heat and allow it to sit and rest – distributing the juices evenly.

While the duck is cooking – slice and set aside the vegetables you have chosen.  The only thing that is important is that you separate the vegetables based on how long they take to cook.

Heat a saucepan, add some peanut oil (or any neutral oil with a high smoke point).

Saute one onion until soft, then add:

  • 2 tbsp Red or Penang curry sauce
  • 1 tbsp minced ginger
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp thinly sliced Thai red chili pepper
  • 1 tsp galangal (minced if you can get it fresh, powder if not)
  • 1 tbsp lemongrass (minced if you can get it. fresh, powder if not)

Stir until the curry is fragrant – just for a minute or two.  Add 1 can of coconut milk and 1 cup of stock (chicken or vegetable).  Add the vegetables, and as soon as they are lightly cooked, but still crisp remove the curry from the heat and stir in the holy trinity of Thai curries ….

  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tbsp raw sugar
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce

Thai duck curry 1

Without the duck breast you’ve got a perfect vegetarian dinner.

 

 

Thai Grilled Chicken

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Thai grilled chicken should be moist, flavourful, and make you want more …. this is it.

Thai Chicken

This chicken.  So moist and delicious.  The dipping sauce takes it over the top!

 

  • 2 lb / 1 kg chicken thigh fillets (skinless, boneless) 

 

  • Use whatever chicken you have, or prefer, this amount of marinade worked with 2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into pieces and pounded equal thickness.  I reserved some of the marinade and kept it to serve as a dipping sauce, it was incredible.
Marinade
  • 1 large lemongrass stalk , white part only very finely chopped (about 2 tbsp) If you live in an area like we do, fresh lemongrass is not always easy to come by, and in that case, I use 1 tbsp lemongrass powder)
  • 1 tbsp garlic , minced
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tsp chili flakes
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar or palm sugar
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk

Mix all marinade ingredients together, reserve 1/2 of it, and and add chicken to the rest.  Marinade overnight, or for at least an hour …. (I had an hour and it turned out really well!)

Serve the chicken with the reserved marinade.

Thai chicken

put all the marinade ingredients into the bowl of a food processor, and give it a good whiz ….

 

Grill chicken until just cooked through, and serve with dipping sauce.

Spicy Sweet & Sticky Asian Pork Chops

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Spicy Sweet Sticky Pork Chops

Grill just until cooked through, these juicy pork chops hit all those notes of spicy, sweet and sticky – get out the napkins!

 

  • 8 thin cut pork chops, pounded lightly until uniform thickness
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger grated
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tsp Thai red curry paste
  • 1 chilli finely chopped (seeds removed if needed)
  • juice of 1 lime
  1. To make the pork chops, combine the soy sauce, honey, ginger, garlic, curry paste chilli & lime juice in a bowl and mix well.  Taste, and adjust if necessary – especially for heat.  If you like it hotter, add more!
  2. Place the pork chops in a ziploc bag and pour over the sauce. Close the bag and allow to marinade for 20 minutes or up to 2 hours.

Grill over high heat until just cooked through.

Noodles 2

 

We served these with a crunchy Thai noodle salad.

Thai Chicken Wings

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These chicken wings hit all the notes: spicy, sticky, salty, sweet and tangy – grab the napkins and dig in!

Sweet, spicy, tangy, sticky - what's not to love?

Sweet, spicy, tangy, sticky – what’s not to love?

1/2 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
2 tbsp Spicy Hoisin sauce
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp tamarind sauce
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp roasted sesame oil
zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp red Thai curry paste
1 tbsp chile garlic sauce (sambal oelek)
3 tbsp peanut oil

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Garnish: roughly chopped cilantro and green onions

Blend this all together and taste. TASTE – I can’t say this enough – every brand of seasoning is different, whether your garlic & ginger is fresh … everything leads to a different flavour profile. When you taste this sauce, you should want to keep dipping for another taste ……… if not – keep adjusting until you can’t stop.

1 – 2 pounds chicken wings

Put chicken wings into a ziplock bag, and add just enough sauce to coat. Reserve the rest. Marinate chicken wings for as long as you have available – works well whether you have 24 hours or just 1.

Roast chicken wings in hot oven (400 degrees) until cooked through – we like ours well done – around 35 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, reduce reserved marinade seasoning until thick and glossy.

When cooked through, toss cooked chicken wings in reduced marinade, add 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds.

Return to oven and roast until crispy and glossy – along with super sticky and delicious!

Garnish with roughly chopped cilantro and green onions.

Check out my post for Thai Noodle Salad with Chicken and Peanut Lime Dressing …. leave out the chicken on that salad and serve this with with the Thai Chicken Wings …. perfection!