Thai Hot-Sour-Salty-Sweet Chicken

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Chatty Kathy

All Thai dishes should have a balance of hot/sour/salty/sweet. Whatever recipe you use, keep tasting and adjusting until you get that balance just right. I do a lot of Thai cooking, and we love it all – but this is the first recipe that our Thai student Ping claimed was exactly like chicken he eats at home.

hot-sour-salty-sweet
Gotta get that balance in Thai cookery!

MARINADE:
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbsp asian fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper (white if you have it)
1 garlic clove, minced
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp tamarind concentrate

Blend all ingredients together well – then add chicken.

This is enough to do 4 chicken breasts, or 8 chicken thighs. If using breasts I like to pound them lightly first – just enough to make them equal thickness which is easier to grill. Allow to marinate for whatever length of time you have – I have made this with only 1/2 an hour to marinate, and up to overnight.

Grill until cooked through – slice into strips and serve with dipping sauce.

DIPPING SAUCE
2 tbsp tamarind concentrate
1/4 cup asian fish sauce
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 minced clove garlic
1 small Thai chile – seeded and minced
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp water
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Combine all ingredients except cilantro – TASTE!! Adjust to your preference, and if you like it really spicy, drizzle in a little chili oil. I have also drizzled on sesame oil to finish it. Once you have a good balance of flavour (which means you can’t stop yourself from continuing to taste) then stir in the cilantro.

Asian Noodle Stir Fry

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Chatty Kathy

This is easily one of the simplest noodle stir fry dishes I have made, and packs lots of taste in every bite. I think the secret is the spicy vinegar for the finishing touch!

¼ cup vegetable oil

½ red onion, julienned

1 sweet red pepper, julienned

2 cloves garlic, chopped

⅓ cup oyster sauce

⅓ cup water, mixed in with oyster sauce

2 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped

1 bunch green onion, chopped

Flavoured Vinegar

½ cup rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons palm sugar (or natural sugar)

1-2 tablespoon chili oil

1 bunch chives, finely chopped

salt

Stir all vinegar ingredients together and set aside – really important to do this to your individual taste – SOME LIKE IT HOT …

Mix oyster sauce with water

Soften egg noodles according to package directions, but be careful not to overcook them.

Heat oil in wok, add onions and saute until softened and translucent, add ginger, garlic and red pepper. Stir fry until just softened.

Add some of the oyster sauce and stir until well combined – add most of the rest of the sauce and stir in the noodles. Stir fry until all the noodles are well coated and heated through – finish with the last drizzle of the oyster sauce.

Serve with chives to garnish. I served the vinegar on the side for everybody to add as they pleased, but it could easily be added as soon as the dish is finished.

This dish is really made for you to experiment with – go green instead of red and stir in chopped fresh spinach or sliced snow peas right before serving and garnish with cilantro, green onions and bean sprouts.

For a complete meal add some prawns or thinly sliced chicken – stir fry with the onion/pepper mixture before adding the noodles.

Backstrap Venison ….. Thai style!

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

We had the good fortune to have backstrap venison grilled at our good friend Rob and Mandy’s ….Rob being the hunter … and further good fortune as they sent us home with the leftover, rare grilled venison. It was amazing the first time, and just as fabulous as a “leftover” … repurposed as a Thai style salad.

The instructions for this are VERY loose. It involved what I call creative cooking, or clean out the fridge.

Pan roast some peanuts, and if you are fortunate enough to have a mortar and pestle, grind them up a bit with about 1 tsp chili flakes (obviously to your taste). Add tamarind, palm sugar (2 tsp?) freshly squeezed lime juice, light soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, roasted sesame seeds and even a bit of peanut oil. A little of this, a little of that. Keep doing that until your taste buds sing and you can hardly wait to dress your salad.

Thinly slice red onion, and pour boiling water over. 10 seconds later, yes, TEN SECONDS, pour the water off – add a bit of kosher salt, a few chili flakes, and cover with freshly squeezed lime juice …. (if you run short top it up with regular vinegar)

Cook up a few ramen noodles, or rice noodles, or whatever you have on hand.

