Nothing like a good visit from relatives to aid in the realignment efforts. And it was a good excuse to make Tom Kha Gai – a recipe from my last Thai cooking class – a dish I always enjoy no matter where it be served. So much better in my own home.
Creativity in the kitchen complimented creativity with acrylics. Color and art and good food - I’m talking reds and blues and oranges and greens inspired from walls and from fridge. My house guests this weekend also appreciated a good color wheel -- and art-fest 2011 P-ville style was inspired. Paints were augmented. Canvases and cheapo brushes made their way into the shopping cart. The wine and rum was poured and the art flowed. I won’t say we can go out and make millions on our artistic efforts, but it was a great time. We each got a canvas and went to town.
My inspiration began as a sunflower, but ended more as a wacky sun. Things just sort of evolved, but we all went abstract and so it didn’t really matter.
Tonight I share both our art and our recipe for Tom Kha Gai. Extra bonus recipe for Pad Kra-Pow Gai. Both really great dishes – but you may have to work a little bit for the ingredients for the Pad Kra-Pow Gai. It is worth the effort.
Tom Kha Gai (literally soup, galangal, chicken – we know it as coconut soup with chicken and lemon grass and galangal)
16 oz. chicken that is cut up into small bite-sized pieces. Marinate this for 10-15 minutes with a Tbsp. of either corn starch or tapioca flour, ¼ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, ½ tsp garlic powder (or 1 tsp. fresh chopped garlic).
1 can coconut milk
400 mL water (about 1 3/4 cups) vary depending on how thick you want it… the higher the coconut to water ratio, the thicker the soup
2 inch piece of Galangal (Thai ginger) peeled and sliced very thinly
1 stalk lemon grass cut into 2 inch long chunks and then bruised by banging with back of knife
1 medium onion chopped coarsely
1 can of mushrooms (if using canned mushrooms put in early, if using fresh mushrooms put in at end)
4 Kaffir lime leaves
½ Tbsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 Tbsp. lime juice
Optional additions include thai chili pepper (dried hot pepper) to taste or 1 Tbsp. chili paste in soybean oil.
Bring water and coconut milk to a boil and then add sliced galangal and lemon grass. If you used canned mushrooms, add now, too. If you are using fresh mushrooms, save until the very end and barely cook. Tear lime leaves into little ½ cm2 bits and add with sugar, lime juice, and fish sauce. Let this simmer for about 5 minutes and give it a taste. Adjust with more lime, sugar, or fish sauce depending on what you feel it may need. Add onions just before you add the chicken and then it will only take about 15 more minutes before being done. Give it another taste before serving to see if it needs more sweet, sour, or salty to your liking. Anywhere along the way add the optional chili peppers….. The chili peppers add a great dimension and so I highly recommend them.
Garnish with cilantro and chives and more chili powder for those who want it.
Pad Kra-Pow Gai (Stir fried, basil, chicken quite literally – or more informally: stir fry chicken with basil leaves in house spicy sauce)
16 oz. chicken ground or chopped into very small pieces
4 Tbsp. oil
3 garlic cloves minced
2 Tbsp. oyster sauce (I find oyster sauce in general optional, so do what you will with this one)
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1Tbsp. Thai Seasoning Sauce (Golden Mountain Brand ) – this adds a smoky quality – if you skip this one, you’ll really know it…..
1 Tbsp. Thai thick sweet sauce or thick black soy sauce – this adds both sweet and salty and so you’ll need to compensate with both if you skip this one
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 onion sliced or chunked – I prefer slightly larger bite-sized chunks
2 bell peppers of any color (I dig the red with any other, but definitely at least one red) chopped coarsely
1 large bunch of Thai basil coarsely chopped (grow it if you can… it is really hard to find in the grocery store and is different for sure from the ‘regular’ basil)
Hot thai chili peppers to your liking…. This dish should be hot, so load it up – it can handle it, can you?
On medium high, cook garlic briefly before adding chicken and all the liquid ingredients. This dish goes quickly, so basically add everything up to the onion and and pepper and basil. Add the onions and peppers and saute to the point of still crunchy and then add the basil. Serve over rice and ENJOY! This is one of my Favorites…. It is worth the effort for the weird ingredients.
Hope you like it, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment