Thai Green Curry Chicken Filling

The following recipe was used for my Steam Buns cooking class. You can read about my class and get other links to recipes HERE.

Thai Green Curry Chicken Filling

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/2 tablespoon Thai green curry paste
1 lb ground chicken
1 can coconut milk
1 cup bamboo shoots, julienned
1/2 cup slivered green onions
salt & white pepper to taste

In a wok or skillet, saute garlic & onions in oil.
Add curry paste and ground chicken and stir to heat.
Add coconut milk and bamboo shoots; stir. Allow the milk to reduce to half.
Remove from heat and stir in green onions, salt & white pepper. Allow to cool before using as filling.

Thai Teasers Event Round Up!

Today was a full day in the kitchen! I hosted 2 cooking classes focused on Thai cuisine and everyone got a chance to prep, cook and learn about Thai ingredients. Our menu for both my lunch and dinner sessions included the following:

Papaya Salad
Pad Si Ew Noodles w/pork
Thai Green Curry Chicken w/brown jasmine rice
Mango Sticky Rice
Thai Iced Tea & Thai Iced Coffee

To join in the fun, my fellow bloggers have submitted their Thai-inspired recipes. As I do with each blogging event I host, a lucky blogger receives a giveaway related to the food theme. This event’s winner is TS & JS of [EatingClub] Vancouver! TS & JS will be receiving a Thai Food goodie box of various Thai ingredients to play with. Congratulations TS and JS and thanks to all that participated in the blogging event! Read on to check out the Thai-inspired recipes submitted by my fellow bloggers and the recipes we prepared for my classes…

Thai Basil Stir Fry

submitted by TS & JS of [EatingClub] Vancouver
from Vancouver, Canada
recipe adapted from here

2-3 tbsp peanut oil, for stir-frying
10-12 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2-3 shallots, thinly sliced
500g boneless chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
10 Thai chillies, cut into very thin rounds
2 small kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded (optional)
2-3 tsp black soy sauce (the semi-sweet kind), or to taste
2 tbsp fish sauce, or to taste
1 cup fresh Thai holy basil, or Thai sweet basil leaves
Flower buds
Dash of ground white pepper

Heat a wok until its surface is smoking hot. Swirl in the oil to coat the wok surface. Toss in the garlic and shallots. Stir 15 to 20 seconds before adding the chicken. Stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes, or until most of the chicken has changed color on the outside and is no longer pink.

Toss in the chillies and kaffir lime leaves. Sprinkle black soy sauce over the mixture and stir-fry for another 15 to 20 seconds. Season to taste with fish sauce, then stir in the fresh basil. Toss well. Stir-fry another ½ to 1 minute, or until the basil is wilted and the chicken cooked through. Sprinkle with white pepper.

Tom Yam Kung (Hot and Sour) Soup
submitted by Kim of Live:Love:Laugh:Eat!
from Portsmouth, VA
recipe inspired from “Madhur Jaffrey’s Far Eastern Cookery”

1 lb. medium shrimp, shelled and deveined (reserve the shells)
2 sticks fresh sliced lemongrass
4 fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves, or 1 tbsp. finely grated lemon rind
1-1/2 quarts chicken stock
1 tbsp. fish sauce
3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. chili paste (nam prik pow)
1 15-oz. can straw mushrooms, or 12 medium fresh straw mushrooms
3 fresh hot green chilies
3 tbsp. fresh cilantro

Rinse shrimp, drain and pat dry. Cover and refrigerate. Cut each stick of lemongrass into 3×2-inch pieces, starting from the rounded bottom end. Discard the strawlike top. Lightly crush the 6 pieces with a skillet or flat side of a heavy knife.

Combine the lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves or lemon rind, stock and shrimp shells in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Strain, then add the fish sauce, lime juice and chili paste. Mix and taste, adding more fish sauce or lime juice if you need it.

Drain the mushrooms and add to the seasoned stock (if using fresh, quarter them and blanch in lightly salted boiling water, then add to the seasoned stock).

The soup may be prepared in advance to this point. Cool, cover and refrigerate for up to several hours.

Prepare the garnishes shortly before serving the soup. Cut the green chiles into thin slices. Heat the stock with the mushrooms in it. When it begins to bubble, drop in the peeled shrimp. Cook on medium heat for about two minutes or just until shrimp turn opaque. Put soup into a large serving bowl or individual serving bowls. Garnish with green chiles and whole fresh cilantro leaves and serve hot.

Papaya Salad

The following recipe was featured for my Thai Cooking Class. You can read and view other recipes from the class HERE.