Lay the cooled noodles over a serving platter, and build your salad on top of that with whatever strikes your fancy. (and is in your fridge) Add some thinly slivered protein – i.e. the venison, or you could use cooked chicken, steak, and prawns. Again – totally up to you! (and if you are looking for a vegetarian option – do some tofu!)

Top with the quick pickled red onion, some of your roasted peanuts, sesame seeds – and although I didn’t have any today – I would have loved some bean sprouts and fresh cilantro over it all …..

Sesame Chicken Salad

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

Today was a beautiful hot sunny day, just the way we like in the Okanagan. The idea of a Thai inspired chicken salad felt like the ideal dinner item – fresh, crunchy, tasty and not too heavy. You could just as easily substitute the chicken with tofu or any seafood item – delicious either way.

4 chicken breasts

12 ounces chinese egg noodles, cooked and drained

3/4 cup green tea (strong is best)

1/3 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

3 tbsp light brown sugar

1/4 cup roasted peanut oil

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (plus some for sprinkling over top)

2 tbsp chili garlic sauce

2 tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce

1 heaping TBSP Thai red chili paste

zest and juice of 1 lime

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 -2 tbsp minced ginger (depending on your ginger love!)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, finely chopped

1 long english cucumber, diced

1 cup sliced snap peas

1/4 cup each finely chopped red and yellow pepper

1 cup bean sprouts

1 head red lettuce, washed and leaves torn

kosher salt

cilantro

roasted peanuts

toasted sesame seeds

1 jalapeno seeded and diced finely (optional) To make the sauce combine green tea, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, Thai sweet chili sauce, Thai red curry paste and peanut oil in a blender or food processor. Add sesame seeds, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and 1/2 tsp kosher salt – blend well until creamy and smooth. TASTE and adjust for seasoning – you should have lots of flavour, but also really well balanced – I find depending on the type of soy sauce, chili sauce or even the lime you will have to work with those flavours.

Using a meat mallet pound chicken breasts to an even thickness. Pour just enough of the dressing over to coat well and marinate for at least an hour and preferably overnight. Discard marinade used for the chicken. Grill just until cooked through and thinly slice.

Prepare salad with lettuce, cilantro and vegetables – as well as the diced jalapeno if using.

Cook noodles just until tender, rinse well to cool and dress with a bit of the same dressing the chicken is marinating in.

Toast peanuts and sesame seeds to use as garnish.

To assemble pile noodles on a plate, salad on top – scatter chicken over and drizzle with dressing. Garnish with more cilantro, peanuts and sesame seeds.

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.

THAI STYLE SWEET AND SPICY CHICKEN SALAD

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

DRESSING

1 tbsp miso paste

1 tbsp grated ginger

Juice of 2 limes (and zest if you like it really filled with lime!)

½ garlic clove, minced

1 chopped scallion

1 tbsp sriracha sauce

1 tsp raw sugar

1 tbsp fish sauce

½ tsp kosher salt

Blend well, and gradually stir in: ½ – ¾ cup of vegetable oil – to taste

MARINADE

1/3 cup Thai sweet chili sauce

2 tbsp chili paste

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp grated ginger

1 minced garlic clove

2 good size chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

Thin cut Chinese egg noodles (fresh is best)

Green Salad

Sesame seeds

Peanuts

Bean sprouts

Cut chicken into bite size pieces and allow to marinate for anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight.

A few minutes before frying stir in 1 tbsp corn starch.

Make a green salad using whatever ingredients are jumping out at you – make it nice and crunchy!

Cook the egg noodles according to package directions and allow to cool – rinse with warm water if they end up in a clump – the water always brings them back.

Toast the sesame seeds and peanuts

The chicken needs to be cooked fairly quickly so it gets nice and crispy – you can do this in a wok using a bit of peanut oil, in a fry pan, a deep fryer, or on the grill with a wok basket.

While the chicken is cooking, bring the rest of the marinade to a boil – allow to boil for a few minutes until it is thick and has reduced slightly. Stir warm into the salad dressing and allow to sit while you assemble the salad:

Noodles on the bottom – drizzle with a bit of the dressing

Salad

Chicken

Top with bean sprouts, peanuts and sesame seeds

Drizzle more salad dressing over top

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!

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