Several Thai Recipes

These came from a Thai cooking class I took at PCC

Thai Beef Salad

2 Tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1/4# beef steak, sliced thinly across the grain

2 cucumbers ( unpeeled), sliced paper-thin
chopped green onion
fresh cilantro leaves

marinade:
1/4 cup Thai fish sauce
10 fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp red chili paste with garlic
1/2 cup peeled and thinly sliced yellow onion
1/4 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed

heat the oil in a wok and stir-fry the garlic for just a moment. Add the beef slices and sear just until they lose their pink color, 1 or 2 minutes. Do not over cook! Place the meat in a bowl and add the ingredients for the marinade. Mix and chill for 1/2 hour.

Make a bed of cucumber slices on a platter. Put the meat and marinade on top and add the remaining garnishes. Chill again before serving.

Pad Thai

1/2 cup oil (she said to use much less than this actually)
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup small cooked shrimp
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
3 Tbsp fish sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp ketchup
2 eggs, beaten
3/4# rice vermicelli soaked in hot water for 15 minutes and drained
1 cup bean sprouts

garnish:
1 Tbsp dried shrimp powder (apparently this can often be found in the Mexican section of the grocery store)
2 Tbsp peanuts, coarsely ground
1/2 tsp dried red chili flakes
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped
2 limes, sliced into 1/8" circles

Heat the oil in a wok and fry the garlic until golden. Quickly add the shrimp and stir-fry until heated through. Add the sugar, fish sauce and ketchup and stir until the sugar dissolves. add the beaten eggs, letting them set slightly, then stir to scramble. Add the noodles and toss and stir for about 2 minutes. reserving about 4 tablespoons of the bean sprouts, add the remainder to the wok. Stir over heat until the bean sprouts are barely cooked. Turn the Pad Thai onto a platter placing the reserved, raw bean sprouts on one side.

Sprinkle the noodles with the garnish ingredients in the following order: shrimp powder, peanuts, chili flakes, green onions, cilantro. ring the platter with the lime slices and serve.

I've made this one quite a few times and it turns out quite nicely. The only trouble I've had is soaking the noodles enough to get them soft. I occasionally use refrigerated as opposed to dried ones which cut the preparation time by quite a bit, but are more expensive and harder to find.

Hot and Sour Soup

(note: add chilis for heat)

4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup precooked slivered pork
1/4 cup slivered bamboo shoots
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup cloud ears ( 1 Tbsp dried) soaked and drained (also called dried black fungus)
12 dried lily buds
1/2 cube (1 cup) sliced firm tofu
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp white pepper
3 Tbsp Vinegar (she used rice vinegar)
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp cornstarch, dissolved in three Tbsp water
green onions, chopped
1 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp preserved vegetable, chopped (optional) (she used some strange dried cabbage thing.. NOT kim chee)

1. Combine stock, bamboo shoots, pork, mushrooms, cloud ears, lily buds, and bring to boil for three minutes
2. Add tofu and cook 1 minute
3. Add soy, white pepper and vinegar
4. Add egg, let sit momentarily and then stir
5. Thicken with cornstarch and water
6. Add green onions and preserved vegetables
7. add sesame oil

Thai Fried Bananas

2-5 fresh firm bananas
2 Tbsp butter
4 heaped tablespoons brown sugar
juice of two limes

peel bananas, slice lengthwise, then cross-cut slices in half (this quarters the bananas) Heat the butter in a wok until the butter bubbles. Add banana slices. Fry bananas on both sides over medium heat until golden and soft. Sprinkle in sugar and stir over heat until the sugar dissolves and thickens to a syrup. Immediately transfer to a shallow bowl, sprinkle with lime juice and serve.

 [kristin buxton]   [food]