Papaya Salad
Joelen’s recipe

1 tablespoon chili garlic paste
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste or 1/2 shrimp bouillon cube
2 cups shredded green papaya
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts
2 tablespoons fried garlic
1 medium tomato, chopped & seeded
1/2 red onion, sliced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/4 cup chopped holy basil (Thai basil)

Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl and mix to dissolve for vinaigrette.
Combine all other ingredients in a large bowl and toss with vinaigrette.

Pad Si Ew

The following recipe was featured for my Thai Cooking Class. You can read and view other recipes from the class HERE.

Pad Si Ew
(sweet soy sauce noodles)
Joelen’s recipe

1 onion, sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons oil
1 lb sliced chicken, pork or beef (your choice)
4 tablespoons black soy sauce
4 tablespoons regular or lite soy sauce
2-3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 package wide rice sticks (pho noodles)
2 cups frozen broccoli

To prep rice sticks, boil water in a dutch oven. Once water has come to a boil, turn off heat and place dried rice sticks into the water. Let it sit for 5-7 minutes until it softens. Drain & set aside.

In a large wok, heat oil. When hot, add onions & garlic.
Once onions have softened, add meat (chicken, pork or beef) and saute for 3-5 minutes.
After 3-5 minutes, add soy sauces and sugar.
Stir and reduce until sauce is slightly thick, about 5-7 minutes.
Add broccoli & toss to heat through.
When broccoli is heated through, add drained rice stick and toss gently.
To serve, place noodles on platter and garnish with fresh bean sprouts, crushed peanuts and/or sliced green onions.

Mango Sticky Rice

The following recipe was featured for my Thai Cooking Class. You can read and view other recipes from the class HERE.

Mango Sticky Rice
Joelen’s recipe

2 cups Thai sticky rice
water for cooking rice
1 can coconut milk
1 cup granulated sugar
1 can lychee in syrup, with syrup reserved
2 large, ripe mangos, chopped

Prepare rice as directed.

When rice is cooked, place in large bowl.
Add coconut milk, sugar, can of lychee fruit and 1/4 cup of reserved lychee syrup; stir until sugar is dissolved.
To serve, place sticky rice on platter and garnish with sliced chopped fresh mango.

Marinated Artichoke Salad

The following recipe was shared during my Chef Spotlight Dinner highlighting recipes of Chef Wolfgang Puck. You can view other recipes and pictures of the event HERE.

Marinated Artichoke Salad
shared at the event by Ann
Original recipe here

12 artichoke hearts
1/4 cup shallots, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
2 teaspoons parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook artichoke hearts in salted water. When tender, allow to cool.
Marinate with olive oil, sherry vinegar, chopped shallots, chopped thyme, chopped parsley, salt and black pepper.

Sun, Sand & Sucky Service

A trip to Florida isn’t complete unless I had a chance to get some sun on a beach! Today was a lazy day where we drove out to Clearwater Beach. It’s obvious that the beaches in Chicago don’t even compare. Clearwater was beautiful and I loved every drop of sun I soaked in.But before hitting the sand, we stumbled on a quaint Thai Restaurant called Bualuang Thai. At first, we thought the restaurant was closed because it was empty with no staff in sight. But we walked in and we were pleasantly surprised when a beautiful hostess/server dressed in a fancy Thai costume greeted us.

We started our lunch with curried crab rangoon and a starter plate that included a bowl of chicken rice soup and an eggroll.
The soup that accompanied the starter plate was wonderful and refreshing. It was a simple, clear, homemade chicken broth with bits of chicken breast and rice.
The crab rangoon was especially good and interesting. Inside of the usual cream cheese and crab filling I’m used to, their version had a gream curry flavor – a nice change from the usual!
My sister in law ordered Seafood Lard Nar, thick wide rice noodles topped with stir fried vegetables and seafood.
My husband ordered Shrimp Pad Prik King, large shrimp in a coconut chile sauce with veggies over rice.

I ordered their Double Happiness, large shrimp and chicken breast in a peanut butter & coconut milk sauce with bell peppers, onions and mushrooms over rice.
To cleanse our palate from the spiciness, we indulged in coconut ice cream served with lychee fruit and banana “coins”, which are slices of banana wrapped in eggroll wrappers and lightly fried.

After a lazy day on the beach, we cleaned up and hit the Universal City Walk for dinner. Sadly, it wasn’t a great experience. But here are some smiles we did manage to share before the night went downhill…
We had a late dinner at Margaritaville inside City Walk. We sat down at our table at roughly 10:30pm and after 15 minutes, we ordered 4 dishes and an appetizer, along with drinks. Our appetizer came out about 30 minutes later…. and our entrees followed after another 30 minutes. We didn’t get refills on our drinks until we got our check – that took another 15-20 minutes after we finished our meal (which probably took us 15 – 20 minutes to finish). When we paid our check, we waited roughly 15-20 minutes to sign our credit card slip. This was due to the credit card machine going down and all receipts had to be written by hand. When we got our credit card back, it was damaged when it was swiped – to the point where it could not be used at an ATM machine. The magnetic stip could still be read, but we couldn’t use it for ATM. Needless to say, this is what broke the camel’s back and the hubby had to approach management about the service we received and the damage done to our credit card. To rectify the situation, the manager comped our meal and offered us a free dinner and drinks the next time we visit. Despite their generous offer, I don’t believe we will ever return… and even though the food was comped, it really wasn’t any good.

