Yellow Thai Chicken Soup

The original recipe uses green Thai curry paste but I had yellow. This is a lovely fragrant soup and you could bulk it out a bit with the addition of some noodles. I had it for lunch with a scone and that was fab too.

Yellow Thai Chicken Soup (from Good Food Magazine August 2011)
(Serves 8)

2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, finely chopped
500g pack skinless chicken thigh fillets, finely chopped
4 garlic clove, finely sliced
285g jar Thai yellow curry paste
400ml can coconut milk
1¾l chicken stock
5 kaffir lime leaves
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 bunch spring onions, chopped
280g green beans, trimmed and halved
150g pack bamboo shoot
juice 2 limes
small bunch basil, chopped

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and fry for 3 mins to soften. Add the chicken and garlic, and cook until the chicken changes colour.

Add the curry paste, coconut milk, stock, lime leaves and fish sauce, then simmer for 12 mins. Add the spring onions, green beans and bamboo shoots and cook for 4-6 mins, until the beans are just tender.

Add the lime juice and basil to the soup and heat through. Serve.

Thai Squash Soup

With the first of my large squash haul I made soup. I used 2 onion squash, which made enough for 3 servings. It lovely and lightly spicy this soup.

Thai Squash Soup (from Veg Hog)
(Serves 4)

1 onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
2-3 cm fresh ginger, chopped
1 small red chilli, deseeded and chopped
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 small pumpkin or 2 small squashes, cut into chunks
1l vegetable stock
1 lemongrass stick
3 kaffir lime leaves
160ml coconut cream
2 tsp miso
juice 1 lime
2 tsp brown sugar
handful coriander leaves, chopped

Heat a large saucepan with a tbsp of oil, add the onion and fry until translucent. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and fry for about 1 min more. Add the cumin and coriander and stir well. 

Add the squash or pumpkin to the pan. Fry for a couple of mins and then add the vegetable stock.

Pour the coconut cream into the soup. Add the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves cover and leave to simmer for 25-30 mins over a medium heat.

Add the lime juice, miso, sugar and coriander. Remove the kaffir lime leaves and the lemongrass from the soup.

Once the squash is soft, puree the soup and serve.

Jamie's 15 Minute Meals: Thai Chicken Laksa

This is possibly one of the best things I have made recently. I loved the flavours and it was so easy to make. I used beans instead of asparagus as that's what I had in the fridge but the addition of butternut squash was just genius.

Thai Chicken Laksa (from Jamie's 15 Minute Meals)
(Serves 4)

For the chicken
4 skinless, boneless higher-welfare chicken thighs
1 heaped tsp Chinese five-spice
1 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 fresh red chilli

For the laksa
1 chicken or vegetable stock cube
1 butternut squash, (neck end only)
2 cloves garlic
1 thumb-sized piece ginger
1 fresh red chilli
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ bunch spring onions
1 heaped tsp peanut butter
4 dried kaffir lime leaves
½ bunch fresh coriander
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp low-salt soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
300g medium rice noodles
2 bunches asparagus, (600g)
1 x 400 g tin of light coconut milk
3 limes

Ingredients out, Kettle boiled, Griddle pan, high heat, Large lidded pan, high heat, Food processor (coarse grater & bowl blade)

On a large sheet of greaseproof paper, toss the chicken with salt, pepper and the five-spice. Fold over the paper, then bash and flatten the chicken to 1.5cm thick with a rolling pin. Place on the hot griddle pan, turning after 3 or 4 minutes, until nicely charred and cooked through. Pour about 800ml of boiling water into the large pan and crumble in the stock cube

Trim the stalk off the squash, roughly chop the neck end (don't peel, and keep the seed end for another day), then grate and tip into the boiling stock. Swap to the bowl blade in the processor and add the peeled garlic and ginger, the chilli, turmeric, trimmed spring onions, peanut butter, dried lime leaves, coriander stalks (reserving the leaves), sesame oil, soy and fish sauces. Blitz to a paste, then tip into the stock and add the noodles

Trim the asparagus and cut in half. Add to the pan, pour in the coconut milk, and as soon as it boils, taste, correct the seasoning with soy sauce and lime juice, then turn the heat off. Drizzle the honey over the charred chicken, squeeze over the juice of 1 lime, scatter with the sesame seeds and toss to coat. Serve with the laksa and lime wedges, sprinkling everything with the coriander leaves and slices of fresh chilli.

Thai-Style Braised Pig's Cheeks

I made a quick decision to make something with pig's cheeks after finding them again in Waitrose after they went missing for a little while! I ended up with a bit of a burnt caramel taste, I think that was my fault rather than the recipe though, I advise checking on the meat to check it doesn't dry out whilst it's in the oven. So good idea but difficult to make for only one.

 

Thai-Style Braised Pig's Cheeks (from Serious Eats)

(Serves 6)

900g pig's cheeks

9 tbsp dark soy sauce

3 tbsp fish sauce

4 1/2 tbsp rice wine

30g palm sugar

1 stick cinnamon

3 - 6 chillis

 

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 300°F. Place the pig's cheeks in a casserole, they should cover the bottom of the pan. Add enough water so that cheeks are halfway submerged. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, rice wine, sugar, cinnamon, and chillis to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cover  with a tight-fitting lid or aluminum foil. Transfer to the oven and cook for about 2 hours until very tender.

De-fat the mixture, either by skimming off the liquid fat or refrigerating the meat and letting the fat solidify on the top. Remove meat from liquid and gently break into bite-sized chunks (meat will be very tender). Heat sauce in a medium saucepan and cook until reduced and syrupy. Return the meat to sauce and heat through. Serve with rice.

Duck and Green Bean Thai Curry

This was really delicious and flavourful and the long cooking time made the duck so tender. It also wasn't ridiculously hot, just nice and spicy.

Duck and Green Bean Thai Curry (from Good Food Magazine June 2008)
(Serves 4)

3-4 duck breasts, about 700g/1lb 9oz in total

6 tbsp green or yellow Thai curry paste

1 tbsp light brown sugar

400ml can coconut milk

2 tbsp fish sauce

juice 2 limes

6 kaffir lime leaves, 3 left whole and 3 finely shredded

200g French beans, trimmed

100g baby corn, halved

handful coriander leaves

 

Place a frying pan over a low heat and add the duck breasts, skin-side down, to the dry pan. Slowly fry until the skin is brown and a lot of the fat has rendered off – this can take about 20 mins. Flip them over to seal the other side for 1 min, then remove to a board until cool enough to handle. Pour all but 2 tbsp of the fat from the pan.

While the meat is resting, return the pan to the heat, then fry the curry paste and sugar for 1-2 mins until it becomes fragrant. Tip in the coconut milk, then fill the can with water and add this, too. Add the fish sauce, half the lime juice and the whole lime leaves, then bring to a simmer. Slice the duck breasts, then tip into the curry. Cover the pan, then simmer everything on the lowest heat for 1 hr until the duck is tender. Add the beans to the curry, then continue to cook, covered, for 10 mins until the beans are tender with a slight crunch. Taste and add more lime juice, fish sauce or sugar to season.

 

Stir in the baby corn, cook for 1-2 mins more, sprinkle over the coriander and shredded lime leaves. Serve over rice.

Thai Yellow Noodle Soup

So I completely adapted this recipe to what I had in and so changed quite a lot. It's Thai instead of Malaysian because of the curry paste but it's still really tasty.

Thai Yellow Noodle Soup (adapted from Chef Mireille)
(Serves 6)

450g king prawns
750ml water
1 veg/fish stock cube

2 tbsp Thai curry paste

375ml coconut milk

1 1/2 tsp fish sauce

170g pak choi chopped

12 baby corn, chopped

2 Kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced

225g rice noodles

handful bean sprouts

bunch mint leaves, chopped

bunch coriander leaves, chopped

 

Place noodles in a large bowl of boiling water and let sit for 10 mins or whatever the packet says, until the noodles soften.

Heat a saucepan and add the thai curry paste, stir fry for 1 min. Add the water and stock cube, coconut milk and fish sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 mins.

Add the pak choi, baby corn and Kaffir lime leaves. Bring back up to a boil. Add the prawns and bean sprouts. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 3 mins, until the prawns turn pink and are cooked through.

Turn off the heat and stir in the coriander and mint.

To serve, place some of the noodles in each bowl and spoon the soup over the noodles.

Thai Chicken with Stir Fried Green Beans and Lime Leaves

This was a really quick and easy evening meal. I served it with rice as recommended and it was really delicious, just the right amount of spice for me. I did make a couple of changes, I used used yellow instead of red curry paste and I halved the amount of sugar used.

Thai Chicken with Stir Fried Green Beans and Lime Leaves

(from Daily Unadventures in Cooking)

(Serves 2)

 

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large chicken breast, sliced into bite sized pieces
2 tbsp yellow curry paste
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 handfuls green beans, chopped into 2in pieces
2 tbsp fish sauce
6 lime leaves, sliced thinly

 

Heat a large frying pan and add the tablespoon of oil. Add the chicken and stir fry for a min or so, you want to see a bit of colour on all sides but not cooked through.
 

Add the curry paste, brown sugar and a few tablespoons of water. Stir until it bubbles. Add the green beans and stir fry for 3 minutes. 

Add the fish sauce and the lime leaves. Continue cooking until the chicken is cooked and the beans are tender. If you find it is getting a bit dry, add a little more water. Serve with rice

Thai Beef Noodle Salad

I love Good Food Magazine, when I have no energy or time it comes along and provides me with easy things to cook! This beef noodle salad was perfect, especially when I had some beef stir fry meat that I needed to use up. I left out most of the chilli and only used a little bit as I'm not overly fond of it and thought the sweet chilli sauce would provide enough heat for me!

Thai Beef Noodle Salad (adapted from Olive Magazine September 2006)
(Serves 2)

125g medium rice noodles
2 tsp five spice powder
1 sirloin steak, about 300g, trimmed of fat and sliced
1 small cucumber, cut into ribbons with a potato peeler
1 red chilli, shredded
small handful of coriander leaves

For the dressing
3 tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce
1 lime, juiced
1 tbsp fish sauce

Put the noodles in a large bowl and pour boiling water over. Leave until tender then drain and rinse well with cold water.

Season and sprinkle the beef with the five spice. Heat a frying pan until very hot and fry the steak for a couple of minutes until brown but not quite cooked through, set aside to rest and cool.

Stir together the dressing ingredients.

Toss the noodles, cucumber and chilli with the steak and dressing. Scatter coriander over and serve.

Thai Veg with Israeli Couscous

Today I am destroying a sofa with the hope that a new one will arrive on Monday! Whilst I'm doing that, here is a lovely lunch recipe, it is fantastic served hot or cold and is my first try with giant Israeli couscous and I have to say I like it!

Thai Veg with Israeli Couscous (adapted from Straight Up Food)
(Serves 4)

300g dry Israeli couscous
1 tbsp oil
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
3 carrots, thinly sliced or julienned
8 mushrooms, diced
½ head of cabbage, thinly sliced
100g frozen peas, thawed
bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
4 spring onions, chopped

For the sauce
30 ml water
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp soy sauce

Cook the couscous according to packet instructions. Drain and rinse with cool water.

While couscous is cooking, blend sauce ingredients until smooth, check that peanut butter is completely incorporated. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil and then add the broccoli, carrots and mushrooms, and cook on a medium-high heat for about 5 minutes to begin softening. Add the cabbage and peas, and cook for another 5 minutes, until the broccoli, carrots and cabbage are softened.

Add the sauce, couscous, coriander and scallions to the vegetables, and thoroughly mix through, cooking another minute or two. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Transfer to your lunchbox and garnish with cilantro or toasted sesame seeds.

Speedy Thai Prawn Curry

Sometimes I just need a curry. That lovely warmth and spiciness (but not too spicy) with fresh veg and succulent prawns or chicken just ticks all the right boxes and last Friday was one of those nights. I usually find red or green Thai curry too hot but yellow seems just the right balance of spiciness and flavour for my taste. Thai curry definitely has a distinctly different taste to an Indian or Japanese curry, more warming somehow, so brilliant for the chilly Autumn night that are now drawing in. For the veg I used mange tout, spinach, baby corn (from the garden), beans and asparagus and I used brown rice instead of jasmine. This recipe could be easily adapted to use ether red or green curry paste and chicken instead of prawns but the points would increase to 14 ProPoints.