Fortunately, the live entertainment during all our waiting was good and helped keep our spirits upbeat:
As a result of the slow and poor service at dinner, we missed our chance to sign up at “Rising Star,” a karaoke stage show, where folks can volunteer to sing their chosen song on stage with a live band. So after a long night of crappy food and service, we headed home and called it a night. Thank goodness we have a few more days in Orlando to make up for this bad experience. (I knew there was a reason why I avoided tourist traps!!)

Thai Me Up to Drink!

Memorial day fare usually involves burgers, hot dogs, brats… but for me, I like doing things a little differently. To kick off our Memorial Day, I hosted another monthly Wine & Dine event highlighting Thai cuisine, paired with Viognier wines.

As usual, it was a fabulous turnout. Having Thai dishes grace the table offered our palates some interesting flavors to play with the wines I selected for the tasting. It also encouraged friends to create recipes of a cuisine they may not have necessarily tried on their own.

For the wines, Viognier is not exactly a common varietal. In fact, it’s one that can be difficult to find and because of the type of harvesting involved, it can also be a little pricey. I like thinking of Viognier as Chardonnay’s “sister”. They both look alike in the glass but the aromas and tastes can vary greatly. If you’re interested in trying Viognier wines, I highly recommend that you purchase an early vintage… preferably one within the last 3 years. This is the type of grape you want to drink early and slightly chilled. It pairs exceptionally well with spicy asian cuisine such as Thai.

Another thing to note is that New and Old world wines of this varietal will be very different. New World (California, South Africa, Australia, Chile, etc) will be darker in color and have more tropical, fruitier aromas and tastes. Old World (France, Italy, etc) will be lighter in color and have more floral, earthy aromas and tastes. For me, I prefer the California Viogniers… a good one to try is the Christine Andrew Viognier. We tried a 2005 and it was smooth, slightly dry and a short finish.

So enough of my wine geek talk, here are pictures of our Thai inspired dinner:

Green Curry Tofu w/Brown Rice and Pad Thai

Tropical Fruit & Shrimp Salad and Bamboo Shoots w/Egg

Mango Roll & Mocha Roll and Quinoa w/Mango & Cilantro

Fresh Mango & Pineapple and Spicy Pork w/Carrots

Thai Fried Rice and Green Curry Chicken

Banana Eggrolls and Spicy Chicken & Beef Fried Rice

Thai Green salad and Thai Spring Rolls

Thai Tea Brownies

This recipe was featured in my Blondie & Brownie swap event, which you can read about HERE.

Thai Tea Brownies
adapted by Nestle

Preheat oven to 350º F.
Lightly coat 13 x 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions for fudgy brownies. Spread into prepared pan.

For Thai Tea mixture, beat cream cheese, granulated sugar and 3 tablespoons of instant Thai Tea mix in small mixer bowl until smooth.
Beat in egg and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Spread cream cheese mixture on top of brownie layer.
Using a knife, swirl brownie batter and Thai Tea cream cheese batter.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until cream cheese mixture appears set and brownie portion is shiny.
Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Thai on a Gloomy Day

What’s a cuisine I haven’t had in a while? Thai! Rather than hitting up the nearest Thai restaurant (several are within walking distance from me) I decided to make some Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry . It allowed me to use up some veggies on hand and savor some favorite Thai flavors.Here’s my recipe for Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry:

2 beef strip steaks, sliced into thin strips
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion, sliced
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
1-2 tablespoons oil for stir frying
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup water
1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
4 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, sliced
2 small green bell peppers, sliced
1-2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
5-7 fresh thai basil leaves, whole
1 tablespoon each combined: cold water & cornstarch

In a bowl, combine sliced beef w/spices & cornstarch; allow to sit for 10 minutes.
In a wok or large skillet, heat oil and add onions & garlic.
Cook until softened.
Add beef and brown.
Add soy sauce, water and fish sauce.
Add tomatoes and carrots; cook for 3-5 minutes.
Add peppers; cook for 3 minutes.
Add mushrooms & thai basil; cook for 2 minutes.
Stir in slurry of water & cornstarch to thicken sauce.
Serve over steamed rice.