Speedy Thai Prawn Curry
(Serves 2)
(12 WW ProPoints per serving)

100g jasmine rice
2 tbsp yellow Thai curry paste
200ml coconut milk
75ml weak chicken stock
200g vegetables (baby corn, mange tout, broccoli, fine beans, asparagus)
200g raw prawns
1/2 lime
splash fish sauce
fresh coriander

Cook the rice according to packet instructions.

Meanwhile heat a wok or saucepan and add the curry paste and a tbsp of the coconut milk. Mix and cook gently, stirring for 1 min, then gradually mix in the rest of the coconut milk followed by the stock.

Bring to the boil and add the veg. Cook stirring for 2 mins, then add the prawns. Carry on cooking and stirring for 5 mins more, or until the prawns are cooked through. Add a squeeze of lime and a splash of fish sauce, to taste.

Serve the curry with the rice and sprinkle with the coriander.

Thai Chicken Stir Fry

This is a delicious and very healthy stir fry. I'm not really sure that it's particularaly Thai but I guess the inclusion of fish sauce make WeightWatchers think it is. Nonetheless, its a very simple and delicious dish. I added 150g of striaght to wok noodles for an extra 7 ProPoints to the dish and I used sugar snap instead of beans.

Thai Chicken Stir Fry (from WeightWatchers Favourite Family Meals)
(Serves 4)
(3 WW ProPoints per serving)

1 tbsp vegetable oil
450g boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped into pieces
1 spring onion, sliced
1 garlic cloves, finely chopped
220g green beans cut into half or three if large
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp Asian hot sauce
15g fresh basil leaves

Place a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat; add oil and swirl to coat pan. When hot, add chicken; sauté for 3 mins.

Add spring onions and garlic; sauté until quite fragrant, about 2 mins. Add green beans, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and chili paste; sauté until green beans are crisp-tender, about 2 to 3 mins. Add basil and cook for 1 min more.

Thai Yellow Prawn Noodle Soup

I seem to be watching a lot of cookery programmes recently and I am particularly obsessed with Nigella Kitchen. She made a delicious Thai Chicken Noodle Soup and I thought I'll have a go at that, but I didn't have any leftover cooked chicken so I used prawns instead and they work just as well. This was a delicious warming soup, subtly spicy but not too spicy and I felt very healthy with all the green veg! I shall definitely be making this again.

You could pretty much use any green veg that you have knocking around and you could use pretty much any white meat, shellfish or fish, it's very versatile and easy to adapt to the ingredients you have on hand.



Thai Yellow Prawn Noodle Soup (inspired by Nigella Kitchen)
(Serves 1)

50ish g rice noodles
300ml veg or fish stock (I used veg stock with tamarind in it)
150ml coconut milk
1 tsp Thai yellow curry paste
8 raw prawns
2-3 mushrooms, sliced
2-3 kai lan
2-3 spring green leaves, sliced
handful sugar snap peas

Soak the rice noodles in a bowl of boiling water for 20 mins, when they are soft drain and cool under cold running water.

Heat the veg stock and coconut milk in a saucepan until fairly hot and then stir in the Thai curry paste.

Put the prawns into the stock and cook for about 2-3 mins. Add in the sugar snap peas, kai lan and mushrooms and cook for a minute. Add in the noodles and the greens and stir. When the greens have wilted you are ready to serve.

Thai Yellow Fish Curry

A couple of weeks ago I went to a lovely Thai restaurant 'The Mango Tree' on Grosvenor Place in London and had a fantastic meal. One of the dishes we had was Yellow Thai Fish Curry which had monkfish and butter fish in it. I had never tried butter fish before but it actually did taste really buttery. So I thought I would try and recreate it at home and I succeeded! I couldn't find butter fish and the monkfish was too expensive so I just used cod and haddock which broke up more when I stirred but still did the job. I also loved the potato in the curry and the aubergine was the first of my own mini aubergines from the garden. All in all delicious!



Yellow Thai Fish Curry (adapted from BBC Good Food Magazine March 2006)
(Serves 2)

1-2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
200ml light coconut milk
6 salad or new potatoes, halved if large
half an aubergine, chopped into pieces
handful cherry tomato
250g skinless white fish fillets, cubed or left in big pieces
handful coriander leaves
2 limes, 1 juiced, 1 cut into wedges

Heat the red curry paste with the coconut milk in a saucepan. Add the potatoes and cook for 3 mins, then add the aubergine and cook for 5 mins, or until just tender, then add the fish and cook for 3 minutes or until cooked through.

Stir in the coriander and lime juice and serve with wedges of lime to squeeze over

Tamarind Prawns

I love trying out new ingredients, and in my box of goodies from my Mum for Christmas I got a block of Tamarind. Apart from for the sauce in December Daring Cooks, I've never cooked with it. I loved the sauce with the pork satay, so I thought I'd try another tamarind dish. This one was just on the front of the box of Tamarind I got for Christmas and it was actually really tasty. There was no measurements on the box, so I just made it up as I went along, and I can't remember how much I used of each.

Tamarind Prawns

This isn't a specific recipe, it just came off the front of a box of tamarind, but it was so tasty, I thought I'd add it.

Mix together some tamarind paste, sugar, soy sauce and fish sauce.

Heat some oil in a wok or frying pan, add prawns and garlic and stir fry gently.

Add the tamarind mixture and a few shredded spring onions, then heat through and serve.

Daring Cooks January 2010: Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce

The January 2010 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious and she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.

I made this one whilst I was at home over Christmas for my family. When I got in the car from the train station home, my Mum said that she had chicken breasts out for supper and asked what could she do with them. My sister piped up and said she wanted chicken satay! Fantastic! We didn't end up having it the first night we were home as we were lacking some of the ingredients, namely peanut butter, but I made it just before I went back to London.

I really enjoyed making this daring cooks. I think as I have mentioned before I have huge problems with time management when cooking, so this was another nice recipe to practice those skills, and I actually managed it! The food was all the correct temperature when it arrived at the table! I made all of the sauces, because I hadn't realised that the optional ones were for people with nut allergies etc! Both my parents liked the tamarind dip best, but I think I preferred the normal peanut sauce. I served it with rice, a green salad, and homemade pitta bread.



Although my father insisted on chips!



Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce

Satay Marinade

1/2 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 T ginger root, chopped (optional) (2 cm cubed)
2 T lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)
1 T soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tsp ground coriander (5 mls)
1 tsp ground cumin (5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric (2-2.5 mls)
2 T vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil) (30 mls)
1 pound of pork (loin or shoulder cuts) (16 oz or 450g)

Directions:
1a. Cheater alert: If you have a food processor or blender, dump in everything except the pork and blend until smooth. If you don't have a food processor, chop my onions, garlic and ginger really fine then mix it all together in a medium to large bowl.
2a. Cut pork into 1 inch strips.
3a. Cover pork with marinade. You can place the pork into a bowl, cover/seal and chill, or place the whole lot of it into a ziplock bag, seal and chill.



4. If using wooden or bamboo skewers, soak your skewers in warm water for at least 20 minutes before preparing skewers.
5. Gently and slowly slide meat strips onto skewers. Discard leftover marinade.*
6. Broil or grill at 290°C/550° F (or pan fry on medium-high) for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to char. Flip and cook another 8-10 minutes.

* If you’re grilling or broiling, you could definitely brush once with extra marinade when you flip the skewers.

Peanut Sauce

3/4 cup coconut milk (6 oz or 180 mls)
4 Tbsp peanut butter (2 oz or 60 mls)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 Tbsp soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tsp brown sugar (5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground cumin (2.5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground coriander (2.5 mls)
1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)

1. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add soy sauce and lemon, mix well.
2. Over low heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter and your soy-lemon-seasoning mix. Mix well, stir often.



3. All you’re doing is melting the peanut butter, so make your peanut sauce after you’ve made everything else in your meal, or make ahead of time and reheat.



Pepper Dip (optional)
4 Tbsp soy sauce (2 oz or 60 mls)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tsp brown sugar (5 mls)
1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)
1 finely chopped green onion (scallion)

Mix well. Serve chilled or room temperature.



Tamarind Dip (optional)
4 Tbsp tamarind paste (helpful link below) (2 oz or 60 mls)
1 Tbsp soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 finely chopped green onion (scallion)
1 tsp brown or white sugar, or to taste (about 5 mls)

Mix well. Serve chilled or room temperature.